Thoughts of a lifelong fan: It's a marathon, not a sprint

Yesterday, Saturday September the 5th, 2026, I couldn’t go to Accrington Stanley because of personal reasons, so I put on my Leakey 75 shirt and, after checking on my partner, went downtown to see what was occurring. Apologies for that turn of phrase, but my partner’s Welsh you see, and I guess it’s rubbing off on me. Whilst in the town centre I bought a newspaper, the name of which I will not share as you might think I was lurching to the right, or should that be wrong in terms of my political views. I bought it because my partner likes it for the puzzles and the tv guide, you understand, and for no other reason.  

With the paper concealed in my backpack I came across two coach loads of Leeds United supporters taking in the wonder of our local drinking establishments, namely the Jubilee Oak, the Brewery Shades and the White Hart. I politely asked where they were off to, which was a bit silly on my part, as it could only have been Tesco Carrier Bags FC. I wished them luck and I might have mentioned that I hoped they would find this trip to Sussex more profitable than when they were outplayed by our very own Red Devils back in January 2021. Beating a hasty retreat, I arrived home, had some lunch and settled down in front of my laptop to listen to Crawley extend their undefeated away run but as we all know now, that did not happen. Going a goal down early on doesn’t help but when Danilo equalised on the twenty minute mark, I really thought we would go on to win.

Two goals for ‘Stanley early in the second half once gain blew that hope out of the window, but even then Pemi Aderoju almost reignited my hopes when he made it 3-2 with 11 minutes left, which quickly turned into 18 with the 7 added minutes granted by the officials, but all to no avail and instead of at least maintaining our 17th place we dropped to 21st in League 2. Anyway, “it’s a marathon not a sprint” and “you shouldn’t look at the tables until November” and any other platitudes that may make you feel better, will have to do, at least until the CTFC derby at 12.30pm this coming Saturday. A win would put us one point behind Cheltenham who are currently sitting just below the playoff positions in 8th place.  

Before I put everyone up to date with the RDD and the CTFC museum, I would like to say that I think everyone should stay calm and get behind the Manager, coaches and the players bit also I do believe, that while it is good to have a squad of players, all of whom are capable of being in the top eleven, I also think that you should have the best eleven players on the pitch to star, after injuries have been taken into consideration. In my opinion, the most successful sides are the ones where minor changes in their make up only happen when absolutely necessary. 

Following the sellout of the RDD for the Crewe game, we upped the quantity printed for Bristol Rovers visit by 35. Consequently, we have about 15 left, which will be available at £1 each on Saturday. Please keep up your support for the RDD as all monies made from its’ sale go towards local community charities. 

As far as The CTFC Museum is concerned we are making progress in as much as I spent Saturday afternoon, whilst listening to us lose, spending a substantial amount of money on furniture, fixtures and fittings for it using funds generously provided to us by the profits from the CTSA Reds Rollover. If you are not a member, why not consider joining. For just £5 a month you get a chance to win one of three cash prizes each month and a chance to win the annual rollover which is 10% of the annual amount paid in. Most importantly though, 30% of the money paid in goes to help fund projects at the stadium to benefit our supporters. Town Team Together.