The relationship between club and fans

Its amazing how quickly things can change in Football, 5 or 6 weeks ago after we beat Millwall we were ahead in a Semi Final of a major cup competition after the best night at the Riverside in years, one point off the play offs despite ridiculous luck with injuries, had players coming back and a favourable run of fixtures.
It’s been horrendous since then, but that’s just part and parcel of following a team for the right reasons. Unless you’re a pathetic glory supporter you’re always going to get good times and lots of bad times.
I think the club has made mistakes but every club makes them.
 
I think the average football supporter across the country has an uninformed view of most things around football, including the game itself.
People who go from us being world beating to absolutely terrible and nailed on for relegation, in the space of a month, are fairly common place.
Anyone who has played football at even a basic level can attest that you sometimes win games you didn’t deserve and lose some in which you’ll dominate. A lot of the time it will be hard to even pinpoint what the issue is/was.
Football success is a longer process than a single game or even a handful of games. If we have a solvent club and compete then that’s great, there will be lots of other clubs doing the same.

Our crowd seem to have been expecting us to get back on a run of victories and storm up the league all season. It likely won’t happen as we’re about where we deserve to be. Our run of wins in autumn was about equal to our shambolic start and we’ve been hit and miss in between.

It’s all about next season and investing the money wisely. Give Carrick free reign to bring in the players we think we need.

In terms of divisions between club and fans. It’s true that those within the club know the ins and outs of it all far better than those outside. However, we’ve all been supporters for far longer than any of them and we know what good, respectful treatment and the club and supporters working in sync looks like.
We also know what it feels like if someone is taking the p155. I’d like to see the club work on that connection and really listen, not just go through the motions to tick a box saying they are.
 
Last season was not helpful. Scintillating, progressive football, hatsfull of goals, a really weird feeling that we were going to win every game. We collectively managed to forget the grinding misery and ennui that is the lot - nay, the birthright - of every Boro fan. Like Cool Hand Luke we need to 'get our mind right'. It's fair to say that after days like Saturday I've managed to get the recovery process down to the time it takes to queue to get out the car park. But reading the board when I get home suggests I'm quite fortunate in that regard. Then I just feel inadequate for not being pi55ed off enough.
 
borolad259 said:
"Howevet all opinions deserve to be heard but it looks to me like the club has 'had a word' which if true is absolutely scandalous."

Er, no. And the OP is/was entirely my opinion. Not an FMTTM opinion. And certainly not an MFC opinion.

As you raise this point though, I can say with absolute certainty, in all the years I've been involved with the Admin of this board, I have never been given a steer by the club, or Rob for that matter. Rob just lets me get on with it, using my own judgement. (I'm aware that this last bit might cause some of you to choke on their weetabix)
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If anyone is choking on their weetabix, they haven’t put enough milk on 😉
 
Hypothetically speaking, would posters still write aggressively negative posts, if they knew it might result in Gibson putting the club up for sale?
 
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Humpty said:
Hypothetically speaking, would posters still write aggressively negative posts, if they knew it might result in Gibson putting the club up for sale?
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I think they would to be honest.

The 2006-2024 period has been a tough time to follow the club. Sure, Gibson has a lot of credit in the bank for his part in 1986 and his fantastic early tenure as chairman (1994-2006). But I think plenty of fans are now feeling very uninspired by a 16 year period in which we've spent 1 (awful) year in the top flight. Unprecedented in most of our lifetimes. We've made the play-offs on just 3 other occasions during this period.

I think if he was to put the club up for sale it would be an admission that he cannot find a way, financially or otherwise, to bring back the 'good times' he once brought. We'd all thank him for those once more, and try to feel a sense of optimism about the future. Of course it could go wrong, but at the moment it isn't exactly going right.

We are very quickly approaching a scenario where, aside from liquidation, few will be able to say 'Its been much worse than this'. It has only been once or twice in the club's history really, and the club is in a new era of mediocrity, monotony and underachievement (at least if measured against the last 50-60 years). Its false dawn after false dawn and it really isn't normally this bad for this long.

Absolutely none of our fans would have accepted being told, this time last year, that we'd be out of the play-off picture (yet again) in February 2024.
 
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LessoftheLip said:
He isn't though is he? I can see your post has attempted to calm the situation but his is just a dig at other supporters for expressing an opinion.

In the old days, pre Internet, I would write to the Gazette to express my opinion without the benefit of anonymity. These days FMTTM allows people to vent without exposing themselves personally which in some ways is a bad thing because it does bring out the wally from time to time.

However all opinions deserve to be heard but it looks to me like the club has 'had a word' which if true is absolutely scandalous.

This board may not be representative of the fanbase but are dissenting voices not allowed anymore?

The club is a joke at the minute but is trotting out the old 'nothing to see here' line.

We are under-performing and under-achieving despite having a fanbase most Championship clubs and some PL clubs would die for.

I hope Gibson and others at the club do read this board and come to the conclusion that they/it need to do much better.
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I think we should all be able to share our thoughts openly - you and the OP have done just that.

Personally, I’d like to see a bit of mutual respect from those at the club and fans.
I’m sure it’s not easy being the chairman, CEO, or manager of a football club.
Equally it’s not easy being a fan. Coughing up hard earned money week after week - to almost ‘feed a habit’ takes its toll.

Those running the club, and the fans, need to spend a bit of time in each others shoes. That would help us all.
 
atypical_boro said:
I think they would to be honest.

The 2006-2024 period has been a tough time to follow the club. Sure, Gibson has a lot of credit in the bank for his part in 1986 and his fantastic early tenure as chairman (1994-2006). But I think plenty of fans are now feeling very uninspired by a 16 year period in which we've spent 1 (awful) year in the top flight. Unprecedented in most of our lifetimes. We've made the play-offs on just 3 other occasions during this period.

I think if he was to put the club up for sale it would be an admission that he cannot find a way, financially or otherwise, to bring back the 'good times' he once brought. We'd all thank him for those once more, and try to feel a sense of optimism about the future. Of course it could go wrong, but at the moment it isn't exactly going right.

We are very quickly approaching a scenario where, aside from liquidation, few will be able to say 'Its been much worse than this'. It has only been once or twice in the club's history really, and the club is in a new era of mediocrity, monotony and underachievement (at least if measured against the last 50-60 years). Its false dawn after false dawn and it really isn't normally this bad for this long.

Absolutely none of our fans would have accepted being told, this time last year, that we'd be out of the play-off picture (yet again) in February 2024.
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Wow. I think it could be a lot worse. For a club as unfashionable as ours, it wouldn't be something I'd like to risk personally.

We've had a bad 15 years, there's no disputing that but we're one promotion away from taking off again. I think the infrastructure of the club is in a much better place. We're more diligent with how we work as a club, top to bottom. We'd better utilise Premier League money next time around to get back into that cycle of being a yoyo club (because that is the next step) as well. We need a bit of luck, there's no doubting that but the consequences of gambling and losing are far too severe for my liking. Just ask Derby, Sheff Wed, Charlton, Portsmouth, Bolton etc.
 
Clearly being a Championship club is difficult in many ways, however I think the club charging top of the league pricing over the medium to long term whilst being quite far off (and certainly very far off this season) is what leads to a disconnect. I think fans would be more accepting if we have "limitations" if they weren't being asked to pay top, top prices for what is some awful football - Saturday was really poor - where was the passion or fight from the coaching staff or the playing staff?
 
atypical_boro said:
I think they would to be honest.

The 2006-2024 period has been a tough time to follow the club. Sure, Gibson has a lot of credit in the bank for his part in 1986 and his fantastic early tenure as chairman (1994-2006). But I think plenty of fans are now feeling very uninspired by a 16 year period in which we've spent 1 (awful) year in the top flight. Unprecedented in most of our lifetimes. We've made the play-offs on just 3 other occasions during this period.

I think if he was to put the club up for sale it would be an admission that he cannot find a way, financially or otherwise, to bring back the 'good times' he once brought. We'd all thank him for those once more, and try to feel a sense of optimism about the future. Of course it could go wrong, but at the moment it isn't exactly going right.

We are very quickly approaching a scenario where, aside from liquidation, few will be able to say 'Its been much worse than this'. It has only been once or twice in the club's history really, and the club is in a new era of mediocrity, monotony and underachievement (at least if measured against the last 50-60 years). Its false dawn after false dawn and it really isn't normally this bad for this long.

Absolutely none of our fans would have accepted being told, this time last year, that we'd be out of the play-off picture (yet again) in February 2024.
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You have to remember also that a lot of fans won't have known anything different to the post 2006 era. Take Red Faction or example, I would assume that many are in their late teens or early 20's, so bar two seasons under Karanka and last season under Carrick, this is the norm for them.
 
Humpty said:
Wow. I think it could be a lot worse. For a club as unfashionable as ours, it wouldn't be something I'd like to risk personally.

We've had a bad 15 years, there's no disputing that but we're one promotion away from taking off again. I think the infrastructure of the club is in a much better place. We're more diligent with how we work as a club, top to bottom. We'd better utilise Premier League money next time around to get back into that cycle of being a yoyo club (because that is the next step) as well. We need a bit of luck, there's no doubting that but the consequences of gambling and losing are far too severe for my liking. Just ask Derby, Sheff Wed, Charlton, Portsmouth, Bolton etc.
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It could be a lot worse, but I don't think many fans are thinking like that at present.

My own personal view is that, whilst being in the PL isn't the be all and end all, I'm usually content with being 'in the mix' until the spring time. This happened in 2012 (Mogga), 2015/2016 (Karanka) and 2018/2019 (Pulis).

We then hit an upward trajectory where we had been getting closer over the last few years, after Warnock, under Wilder and then Carrick. This season is going to set us back quite a bit though, I fear, as even a brilliant run now might not be enough, and we are likely to have a fair number of damp squibs between now and May.
 
uncle_rico said:
You have to remember also that a lot of fans won't have known anything different to the post 2006 era. Take Red Faction or example, I would assume that many are in their late teens or early 20's, so bar two seasons under Karanka and last season under Carrick, this is the norm for them.
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Of course. People like Dana Malt often talk about how they've only seen us in the PL under Karanka.

But do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing? They must find it hard to believe (and possibly just as jarring) that the generation or two before them saw 5 major cup finals (winning one), 2 seasons in Europe, 2 top 10 seasons in the PL, 11 consecutive top flight seasons etc.

But its not even just that 'Riverside Revolution' era. Even the 1986-1995 era saw a low-key Wembley final, plus a handful of promotions and relegations. It was never dull.
 
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atypical_boro said:
We are very quickly approaching a scenario where, aside from liquidation, few will be able to say 'Its been much worse than this'. It has only been once or twice in the club's history really, and the club is in a new era of mediocrity, monotony and underachievement (at least if measured against the last 50-60 years). Its false dawn after false dawn and it really isn't normally this bad for this long.

Absolutely none of our fans would have accepted being told, this time last year, that we'd be out of the play-off picture (yet again) in February 2024.
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I think there's been plenty of times it's been worse than this, even in recent history. We've had a horrendous 6 weeks, but before that the period of 18 months under Carrick had been one of the most enjoyable and successful as a Boro fan in the last few years.
It's obviously gone t*ts up since then, but I'd take this period under MC any day over the Strachan, Pulis, Woodgate or Warnock eras.
 
The Card Cheat said:
I think there's been plenty of times it's been worse than this, even in recent history. We've had a horrendous 6 weeks, but before that the period of 18 months under Carrick had been one of the most enjoyable and successful as a Boro fan in the last few years.
It's obviously gone t*ts up since then, but I'd take this period under MC any day over the Strachan, Pulis, Woodgate or Warnock eras.
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I'm talking about the holistic picture. On the whole I've enjoyed Carrick's tenure, but this season has slipped away to the point that we're basically just fulfilling fixtures now.

Next season is enormous, and I know people say this every season, but we are now in uncharted waters in terms of how long we've been out of the top flight (even when compared to the last/most recent spell).
 
Humpty said:
Absolutely @The Card Cheat ...post 1986, Strachan, Woodgate and Pulis really were the dark days.
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That's not really my point though. Pulis was unpopular but we were competitive, mathematically speaking, until the end of both seasons, and we'd not been out of the PL for long.

I'm not saying Carrick is rubbish, I'm saying the club is entering a new era of prolonged underachievement now. I would love to think Carrick will stop the pattern by achieving promotion next season, or getting close to it, but if he doesn't, he'll be gone by next Spring and it will be yet another false dawn with nothing really gained, except possibly a few more complaints about season ticket pricing and Gibson's inability to connect with us.

A lot rides on next season, in my opinion, it could be one of the real watershed moments in the club's history.
 
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