Blog written by Edmundo
Published: 31st January 2017 11:51
I've blogged before about the demise of the culture at our club, and the relative sterility of football in general these days. A lack of characters from boardroom to pitch, the loss of the 'bloodline' of Town, stretching back to Sir Bobby's early days (and so shamefully killed off from the start of the Dark Lord's time here), they have all contributed to our current situation. Of course now we have the immediate sight of our football being, to quote a friend of my brother's, "absolute bilge".
The real precipitating moments though, when it all hit home so definitively, were in the media over the last few weeks. First we had the horror of being a featured game on Match Of The Day where Lincoln were putting us to the sword. Everything, quite rightly, was about them. We were merely the punchbag for the pundits.
I'll not speak of the replay, live on BBC1 where we had quite frankly the worst display of football by a Town team I've ever seen. Between these matches, I listened to BBC Radio's 6-0-6 programme. A caller who was a Town fan came on. Savage et al gave him his time, he made his point, they answered in a rather generic fashion. The end. Suddenly I was foaming at the mouth: how dare they, how DARE they fob off our suffering, and show little or no interest in our great club.
And there it was. Right there. The moment that the club, our club, and I as a supporter, realised that we are now becoming what Wolves were in the 80s and 90s, what Huddersfield must have been in the 50s and 60s. We are becoming a forgotten team. We had our heyday, it's in the history books but gone from memory for all but those of us who follow the Town (up or down).
I could leave it there, but that would be too depressing. I'm not a pessimist (how can you be if you want to live supporting our team?) Maybe that's actually a good thing: we have a massive opportunity now. Two years ago we were to some extent the dark horses, taking teams by surprise and, with Daryl Murphy's goals, reaching the top (only to falter due to a,lack of investment and guts from Mick McCarthy and Marcus Evans).
Now, more than ever, we are the underdogs. And that's just the way we like it: think about 2000/01 and the administration years. Yes, there are big changes that need to happen here before we can truly have hope again, but actually I honestly think we've hit rock bottom. The only way is up. Mick will stay, complete the season (he's the manager we need to avoid relegation, but nothing else), and go.
For those of us still awake enough after these final episodes of bilge, remember these days. Those of us still pitching up for games can certainly then say, in a few years' time, where were you when we were s***?
COYB