I’m not naïve enough to think that nothing is wrong. We’re second from bottom and we’re only as high as that because Boston had points deducted. Something is going wrong and now is the time to put it right before the situation becomes irretrievable. But my point is this – that we have the team and the manager we have, that they’re capable of doing well this season and that we have to get behind them. I came away from Lincoln dismally depressed because of the result but ultimately I’d far rather be us than them. Lincoln may have sneaked a win but they I would go mad if I had to watch them every week. John Beck may be long gone but his spirit lives on and The Ghost of Long Balls Passed stalks the corridors at Sincil Bank. The old main stand may be 600 foot high but there are probably hundreds of balls up there.
What went wrong on Saturday? What has gone wrong so far this season? Not everything that’s for sure. Although I wasn’t at Deepdale last night it sounds like it was not a bad performance and we played some decent football. This against a side that may not be doing brilliantly but has only lost one game in the First Division, a side that boasts international players. (Although no offence to Graham Alexander but the fact that he is an international probably says more about Scotland than it does about him).
Basically we could do well this season and we could do badly. That’s probably true of most teams in the division. What was need is belief. Having transfers only during a permitted period might cause us problems bearing in mind the size of the squad, but at least it forces us to work with what we’ve got. How about the board go one step further and announce that Lawsy has the job for the season come what may. I know my fellow columnists would blow a fuse at the suggestion, but we all have different views as to how to achieve what is best for the club. My preferred option is stability and keeping calm. And who is supposed to be waiting in the wings anyway? The FA should introduce a rule that anyone shouting for a manager’s head has to immediately also shout the name of his suggested successor. That might shut a few of them up.
Too many Scunthorpe fans only have two settings. If you look down their back of their shirts you’ll see a small switch, in about the same place as your Action Man had the string you pulled out to make him talk. The switch starts the match on the first setting. This is ‘Scunthorpe Til I Die’ setting - go anywhere for the club, Brian Laws Barmy Army forever. It’s what football in the lower divisions is all about. Unfortunately the slightest little bump or upset knocks the switch to the other setting. Suddenly good players are lazy shites who everyone knows were drunk in Henry’s last night. Suddenly Laws loses god-like status. Suddenly we’ve decided Beagrie is a fat lazy money-grabber. And so it goes.
Up the Iron and keep the faith.