The question I have is, ‘How long are the fans going to put up with these results?’ Carlisle fans must have become inured to losing to be turning up every week to watch the team being defeated week after week. The club’s record in October was Won 0; Drawn 0; Lost 5; For 4; Against 11; Points 0. This is just not acceptable and we should not be just accepting it. Relegation is not inevitable unless we accept that it is. It’s time to start turning things around on the pitch. It’s time to start showing some passion. It’s time to make a stand and take down the ‘Welcome to Brunton Park’ sign. It doesn’t really matter how we got here, or who’s fault it is. The fact is we are bottom of the league and staring relegation in the face unless we do something fairly radical. The first thing we need to do is to stop losing matches. Every game we lose makes it harder and increases the pressure on the team. Let’s not worry about winning matches for the moment – that can come later. We need to stop leaking goals, start showing some discipline and convincing teams that playing Carlisle United is not a guarantee of three easy points. The fans have been doing their bit – they’ve continued to turn up, they’ve outsung the opposition at most away grounds, they’ve kept on cheering when others would have given up long ago, but its time for the players to start doing their bit now. What’s galling is that we have the ability within the squad to be a decent team. The close season signings should have strengthened a team that held Bristol City for 70 minutes in the Mickey Mouse Final. Every game in this division is winnable. The gap between the best and the worst is not that great – it is just a question of discipline and resolve. Its time for United to show they have it. Here in London life at the branch goes on as ever. We are looking forward to the visits to Cheltenham and Oxford. On the morning of the Oxford game the London Branch will be playing the Oxford Supporters’ Club in an eleven-a-side match. (We played last season even though the senior game was called off, throwing doubt on the true state of Oxford’s pitch). It promises to be an interesting affair, perhaps Simmo should get down there to watch – he might be able to pick up a couple of players on the cheap! We hope to be celebrating a double victory in the evening with an early Christmas meal. Malcolm Fawcett Press and Publicity Officer, London Branch Carlisle United Supporters' Club |
