Well, I’ve never been into the transfer forum. The in-match threads were enough for me…..
What’s needed is a sense of balance. You’re right, Terry, about the sense of relief that everyone should be feeling. For the past three years it has been absolutely certain that someone would go bust – either the club or Gillett and Hicks. It lumbered larger and larger every season. We’ve just got the biggest Get Out Of Jail card since OJ Simpson and for that we should be eternally thankful.
On the other hand, at the start of every season we’d always have a bunch of wide-eyed optimists scampering around like excited puppies, yapping that this was the year of Number… (well, a number somewhere between 18 and 20…). Once we’d shown that we had a glass jaw then the mood turned to despair. Often from the same people. They became bi-polar.
So we should rejoice that we’re at least off life-support. The one thing that makes me negative is what the new game has made the club become. It is now primarily a revenue generating machine. This is excused because we have to do it to compete. To make sure we’re “on the inside, looking out”, as Xerxes puts it. The thing is that we’re competing to stuff ever greater wadges of cash into the pockets of players and agents. And if we don’t match their ambitions they’ll jump ship.
The race for money ultimately hits the average fan. Prices will rise so long as demand exceeds supply. The club will continue to tout its own tickets through travel companies and hospitality packages. The “neutral” actions, such as increasing the number of sponsors will also have an effect down the line if we ever reach a major final again. Remember the trouble Rick got into over the Athens “Numbers Game”? By the time the sponsors and other hangers-on had got their cut there were precious few tickets left. And Rick has since been pilloried for not having enough sponsors…
We’re now trying to cajole people to become our fans and make our brand their lifestyle choice. These floating voters then make a reasoned choice on who to support. We get access to their money. They get the right to be delirious when we win and vitriolic when what was inside didn’t match the packaging. That’s where a lot of the negativity comes from.
Whilst the new owners are infinitely better than the last lot we shouldn’t forget that they still think they can make a profit from a breakeven institution. Their prime motivation is money, or power, or showing they’re smarter than anyone else – but not love for the club.
Win or lose, I’m optimistic about the football. But not about the game.
