Just a couple of weeks remain in the season, and like most I will be glad to see the back of it. This has been a season with more ups and downs than I have been on the Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. We have been through three managers (including caretaker stints) and have had results that have gone from acceptable to the absolutely awful.
Yesterday saw the Lads take on a Millwall side still needing points to stay in the Championship whilst we had nothing more than playing for pride. It was an ideal chance to build on the last two away games and finish the season on a high note. Yet the performance, was wetter than a wet weekend in Wrexham with Wincey Willis. What we got from Saturday was the same old, same old inconsistency that have followed us around all season long and it just feels like that this bunch of Black Cats have walked under a ladder as they can’t seem to get anything consistent going. And you just know that a former player would score against us just to rub proverbial salt into an open wound.
Why Dodds decided to go with Dack to lead the line is beyond comprehension. Was he giving him a game to put him in the shop window for suitable suitors, knowing full the former Gillingham and Blackburn man is out of contract in the summer? If that was the intention then it backfired spectacularly as he was ineffective as he has been all season, and it came as no surprise that he was hooked after a disappointing first half performance. He, Dack, has to be up there sadly as one of the worst signings we have made in recent times. Granted he didn’t cost us a transfer fee, but he is now a pale shadow of the guy that was once tipped to light up the Premier League when he was starring for the Kent based side. I would not be surprised if he calls it quits from the professional game this summer.
Looking at the table as it stands now, the best we can now hope for is a eleventh placed finish and the worst is sixteenth. It’s a good job that we picked up points when we did otherwise it could have been us being drawn into the scrap at the wrong end of the table. The remarkable stat is that only three sides have conceded less than the Lads this season (Leicester, WBA and Bristol City) but when your top scoring recognised striker has the princely total of two then it’s clear to see where the problem is and that needs to be addressed. We have not replaced the Loch Ness Drogba. It’s as if we are putting a sticking plaster on the wound and thinking it’ll be alright when it won’t. Mistakes have been made a plenty this season and for a club that’s averaged 41000 in home attendances that’s unforgivable and negligent. There are some disgruntled punters out there, punters who deserve better.
This rollercoaster of emotions has no plans to come to a shuddering halt yet. We must be prepared to experience the rough days as well as the good ones, and it will hurt at times. If you can stomach the fight, then keep the faith and stay on board. Supporting the Lads is a religion for most of us, and the SoL is our church. It’s something that isn’t a fad, it’s a way of life. And I wouldn’t have it any other way to be honest.
