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The Doom Mongers
By: Bill Osborne
Date: 20/08/2006
WE are at that time of the year again. The season has started not too well for us and it is obvious we need more players if we are seriously looking at seeking promotion. On first results, it seems we do not have a team capable of getting us out of this division.
But appearances are decieveing. We have not had long enough yet to determine the future but there are some who have already done that and are already preaching doom and gloom.
Because this is also the time of the year when the hibernating doom warriors come to life again. A few games, not good results, and already, according to them, we are bound for the conference, administration, liquidation or the black plague.
But last season, at about this time, the talk was of 'gelling.' Giving the manager and the team time to get sorted and getting the team to get to know each other, recognising each others strengths and weaknesses and building partnerships.
I am not a great fan of the 'gelling' principle but wiser men than me advise me it is part of team development. So who am I to argue?
So the same rule must apply to Graham Rodger and his squad. It takes time to build a team and perhaps a bit longer to build a successful one. Ask Russell Slade!
We gave him the time and although his style and tactics were open to criticism, he did take us to the playoffs.
There is no reason that Graham Rodger cannot do the same. But if he can, he certainly won't do it overnight, so we will have to put up with the early disappointments.
Football fans are not noted for their patience. We all want our team to win every game and we very quickly become frustrated, disappointed and even angry when they don't.
But there is no point forecasting gloom and doom from day one. We really do have to wait awhile, get behind Rodger and the team, and look forward to better days. Crystal balls are for those experienced in their use. Forecasting relegation at this stage is only for those who see no future anywhere.
We might even have to wait another season for promotion. Who knows?
Mid table mediocrity may seem like the end of the world to some, but it sounds better than Conference football to me.
The season has only just started and on results so far, it doesn't look too impressive. But we have a long way to go and if we can get the glitches fixed before it gets into full swing, so much the better.
Rodger has recognised the need for more players and is actively seeking at least two. He is also working to get the defence defending and the midfield to start controlling their area. Basic football. But with a new team, you have to go back to basics to get them all firing together.
With young Peter Bore and the new loan player, McIntosh, looking like they know what they are doing, we might just be seeing the beginning of what lies ahead.
Already I notice, some are espousing the view that we have to revert to the Slade long ball tactics to get out of this division as you cannot play pretty football if the players are not able to pass a ball accurately.
They may be right but it also illustrates that Town fans just cannot make their minds up on what they want.
Poor old Slade was castigated for the tactics he used in getting us to the playoffs but they worked. Maybe he knew better than his critics on what was needed to get us out of this division.
Most of those critics were those who said give us anything as long as you get us promoted, but as the season went on, they soon started crying out for a better style of play.
We have to make our minds up. What is the priority? Is it getting out of this division or trying to play entertaining football?
I have not forgotten what Graham Rodger said after his appointment. "I will try to bring a better style of football to Blundell Park." I believe him. The signs are that he is trying to do that. But if the need arises, he will have to play the long ball game, kick and rush and some very un-pretty football.
If that is what is needed to gain promotion, then that is how it has to be and we will have to not only accept that, we have to get off his back and let him get on with it.
It's about time that Town fans stopped complaining for once and instead, getting behind Rodger and the lads and giving them the support they need.
According to researchers, the end of the world is due about 150 trillion years from now. It will not come earlier just because Grimsby Town lose a match or two. So rest easy.
This site is by the fans, for the fans, and we will consider articles on any subject relating to the Mariners whether it be related to current news, a nostalgic look back in the past, a story about a player, a game or games in the past, something about Blundell Park or football in general. Click here to submit your article!
This site is by the fans, for the fans, and we will consider articles on any subject relating to the Mariners whether it be related to current news, a nostalgic look back in the past, a story about a player, a game or games in the past, something about Blundell Park or football in general. Click here to submit your article!
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