The Game Needs Strong Leaders

VMC Member and long serving Blue Hans ChristianClintonsen sent us the following thought provoking article:

On reflection, I don't think legitimate Europa League qualification is a bad thing. The opportunity was there for the Champions League and we should have been better placed than Spurs over the course of a season. That it came down to one game with them meant it was in our hands and we did not have the players to take the chance.

Big game salaries, but not enough big game players.

Once again, the fans were right in the view on players this season. Letting Richard Dunne go was stated as wrong at the time and wrong it proved to be.

I think Wayne Bridge adds balance and I would like to see a challenge coming from young Greg Cunningham. Bridge can and should improve once he gets the fog of his current malaise out of his head. Irrespective of the American babe he is currently seeing on and off. He will sort his head out at some point - hopefully soon.

Emmanuel Adebayor was a calculated risk. He has proved good fodder to the papers, but not enough to warrant a City shirt. Strong management needs to bring him to his footballing epiphany which players of his ilk need to reach. Michael Johnson take note.

My sign off is disenchantment with the team and club I love. Wholly because of the money now in the game. There are few players I can relate to who would die for the club, given the opportunity and ability, in the way that I - and no doubt millions more delusional footballers - would have. Nigel De Jong and Vincent Kompany are exceptions, but I fear they would do this for any team.

I enjoy grass roots football more these days and take my enjoyment from seeing the game through the kids eyes. However, that is not enough for me. Considering my season ticket position as always, maybe I will get a chance to return to coaching the year after next, work permitting.

The game needs strong leaders with football at it's heart. However, the money men, who will leave us one day, will always claim a love for the game. They will never understand that true life affirming passion that brands useless souls such as myself a CIty fan. In other walks of life I have total control over where my love lies. One of the most memorable articles for me this season was about the guy who questioned why he was not a theatre goer, as they do not have to put up with abjection or disappointment as part of their entertainment.

It is more than a matter of life and death, however, post 1993 - kicked off by Peter Reid against QPR to a fanfare of a fancy fireworks display no less - the soul has gone.

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.