An Open Letter To PAFC Fans
An Open Letter To PAFC Fans
This is a call for perspective.
In September 2011, we set up www.uptheline.org in the club’s darkest hour. With a crisis unfolding off and on the pitch, we genuinely believed that the site would become an obituary to a club we love, albeit from afar. But as the 2011/12 season unfolded, the club rose from its lowest ever point to financial and footballing survival and, more importantly, a sense of unity developed which left even the most cynical supporter with bright hopes for the future.
After four games of the new season, we have beaten a weakened Portsmouth side to reach the League Cup second round, drawn one and lost two of our League Two games. To those of us with memories of unpaid players threatening to strike, of the fire-sale of all but a skeleton squad and of what felt like certain relegation at Christmas last year, this feels like an adequate return. The squad seems settled, blends youth with experience and will benefit from loan signings when the transfer window formally closes making players on the fringes of Championship squads more readily available. One thing is for certain: this is no time to panic.
And yet comments on social media and via the toxic cauldron of ‘fan’ forums make evident that those with long memories are in a minority. There seems already to be a growing consensus that this is a squad doomed to be relegated: that a change of management is needed; that money we don’t have must be spent to improve midfield creativity and to sharpen our strike force. It is not yet September but for many the writing is on the wall.
This has to stop. Quite apart from the fact that it is too early for any fan to make a meaningful judgement as to what the season may hold, ungrounded pessimism and unrealistic expectations are the greatest threat to our present and to our future. We are rebuilding with a solid foundation, both commercially and on the pitch, a process that takes time and which must be encouraged and not reproached. We do not call for blind optimism or for fans to lose their voice - rather it is in hope that we may all temper the urge to fear the worst, to keep instead a sense of perspective and to remember at all costs that every game, even every defeat, is precious and to be savoured.
If we are to battle relegation again – and who says we will? – it should be with the spirit of community and togetherness that was forged by last season. Our fan base, home and away, is the envy of the division and last season proved that, channelled positively, this support can make the difference between survival and unthinkable collapse. Now is the time to remember what we have, what we almost lost and to rekindle the positivity which made last season one of the greatest in our history.
Keep the faith – and keep it green.
uptheline
Monday, 27 August 2012