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The Word Is...Out
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One word...
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By:
Eric Hitchmo
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25/11/2010
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"""Out"" is most definitely the word, or part of many words that can describe this one. I wrote on Saturday that maybe we'd turned a corner. No sooner had this site shown its first sign of positivity for a while than it was returned full in the face via a shambolic display at Underhill.
After the match I described it as being down to no bottle. That's just part of it. We bottled it big time, from a very winnable game to being completely outfought and outbattled in the second half by a reasonable Gillingham side. They had a couple of individuals that turned the game and we simply had no answer. The midfield pairing of Lee and Whelpdale who both scored, assisted by the massive monster Akinfenwa proved too much for our weak display to withhold.
When the second goal went in, the entire place went flat. Even flatter than five minutes previous when Gills equalised. I say entire, aside from the travelling supporters who were buoyant after they got their noses back in the game. The official figures suggested they supplied just under half the crowd, but it certainly looked and felt as if they were the home side. We were very nearly outnumbered, very much outshouted and they revelled in their second away win in eighteen months. Their first came just this Saturday past. They came in their droves to see the man who was largely responsible for that horrendous away record be beaten by an all-round better team. And they rubbed his nose in this fact too, with various chants in his direction. It's not the first time we've heard ""You're getting sacked in the morning"" from the away end this year, and it's not the first time we've heard that chant mirrored from home areas.
I can barely recall such a deflated Underhill. There was absolutely zero belief at any point in the second half that we would salvage this game. No chanting, no shouting, not even a roar for corners or chances. Everyone sat, or stood, in a perplexed and apathetic silence. Midweek crowds have always been bad at home, but rarely have they ever been so despondent at what is unfolding in front of them. We are down to the very bare bones of our supporter base and I have no doubt that with this man in charge, the rest of them will not come back.
And so to ""this man"". The team he has built is not good enough for this level. There is no Plan B to get us away from this situation. A large proportion of the support is very much against his management of this club and sticking with him for much longer will see us be the one side that gets cut off from the rest.
He has bought in some decent players, yes. Gillingham had clearly done their homework on Steve Kabba and identified him as our threat. Yet still, he worked his bollocks into the ground for the cause last night despite having some very close attention paid to him by the visiting defence. He may have been unfortunate with injuries too, but at the end of the day, this is his entire squad and it should have been built to deal with this sort of situation. Yes, yes, the budget is low but to expect some sort of depth past the starting XI isn't too much to ask surely?
Why isn't Mauro Vilhete being used? He came on in the last five minutes and once again looked extremely lively, certainly more lively than most on the pitch. His first contribution was to win a header in a crowded area, something which barely anyone else in a Black & Amber shirt had managed throughout the entire game, and he's conceding six inches on all of them. It's all so frustrating.
We were warned about this by some Gillingham fans. Stimson has made very little effort to endear himself to the supporters as yet. The promise of exciting football to get the crowds in has fizzled out into a laughable pre-season statement. Gillingham will be far better off with Hessenthaler in charge. They've built a decent side and must now surely be looking upwards.
We will still look upwards but with far less chance of getting there. With an away win most definitely not on the cards any time soon we'll be struggling to keep our heads above the water. As the negativity swathes throughout the Barnet supporting ranks once again, we must wonder where we can muster any hope or encouragement from. At the moment, a managerial change is the only thing I can think of to achieve such a thing."
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