Tuesday 7th July, 2009last year, at the start of July

The slow incantations

The slow incantations was written by Michael Wood on Tuesday July 7th, 2009 which is last year, at the start of July.

Sometimes we are all twelve.

We are caught frozen in a moment drawing the names of eleven men over ten minutes when nine o’clock seems too long ago and you pass the time before your eighth trip to the bathroom of the work day trying to work out who will be City’s number seven next season.

something for days in Mr Fraine’s Spanish class and no pursuit for grown men but one that is hard to avoid. Football has long since moved away from being a Winter sport but every other Summer lacks the distraction of a World Cup or European affair leaving those months as official mulling it over time.

We have much to mull. Last season’s collapse for one, what Rochdale think of us for another (No comment).

More so we chomp at the bit putting in names like Ramsden and taking out Lee. Omar Daley, not fit until Christmas, and how to replace him without Joe Colbeck fills my mind.

Moreover is the hope that by keeping Stuart McCall we will see a gradual improvement in the squad. The pleas for McCall to stay were based on the idea that by working with the players a communal improvement will be evidenced but looking at the names scribbled here I worry about Lee Bullock and who will play alongside him. I have a question mark in goal.

Saturday and Burnley – a curious game in last pre-season – give a beginning of the answers to these questions but as football spans twelve months not nine it is spread thinner and revelations of the type that one hopes for when writing incantations of positions on a Summer afternoon come slowly.

The slow incantations was written by Michael Wood on Tuesday July 7th, 2009 which is last year, at the start of July.

3 Responses to “The slow incantations”

  1. Simon Strong (bantamofthesouth) says:
    Tuesday 7th July, 2009 at 18:46

    Feels to me like we are in a brief lull right now – the calm before the storm.

    Not sure how excited I am about the new season at this stage or how well I feel we will do, the new signings all seem reasonable enough but I just wonder if there is going to be that one key addition that ignites the touch paper (or maybe I just live in hope!)

    I have been told by a couple of friends, who’s predictions are usually not far wide of the mark, that Steve Jones is close to coming back – I dont think we saw the best of him last season but I for one would welcome his return.

    Oh, and don’t you just love Rochdale!

  2. Paul Firth says:
    Tuesday 7th July, 2009 at 19:27

    I’m just not sure where the Rochdale writer gets his idea that City were marked out by ‘fouling and bad discipline’. According to the Football League’s own stats, City conceded 511 fouls and picked up 46 yellow and 2 red cards last season. That put them 18th in our division, 24th being the lowest foul count. By comparison Rochdale conceded 497 fouls (14 fewer), but picked up 53 yellow cards (7 more) and 4 red cards (2 more). All of which suggests that it may not be appropriate to judge a team on the basis of perhaps just two games in a season, both of which might have been played against the team you support. Then again, the FL stats can’t be relied upon totally, since they also say City conceded just one penalty all season – and it takes a Rochdale fan to give the lie to that stat!

  3. Karl Nicholl says:
    Tuesday 7th July, 2009 at 20:36

    Honest article, which is repeating itself in every opinion and predictions for the coming season. I believe we do have that spark already in Boulding. Ok he was what appeared a lazy sod, cashing in on a good pay packet. He was played in strikers role not suited to his running. Stuart needs him more than he need city, play him correctly and we will do ok regardless off who you bring in. This is league 2, you need tactics that work and players who work with that system. I could not understand at many a game what we were actually supposed to be doing last season.