- Dec 13, 2005
- 48,180
- 50,229
No.
In fairness to myself, I did say after the equally dispiriting display at the Emirates that what tiny little chance we had was totally and utterly gone.
In even more fairness to myself, what I had been saying from very early on in the season was that City were clear, clear favourites, and our chance was a very slight chance.
I find it interesting that whenever we have a poor, dispiriting display the first thought of certain posters is to think of digging someone out who made a more positive prognosis than they did.
It is equally interesting that they never think of digging out the things that those same posters got right. Like, for instance, I was the only one (so far as I know) who predicted way back at the start of the 2009/10 season that we would finish above Liverpool and in the top four. I got a lot of abuse for it - but funnily enough, when it happened no-one ever apologised or tagged me to say I was right. Every season after that I said we would finish above Liverpool and explained why it was happening - I got abuse and whinged at for writing long posts (necessary for complex explanations, I'm afraid). No-one wanted to apologise or tag me for the seven seasons out of eight I was right. Funnily enough, when I explained that United was a poisoned chalice and they would struggle for three or four seasons I got abuse for suggesting such a preposterous thing - but no-one tagged me to apologise or point out that I was right. Indeed, way back in 2005 or 2006 I suggested that the days of the Sky Four were numbered, there would likely be a top five or six and we would be part of it. You guessed it...no tagging to say I was right. Again, I said after our CC final appearance under Poch that we had the basis of the best squad since Burkinshaw's days, if not before. A lot of folk were saying it by the end of last season - did anyone tag me or link to my posts saying it? No.
The issue I have with the ultra negatives is that it is so easy. We could all just say, we will be lucky to finish eighth because, guess what, if it is wrong, as it has been every season for the last eight, you can just smile and say you are so pleased you were wrong. When you actually predict anything positive, based on actually thinking about things, you get abuse at the time, the negatives are too busy being happy to be wrong to actually go back and apologise, or (heaven forbid) actually offer some praise, that you were right. But, hell, a bad performance, a bad result, a bad patch, a disappointing conclusion to the season and they are falling over themselves to call you out.
Well done, just like the charming falla when we lost at the Emirates, I was actually quite despondent about that performance too. Not the result, the performance. There is so much is much missing that was the hallmark of Poch's squad since he first arrived, that is now just unimaginative passing about at the back and dithering. So, yeah, I really needed you to point out that I didn't anticipate Dembélé is basically a liability now for being a split second slower at everything that made him great even last season, that Eriksen has called a halt to his season after Ireland, Dele has taken a sabbatical, that Rose has come back a bag of shite, that Lamela would take longer than anticipated to get back, that Victor and Toby would both miss a huge stretch of the season...
Cheers M8, have a good 'un
Heart on sleeve there SP. Well said.