The nature of the game!
“We’re three games away from a crisis. That’s the nature of the game. You can’t get carried away."
“We’re doing well. Everyone’s working really hard everyone’s in with each other. It’s no different to last year except we’re winning games. We’ve got a couple of guys who can score goals. I’m no different to where I was last year.”
Those words are from Perth Glory manager Kenny Lowe after his team clinched top spot and another A League victory on the weekend. If you take a look at a Pardew quote about our recent run of good results it appears the two men a reading from the same hymn book.
Pardew says ""In my younger days I might have been carried away by a run like this, but now I won't.
"The results are much better and confidence is high and we'll just keep doing what we've done from the start of the season."
It really does highlight the fickle nature of football and the demands that are placed on players and managers. A few weeks back Pardew couldn't take a trick and it is pretty to safe to say that no fan would have shed a tear if he was sacked. Sure some would have questioned the sacking but realistically, most would have rejoiced the fact! Now after a few wins the pressure has lifted some what and there is a small ground swell of support for Pardew and his staff. However, there can be no doubt that if we were to lose a few games on the trot, that small amount of support will dry up as quickly as it appeared. Pardew is fully aware of this and you can see that his comments are a little more guarded these days for fear of getting too far ahead of himself.
When we talk about players, take a look at Obertan and Abeid, two players that were almost deemed surplus to requirements at the start of the season. No one could have foreseen the emergence of Abeid and the resurgence of Obertan. Pardew has dropped a few of his trade mark quotes stating that he always kind of knew that Obertan and Abeid had it in them to make a mark but you have to take what he is saying with a large pinch (bucket) of salt. Both players have played well once given the chance to start and Abeid in particular has generated some excitement with his no nonsense displays in the middle of the park. Like Pardew, a few bad performances will see their stock drop dramatically and given the cut throat nature of the game, they might not see playing time again other than brief substitute performances. Players do have one major advantage in regards to their fortunes and that is they are in control of their own game and how they perform is squarely on their shoulders. Most fans will cut some slack for a player who is down on form if they are giving their all. However if the effort or commitment isn't there, players can go from hero to zero in a heart beat.
Fans are fickle, that can't be argued but when you take into account the emotional investment they put into supporting their team, it is hardly surprising. We all want our team to do as well as possible and losses are hard to take. Losses can erode patience, rational and create doubt amongst fans and when you add a large portion of emotion and passion, it is not hard to see why the fortunes of managers and players can swing so quickly from good to bad.
This is football though, it is nothing new and it won't be changing any time soon, it kind of reminds me of an old saying - "Winners are grinners and losers can't be choosers"
So let's enjoy this moment while we can!
