|
|
Post by ted1965 on Apr 4, 2008 23:37:08 GMT
As we approach one of the most important home games for some years, yes of course all games from here to the end of the season are important but this one is a vital chance to restore confidence in both the players and the support and lift the gather clouds of doubt off the club.
I think people should take a little time and remember something important, revolution may happen quickly but evolution is a long term project. The media and many supporters have made reference to how we play, yes me included and can’t say that they are wrong some of the time though very over the top at others. I think we should not forget where we have come from in a short space of time. We have come from being a mid table Championship side to one which is set up now to gain promotion, though as in every evolutionary process there’ll be moments when we seem to be stalling, though if everyone holds their nerve we will indeed reach the promised land in 5 games time. Some people want to rewrite history to suit their own beliefs, the facts are we weren’t a side looking remotely like being relegated apart from that first season back in the Championship, though we hardly looked like a side heading anywhere at anytime in the near future, we as supporters faced the prospect of being a mid table, mediocre side who got little or no attention, people thought of us as a solid side but not genuinely promotion material. That has changed and while there is still a long way to go we are at last waking from our long slumber of mediocrity.
The media written and spoken have latched on to us this season as their pet hate, the reason we have only appeared on their radar now, until this season we weren’t believable contenders and therefore we didn’t register, they didn’t care how we played and they didn’t care because we weren’t promotion candidates who they suddenly believed were about to take a huge crap in the halls of the mighty Though just because we’re the side everyone loves to hate now, doesn’t follow that we will be so in time to come. I think you only have to look at how the media are now in love with Brazil, the same Brazil that reached the Premiership by what can only be called hoof ball. That seems to have been conveniently forgotten in all the ballyhoo surrounding them now. Though for all their evolving they have still got to face the facts they may be once more in the Championship next season.
Though it’s that process of evolution that we are beginning to embrace now, that opportunity to reach the land of milk and honey and take what we can from it, whether it be one season, plus two parachute seasons or produce the kind of performances Reading and Wigan have and actually take to the Premiership like a duck to water, there are those who say we’ll be an embarrassment on the scale of Derby, for me that’s inaccurate only because we have reached the evolutionary stage now after the revolutionary one. With the kind of money available for reaching the top flight and the kind of players that can bring to the club, who knows maybe we can do our evolving in the Premiership like Portsmouth have done over the past seasons
The new Coates era was heralded as one of change, lessons learnt and most important progress in terms of becoming a serious Championship side with potential to make that ultimate progression and to be fair to him, he has pretty much delivered on those promises up to now at least. There’s no telling what may happen in the future that will depend on how we progress on and importantly off the field as a club. Though the signs are he is determined to see the club back in the top flight before he hands over control to someone else.
The club has been so much in the wilderness for over two decades that it wasn’t going to happen over night, though we of course as supporters always want that instant fix, it’s a little like fast food, yes it may be convenient, some of it may taste good but it’s never going to be as fulfilling as a properly prepared dish with fresh and wholesome ingredients. A football clubs evolution is very much along those lines. The faster a club progresses doesn’t always mean it will actually be successful. I think Derby are a prime example of what happens when a side progresses faster than expected and arrive at their objective before everything is in place to cope with that unexpected success. I am convinced that could have been us last season, we were far from ready to make that step up and had we done so, chances are we would be doing what Derby are now.
It’s now down to the players and the manager to take us to that next stage in our new and exciting evolutionary process and a comfortable win over Palace on Monday night would be as good a beginning as any. Peter Coates has done his part, never in a million years did I ever envisage saying that when he sold the club with all the restrictions to the gullible Icelanders, that one day he would return and actually be earning due praise and gratitude from supporters for giving this club back a little respect among football supporters. There is also due respect for the manager, though he and the players who have all contributed to an amazing season now have to prove they’re ready and capable of the next step in the clubs blossoming.
When we look back on this season whatever it brings remember revolution can change the immediate situation but evolution is the only way to change the long term future. As long as we continue to evolve then we’re going in the right direction. Though for anyone who says, that gives all the licence to fail this year, no I disagree because without the benefits of the Premiership experience and money evolution can become stagnation again over night.
COME ON YOU MIGHTY POTTERS TIME OUR TIME IS NOW.
|
|
|
|
Post by daverichards on Apr 4, 2008 23:46:49 GMT
ted its nearly 1 in the morning, can you not write your war and peace epics at a more socially acceptabel time ?
I haven't read a word of it, I just can't be arsed , can I come back to it when I'm in the mood ?
ps what yer drinking ;D
|
|
|
|
Post by kavinoz on Apr 5, 2008 7:30:45 GMT
Excellent post Ted. Would agree with all you say. Evolution is the survival of the fittest, and to survive one has to adapt to, and deal with, the environment in which you are located. And I think we can safely say that that is what we as a club are attempting to do.
My reading is that PC, ably assisted by TP, is aiming for the sustainability of the club's development. Between them they have developed the nucleus of a squad and a culture within the club that will give us, with the addition of some skill and pace, a fair chance of surviving that first crucial season, should we make it. We will also have a solid foundation to metamorphose into a stable mid-table premiership side over the next 4 - 5 years. And you never know, if the crowds develop & the SOT environs have an economic resurgence we might return to the glory years and become one of the contenders for the top 5 or 6 places and even match it with the Man Us & Arsenals on occasions.
Whatever the result it has been a fantastic feeling to have had a real sense of hope for this long in a season and to have been able to talk in positive terms about our team and prospects. I am only sorry that I am so far away and cannot share in the emotional roller coaster of the physical presence at the games.
Goooooooooooo Ooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOKE!!!! 
|
|
