From Winning to Losing

Football IS about the highs and lows as one week you win and the next week you lose. The nature of sport is that for every winner there has to be a loser and in some sports it is many losers to the one winner so acceptance of defeat is an important part of continuing to compete.

Last night I supported my League Two selection, Exeter City, as they took on Northampton Town in the Play Off Final. Exeter finished fifth and Northampton finished seventh so there was a superficial advantage but in the semi-finals Northampton had beaten Cheltenham who finished fourth so they were full of confidence and it became quickly apparent that Exeter were without anything like that.

We were warned by the commentary team that Red and White is a losing colour scheme in the Play Off Finals and Exeter quickly capitulated and showed nothing in terms of effort or inspiration. The whole match was dominated by a competent Northampton side that won everything in the air. Maybe Exeter should recruit people with height if they are to compete in future.

For a short while Exeter played the ball on the ground and started to dominate play but the frustration of a poor performance was played out in an uncontrolled tackle by Dean Moxey on an unfortunate player in black. The red card was deserved because the diving in was from behind and he connected. With 10 men an already poor performance became worse. Exeter showed no signs of fight and readily allowed two late goals to end up 4-0 down.

FALSE CROWD NOISE

After that I decided to look at the AMAZON offering for the last half hour of the match between Crystal Palace and Burnley. I was also playing a computer game and found myself looking up more than I usually do because the crowd noise made the match sound really exciting. Don't get me wrong as it was a determined Crystal Palace that were battering the Burnley goal at the end of the match and one slightly different deflection might have given the Palace an equaliser but the AMAZON crowd noise was louder than other providers and maybe a way to go in future.

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAY OFFS

Now that the National League has agreed that play-offs can take place and all bar one of the teams has agreed to participate I want to know when the matches will take place. Checking the official website all the play-off dates are in April and May which have now gone. Come on whoever is making decisions on behalf of the league. Publish the dates so we can start looking forward to some real football at a good standard but with friendlier fans than you get at League Clubs.

F.A.CUP SEMI FINALS

So there are no surprises in the final four. The F.A.Cup has picked its traditional sides for the four slots and we have two mouthwatering matches at Wembley.

Chelsea will take on Manchester United, and Arsenal will take on Manchester City.

The matches are scheduled for the weekend of July 18th/19th but I have not yet seen the decision as to which match will take place on which date.

MY BLOG

With all of the lower leagues cancelled in terms of promotion and relegation it looks like I will be picking the same teams for next season. There is no need to change. As we approach the top of the pyramid, however, there may be a couple of selections that I do have to make.

Weymouth are in the playoffs in National League South and whilst the odds are against it if they do gain promotion I will have to choose between them and Torquay for my National League selection. I will always check the internet coverage as it changes season to season. Bath City might be a good choice as it is a lovely city to visit and I could impress the wife with the beauty of the place.
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Another possible choice at National League level is Yeovil Town but Torquay United offered me a friendly welcome when I went to drink at their bar and there was a good win that day so they told me I should return soon which I have not done since then. The parking there did not make me feel comfortable so I wish it was better organised.

League Two will force me to make a decision. Do I keep Exeter City who are staying at Level 4 or choose Southend United who are dropping down from Level 3? I intend not to decide until the season is over but we shall see.

League One could be a problem. Let me look at the options ..... Plymouth Argyle? They are popping up from League Two. Bristol Rovers? They are an established club in League one. Sunderland? A club that have a great history and really need to rise back up to the level that the support demands. Lincoln City? Managed by Danny Cowley who I have had an eye on since his Braintree days.

The Championship should be Brentford who I have grown to love over the last few seasons but who only became my pick because Wojciech Cszsesny (easier to say than to spell, I have to check every time) played there for a short time. Neal Maupay has gone on to Brighton but the team have played very well without him and Olly Watkins has slotted well into the scoring role.

Brentford DO have a chance of promotion, though, so if they get to the Premier League I will be dropping them (keeping a side eye open) as I can never drop Arsenal (well not until we get relegated under the lack of funding of the Kroenkes). Who might take over if Brentford ARE promoted. The choices would be ..... almost certainly Cardiff City, for the same reason as Bath City, as it is a great place to visit with plenty to see and a good social life.

I have plans for next season and I hope I can keep my real life under control as it is far easier to blog when things are going well. Until my next post, keep supporting your local teams.

Return from COVID

Some Bloggers can write whether or not there is something going on but I need the football itself to spur my enthusiasm. I have been "doing other things" during lockdown including a lot of reading, some jigsaw puzzles and reintroducing myself to computer gaming.

Last night I watched Brentford against West Bromwich Albion and felt that the quality was high enough to be a Premier League match. As both clubs have aspirations to play at that level I am not overly surprised but as a tense match at the top of the Championship I thought it might have been more of an attritional contest.

The winning goal was scored by Ollie Watkins who had to kick the ball about two inches to get it across the line as his team had done the hard work getting the ball to the centre of the goalmouth. He has taken the mantle of Neil Maupay who moved on to Brighton and upset Arsenal fans by injuring Bernd Leno then scoring the winning goal in the last few seconds of the match.

Being an Arsenal fan I accepted the defeat to Manchester City although David Luiz was a liability and his contract should not be renewed (too late as I hear it has already been renewed). Mustafi is another liability. He allowed Maupay to beat him in the last minute of the Brighton match. Mustafi has scored some good goals and made some good blocks but there is always a mistake in him.

So the City and Brighton matches did not stir the enthusiasm that I needed (winning always helps) and it had to wait until Thursday night against Southampton where we put in a creditable performance, not dominating, but enough to wake me up again. Following Thursday up with Friday where my Championship pick Brentford beat the league leaders after beating Fulham in the previous match has refreshed my eagerness for the game.

The matches being played behind closed doors has definitely resulted in matches that are not as highly charged as matches earlier this season but those of us that have watched the game of football all our lives just want something to watch. I could say the same about Speedway but that sport seems to be dying on its feet in this country.

This weekend we return to the F.A.Cup which sparked a lot of my enthusiasm for the Football Pyramid. Where did all these teams come from and how many matches did they have to play before the "FIRST" round of the F.A.Cup? The answer in some cases is MANY.

Today we can watch Norwich against Manchester United.

Tomorrow we can start with Sheffield United against Arsenal.
We can continue with the match between Leicester City and Chelsea.
We can conclude the F.A.Cup games with Newcastle United against Manchester City.

Football is back, though changed, and normal life is close to resuming but a big part of my life I now realise was going from week to week with expectations that maybe just maybe this was OUR year.

I have more chances now that I am following more teams. If Arsenal lose (which is happening much more often than it used to before the Krankees took over) then I have Brentford and if they lose I have Southend who always lose so it is on to Exeter and then Torquay United. Now if the top five lose (and it has happened) I can rely on Weymouth to restore the pride, then Tiverton and Barnstaple although they are another team that always loses. At level nine, step five, I have Exmouth and I have been to see them live several times now always enjoying the experience. Elmore (who started the whole thing) are now back at level 10 and I have moved to a village called Liverton who have a team at Level 11 in the newly formed Devon League.

I wonder if next season will be more normal.