We need to talk about Kevin

Firstly, I should acknowledge the lack of posts over the last month as the Good Ship Shaker listed from one crisis to the next. I'll be honest, I'm sick of talking about this season and wish it was due to end tomorrow, not the end of next month. Like many Shakers I've long since resigned myself to our fate and recognise that whatever happens results wise between now and then is only going to be the fore runner to a summer that offers as yet uncertain dramas.

Another reason for my lack of vocal musings on the situation is a reluctance to join in with the negativity that seems to be enveloping Bury FC like a dementor's gaze (one for the Harry Potter fans out there) and is sucking away the life blood of the club. Having said that I have been pondering this post for a couple of weeks, during which my respect for our manager fell to new, and I thought, previously unreachable depths.

I have already discussed the handling of some of the younger players in the new years revolution post, but since that was published it would appear that Kevin Blackwell is doing his best to rip the heart out of everything that Bury FC stands for. I cannot understand what goes through the man's head any more, when he comes out with statements about how much players earn, how the entire club needs restructuring, how no one has told him about what is happening, signing on players to dismiss them the next day paints the worst possible picture of our club, and he is allowed to do it over and over again. It's easy to buy into the attitude that the club is tinpot, if every message from the manager says this is case.

Bury FC over the last few years has been seen as a supportive place where good young players come, develop and move on in the company of a few experienced pros. Take away the manner of departure from Alan Knill and Richie Barker's stewardship and underneath was a culture of improvement and guidance where good youngsters were encouraged. Surely this has now been consigned to the dustbin with the treatment of the 2012/13 vintage, who having been welcomed in July by one manager were just as quickly told they were unwanted and substandard by the next in September. No nurturing, no development, no plans for improvement, just a quick undignified exit.

The tactics have been baffling, Blackwell's stubborn refusal to fill the bench, to use players who were able to fill the roles required and use that point to try to reinforce his own position and score points has made turning up for games a misery. I salute those supporters who travel long distances paying good money in difficult times. I once heard a quote that said the opposite of love isn't hate, because hate still shows an attachment. The real opposite of love is indifference, and I fear that under the current regime many Shakers fans are becoming indifferent to what is going on, in the hope that this will ease the pain. I saw several messages following the announcement of the postponement of the recent Scunthorpe game along the lines of 'thank Goodness, couldn't be bothered' etc showing a worrying lack of enthusiasm for the club just now.
I don't think that this is just the fact that relegation is looming, but a real sense of disappointment with how everything seems to be rapidly unraveling after several years of hard work to get the club back on a stable footing

I recognise the financial constraints can't be easy to work under and it must be frustrating, but to show that frustration over and over, and blame everyone but yourself is putting an unmovable wedge between the manager and supporters. Some (but a dwindling number I observe) applaud KB's honesty in his media work in identifying the situation he is working under. What I resent is the dishonesty liberally sprinkled through his comments. The painting of himself in a better light than has ever been the case (we were 14 points adrift when I came in etc) and the constant down grading of the club surely wouldn't be accepted anywhere else and, if he has been challenged about it and briefed about how to handle such questions, a blatant disregard for the club who's family, nurturing environment is being rapidly destroyed.

With hindsight, maybe a manager who was prepared to buy into the club's ethos would've been a better idea than one so keen on his own reputation and stats (real or believed). One who recognised that a long serving player may have had a few final cameos to make, that a young player may have stepped up to make a bid for a regular spot or one who wasn't going to cause years of damage to the whole collective being that is Bury FC.

It's now over ten years since we had to Save our Shakers. This time we need to save the soul of the club before everything that makes our little club special disappears.