Cod Almighty | Diary

Do you know best? Me? Hurst?

6 April 2021

Trentside Diary writes: Two games, two points. Pfft. Not enough and yet so tantalisingly close to not being a draw each time. Such fine margins will see us down or up. I still have hope it will be the latter, just.

I'm limiting how much time I venture onto social media because it's not good, or more accurately it's a shit storm. We all want our say (I get mine here) and I don't mind reasonably measured comments, even when I don't agree with the post, but, oooh, the drama and flouncing of it all.

There is no doubt we have stabilised under Hurst, with the little he has to play with. Maybe it's too little, too late but he's playing the cards he has been dealt as best he thinks. We are a little negative for my liking, but in reality that probably reflects his confidence in our defence. Go gung-ho and leave the defence exposed? He knows what we are capable of and how they would deal with that approach. Or maybe it's his natural reticence? Not playing Harry, Frank or Clive or any other player? Perhaps they are not performing well in training or don't cope well against physical opposition? Who knows? I'm sure if he had a Pat Glover or Pádraig Amond he would be throwing them on, but we don't. Maybe that's it: we need more Pádraigs/Patricks up front!

Perhaps it is just people's way of dealing with their frustration. The flouncy rants that start with "I'm done with this club/Paul Hurst/football and I'm not having it". Obviously, we're all better at tactics than someone who sees the players day in, day out and what their current ability and fitness levels are but hey, we're all entitled to our say. Just not if you disagree with the poster's worldview.

If anyone has the nerve to respond, they have my admiration because it usually doesn't end well. Back to a theme that has been covered in many diaries but there are really are too many Town fans who are not very nice to others. We are all entitled to an opinion, but the idea of a discussion has gone out of the window. If they can't ridicule the point, then they just go with "Just because you have no ambition/are satisfied with this crap/you're a snowflake if you're not tearing a strip off the manager or team".

Let's not lose sight of the real culprit in all of this. Fenty has overseen the demise of the club. We have never been this poor over such a sustained period and that is down to him. His fans have crawled out of the woodwork again: it's Easter and they proclaim him our saviour: "Fenty's money has saved the club." From where I'm sitting, he will only sell if he gets every penny he has "loaned" and his shares at face value. Given his matchday dinners, jollies and expenses we've probably paid for, if he was genuinely a fan, he would offset any loan repayment by at least a generous estimate of that. He'll probably still be there in 20 years if there is still a club but many of us won't. If the sale doesn't go through, or goes through with him still playing a role in the club, I won't be getting a season ticket. Will you?

UTM! Fenty Out!