Probably what pisses me off most is the apologist sentiment like the OP exhibited here and the sheep agreeing with it as though nobody has a right to question it.
Giving your vocal support at the match and discussing the bones of it in here. What's wrong with that?
It's pretty clear to many that in our current state we are not going to rip this league a new one and there are some glaring deficiencies in this squad - not least the lack of goals in it - that should have come as no surprise to anyone.
Tired old phrases like keyboard warriors and questioning the quality of the debate on here (which is actually pretty good when you filter out the emotional sniping) is trite and hypocritical. No, we don't have a Devine right to anything but that's a misconception constantly trotted out about people recognising and articulating the shortcomings people see on the pitch.
Absolutely, we have a right to expect our team to compete and not capitulate on the pitch. The size of the club does matter as that indicates the relative resources available and over time rhat should make a difference. Not competing with clubs that get 3,000 or 7,000 crowds is an abject failure when it is a reoccurring theme. Who else believes this? - Nigel Clough, that's who. If you have listened to his post match comments you will realise that he sees the shortcomings to and is not happy about it. Whether he can change it is another matter.
Think on this when you question people's parience. We will have spent 4 years at this level by the end of this season and the signs from pre season and after 8 league games are that we are not equipped to sustain a challenge - especially without addressing the goal threat.
Personally I believe we are a couple of strikers short of a half decent team at this level. IF Wallace remains fit, IF Murphy pulls his finger out (shadow man this season - again) and if our defence can concentrate as we know they can (as demonstrated on occasions already this season) on a consistent basis. However, the signs are not there for me that any of this will happen.
Now, I don't know about you but the comments about Devine right may apply to one or two seasons BUT for a club this size to wallow in this shit stain of a division for 4-5 years is absolutely unacceptable.
This is not a reaction to one result. The signs are there for all to see. I would share some confidence if we were controlling games and dictating the play but getting a little unfortunate and getting undone by a fluke goal or a piece of individual brilliance but we are not. We could have been 5 down at half time yesterday given the number of clear cut chances Swindon created. That is not condusive to winning games 1-0 with a solid defence is it? We should have lost at ColU if they had been more professional (we hardly worked their keeper up to the 83rd minute) but we realised the shit we were in and all of a sudden started to play. You have to question why it took til 2-0 down before the penny dropped?
And, with an attitude like that, you have to question how on Earth are we going to stage a challenge to the automatic promotion places? It's not a random process - we might go on a run - we might win the next 6 in a row - we might be there or thereabouts after 40 games given the run of the green. It's not about chance or fortune. It's about guts, desire, application, team work, mental toughness, organisation, and not a small measure of quality and at the moment it does not look like we fulfil that brief.
As for the meeting mates and having a beer. Yes, I agree that is a big part of the match day experience. However, you can meet up with mates and have a beer at any time you like - If you don't care about the football, the performance or the result or just accept that your team is perpetually shite then why bother including the football in that experience? Just do something else passionless and boring instead if that's your thing.
Others of us care deeply despite expressing concern over the trend we see and the level of quality on display and the lack of a performance on the pitch.
If your thing is just blind faith that everything is rosy in the garden then why not go and take up an alternative religion? I suggest you choose one that still allows you to meet your mates and have a beer.
The gist of your post is spot on Ken, the performance was awful, something I said on here last night. Like yourself, I also think Clough is seething underneath but has chosen to adopt a more considered tone, at least in public. The Radio Sheffield interview only offered suggestions, no more, of what he might be alluding to. Clearly not a man who is happy, and I imagine that when doors are closed words will be exchanged that leave no one in any doubt about how he feels. The overriding thing I got from what he said was how certain bits of business should have been tied up far earlier, which points a finger elsewhere, but that's just a conclusion based on a brief interview, so not much help for anyone seeking a cast iron reason that might explain what has happened.
It should be noted that yesterday's result came off of the back of a 6 game unbeaten run, but before anyone mentions it, yes, the quality of performance hasn't been acceptable, so maybe yesterday will act as a turning point.....if it doesn't then something is seriously wrong. I watched the few minutes of the game and we appeared second best throughout. I felt for the supporters who made their way to Swindon, they deserve to be reimbursed for the serving of second best football that was there for all to see.
Amongst the many qualities you described that were missing, personal pride in performance should be something a player is expected to have. It looked as if many of those wearing the shirt yesterday weren't prepared for the battle, a quality that should be expected, as opposed to wondering if it will appear.
Gateford Blade, you miss the point of the forum. This is where all views are aired, from the hysterical, to the kneejerk, through to the considered and insightful. That's how it should be. To paraphrase your point, if what you read upsets you, then move on until you find something to satisfy your needs.
Personally I find that when we lose it's as if the same posters call one another and agree the same line of discontent, but it doesn't prevent me from reading the posts so that I can confirm that blaming isn't backed up by clear headed strategy. One of the better posts on here yesterday was from
The Bohemian , look for the thread that begins with 'Why Clough hasn't spent.....'. That type of considered quality is lacking, instead it's replaced by chest thumping and finger pointing. I'll leave it to Clough to sort this out. You and I won't know what's said, or what's done to make any changes possible, but if there's not a reaction, a positive one, from those who steer this ship, then all SUFC will remain is a mouthpiece for rich men who see ownership of a football club as a vanity project.
It pains me to write that, but yesterday should become that line in the sand that we'll not allow to happen again. It's not the result I'm referring to, but the lack of performance, the lack of heart, the absence of guts and desire. Wake up you dozy fuckers, you're paid well enough to wear the colours of this club UTB
