Quote of the day
"We went to Leyton Orient and it was a disaster. But I think what came out of it was that everything came to a head.
It was clear that five or six of the players wanted to leave which was fair enough. We had a meeting when we came back from the game - just us players. We said ‘whoever wants to leave they can leave and we'll help them to go. Whoever want to stay then commit yourself to stay’. That was a massive turning point. In a way, getting that bad result was the best thing that could have happened. It was screaming out what needed to happen.
The lads who wanted to leave, left and the rest of us stayed. It wasn't just me who called the meeting, it was decided amongst us because it was that obvious to see what needed to be done. it was just a case of ‘lets do it’, a team thing. It was one of the strangest things ever. We were managing ourselves. Fair play to them, a few lads stood up and said 'I want to go' for whatever reason, to play Premier League football and the like. You can't hold people back.
Chris knew that we were having that meeting and he stood back and let us sort things out."
Alan Smith, talking to the Times ahead of last night's game, lifts the lid on what precipitated the flood of sales in pre-season. Personally, I find it pleasantly surprising but mainly encouraging that the players actually felt the need to do something and cared enough to take responsibility. Calling the meeting suggests a degree of collective maturity from a bunch who were by and large lazy underperforming shirkers last season - and it also explains why, as has been shown more often than not this season, commitment to the cause has been more evident from those turning out in our colours.
Smith also commented: "The camaraderie is great. Last year there was a big divide between players, fans and football club. This season you can see a togetherness". I think he's got a point, but only up to a point. The divide between fans and players has narrowed somewhat - but there's even more of a yawning chasm opened up between the fans and the club thanks to our fat friend Jabba...
It was clear that five or six of the players wanted to leave which was fair enough. We had a meeting when we came back from the game - just us players. We said ‘whoever wants to leave they can leave and we'll help them to go. Whoever want to stay then commit yourself to stay’. That was a massive turning point. In a way, getting that bad result was the best thing that could have happened. It was screaming out what needed to happen.
The lads who wanted to leave, left and the rest of us stayed. It wasn't just me who called the meeting, it was decided amongst us because it was that obvious to see what needed to be done. it was just a case of ‘lets do it’, a team thing. It was one of the strangest things ever. We were managing ourselves. Fair play to them, a few lads stood up and said 'I want to go' for whatever reason, to play Premier League football and the like. You can't hold people back.
Chris knew that we were having that meeting and he stood back and let us sort things out."
Alan Smith, talking to the Times ahead of last night's game, lifts the lid on what precipitated the flood of sales in pre-season. Personally, I find it pleasantly surprising but mainly encouraging that the players actually felt the need to do something and cared enough to take responsibility. Calling the meeting suggests a degree of collective maturity from a bunch who were by and large lazy underperforming shirkers last season - and it also explains why, as has been shown more often than not this season, commitment to the cause has been more evident from those turning out in our colours.
Smith also commented: "The camaraderie is great. Last year there was a big divide between players, fans and football club. This season you can see a togetherness". I think he's got a point, but only up to a point. The divide between fans and players has narrowed somewhat - but there's even more of a yawning chasm opened up between the fans and the club thanks to our fat friend Jabba...
posted by Ben at 10:58 pm
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