The press have waded in with what looks like a cock and bull story about Brooks Mileson riding over the horizon on a white charger to 'rescue' us. With the CVA restrictions being lifted Simmo has at last been able to bring in new players. But time is not on his side. The gap at time of writing is 10 points - a margin not seen in Division Three for a long time. A lot of people already seemed resigned to relegation with a shrug of the shoulders and an 'our time has finally come' style acceptance of the situation. They could well be right because our form and confidence do not look anything like good enough at present to turn this season around. However the pointing fingers which are jabbing out at everyone from Simmo to JC to the board of directors to Alan Steel and to CCUIST seem to be nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to a problem that has crept up on all of us slowly but surely since the summer. All that early-season confidence has evaporated and it seems hard to fathom now how many fans genuinely thought this would be our year. Nevertheless a realistic appraisal of what to do now is called for and not the vitriolic outpourings seen in the usual places from the usual suspects. It's classic blame culture - its not enough to lose 8 on the trot, we have to point the finger at someone and identify the supposed culprit. In the middle ages this was called witch burning. So now it seems it's Simmo's turn, a man who inherited the poisoned chalice. Would anyone in their right mind do the Carlisle job? No is probably the answer, although as some have pointed out, you'd always get your 50-odd candidates, of which perhaps six would be serious contenders. We chose to give Simmo the job without interviewing other possibles. Was that right? Time will tell. Simmo had the advantage of being in the job and could demonstrate his abilities in a 'live' situation. The early games and performances showed promise. A decision was made, ostensibly by the chairman and backed up by the board, although not without some disagreements as can be deduced by the delay. As luck would have it, since getting the job permanently, performances have nosedived. Confidence is at an all-time low. There are rumours of players not caring, of picking up a wage packet and going through the motions, talk of Roddy Collins's legacy being responsible. It's all rather sad right now and Simmo's got to try and sort it all out. It will take a tough man and I hope he's tough enough. He has the backing of the vast majority of fans and everybody WANTS him to succeed, I'm not sure the same could be said of his predecessor. He finally has some scope in the transfer market. Of the players he has signed, Henderson looked very useful but got injured quickly. Arnison and Schumacher have come in and don't look too out of place but will have to learn the ropes quickly. With Foran suspended, Raven injured again and Simpson himself, Summerbell and Murphy all out of action, we just haven't got our best team available. We haven't had for some weeks. Time is against us. Eight straight defeats puts us in a desperate position but we all know it could change quickly. Getting 2 or 3 quick wins out of a demoralised squad will be very tough but the 'snowball' effect has been seen in football many times in the past. As people have pointed out, it's often better at this stage of the season to be the team trying to catch up, rather than the ones who are looking over their shoulders. The pressure will increase as the season goes on. We've got to start winning games and applying that pressure. At the moment, the only thing the teams above us will be seeing in their rear-view mirrors is of a Carlisle side looking increasingly distant. A 10-point gap is a mountain, a 20-point gap would be an Everest and probably impossible unless you were Harry Houdini. We can't let it get that big, so the time is ripe to end the nightmare. By Christmas we could be back in it, a couple of points behind and with 3 or 4 new faces in the team and making a big difference. It could happen. We pulled back a big gap under Atkins and that was January before we really started to play. This is going to be the biggest test yet. Even Atkins might have been stretched in such circumstances. Simmo needs all the help he can get. We've just got to stay focused and hope it turns round quickly. Al |
