I don’t know where to start. I really don’t.
Apathy doesn’t even begin to cover it. In a way I’m feeling anger, disappointment, lethargy and a huge sense of bewilderment at what is happening to my beautiful club. Anyone pity me having to ‘commentate’ on that rubbish? Thought not!
The current melancholy is easily described to anyone who wants to bury their head in the sand and declare ‘crisis? What crisis?’ I watched the rivals from Lozells lose on Saturday night on MoTD to Wigan. Whilst enjoying a certain amount of schadenfreude at their demise, to a team supposedly guaranteed relegation fodder and laughing at the immediate desertion of the Holte End with ten minutes to go, I was struck by a thought. We have both lost 2-0 to teams that, as fans, we believe we are capable of beating but there is a major difference between our defeat and Villa’s defeat.
In our entire match against Villa I could not see us scoring and in the ninety minutes against Blackburn we failed to create one decent opening. Not one. Now as much as Villa get nowt for their home defeat their fans can at least point to the first half when they had a plethora of good chances to score. I admit they missed them and their profligacy proved costly but you cannot deny the fact that chances were created. We didn’t create any. None. Zip. Diddly squat. Bugger all.
O’Leary can come out after their game and say ‘if only we had taken our chances in the first half it would have been a different result’. Our manager can only state that it was a soft penalty. Forget whether it was a penalty or whether Bellamy’s goal was offside, the simple truth is that in two games, where the players should not need to be motivated, they failed miserably to trouble the opposition. I bet neither Sorenson nor Friedel had dirty knees.
That’s what annoys me. All the hype about the local derby and then the clash with poor wee Robbie and yet there was only one player who could even think about holding his head up high and claiming he tried his best. And he is the target of the boo boys.
You might be reading this and thinking I’ve lost my mind. Ask yourself if you were playing for the Blues would you need firing up against the Villa or against an opponent who treated you all so shabbily?
Don’t misunderstand, I am not blaming the forwards. Although I can’t see Forssell or Pandiani scoring more than ten between them this season in the league. The Force looks spent and the Rifle looks shot. It’s a collective responsibility.
The Sunday review in one paper made me laugh when it berated Lazaridis for being such a poor left back. For crying out loud we know. But for some reason the left back was left wing and the left wing was left back. Go figure.
I am not part of the ‘Sack Bruce’ campaign. Not long ago he was hailed as one of the finest young English managers in the game and he has taken us to some giddy heights. He has a job to do and we should let him do it. But Steve if ever you get the chance to read this please please please play the team to their strengths. Play the players in their correct positions, study the opposition, make changes to accommodate (that doesn’t mean just sending on every available forward when we are losing!) and put some fire in their bellies. Deduct the wages of those under performing, transfer list those you don’t want, you have around two months to get this sorted. Bottom by Christmas, relegated by May.
It’s not bad luck, bad refereeing or injuries that have caused us to be in this predicament. It is downright crap awful football. Anyone want to fight me on that? Go and have a look at the attendance figures, see the hard work being done by the marketing department to almost beg people to come to the games. Kids for a quid, corporate deals sent out on text, daily emails regarding special schemes to see matches, half season tickets, lucky seats, etc etc etc.
If the football was good the crowd would come and watch. Field of Dreams. It’s not and they are not. The super loyal fans think that the rest of the supporters should be there whatever the result. Forty six pounds and not a decent shot on target ain’t going to encourage too many people next time is it?
Everton at home brings together two sides who are desperately under-achieving. Everton are akin to living in New Orleans; no two seasons are the same. They went the whole of last season winning every game one nil. Well it felt like it. If they were honest a lot of those slender victories could so easily have gone the other way. This season that is exactly what has happened. Fate is so fickle.
Everton have strengthened their team by adding Phil Neville. I’ll wait whilst you make up your own gags. In all honesty he is a better player than most people give him credit for but why let the truth get in the way of a good football chant.
Beating Norwich puts us in the next round of a cup we aren’t going to win. I love to tempt fate. Beating Everton will help keep us in a league we aren’t going to win. I know which one I would prefer and it doesn’t include a trip down Wembley way.
Keep Right On and stick together. We shall overcome.