All I can say is that I hope you're happy. Yes you. Reading this. You. You are obscene. Do you realise how badly you have affected our club? Not only have you got us relegated but you have also been directly responsible for the disruption at St Andrews and you might be culpable in our beloved manager leaving the club. Yes you. Did you know you had so much power? Did you ever stop and think about the implications of reading this kind of article? No? You should be ashamed.
We are where we are because us fans have the temerity to be disappointed at being relegated. We have the audacity to politely request a little bit of entertainment. I have never, ever heard a single fan demand that we walk away with this division or that we week in week out spank the living daylights out of the pathetic teams that share this sub standard league. But apparently you lot have. Behind my back. The world is not enough for some of you.
Look at the league table. We are lying third beautifully poised on the shoulders of the leading pack and have just beaten a team that was above us, on their own patch with a goal a few minutes from time from the edge of the box. What more do you want? Do we take the positives and ignore the negatives? Do we live and let live or do we live and let die?
Bruce claims that his detractors (that's you lot!) are ignoring the facts. After all he took us to the Premier League (and out of it), assembled the finest talent in living memory (got relegated and got rid) and has now taken us to the edge of his second successive promotion (well not quite but you know what he means). He claims to be the best man for the job. Strictly speaking he is correct. He did get us promoted with only a few months in the hot seat so working on the same premise with a longer period at the helm promotion this time round should be easy for a guy with his track record. And by the same reckoning the current world champions are Burkina Faso.
Also is there any chance of any of you lot going to a match? (that's me included). Perhaps before you post in future you should detail exactly what gives you the right to place your message on the internet. Maybe you could shout it out like an army regiment number. Corporal Porter (don't know why I'm Corporal!), thirty five years support, twenty years season ticket holder, seventy away grounds visited, permission to speak Field Marshall Bruce Sir. This isn't North Korea though is it, the things you post are not for your eyes only, they are opinions that you want to share with your fellow fans.
Steve Bruce is under the impression that there is a group of about five hundred people who want him sacked. I guess that is not too far from the truth. However fifty times that many thought he should have gone at the end of last season and the same think he should walk away from the job having submitted such a poor set of results. Why should we pay a very rich man compensation for doing a job so badly? I honestly hope things turn round for him following the Derby game and the incredible result against Sheffield United. Quite simply if he stays in his job then the Blues are recovering, there can be no other reason, and if he stays then the Blues must be promoted. We cannot accept anything else.
Bruce and his supporters point to the plethora of teams relegated from the Premier League who languish in the Coca Cola division. They don't quite understand the full picture though. We have been relegated lots of times before. We are crap. We know we are crap. We've always been crap. The whole point of supporting the Blues is knowing that they will always let you down. One trophy won before most of us were born is all we have to show for being the team that bears the name of England's second city. It is pathetic. But we love the club and will be here long after Bruce and the current crop of players have left, we will see more ups and downs and we will live to die another day.
So what's annoying us the most? Is it the poor football? The lack of tactics (yes Steve, the lack of tactics)? Chav Tuesday? Perhaps we could sell pancakes! You can have that idea for free Perry. Premier prices for lower league football? The removal of bottle tops? Away travel membership? We probably all have our own gripes.
I'm a purist. Pretentious moi! I love football. I almost got wood watching Arsenal pass the ball around a Reading pitch last weekend. The pass and move was incredible to watch, poetry, a ballet. I love to see the ball knocked about on the ground, one touch and move, a dart, a shimmy, a dummy (we have some of them), a movement, a piece of skill and a pass into the net. When was the last time you stood and simply applauded a wonderful passage of play at St Andrews by the Blues? I'm guessing it would have involved that French genius Dugarry. Form is temporary, genius is permanent and diamonds are ……
But let's give thanks to two looping efforts, one from that goal machine Clemence and the other from, well let's give him the same tag, the goal machine DJ Campbell. Two wins on the bounce, perhaps the luck is turning and is now on Bruce's side. I sincerely hope so, shame on you who wanted him to lose, honi soit qui mal y pense. That's not because I particularly enjoy the football played over the last two years, far from it, it's been bloody awful but if Bruce stays in his job when technically always being one defeat away from the boot then strictly speaking we will go the rest of the season unbeaten. Am I losing the plot? It would be nice to beat the Baggies, three consecutive wins and the chance to connect four.
Keep right on. We'll be running round the Bullring with the cup yee hah!