Sir Bobby knew it. We should too.
I was born in Thrybergh in 1967. Started going to Millmoor in 1975. My old man was a long time fan (and Silverwood collier, I'm sure a few here know Sludge) but stopped going when the trouble started at matches. I begged him to take take me but the best I could get was 3 or 4 games a season. Then in 1980/81 he started letting me go alone (I never mentioned the Tuesday away game at Barnsley the year before, I think he knew though) and it all started there. Saw every home match and about a dozen away that year.
So you could say I'm like some of the newer/younger fans now, raised on a successful team, everything is rosy.
But it inevitably goes t1ts up and all is doom and gloom!
As a Miller through and through I've seen it all but never wavered, the bad times are bad but they make the good times so much sweeter. We've never had it as good in my lifetime as we have the last 15 years or so. We've had heartache and joy in equal measures as opposed to heartache every year.
We're trying to compete in a league that is widely considered the 5th best in the world, that puts us amongst the top 100-120 teams in the WORLD! Think about that. Was that even a dream in 2005? We almost lost our club, think about that. Bury, Rochdale, Oldham, S****horpe, Chester, Torquay, many more have gone or are in non league. We could easily have been there but we aren't. We still have a club to support, and one that is in no danger of going under.
We are who we are, trying to be something else just leads to disaster, look at Wigan and Reading. They bet the farm and now the note is coming due.
We’re relegated, let’s move on and get excited about a new season, it’s not like we haven’t been here before.
ONCE A MILLER ALWAYS A MILLER
Sir Bobby knew it. We should too.
Great opening post arguably better put than Bobbys I might add
Loads in common SOSNYC. The village, where our dads worked and the year we were allowed to go on our own.
A lot of the current fan base or new young fan base won’t have suffered as a lot of older fans have.
Great o/p
Ironic point on a thread about perspective.
I fully appreciate that many older fans have seen bad times, but it's worth remembering that a lot of younger fans are watching their 4th relegation season in the space of a handful of years. Perspective is about relative importance, and I see far too many on here adopt a 'Johnny Come Lately' attitude when it comes to what people expect from the club, and hope for in terms of its future. People should try to consider what everyone goes through with the club and not turn everything into a regressive argument about the amount of suffering others have or haven't been through. Not everyone went through the war, rationing, winter of discontent, strikes, etc, so it's not as easy in a world of instant gratification to stomach endless relegations under the stewardship of a wealthy man you can't relate to, who won't stick any of his reported wealth into changing things. Suffering is relative.
Good post Sos. By the way, are you then same Sos that went to Maltby Comp+6th form in early 80s?
I think we need some perspective on TS as well. Of course he's a wealthy man, but it's all relative. He's possibly the poorest wealthy chairman in the league. Many clubs have consortiums, TS chooses to to run it alone. Football clubs are draining on personal resources.
The truth is we don't know how much personal money he puts into the club. If we did, we might be surprised.
What's certain is that as long as he is in charge we will have a stable club.
The question is, why do we all watch football? If it's just for the glory then don't pin your hopes on RUFC.