Quote Originally Posted by AucklandRover View Post
Whew! Champs - I totally accept what you say about the differences between my kind of support and yours.
All the same, I keep coming back to the fact that you are exaggerating the problems.
After the Hull match, everything looked fine and dandy. Since then, we have had a very poor run, with seven defeats, one draw and one victory. However, three of the defeats were nil-one losses to top-eight teams. During that time we have also been severely hit by injuries to several experienced defenders.
Countering the disappointments, we have seen encouraging debuts by two Academy graduates - two from what is definitely the most promising and talented cohort of youngsters the Club has ever produced.
We reached an artificially high position with, basically, our D.1 squad, but we have a core that can easily be built on (the group I listed in earlier post).
As for money, it is guesswork - as always with Venky's - but there is no sign of them doing a runner. The debt is peanuts, compared to their overall wealth.
And effort? I think you are being unfair. I have not seen a single game where I thought the players weren't trying. A lack of confidence - yes; and, in some cases, a dramatic falling away of form. Those aren't the same thing as throwing in the towel.
Finally, you have still failed to acknowledge that other teams have had similar runs in the period being considered. It doesn't make sense to consider us in isolation.
For me, the last six or seven weeks have been chastening, but I just don't see the end-of-the-Rovers'-footballing-world scenario you are picturing.
Thanks for the response Auks. You must be getting exhausted with me at the moment? Your calming influence is always welcome. I was only mentioning how we react (differently) to get across how I am seeing things, which will have an influence overall. I am certainly not arrogant enough to say my view is the only view, and that's that! I'm not even willing to listen. How I am feeling, is purley down to Sat after Sat, looking forward to a game, and coming away completely deflated. The results have been tough to take, all at once.
You have tried in so many ways to try stay positive about this. Some where vrs decent sides, where we played ok, and lost by one goal, rather unluckily. Some games we just didn't play well, and lost. That happens, its football.
I appear to have forgotten some of the things I have maintained all season. We played in Div1 last season. Some of the sides we are around, played in the Prem, and have spent a fortune. You have spent weeks trying to remind me of these things. That was a great point you made yesterday, Stoke have about the same points, who has had the better season? While its almost impossible for me to just forget how poor we have been of late, its also very easy to forget which division we came from. And we are by far, going to finish the highest of the 3 promoted sides.
Its great that we have this young exciting crop of youngsters all coming through. And blooding so many this season, can only be good for our future.

Equally, I am also not carrying on spending lots of money going to Villa on Sat Aucks. You can understand my reasons? I just think I need to take a step back. We are on a bad run, that we can all agree on? And without being too hysterical, it shows no real signs of letting up. I do think we will probably pick up a few results before the season is out. Then its just a simple case of wait and see. It appears we need wholesale changes, but as you say, you think the squad only requires a few tweaks, and can easily be upgraded. I can see that myself, deep down, I guess I'm just a miffed.
Last season, and this, you always remained calm. While I insisted TM was the greatest living manager. And now things have gone wrong, for various reasons, I have moved to him being crap. And you just wont get you head around that change of mind-set from me. You must think I am a fruit-cake? I cant really argue with that, and I don't know what else to do, other than take a step back. If I went to Villa on Sat, I would spend quite a lot of money. Take a full day travelling down, then back. And spending money on the day out. If we lost badly, again, I would just feel really deflated. I cant hide that fact, and I wont lie. I sit and and slate players at the game. I go, I cheer them on, I keep my own thoughts to my self, because I don't believe you should go to a game and slate your own players, no matter what. But I do end up feeling a bit let down. I did after Sheff Wed and Rotherham away recently. And I wondered why I bothered?

I just want this season to end, the sooner the better. And I am just willing to take a step back over summer, and simply see what happens. It sint as bad as I am making out, its nowhere near as good as I thought it was earlier in the season. Its probably somewhere in between. You have been trying to point out the rest of the sides in this division, some of which are on a worse, or equally bad a run, as us.

I am sorry if I have exhausted your patience Auks. I have turned into one of these LET idiots, that we all hate so much. And you probably thought more about me than that, you probably gave me more credit.