Donald, Methven and chums

We're a ****ing ****show. The management of the whole club is a ****ing disgrace. Thank **** I forgot about the game last night, but i don't think i've ever forgotten a match was on.... in the forty years of supporting SAFC. very sadly disinterested.

 

Seems to be a recurring theme.

Lads who’ve lived for the club not even registering interest.

Thats such a sad thing to see. It’s one thing to see little keyboard warriors gridding the relatively new owners, it’s an altogether deeper issue when fans of 30 plus years are losing interest.

 

I may not be as old as some other fans but I've been there and done it.

Season ticket since I was a bairn, had to give it up a few years ago (family issues), away games, cup runs the lot.

It used to be my weekend highlight, now I barely register an interest at times.

 

My lad turns five this month and I was looking forward to take him to his first match this Christmas break, Lincoln City at home on 4th Jan. I fear it will scar him for life, rather than loving his SAFC baptism and having a great day out.

****ing sad, isn't it. It must feel far worse for you lads who go week in, week out. I'm at least distanced from it.

 

I don’t believe distance makes it any easier mate, the depth of how much you care isn’t measured by being there.

I find it’s the time between games when you’re reflecting when it drags you down the most, that’s not impacted by your locality or ability to go to games.

I missed the Gillingham game and went shopping. I openly admit I’ll miss league cup, EFL trophy and such but I’d always go to a league or FA Cup game, I woke up on the morning and just thought ‘no’.

I’ve buzzed of going to the match since I was 5, I’m 39 now and it’s getting close to the chore it was that last season in the PL under Moyes.

I imagine being a distance away you can still see the demoralisation that’s setting in, the buzz of last season, the galvanisation of the fans and feeling of the club being ours again, it’s disappearing at an alarming rate.

 

It's quite obvious Donald and co bought us with the idea of a quick flip and making themselves a quick buck. They gambled on massively cutting costs and getting promoted last season when we would have been a promising investment for someone. Basically now they are ****ting themselves as they know they do not have the funds that this club will need long term.

For me the **** up was recruitment this summer i thought last season we achieved our minimum expectation of the playoffs and expected that a plan would be in place for us not going up. It's now clear that there wasn't and the summer simply proved the lack of funds our current owners have. We started this season with a squad considerably weaker than we ended last season with yet we are expected to go up. We have to accept that we are a top half side and not one of the top teams in this league. Yes that is an unacceptable scenario but it's what we are faced with.

Last season it was clear to see we had no pace or physicality, two necessities in this league we replaced Cattermole with Dobson. We replaced Honeyman with Embleton who may come good I personally haven't seen enough of the lad. Although we often berated Honeyman last season that is 2 massive downgrades. Not to mention we have effectively replaced Oviedo with De Bock. The only solid signing we made was Willis and he ain't even that good. Mcgeady has gone off the boil Maguire doesn't look interested it's all going up **** creek and I see no end to our misery. Like has been mentioned above lose to Coventry a week on Saturday and I can see a full scale riot on our hands. Last season was positive it brought a lot of fans back in love with the club even if it ultimately ended in failure.

Everyone connected to the club knows that we simply have to get promoted this season there can be no room for failure we simply can not survive on the funds we can generate in this league with the owners we currently have. Yes they are very wealthy men in real life terms. In football ownership terms they are emptying there pants pockets looking for penny's to buy a can of beans the day before giro day.

I guess what I'm trying to say is we are in freefall. Last season looked like we might be starting to turn a corner but this season has been nothing but an abject failure continuing the downward curve we have been on for years. I honestly thought we had hit rock bottom and I hope to god we have and are somehow able to turn it around but i just can't see it. We have already played the change manager card and it doesnt look like working. I think we are pretty much out of options and praying for a miracle.

Jesus I'm depressed.

 

No, it isn't.

 

I do agree with the quick flip theory, but I think they may have changed their thinking now. It's a crying shame that they ****ed up summer recruitment because they were trying to maximise their own profit from a takeover.

It sounds from the interview on BBC that he changed his way of thinking because he has seen dollar signs in the not too distant future, and worked out that to get that he needs to be bold and invest the money in making the club work at a higher level. He slipped in a rough timescale of 18 months, which suggested that at the next juncture they'd face either financial issues or FPP would want to see progress.

Either way, as long as he is doing right by the club and actually putting money in (however he funds it) that is fine, even if its just to impress these lads. He just hadn't really been doing that over the last 18 months until FPP came along.

 

Personally, and I know close friends of Donald and his wife, who live in Spain, but haven’t met him myself, I get the idea this was a ride a white charger type of moment for him, he’d done a decent job with businesses he’d taken on and couldn’t see any difference except for scale. I think the sheer size of the task, including financing, player negotiations, rationalisation dealing with the efl, and fan interaction and expectations have beaten him. I think from what I’ve heard that he wanted a medium term tenure, and some involvement thereafter, but that seems to have changed. You may be right about seeing the pound signs, but it’s more likely he hates to fail, and at the minute his stewardship of the club ain’t proving a roaring success, and he’s trying a lot of things to put it right, none of which addresses the fundamental failure on the pitch.