Gritt23
New member
I used to think it was just Sky Sports with their incessant "Best League in the WORLD" crap, where they feel they have to just tell us that everything is so completely fantastic. But it has extended far beyond that in football these days, and in fact, while chatting to a mate today, I've realised it is the clubs approach of hype everything ALL THE TIME, is the driving force behind much of my growing frustration, and detachment from the club..
I spend all season fighting against giving myself false hope, “it’s the hope that kills you” and we all know it, so I was much more comfortable with the club openly saying “look we know this is a bit shite, and we’re so sorry that we can’t afford the players we’d like, but we can’t compete financially. Anyway, here’s a poncho, and if you could spare a fifty we’re having a whip-round to try and buy someone better.” Question for you good people to ponder, was last years team (“top 6 squad”, “most expensive EVER” and “Premiership Ready” don’t forget) any better than McGhees who we never made any bones about, were punching above their weight and 4th from bottom would be fantastic. Or indeed the squad Coppell put together, that would have stayed up if he’d been here to do it in August rather than after Hinshelwood.
If you think I pine for Withdean or wish that we weren’t at the Amex, that’s missing the point - like those who think a reaction to #together is anger, it's not, it's a great big sigh. I crave a return to a more HONEST assessment of where we are. Don’t treat me like a fool, I won’t buy into the nonsense, or be kidded into believing the overly positive outlook, but to make me feel like the grumpy, miserable one when I just try to return my expectations to something approaching realism is just not on. The club is doing the dreaming, and that should be MY thing. When the club told us we can’t afford anyone, I would convince myself that Cullip is a beast, and if the Coca-cola kid could only fulfil his potential, then with Leon Knight, we COULD do something here. I do that, ME, because I’m an optimistic fan, but these days, because the clubs picture is painted so much brighter than mine (and all reality), I end up feeling like the miserable, curmudgeon. And that’s not FUN! It also makes me feel like I’m being intentionally misled, I’m being sold something as gold, when it’s clearly not.
I was comfortable with the club being the voice of reason, while the fans delude themselves in blind optimism, seeing potential in everyone, waaay beyond what they will actually achieve. That’s how it should be. A friend of mine still laughs at me for once suggesting Codner could end up playing for England! But that’s what we do, we talk up our players to our friends, work colleagues, the Man Utd “fan” in the pub. I can take the player who once drove past Old Trafford and refer to him as ex-Man U, or the kid who scores 3 in 2 pre-season games as the new “goalscoring sensation”. But now it is the club that declares “Brighton sign Real Madrid striker!” NO! That is exactly what I may have said as a joke at work, but when it’s the club who do that, it’s just embarrassing.
As I say, everything is hype, hype, hype, and anyone who questions it is not really on the same side as the club. Whether it’s being told we increase the budget every year, or have the most expensive squad ever, or have a top 6 squad, or the thinly veiled fury at Poyet suggesting 4th was our ceiling, we just seem to have lost sight of reality OR we don’t want our customers to see the reality because they might stop buying. Go down THAT route and it’s a horrible realisation that perhaps we are at times being blatantly misled so that we empty our pockets over and over again.
Please can we sign someone to excite us before the season starts. Someone to REALLY excite us, a marquee feel good signing because at the moment it just feels grim. And if we can't afford it, let's just say so. No-one would blame Tony for saying "I have to slow down on the spending lads. Some clubs are spending crazy cash, and we can't live with that, we have to leave them to ruin themselves. We will NOT ruin this club by spending what we can't afford, and if that means we are not signing many, and leaning on the DS more, then I hope you all understand why, and get behind these kids, and the great opportunity this will give them".
I'd have no problem with that, I'd return to dreaming big, convincing myself that Rea, Tilley, Monakana and Harper will be our very own Class of 1992. But for some reason when it is the club setting unrealistic expectations, it just leaves me feeling deflated. Please can we stop the hype, stop the Corporate nonsense, and just get back to telling us how it is.
I spend all season fighting against giving myself false hope, “it’s the hope that kills you” and we all know it, so I was much more comfortable with the club openly saying “look we know this is a bit shite, and we’re so sorry that we can’t afford the players we’d like, but we can’t compete financially. Anyway, here’s a poncho, and if you could spare a fifty we’re having a whip-round to try and buy someone better.” Question for you good people to ponder, was last years team (“top 6 squad”, “most expensive EVER” and “Premiership Ready” don’t forget) any better than McGhees who we never made any bones about, were punching above their weight and 4th from bottom would be fantastic. Or indeed the squad Coppell put together, that would have stayed up if he’d been here to do it in August rather than after Hinshelwood.
If you think I pine for Withdean or wish that we weren’t at the Amex, that’s missing the point - like those who think a reaction to #together is anger, it's not, it's a great big sigh. I crave a return to a more HONEST assessment of where we are. Don’t treat me like a fool, I won’t buy into the nonsense, or be kidded into believing the overly positive outlook, but to make me feel like the grumpy, miserable one when I just try to return my expectations to something approaching realism is just not on. The club is doing the dreaming, and that should be MY thing. When the club told us we can’t afford anyone, I would convince myself that Cullip is a beast, and if the Coca-cola kid could only fulfil his potential, then with Leon Knight, we COULD do something here. I do that, ME, because I’m an optimistic fan, but these days, because the clubs picture is painted so much brighter than mine (and all reality), I end up feeling like the miserable, curmudgeon. And that’s not FUN! It also makes me feel like I’m being intentionally misled, I’m being sold something as gold, when it’s clearly not.
I was comfortable with the club being the voice of reason, while the fans delude themselves in blind optimism, seeing potential in everyone, waaay beyond what they will actually achieve. That’s how it should be. A friend of mine still laughs at me for once suggesting Codner could end up playing for England! But that’s what we do, we talk up our players to our friends, work colleagues, the Man Utd “fan” in the pub. I can take the player who once drove past Old Trafford and refer to him as ex-Man U, or the kid who scores 3 in 2 pre-season games as the new “goalscoring sensation”. But now it is the club that declares “Brighton sign Real Madrid striker!” NO! That is exactly what I may have said as a joke at work, but when it’s the club who do that, it’s just embarrassing.
As I say, everything is hype, hype, hype, and anyone who questions it is not really on the same side as the club. Whether it’s being told we increase the budget every year, or have the most expensive squad ever, or have a top 6 squad, or the thinly veiled fury at Poyet suggesting 4th was our ceiling, we just seem to have lost sight of reality OR we don’t want our customers to see the reality because they might stop buying. Go down THAT route and it’s a horrible realisation that perhaps we are at times being blatantly misled so that we empty our pockets over and over again.
Please can we sign someone to excite us before the season starts. Someone to REALLY excite us, a marquee feel good signing because at the moment it just feels grim. And if we can't afford it, let's just say so. No-one would blame Tony for saying "I have to slow down on the spending lads. Some clubs are spending crazy cash, and we can't live with that, we have to leave them to ruin themselves. We will NOT ruin this club by spending what we can't afford, and if that means we are not signing many, and leaning on the DS more, then I hope you all understand why, and get behind these kids, and the great opportunity this will give them".
I'd have no problem with that, I'd return to dreaming big, convincing myself that Rea, Tilley, Monakana and Harper will be our very own Class of 1992. But for some reason when it is the club setting unrealistic expectations, it just leaves me feeling deflated. Please can we stop the hype, stop the Corporate nonsense, and just get back to telling us how it is.
