Originally Posted by
crazyfists
An open letter to the players,
Hello, here was find ourselves with 10 games to go staring down the abyss of non league football. We are heart broken. Something which has stood the test of time for 157 years is down to 10 games of football. I have coming to Meadow Lane since I was 5 and I feel the 31 years I’ve been going have all boiled down to these last few games we have to save ourselves. I can still remember the pride and excitement I had as a kid, coming up the steps from the stand and seeing the pitch all laid out before me, lush greenery and the noise of the crowd hitting my ears. I was hooked, goose bumps on my arms every time. Electric. I miss the pride in the club from the boardroom, to the dug out to the players. We as a collective can’t save us, only you can as the clubs representatives on the pitch. The hopes, dreams and love of generations of families past and yet to come for this beautiful football club are in your hands.
Against Lincoln, Forest Green and Mansfield you elevated yourselves to heroes, we had been waiting all season for that team to turn up and we are waiting yet again. Home and away in our thousands we have come this season to see something akin to death by a thousand cuts. The rot isn’t your fault, this club has been broken deep down for some years now and I’m sure the complete mess behind the scenes this season has been unsettling but in those times you must play for your pride, give every ounce of fight you have to save this club. If we go down then we go down, but losing 4-1 to Cheltenham Town you cannot turn round and say you gave your all, we saw you didn’t. If we go down then let us go down fighting like tigers instead of meekly going into the night with a whimper. How are other teams first to the second balls, how come we don’t crunch into tackles anymore like we did against Lincoln, Forest Green and Mansfield?
We even understand that sometimes as players you must hear the crowd turn on you and as humans at a personal level you might not give your all. If this is the case then you have to play for your personal pride, your wage and to stick two fingers up at the doubters.
Maybe I don’t know enough about football tactics but when I hear Ardley say he doesn’t believe you don’t want to try but you just can’t do it some games, how can that translate to you not winning second balls and fighting for every little scrap? If we can’t defend crosses then why aren’t you flying into challenges to block the cross coming in, putting everything you have on the line for every second of the game? Surely your wage you are paid and your own pride make this the very basic skills a footballer should have.
The thing is you’re good players, you should be at the other end of the table with your ability and here we are propping up the other 91 clubs, the only thing we can now do is fight, fight like dogs, fight like you’re possessed and fight like the opposition players have stolen your wife, just fight.
We will respect you even if we go down if you give everything you have for the club for the rest of the season. This mess isn’t the majority of your making but you’re the only ones left who can save us. For 10 games if you play like devils and we get behind you then we can still do this but you need to get that fire in your belly. You’re better than this.
COYP