As you can see by the photo above, I was one of about 186 up in Cumbria on Saturday. It wasn’t the highlight of my weekend…
I have to admit, writing SW19 is becoming more and more difficult, because there’s only so many times you can write the same thing.
Start OK. Play well. Score. Promise shown. Possibly look for second goal. Fail to get it.
They come out second half. We go into shell. Equaliser inevitable. Comes. Killer blow inevitable. Comes. Game lost.
Lather, rinse and repeat for about, well, the last couple of seasons at least.
The sad thing is, we genuinely put on a good first half performance at Barrow and deserved to be in front.
This with such a makeshift squad** that it was almost embarrasing to announce beforehand.
** – a quick mention (and thanks) to the Broome family who gave me a spare ticket, though it’s a shame I had already bought one a minute beforehand.
Still, I helped out a fellow Womble who had left his at home. I expect he wish he’d been locked out now.
We looked quick, determined, even a bit organised. Though if putting Janneh up front was the answer, then it was a fucking stupid question to begin with.
We were better than at Newport, believe it or not, although without the single point we might have deserved.
As was the case in south Wales and everywhere else, the same fundamental issue arises – we have zero confidence to go on and take advantage.
Maybe we think we’re safe already? A dangerous assumption, and something we should never have to write this season.
Maybe JJ himself has had enough, and is just waiting for the inevitable sacking three games before the end of the campaign?
I guess the rumours that the club slashed his transfer budget at the last minute in January have some truth in them.
That kind of thing can – and does – permanently damage relationships between manager and decision makers, and it would explain some of the current crap.
Put it another way – the minute JJ finds another club he’ll be out of here. And I wouldn’t blame him one bit.
As you’ll doubtless gather, writing this has genuinely been tough, although thankfully the South London Press has come up trumps.
The whole thing is damning, but this stat is doing the rounds this morning. To quote:
It’s worth noting here that AFC Wimbledon’s average gate is seventh highest in Europe amongst teams in the fourth tier of domestic football. They are fifth highest in League Two, with only Swindon (11th) outside at least the play-off places amongst teams above them.
That’s grim, and should be printed out and literally slapped in the face of everyone responsible for any decision making at the club,
No, it won’t make much difference. Hell, being relegated and apparently losing £900k didn’t seem to register…
As the club decides to pay homage to 2021/22 by doing the exact same thing over again, I have noticed focus is starting to shift away from the managerial side of things – and towards the club itself.
It’s a timely reminder that it was almost one year ago to the day that we sacked Mark Robinson.
While he had to go, we haven’t moved any further forward in those twelve months.
One wonders where the crunch point is going to come, where it becomes that point of no return.
I don’t expect that tomorrow at home to Walsall, but Rochdale might seal the fate of our manager – if only because the powers-that-be will suddenly panic.
True, it will do nothing to stabilise us and might end up being one of the worst things we can do.
So it’s nailed on.
I have to admit, there is a part of me that hopes we have to secure our EFL place at Grimsby on the 8th May.
We shouldn’t need to even contemplate fighting the drop, but that’s how badly we handled the vital January window.
Yet it seems that it’s going to be the only way that anything is going to remotely change.
The club’s decision making is genuinely poor right now, and I’ll even go so far as to say it’s probably the worst it’s been in the AFCW era.
The Dons Trust board is only worthwhile if you were a member of the Labour party when Jeremy Corbyn was their leader.
And back when we had previous crises, there was at least the sense under Erik Samuelson that he was a steady hand.
I don’t get that feeling about anyone who makes the decisions now.
Of course, it really doesn’t help when AFCW appears petrified by repaying debt.
If it’s true JJ was shafted in the January window at the last minute, it will likely be because of over-cautious accountancy.
The consequences of that have been obvious since February, any anyone who understands football will know it’s not just about book balancing.
Keeping a tight ship running is admirable, but it’s coming at the expense of the club’s core business.
Football is an expensive industry, especially professional football. These days, wages for some very ordinary players are very high, even in L2.
You have to manage any debts you have against the realities of paying enough for the right players – even if that gives the accountants sleepless nights.
I’m certain in January, the funds JJ expected were the minimum you need to be competitive in League Two.
Go below that and, well…
Poor performances means crowds will start dwindling. I’ll be interested to see the actual attendance tomorrow evening, as opposed to the one announced.
Because like every other set of supporters – our fans will only put up with on-field shit for so long.
We’re getting good average attendances now, but that’s definitely not guaranteed next season.
Especially if the rumour mill is right about ST prices being higher. I can’t wait for the reaction if they’re announced after yet another defeat.
If you’ve got this far reading it, then congratulations. This was one of the hardest pieces to write, if only because it’s so avoidable.
It’s undeniable AFCW is currently in a bad place, and doesn’t seem to have the wit to get out of it.
The players returning from injury will likely save us, and make the last couple of games irrelevant.
Maybe it’s best if they don’t come back though? If nothing else, the kids on Saturday didn’t do any worse…