Managing Expectations

I get the feeling that we have not been told the truth over the last couple of seasons. I am now in the position of not really knowing who or what to believe. I dont think I am alone.

Last season, ‘we are going to return to the championship at the first attempt’, expectation levels became a unrealistic mill stone arounds the club and especially Paul Mersons neck, a possible relegation fight was prevented by a last six game winning streak.

This season, ‘judge me on my team’ Paul Merson said and we did, injuries and FA Cup wins and a flirtation with the LDV trophy kept Paul in a job. This season we have been told play offs, top ten finishes were possible. However saturday showed that relegation is possibly a more likely out come. Expectations for the club have hit rock bottom. I left before the end of the game on saturday, only by a minute or two but it’s the first time I have left early in thirty five years, 8-1 at Bolton, Coventry Chelsea at home I don’t leave early, so what made me so dispondant on saturday.

Well besides what was happening on the pitch I feel we have, as a club lost the bond between players and fans. The we are in it together and we stay up or go down together attitude has gone. I don’t know if is because of the number of loan players, the fact the board may have sold our survival for 500k (fryatt and Bennetts fees) or I have lost trust in what the club says, what is the real finacial position of the club?

The blame culture at the club is like a cancer eating away at the very soul of our club. Short term we need to pull together to get out of this mess. Long term hopefully in league one we need to put right the wrongs to ensure we never feel this way again, and the team can return to a positive upward future.