Let's clear up a couple of points first and foremost. We aren't playing all that well at the moment. We haven't picked up many points lately. We're all a bit unsure about what's going to happen in the summer with a new manager. We're kind of coasting along, yet still not safe. There's some doubts over a couple of the new signings and whether or not they're up to Premier League standard, and indeed whether or not our squad has got enough depth to last through the season.
But here's the bit I just don't get. When we were in Division One things were never easy. There were times when it looked like relegation was a foregone conclusion, the board and chairman couldn't give two hoots about what was going on at the club and dross was turned out week upon week. Now perhaps I'm just looking back naively, but back then people stuck behind the club and really turned up the volume of the vocal support. We didn't have decent players, but we got behind them. Obviously people were still concerned and people were still moaning back then too, but the general mentality seemed to be us against the world - Portsmouth fans will stick together and take on anything thrown at us.
And now what? People are asking for Velimir to leave after a spell of inconsistent results, because of course that will help. Especially when you think of the last time we had three managers in a season - Pulis, Claridge and Rix - and the fact we nearly got relegated. Or just look down the coast to see what success they've had this season from having three different men at the helm. And what exactly would bringing in a new manager do? He can't bring in his own players. He's got eleven games left to take charge. It'll create bags of uncertainty, lots more movement behind the scenes, and once again distract from the main focus - the football.
The issue of too many things distracting us from the issue at hand, the Premiership, seems to be a major one to our strange season. But to our credit, we haven't completely collapsed. Other teams may have folded under the constant media scrutiny and sniping, the loss of the entire backroom team and player unrest with the likes of Quashie and Unsworth trying to stir up trouble. The cup draw was another distraction which we could've done without, all things seemingly working against us. And yet still, we've kept our head above water and haven't sunk without trace.
We don't play the attacking football we used to, and yes we are more defensive now. But then, people were complaining when Redknapp was here that we weren't defensive enough and that frequently - especially away from home - we were torn apart. So what do the fans want? Or is it just a case of complaining for complaining's sake? It seems to me that we've lost our sense of reality. There are teams that have won the European Cup fighting relegation from the Championship, there are sides who were contesting cup finals a little over a decade ago in League One, and yet we - with a small stadium, borrowed facilities and after a season of unrest - are still staggering in midtable in the top flight. IF we'd beaten Villa on Saturday we would've been above them in the table, and no-one refers to them as a relegation threatened side.
And yet, it's a title that our own fans seem too happy to force on us. We ARE disjointed. We ARE uneasy. Our recent form IS poor. But every team has a blip in the season - god knows we had a long one last year from the moment the clocks went back - and things no doubt will get worse before they get better, with trips to Manchester United and Arsenal. But whatever happened to the days when the supporters supported? What good is slagging off the manager going to do? It seems that people just want us to lose and our players to fail so they can have another dig.
Copyright Happy Fun Time 2005