It's FACup weekend, and my lowly league two side were playing at home to premiership Middlesborough. I know, I know, I should have assumed that we would never make it through, but it's the FACup and you never know what will happen. Especially after 90 seconds of the match, and we're leading 1-0. For the rest of the first half things looked quite good. But then came half time, teamtalks and a new premiership formation.
Pretty soon it was 1-1. Then it was 1-2. Full time. Dream over for another year.
It's not so much the fact that we are lost to a premiership club. I expected it really, It's more the fact that across the river our nearest team hasn't been able to win a match for months, they've slumped to the foot of their division, there fans have gone quiet (what a relief that has been!) and the flags, pendants and scarves removed from their cars. That was until they won yesterday. Now the local press, local website, local radio are suddenly full of nothing but praise for them. Fickle. 'You only crow when you're winning'. How apt.
"We've turned the corner" one fan was quoted as saying. I hope not. A relegation battle, financial hardship and then maybe the realisation that they are not premiership material - as they keep falsely claiming - will finally dawn on them.
However, while the local press keep focusing on them only, ignoring the other teams in the region, they'll only go on thinking that they are better than they are.
Biased against them? I might be. But at least I accept that my team are where we are because that is how good we are. Why can't they accept the same?
