'It's just all Dr Who'

[Mike O]

And so another chapter in the colourful story of CFC closes, and yet again the key themes the reader is left to ponder are of money, ego and betrayal. Once again a manager beloved by the fans is summarily despatched against the run of play and contrary to all anticipated deadlines. Once again the club supremos rally together for press calls showing unity and purpose, and laughter. Once again the forums are full of heated debate between the distraught and the sanguine. Once again, it looks like the make up of the staff and players will change beyond all recognition.

And I'm left thinking... 'you know - it's just all Dr Who'.

For people of my age, the Doctor you fell in love with was either Pertwee or Baker and each of those manifestations brought a whole load of new colour and attributes to the programme (mustn't use the word 'brand' here - it upsets too many people!). Pertwee was my hero and he brought capes, a crappy old yellow car called Bessy, men from UNIT and - of course - Sarah Jane - all to take on the usual villains.

When Pertwee regenerated into Baker, a lot of my love for the show was put on hold. It returned slowly over time via the excellence of the scriptwriting in the Baker years, but he still wasn't my Doctor. Now my kids today think that David Tennant is basically God and that old videos of Pertwee are laughable trite rubbish.

As Kurt Vonnegut would muse, 'So it goes'.

Those of you who know me even a little will have no problem guessing who my CFC Doctor was. Having stood and sat through Porterfield / Campbell / Webb / Hoddle and Ruudi and found my pasion for the club over the years growing by the month, it all came to a wondrous climax with Vialli.

I absolutely loved the guy - he was a gent, had great dignity, was a fantastic player etc etc. I was 100% proud that he represented me and my club. If I ever met him even now, I think my instant reaction would still be to dribble and splutter a lot (even though I think we're the same age).

When Bates axed him, I was totally gutted and absolutely deaf to all reasoned arguments (and I still have them even today with Tea Bar Boy!) for why he had to go. I wouldn't hear that he was a crap manager, or that he'd lost the dressing room or whatever. I just mused that he'd got a lot more popular than Bates and that Frank Le Bouef was probably a complete c**t. In my world, he'd been stabbed in the back by them and others (obviously, I couldn't start to believe that Zola was a culprit here - still don't). My feelings for the club were probably pretty similar to those of someone discovering that their wife wants to leave them - you're hugely hurt, confused, still in love with her and above all angry.

When Vialli went and Ranieri came in, we went direct from Pertwee to Sylvester f*****g McCoy and the whole show changed. Out went Wise / Desailly / Petrescu / Di Matteo / Flo / Poyet etc etc.

My team.

My old, old team.

Gone.

And now we've come across the same plot twist with Jose (even the replacing of him with an obvious muppet) and many of you will feel exactly the same way many of us did in 2000. Undoubtably, the whole make-up of the team, the staff and the character of the performances will change and some of you will feel disenfranchised from it.

So it goes.

Rest assured a new CFC will emerge, for better or for worse; but for some of you, it won't ever quite be your CFC again. You'll see new fans come to the ground and they'll seem a little different, a little less Blue than you. Messages will slowly sink in that Jose's brand of football really was deathly dull and that too many people had found us out tactically. You won't listen to them at first, but after time you'll learn to at least acknowledge them. For those of you who have, or will have, kids who you bring up as Blues, you'll learn that new managers will inspire the same passion for them as you're feeling now (my lad, for instance, is gutted about JM).

It's all just regeneration, my friends.

Just remember though - whoever your Doctor is, Daleks will always struggle with stairs in a 2 up 2 down terrace, and Cybermen will never be able to dance.

Cue music and hiding behind sofa....

[Nibs]

Very good analogy Mike - and I'm not even a Dr Who fan (though if I had to pick, I too would go for Pertwee!!)

As I've said elesewhere, if Jose's replacement was a guy we all had some confidence in and had a great track record then I'd have no real problem. But we are about to enter pretty much unknown territory and it could be a bit of an uncomfortable ride..............

[BLUENUT]

Good post Mike.

I'm still gutted! I feel like I went 'bobbing' in a barrell full of tits and came up with a cock in my mouth

[Backbiter]

Good post Mike.

I'm still gutted! I feel like I went 'bobbing' in a barrell full of tits and came up with a cock in my mouth

If Mike's analogy was good, that metaphor just gives me the creeps.

[Dorset]

Sad to say, Mike, but a lot of the fans reading your post will not appreciate how perceptive it is until Avram?s outta here and someone like Hiddink has landed his Tardis, averted a major crisis, and zoomed off again in the direction of the year 2220. You know that my fixation with ?control? of any game means that I could never subscribed to the theory that Jose?s brand of football was deathly dull and my easy acceptance of his style of play is probably best explained to you by admitting a clear preference for the cerebral William Hartnell over a completely disorganised Jon Pertwee (Sylvester McCoy/Ranieri comparison, brilliant, by the way).

Incidentally, Hartnell always reminded me of Paddy Hasty, the old Tooting and Mitcham player, whose hair went prematurely pure white. Not sure I?ve spelt his surname name correctly and he was probably way before your time anyway, but he was a midfield/right winger who dominated the amateur game for a good few years and could easily have played professionally.

For the record, Jose is not my Doctor, in fact the Doc is my Doc (own up, you fed me that line, didn?t you?), but we will all have to acknowledge that he will forever be THE Doctor for the vast majority of new fans in the Abramovich era. I doubt if Roman would find that thought disturbing, as he can always attempt to rewrite the script as he thinks fit. Having said that, putting Avram the Dalek on centre stage may be fine in the short term, but, as every Dr Who fan knows, getting one of those things to go back upstairs, after a few poor performances at ground level, could prove embarrassing.

[loz]

Well my Doctor Who was Baker which pretty much makes Stevie Clarke my K9 however unlike in Doctor Who, this K9 is sticking around after the regeneration so there is still something hanging about that reminds me of that ridiculously long scarf!

[just]

Threads like this are why these forums are head and shoulders above all the others.

Genius Mike, Pure Genius.

But why was Ruudi never your ideal Doctor?

John Neal was my Pertwee, but Ruud G was the timelord I'll thank for saving the world.

PS: Dorset - "Paddy Hasty" Sounds like an Irish porn star!

[Scott]

Who's Dr Who ?

[forbzy]

Excellent thread. I can remember the disappointment when the first Doctor Who I had watched and grown to idolize transformed from Jon Pertwee to Tom Baker. However Baker soon make me forget about Pertwee as he was arguably better. It was the Peter Davison trasnformation that really destroyed it for me I think but perhaps I was just growing out of it by then.

I'd like to think we are transitioning in a Pertwee-Baker fashion and that should have been the way it happened if the club had done things the right way and appointed a real manager. I saw the reference to Sylvester McCoy but I honestly don't think any of the Doctor Who's were as bad as Avram Grant. In fact the nearest thing I can think of from Doctor Who would be a Sontaran (photo attached as a reminder). I have to say there is more than a little resemblance ;)

Anyway thanks for putting a smile on my face. I needed that.

[glory55]

Mike that was first class!

I have had things I have liked from all our ex-managers.

They grow on you....

....you find yourself defending them at some point!

I was so gutted when we sacked Vialli and Gullit.......Ruud was the one,by the way.

When we played Blackburn 11-12 years ago it was Hoddle's last game,I felt cheated....

He was going to England and that made it alright to swallow,but I felt we would lose out AGAIN!

It turned out for the best in the end!

And I was honestly was gutted when we got rid of Ranieri,I didn't take to Jose straight away.

But things can change so quickly!

Cheers Mike.

[Mike O]

But why was Ruudi never your ideal Doctor?

He shall forever be a legend of the highest order, my friend. But.... that whole 'Netto' thing gave birth to my loathing of the unique way footballers see the world of finances.....

Still had the classiest touch of anyone I've ever seen at the Bridge though. On review, I'll give him 'full Baker' status.

[geezer]

Best post and analogy of the year Mike. Sums the club up perfectly. If ever I wanted a dalek to come and exterminate a few people now would be the ideal time.

[Pauly]

Well said Mike- It's so true that there are always different things that inspire us and make us passionate in football, for some it's the struggle and for some it's the football/pride/dignity/doing it 'right', and for many it was 'getting off our knees' as "nearly men" for so long and actualising the CFC dreams.

Personally I loved vialli too- I think everybody at some point loved the unpredictability, or rather the predictable unpredictability. Also I'll never forget Bridge's GOAL at Arsenal- It was like the coming of age and realisation of themselves for an entire squad, from manager to players and maybe even to chairman.. Similarly, so much of what Jose did I agreed with, principally, telling the whole world to go **** itself and that they showing us all that they really weren't that much better than us after all.

It's always a case of what you do and don't have i guess- You want the best of everything and I really hope a man like Hiddink can come in and give us that JM attitude, plus some great to watch football and massive success too. We'll see- Grant won't last long, and if he does it will mean he'll have given us something special in any case.

ps.