Since my last Aldershot-related posting on 17th November, The Shots have played 4, won 1 and lost 3, scoring twice, conceding 6 and being humiliated in the Cup in the process. As you'd expect with a run of results like this we've slid down the table and our "best ever squad" is just 3 points clear of the bottom two. This isn't the first time that I've seen Aldershot go on a bad run, but the feeling of apathy and discontent from the supporters seems stronger this time than in the past. Why is this?
In the main, it's the style of football. Having a team who can play short passes between each other until the cows come home is all well and good. Having a lot of the ball in the opposition half is good. Not conceding many goals is good. Creating next to nothing and scoring even less is a big problem and has been all season.
I recall saying during our first home game of the season against Southend United that we looked short up front - Everything seemed to go through Morgan and looking at the rest of the team, it was hard to see where any goals would come from. Donnelly, Hudson, Soares and Sandell all chipped in with goals and their replacements don't look like scoring anywhere near the required amount. Even Morgan's been off form for most of the season and the fact that we've managed just 16 goals in 19 league games says it all.
This lack of goals, coupled with the abysmal set pieces, the boring build up play and poor results has made watching Aldershot matches boring. At the start of the season I felt we were unlucky and was confident that we'd get it together and start winning games. "We're very close to having a very good team" I told people, but as the season's worn on it's become apparent that we haven't been unlucky, we haven't just had "one of those days" - We have real problems in the team and something needs to be done.
It's all too predictable. A bright start, good build up, few chances, we go a goal down, we give up. This routine was getting very tiresome, especially during the defeats against Cheltenham, Macclesfield and Chesterfield... But a worrying thing for me is that even when we beat Morecambe, I still found the game to be dull and came away from the game feeling quite flat. Despite this, I still had faith in Kevin Dillon to turn it around, I felt that we could pull out enough decent results to finish in the top 10. I'm not that bothered by the style of play if it's getting us results, but over the last couple of months this just hasn't been the case and the gutless defeat at Dover tipped me and many others over the edge.
No fight, no passion, no desire, no ideas and no hope. That freezing cold afternoon at The Crabble summed up our season and we had absolutley no excuses. It was that afternoon which rammed home the point that there are real problems within our team, with both the players and management. The scenes in the away end as Dover slotted home a stoppage time penalty will be with me for a long time. Not since the end of George Borg's time have I seen the Shots support turn on the team and manager like that and personally I've never been so angry after a game. Since my first Aldershot game in '97 I've seen 4 managers in charge of the team and I've only booed the team off twice (Barnet and Dover away) and both times they've been during Dillon's reign.
The emotions after the Dover debacle were stark contrast to the scenes at Rotherham's Don Valley Stadium two weeks later, following another predictable defeat. The performance was typical of a Kevin Dillon side, but at full time there was no booing, no abuse, no barracking or any reaction what-so-ever from the hardy few who travelled to South Yorkshire that afternoon. Much like the players, the fans seemed to greet the result with an acceptance that defeat was an inevitability. It was a numb feeling and a worrying one too.
Despite all of this, I'm not worried for our Football League status. We have a kind fixture schedule (weather permitting) and our next six games are against teams in the lower half, starting with a home game with Lincoln City on Saturday. It's this run of games that will determine which way our season goes - We could be out of danger and hobbling along to a mid-table finish, or we could be dragged in the mire and scrapping for our lives.
Whatever happens, Dillon's contract is up in the summer and I can't see it being renewed. I just hope that the damage is minimal after he's gone and I don't have to travel to Barrow, Histon or Southport next season.
