Utter drivel. Stoke City. We spanked them by seven goals a few years back. At Stoke. We haven't even had seven shots this season. How are we going to win games if we don't shoot? We are going to need a lot of own goals if we are going to be promoted straight back up.
I know the pro Bruce campaigners will point to the fact that it has only been three games, won two drawn one blah blah blah. I'm not anti Bruce, I like the guy but the games were against
Bruce and his supporters will point to the acquisition of attack minded players like Jerome, Danns, McSheffery and the Gooners but the fact is that just like last season the sum of the parts just doesn't work. Individually it's great. Talented, no doubt. As a team it's just downright rubbish.
I'm too old now to be impressed merely by the result. I want to see some football, I want to see the ball flow around the park in a glorious display of attacking penetrative gameplay. Oh yes I know some of you will criticise and emphasise how important the result is and to an extent you have a valid argument but if you are playing good attacking football week in week out then the results will follow. Don't even dare to think of naming Notts Forest as an example of a team playing good football that were relegated. In their poor season they were the same as us, a collection of talented individuals that couldn't even put up a tent if their lives depended upon cooperation.
Now before you all start emailing in your chorus of disapproval remember this; I have never openly criticised the club, the team or the manager previously; I love this club with the same passion as you; go and watch the Stoke game again, it was live someone will have a copy; we were booed off at half time and booed off at full time; Stoke won all the media plaudits whilst we were roundly criticised.
I don't know how long Bruce has left in this job. In a disciplinary hearing he would quite rightly hold out his record of results this season and the management should make him watch the three performances. One shot against Stoke and that was a penalty! If Forssell had scored it would have been a robbery, we wouldn't have called the police, of course not, but it would still have been an injustice. You know it and I know it.
Something has to change comrades. I don't want ‘Bruce Out' chants, booing of the players or ‘Sack the Board'. I want commitment and effort to providing ninety minutes of entertainment. I want to be able to discuss the goalmouth incidents to debate how we could have snatched it at the death as we went gung ho for victory.
If it's exciting the fans will come back and sing. The cost has driven some away but if they thought they were in for some fun they would be back. Build it and they will come, Field of Dreams.
Saturday used to be the highlight of the week. Now we dread the anti climax that hits us at about fifteen minutes into the game when we see the same tired tactics, the same long ball, the same complete lack of penetration, the same inability to mastermind a tactical switch.
Sort it out. We got relegated and the only person to lose their job was the talentless idiot who did the half time entertainment. Give us our club back. Give us something to cheer.
Sorry for the melancholy but I persuaded a bar full of Latvian mercenary drug pushing pimps to turn their television sets to the Stoke match. And then made them watch the whole game trying desperately to make it look good. Can you imagine their conversation afterwards? All I know is that I didn't get into any bars later. Just like Shakespeare, I was bard.
Keep right on. Just don't go to