By Nick Mabey.
It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted. Mostly because I’ve moved house and celebrated a significant birthday with a long holiday, but also because I thought I’d rest for as long as possible in the euphoria of that amazing Wembley day in May. The feel-good factor seems a long way off now, and has been replaced by the harsh reality of life back in the Premier League.
Having been obliged to move seats to allow away fans into the place I’ve called home for the last 23 years, it’s been refreshing to be much nearer the noise of a safe-standing ‘kop’ home end. I’m still in the Kingsland of course but now the away fans are invisible to me and the cameras.
But this new reality has been harsh for many reasons.
- It’s not good enough to play well in spells. We need to maintain our top level for much longer periods. In all our four games there have been some decent amounts of good play (although Forest at home was not great), but not the complete performance.
- Mistakes will be punished. While this was also true to an extent in the Championship, at this level it’s brutal and there is very little margin for error.
- We must take our chances. Last season we made 20 plus chances in lots of games and didn’t have problems scoring. After four games this this time around we’ve scored one and missed clear chances at pivotal moments in three of the four games. Armstrong’s air kick at one-nil down against Brentford was hard to fathom. And the penalty miss by Archer against Man United at nil-nil just can’t happen. It was a bizarre thing to watch. There seemed to be no clarity about who was going to take the kick, which is pretty inexcusable.
- We’re going to lose many more games. Sounds obvious really but worth pointing out. Last season we needed over 90 points just to make the play-offs. This time we’ll survive with perhaps as few as a third of the points. So, chances are eight or nine wins and few draw out of 38 games will be enough to hit the target of survival. The feeling of defeat is going to be a much more regular experience.
- The level of scrutiny is relentless. Everyone has a view and relegation talk is already firmly on the agenda after just four games. Everyone seems to have written us off already, and not just our more pessimistic fans, but also the pundits, bookies and other teams. Our rivals will see us as a probable three points.
- The players who got us here are probably not good enough to keep us here. Russell Martin did the decent thing and rewarded those who did so well in getting us promoted, despite buying loads of new players and our starting line-up for the first two games featured nine of the squad from last season. Against Man United only Walker-Peters, Stephens, Bednarek, Downes and Dibling (who you can’t really count) made the first eleven.
- Having a large squad doesn’t make it easier. Last season the team picked itself for the most part, with only one or two debates. Already this season we seem spoilt for choice but without it helping.
Having said all that, and feeling a bit gloomy having written this soon after our second demoralising defeat, I remain one of life’s optimists. The players are trying their hardest. the management are good football people and (hopefully) learning fast. The atmosphere inside the ground is much better than our last time in the Premier League, and still behind the team (although you wouldn’t know it if you only experienced us via social media). And my get out of jail free card….drum roll… If we get relegated we can look forward to another cracking season in the Championship with the core of a good young squad hopefully intact.
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