It’s very difficult to know where to start this week as the negatives once again outweigh the positives, and our display against Mansfield Town was right up there with some of the worst football I have seen for a while.
OK, we didn’t lose the game, so that’s a tick in the positive box, and Jack Marriott once again showed what a top striker he is at this level, so that’s another tick towards positivity.
That unfortunately is where the positivity train stops, and everyone gets off because everything
else about the performance against Mansfield was once again predictable and quite frankly boring. Our starting XI was predictable, the way we set up was predictable, the way we played was predictable, our substitutions were predictable, and the crowd’s reaction to such a performance was again predictable and quite frankly justified.
After the game against Mansfield, I overheard several post-match bus conversations, many of which included the line “Marriott is keeping Hunt in a job at the moment”.
Although this was something that I had already pondered quietly in my head, I had never really entertained the idea that one player could be keeping a manager from receipt of his P45.
So, I decided to look at our points total without Marriott goals, and the results are not only depressing, but they have also swayed me (which is difficult to do once I have made my mind up about something) towards complete agreement regarding one man keeping a manager in a job.
Currently, and I’m sure no one needs reminding of this depressing position, we sit 19th in League One with a pathetic 10 points from 10 games and a -4 goal difference. If you then take away Marriott goals in the league, we would sit bottom of the table with six points and a -8-goal difference. That’s how much of an impact Marriott has had on this team, and people questioned why we were signing 30-year-old strikers!
A change in the dugout is needed
In terms of the manager staying in the job, I have had to admit defeat in my continued quest to see the positives in our performances and results, and like most people feel a change is now required to get the players buzzing again.
I really didn’t want to write about the need for a change, and don’t feel comfortable in adding to someone’s downfall, but I’m afraid enough is enough and we are not seeing anything different to change the position we are in.
During the recent Q&A with Rob Couhig, it was suggested that a change of manager is required, with the response being that the club had not even thought about this as it often does nothing to change performances or results.
Now, I’m certainly not a football or psychological expert, but I would guess that the response from Couhig was either extremely naive or (my favoured opinion) he is thinking about a change of manager but does not want to add more pressure to the current one by openly admitting it.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t make the Q&A session, but having read the transcript and listened to the follow-up comments, I was quite surprised that the standard of football and our current position in the table are not sinking in as causes for many other issues, or maybe they are and are being hidden behind a number of PR exercises.
Supporter non-engagement
Performances on the pitch dictate the atmosphere around the ground, which in turn dictates whether people return week after week and invite their friends to come and watch with them.
I would be confident that, if we were currently sitting in the top half of the table and showing signs of progression, we would start to see crowds of 14,000+ on a regular basis.
I would also be confident that, as a result, supporters would suddenly forget about the extortionate food and drink prices charged in and around the ground, the price of merchandise in the club shop – which now resembles a Harrods price match – and would furthermore not be slightly bothered by the £4,500 spent on fireworks before every game.
Sometimes you can look too deeply into the causes for supporter non-engagement, but it’s actually very simple. Fans want to be entertained and see success on the pitch, and if that happens then they buy into everything else the club has to offer: food, drink, merchandise, fireworks and cheerleaders (it won’t be long before we see them).
If supporters are not being entertained and their team is showing no sign of progression then they become disengaged, they start to notice and object to pricing, and they tell lapsed supporters not to bother coming back because there is nothing worth watching.
That’s not to knock the recent initiatives by the club, because it’s refreshing to see us trying to engage more, but unfortunately timing is everything, and such initiatives land better with improved performances.
The opening of the fanzone post-match for example is genuinely a good idea; however, I personally do not want to stand in the cold and discuss yet another abject performance while sipping £7 Cruzcampo from a Tommee Tippee cup.
Were we showing signs of real progress and climbing the league, I would be more inclined to celebrate that fact with fellow supporters after the game, and the price of my beer or how it’s served becomes less of an issue.
This Saturday we make the trip to St James Park to play Exeter City, an away game that for me coincides with a weekend in Paignton.
Exeter themselves have not enjoyed the best results recently, losing four of their last five, however I am led to believe recent performances have been better then results suggest, and continued improvement will soon see them climb the table.
A work colleague who supports Exeter tells me he has been impressed with recent performances and positive results will soon follow. He also informs me that supporters are putting Gary Caldwell under no pressure as manager, simply because he is prepared to change things when required and try something different to get a result. Now, what a refreshing change that must be!
In terms of a score prediction, I note that Exeter are one of only two sides in League One who are yet to draw a game, so you can probably guess how I see the game finishing.
Exeter City 2-2 Reading
(Wareham, Cole / Marriott, Savage)
6,333
Until next week. Much love and c’mon URZZZ!
Dixey
