Pre-season tour diary from Southampton's trip to face Goztepe, Turkey

Over the course of the weekend, I am looking to bring exclusive interviews, photographs, videos and other insight from the club’s summer camp – and I am meant to say ‘much more’ here.

Part of that will be a daily diary entry and you can rest assured that the two that follow this one will have slightly more information you might find actually interesting.

The Echo’s pre-season tour coverage is supported by Grosvenor Casino

12:30PM

But I said I was going to do one every day I was out and therefore I am. Continue to read and don’t blame me when you find yourself waking up at your computer a few hours later…

Wednesday, July 12 - 6PM (BST)

I did not know exactly what to expect when travelling out to Izmir, Turkey, to cover Southampton’s mini-tour and fixture versus Sport Republic sister club Goztepe.

While on the train to Gatwick Airport, we received a text message to say that the announcement of Manchester City midfielder Shea Charles was imminent.

Just 24 hours prior, I had been enjoying a nice cold milkshake at Maritimo Lounge in Ocean Village when a text warning me of Ryan Manning’s confirmation arrived just two minutes in time.

I’m very fortunate to fly out to the continent in order to bring coverage of this trip under new manager Russell Martin but that does not mean it is exactly like it might seem in the movies.

After over an hour of waiting and only slightly less time spent listening to a group of excitable children, the plane finally took off…

Thursday, July 13 - 4AM (Local time)

That meant it was gone 4AM by the time we finally touched the ground in Izmir. Touched the ground is an understatement, too.

The sleeping woman in the seat next to me, who had slowly leaned more and more in my direction as she passed through the stages, was almost ripped out of her skin by the landing’s rude awakening.

Izmir’s streets are illuminated in an ingenious way – the traffic lights are not limited to those silly little circles but the entire posts light green, amber and red. Nifty.

An oversight on my part I must admit; but did you know Turkey was not included in my phone plan’s list of countries with free roaming? You probably did but I did not.

The hotel’s dodgy WiFi and the beauty of an E-Sim – I had not heard of it either – reconnected me to the outside world and meant I could actually leave my hotel room and find my way back.

First on the agenda for me was a 35-minute walk to Goztepe’s Gursel Aksel Stadium – the host venue for Saturday’s sole fixture of the Turkey trip.

Izmir is considered a gem in the Aegean crown and is truly a beautiful city – and hot – sitting up on a hill that overlooks the expansive waters – very hot.

Its beauty is slightly interrupted by the whining of animal-repelling sound devices hidden in the parks and the unusually frequent screeching of car brakes on the roads, on my way to the stadium.

I was then surprised by a chance meeting with former Wrexham, Stockport County and Derby County midfielder Martyn Chalk – stood at the ticket office looking to sort entrance to Saturday’s friendly.

The 53 year old’s career ran from 1990 to 2002 and we riffed over his stories – I was guilty of constantly bringing the conversation back to Saints.

Matt Le Tissier and Glenn Cockerill were the subject of my repeated interjections while Chalk wanted to talk about the David Beckham Manchester United shirt in his collection – I wonder why.

2:30PM

Merely minutes before Saints were set to board their flight to Izmir, there was a slight hitch in the initial plans.

Merely minutes after I had finished a circle of Gursel Aksel Stadium, taking pictures and building up my own anticipation to return for the next two days, there was a slight change to the schedule.

A text message warning me that, due to extreme heat, Saturday’s friendly was moved to another stadium in Izmir a 30-minute drive away.

Along with that, the open training session that supporters had paid £55 for access to, along with a bundle of merchandise, was cancelled.

I hope travelling supporters are not too severely impacted by the change – the prices in the bars, which don’t exceed £2 for a pint, will be of consolation.  

It was a Goztepe-themed sports bar in which I discovered that fact and,  I was very well looked after despite a language barrier in place.

The next few hours seemed to pass – unrelated to the previously mentioned price of a pint, I insist – before sitting down to write this in the evening.

Tomorrow, I will be heading to Goztepe's training ground to watch Martin's session and speak with players and staff. Stay tuned.