The day after the afternoon before and the resignation to our fate has sunk in. Actually I say that, but the truth is, I had thought this might happen so was partly prepared for it. I should say, I believed we could stay up, but it became more of a hope than a belief over the last couple of weeks.
Before I give my thoughts on the relegation, I want to thank Gary Rowett for stepping in when Tony Mowbray went off ill. It was always going to be a challenge, and he did alright in my opinion.
I see many journalists has spouted the sacking of Eustace as a reason for the fall from grace, but that’s too simplistic and to be honest lazy writing to say so. The truth is, prior to his last two games which we won against Huddersfield and Albion – things had been poor.
Fans had been calling for his head because the football was poor and we scraped results rather than anything. It was clear he was told he was going, the bump in performances for those last two games, showed that other things were happening.
The players obviously liked him and stepped up their games as a result. The fact they didn’t for Rooney or Venus says a lot about everyone. However more of that shortly.
Rooney’s appointment could have been a very good thing. The global interest was immense and if things had worked out, could have been financially a real benefit. It’s easy to criticise after the event.
Rooney did do a decent job at Derby, and without the points deduction, would have comfortably kept them up. However from day one, there was clearly a disconnect with Rooney and fans and Rooney and players.
While fans have some legitimacy to not like a manager, players are contracted to the club. I was incredibly disappointed that the players clearly didn’t want to play for him. They must hold some accountability for us not getting enough points. As fans, we’ve always been very simple with the fact that if a player gives everything for the shirt, they’ll be welcomed. We’ve never liked slackers.
The board were brave and sacked Rooney when many boards would give have given him the rest of the season. Would he have turned it round? Probably not, but we’ll never know for sure.
Unfortunately the next decision to appoint Venus was definitely a mistake. The guy comes over as a very likeable person, but he sadly looked out of his depth. I genuinely felt sorry for him. The players didn’t appear to want to play for him, and he didn’t appear to know how he wanted them set up. I hope he bounces back, because he appears a decent bloke.
Things appeared to be improving with Mowbray coming in. Obviously we’re all hoping the he makes a full recovery, but the whole thing you couldn’t make up. As I said earlier Rowett did his best, but unfortunately because of issues earlier – we came just short.
So what about now? Well in their letter to the fans yesterday evening, the board have restated their commitment to the plan. This is good news. Regardless of any mistakes, they do genuinely appear to want the best for the club. Yes they have made mistakes and will again, but it’s the upward trend that matters.
In regard to the team. Clearly there’s going to be wholesale changes. A large number of them will be leaving due to contracts being up. I suspect others will go too. As I said earlier, a number of players clearly they decided they didn’t want to play for the manager. Well as far as I’m concerned, you can be a world class player, but if you’re not prepared to play while you’re wearing our shirt – you can go.
We completely reset last time we went down to Div 1, and within a few years we were in the top flight. It can happen again. Also we don’t have to worry about FFP in this division. Instead it’s Salary Cost Management Protocol (“SCMP”) These state that Clubs can only spend a fixed percentage of its revenue on player wages etc. This limit can also be added to or impacted by equity injections or net transfer spending. (From the EFL Website). We will have a larger revenue than many other clubs, so that does give us an advantage.
I’m hopeful we can return at the first attempt.
You are wrong, best start to a season for 7 years , One big mistake Cook.
Check the stats over the last 10 years you will see that I’m right.
KRO
Raw and a large dose of bitterness still lingers in my view. All of what you have written is correct and spot on. However returning to your paragraph on Mark Venus which is key. Forget about the Rooney era as we know the scenario etc.. the Venus period of near zero points is what damaged us with players showing nil respect for the man and ‘walking all over him’ as a soft touch. Players become lazy and lethargic during the working week. Read between the lines.
We had a good August, but only 2 points in September and lost our first 3 games in October. May have been our best start, but it was still poor. Also the football was dire and fans were calling for Eustaces head. I said on social media at the time, be careful what you wish for.
As I said I feel sorry for Venus, he was put in a position he shouldn’t have been. However, I agree with you, the player’s behaviour was awful. Sadly they won’t care because most of them will be at other clubs within a few weeks.