The View From South Texas -- and now even I think it's time

When Kit Symons signed on, I was pleased. Magath was gone, and we had someone in charge who knew our young players better than anyone. Since our young players were going to be the ones that kept us going until the end of the season, I thought this was probably our best managerial option. After 1 point out of 24, we didn't have the luxury of waiting for a new boss to figure out the squad.

After a brilliant run that ended around Christmas, the same folks that "wanted my Fulham back" now had the knives out for Kit. There was a significantly large group out there who somehow believed that -- despite gutting the squad and letting a maniac screw up the beginning of the season -- we had some sort of divine right to go straight back up. I reacted to this delusional insanity by becoming a strong defender of Kit as the man to stay the course.

When it became obvious that the squad would need to be rebuilt for the second August in a row, it was clear to me that our first chance to get promoted would be in the 2016-17 season. We signed some solid players -- players good enough to get us promoted after a year or so, but certainly not the staff to keep us in the Premier League should we go up. I was and am convinced that getting promoted this season would require yet a THIRD consecutive gutting of the squad, with disastrous long-term results. I was content to let Kit stay at the helm and make us a solid top half Championship squad. But then ... .

We solved our major problems in the transfer market. Signing Richards, Stearman, Ream, Garbutt, and Husband solidified our defense, and O'Hara and Tunnicliffe shored up the central midfield. We were still a little weak in the forward line. Dembele hadn't figured out how to use his body to the best effect [He's learned that; now all he has to do is learn how to work hard and do the dirty jobs]. Woodrow was his polar opposite -- great positional sense and great aggression that was, unfortunately still a season ahead of his finishing skills. Matt Smith continued to be an exceptional League One striker, and Ross was a clinical finisher who got bored running up front and kept dropping back to find more action in midfield. Still, I thought -- and still think -- that we're good enough to finish in the top half of this league. But then ... .

It seems we have a bit of a heart problem. When things go wrong, we seem to throw our hands up. By the time we react effectively, we're farther away from a result that we should be. We also seem to draw red cards at the worst possible time. So far this season, we've finished three matches with fewer than 11 players on the pitch. In all three, we've shipped a ton of goals. Our strong goal difference is waning, and it's because of a lack of group discipline in a squad filled with highly disciplined individuals. The fact that we panic and surrender so easily, the fact that we seem unprepared is down -- I finally realized -- to Kit.

Heart problems require surgery. Kit has taken us as far as his experience and talents could allow him to. It's time for him to go and to be replaced by a better organizer -- by someone who will get the best out of the very good squad that Kit helped to assemble. My hope is that we don't make the same mistake we made our last season in the Prem -- Rene, Magath, and a half-dozen coaches. Let's make a real team out of these talented individuals and go into the summer with a roadmap to promotion.

It's time, and even I recognize it now. Kit, thanks for everything you did to keep us alive after Felix, and best of luck with your future in football.