Post by Chris J on Mar 24, 2004 20:00:45 GMT 1
Last night I was hit by an obvious truth. It was no less an eye-opener for having been obvious all season, but I, like most Salop fans I believe, felt that with decent crowds, enough money, the pick of the old players and some quality replacements, we could only succeed. The obvious truth is this: we are in this position, in this division because that is exactly how good (or bad) we are. To coin a cliche, league tables never lie.
The players of last year us down because they are not good enough for the league. The players who have joined us from league clubs have joined us because they are not (any more) good enough for the league. Jimmy Quinn, ex-international, UEFA badge coach and so on, is managing non-league because.. etc. It's as simple as that.
I know people will rant at me about O'Connor, Cramb and Darby being class acts with great records, Jamie and Darren being U-21 internationals, Dave Edwards being a great prospect, but the only player in the squad who was actually wanted by a league club this season is Luke. (Bet we all wish we'd taken the money?)
The logic was attractive - finacially best-off club in the league, proven performers in key positions, but Rushden were even better off than us, and how long did it take them to play their way out?
Maybe if we remove the unrealistic burden of expectation of the players and manager, we might start to build for the longer term. We may again be good enough for the league, but will take a period of rebuilding, finding a spine, testing and discarding players, bonding a team who'll play for each other and communicate easily. Quinn has made some progress; the defence is miles better than last year, even with only 3 of four places settled, and good teams are built from the back. (You might remember Wenger shuffled the midfield and strikers like cards when he started at Arsenal, but he left the back 5 alone.) The rest was worth a gamble - and we lost. It was always a long shot. You might disagree with me, but sacking JQ now would acheve nothing, and how many of us really believe a manager can be fairly judged after only 3/4 of a season?
I would love to be wrong. I would really love to turn up on Sat and see us destroy Hereford before going on to storm through the playoffs. But it ain't gonna happen.
Here's to realism and the future.
The players of last year us down because they are not good enough for the league. The players who have joined us from league clubs have joined us because they are not (any more) good enough for the league. Jimmy Quinn, ex-international, UEFA badge coach and so on, is managing non-league because.. etc. It's as simple as that.
I know people will rant at me about O'Connor, Cramb and Darby being class acts with great records, Jamie and Darren being U-21 internationals, Dave Edwards being a great prospect, but the only player in the squad who was actually wanted by a league club this season is Luke. (Bet we all wish we'd taken the money?)
The logic was attractive - finacially best-off club in the league, proven performers in key positions, but Rushden were even better off than us, and how long did it take them to play their way out?
Maybe if we remove the unrealistic burden of expectation of the players and manager, we might start to build for the longer term. We may again be good enough for the league, but will take a period of rebuilding, finding a spine, testing and discarding players, bonding a team who'll play for each other and communicate easily. Quinn has made some progress; the defence is miles better than last year, even with only 3 of four places settled, and good teams are built from the back. (You might remember Wenger shuffled the midfield and strikers like cards when he started at Arsenal, but he left the back 5 alone.) The rest was worth a gamble - and we lost. It was always a long shot. You might disagree with me, but sacking JQ now would acheve nothing, and how many of us really believe a manager can be fairly judged after only 3/4 of a season?
I would love to be wrong. I would really love to turn up on Sat and see us destroy Hereford before going on to storm through the playoffs. But it ain't gonna happen.
Here's to realism and the future.