BBCRC - (preamble about the petition reaching 1400 signatures) let’s hear from former United midfielder Steve Soley who this week has thrown his backing behind the call for a change at the top at Brunton Park.
SS - Well I think when I came on your show a couple of years ago I said that, a day I was going to the club with my son, and just the way we were treated. And I came away from it, I actually talked to a couple of Carlisle fans after the game and thought….they don’t seem to be attached to the fans at all, very detached from the fans and I think that’ll come back to bite you in the end. And that’s what I think’s happening now. I mean, it’s not about me, but that day was a big day for me, ‘cause my son never got a chance to watch me play…and the club said they was going to show us round the ground and what have you, and for some guy to say, oh God have I got to do this, I thought, and I just walked out, you know what I’m like. You know it’s not right, I’m not going to do it. And I just thought, and then when I walked around the boardroom and that I thought there’s something not right here, they seemed very us and them, and I don’t think a football club can work like that…at any standard. But even if you go to clubs like, obviously I support Everton, they have community people that work in the community and then there’s people that liaise between the Board and the fans. Sometimes it’s good for fans just to sit down and talk(?), this is what we’re doing, a long-term plan is what we’re doing, and I know we’re in a sticky period, but this is the plan. But when you just don’t say anything, and just treat them like they’re nothing… I’ve always said to you in the past, a football club is owned by the supporters, not by players, ex-players, managers or any Board members.
BBCRC – Obviously the club is in a precarious position at the moment in terms of its league position. Realistically, what do you think Carlisle’s true potential is Steve, I mean, you’ve seen how much support it can get as a Club when it is doing well, where do you think its maybe true position, it’s true target should be?
SS – I said, I went down to see the lads, the London Branch and had a great day with them and I think that Carlisle could easily, league 1 pushing into the Championship and then build from there. I always thought when they were in league 1…if the right plans were put in place to stabilise it…and I get a bit of stick from fans who were saying they should be pushing, thinking higher than that, but no I said, stay in the league for 3 or 4 years and then think higher, make a plan, be thinking about where you’ve got to then you’ve got to, then you’ve got to think about where you’re going to. Got to keep progressing. But obviously, that detachment …it’s coming back to haunt them now. And all that this is about now is making sure you stay in the league. Forget everything, forget all the troubles, the players have just got to roll their sleeves up….and have it out in the Summer.
BBCRC – How difficult is it for a player to be in that position when you’re at a club, obviously when there’s a bit of unrest going on around it, off the field as well and that sometimes emanates from the terraces and the stands, you’re fighting for your Football League existence? How difficult is that?
SS – It is really difficult…there’s nowhere to hide out there…you’re fighting. But I think you’ve got the players and I don’t really know a lot about the Manager, but I do feel a bit sorry for the Manager at times because when that happens between the Board and the fans you can get caught in the middle. Really it’s just about rolling your sleeves up, you might not play the best football for the rest of the season, it might be some of the worse football you’ve ever played, but I think as long as you put a shift in, you keep doing the right things, you’ll get out of it. But you need everybody to be doing that. I’ve always thought, I’ve always believed that supporters are the most important thing at the club. I didn’t really want them to come and clap me, I wanted to come and say thanks to them. It was the opposite thing for me, and hopefully we’ll get a chance to see that. What the club’s got to do now is knuckle down, stay in the league and then let’s have it out in the Summer. But they’ve got to involve the supporters, it can’t just involve the Board members, they’ve got to involve fans.