Steps Towards Desperation

What's the old saying? The league table doesn't mean anything until Christmas. Bugger.

Talk of relegation has become more frequent in the last couple of weeks and it was a primary theme in mine and PL's pre-match as we braved the cold to take in a couple of pubs a short walk away from Ashton Gate. There are a few bars next to the ground but all have a strict home fans only policy which is enforced by no fewer than five bouncers at each pub. We've been in all of them in the past but it's getting harder by the year so we looked for pastures new.

The car park steward was only too happy to direct us past the ground and in the direction of a couple of places we could try which weren't too far away. We couldn't find his main suggestion, the Tobacco Factory and so ended up in a place called the Hen and Chicken which, bizarrely, had its own cat wandering around. Not long later we found our original destination which, I must say, is up there with the living room at Southampton for the pub that looks least like a pub title. It was more like a classroom with desks which people gathered tightly around and a small stage that didn't feature seats but bloody poofs to sit on. Not queers, bean bags!

The game was the standard template that we have seen throughout this recent run of ours, Leeds aside. We played okay and probably were the better team but, with the exception of a Marcus Tudgay header that we all thought was in until James clawed it away magnificently, we once again didn't look like scoring. Tudgay had commented in Saturdays Post that he was 'not worried' because we are creating chances and we should only 'be worried' if we weren't. Well...er...Marcus, we aren't creating chances and we certainly aren't scoring and that run without a goal has extended to five games now which is frankly unacceptable. In the last three games we have played reasonably well but have created about four decent chances in all of them combined. We were desperately unlucky at Brighton in fairness but we can't keep claiming to be unlucky with such a pathetic ability to score a goal.

Time of course is still on our side for now but these months are soon going to disappear as we found out in 2005. A bloke who sat in front us in the away end said that this side, for all their ability, seem to lack the character and the fight to get us out of the mess that they have got us in. It's difficult to disagree with his thoughts on what we have seen of late. For all their fist pumps and pre-match huddles I think most are losing faith in these players by the week which is apparent by falling crowds, particularly on the road.

The festive games are massive now. Come the 3rd Round we could be marooned if we're not careful. Simply we need to score some goals but quite how this is going to happen I'm not sure. It's not time to panic just yet but its getting nervier by the week; if we are still in the bottom three in two months time then I'll be really fearing for us though.

Just how has this all gone so wrong? The sacking of Davies is the obvious answer but it still shouldn't be this bad, no way should it. Changes are needed in January and if that means getting rid of some players then so be it. Names like McGoldrick, Derbyshire and Boateng are being banded about but who is going to give us anything for any of these? That's without taking their wages into account. There are seven players from the squad I would be truly sorry to see leave... Camp, Gunter, Lynch, Wes, Moussi, Majewski and Cohen and of those the only one I would really be devastated with is Cohen who is obviously going nowhere soon.

As a few sang at the end of the game yesterday: All we are saying, is score us a goal.