Those of you out there familiar with this great Who anthemic song may recognise the lyric 'The change it had to come' which appears quite early in the piece. It is a mantra quite apposite to SAFC at the moment whether this is in terms of the ownership or the on field management team. And yet, of course, the two are intrinsically linked. On the pitch we are yet again seemingly treading water with a squad currently demonstrating the following characteristics:
1) Not creating enough chances
2) More crucially, not taking the few chances we do create - unlike the opposition
3) A chronic lack of the kind of pace which frightens other teams whether this be their defence or their forwards
4) Questionable team selections and substitutions
5) Dubious tactics
6) More recently a defence which ships goals In the main, all of the above can be laid solely at Parkinson's feet (assuming he also has some input into who we sign).
The current owners set out their philosophy quite early - they wanted a manager and players who had experience of getting out of this league. Well that's a plan which has worked well so far hasn't it? I know it's still early days in this campaign but we're hardly setting the world (or even this league) alight. If the takeover goes through will we see any changes?
Forgive me for being cynical (sorry but it comes with age, also known as borne out of experience) but I'm not exactly bursting out of my trousers with excitement. There are too many familiar faces in the proposed new set up who share culpability for our current malaise. If they appointed Parkinson would they, as part of the 'new' regime, now admit their mistake (as they did with Ross) and look to freshen things up?
My own personal hope had been for new brooms to come in and liven things up by galvanising everyone, injecting an air of optimism into the club and shaking the current squad up by it's multi-coloured bootstraps. I'd love to be proved wrong but if the proposed takeover does go through I just can't see that happening. Time will tell. Most of us would like to think it is an absolute travesty that SAFC is in League 1 and yet in reality we are where we are because we deserved it. The route getting us here is well documented. Something has to seriously change, and soon, if we are to now get out of here.
As for that great Who song, I don't want to worry you but the final lyrics are 'Meet the new Boss, just the same as the old Boss'.
