Okay, so I’m watching the game, and it feels like the same old story again. We went up 2-1, you know? Then it just… slipped away. Ended 2-2 with Burnley, which honestly is a result that doesn’t help anybody much.
My friend, who’s a Burnley fan, texted me saying they’ll take a point any way it comes. And I get it. For them, it’s a little bit of hope. For us, it’s just more of the same frustration piling up. We had most of the ball, took way more shots, but that doesn’t mean anything if you can’t see the game out.
Funny how things happen. We’re behind because of an own goal, which always feels like such a cruel way to start. Then Sesko – he was bright, I’ll give him that – scores two really good ones. You start to think, okay, here we go, maybe this is the turning point. He made it look simple, just being in the right spot. Fletcher said after that he’s showing why we signed him, and for those minutes, you could really believe it.
But then, it’s like we just stopped. Their sub, Anthony, comes on and has all the space in the world to curl one in. I was just sitting there thinking, someone has to close him down. No one did. After that, we threw some fresh players on, but you could feel the winning goal wasn’t coming. It was like the energy had drained right out.
Three draws in a row now. Five games without a win. It’s just not good enough, is it? The manager’s gone, Fletcher’s in charge temporarily, and everything feels a bit up in the air. You look at the table and sixth place doesn’t lie – we’re just not a top team right now.
Burnley fought hard, you could see that. They’re in a real scrap and for them, this point is gold. For us? It feels like another missed opportunity, another sign that things aren’t fixed. We play City soon. Honestly, the thought of that right now is a little scary if we play like we did today. The only good thing was Sesko. The rest of it, I’m already trying to forget.
Honestly, the worst part is after the final whistle blows. Everyone just looks so tired out there. You see them walking off, heads down not talking much, and it’s like they’re carrying something heavy. The fans who traveled all that way, they were singing right till the end but you could hear the disappointment too. It’s a long trip back with just a point.
I keep thinking about that moment where we almost scored a third. It was a bit of a scramble in their box, the ball just wouldn’t fall right for us. Sometimes football is just like that, the ball has a mind of its own and it refuses to go in. Their defender, Esteve I think, threw himself at everything. You have to give them credit for that kind of desperation.
Fletcher on the sideline, he was so animated. More than I’ve ever seen him. At one point he was just staring at the ground with his hands on his hips for a full minute. He knows this is his big chance probably, to show what he can do. Games like this, where you’re so much better but don’t win, they hurt a manager more than a plain old loss somehow.
What does it even mean for the rest of our season? We’re just floating in this middle place, not good enough for the top, too good for the bottom. It’s a strange feeling. You watch teams below us fight with everything they have, like Burnley did, and it makes you wonder where our fight is. Is it in the locker room? I don’t know.
So what’s next? Another game comes quickly, always does. The FA Cup is a distraction maybe, a chance to feel a bit of joy again. But then it’s City at home. You want to feel hopeful, to think maybe we’ll turn up for a derby. But after tonight, you just feel a bit nervous about it all. Hoping for the best, you know?
