FA Trophy The Aftermath

It is worth noting that since the semi finals N Ferriby have won 10 points from 5 games while Wrexham have won 8 from 5.

In the same time Torquay have won 1 from 4 including being hammered 5-1 at home on Tuesday.

In this context maybe 4 from 5 for us is not so surprising.

I know Wembley was just a whisker away when we failed in the Ferriby shoot out, but if ever a team and its fans could have been excused a depression it would have been after the Thurrock disaster. And yet we went on a very good run following that defeat, probably down to the players' determination to make up for it. It would have been good to see a similar resolve to make the play offs, but I still maintain that this fixture backlog is why there has been a tail off. I used to be a figure of fun on the old forum for suggesting long cup runs could be bad for success in the league - come on, Bear, admit I was right!

The fixture backlog of course can have a detrimental effect on form but it isn't always the case. Havant were beaten semifinalists last year and for them it must have felt an even bigger disaster as they lost to local rivals Gosport. Because of the wet winter they still had 22 games to play but in the circumstances did exceptionally well and took 39pts from 22 games ( In March 24 pts from 12 games). I suspect they had a slightly bigger squad than City but with the right mental approach, and if you get a few early victories then confidence builds and anything is possible.

I'm not suggesting fixtures backlog necessarily affects the form of the team, it's the fitness - both mental and physical. Remember the season we chased Boston for the title when we had all those games in hand. They were just playing on Saturdays, we at least twice each week. (Unfortunately the 6 weeks rule for rearranging postponed games didn't exist then and for some reason they weren't more sensibly spaced out). The killer defeat came at Clevedon and we had nothing in the reserve tank, finishing well behind that lovely club...

I know Wembley was just a whisker away when we failed in the Ferriby shoot out, but if ever a team and its fans could have been excused a depression it would have been after the Thurrock disaster

Both were bad, but the Trophy game had us just under 90 minutes from Wembley...

If losing to Thurrock was akin to being turned down by Danni Minogue, then losing to Ferriby was on a level to being turned down by Kylie Minogue after she has invited you back to her house.

....and is lying on the bed naked?

Steve Whites Missus wrote:

I know Wembley was just a whisker away when we failed in the Ferriby shoot out, but if ever a team and its fans could have been excused a depression it would have been after the Thurrock disaster

Both were bad, but the Trophy game had us just under 90 minutes from Wembley...

If losing to Thurrock was akin to being turned down by Danni Minogue, then losing to Ferriby was on a level to being turned down by Kylie Minogue after she has invited you back to her house.

Martin, I am sure you aren't suggesting that the cup run was a bad thing?

You mean the trophy run? Of course it was a good thing, but they cause fixture backlogs and the extra games result in extra injuries/suspensions which can only hinder progress in the league.

It's worth it though.

Yes, of course it was worth it. But we need to remember these are part time players who gave their absolute maximum in those epic matches. When we do something similar in our lives, what do we want? Answer - a break. The players haven't had that luxury.

So what do we do? Not put a proper effort into the Trophy/Cup or accept that there will be a hangover afterwards. As it goes, I don't think the latter is a bad response.

Yes, it was right to have a go at the trophy even though, for all the reasons previously mentioned, any chance of a play off place was / has been lost. I think it would be unreasonable / unlikely to expect a small squad of part time players to win the trophy and get promoted.

...also, as we have discussed, promotion might be a disaster for the club.

sounds like reaching Wembley would not have offered quite the pot of gold we thought...

http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/ll-lucky-break-Wembley-8211-North-Ferriby-United/story-26197192-detail/story.html

"The broadcasting rights for the final are part of the FA's overall TV deal.

...could be written on the FA's grave as an epitaph

Was the manager saying you get 20% of the tickets you sell as opposed to 20% if overall gate receipts?

Of gate receipts not "if": can't seem to edit on my iPhone!

A least we went out to the winners...

They were VERY good at penalties.

I've not watched it (even I'm not that much of a masochist) but did Denton try to head his penalty in.

I can imagine their tactic was to hold on for penalties again.

LB wrote:A least we went out to the winners...

Really pleased about that!

I don't quite know how Wrexham managed to chuck that away. Fair play to Ferriby, but for most of the 90 minutes they looked totally out of their depth with their only tactic to lump it to Denton. Some of the missed penalties made Pratt's and Stearn's look quite acceptable, while the Ferriby keeper made up for his lack of composure during the match with some decent saves.
(No, I'm not bitter.....)

On the basis that you can win the competition without needing to win either leg of the semi final or the final itself, perhaps it could be revolutionised next season by deciding all ties on penalties and doing away with the need to actually play at all. (My word, these grapes are sour!)

My idea before the semi-final was that it should be played on a one-off basis. The ideal solution would be a neutral venue, but not sure how feasible that'd be. We could have played NF at Walsall or something. I reckon the crowd would have been pretty decent.