[Archived] time to change attitude

[Puffsan]

I have translated a post made by a guy called friedel on the norwegian rovers forum that in my opinion was very well written. He said he was fine with the text being translated.

I think this is a very good post that needs to be shared with as many rovers fans as possible, because i personally feel its important to stay positive in tough times

I would also like to make clear that this guy has been one of the most hardcore pro protesters for a really long time, who has almost flamed me when i have wanted to give the situation more time, and he is truly a guy who really loves this club.

I have tried to translate it as good as i can without changing the text too much so that his opinions and feelings are showing as he meant for it to show. I hope people will enjoy the text and think about what he is really saying, and i hope people will not be to angry on him/me for posting this.

Sorry in advance if its any parts in the text you are not able to understand

heres the text:

Time to change attitude

Okay, i do not quite know where to begin, but will do my best to try to write down what I think and feel as good as i possibly can.

Today I came home from work at 1530, turned on my computer, went straight to Facebook and saw a news item that almost made my heart stop. My heart did not stop, but yet I thought Blackburn, Premier League, football, yes life was simply over. One of the first things I got on my mind was Wimbledon.

What happens now? How will the future in the club i love be? Shall I go over to England to execute Venkys?

I wasnt able to think positive no matter how hard I tried, thats why i have avoided to post on BRSCN (norwegian supporters website), in respect of all others.

After 6 hours of thinking, whining, scolding, sweating and crying i actually saw a light in the tunnel. Now it is probably very many in here that think i have gone mad, which I have no problem with understanding. "How can the most negative supporter of all suddenly be positive?". Yes, I'll try to explain it further, and at the same time i hope that more people will jump into the same boat as I have done. Do not misunderstand, I still want KEAN OUT, but when it does not work with demonstrations etc, there are other things we fans can contribute with.

Now all us supporters of Blackburn Rovers have experienced how it is to support the club in difficult times. Some manage it, but most can not.

I am one of those who have not managed it. I will not say that you support the club when you are turning your back on the club, even though you don't mean to. Yes, the purpose is to turn our backs on kean and venkys, but the fact is that we have turned our back on the club. We must think about how the club is being perceived from the outside, and those who turn their back on the club, how will the players react? Will they react positive? Certainly not.

We supporters have helped to make Blackburn Rovers an even less attractive club than we were before the summer. When we lost 2 points in injury time againts Norwich, we blamed kean and the referee. In fotball it is all about having the mental part in order. Who gets the blame when we lose points because we collaps at the end of the games? Steve kean. But after hours of philosophy i have found out that it is not Steve Kean's fault that we lose 2 points against norwich to give you a recent example. It is OUR faul, US THE FANS!

We are a major contributor to how games turn out as they do. When it is 10 minutes left and the club are ahead with 2 goals i don't think the players start thinking "now we have to close our defense otherwhise kean will have our heads." I actually believe the players are thinking "oh S##T, how the hell are they fans going to react if we waste this lead away?" I sat in front of my TV and watched Footballextra (norwegian football program) one night they discussed a team that were in the lead, and then the team started to play very defensivly. It ended with the team losing their points. I do not remember what team they were talking about, however there were former football players commenting on what happens in the minds of the players when this situation occurs, why it happens etc. The conclusion was that it is not the coaches who tells the players to close their defense. On the contrary, the coaches actually tell their players to keep pouring forward. Attack is the best defense etc. So when a team starts playing defensivly, in 75% of the times it happens by natural causes. The main reason is the fact that the players mind start to think defensivly, they don't want to take big risks. When the players don't want to take big risks, they often try to play the long ball instead of playing the short, and then in 90% of the times you lose the ball. When your opponent at the same time throws on 2-3 extra forwards it is almost unavoidable. This is only one example from the Norwich game. I'm begging you not to misunderstand me, i am as i said against Steve Kean, but we fans can still make contributions in a different way. We must think of what is the best for the club

How can i as a fan help Blackburn rovers to survive in Premier League. or simpy help so we start winning games again? I have wanted very much to go over to England to take part in the demonstrations against Kean and Venkys, but now i'm actually very glad i stayed home instead. Obviously it has been a waste of time and money when Steve Kean now is most likely is to get a renewed contract, which by the results hes had and the statements he have given is a complete scandal. And when the the demontrations is not working it is really only one thing that helps. SUPPORT THE TEAM 100%. We must all TRY to bring out the little positive things that is left in us, we must sparkle, we have to look on the positive things that happens on the pitch, we must simply try to see the positive in all that can be seen as positive! If we manage to put a lid on the negative, and rather look at the things that are positive i think we can have it much better on weekends and weekdays. That is at least what i am gonna try to do, i am sicking tired of walking around being negative. The reason for this is that i have only looked for the negative, i have not been able to look at what have been positive. It leads quite simply to that i dig myself into a hole. No, now its time to change attitude. I will only look for the postive things, and i already feel that i am becoming more and more postive to all other things aswell. you should all try it!

What is positive?

Believe it or not, but it is actually some really positive things happening in the club. I'm not referring to the protests, Venkys or Kean, but that we actually at times play fantastically good football! We are still missing a lot on the defensive organization, but offensively alot of good things have happened. Now that Gamst is moved centrally with Zonzi, we have become defensivly better. 0-1 against Chelsea is definitely an approved effort defensively, and we had several good attacks. If we have had a goal scorer we would have won the game, which also applies to the everton game for instance.

We are entertaining, we are scoring lots of goals, we have players with the X-factor, we have Samba!

Now we are done with Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, City, Newcastle, Villa (away from home, never been a good game for us). Now we have Wigan, Stoke, Swansea, Sunderland, West Brom, Bolton, Liverpool, Man U, Stoke and Fulham. I predict the following outcomes:

Wigan: 3 points

Stoke 1 point

Swansea 3 points

Sunderland 1 point

WBA 3 points

Bolton 3 points

Lpool 0 points

Man U 0 points

Stoke 3 points

Fulham 3 points

Everton 1 points

Newcastle 3 points

Total: 24 points + 6? 30poeng 1 In February. Realistic? Yes, it is actually possible. I think that when the results first turn, it will really turn. Everything is now about the mental. Please guys, we need to help save the club!

Now we the supporters, including me, have to SUPPORT THE CLUB. NO, we are not supporting the club when we are demonstrating against kean, talking about Blackburn Rovers FC etc. We all agree that kean and the venkyfamily should have received a red card and been sent off the earth, but we can actually not do antything about that! what we now can do is to show our love to the club, we supporters have to show that we are unite, WE WILL HELP the club to start winning football games again, vi shall help the club to survie this year's Premier League. This also means that we have to help Steve Kean and Venkys. It is actually the only option we have.

Yes, this was actually a serious post

From Jonas

[Pom-rover]

This a joke?

[Mattyblue]

Amazing how a team playing 'fantastically good football' can win one game in 11, christ knows what will happen if we lose form

[Gav]

Amazing how a team playing 'fantastically good football' can win one game in 11, christ knows what will happen if we lose form

Whilst I don't agree with most of the post, its a little short sighted to not acknowledge some of the football on offer Matty. When was the last time we played a Chelsea team of the park? For even 20 minutes? The performance against Chelsea was very good you have to give Kean that much.

[Mattyblue]

My point stands though Gav, if we are playing 'decent stuff' (though for me, decent stuff means 3 points) and not winning, what happens if results continue to not come and ineveitably confidence and form dips?

[LeChuck]

How do you play a team off the park with possession stats of 40% - 60%? We gave them a good game but by no means were that good.

People like the person making the original post do themselves absolutely no favours by telling people things are going well on the pitch. One win all season, no competitive clean sheet since April and a manager with one of the worst records Premier League history says that we are in huge trouble.

I'm actually in favour of leaving protests away from match days for the next few games because we need points to have any chance of survival (and I concede it may even be too late already), but it becomes impossible to support a post like that when it's obviously twisted and in denial. Lying about the situation and basically telling the protesters that they are wrong will only serve to solidify their views.

[m0r94n]

My point stands though Gav, if we are playing 'decent stuff' (though for me, decent stuff means 3 points) and not winning, what happens if results continue to not come and ineveitably confidence and form dips?

Why that'll be the fans fault!

Just a note in regards to the OP, did he just blame long ball football on fan pressure? Surely if Kean tells these guys to do a job for 90 minutes they should be professional enough to do it. If the players are changing tactics themselves I'd suggest they're not listening to the manager.

[thenodrog]

Whilst I don't agree with most of the post, its a little short sighted to not acknowledge some of the football on offer Matty. When was the last time we played a Chelsea team of the park? For even 20 minutes? The performance against Chelsea was very good you have to give Kean that much.

errr..... last season when Ivanovich scored in the closing minutes after M Diouff and Roberts had missed two sitters. Also the season prior when we knocked em out of the Carling Cup. Truth is we've frequently performed quite well against the Chelsea millionaires. We could have beaten them in the FA semi too but for a miraculous save that only cech could have reached to save an og from a JT header and a terrible miss from MGP.

Surely your memory hasn't erased so much in so short a time?

The only performance statistics that matter are 6 points out of a possible 33.

[Mattyblue]

Also, I read a stat before the Chelsea game saying we had the worst pass completition rate in the league bar Stoke.

Don't fall for Kean spin.

[Gav]

My point stands though Gav, if we are playing 'decent stuff' (though for me, decent stuff means 3 points) and not winning, what happens if results continue to not come and ineveitably confidence and form dips?

I don't dispute that one bit Matty, I'm very surprised that confidence hasn't dipped so far with the run we've been on. But people seem loathed to acknowledge the fact we're playing ok in games, which isn't right for me, you need a balance.

I was talking to a dingle yesterday (I know I shouldn't ) and he was telling me about the Coyle promotion and premiership season:

“The best football I’ve ever seen by a burnley side” he said, and I had to say I thought they played some good stuff also

But as they went down, never to return, that’s the bottom line Matty as you say.

[eire3382]

We have of late improved but that is based on the rubbish we wee playing previously.

For all we know we have had our purple patch under him. My attitude will only change when he is gone and not before. Its been almost a year for gods sake, he has had too long as it is. If we the fans just lay down and except this we will be stuch his his discusting nasty smile face for a long time to come.

[Gav]

How do you play a team off the park with possession stats of 40% - 60%? We gave them a good game but by no means were that good.

Its a figure of speech LeChuck, but clearly that performance against Chelsea was very good considering, much better than in previous years despite Gordons attempts to rewrite history.

Everyone Ive spoken to since the Chelsea game are commenting on how well we played, they cant all be wrong can they?

[LeChuck]

I said recently that we have played well in every game since the Spurs match, I'm not denying that. There is a big difference between playing well and playing someone off the park though. Perhaps you've used it as a cliché and I've taken it a bit too literally and therefore misunderstood.

[OhmiBRFC]

How is it the fans fault we drew against Norwich

[jim mk2]

Shipping x number of goals every game as Rovers have been doing isn't "playing ok" as people seem to think, it's very poor play and bad defending because the side is unbalanced and has two many players who are good on the ball and not enough players who can put their foot in. It is one of the reasons why we are in the bottom three. Playing "well" (which i dispute) and losing is a sure sign of a team heading for relegation. As has been stated, the only thing that counts are points on the board. As to the title of the thread, there might be a change of attitude among fans if the club goes on a winning run. Over to you Steve Kean......

[den]

Its a figure of speech LeChuck, but clearly that performance against Chelsea was very good considering, much better than in previous years despite Gordons attempts to rewrite history.

Everyone I’ve spoken to since the Chelsea game are commenting on how well we played, they can’t all be wrong can they?

TBH Gav, I thought the first half was turgid [there's another word for you]. Absolutely nothing of note happened. Second half Chelsea scored early and then we were chasing the game. We did OK at that point. Played some decent stuff, but at no time in the match did we ever look like we were going to win the game - against what many people thought was a poor Chelsea side.

[Mattyblue]

Like most games we played some attractive yet wholly ineffective passing football in spells, that is not a 'good performance' for me.

[martonrover]

How is it the fans fault we drew against Norwich

I stopped reading at that point. The Kean spin illness has reached Norway.

[Mattyblue]

I thought 'Norway says KEAN OUT'?

[M-K]

Seven wins and only two defeats in the next 12 games!

[Gav]

TBH Gav, I thought the first half was turgid [there's another word for you]. Absolutely nothing of note happened. Second half Chelsea scored early and then we were chasing the game. We did OK at that point. Played some decent stuff, but at no time in the match did we ever look like we were going to win the game - against what many people thought was a poor Chelsea side.

Its interesting to note that almost every person I’ve spoken to over the past few weeks, mostly non Rovers fans might I add, all are of the option we’re playing well, and the manager should be given more time. Most pundits and media outlets are also of the same opinion.

Maybe is our dislike of Kean that’s clouding our judgement? We know the situation is dire, points are key, but are the team improving and we’re not seeing it?

[Mattyblue]

The team is improving Gav, when compared to the utter dross he was serving up earlier in he season, but the fist half agianst Chelsea was poor- from both teams, we made a decent fist of it second half but we still only maanged two shots on target and 40% possession.

Now we are playing teams around us, lets see if we actually 'dominate' games.

[den]

Maybe is our dislike of Kean that’s clouding our judgement? We know the situation is dire, points are key, but are the team improving and we’re not seeing it?

no, I don't think so Gav. That's what I thought at the time.

Interesting point for discussion though. I'm 62 now, but all throughout my time supporting rovers, apart from the last three/four years I was an absolute fanatic. I never saw rovers play badly, would never ever admit we were rubbish after any game and we were always unlucky if we lost - even when we were towards the bottom of the third division. I admit all that's changed.

Question though, which fan is likely to give the more accurate assessment of their clubs fortunes, on and off the field - the younger one, or the older one? Young and blinded with the club and every player that's ever worn blue and white, or older and maybe wearying with football in general?

There is a noticeable split between the younger fans and the older ones on here. Seems to me that in general, it's the older ones that are far more likely to be critical.

[LeChuck]

Its interesting to note that almost every person I’ve spoken to over the past few weeks, mostly non Rovers fans might I add, all are of the option we’re playing well, and the manager should be given more time. Most pundits and media outlets are also of the same opinion.

Maybe is our dislike of Kean that’s clouding our judgement? We know the situation is dire, points are key, but are the team improving and we’re not seeing it?

I think the problem is Gav that you seem to have a habit of trying to argue points where the statistics say the exact opposite!

We've won 2 points from our last 6 games. The possession and passing stats don't suggest we are playing very well either.

'Improving' is quite subjective, and given that results are as bad as they've always been (if not worse), then it's easy to argue that we have not improved at all. Personally I think we look a more cohesive unit since we moved Olsson and Lowe to full back and Pedersen came into midfield, but if it doesn't yield results then it's ultimately not bringing the improvement we need.

[Jimmy612]

no

There is a noticeable split between the younger fans and the older ones on here. Seems to me that in general, it's the older ones that are far more likely to be critical.

Then i'm certainly an exception to your hypothesis.