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Words have steadily lost their impact as Wanderers slide slowly towards relegation from the Championship.
The only statement fans wanted to hear yesterday was from the courtroom, confirming their club was finally safe from liquidation and that the tax bill owed to HMRC had been settled.
But an hour earlier, club captain Darren Pratley had apologised on behalf of the players for the 6-0 drubbing at Bristol City.
However heartfelt, his words came too late and would have carried a lot more sway had they been made on the touchline at Ashton Gate and not via the club’s website more than a day later.
It may be argued that the midfielder was damned if he did, and damned if he didn’t.
Nothing Pratley or any other player said would have quelled fans’ anger after that performance but at least they could be seen to be in some way accountable.
Pratley is one of the squad’s more conscientious members and his passion through the club’s recent financial troubles has been clear in his interviews.
But nevertheless the timing of his apology – and indeed that it appeared directly on the club’s own website – was viewed as stage-managed by many fans on Monday morning.
“We’ve let the club down and we all know that,” he said. “After all the club has been through of late we should be doing better and we know that.
“We’re sorry to all of the fans that travelled to the game.
"What we served up simply wasn’t good enough.
"Throughout this season the fans have stuck with us, but after the Bristol City game I don’t think any one of us can challenge any of the criticism that comes our way.
“It also wasn’t a fair reflection on Jimmy Phillips. We’ve let him down in his first game as interim manager. He set us up in training on the Friday, but the game plan went right out of the window after three minutes. We can’t keep looking to the bench for inspiration – we have to shoulder the responsibility and adjust to what is going on.
“What happened at Bristol City can never happen again. There are ways of getting beat and that was unacceptable.
“We have to try and restore some pride between now and the end of the season, starting with our next game against Reading. Over the international break we’ll be training hard. We can’t hide from our situation right now.”
Facing up to the media post-match is rarely a responsibility that players relish, least of all after a defeat. There are times, however, that the interviewee can do themselves some good.
John McGinlay, reflecting bluntly on a 6-0 defeat at home to Manchester United in 1996 once uttered the memorable quote: “Second ball? We didn’t even win a yellow card.”
And more recently Jay Spearing faced up to the questions after the 7-1 mauling at Reading just over two years ago under Dougie Freedman.
“What could have gone wrong did go wrong. We, as players, have to stand up and take responsibility because we haven't been good enough,” the former captain said. “I'd like to apologise to the fans. Not one of us were anywhere near our best.”
The lack of accountability in the aftermath of Saturday’s game further infuriated a fan-base now used to their club spewing quotes out immediately after the game via video and social media.
Today’s football supporters are less patient and much more reactive but they still respond more readily to a structured article or a professional line of questioning.
Through four High Court cases and months of financial worry the Wanderers board have relied on brief, often jargon-filled statements to explain their position and have resisted interviews from the media.
Before that, the silence under chairman Phil Gartside’s watch had been even more pronounced.
There remain unanswered questions about the decisions that have been made in the last few months – and we continue to extend the invitation to address them in this newspaper.
Sorry may be the hardest word. But sometimes it is a good start.
Source
The only statement fans wanted to hear yesterday was from the courtroom, confirming their club was finally safe from liquidation and that the tax bill owed to HMRC had been settled.
But an hour earlier, club captain Darren Pratley had apologised on behalf of the players for the 6-0 drubbing at Bristol City.
However heartfelt, his words came too late and would have carried a lot more sway had they been made on the touchline at Ashton Gate and not via the club’s website more than a day later.
It may be argued that the midfielder was damned if he did, and damned if he didn’t.
Nothing Pratley or any other player said would have quelled fans’ anger after that performance but at least they could be seen to be in some way accountable.
Pratley is one of the squad’s more conscientious members and his passion through the club’s recent financial troubles has been clear in his interviews.
But nevertheless the timing of his apology – and indeed that it appeared directly on the club’s own website – was viewed as stage-managed by many fans on Monday morning.
“We’ve let the club down and we all know that,” he said. “After all the club has been through of late we should be doing better and we know that.
“We’re sorry to all of the fans that travelled to the game.
"What we served up simply wasn’t good enough.
"Throughout this season the fans have stuck with us, but after the Bristol City game I don’t think any one of us can challenge any of the criticism that comes our way.
“It also wasn’t a fair reflection on Jimmy Phillips. We’ve let him down in his first game as interim manager. He set us up in training on the Friday, but the game plan went right out of the window after three minutes. We can’t keep looking to the bench for inspiration – we have to shoulder the responsibility and adjust to what is going on.
“What happened at Bristol City can never happen again. There are ways of getting beat and that was unacceptable.
“We have to try and restore some pride between now and the end of the season, starting with our next game against Reading. Over the international break we’ll be training hard. We can’t hide from our situation right now.”
Facing up to the media post-match is rarely a responsibility that players relish, least of all after a defeat. There are times, however, that the interviewee can do themselves some good.
John McGinlay, reflecting bluntly on a 6-0 defeat at home to Manchester United in 1996 once uttered the memorable quote: “Second ball? We didn’t even win a yellow card.”
And more recently Jay Spearing faced up to the questions after the 7-1 mauling at Reading just over two years ago under Dougie Freedman.
“What could have gone wrong did go wrong. We, as players, have to stand up and take responsibility because we haven't been good enough,” the former captain said. “I'd like to apologise to the fans. Not one of us were anywhere near our best.”
The lack of accountability in the aftermath of Saturday’s game further infuriated a fan-base now used to their club spewing quotes out immediately after the game via video and social media.
Today’s football supporters are less patient and much more reactive but they still respond more readily to a structured article or a professional line of questioning.
Through four High Court cases and months of financial worry the Wanderers board have relied on brief, often jargon-filled statements to explain their position and have resisted interviews from the media.
Before that, the silence under chairman Phil Gartside’s watch had been even more pronounced.
There remain unanswered questions about the decisions that have been made in the last few months – and we continue to extend the invitation to address them in this newspaper.
Sorry may be the hardest word. But sometimes it is a good start.
Source