So near, yet so far from repeat glory
IHAD all sorts of ISP problems last week which meant that last week’s column didn’t arrive in time to meet the printers deadline, I’m sorry if you missed the ramblings of a Mad Hatter and if you did, here’s an extended version.
Easter Bank Holiday is usually one of the most significant weekends of the football season, so often what happens in the two games defines the past season and points the way for the next.
This time last year we were on the verge of something special, promotion from the National League North, but going into the Easter fixtures it could have been very different.
Chorley did a job on us that left us all doubtful as to the future, a defeat at Victory Park on a gloriously hot Saturday afternoon meant they had the upper hand. Two days later and things had turned our way.
A brilliant display over Curzon Ashton resulted in a 2-0 home win with Ash Palmer and Matty Warburton both on the scoresheet, while Chorley, who’d been on top of the table all season let’s not forget, went down 1-0 at Spennymoor to a Glenn Taylor solitary header.
All three goals were celebrated by the Edgeley Park faithful like they were World Cup winners. The Easter weekend ended with County on top of the table with one game to go against bottom of the table Nuneaton. The rest is history !!!!
This season we should have had games at Chesterfield and Harrogate, another defining couple of games? We might never get to find out if the powers that be decide to vote to end the season this week but whatever happens I’m pretty sure that those two games would have been huge for us.
We should have already played Notts Co (H), Barrow (A), Yeovil (H) and Eastleigh (A) I’m confident that we’d have taken 9 or 10 points from those four games. Chesterfield (A) would have been a blast for the travelling support, while Harrogate (H) would have seen a bumper crowd for a top of the table clash. Anything from that game would, I believe, have cemented a play-off position and with two struggling sides in Eastleigh (A) and then the final game against Wrexham (H) to come we’d be confident of playing anybody.
At the start of the season the play-offs would have been a dream finish (I’d have settled for a top ten and have been proud of the lads) going into them with the form we’ve been showing, we could have beaten anyone. Fantasy football I know but I fear it’s all we’ll have for some time!
We did have another couple of games from the County archives to watch on Saturday afternoon, the 2008 League 2 Play-Off game against Rochdale and the FA Cup 4th round tie v QPR from 1994.
It was a pleasure to watch the likes of Gary Dicker, Anthony Pilkington, and Stephen Gleesen play proper football. Rochdale kicked anything that moved that day, ball or player and had to be one of the dirtiest teams we’ve ever played, we could easily have had three penalties.
The QPR game was just as entertaining Francis, Preece, Ward, Frain, Edwards, Todd and Beaumont.
The names just roll of the tongue for someone my age, which got me thinking, there must be a generation of County supporters who’ve only heard of these players as myth and legend, I hope some of the younger generation managed to watch players who to me are heroes of a bygone era.
What players! What a team! Great days indeed. Days that will return I’m sure, once we’re all safe and well.