The Burden Of Expectation

Last updated : 16 March 2004 By John Miles
It was hard to place into context that when we played Scunthorpe last season in the league it was at Boothferry Park, and it was with that thought I realised that the extent of expectation in the city for us to gain promotion. I thought was this burden of expectation justified considering the progress the club has made in the last 16 months and when we gain promotion would it be late, early or about right given the investments made by Adam Pearson and his board since his tenure began 3 years ago this weekend?

If the squad selected under Little's reign at Boothferry Park was the right one I would say that we should have gained promotion by now, the same could be said about Molby's squad and the signings he made. Then we get to the current manager, Mr. Peter Taylor.

If you look at the time he has been at the club and the investment made since his arrival (est. 350k) he has spent less than either of the two previous managers and many of the players in his favoured matchday set up are only coming up to their first year at the KC. Some such as Myhill and France won't reach that target until next season.

As much as the heart is telling us the supporters we should gain automatic promotion and take the league by storm, the team building process is a slow one and some players wont make the grade and others will come on futher than we would imagine possible. Delaney is a prime example of this; last season he looked uncomfortable on the ball and lacking in confidence. This year he is City's best player week in week out.

The obvious target for the club is promotion and I think the squad on the whole is capable of much better and it could be understandable that some of them have maybe found it hard to adjust to a less technical and skillful style of professional football. For some, while this is a progessive club with excellent facilities and a professional coaching staff, the league in which we play in essence is not. Players are having to return to a level that they may have not played in for a long time.

At the end of the day, as a supporter we want the best from our club and the players and the best at the KC is promotion, but if this is not attained this year we have the correct setup to go up next year and if PT remains in charge we have a settled squad and the management team to take us there.

This may seem a little negative given the result at the weekend, but there is a long way to go and even Doncaster are looking over their shoulders now... as we are...

Here is to an exciting end to the season and hopefully promotion via the automatic spots - without us having to look over our shoulders in April.

Come on you 'ull!