It would appear that previous optimism regarding our turnaround of form was misplaced, and we are now back to square one, watching a team of able yet horribly demotivated footballers persist with tactics akin to flogging a dead horse. Friday night's game at Crawley was a painful test of endurance, where frustrations once again boiled over for several individuals. 1-0 does not tell the story of the game. It paints a picture that it was close. It wasn't that the home side were raining shots on Dean Brill all night, though at the beginning it appeared they might, more our complete inability to threaten up front. For 90 minutes we persisted in attempting diagonal balls to a lone striker to hold up with little support. No wonder people are angry.
So unfortunately after an unexpected Christmas hiatus, apologies 'n all, it is with regret that I will again have to impress on you my depression regarding all things Barnet. In some short years, I have turned from a 'support the team no matter what' mentality to a cynical, twisted, angry, can't wait to leave to go back to the pub sort of vibe. Alongside the odd burst of frustration, and a bit of a sing song, I stood for large parts of the game just wondering what on earth I was doing with my life. This is not the first time I have questioned why I made this particular decision, and though in my heart of hearts I could give you several good explanations, at this present time I am very much struggling to justify it.
There are a lot of better things I could have done with my money last night. There are a lot of better things we ALL could have done. Who can honestly say they enjoyed that? Who can honestly say they are enjoying watching Barnet at then moment? How long must this continue before something comes along to reignite our support? Loyalty is not a bottomless pit of an emotion, and those who expect others to continually support without expressing negative emotions are sadly kidding themselves. I'm not going to justify people shouting abuse because they've paid their money, I'm merely pointing out that this is hurting people. Hurting people to a point that rational behaviour is not at the forefront of the mind. We saw it horribly laid bare at Wimbledon, and though last night was nowhere near as bad, several views were shared between some supporters. Though it may seem mindless, there is only so much you can take, and I for one am not going to stand by and pretend everything is OK when I watch dross such as last night. I am also not going to sit behind a computer screen and hide.
If my calling for Sanchez's head offends you, then please talk to me. Shouting or writing things like 'oh just support the team' is such a weak, bog-standard stock reposte, just because as supporters, that is what we are 'supposed to do'. If you are happy to continually support away, bury your head in the sand and not recognise that being in a relegation battle AGAIN could rile some people, then you are sadly deluded. For seven years I have travelled far and wide, supported until I could support no more, and yet I still find Barnet in the bottom four of League Two, having finished in the top half just once. There is little to no prospect of on-field progression at the moment. Once again, our best players will leave, and we will have to start again. This seemingly endless cycle has done nothing to strengthen my love for Barnet Football Club, yet I still can't seem to drag myself away.
There is little need to go into serious in-depth analysis of this football match. At least, not from our point of view. I have already more or less summed up what needs to be said about the game, we were toothless and there appeared to be no Plan B to support a Plan A which was doomed to failure from its very origins. I can't imagine the Crawley defence having an easier game this season, cutting out endless long balls with consumate ease. They may as well have been printing money, it was that simple. It's not Izale's fault, he can sometimes stand around and shrug his shoulders, but can you blame him? It's almost as if we're saying, 'yes Izale, you score goals, how about you chase after lost causes all evening and then you may get a shot out of it.'. It is not very good.
Still, we must soldier on into the new year and look at where we are going to pick up some points. This time last year, Mark Stimson was on his way to the sack. At the same point last year, in terms of games played, we were only one point worse off. Now there is absolutely no question that the squad we amassed last year was abysmal, and that we are markedly improved this year. So how is it then that we are only one point better off? For me, that is a damning indictment of the current management of this football club. Is the form in the cups the only thing that we are clinging on to as justification of Sanchez's reign? Really?
And to think, this guy could take us to Wembley and be a 'hero'. Happy New Year.
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