Sunday, April 16, 2006
Progression
My article from City's game against Dagenham 15/04/2006
I’m writing this having just watched us play on Sky Sports against Grays and fail to win once again in front of the live TV cameras. (We’ll break that hoodoo one day.) Our season, it seems, has ended early this year, as we’re 10 points off the play-offs with a handful of games to go. Stranger things have happened in football (anyone who saw Middlesbrough’s comeback against Basle last week can attest to that) but, realistically, the club can start (or more likely continue) planning for another season in the Nationwide Conference. So where do we go from here?
People will be ranting and raving about how everything is going wrong and that we need to take drastic action. I, on the other hand, am feeling a bit more relaxed about all things ECFC than that. Watching the game on Monday, I didn’t feel at all jealous of Grays. Yes, they’re likely to be heading into the playoffs and in the short-term seem to be stronger on the pitch than us, but the attendance at the game (1369) shows to me that they will not be able to sustain that level of football once the money-man leaves. If you cannot break 2000 when heading towards the playoffs, how are you going to cope in league 2?
We have a much stronger set-up here that is not based on the whims of one man. Promotion will be so much sweeter if it is done under fan ownership and control rather than because some rich bloke decided we should be the fortunate beneficiaries of his millions for the moment.
We have to be patient and give Alex Inglethorpe time to create the team he wants. This summer, AI has been given more time for recruitment, a larger budget and has more freedom in terms of contracts that are up for renewal. Off the pitch, we’re more stable now than we have been for years. A plan is in place and progress is being made. The better organised we are on the administration side of things, the better it can support the needs of the playing side, which should of course be the focal point of the club.
Everyone was hoping, after the Man U games last season and the completion of the CVA, that we’d be in a strong position this season. This season has, sadly, been one of consolidation. We didn’t push on after a decent start, which has been very frustrating for everyone. All at the club will have learnt from this and have greater experience for next season.
We’re building the foundations upon which we can build long-term success. We’ve had a couple of seasons of frustration on the pitch, but considering the severe difficulties the club has faced, and dealt with, off the pitch with the benefit of hindsight, perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised that everything didn’t work out as we may have hoped.
The club is stronger financially and administratively than it has been for a long time. It is time to start dreaming of what might be next season, rather than to focus on what could/should have been this. We need to keep the bigger picture in mind when we consider our position. I believe the club as a whole is moving in the right direction and it is that belief that will help me get over this season’s disappointment.
I’m writing this having just watched us play on Sky Sports against Grays and fail to win once again in front of the live TV cameras. (We’ll break that hoodoo one day.) Our season, it seems, has ended early this year, as we’re 10 points off the play-offs with a handful of games to go. Stranger things have happened in football (anyone who saw Middlesbrough’s comeback against Basle last week can attest to that) but, realistically, the club can start (or more likely continue) planning for another season in the Nationwide Conference. So where do we go from here?
People will be ranting and raving about how everything is going wrong and that we need to take drastic action. I, on the other hand, am feeling a bit more relaxed about all things ECFC than that. Watching the game on Monday, I didn’t feel at all jealous of Grays. Yes, they’re likely to be heading into the playoffs and in the short-term seem to be stronger on the pitch than us, but the attendance at the game (1369) shows to me that they will not be able to sustain that level of football once the money-man leaves. If you cannot break 2000 when heading towards the playoffs, how are you going to cope in league 2?
We have a much stronger set-up here that is not based on the whims of one man. Promotion will be so much sweeter if it is done under fan ownership and control rather than because some rich bloke decided we should be the fortunate beneficiaries of his millions for the moment.
We have to be patient and give Alex Inglethorpe time to create the team he wants. This summer, AI has been given more time for recruitment, a larger budget and has more freedom in terms of contracts that are up for renewal. Off the pitch, we’re more stable now than we have been for years. A plan is in place and progress is being made. The better organised we are on the administration side of things, the better it can support the needs of the playing side, which should of course be the focal point of the club.
Everyone was hoping, after the Man U games last season and the completion of the CVA, that we’d be in a strong position this season. This season has, sadly, been one of consolidation. We didn’t push on after a decent start, which has been very frustrating for everyone. All at the club will have learnt from this and have greater experience for next season.
We’re building the foundations upon which we can build long-term success. We’ve had a couple of seasons of frustration on the pitch, but considering the severe difficulties the club has faced, and dealt with, off the pitch with the benefit of hindsight, perhaps we shouldn’t have been surprised that everything didn’t work out as we may have hoped.
The club is stronger financially and administratively than it has been for a long time. It is time to start dreaming of what might be next season, rather than to focus on what could/should have been this. We need to keep the bigger picture in mind when we consider our position. I believe the club as a whole is moving in the right direction and it is that belief that will help me get over this season’s disappointment.
