Keeping Calm: WombleWorld’s Guide to Not Panicking
Form Is Temporary. Panic Is Permanent.
We have lost again.
Not dramatically. Not historically. Not in a way that will be shown on Sky Sports for years to come. Just… another loss.
Burton away. Header from a long throw. The kind of goal that exists purely to test your emotional resilience. We don’t want to relive it any more than that.
But open the table. Scroll down. Pause. Scroll back up as if it might have changed. Start calculating points totals like you are revising for an exam you didn’t choose to sit.
This is WombleWorld’s official, calm, entirely measured response.
Do not panic.
We are in a bad run.
We are not scoring. We are conceding soft goals. We have lots of injuries. We are losing tight games. It all feels a bit flat. A bit predictable.
Fine. Accepted.
The idea that the current run is the ultimate truth and everything before it was a lie needs binning immediately.
True, it isn’t the first time this season we have been in a rut. But it’s also true that we have come out of a rut when it’s really mattered.
We have had good spells this season. The kind where we looked organised, dangerous, and it was even enjoyable.
The kind of run where WHAD briefly ran out of things to complain about and had to pivot to off the pitch moaning.
Teams swing. Especially in League 1. Especially teams like us, who have no money for a luxury such as squad depth.
There is no secret formula. No hidden conspiracy.
This is bad form, arriving. Staying a bit too long. Then hopefully leaving just as suddenly.
The Table
Yes, it is tight. Yes, teams around us are picking up points.
Yes, Burton have leapfrogged us. Which sounds worse than it is.
But…we are still in the pack.
Not bottom. Not cut adrift. Not relying on other teams to collapse while we discover a new sport.
Just…in it. This is not 21/22.
And being in it means control still exists. Limited control. Slightly chaotic control. But control nonetheless.
One win changes the picture. Two wins and suddenly everyone is talking about “great character” again. Three wins and someone on a podcast is asking if we left it too late for the playoffs.
Do We Have Enough?
Short answer. Yes.
Long answer. Yes, but it might not look pretty.
We have players who can decide games. We have seen it. Browne when he feels like it. Tilley when he is fit. Nkeng doing increasingly alarming things to full-backs. Jennings who can score directly from corners if you play him.
We are not devoid of quality. We are not a team waiting for a miracle.
We are a team waiting for a moment.
And those moments tend to come. Often when you least expect them. Usually when you have just convinced yourself they never will.
Perspective.
We were not meant to storm this league.
We were not meant to be cruising comfortably in 12th, sipping something cold and discussing next season’s promotion push.
We are operating where we operate. Budget-wise. Squad-wise. Reality-wise.
Staying up is the job.
Not in a glamorous way. Not in a statement-making way. Just in a “we are still here next season” way.
And if we do that, it is success. Stressful success. But success.
But if we don’t have enough, then we go down.
And if we go down, we play in League 2 next year. This is not existential. It is football. And given our current budget is being a yo-yo between League 1 and 2 the worst thing in the world?
Fan Reaction: A Live Case Study
Social media is currently in top form.
Relegation confirmed. Squad not good enough. JJ out. Possibly sell the stadium. Definitely sell the club.
All posted with absolute certainty. All posted after every game. All posted by the same people who declared us “safe” three weeks ago.
It is all part of it. But none of it changes the reality on the pitch.
A Sensible Proposal
Given the current mood, we would like to suggest the following.
An SGM.
Agenda item one: Should AFC Wimbledon remain in League One?
Voting options, as approved by the relevant subcommittee and cross referenced to the newly approved constitution.
Yes (subject to definition of “remaining”)
No
Abstain (to prove your point to no one in particular while stating that your view is pending receipt of the DTB’s impact assessment paper).
The DTB is current forming a working group to consult with members to establish what “staying up” means in operational strategic terms. The group will then prepare the impact assessment paper which will be thorough, balanced, and available in plenty of time before the vote closes.
Closing Thoughts:
We are wobbling. That is undeniable.
We are not finished. That is equally undeniable.
There are games left. Points left. Moments left.
We think we have enough. Not loads. Not comfortably. But enough.
And if we do not? Then we go down. That is how this works.
Until then, maybe just ease off the panic slightly.
Or at least wait until the 85th minute on Wednesday.
WombleWorld
Ashely Bayes has combined meditation with self-medication. We don’t fully understand it but a San Miguel scented candle will be available in the club shop imminently.