Cod Almighty | Diary

Obscured by crowds

3 December 2014

Miss Guest Diary writes: Last night's results in the Bananarama Conference have left Town in fourth place in the table this morning, with the prospect of dropping to fifth if Macclesfield win their game in hand on Saturday. Does this matter? I don't think so – what difference does it make which play-off spot Town claim? My feeling is that making the play-offs again will only lead to the same frustration as the last two seasons. The best way out of this division is to come top and I believe Town still have every chance of achieving that this season. Sure, Barnet are eight points ahead of Town, but we haven't played them yet. Win both those games and we'd only be two points behind them.

I don't subscribe to the philosophy that Town 'deserve' to be promoted, but looking at the crowds for last night's games, it's hard not to let that feeling creep in. According to the BBC, attendances were: Alfreton 454; Chester 1,860; Dover 795; Eastleigh 1,765; Halifax 1030; Kidderminster 1,377; Wrexham 2,608 and, wait for it, Woking 45,000. Surely some mistake, but maybe attractive attacking football really does bring in the crowds.

Seriously, the attendance at last night's Woking game – a team currently above Town in the table – was 1,056. Why is it that Town, with the resources that having home crowds consistently above 3,000 must bring, can't outdo rivals like Woking and Barnet (whose home game on Saturday attracted a crowd of just 1,610)? Is it the tactics, the manager, the players or the board? Discuss.

And what of the 'distraction' of the FA Trophy? There is still a feeling among some fans that Town should get out of this 'tinpot' competition as soon as possible and concentrate on the league. Paul Hurst does not agree, having said in his post-match interview on Saturday that Town will set out to win it. Neither does Carl Magnay, who says that going all the way in the trophy won't damage Town's promotion hopes. Realistically, why should it? Don't forget Cambridge managed to do both last season, and York a couple of seasons before that.

I was watching a match on TV last night where Michael Owen was co-commentator and he was asked how players felt about the number of fixtures played in the Christmas/new year period. His basic response was that they loved it because it meant that they got to play football instead of training. So why should Town playing Trophy matches be any different? The more matches played, the more chance players have to sharpen their skills and bond as a team. Ah, I hear you say, what about injuries? Well, players can get injured in training and in pre-match warm-ups, and even when they're nowhere near a football pitch.

A friend has said he's 'not doing' the Trophy this year. But if the players and manager are going all out, then I say the fans should too and get behind the team next week at Nuneaton. Their home crowds can be well below 1,000, so if we all make the effort we have a good chance of outnumbering them. UTM.