rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Feb 8, 2015 9:54:21 GMT
So what if it was ugly, so what if they had a chance. I'm not bothered to be honest. I couldn't care less! ~ Chris Hargreaves 7/2/15
I would tend to agree with him, it was a cup tie against a lower side that raised their game (see Cambridge) and I've seen us play too many sides, done well with some good football and still lost!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2015 11:16:31 GMT
Speaking of FC United's new ground I received a gift yesterday:  |
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Post by bristolgull on Feb 8, 2015 11:21:39 GMT
So what if it was ugly, so what if they had a chance. I'm not bothered to be honest. I couldn't care less! ~ Chris Hargreaves 7/2/15 I would tend to agree with him, it was a cup tie against a lower side that raised their game (see Cambridge) and I've seen us play too many sides, done well with some good football and still lost! Amen to that! |
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Post by gullone on Feb 8, 2015 12:53:48 GMT
I enjoyed today. Not so much the match but the occasion. Starting from early on in the Union, which was jammed with happy, enthusiastic, friendly fans of FCUM and throughout the day, they were incredible. FCUM are a bit of a ragbag outfit, park team, but they are relatively newly formed, so no doubt, they will pass us in the pyramid, the way reformed Wimbledon and Newport have done and they will be a credit to any league if they conduct themselves as they did today. A bit of a park team they might be but an incredible football club, they are - a phenomenon really - and once they have their own ground, I'm sure they will rise through the leagues. Any team that brings that sort of support could sustain a club at League 1 or higher. I'm just disappointed that I never got to ask any the question that has always puzzled me, in that who would they choose to win if FCUM played Manchester United? I thought Torquay were average at best today but they did enough. After the game, back to the Union, and once again, packed with happy, friendly fans of FCUM. A real credit to the game and a fantastic concept. Happily welcome them back, anytime. Very good post except they need to have a word with the morons who are gleefully throwing flares on the pitch. We all know that if flares had been thrown from the pop side there would be the usual witch hunt...... yeah i know him......his dads from Ellacombe etc etc.....ban him for life......yeah, yeah !
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keyberrygull
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Post by keyberrygull on Feb 8, 2015 19:02:21 GMT
Got to be the best away support I have ever witnessed at Plainmoor;
Well after seeing this video I cant wait to have a chat to a couple old acquaintances who watched yesterdays game from the away end.
You know the type: Plastic fans since the 70’s/80’s, hardly ever been to old Trafford, reduced to tears when they were pipped for the title by Man City a few years ago...
I wonder what they made of their day?
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Feb 8, 2015 19:48:51 GMT
i I've seen us play too many sides, done well with some good football and still lost! That's a good point. We've "outplayed" better teams loads of times only to be undone by bit of quality - Coventry and Reading in recent years spring to mind. I was surprised that the FCUM fans that I talked to after the game were not full of a sense of injustice or "being robbed" but felt proud that they had played exceptionally well to give as good as they got in a match they never expected to win. Video of the winning goal is up and it was real quality - both the through ball and the finish. I know some suspected Bowman may have been offside. The video is not 100% conclusive as it does not show Bowman's position relative to the last defender at the exact moment the pass was hit, but it certainly looks as if Bowman timed his run very well. |
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chelstongull
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Post by chelstongull on Feb 8, 2015 20:10:25 GMT
Got to be the best away support I have ever witnessed at Plainmoor; Certainly sounded like they didn't stop singing for 90 minutes or so - even adapting the Pistols Anarchy song! Pearce passing to Richards who slipped a slide rule (did anyone ever use one?) pass to Bowman, who took his finish well. When's the next home game? |
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keyberrygull
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Post by keyberrygull on Feb 8, 2015 20:39:20 GMT
Pearce passing to Richards who slipped a slide rule (did anyone ever use one?) I used one but mostly as a catapult! |
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rjdgull
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Post by rjdgull on Feb 8, 2015 23:54:55 GMT
I was surprised that the FCUM fans that I talked to after the game were not full of a sense of injustice or "being robbed" but felt proud that they had played exceptionally well to give as good as they got in a match they never expected to win. Yes, got a similar impression when talking to a couple of their fans on the way out of the Babbacombe end going to our respective cars in Warbro Road. Congratulated them both on their team's performance and their support! Shook hands before their long journey home, the reverse to the one I took after the Stevenage play off final a few years ago with the same score line to boot! |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Feb 12, 2015 0:29:49 GMT
Full highlights courtesy of FCUMTV:
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Feb 12, 2015 0:36:41 GMT
Interesting to see that the crowd of 3,805 was 834 more than the other four FA Trophy ties added together 985+610+451+925.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2015 9:31:49 GMT
Interesting to see that the crowd of 3,805 was 834 more than the other four FA Trophy ties added together 985+610+451+925. The 451 and 925 figures are slightly misleading because they relate to Halifax's and Gateshead's delayed third round games. Remember too that Halifax v Dartford was played at Droylsden because of poor conditions at the Shay. But it still works if you replace each with the attendances from the midweek quarter final matches: Halifax v Wrexham 1126; Bath v Dover 893. 985 + 610 + 1126 + 893 = 3614. There was always a decent chance we would have drawn one of the bigger home gates anyway. FC United was the plum everybody wanted. That accentuated the difference to the point of ensuring a couple of individuals reached for their calculators. The gate for the final will be intriguing. Both Wrexham and Torquay have visited Wembley in recent years; Wrexham were there twice within a month or so in 2013 (making me hope they won't be "up for it"). North Ferriby, with the best will in the world, is a smallish place on the edge of a larger community which may not be too enamoured by another Wembley trip at this time. Bath, by contrast, is somewhere that could "turn out" in reasonable numbers. Perhaps the final needs Bath City. And that's been the story of the competition. The crowds for the final have always gone up and down depending on the participants and circumstances: www.thefa.com/fa-trophy/more/the-finalsOne exceptionally poorly-supported final wouldn't represent a definite argument for taking the final away from Wembley. But over-exposure to that venue is an increasing problem once a club goes there several times in quick succession. With the Conference play-off, there's the possibility of four non-league clubs playing at Wembley each season. These, of course, will largely come from the pool of clubs which have the biggest followings. The counter-argument is to switch the FA Trophy to a Premier League ground. That happened when Wembley was out of commission. The crowds weren't too good; the competition died something of a death as a result. Not helped either by the introduction of the Conference play-offs at the same time. I saw Grays v Hucknall at Villa in 2005 when the crowd was 8,000. The day was saved because the match meant a lot to each club; ironically so given what has subsequently happened to both clubs. Ashley Bayes, incidentally, made the crucial final save in the penalty shoot-out. The biggest non-Wembley final attendance was the near-19,000 for Stevenage v Yeovil at Villa Park in 2002. I'm sure that made for a cracking occasion with the ground being relatively full. If you could have something similar each year, it would make for a good day. But, in reality, I'm not sure how often the crowd would make it much beyond 9-10,000. |
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Rob
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Post by Rob on Feb 12, 2015 21:28:07 GMT
Am guessing the Vase is more sparsely populated each season. I'd happily watch a Vase followed by Trophy double header if Wembley was persisted with. Have seen that sort of thing at Twickenham with the rugby before now. Might work. Might not. Football obviously being a different beast.
I'm more in favour of a neutral club ground, but doubt I'd feel that way if I hadn't seen us at Wembley a few times already.
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Post by bristolgull on Feb 13, 2015 7:57:10 GMT
Am guessing the Vase is more sparsely populated each season. I'd happily watch a Vase followed by Trophy double header if Wembley was persisted with. Have seen that sort of thing at Twickenham with the rugby before now. Might work. Might not. Football obviously being a different beast. I'm more in favour of a neutral club ground, but doubt I'd feel that way if I hadn't seen us at Wembley a few times already. As with most things, there are pros and cons to both. I remember going to Wembley for the first time to see Torquay, it was fantastic. It was also great being the first of my mates to go to the 'New' Wembley to see their team! I also remember clearly the conversation I had with my dad on the way to old Trafford for our final game against Stevenage about whose bright idea it was to send two moderately supported teams from the south all the way to a quarter full stadium in Manchester. Surely the madjeski stadium or Ashton gate would have done equally well? I guess you could argue that such settings would take away from the 'magic' and be less of a reward for reaching the final? Personally I would rather be in a smaller stadium with a better atmosphere rather than a sparsely populated Wembley. That's just me, and as you say Rob, we've been there before in relatively recent times. The fans of Bath city or North Ferriby may feel very differently... |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2015 10:45:22 GMT
Am guessing the Vase is more sparsely populated each season. I'd happily watch a Vase followed by Trophy double header if Wembley was persisted with. Have seen that sort of thing at Twickenham with the rugby before now. Might work. Might not. Football obviously being a different beast. I'm more in favour of a neutral club ground, but doubt I'd feel that way if I hadn't seen us at Wembley a few times already. I'm not one for the "Wembley fuss". It's the game, not the venue, for me. I'd be perfectly happy with a suitable smaller venue for any of these games (including League Two play-offs). But I also note that, when Wembley isn't used, the venue is decided months in advance. There appears to be a reluctance - possibly for operational reasons - to wait until the finalists are known. Bristolgull mentions Old Trafford. That was the "different" one for us. We never played at the Millennium; the Conference play-off had settled at Wembley when we reached one. I actually thought the prospect of playing at Old Trafford was wonderful; the reality was appallingly drab. That's mainly because we lost. The small crowd didn't help. Nor did the fact that, purely by coincidence, the event resembled a sideshow as the "host community" packed the pubs in anticipation of that evening's European Cup final. As for the FA Trophy, the FA has a long-standing tradition of holding its non-league finals at Wembley. It all started with the FA Amateur Cup in 1949. The FA Trophy, for semi-professional clubs, started in 1969-70 and was immediately afforded a Wembley final. And, when the amateur-professional distinction was abolished in the 1970s, the realignment saw a new lower-tier competition - the FA Vase - being introduced. This too had a Wembley final from 1975 onwards. All this, of course, was many years before play-off and Football League Trophy matches took place at Wembley. Periodically there's talk of the FA giving up on the idea of playing the Trophy and Vase finals at Wembley. It's the FA's stadium; it's their call. But then there's the issue of the Conference play-off final being played at Wembley "by arrangement". That seems to have damaged the FA Trophy but must make sense to the FA both as a business deal and with regards to working with the Conference. On balance I'm not adverse to Wembley being the final for national competitions. The FA Trophy had 276 entrants this season; the FA Vase 536 competing clubs. Yet, even though the Conference play-off final is the "bigger game", I always think Wembley is a rather bombastic venue for it. A vanity exercise even. Rob mentions the FA Vase. Attendances for this are never going to be large because, quite simply, the competition is for those who are not amongst the 276 best clubs outside the Football League. The prospect too of an FA Vase/FA Trophy "double header" has probably diminished now the FA Trophy has been brought forward to late March. Yet the FA Vase still has fantastic appeal. Far more, I'd venture, than the FA Trophy. Just about every club takes it entirely seriously. A great adventure; a journey into the unknown. You could even forgive Alpine Joe for preferring St Austell v Ascot United to Torquay United v Wrexham. |
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