FC Bayern Forum

Remember, if you beat the odds one season then unless you have some radical secret weapons you’ll probably struggle to do so the next season.

As it is, the hedonic treadmill means that after finishing 2nd we can’t even be satisfied with 2nd again; it always has to be better, otherwise it feels worse. We acclimatised to 2nd over the summer, and even then, people stupidly asserted that Brendan Rodgers’ tactics cost the Reds the title, when his tactics – or his approach – were part of an unforeseeable improvement, and indeed, radical over-performance. These critics put the failure in a couple of games down to tactics, and ignored how 26 games were won – almost always enough to win you the title – and 101 goals were scored; again, almost always enough to win the title.

To accept your fate – particularly when you can’t change things (and as individual fans we can’t really change things) – actually brings a sense of relief; to constantly crave an improvement in your circumstances, particularly when you can’t change things yourself, actually makes you unhappier. There are times when hope can be helpful, particularly as hopelessness is not a good state to be in; no one wants their club to be on the brink of oblivion. But I’m not sure unrealistic hopes actually help. By all means be positive at the game, but don’t go there (or onto Twitter) with a sense of entitlement.

And so I’ll say again: we’re all gonna die. So – and here I’m just spitballing – maybe just enjoy the experience of football rather than torturing yourself with hopes of great things; hopes that, if they ever get realised, will only wither on the hedonic treadmill and become stagnation. If you win 7-0 every week you’ll just find reasons to moan about why you’re not winning 8-0 every week. That’s how our minds work.

ramsej84 wrote:the revival of fellaini