Sums on City

26th November 2023

By Chris Sumner.

Where oh where do I begin reflecting on Saturday’s result? Firstly, I must admit that I did write a blog post that I never got round to publishing on Thursday following the club’s most recent statement backing the manager. But after Saturday’s capitulation, it’s only right that I rewrite some of it and get it all off my chest. I haven’t posted until now as I’ve wanted to have a good think of what I’m going to say and how best to put it across.

City started with centre-back Cheick Diabate up front, something that GC tried out at Swindon in the EFL Trophy a few days earlier. James Scott and Yanic Wildschut, both players who can actually play as strikers, were on the bench. For the first half an hour, we defended well and gave it a decent go. Then after conceding in the 34th minute, heads dropped and it was of course downhill from there.

We’re bottom of the form table out of the whole 92 EFL clubs, haven’t won in the league since September 16th and only scored two league goals since then. If you count the EFL Trophy games against Reading and Arsenal U21’s, which were 9-0 and 5-0 defeats respectively along with Saturday’s game, then that equates to 21 goals shipped without response in three of the games that we’ve played this season.

This run shows no signs of stopping and it’s very clear to a lot of people now that GC has lost the dressing room. I’m sad for him because I wanted him to succeed, but it just isn’t working. Even fans that wouldn’t normally call for the head of a manager are starting to feel that enough is enough, and that may well be seen to be the case when Shrewsbury Town visit SJP on Tuesday night.

Which brings me to the statement that the club and trust boards released on Thursday, which stated that GC’s appointment was seen as a long-term one and that this has not changed.

Firstly, there’s always been a lot of emphasis over the last 20 years on where we’ve come from, and how lucky we are to have a club at all. I agree that this should never be forgotten, and the trust model has more than played its part over that time. Despite this, there is an element of risk-aversion I feel due to this, and obviously we never again want to experience the troubles we had pre-Trust – however, I have found myself in everyday life over the years that if you don’t take risks, then progress and rewards aren’t forthcoming.

I’ve said numerous times that despite the injuries that we’ve had that we should have a squad that is more than capable of competing in this division. Granted historically we’re a ‘run-of-the-mill L2 club’, but when there’s opportunities for us to progress as a club then we need to take them. We’ve progressed greatly off the pitch in recent years and a relegation back to L2 after two seasons would undo a lot of that work as crowds would start to dwindle and ergo would mean less money for the club. Football however is an entertainment business and if the performances aren’t great, you can’t blame people for not wanting to spend their hard-earned at SJP on a Saturday afternoon.

Secondly, the statement mentions that the club’s immediate actions continue to be the exploration of opportunities available for investing in all areas of football. This is welcome news as a lot of the budget in recent years has gone into infrastructure, and losing Sam Nombe so late in the summer window without a plan B hasn’t helped. Hopefully there will be a decent pot available to obtain a striker capable of scoring goals in League One. Although we’ve had a few players go for decent sums, it’s worth remembering that a lot of these transfer fees are paid in instalments so we may not have as much at our disposal as some may think right now.

I wanted to give GC the Bolton and Shrewsbury games to get points on the board. I wasn’t expecting anything from Bolton and initially thought I’d back him if we got something against Shrewsbury, but after the way we capitulated on Saturday, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me.

The problem is now that we’ve got a lot of players and staff who are only interested in getting their pay check and not in performing for the badge on the front of the shirt. Before, we had a talented mixture of old heads and academy graduates who knew what it meant to represent our club. Judging by the body language before the game against Bolton and before other games earlier this season, the players look to be going through the motions, and as soon as we go a goal behind heads drop.

It was not a performance befitting of an Exeter City side, and I feel that if GC had any self respect after the game he would walk. But as I write this on Sunday evening, he’s still our manager and if he is on Tuesday then so be it – I will do my bit as a fan to get behind the players on Tuesday evening but anything less than a win will not be acceptable – and if that’s not forthcoming then I fully expect GC to either fall on his sword or get booted out.

With Matt Taylor, our former captain and manager, currently without a club following his sacking at Rotherham and interesting other parties such as Bristol Rovers, I’d urge the club to do what they can to gauge interest if it’s there and if so do what they can to bring him back to the club. I know that some aren’t keen, and that’s fair enough, but I think the job of manager currently needs someone who knows what the club is about, would ensure that players fight for the badge they’re wearing and I strongly believe MT ticks those boxes. As I say though, that’s all down to whether he’d want to come back.

I’ve been asked to speak to BBC Spotlight regarding the current situation at SJP at some point tomorrow and all I can do is reiterate what I’ve been saying here and be honest about it. I like GC, I love how he has embraced the community side of the club and tried to forge connection with the fans, however results are the main thing and they just haven’t been forthcoming, with no passion, pride or will to win shown. Ergo, to stop us getting dwindling attendances and potentially heading back to League Two, now is the time for either GC or the board to act.

A big week is ahead for our club, a win on Tuesday may keep the wolves from the door for now, but if the performances aren’t forthcoming then the roars of discontent from the Fanbase will get ever louder.

Regardless, managers and players come and go but us fans will always be the constant. CTID. UTC.