Friday 2 September 2011

PM on Steve Cotterill Part I

I guess with any blog you ever write the opening gambit is to say something that will capture your reader’s imagination and want them to continue to read on. So when focusing on a touchy subject such as the current Portsmouth Manager Steve Cotterill when opinions are so divided amongst fans at present and the reader has no idea where my loyalty lies on the subject I guess I’d better make it an interesting opening statement. I toyed with several idea’s, but the best one was thinking about what would happen if the makers of much loved games like computer manager decided to use SC as their front man and create a new version called Steve Cotterill’s Championship Manager. What would the options be like in the game etc?
In the opening part of the game you’d be given a squad of just 16 players, two of whom would be goal keepers. For league matches you can field a total of 7 substitutes. Sadly though you won’t even be able to do this against the other squads in the league. You will have a transfer embargo placed on your club to make things more interesting as well. The club has no money and has just survived from the brink of financial ruin and has to adhere to strict financial control from the league. You have a club owner who is desperate to sell on the club. Unlike other Manager games available you will only have two formation options available to you, namely those of the classic English 4-4-2 or the 4-5-1 variation. At the end of the season you will find that your top goal scorer isn’t going to renew his contract and will be sold to Leicester City who are spending money like it’s going out of fashion in the Championship. Sadly though your top goal scorer is out of contract and you won’t see a penny for the move. Half way through the season you will find that contracts negotiated before your time at the club will see new shiny EPL type contracts being awarded to certain players if they even kick a ball about.
Sadly as we all know – these variations to the game weren’t made up. They were just some of the obstacles that SC found in his way during his first season in charge. A season where any sane man would have walked away not once or twice but at various junctures. SC has proven in his first season in charge at the club that he has the balls for a fight if nothing else.
When SC first came to the club I was one of a select few that was genuinely happy with his appointment at the time even though many fans argued against me. Then again at that point I was arguing with fans over many subjects – mostly Chanrai having taken a different view to many fans. To me that’s what has always separated us admins from other groups. It’s fair to say we like a good old fashioned argument and heated debate. This blog however isn’t a history lesson about us, it’s about SC so I shall digress. As I digress back to my original point – I thought he was a good manager for Pompey especially given as many managers wouldn’t have touched the job with a collection of barge poles tied together let alone one. He had a good record at clubs like Cheltenham and Notts County and I felt positive that he could at least steer us to fourth bottom in the league. Yes – given that statement I would have bitten anyone’s hand off before the start of the season had that been offered to me. Without a shadow of a doubt in my mind we could have spent the entire season at the bottom of the league just waiting for life in League One or as we used to call it growing up – Division Three. Such an unbearable thought.  But one that wasn’t as unbearable as not having a club to support. So whichever way he got my backing 110% when he came in.
Lets kid no one by saying that last season was a spectacular one for a manager’s debut season with the club because it wasn’t. My God though there were some high points – well for me there were anyway especially given the distance in miles between myself and P04 8RA – Around 185 to be exact. There’s no one else around to back me up in an argument, it’s an all out piss take towards me and the club I love’s predicament. At least we’d won more than Arsenal at that point over the previous few seasons so I had one back up argument at the very least to a few so called mates. Despite a not so great start to the season, bugger me if the leagues smallest squad didn’t stretch out a couple of wins on the bounce and draw a couple to go a few undefeated. Hell no – Suddenly we went seven games undefeated – not drawing 6 and winning 1 but winning 6 and drawing 1. In the words of MOTD2’s Colin Murray “Happy Days!” Jamie Ashdown the oft maligned goal keeper managed to break the Pompey record for the longest period of any goal keeper in the clubs history between conceding goals. Too many people have forgotten that fact this season by the way. I’ll just remind folks of it again, especially those who keep calling for Henderson to be given the number one slot. Normally the same folks who are calling for SC’s head I find. Just a little generalisation there for you all.
Anyway that little gem of a run made us not only the form team in the Championship, but also the form team in the entire country. We were top of all 92 clubs on form. Now that gave me some bragging rights. On our forum the Disco Pants were out and we were feeling like Kings and it hadn’t cost us the clubs existence to get that same feeling.  The last time we’d had a run of seven games like that we’d ended up at Wembley! But this is Pompey remember and we were soon back down to earth.  As a whole we’re not glory fans. Well not us so called perceived oldies anyway. It was back to the usual business of being a Pompey fan and walking around with a face like a slapped arse on a Saturday afternoon soon enough.
Another run of six games unbeaten in 2011 gave us false hope again. And again it wasn’t five draws and one win but the opposite. Could we suddenly be an outside bet for the play offs. Hold your breaths….
No wait – Don’t be silly this is Pompey after all. Normal service will be resumed. We had however avoided falling into the trap that so many clubs before us had fallen into and avoided relegation. That was reason enough for me to breath out at that point and celebrate like we’d won the FA Cup. There was one big collective sigh of relief in our camp at least.
Rumours were rife that the Russians were coming. It’s safe to say that we were the only one’s leading the cries of thanks but no thanks. Can’t imagine why our groups viewing figures soared up around the three quarter million mark around that time. Leave it for another blog for now me thinks.
As most fans that’ve followed the club for a number of years already knew, the rest of the season passed by with a whimper. The players had done their part in helping the club survive and were looking forward to a well earned summer break. SC had done his part of the bargain and had lead Pompey to survival. As the story goes and a new twist on the SC Managerial game…. He had new bosses to start the next season with as well. The Russians had arrived. I say that. In truth; One Russian, One Hungarian and an Englishman. It sounds like one of those bad jokes that starts – there was a Russian, a Hungarian and an Englishman….

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