Will things ever change?

[histonfan01]

I appreciate not everyone will agree with my comments but this is a message board so I will rant away,

I read Brian Pages post match comments from last night with a confused look on my face! 'It was a young squad, the way we played was fine, we just needed to be abit more of a goal threat'

Firstly we did not play fine, we were awful, constantly miss passing and losing the ball and secondly we need to be a goal threat period, not 'abit more'. Why would he pick a squad with some first team players and some U21s when they aren't going to be playing together in the league? Surely that's the point of the development squad? Very poor management decisions are occurring in my view.

We are rock bottom of the league, we lost to a lower league team in the FA Cup and we lost to a lower league team last night, something drastic needs to change because we are heading towards relegation again if not.
Anyway rant over....... Up the Stutes

[clive]

I have held back from commenting on our current plight, mainly because I have difficulty in attending matches and so rely on reading the views of those who do regularly attend. I too can't always square Brian's view of our performances with the views of supporters at the match.

Comments posted on this boards following recent matches include "Players looked uninterested", Lots of wacks forward to nobody", "Like a Pub Team", Hoofball rubbish", "Awful to watch". Under normal circumstances, a team bottom of the league, beaten by lower league opposition in the FA Cup and attracting comments like above from the few fans remaining, would be looking to make changes. I'm sure that nobody doubts Brian's commitment to the cause, but how low do we have to go before changes are made?

[histonfan01]

I do not doubt Brian's commitment one bit but currently things for me are unacceptable and need to change

[billy]

I doubt it becoming the whipping club that everyone wants to play !! Things need to change and quick !!

[berbatov]

I can understand fans wanting things to change but the club can do nothing about regularly losing their best players without money to keep them .Histon is a club producing talent for higher level clubs and with your best youngsters moving out of the club for no financial gain you have to ask what is the purpose of the academy .As for trying to pass the ball all over the pitch it is one thing to do this in Thurlow Nunn youth leagues and academy games at U19 but not possible at senior SL level unless your players are outstanding .To blame the manager is easy but what can he do. The question you have to ask is does the Academy pay it's way when the talent moves on for no financial gain .Do the club need to re think what they are doing ? NO easy answers when you have no decent money for the first team wage bill. Looking at the league table another relegation looks likely unless fans , players and manager stick together.

[histonfan01]

I appreciate all the comments and think its good that fans are expressing their views but should I accept that we are a feeder club and ecentially my £10 to watch games and my time is wasted?
I believe the fans are sticking together but it's hard to watch games when some of the players seem disinterested and not wanting to play for the supporters

[histonne]

Will things ever change?

Well we had better hope so!

I must admit that Brian does put a good spin on performances to the press, maybe the game looks different from the dugout , but I'd rather that than him criticise the players in public.

With the first team needing a confidence boost I'm surprised they didn't play against St Ives. A win would have put them all in a better frame of mind.

However the performances have been better of late in the league, Chesham got out of jail due to poor finishing. Some players are back from injury and the overall play is better.

We just desperately need someone who can put the ball in the net, now I know some will sing the praises of Matty Waters but Brian, for whatever reason, doesn't seem to think he's up to it.

But what do I know - I do believe that we are better than our league position suggests, on the evidence of some of the opposition that I've seen, but we need that win before we are cast adrift at the bottom.

Is Brian still lucky to have the job (or cursed)? Possibly, but who else would want to take us on in the financial state we are in?

More than ever we have to stick together and support the lads, constant carping will only make it worse.

We can do it - come on you Stutes!!!

[ewstute]

Of course things will change. We'll get relegated and be in a lower league than we are now. Unless you meant the performances and style of play, in which case probably not.

[hfc08stutes]

Depends what you mean by change? On field results, I live in hope. Management? I don't think so, Brian's a clever footballing head, and he knows when things are not good enough I'm sure. I think he's just trying to keep the positivity and belief going because when you're on a run of poor form you're not exactly going to want to slate your team’s performance week in week out, it creates bad press and doesn't exactly entice people to visit the Glassworld ey!

I think really looking at it from a broader perspective and as a whole; the remaining fans have to except our position now. Of course I'd love to believe things will change and get better and potentially we may talk about promotion again but that, for the foreseeable future won’t happen. We don't have the support or money. To get sponsors in we need fans and to get fans in we need a successful team, but to have a successful team we need money so really it’s a viscous circle.

It would be nice if more Histon and Impington locals were bothered about their club, but unfortunately and evidently with crowds of just above and below 200 they're not. I guess that's down to a mix of utd's current success, people turning their backs on the club because Fallon was sacked (which even to this day I still find ridiculous, no one man is bigger than a club) and ultimately relegation from the conference. For ages I've tried to remain optimistic but we just have to except where we are. Do I think we have a good team, yes we're not bad and actually quite good on our day but realistically we need at least 2/3 more experience heads in the team to be properly competing in this league and for that we need money.

All the club can do is keep trying to connect with the village with offers on tickets etc and to promote the club as best it can and hopefully pull in more sponsors which I know it’s trying to do. All we can do as supporters is keep attending, keep shouting the boys on, bring a mate or two every now and then and most off all enjoy turning up on a Saturday or Tuesday eve as that’s what its all about surely?

I know poor performances and losing isn't "enjoyable" but for me, there's more to it than that. Supporting and watching Histon gives me a chance to switch off from everything for a couple of hours, I can meet and catch up with good mates, enjoy a brew and some chips, talk footie etc, and if we win then it’s a bonus, simples.

[clive]

I hear what you say hfc08stutes and agree with some of the points you make. I don't expect the manager to start criticising players in public (although plenty do. What I can't understand is how the manager can say things like "The way we played was fine" (St Ives this week)at the same time as the supporters are coming out with comments such as "Like a Pub Team", "Hoofball Rubbish" etc.

I think the style of football being played is putting more people off attending than the fact that we are bottom of the league. Responsibility for that rests firmly with the manager.

[centrehop]

Another defeat and more chance of being cast adrift, desperately need to keep the 250 ish coming every week but bound to get even more difficult when it`s Mid February and absolutely freezing !Floating supporters won`t want to come and go and watch / follow success i.e . United on the Up and St Neots too, incidentally went to St Neots v Poole last week, heard of player on £650 a week Big 600+ Gate.......Bit like a Village Team around 6 years ago !! Thing is though I love Football so will still be at all previously mentioned clubs plus City / Soham Town Rangers / Ely City / St Ives Town too .........Support your local Minnow through Thick and Thin whoever they are ! Premiership You can keep it !

[ewstute]

Centrehop it's great that you go and support all the local teams. All the teams need the support. In reality there are probably too many teams in the local area, all competing for fans. Unfortunately, I can only see Histon's attendance dropping with each week. If the team were losing and playing football that was nice to watch then people would probably still go and watch. At the moment the team are playing awful football and losing, it's not enjoyable to watch at all and requires digging down deeper and deeper for motivation for us diehards to go and suffer through it each week.

8 points from safety now. Getting out of the relegation zone is still possible with the gap at 8. if the gap grows to double figures then it's going to be extremely difficult task. If things stay as they are then it will probably be curtains for us even before christmas based on how things have gone for the past year.

[centrehop]

Thanks for your comments ewc999 and appreciate your thoughts. My last Histon Game was the Evesham FA Cup match , not spectacle but glad I went all the same. Keeping an eye on their results in Cup. Think my last post I sounded like a Roving Fan.....Well will always come to Histon ( 25 years and counting ! )if United are away ( 45 years and counting ! )can work 2 Saturdays a month so will miss games but have to be somewhere when I`m off. Believe there`s something called " Saturday Afternoon Shopping " which I understand Isn`t very nice, hence have to see a game!

Worried though if we do drop another Division we won`t get any promising youngsters in on loan from United, Peterborough, Millwall etc. Lets hope for an upturn in our season very soon.

[cliveh]

Have read and understand all posts and opinions. It's very worrying for everyone connected with Histon FC. I, personally, really want this slide to be abated somehow. Don't blame the Manager. I think he's brilliant. Can't do any more. He seldom moans about the budget like his counterpart!!! Just gets on with it with the fates perilously against him. Me and a few mates enjoy the matches and the friendly atmosphere. The team just needs a couple of old heads. Advice for free.....let Brian bring in a couple of respected elder statesmen to help steady the ship on the pitch. This League isn't much. But Histon must stay up. Robbie & Adie for half a season??

[doctorhiston]

Histob fan 01 is spot on, the team can't go any lower and Brian seems unable to adapt the style of football or unwilling to. There is a way we as a club teach the youth but we won't play that way for the first team. It's time for the board to step up and change things for the sake of the club. Change after Christmas is too late.