Henfield One
Well-known member
- Aug 5, 2003
- 467
After all that we have been through, the Mullery years, Wembley, the war years and the arrival at The Amex, the Poyet years, the AMEPC (training ground to you and me) - I have lost the passion.
Where did it go wrong?
No it's not the big corporate animal itself that has ground me down, it's things like:
- The spin;
- The number of disaffected ex-employees and ex-suppliers, loyal individuals, who are highly critical of what's gone on over the last 4 years;
- The disconnect with players (no settled squad, too many money grabbing loan rubbish);
- The utter lack of passion on the pitch (barring a few heroic individuals like Calde and CMS - who sadly don't possess enough skill); and
- The very poor quality of play on the pitch.
Money can't buy everything of course - we are so very lucky to have The Amex and The AMEPC - which of course are the envy of most football clubs. But if I'd spent £30m on a new state-of-the-art training ground, I'd want a pretty quick return on my investment. To see set pieces of the quality we have had this season would make me weep.
No team has the right to be successful and win trophies or be in the top 10, but every team should be united and passionate.
I haven't looked forward or been excited by an Albion match for months (years?). I don't want to leave the ground early or miss a home match but my loyalty is being severely tested. The Board would do well to listen, read and understand what supporters are saying, instead of sugar coating everything. Yesterday I received an email pushing the Player of the Season Awards Night - really? That's up there with giving the 'pretendance'. Who are you kidding? In my view, it shouldn't be held. Yes invite sponsors to a dinner, fair enough - use it as a real debriefing session. But who (other than a couple of players) are worthy off receiving any kind of award?
Football (but not exclusively football) is about opinions. They'll be people who will totally disagree with me. Some will be constructive in their arguments, others will be abusive and refer back to 'the inner sanctum' rubbish. I derive absolutely no pleasure in seeing the Club (that we fought so hard to bring back from the brink) being disunited or underperforming. I have always thought that by being united we can (and indeed have) achieve - and clearly the Club agree with their 'Together in 2015/16' strap line. But we aren't a Club that's 'together' - things need to be fixed.
Will I go on Tuesday, if my youngest doesn't want to go - I won't go. I've got lots of other things to do. Will anyone care, of course not and there's no reason why anyone should. Except I daresay there may be many other supporters, who might just be thinking along similar lines - and that should be of concern to the Board.
Where did it go wrong?
No it's not the big corporate animal itself that has ground me down, it's things like:
- The spin;
- The number of disaffected ex-employees and ex-suppliers, loyal individuals, who are highly critical of what's gone on over the last 4 years;
- The disconnect with players (no settled squad, too many money grabbing loan rubbish);
- The utter lack of passion on the pitch (barring a few heroic individuals like Calde and CMS - who sadly don't possess enough skill); and
- The very poor quality of play on the pitch.
Money can't buy everything of course - we are so very lucky to have The Amex and The AMEPC - which of course are the envy of most football clubs. But if I'd spent £30m on a new state-of-the-art training ground, I'd want a pretty quick return on my investment. To see set pieces of the quality we have had this season would make me weep.
No team has the right to be successful and win trophies or be in the top 10, but every team should be united and passionate.
I haven't looked forward or been excited by an Albion match for months (years?). I don't want to leave the ground early or miss a home match but my loyalty is being severely tested. The Board would do well to listen, read and understand what supporters are saying, instead of sugar coating everything. Yesterday I received an email pushing the Player of the Season Awards Night - really? That's up there with giving the 'pretendance'. Who are you kidding? In my view, it shouldn't be held. Yes invite sponsors to a dinner, fair enough - use it as a real debriefing session. But who (other than a couple of players) are worthy off receiving any kind of award?
Football (but not exclusively football) is about opinions. They'll be people who will totally disagree with me. Some will be constructive in their arguments, others will be abusive and refer back to 'the inner sanctum' rubbish. I derive absolutely no pleasure in seeing the Club (that we fought so hard to bring back from the brink) being disunited or underperforming. I have always thought that by being united we can (and indeed have) achieve - and clearly the Club agree with their 'Together in 2015/16' strap line. But we aren't a Club that's 'together' - things need to be fixed.
Will I go on Tuesday, if my youngest doesn't want to go - I won't go. I've got lots of other things to do. Will anyone care, of course not and there's no reason why anyone should. Except I daresay there may be many other supporters, who might just be thinking along similar lines - and that should be of concern to the Board.
