A common theme of Dave Jones' recent press conferences has been the way he attacks the press (and, by implication, us lot on here) for the way they pontificate about a game that none of them have played professionally. Last night he was at it again as he made an, unconvincing, attempt to "clarify" the situation by saying that while some of the criticism of the team was deserved, he wanted them to also report that you should "stay strong and do the right things". However, by also sarcastically referring to the press as "great players" during the same interview, I would say that our manager, like most in the professional game I would guess, treats the opinions of anyone who hasn't played the game at that level with contempt.
So, that being the case, I wonder if anyone on here who has played the game for a living could tell me where I have got it wrong with the following opinions I have formed about our manager and team over the last few weeks;-
1. I have been thinking that a return of 50 points from our last 48 league games was relegation form, obviously I got that wrong.
2. To me our record at Ninian Park in the league since late March which reads;-
P 12 W 1 D 4 L7 f 11 A 17 Pts 7
is an absolutely pathetic return for more than half a seasons worth of "entertainment", but I suppose I must be missing the big picture.
3. I look at our team this season and see a shambles in the goalkeeping position all of our manager's making, a back four that just cannot keep a clean sheet and an unbalanced and one paced midfield that has now lost it's early season ability to keep possession of the football. As for our "strikeforce" (that is taking home a rumoured £30,000 a week) that consists of one player who has been here nearly four months but still cannot last more than an hour before running out of steam and another who, having been presented with a clear run on goal in the second half last night, was caught by a Palace defender (none of their back four struck me as that quick) within two yards!
To add to that, nobody who comes off the bench seems to make a significant contribution (Thommo improved our front two last night, but, based on what we saw in the first hour, that's not saying much!) - all of that says to me that our squad isn't up to much, but that can't be right because our manager (who has played the game professionally) tells us that it is the best one the club has ever had!
4. Our manager keeps on repeating the mantra that if we work hard at the right things then it will all come right in the end, but hasn't he be saying that for most of the last year - the thought strikes me that, perhaps, our manager no longer knows what the "right things" are, but, then again, I've not played the game professionally.
5. Our record for more than a year now, and, tellingly, the manner of our recent performances when the pressure has been on Dave Jones, makes me think that a change of manager is required, but I am sure some ex pro somewhere can tell me why I am wrong in thinking that.
Mind you, you don't need to have played the game professionally to treat the media and punters with contempt. By expecting us to believe the widely contradictory statements he has been making since he took over in the position, our Chairman is treating us with that same contempt.
Just one other observation to finish. Peter Ridsdale reaffirmed his support for our manager in an e-mail to a supporter last night, but I wonder if he has fully got his head around the fact that a chapter on how he took the bold decision to sack his mate Dave Jones would lead to far bigger sales of his upcoming book on his times at Cardiff City!