A point gained or two thrown away?
BLUE-EYED BOY
IWAS a pretty hopeless sportsman, a puny asthma-riddled failure of a footballer (one substitute appearance in the Blackburn Combination and about half a dozen other organised games beyond the age of 16) and just about competent enough to play a couple of decent seasons at cricket in the Second XI at Church.
The rarefied world of competing against pros in front of decent crowds in the Lancashire League was a dream I soon realised I’d never achieve as I didn’t have the natural ability, the capacity to improve enough despite practising hard or, I feared, the mental toughness.
So I once asked my pal Gerard who played thousands of matches against all kinds of overseas and Test players what it was like to go out in front of what were, back in the day, pretty good gatherings of spectators, many of them beery would-be comedians who loved nothing more than to barrack loudly for laughs.
“It’s hard work at times,” he said, “you hear stuff that’s quite personal, hurtful and derogatory and you have to shut it out.”
“Goodness,” I replied, “I’m not sure I could have resisted having the odd snap back if some loudmouth from Accy or Burnley or Lowerhouse gave me the bird.”
“Oh, I’m not talking about opposition supporters,” said Ged, “By far the worst stick you get is off your own lot.”
Social media has of course multiplied the platform and capacity for criticism beyond any previously-conceived scale.
Where once a duff Rovers performance or result might have led to an earnest discussion in the pub and a few moaners or praise-singers ringing Radio Lancs, by eight o’clock on Saturday night that was pretty much that until the next game. You read the report in Mon- day’s paper without the opportunity to post a collage of your random thoughts and maybe reflected with a fellow Roverite workmate or two over a brew on what went right or wrong.
Now of course, analysis and theorising has an unlimited platform and everyone’s a manager or an expert pundit.
I’m as bad as anyone and as responsible for espousing interpretations of games with these columns which one fan may think are spot-on while another thinks I’m talking out of my backside.
I know I tend to err on the glass half-empty side too. About four or five years ago I wrote something about what a cracking game the 1992 PlayOff Semi first leg at Ewood was. One poster on a nowdefunct forum wrote: “Thank goodness. At least that miserable so-and-so has enjoyed one match in his life then.”
So was Saturday’s latest 2-2 draw a case of a point gained or two points chucked away? And if you’re with the undoubted majority in the latter camp, was it the fault of the players collectively, one individual player’s mistake in particular or the blame squarely laid on manager for his tactics?
I wasn’t at the game and have had to rely on my shivering step-daughter who reckoned it was already the most miserable football-watching experience to begin with even before we frittered the lead away but on one surviving fans’ forum I genuinely saw Mowbray criticised for both a) not going more gung-ho for a third goal when Birmingham were on the racks and b) not shutting the shop up more tightly at both 2-0 and 2-1.
All I’ve seen are brief highlights and obviously Raya is guilty of an error of judgement at a point at which we were extremely comfortably leading. But the save from Reed is a blinder and on such moments fortunes turn.
It’s the biggest cliché and most blindingly obvious platitude of all that goals change games but they actually really do. I expected a tough game against Birmingham and while they may have been dreadful to that point, look at us against Reading. Absolutely shocking until their skipper gives us a complete gift of a penalty. After that we look like Barca for 30 minutes.
Getting one back always lifts everyone, team, coaching staff and fans.
I recall a game against Brum under Bowyer where we were three down after half an hour at home. Same against Posh under Appleton. Dreadful beyond description on both occasions but a goal back each time changed the entire nature of the game. We lost both narrowly but you can maybe see the point I’m making.
I don’t believe being unable to hold a lead is as much of a trait as people are making out, more a consequence of playing against consistently better opposition. (Heck, even last season we both lost and pulled back two goal leads in the course of a few weeks against Wigan and Oldham).
In eight score drawn games this season, we’ve been behind in five of them and been ahead at some point in five (against Ipswich and Forest both sides had a lead at different points). So to say we have squandered leads is accurate. But so have we clawed our way back from behind into games.
As a crowd, we may have to be tolerant and rational this weekend when second-placed Norwich, scoring goals for fun to the extent that Jordan Rhodes is rarely used as anything but an impact substitute, visit.
Whatever happens on Saturday the only guarantee I can give is that we as fans will know exactly what went right or wrong and will spend the days until the next extremely tough assignment at Leeds sharing our opinions everywhere they can be accommodated.
A very merry, peaceful and loving Christmas to all readers and their loved ones.