Deluded am I, you cheeky bugger?
Seriously, I've no idea if we'll get promotion. I began this season feeling that we'd make a serious attempt to go for automatic promotion, if not the play-offs (in fact I began to think this towards the end of last season), but I always,
always, adopt a point of view that's based on a match by match basis. I'm a great believer in form, and I think most supporters would be hard pressed to construct an argument that our form has been has been anything but iffy throughout this season. It saddens me that we've struggled, but it's what it is so we, or should I say, I, push forward hoping for improvements in all positions of the team. It's not a case of being positive for it's own sake, I think we all have good reason to believe that we should be doing better than we're currently doing. Although I understand much of the criticism that's thrown in Clough's direction, what I do question is the belief that Clough actually seems to want us to fail?
Nigel Clough will ultimately succeed or fail with SUFC. As has been suggested above (
Dkc), when we conceded against B'mouth the air clearly left most supporter's lungs, mine included. In suggesting that 95% of supporters felt this way, I've no doubt, but where I do disagree is in the way criticism first turns to bile, then to something even more worrying, that leaves the critical arena to be replaced by a level of hostility better suited to a lynch-mob. As I've already said, and I hope most posters will read this in context, it's not criticism of the team or management that I have a problem with. My faith isn't blind, neither is it one-sided. Football is an understandable but strange occupation for anyone to want to pursue. There's little guarantee of long-term employment, yes, the rewards far exceed most people's remuneration, but the level of risk is still high in comparison. A manager or player's choice of course, so I don't waste too many tears on them.
I suppose where I do part company with some of my fellow supporters is in believing we, SUFC, have a divine right to anything, and I include success in that equation. That's a bitter pill to swallow, but just because, as some on here hold onto this belief, we're the
mighty Sheffield United, it means very little in the big, wide world that is modern football. Equally, as has been pointed out, just because B'mouth, little old Bournemouth,
dare to imagine that they should walk through the door of promotion seems to cause some posters an apoplexy, as if being small should prevent them from achieving
anything! I keep hearing that we're a big club, that we're this, or that, or whatever. I doubt that carries much weight in this division, in fact I'd go as far as to say that other teams don't give a toss about who we think we are, other than we represent a decent payday at their turnstiles.
So, back to the question in hand. Personally I think we're headed for the play-offs. Whether we'll achieve success, don't ask me mate, naturally I hope we do, but let's wait and see. As for Nigel Clough? Whether I, you, or anyone else likes the idea, I think Clough will be here next season. Whether he's your, mine, or anyone else's cup of tea, he manages this club and it's down to him to analyse his own performance as well as the team's. I'd prefer to wait and see if he has it within him to take this club forward. I can already here the chorus of
'he's had plenty of time', but in real terms Clough has been here for about a season and a half, so I suspect that he'll be given longer to implement what he feels needs to be done to get promotion. The discussion about chopping and changing our manager was held some time ago, and the consensus seemed to be that we stop this merry-go-round. I hope that's the case, if not, the same supporters who are now clamouring for Clough's head could be responsible for the lack of stability that we all seemed to agree was necessary. What do we want, a season and a half then sack a manager? Or do we give the guy, whoever it is, the chance to build, making mistakes along the way I should add, but ultimately put us in a far stronger position than we have been for many years? That's my view of what Clough will do for this club. If anyone else has another manager in mind to take control of this club, I hope they'll give their choice longer than a season and a half before the axe falls. Otherwise we'll never find out whether we can actually move forward. Short-termism is the landscape occupied by the shortsighted, or those possessed of a short fuse, and when confronted by this type of opinion, or should that be volatility, it's usually difficult, if not impossible, to find some type of middle ground in which to reach agreement about what's best for our club. Just stop talking about other posters being deluded or whatever form of insult you choose to use, it doesn't help if we're attempting to contribute to a discussion about the way forward.
