3 straight League defeats and no goals makes terrible reading for fans of Bath City Football Club. We now lie in 18th place in the table. The early season optimism has most definitely evaporated and fears of another 'non-event' season grow.
Why is it so bad?
Many people blame Adie Britton and Archie Howells and some blame some of the players. We have a talented group of footballers so why we can't get results must be down to the way the team is set up and the mindset of the players. It is the latter that has attracted attention recently. Aaron Brown trudged quietly off the pitch after seeing red at Chelmsford and there were no protests from City players or the bench! Ross Stearn appears unhappy with the management by all accounts.Is it therefore a happy and unified squad? Certainly there were rumours of disquiet over contracts and pay and an unhappy dressing room. Some will say this is normal at Clubs but isn't this unusual at City?
I have said before that the current leadership of Bath City Football Club is not pulling the Club together. When all is not well off the pitch then it surely affects the feel of the team on it.A unified Club definitely transmits to the management and the players in a positive way.
Many people are now calling for change. Only the Board can do that and its up to them. They are also Bath City fans and want the best for the Club.After 2 difficult years I wonder how long things will be allowed to deteriorate before action is taken.
October can often be a difficult month in the finances of a non league football Club.
We know that Bath City FC is struggling when it comes to the money but this month will challenge the Club's coffers even more. Whilst the FA Cup can be the financial saviour it can also hit cashflow. The next scheduled home game for City is Saturday 2nd November against Havant and Waterlooville. City's progress to the third Qualifying round of the Cup meant that the home game against Sutton on 12th October has been postponed. There will be a share of the gate money at Bridgwater but won't that at best cover expenses?
We'll all be hoping for a City win and then a home draw on 26th October!
I don't know much about Bridgwater. When I was a lad it was famous for its carnival and I might have even been once. Now its somewhere you pass on the M5. It's close to Hinkley Point nuclear power station, soon to be re-constructed by a French power Company but that's about it really.
They were always in the Western League but with the expansion of the pyramid have now become a force to be reckoned with in the lower reaches of the Southern League. I am always nervous about playing teams who are unbeaten and as gloom mongers in the social media have pointed out, City's Cup history is littered with failures against such teams. It is not going to be easy. The current City side likes to pass the ball. Do we have the players for a Cup scrap? We'll know by 4.50 p.m. this coming Saturday.
One things for sure, I'd feel a lot more comfortable with the likes of Chris Holland, Matt Coupe, Jon Holloway, Darren Edwards and Lewis Hogg in the team for a game like this, but City showed battling qualities against Gosport and I believe we can do it again this coming Saturday.
We certainly have to do better than at Chelmsford last week. For what it's worth I think City's players will raise it this Saturday but my fear is that the Club's problems run deep and we won't go forward again until fundamental change is made.
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