rudolph_hucker wrote:
We were shit before the tragedy of Dales death, plus that sad event was almost a month ago.
Before Dale passed we were 8th, just one point off the play-offs. Not shit for a team that had lost its best players, with a small budget, and whose pre-season aims where to be in the top-10 (or top-half, depending on who you ask).
Secondly - a month, a year, longer? You can't put a time on getting over a tragedy like this, especially in sports where you work with teammates, not colleagues. I think it's incredibly harsh for people (not just you) to say "It's been a month, get on with your jobs". They may be professionals but how can you treat a sport seriously when you have just been so harshly reminded that it is no more than a game, and that some things are far more important? It's going to take a long time for the club as a whole to get over this tragedy.
What this season should now be about is consolation, and if that means floating around in mid-table until summer then so be it. I wasn't really expecting us to reach the play-offs again, as we definitely overachieved last season. The players we lost were of the quality that is incredibly rare and hard to find at this level, so we were obviously going to struggle to live up to last season. For me, Justin has 7 months to build towards next season, without the pressure of getting it right every time. If it still isn't working during the 2011-2012 campaign then maybe we can re-assess whether he's right for the job, but I think this season's play-off hopes can be written off (or at least stored in the "Unexpected Surprise" drawer).
( RH - you and me are completely different sorts of fans, in the sense that you attend most games, spend hard-earned money, and have to watch the dire performences, while I (through no real fault of my own! ;) ) only watch us a handful of times a season and only have to suffer our performences audibly (Radio Diamonds). However, I really am trying to see this from a neutral perspective, looking in on a club with a small budget and a recent tragedy to get over, so hopefully you'll take accept these thoughts despite our fan-related differences. )