Sun Mar 06, 2011 5:53 pm
Were we unlucky y'day? Yes
On another day would we have won? Yes
But a good manager gets the best out of his team when things aren't going for them. He adapts and reacts to changing situations. he makes sure his team digs in and ensures his team gets at least a point when it's not their day. All you can ask of any manager is that he gets the best out of the players at his disposal, that ain't happened for a while. DJ though, worked miracles in his first couple of seasons here, has taken us to a Cup Final and has earned the right to see out this campaign. Are the better managers in this division, well i'd take Warnock any day of the week and Eddie Howe is a man on the up, but DJ has earn't this season.
Every City side i've seen promoted, you've had a belief in. the Bennett brothers Hatton et al in '83, the Boyle, Gilligan, Curtis team of '88, the all conquering James, Stant, Dale side of '93, the Delaney, Legg and Earnshaw class of '99 and even the '03 team of Thorne, Kav etc, you always felt were going up!
With the current side, i just don't see it...We've played to our optimum on maybe 3 or 4 occassions this season. Rarely have we blown teams away or dished out a footballing lesson. With the squad we have, the blend of experience and ability we should be an awfully lot better placed than we are. The sum of the team if vastly less than it's parts! With what we've got in our locker we should be strolling throuh this divison, but it seems to me we're a high performance car that is spluttering and struggling towards the finish line. If we do cross the finishing line in the medal positions, it'll be with little to spare.
Yes, expectations are high, but i don't feel unreasonably so. i've witnessed the Durban years, i know a dreadful performance when i see it! Y'day by comparison was light years away. I recall when Jimmy Gardiner was on the left wing not Craig Bellamy, and when our strikeforce consisted of the likes of David Withey, John Seasman, Tony Philliskirk or Kevin Meacock rather than Chops & Jay! The players we have though, rightly or wrongly don't appear to be able to cope with the expectation, pressure, whatever you want to call it...
Did i stay to the final whislte y'day cheering the boys on? Yes
Will i turn on the boys? No way, lack of ability i can take, lack of effort is unforguveable but i really don't think any player falls into that category.
Will it go the wire? Oh yes!
Will we go up? No, it's failure in the play-offs i'm afraid...
Will i be back next season? Sigh, yes !