One of my favourite quotes is an old Chinese proverb/curse - "May you live in interesting times". History tells us that the times people tend to find interesting are those that were certainly not fun to live through. In the modern era, this is reflected in the media, where bad news gets the readers/viewers. Carlisle United fans certainly know what it means to "live in interesting times"! We've been involved in a relegation or promotion battle for every season for over a decade, which I may have to take some responsibility for, as this fanzine has been going for nearly 11 years now.
This season has been no different. I was hoping for a relaxed season of consolidation in mid-table, but instead I've been pleasantly surprised to be treated to another season of promotion possibility! Certainly, we entered April wanting only one point to guarantee we wouldn't be relegated, so that was a nice surprise, but it was followed by three a good away win at Port Vale which kept us in touch with the play-off positions. This set us up for what should have been a big crowd on Easter Monday for our home game against Bournemouth.
What followed was something which surprised even the most optimistic of Carlisle United fans, although there aren't many of those considering they tend to be Cumbrians. We stormed through April with a string of wins, driving towards a play-off place, before stumbling against Bristol City (1-3 defeat) and coming up against Swansea. This was an interesting fixture thrown up, with Carlisle, Swansea and Oldham now all vying for the last play-off place. If Oldham lost, then the winner at Brunton Park would take possession of that last place going into the last game. Nervous stuff!
Swansea won the play-off chasing battle 2-1, with what is widely accepted to have been another blatant handball. Such is life. This left Carlisle to head off to Scunthorpe for the last game of the season, with nothing but pride to play for and the resultant 3-0 defeat was forgotten in lieu of what was an exciting season, to say the least.
A new manager before the season started and the possibility of a third straight promotion. We had some good results this season and also the odd poor one, but now we have to start again and plan next season. We can all be proud of the season we've had. The club continued its development, the players did well on the pitch and the fans provided superb support on the road. Roll on next season! Who is up for a trip to Leeds??
Oh yeah, there was also the small matter of the Cumberland Cup match between Carlisle United and Workington Reds. I decided to be a Red for the day and join my eldest brother, Bob in the away end. Well, it is only fair, as he has been to several Carlisle United games over the years with me. A couple of observations:
Reds deserved to win.
It was a blatant dive for the penalty, but couldn't see if there was contact.
The average Reds fan understands the rules (offside, etc) as much as the average Blues fan - ie, not very well.
The officials were dodgy, particularly the linesman that rarely made a decision without checking with the ref first.
Right, no more Blues until the pre-season games now. There will be the usual summer issues of RIOA, of course. May the universe be kind to you all, and may the worst of next season be better than the best of last season.
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