Been ages since I last did a Friday update. Shit happens…
The last sentence, as we head to sunny Kenilworth Road tomorrow, could easily apply to the hapless Will Nightingale, who is already seeing too much of the treatment table.
Here’s what NA said on the OS:
“Will has a couple of options and one of those is a short-term one. This would repair the tear in his cartilage and it could work. It is likely to be a six-eight week job and we will see how it stabilises Will’s knee from then on. The second option is a bit more serious and long-term. It would probably put paid to his season if Will took that option.
Bold bit mine, and to be honest, that doesn’t sound particularly promising. Such is the guy’s luck, I wouldn’t be surprised if he needs the second option before the end of the season – that part of the body is pretty complex.
That said, your editor had a similar tear in his knee this year, and apart from the fact it was FUCKING painful, depending on the sort of tear it is it can heal just with proper physio.
So he might be able to get away with 6-8 weeks of proper looking after. Unfortunately, Will is injury prone anyway, and you can’t help feeling it will be when, not if, it goes awry for him again…
Which isn’t what we need right now. It sounds like we may have to go into the loan market, unless Sweeney can step up to the proverbial plate (and avoid becoming a crock himself) – and our defence has been pretty underwhelming this season as it is.
Speaking of things failing to inspire, that is a good description of the post-Notts County victory, which managed to feel more like a 2-1 defeat than a win.
Maybe it was because it was more a case of the Magpies failing to kill us off than our skill and tactical nous, but it certainly wasn’t what you expect after scoring two late goals.
Is our fanbase becoming resigned to more of the same? Tomorrow could be interesting, as although our results have generally been OK the post-game reactions have often felt negative.
It would be sod’s law that we play our best of the season tomorrow, and lose, although even the usual sycophants haven’t been triumphing the fact we’re within spitting distance of the playoffs.
A thought occured to your editor this week – have the squad (including the manager) properly bonded with the supporters? Or is there a “disconnect” there that will only get wider the more we fail to inspire this season?
We should have been buzzing thanks to Akinfenwa’s last gasp header, but oddly we weren’t. And even though the league table looks favourable to us at the moment, very few seem to genuinely think we’ll do anything but have a brief flirtation with the playoffs.
It’s normally around this time of year that things start going to shit, although this time round we haven’t even had that flicker of delusion that this season may finally be our time.
A win tomorrow may change that thinking, but in all likelyhood it won’t. We’ll need a few more victories, with much more convincing performances than Notts County, to change some viewpoints that are starting to harden.
By Xmas, we’ll get an idea of what the longer term future is going to bring us, but it’s fair to say that expectations right now aren’t particularly high…
Finally, one notes that both Morecambe and Hartlepool have been moved to 2pm because of some rugby tournament reaching its climax. It will be an odd time to kick off, but look at it as an extra hour of drinking afterwards.
Obviously, dealing with about 80,000 boorish Australians was always going to cause logistical issues, and unsurprisingly we’ve taken the fail-safe option, although god help any Morecambe/Poolies who booked train tickets.
As for the rugby World Cup, I’ve watched bits of it at best – it’s a sport I can take or leave, and it’s something you have to into to be into, if you see what I mean.
Besides, it’s a bit difficult to get into a sport which celebrates things like Wasps moving to Coventry, let alone the image of public schoolboy nonces called Tarquin driving there in their Land Rovers.
I don’t support England at all in the football, so I’m even less likely to support them in the rugger. Perhaps a humiliation against some Pacific Island team is in order? Hell, I think I’ll watch it then…