This afternoon, my team slumped to yet another defeat, this time at the hands of Burnley. In contrast to our slim pickings of 1 win, 1 draw and only 2 goals, the Clarets kept up their 100% home record with a performance that didn't reflect the 2-1 win. Instead, Burnley's win should have been far greater. Alas, the false dawns of Birmingham City have confirmed why, to paraphrase Elton John, 'they call us the Blues'.
Today's matches gave football fans a chance to enjoy or endure the trials and tribulations of the bottom of the league, with none of the 'Big 4' playing at 3 o'clock. There were wins for Hull, Portsmouth and Burnley, with defeats for Wigan, Wolves and Birmingham. To these clubs, winning is never a formality. Fans of Manchester United and Chelsea can, to some extent, turn up knowing that to drop points against one of the afore-mentioned teams is at worst, unlikely. To some extent, I think this must take some of the fun out of life. Two weeks ago, I was on top of the moon after a gloriously scrappy 1-0 win away at Hull. To a supporter of a successful club, the same result would probably be looked upon like this:
Two weeks ago, I was relieved that we laboured to a 1-0 win away at Hull.
As ever, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. On the other hand, as a supporter of a lesser Premier League side, the defeats away at Manchester United and Liverpool do not hurt as much. I am not for one moment daring to trot out the old, and false cliché that football doesn't mean as much to fans of the 'Big 4', but to hold a win at home to Portsmouth in the same regard as a cup final win is held by a Man United fan makes me feel very priveleged.
Supporting a club that seems to be forever on the brink of either being relegated or blowing promotion creates a fear amongst fans. It is not the same fear that grips, for example, a Liverpool fan when losing at home to Barnsley. That kind of fear is coupled with humiliation, and a sense of black humour. Our fear, on the other hand, makes fans freeze with a sense of 'what if...?' 'What if we don't get promotion?' 'What if the yo-yo snaps, and we go the same way as Leeds United, or Charlton?'
Every fan experiences fear, joy and misery, to varying degrees of regularity. They say to truly enjoy the good times, you must first experience the bad. As a Blues fan, we've certainly had enough of the latter.
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