Keeping up appearances on a shift called Dignity.
Posted on September 12th, 2009 | 11 Comments |
Clearly our start to the season has given cause for genuine surprise throughout the football world, none more so than up here. To land on our feet and start making progress in the right direction was probably the last thing we expected.
So we can also probably safely assume it was also the last thing the media and our detractors were expecting. Therefore a pleasant surprise, as it’s a bit of a two-fingered salute to them.
Sunday’s game against Cardiff City could well prove to be the biggest challenge yet but ultimately if we succeed, it’s yet another piece tacked onto our new-found and developing cloak of pride. Even if we manage a draw, our reputation will be upheld and so there is a lot to be look forward and much to be gained in that game. We just seem to have picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves down and started getting on with it, everyone putting in a hard, honest and decent shift. For every point we pick up that goes towards our tally in the league table, we also pick up a voucher of dignity that will hopefully be redeemed in the near future. A day when we hold our heads high and we’re regarded as a proper football club again, for the right reasons.
Of course, relating to the other level I was aiming at, even the most optimistic Mag is acutely aware of how small the squad is and every game we step into is somewhat steeped in trepidation that we could lose another important member or members of the squad. We’ve already lost some key players in people like Butt, Carroll and Ameobi (although it’s still amusing reading that out aloud; all due respect etc etc), Gutierrez looks like he’s now missing, and it probably won’t take much to sink us. Chris Hughton and Colin Calderwood are doing a sterling job but what will they do if half the team are missing?
Consistency is a major factor in this game and to keep a strong unit of players fit and playing regularly together is essential. But straying again, and perhaps worryingly to the side of postivity, I’m looking at tomorrow as a clean sheet at the back, a clean sweep on points and a clean bill of health. Our players can keep up appearances by keeping up their appearances. Black and white and alright on the night.
“Clearly our start to the season has given cause for genuine surprise throughout the football world, none more so than up here.”
If they did, they shouldn’t because it’s obvious. Teams who struggled just as badly as we did last season, ie West Brom, the smoggies and many others down the years can bestride the Championship like a colossus. Their biggest problem is not becoming a ‘yo-yo club’. The quality is still there in this league despite the exodus. All we need is a bit of managerial consistency for once.