Success and Failure, You decide why.

Blog written by Curryman
Published: 17th November 2014 15:00

Henry Ford once said, ‘If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself’. Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to have been the case at Bloomfield Road for a long time now. Instead, it appears that successive managers have been pulling in one direction whilst the Oystons have been blocking their moves or pulling in the opposite direction, making their job if not untenable certainly a thankless task.

It has taken a lot of people, and I include myself, a long time to work out why we have had a progression or more aptly a series of poor seasons since being in the Premier League and it hasn’t been down to the want of trying by these unfortunate managers who now have a minus on their records, as well as being accused of being unprofessional, it would appear it has been down to the crass unwillingness of the Oystons to back their manager with any resolve at all.

This season is the culmination of that policy, which we learn is still ongoing. Our finale to our climb from the lower reaches of the Football League to the pinnacle of success. It is as if someone has put a curse on us to get back from where we came!

After last season’s hair raising end to the season when we were in with a good chance of going down to the first division, it was with a slight sigh of relief to hear that a new manager would be installed forthwith, or words to that effect. Whoever this ‘Supermanager’ was going to be, (did he wear his trunks over his pants?) he was certainly going to have his work cut out to reinvigorate the side which was now just basically a bag of bare bones. Gone were the players who had served us so well over the recent seasons, who had kept the moral going between themselves despite the miserly Dickensian wages, compared to other clubs, they were being paid and the likewise Victorian training facilities in which they were, and still are, expected to prepare for a rigorous Championship season. But, it was not to be, weeks went by before eventually just before the start of the season one Jose Riga was appointed. Season tickets were sold on the strength of the ‘Riga Revolution’ but almost immediately there was no communication from the club. The manager wasn’t speaking, The Oystons weren’t speaking, and the fans started to become even more restless than they had in the previous season. No players seemed to be joining the club and the proverbial hit the fan when the pre-season training camp in Spain was cancelled due to lack of players. The whole pre- season was a shambles, the club itself seemed to be in a complete state of panic with a new secretary in place and holes appearing left right and centre in the pre-season planning.

Now, failure is not usually fatal, but failure to change is often a precursor of worse things to come and that is exactly what has happened and it would seem is still happening. A new manager has been installed and I wish Lee Clark all the very best in climbing the mountain that is in front of him, but, if things were so bad between the O’s and Riga, why on earth didn’t KO get rid of him at the point it appeared there was no return? This may have given the new incumbent a fighting chance to rack up more than 7 points at this stage of the season.

This was a very poor decision and failure by the man in charge, instead of biting the bullet he dithered and dithered again, resulting in the present mess we find the club in.

Some have likened the man in charge to a psychopath or a sociopath and when you look at the traits of such a person it can be seen why the assumption is made:

Uncaring

The Psycopath checklist (PCL) describes psychopaths as being callous and showing a lack of empathy, traits which the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) describes as “cold-heartedness.” The criteria for dissocial personality disorder include a “callous unconcern for the feelings of others.”

Could it be argued that there are similarities in this description?

Shallow emotions

Psychopaths, and to a degree, sociopaths, show a lack of emotion, especially the social emotions, such as shame, guilt, and embarrassment. It’s recorded that most psychopaths show a “general poverty in major affective reactions,” and a “lack of remorse or shame.” The PCL describes psychopaths as “emotionally shallow” and showing a lack of guilt.

Again are there any similarities that we can see?

Irresponsibility

Research shows psychopaths show unreliability, while the PCL mentions “irresponsibility” and the PPI describes psychopaths as showing “blame externalization,” i.e. they blame others for events that are actually their fault. They may admit blame when forced into a corner, but these admissions are not accompanied by a sense of shame or remorse, and they have no power to change the sociopath’s future behaviour.

Have we seen any of this trait?

Insincere speech

Ranging from what the PCL describes as “glibness” and “superficial charm” to “untruthfulness” and “insincerity,” to outright “pathological lying,” there is a trend toward devaluing speech among psychopaths by inflating and distorting it toward selfish ends. The criteria for APD include “conning others for personal profit or pleasure.” They also have trouble understanding metaphors and abstract words.

It must be asked who now trusts anything that comes from the mouth of KO, time and time again we are told about something only for it to be somehow forgotten and these quotes are well recorded, not only by me but by many.

Overconfidence

The PCL describes sociopaths as possessing a “grandiose sense of self-worth.”

Really? Who would have thought that?

Narrowing of attention

Researchers have said the core deficit in psychopathy is a failure of what they call response modulation. When normal people engage in a task we are able to alter our activity, or modulate our responses, depending on relevant peripheral information that appears after the task has begun. Psychopaths are specifically deficient in this ability, and accordingly this explains the impulsivity of psychopaths, a trait which shows up in several of the lists of criteria, as well as their problems with passive avoidance and with processing emotions.

Now the plot is thickening and I am beginning to realise why the assumptions above have been made.

Selfishness

Psychopaths have been known to show a “pathologic egocentricity [and incapacity for love],” which is affirmed in the PPI by its inclusion of egocentricity among its criteria. The PCL also mentions a “parasitic lifestyle.”

Enough said and I intend to go no further with this as it basically speaks for itself!

Inability to plan for the future

It is also said that psychopaths show a “failure to follow any life plan.” According to the PCL, psychopaths have a “lack of realistic long-term goals,” while the PPI describes them as showing a “carefree nonplanness.”

In defence of those under this attack, there has obviously been plenty of pre planning in how to maximise the profit for the family whilst forgetting about those who are the customers. However, in football terms, the word pre-planning appears none existent.

Violence

The criteria for dissocial personality include, a “very low tolerance to frustration and a low threshold for discharge of aggression, including violence.” The criteria for antisocial personality disorder include, "irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults.”

As far as I’m aware, this appears not to be quite the case, but, someone out there may know better. But it couls be said that issuing legal letters to those deemed to have sinned is a form of bullying and therefore violence.

So, is it a justified claim that we have a sociopath or even a psychopath in charge at the top, I don’t honestly know and I will allow you all to make your own conclusions? However going back to Henry Ford, and his quote that ‘If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself’. I fear not only for the immediate future of this club but also the very future full stop, for failure is not usually fatal, but failure to change in our case would seem to spell the end of the Best Trip at best or the end of the club as we know it.

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