Do clubs take Trophy seriously?
Perhaps I should have had this rant a few weeks ago, but it was disappointing that we could not bring you more games concerning the National League’s big guns from yesterday’s FA Trophy.
We harp on about Premier League teams not giving the FA Cup enough respect, but there can an argument that Non-League’s leading lights are just as guilty when it comes to our showpiece silverware. Of course, the league is the main objective, but it stinks of double standards to me. There will always be upsets in cup football, that is the beauty and its unique-selling point. But I wonder how hard defeat was to take last month for the likes of Gary Waddock at Aldershot Town and Micky Mellon at Tranmere.
Not only that, but it’s a boyhood dream to play on the hallowed turf at Wembley – or so we are told – and with only five ties (six games including double-legged semi-finals) standing in the way, it represents an excellent opportunity to bag some silverware under the famous Arch.
That said, maybe it really is a burden managers can do without. The winners of the Trophy for the last two seasons, FC Halifax and York City, were both relegated by the time they were celebrating their victories in north London. Does the Trophy get the attention it deserves?
Football in full support for Pools
It’s horrible to read the news about Hartlepool United and their current fate, with the club fighting for survival and with a mountain of debts needed to be paid to keep them alive. To read more, there is a fascinating and heart-warming piece from Pools fan and broadcasting legend Jeff Stelling on page 8. I urge you to take a look.
All week, there has been a wave of goodwill for Hartlepool throughout the game, with clubs coming together to offer their support. Pools’ game next week at Victoria Park against Wrexham is set for a bumper attendance with crowd-funding in full operation. If you are in the north-east and your club hasn’t got a game, why not get along and show your support. Reports suggest over 1,000 Middlesbrough fans are going (I imagine they are pretty fed up with the Riverside anyway), and the gate receipts will go a long way to raising much-needed cash to boost survival hopes.
As I mentioned last week, we have adjusted our reporting structure on our Step 4 pages (Bostik, pages 28-29, Northern Premier, pages 32-33, Southern, pages 36-37). We feel we need to change the way we cover these leagues in order to deliver more exclusive material, and also because of the expansion in the leagues next season. All clubs have been notified of the changes, and we hope you understand our reasons for doing so.