Cod Almighty | Diary
Diary - Monday 13 September 2010
13 September 2010
Mardy Diary writes: Another week, another mood swing. So after last week's "yay, we're getting promoted", we're back to the previous week's "boo, sack everyone". And so continues the Jekyll and Hyde life of the Town supporter and the players too, it seems. Cummin(g)s has been the latest player issued to Tell The Telegraph We've Not Been The Best Lately But We'll Get Better Now, Honest - although to be fair, he makes no promises of getting better. He just says we've been shit. And Neil Woods has lambasted or blasted or fumed at his players or whatever word journalists are using this week to describe managers that aren't happy with the performance of their respective teams. I feel for Woods and share his annoyance at a team that is so up and down, but he's in a better place to 'sort it' than me, and ultimately it's his responsibility. But he knows that, and he knows we know that, so... well, let's get on with it, eh? Come on.
But what is the cause of this oddness? Why do we start so slowly and then pick up once we're losing - it's almost the reverse of some matches last season where we played well for 45 minutes and then slowly let teams back in the game. But why is it happening? It's not fitness, that's clear. It certainly shouldn't be, and isn't, at this level - we're still going until the final whistle, we're just not starting til later. Is it arrogance? But we don't look arrogant - arrogant teams at least play with confidence, even if that confidence may be misplaced. We still look nervy a lot of the time. Is it complacency? Can it be? We raise our game for Luton, but don't get going against Tamworth because we think it'll be an easier match. But it can't be that can it? It can't be that because surely we've learned from that mistake against Histon and Hayes, and we've already said that we can't take these teams for granted. So we can't still be going in to these types of games thinking it's going to be easier. It can't be that. No.
I'm stumped then, and I'm open to suggestions here. In the meantime, I'm just going to revert to my old, favourite reason for us not competing in these games. Yup - I'm back to the lack of a talismanic, creative central midfielder, but this is old ground, isn't it? It's like pinning all your hopes on that Hockless-like young sub who never gets a game and who you think is the answer to all of the team's problems. Maybe a midfielder of that ilk is the solution, although I'm beginning to worry that at the point we manage to sign such a player, we'll still be this nervy, uppy-downy, unpredictable bag of frustration. And then what?
Oh yeah, I forgot about sacking the manager. Or the assistant manager. Or both. Or sacking everyone. Meh! I've seen enough to see there's the beginnings of something in the team - and we are still there or thereabouts near the top. A good place to be if you then build on it later. Patience then. I think we're just going to have to ride this one out, keep our fingers crossed for that midfield player who will join our disjointed team together and hope that the team starts to settle down and gain some consistency soon. Although the good kind of consistency - the kind where we win games at home, and have a tendency not to lose away from home. Not the consistency of rubbish we've largely had for over ten years.
Still, it was good while it lasted, that little run of two games, wasn't it? We'll look back on this in a few years time and say "remember when we had that winning run? Good times, good times". Or maybe not. Maybe we'll win on Saturday and everyone will be getting the bunting out again (professional miserablists politely excluded, of course). Or perhaps we'll not turn up against "the likes of" (guh!) Fleetwood and we'll be installing suicide booths at Blundell Park. They should have put them in when they removed the green seats, anyway.
The final solution, I suppose, for those who don't want to be all post-93 and run off and support a 'successful' club, would be to give up on the first team and start supporting the youthers. Three wins in a row. Three. Three whole wins in a row. And they beat alleged Big Club and focus of Burnsian admiration, Hull City. Eh, they're a bit good these kids. Or maybe, no actually this is better - make the first team players watch ALL of the youth team games. They might learn something about application and determination then. The bastards.
Well done to the youthers anyway - I see they're playing Walsall in that floodlit cup thingy next. Don't they always play Walsall in that? Is it just Town and Walsall who contest the cup over several rounds? Who else plays in this strange cup? Whatever - I've confidence that they'll get a result, something which I don't have about the first team at the moment. Seeya later.