AUTHOR: – Bricki
Do you matter?
I mean you buy the shirt, you pay for your tickets (or tv subscription), you cheer the team on through good and bad… so do you matter?
I ask this question because in the last week we have lost two games that could define our season and approach a cup game against the team who are closest to stopping our title push… So why have we heard nothing from our manager?
Granted we heard from him straight after the Chelsea game but that was merely complaining about the referees performance. After the break we got with Rooney staying on the pitch against Wigan it was hard to take the complaints too seriously anyway.
Yet once charged for his comments post match we were denied the opportunity of the Friday morning press conference and any views we could take into the Liverpool game over the weekend. This resulted in the build up for the game being dominated by the journalists having to work with what they had… a silent Sir Alex and the percieved injustice done against the team.
I am not a fan of managers being interviewed moments after the game has finished so this is not a complaint that we didnt see anyone from the club as they left the pitch. To not have anyone attend a press conference before or after the game though is a fairly big message to the fans that they do not matter.
In the immediate aftermath of the game a managers emotions can still be very high, evidenced by the comments about the referee that Sir Alex made after the Chelsea game. A 20 – 30 minute break before sitting down with the press/tv would allow a manager to compose his thoughts, see any replays he may need on certain incidents and prepare himself for the questioning that is to follow.
After the poor results of the last week, down partly to decisions not going our way, poor performances and some general bad luck now is the time i want to hear Sir Alex on how the team will handle it and the approach to be taken.
The ‘siege’ mentality that the team takes on in times of ‘perceived’ injustices has proven useful in the past but to leave the fans out of this situation by even refusing to speak local or in house media is not going to help the fans get behind the team. To not give the fans any sort of comment or news out of the squad smacks of a child taking their ball home because they are not getting what they want.
Dont get me wrong i dont feel we had much ‘luck’ in the decisions of the last two games but we also got a big slice of luck in the Wigan game and in others over the season so to back a referee one week and slaughter one the week after doesnt help the team either.
I am more interested in the approach the manager takes in preparing for a game, the tactics, the style of play and the players who have been doing well or not in training. On his day Sir Alex is a joy to listen to and has many opinions on the game that are relevant but to not allow the fans access to this thought process will back fire in the long run as people tire of the ‘childish’ attitude he takes.
The amount of money, time and devotion that fans put into following and supporting the club should guarantee that we are given the time by the team management to hear their thoughts in the good and bad times.
To deny the the fans access to hearing from their own team/management is like taking a childs favourite toy away from them, eventually they will tire asking for it and move onto something else… Will the fans tire and look elsewhere? it may not happen overnight but its not impossible…