Why are we currently in a situation where getting a pasting off a mediocre Exeter side is deemed to be expected? Why are only 4000 fans sat there freezing their t*ts off watching it?
We all know why. But surely it doesn’t help when we’ve got a town and a local Council who, to be honest, couldn’t give a damn if we folded or not. We don’t offer anything to them, why should they? Let’s face it, the best thing about us dying to the Council would be the going on local TV and radio stations getting themselves some extra publicity.
Of course, maybe it is our fault as well. We were a club on the up under Jim Gannon and Peter Ward, starting to puff our chest out with pride and climbing the Football League with an exciting young team that people were paying good money to see – home or away. Manchester Utd and City fans were sitting and taking notice, finally coming along to see what all the fuss was about rather than coming for a few pints with their mates and to take the piss out of the crap footballers running around like headless chickens.
Example. Last season before the whole administration thing kicked in, we went to MK Dons and beat them 2-1 in the last minute. Tommy Rowe, Anthony Pilkington, Carl Baker, Jim McNulty, Stevie Gleeson, Dom Blizzard. They were all there. And early the next morning, and two men going off to work got on the bus and sat down, talking about the recent United win blah blah. And one of them, with more than a hint of pride in his voice (don’t hate me for saying this!), almost like an older brother boasting about his talented little brother, said to his mate ‘Eh, County won again last night – not doing too bad are they?’
It was the littlest and maybe one of the most insignificant moments. But it sticks in my mind and I remember thinking from then on that we were really making our mark on the town and the Council.
Councillors were giving us beaming mentions in Stockport Express columns – ‘And may I give a warm congratulations to Jim Gannon and all his team at Stockport County, ripping up trees and doing the town proud’ – as one extract.
‘Where could it all go wrong?’, I thought. Well clearly it did, and massively.
As soon as the sh*t hit the fan, it was back to the bad old days. United and City fans turning away and laughing again, the Council all pointing the finger at each other and giving it the ‘Not me, guv!’
Soon the season started, and we were down on our attendance by roughly 2000. Probably a bit more.
Obviously, it was a massive and gross case of mismanagement by the guilty parties which led to all this, but even if/when we begin to rebuild through Jim Melrose or whichever consortium – we’re facing an uphill battle. How long will it be before we can win round the Council and the local armchair fans again? Sliding down to League 2 with a team of relative babies in footballing terms, and soon slipping back into the regime of 6-0 pastings at the hands of Macclesfield…all that will do will keep embarrassing the Council, Stockport County – the incapable idiots making a laughing stock of Stockport. And one of our biggest battles will be to halt the slide and go along way to preventing all of the above.
Because they don’t give a sh*t about us. And the sooner we realise this and stop pandering to them, the better.
Animo Et Fide.
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