The 2019 Summer Clearout

[PsychoStooge]

I hope the owner gives him time, but I don't expect any of it because if I start expecting I'll end up disappointed.  :D

It's probably never been harder to be a football fan than it is right now, not least because so many fans walk around thinking they're an expert, because they can use Wikipedia & they've picked up a few phrases from Sky sports pundits, & they think that presumed expertise means they know what's best for the club, however, at a time when more fans think they have a voice that needs to be heard, than ever before, they have never been so powerless & voiceless.

When my forebears first joined Nottingham Forest you did join Nottingham Forest, because it was a members club. You paid your fees & if you were any good you tried to get into a team (we were multi-sports back then) & if you weren't you tried to help in other ways, like making the half time teas, grounds work,  laundry duties, making a contribution towards a new pair of boots for the club captain, or as in one case your job might be to visit the captains house on a Friday night to pick up the team news & then go to all the players houses to pass it on so the right players knew they were playing in the next match.

Back then you really were part of the club, so you really knew every aspect of it & your input & your voice was valued & that's why, although you always wanted to win, it was always club first, club above results, managers & players. The club was what mattered most.

These days fans aren't as immersed in the club (look how long it took some to hear about the Grabban injury) & often run off a happy meter, if the manager has a personality they like, if Saturdays result was good & our league position is OK, then they are usually happy too, if they don't like the manager, or find him grating, we lost at the weekend & dropped a place in the table, they'll descend on Twitter & start verbally abusing players, or send them death threats.

If they are happy they demand the manager is kept, regardless of any bigger picture & the relative impact on the club, & so if the impact is negative & an owner feels forced to act, they might not understand it's in the clubs best interests, or understand the negative impact, so they lash out at the owner instead & abuse him too.

Conversely, if they are unhappy, & a manager retained, because it's in the best interests of the club, if they don't know that, or have been mislead by a Twitter experts misguided & misinformed narrative, that can confuse & anger them too.

I'm rambling a bit here but basically because of a growing disconnect between fans & club, as opposed to team & because of poor official communication & often invented unofficial news, fans these days are often misinformed & therefore often have misguided expectations & are therefore frequently disappointed by them & confused as to what's going on half the time, which obviously breeds mistrust & sometimes resentments.

Oh for simpler times, jumpers for goalposts & all that...

The worst part is I don't blame the modern fan for basing everything around personalities & results on the pitch because it's what they are conditioned to.

Do you feel like a part of Nottingham Forest, or do you see yourself as paying spectator & supporter?

I bet I'm not the only member here who's turned up to offer to sweep the terraces after a bad snow, or chatted football with one of the team at a local pub, or even just waved to, or nodded at the gaffer in town, because in time's past this club was part of the community & the community was part of the club.

With TV revenue, sponsorship money, naming rights & image rights I don't think it will ever be like it used to, those days are gone, so the disconnect, confusion, distrust & disappointments will continue, but I must say, it's a feather in the cap of our new owners that they've at least tried to close the gap a bit, with communications with various fan groups, new initiatives & community out reach projects & for those not interested in the political side, or who place results, or personalities above all else, at least they've invested heavily & hired a top manager, so hopefully results & satisfaction will follow, because it's probably never been harder to be a football fan than it is right now.

Just noticed the thread topic, so who would you clear out?

See all the stuff you talk about there I've never known. I'm not old enough. I was born at the advent of Sky Sports so when people say I wish it was how it was before Sky Sports I can't relate.

I'm a supporter who doesn't live in or near Nottingham anymore so I rely on the forums, Twitter etc. for my club news, I can't get it word of mouth down the pub so I'm not really immersed in Forest like that, but that's fine though it suits me to support like that. It's something I used to share with my Dad and can't anymore now he's gone, so sometimes I need to distance myself because I end up getting a bit down. 

But despite still being fairly young I learnt long ago not to have expectations when it comes to Forest or football in general. I've pretty much had 20 years of dashed hopes so I just roll with it now, I have my opinions on stuff but it doesn't really matter much, not many people can predict football it's just hoping their opinion ends up right or wrong.