THE LONG ROAD BACK

With every new season, the fans drift back.
A different shirt means another new pack. 
But the look on their faces
is never a basis
for cutting the team any slack.

An adrenalin buzz in a sad, sad world;
a shot in the arm as the team is unfurled.
But the hopeful beginning
and prospect of winning,
disappear as the insults are hurled.

The long suffering fans count the years and the losses,
the boardroom upheavals and ejected bosses.
Their blue veneration
dips with each relegation
as they archive each fallen colossus.

Who has this recipe for a winning mentality?
To Stockport County, this is not a formality.
No use chanting past glories;
can't survive on grand stories.
Today's problems drown sentimentality.

On the pitch we need leaders who perform every fixture,
a manager who sees every inch of the picture.
We need Edgeley Park heroes,
County scores without zeros
and some money to add to the mixture.

Yes, County have fallen to a lowly place;
They are playing at grounds they wished never to face.
Can we find heart and soul
to get out of this hole,
and emerge from this state of disgrace.

Time will tell........................

Pauline Coddington (A Footballer's Guide to Feltmaking)