FAN'S VIEW: Steve Herbert says - 'I can't wait for the season to finish'

Regular readers of this column will know how positive and upbeat I like to be about the Reds
The Newport County pitch at Rodney Parade before kick-off.
Picture by Steve HerbertThe Newport County pitch at Rodney Parade before kick-off.
Picture by Steve Herbert
The Newport County pitch at Rodney Parade before kick-off. Picture by Steve Herbert

But this week’s column is going to go against the grain.

Firstly this isn’t a reflection on the work of Dermot and Matt who are quite clearly doing their best to build something here and that takes time.

But It’s got to the stage where I really can’t wait for this season to come to an end. What should have been an exciting end of season has turned into a real struggle. Not just in terms of results but more worryingly performances.

Reds fan Steve HerbertReds fan Steve Herbert
Reds fan Steve Herbert
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Maybe the players are already thinking of their holiday locations or looking at their next move. Whatever’s on their minds it’s certainly affecting the quality of football on show at present.

Now we are Crawley fans not Pompey or Doncaster fans and our expectations aren’t that high. A League Two midtable finish is all we ever wanted this season, with possibly a punt at the play-offs next season.

But even that is looking less and less likely as the season moves to a close.

We have seen glimpses of real magic this term, but we have also seen some utter rubbish too.

Reds fan Steve HerbertReds fan Steve Herbert
Reds fan Steve Herbert
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With the players we have at our disposal we should be doing a lot better in terms of performances and results.

I would go as far as to say we currently have one of our stronger squads for a few years, yet the inconsistency and poor decision-making have cost us dear in recent months. You have to ask where would we be without the goal scoring ability of James Collins and the goalkeeping agility of Glenn Morris?

It’s quite worrying that we will possibly be without all three centre-backs against Plymouth on Saturday after Josh Yorwerth’s red card at Newport.

Talking of Newport, they may have beaten us 1-0, but I still think they are certs to go down and good riddance too. Not only is their pitch an absolute disgrace to the football league (see picture above), their fans are some of the most unfriendly too.

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I’m sure some of our supporters will remember the ugly scenes in our Conference winning season when 20 or so of their fans decided to enter the east stand terrace and take on the home end! Not a nice experience for those Reds fans present.

There is certainly no place for 80s-style football violence in today’s game. Maybe that message hasn’t quite got through to the Welsh valleys yet.

So we welcome all but promoted Plymouth to the Checkatrade this Saturday who will bring their famous green army to West Sussex.

Just as well really as the club could do with another boost to the gates.

I wait to see with interest what marketing campaign the club comes up with in the summer to attract new fans, because right now the team's performances are certainly not helping matters.