Disillusioned with the whole thing.

Ivyhouse said:
I wish the team well on Saturday but for the first time in nearly 60 years I won’t be following the scores every minute and won’t be paying £10 to watch? I don’t like the way things are at the club at the moment and while it’s been a hell of a ride I don’t feel excited about the short term future. I’ve seen things I never dreamt of seeing with the club and will never forget those moments. A late 60 something old man jumping up and down with the rest after seeing my team beat the champions on their own patch in a league game. I’ve moaned and berated with the best during the Benson and Groves eras but always thought the players cared however this current bunch have been defrauding the fans for nearly a year now, seen off 2 managers, decent blokes, and give the impression it’s all a big laugh.
Maybe it’s an accumulation of everything that’s been happening this last 12 months but I’ve never felt this disinterested before. There, said it now. :utc:
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It’s sad to say but I totally agree and will not be as interested to return.
 
1. I still love my Cherryboys.
2. There are however a few who for some reason really get on my blasted nerves.
3. All this money the club has run into over the last few years has without doubt been corrupting.
4. Passion seems a dirty word now...as if players who have it are not refined.
5. Sorry chums give me someone like Neil Young over some of the lot we have now.
6. It is a tad weird this season what with watching it on TV...all slightly removed.
7. Mind you, you can indulge in carnal relations whilst watching the game on TV....something difficult to do in the East Stand on a rainy day...though I have tried valiantly.
8. I must say I do miss the pre match drink and banter.
9. I’ll be watching on Saturday....a jolly old eager beaver supporting my beloved club. Yes there are things wrong but my love for AFCB is engraved on my heart.
10. I also love this club because of you my fellow supporters and sufferers. Yes we are a mad little tinpot club...but what’s so lovely about us lot is we know it and are so gorgeously proud of it. Chums I doth my cap to you all.
11. I’m getting a tad emotional now and am wondering why in the world I numbered all my bloody sentences......
12. Oh well....there you have it.
 
Football was always the escape from everything. An afternoon or evening with no worries about work, money or anything stressing you.

I'm probably not the only one still finding life a struggle without it.
 
Nothing feels the same. The ritual of getting stuck on the M3, worrying about getting “our” parking spot, the same walk every time, the walk my Dad and Grandad made both before and with us, making sure the programme is bought from our lucky programme seller, being surrounded by “friends” who you don’t actually know other than spending Saturday afternoon with them, giving the Lino stick, worrying we haven’t scored, or that we have scored but its too early, actually hating every minute of it but not wanting to miss a moment of it. Being abused by ex playing colleagues from 30 years ago!

Lockdown football isn’t the same, its not real. A while back, we considered the option of relocating to Spain, sadly, the biggest argument for me at the time was, how many times am I going to be able to get to Dean Court, they need me as I need them. It was a deciding factor for me to stay.

It just doesn’t feel the same.
 
Garbo said:
these are indeed strange times and I can understand why many are totally fed up at the moment....outside of football the world is a grey and depressing place under these conditions. Watching on TV doesn't replace actually being in the ground and bawling at the players to get their act together...and players are getting away with sub standard performances as they don't have to be accountable to 10,000 screaming fans!

We obviously have some in our squad who are lacking responsibility and substance...this will only be a temporary thing until a new boss is in place to sort them out...

I can't ever contemplate losing interest to the point that I don't care if we win or lose, but have sympathy with some who do..

I want us to win every game....but at this point I can't see us getting close to that until someone comes in and shakes the place up and reads the riot act to stop this slide in form.

If we don't go up this season then it will be a very different AFCB next term, but would that be so bad? We could at least close the door on this sorry chapter in our time...

Those of us who have been through the harsh winters of this club probably are more circumspect and feel the pain a tad more?
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I can handle us losing, but I hate it when you just feel the team aren’t giving everything or that dressing room issues are hurting us out on the pitch. I watched us switch off in about October in the PL last season. I went to watch us away to Arsenal and came away worried about what I saw. What is it about Bournemouth that allows its teams to take their foot off the pedal so easily? We, the fans, are desperate for them to win, Why do some some in the team regard it as an optional extra. Whoever we appoint let it be someone who is not afraid to hold a mirror up to the squad and shout, if necessary, “you must try harder, you are not paid to fail.”
 
Waz afcb said:
I think it doesn’t feel like a Bournemouth team and it hasn’t for a while now. I’ve always associated the ‘Bournemouth way’ as having a team that battles against the odds, always playing on the front foot and being brave on the ball. Sure we’ve had spells down the years where that hasn’t been the case, but the managers who oversaw these periods in time generally didn’t last long. In some ways I feel that we are different to any other supporter base, in that as long as we can see that the players are fighting for the cause and that we are trying to play positive football then a lot of our fans will be happy regardless of results. I believe a lot of fans are disillusioned because over the last year and a half we have moved far away from this perceived identity, and at the end of the day when you have no identity what do you have? Worryingly I think that this also applies to our off pitch identity, the way that certain situations have been handled involving loyal servants to the club does not sit well with me at all.
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I'm not convinced about the fan base being happy so long as the players are trying to play good football nor that we are unique in believing that we are special in that way.

That said this is probably the closest to how I feel. I built my identity as a Bournemouth fan around the "ball on the deck" football against the odds whether footballing opposition or financial. The club was always calling for your support and when the experience was a bit crap it was because it was being held together by shoestring with the help of volunteers.

Then Eddie (and Max) came. They brought success but it still felt like it was against the odds, Max giving some stability and Eddie taking ever bigger scalps.

But behind the scenes particularly with the Premier League money, it replaced the shoestring management with suits seemingly more in it for personal wealth and status than providing a service or being part of a community. Whether it's the new turnstile system, online ticket sales, ST moves/renewal, merchandise stock, stadium/training ground development, ticket refunds, or any of the clean sweep of disasters the "club" has responded arrogantly and belittling to the point of gaslighting if they respond at all. I listened to the Radio Solent post-Tindall sacking special and they sounded very annoyed that despite asking, nobody from the club would speak to them.

While Eddie was here despite what anyone says we were underdogs in the Premier League. Every game was a massive battle. I still felt that connection with all the things I associate with being a Bournemouth fan from a football perspective so I was able to conveniently ignore the 'club' and focus on the team.

Then a good chunk of the team let us down and football's response to covid was a gut punch to my love of the game.

Then Eddie left and focus went back to the club who sacked off a bunch of club legends by text and IMO threw Tindall to the lions. We also lost the underdog status by being one of the favourites to go back up.

I can understand how fans could be feeling a bit disenfranchised.
 
You can never replace all "our rituals "...going to the pub meeting up with family/friends going to the ground, all part of the day...... but coming on here and watching the games on screen is all we've got at the moment to feed our "fix".
I accept people are very disillusioned at the moment....but for me I cant just wipe away 60 years of supporting the club , so grab anything I can ,till we can all get back to something like normality.
 
I fully appreciate all the views on this thread to date.

Supporting your team is in the blood and is for life ups and downs what ever league we may be in. Rather more downs in my lifetime but hey ho we still kept going even in the Benson years which were the low point. As Kudos has said particularly in recent times the club side of the partnership has let us down continually. We had considerable empathy, especially to those hard working and often unpaid stalwarts at the club ditched by Mitchell, to the financial plight of the club but it galls that those who failed in service delivery in Div 2 are still there making decisions on the long term future of our club and are extremely well paid for continual non service delivery and contempt towards the supporters.

I have just paid this week's tenner because being a Bournemouth supporter there is always hope even if the players aren't as committed and doing their bit.
 
redharry said:
This, one million percent.
I just don't feel part of it without going to the games. It's like someone has just taken part of me away. It's not just the football, its the meeting up with lifelong mates for a beer before or after, exploring different places at away games, talking with opposing fans - its the whole experience.
Of course I still support them but most games I don't pay £10, I watch the ST freebie ones, sometimes I don't even listen on the radio.
If there was a choice between watching us live in Div 2 or watching us on TV in the PL I would take Div 2 without a question. Mind you the way we are playing and with the vaccine rollout that may happen sooner rather than later !!!!
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Football minus fans and on the tv is a husk of an experience. I am desperate to enjoy matchday again and, like you, I’m finding it a bit hard to keep up interest in the meantime. Empty stadiums have exposed how many matches are lifeless on the pitch and really just bore-ins without the passion of the fans.
 
Supporting your local club...just being interested in its progress...its place in a table, knowing it can rise further up..is the attraction initially..from childhood its difficult to get away from, once youve started...those first few coins from your pocket money were invested...your part of it now....and the olds of back then told you the Cherries beat Wolves, the top side of the day in the Cup..away and Spurs in the next round 3-1 !!
( the film of that on u- tube now, the posh commentator - priceless...Norris and Stiffle etc rock and rolled em....then they went home and listened to rock and roll music..sublime Era !

McDougall - if he Didn't score it was a sensation...a shock ...you couldn't sleep for a week!

Years later the strange comfort feeling I got walking away from those buckets ...trying to help 'save' the club...emotional now..

I think its fair to say that many of us are fuelled by history and loyalty....with enthusiasm having taken a big broadside hit by recent events.
But...I'm sure we will hang in there... and better stuff will emerge from inside DC if Max gets a better grip on it...and gets rid of certain staff and players.
Where we've been now enables us to sit in a pub with say Pompey or Sunderland fans and swap a crazy catalogue of stories.....then all raise a glass to Accrington Stanley fans ..they've been places and nowhere too.

The gloom could be lifted with a 2 - 0 win on Saturday...a goal in each half....with a full on committment...that would be an air puncher for all our fans...a win !
Birmingham...a bigger club than us..from a big city....so a good footprint into what can be if we can once again take the points from them.
A long way from the 8-0...but a way forward!
 
Old Cherry said:
...Birmingham...a bigger club than us..from a big city....so a good footprint into what can be if we can once again take the points from them...
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Glad you mentioned Blues...

All our gripers and whingers should have a good long look at the recent history of that massive, well supported club. That's a serious example of fans really suffering from dark, dark days.

Anyone who can't be bothered to watch us on Saturday should be ashamed.

I probably need to stay off this thread going forward, it's making me both really angry and embarrased by some of our so called 'support'
 
AFCB Lost in Brum said:
Glad you mentioned Blues...

All our gripers and whingers should have a good long look at the recent history of that massive, well supported club. That's a serious example of fans really suffering from dark, dark days.

Anyone who can't be bothered to watch us on Saturday should be ashamed.

I probably need to stay off this thread going forward, it's making me both really angry and embarrased by some of our so called 'support'
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All clubs lose and gain supporters depending on fortunes. Are we really any different?
 
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