Thu Nov 25, 2021 8:45 pm
This season is far from sorted.
There’s a lot of doom and gloom around and I really get it after an abysmal run of defeats, but I refuse to accept that it is a done deal. Expectations have to be reset maybe, but there’s still a lot to interest me (and I’m sure others feel the same way).
If you’d told me before the season started that the table would look like it does, I’d have laughed…… But the table is as it is so the question is how to look at it from where we are. The crazy thing is that Derby and Reading, having been deducted points, are playing like their live depend on it and I wouldn’t be surprised if both survived the season.
So how do we affect a change in fortune? Well, the crowd can play a huge part. There is a way of letting the management know how you feel without bringing down the morale of the players on the pitch (I refuse to boo my club, whatever happens). A prearranged action in the ground at a given time (19:27 worked before??) would be far more effective than individuals ranting on their own.
Does the squad need strengthening?….. YES! But there’s a danger of making the players who are there now, from giving up or giving less if they fee the crowd is against them.
Not every game has been a disaster - far from it, but results are now vital. If it means ‘winning ugly’, so be it. If it means adopting negative play at times, go for it.
I agree that the youngsters aren’t ready - YET. But to make them the focus of reasons to blame won’t do any good, especially as these fledglings are probably feeling overwhelmed as it is, without pouring more stress onto them.
Ok, so promotion isn’t the most likely outcome this season, but pride and morale are certainly not irretrievable. Mid table is a new target. After so many years in the second tier, I don’t see demotion as an absolute certainty - far from it!
Just my thoughts and, as always, there will be those who disagree, but at least I can’t be accused of making a difficult situation worse.