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Blues go down, Blues go down together

St Andrews should have a light house on it to warn fans that their hopes are just about to be dashed on the rocks of relegation.

I haven't got a clue what the Board should do.

Granted, we shouldn't take about relegation until the maths kick in. But our form at home this season and overall in the last 18 months has been abysmal. Our once solid defence is about as solid as the intelligence reports from pre-war Iraq. Our midfield has no fluidity and often lacks function. We have one striker we can rely on. Our injury list makes the Somme field hospital look casual and tactics are as effective as Hitler's attempts for World peace.

Most of the above rests on the Manager. He buys the players, he picks the team, he appoints the coaches and assistants, he makes the substitutions.

Bruce was very fortunate in getting us promoted as quickly as he did. I also think it may be his undoing. The lack of time in Division 1 meant Bruce had no time to get the backroom staff sorted or the training facilities needed or just to get the feel of the place. He was forced into buying quickly and, in my opinion, he bought well. Even Morrison was a good buy as Bruce fully expected us to go straight back down and Morrison together with the likes of Clapham and Clemence would have done us proud as well as being the backbone for our future Prem team.

But, we didn't go down. Bruce all of a sudden had cash to buy players and he had to meet the expectations of both the board and the fans. Shrewd buys and loans saw us do well. A mix of old and new at the back, bite and guile in the middle and sheer poetry up front in the form of Forssell meant Blues pushed up the table and were at one point 4th.

And that's when things started to go wrong. We thought we were good.

Bruce as a manager hasn't had time to learn how to deal with the players we as fans want and we as a club need to push us up the table and go play in Europe. He's going through that learning curve and has been for some time. He's taken risks with some players and he's put hsi neck on the block. Big players with big names and big wages are often harder to motivate than those who play for shillings and pence. Those bread and butter players who did us so proud when we first arrive play with heart and pride. This league means something to them.

It takes a good manager to get the fancy dans playing like they mean it. It also takes an experienced player (or a graduate in psychology).

Relegation could cripple this club. It could also see an old and tattered looking phoenix be afforded an opportunity to rise up with renewed vigour.
posted by kwacky at 8:18 pm