Another dire performance in front of our long suffering, and increasingly tired supporters. With attendances sliding down towards oblivion, and with inflation biting hard at the bank balances of so many, it has been pretty obvious to me for quite a long time that the world of our board is not the same one as the world of our supporters.
Clearly their motivation to be involved was never founded on the experience of a scruffy last-minute win at Weymouth and certainly not as a result of standing pretty much alone on the open terrace at Carlisle, with an arctic blast caressing the back of a forlorn bobble hat. No, I am in no doubt, most of the current lot, from the Chairman down, will jump ship following any beneficial commercial development at the Recreation Ground.
It is also pretty obvious to me that the club’s transition from a football loving operation to one supposedly based on professionalism, after the establishment of a Phoenix Club in 1992, was poorly managed. With the benefit of hindsight our club got it wrong after the play-off final in 2004. Of course, the joy of 2007/08, and our return to the Football League, is etched in the minds of all who experienced the emotion and community pride. One club and one family. But sustaining the progress was clearly never something that small town Aldershot could deliver.
Sadly, the best possible current event
would be for the rapid demise of Jurassic Shots and Co,
and when inevitably
necessary, start again. But with a proper plan. Develop a better strategy, and not
simply a mission and vision to do something in six years. Put in place a
governance structure that is genuinely a reflection of our club’s natural family
characteristics.
Without doubt it is the height of pomposity and arrogance for the faceless voices of our club to suggest that the current set up is the only world that can deliver what we, the genuine Aldershot supporters, desire - fun on a Saturday afternoon. My goodness, when was the last time that we all smiled during the time it takes to drag our feet back down to the High Street, after a game at the Rec?
On Saturday, Stockport lined up in a sharp white kit, and at full time, they went across to thank their traveling supporters still wearing a sharp white kit – no mud and certainly no sweat destroying the crispness of their tailoring.
The league leaders were everything that Aldershot aren’t. Big, strong and organised. A team with balance – a team with defenders, midfield players and oh yes, a few forwards. A Team that was able to execute more than one pass to another player wearing a white shirt.
These are desperate times at the Recreation Ground. Fortunately, we have been rewarded with a holiday next Saturday, as Bromley continue with their journey towards Wembley in the FA Trophy.
If only all of the citizens of Ukraine could be experiencing no more than the current level of our Shots community's shared pain…..
1 comment:
I agree with your analysis of the game, dire!
Having attended for 50+ years I cannot remember being less "entertained", which is after all the idea.
Like you I am very concerned about the state of the club, although maybe not quite as pessimistic.
Having met and spoken to both the key principals, I do believe there is a strong connection with the football club.
However, there has been and continues not to be, any realistic and purposeful plan to re-connect with the Town and the supporter base (both current and lapsed). I think our woeful local authority has done little to help in reality.
The old adage that if you stand still you go backwards is 100% true.
The exception to the rule in recent months was Grimsby at home; 10 of those games per year would be enough for me to feel satisfied.
I am not one of the 10 or so regular doom mongers on the website; instead I am one of the more silent 1500 who attend but are having our patience severely tested over the last few desperate seasons of drift.
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