What Have The Romans Ever Done For Us?

There seems to be a number of Addicks who feel that Lee Bowyer should be sacked. It’s difficult to say how big that number is. My view is that it’s a very small minority. The most vocal tend to take to social media etc. and that isn’t always a good gauge of public opinion as we know.

Whilst I’ll readily acknowledge that the gaffer has made mistakes I’ll not be joining the ranks of those calling for his dismissal.

I accept that some of Lee’s team selections, post-match comments and to an extent, not getting a central defender in during the last transfer window are some of them.

I think Bowyer is deserving of some leeway especially during this, the most difficult season for any team, in recent memory.

One only needs to look at the league tables for all 4 top leagues in England to realise that something’s amiss. West Ham are 5^th in the Prem. Yes, I know!!

Teams you could bet your mortgage on winning games at home are spectacularly failing to do so. Liverpool ( who have suffered similar central defensive problems but ought to be a damn sight better equipped to cope with them ) losing at home to Burnley and Brighton for example.   

Our fans really do make a difference and that’s exacerbated in League One as very few of the other clubs have such imposing crowds.

I’ll further cite individual defensive errors and the ridiculously uncertain start we had at the start of the season. Whilst we were scraping a side together other clubs were bonding, establishing patterns of play etc.

I’ll also cite some errors at the other end of the pitch too. Defensive errors frequently lead to goals of course and attacking ones don’t! Better decision making and execution in and around the box would also have seen us pick up more points.   

To me the negative attitude of some all smacks of shades of the Life of Brian and the Romans!

What have they ever done for us?

The Aqueduct, sanitation, the roads, irrigation, medicine, education, the wine, public baths, peace….

All right but apart from the aqueduct, sanitation, the roads, irrigation, medicine, education, the wine, public baths, peace…..what have the Romans ever done for us?

Similarly, apart from a play-off semi-final, promotion from League 1 via a most memorable Wembley play-off final, nearly keeping us in the Champ against all the odds, managing the club under the most stressful of circumstances, showing unbelievable loyalty………really, what has Lee Bowyer ever done for us?

It seems that the one downside of Thomas’s acquisition is the raising of the level of expectation. Perhaps instant gratification is the modern way but to undo years of neglect in the midst of a pandemic really will take time.

There are more reasons to keep Bowyer and his management team than to dismiss them. Patience is a virtue and we’d do well to keep the faith and in so doing, repay that which he has given us.

We are well placed financially unlike a number of clubs and especially the majority of those in League One. If we don’t make it this season (and personally, I haven’t yet ruled out making the play-offs ) then we’ll be fantastically well placed to do so in the next.

I’d rather that Bowyer was at the helm when we do so!

Come On You Reds!