oxblogger
The more successful we become, the more detached the club will be from its supporters. It has to be, to get a return on their substantial investment the owners need to control a narrative and be an attractive risk-free promotional platform to corporate sponsors and investors.
As fans we will hopefully get some benefit from better performances and a new stadium to enjoy that in, but whether we stay as fans or morph into customers is open to some debate. At one level, it’s not what I want, but I fear it’s an inevitable consequence of success.
As I repeatedly bang on about to anybody within earshot, I’d hate to support a big club: thousands/millions of strangers who have never even set eyes on the stadium claiming ownership over the team you support and distorting the fan narrative (we’re more than capable of generating irrational hysteria on our own, thanks).
There’s a broad acceptance of the aim/target of being A Top 30 Club™, but honestly it sounds dreadful. I want us to be successful of course, and I’d love to see us in the upper echelons of the Championship but the stark reality I have to accept is that, the way English football is these days (thank you, the premier league), you probably can’t sustain that without converting yourself into A Top 30 Club™ and accepting all the drawbacks that brings.
Grant Ferguson’s words were very pointed about new blood in an organisation bringing new ideas and how we probably haven’t had enough of that over the years. It’s clear that a lot of what we all see as the beating heart and soul of our little ol’ club, they interpret as baggage and dead weight, holding the club back from really stepping up into the new world of successful corporate football.
They’re probably right about that - the question is, is that what we really want? For me, I’m not sure it is.
