I was on a balcony at a wedding reception in Cornwall when I found out Wood had been knocked out of the FA Cup at the first attempt, millions of miles (or so it felt after driving down from London) from Beaconsfield where the game took place. By all accounts Wood were awful and didn’t deserve anything, but after two great results back to back it is so frustrating to go out in such a sloppy manner. The season may still be young but it is being characterised by Wood’s amazing ability to take two steps forward and one step back.
Alas, I can’t comment too much on a game I wasn’t at, but highlights of the game are here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbnT0rqi0EA&feature=youtu.be
The first goal aside, Wood should be very disappointed with the sloppiness of the goals conceded against them, as well as the countless chances allowed to their lower league opposition. It is this lacklustre approach which is undermining Wood’s start to the season, no matter how bad our injury crisis may be (Charlie O’ Loughlin, one of our mainstays at centre back was missing, and Elvis Putnins got held in traffic before the fixture). It’s the simple things that need sorting out, and at this level the simple things should come naturally (although having watched Arsenal capitulate in the North London Derby maybe I am being a bit too harsh). What’s more disappointing is that a half decent cup run can bring in some good money to the club, as well as bringing in some more people through the gates, some of whom may return. Again, I wasn’t at the game so I can’t go on.
Ian Allinson, however, was obviously at the game, and had this to say:
"Slough Town were always going to be a threat to us today as I warned the players. It is a shame that they did not take heed but it was always going to be difficult with the absence of central defender Charlie O'Loughlin and with goalkeeper Elvis Putnins arriving at the ground after the team sheet was put in on top of all the other walking wounded."
"This is the worst FA Cup result in my career as a manager. We should be beating sides like Slough with or without injuries. We are a Conference side and today we totally failed to show our pedigree. In my opinion we were not good enough and it hurts."
"At present we are bringing in new faces due to our injury problems and today against lower opposition it was evident that some of the squad do not show the desire to play at this football club and they'll be gone before Saturday.
"One or two of our senior players have become disruptive as individuals and we never defended from the front.
"Just how we can go out and defend like we did against Welling United and Chelmsford City and take 4 points, then turn in a shambolic performance like this defensively is unacceptable."
Strong words indeed. I cannot comment on who the senior players who have become disruptive are, and as of yet there is no news coming out of Wood as to new signings being brought into the club, but it is reassuring to see Allinson recognise the weaknesses in the team (both on and off the pitch) and not dress up his words. Hopefully with the backing of Danny Hunter he can put a stop to these problems and get the season going, as the cash cow of the cup is now a memory.
It’s a real shame for me personally as I love the FA cup, particularly in it’s early qualifying stages. A few years ago, a few of us decided to follow Dulwich Hamlet in their first round qualifying match, and if they were beaten we would follow the winner, and so on and so forth until we couldn’t go any further. If you like the sound of this idea, I implore you to do this. It was one of the best times of my life, travelling to unknown grounds, meeting local fans, mourning at the losses of local legends, and getting to the point where you follow a small town just outside Walsall away at Port Vale. We kept a blog for the journey, and looking back through it the other day I must admit I got misty eyed. Ignore the bit about an FA Trophy run, that was nonsense.
Now that Wood can ‘focus more on the league’, our opponents tomorrow are Dartford, who come to Meadow Park sitting pretty in second place in the Blue Square South, level on points with current leaders Woking. They also have in their ranks the league’s 2nd top scorer Charlie Sheringham, who, you might have guessed, is son of Teddy ‘I’m a complete and utter cretin’ Sheringham. Sheringham Jr has 8 goals to his name in the league so far this term, and will definitely pose the biggest threat to the Wood backline who are looking to get back to some of the defensive solidity they showed against Welling and Cheltenham. That’s not to say that Sheringham is not the only threat, as strike partner Elliott Bradbrook has also started the season with a flourish, and between them the pair have scored 18 times in all competitions. The Wood defence will need to forget about the Slough result in a hurry and remember how resolute and brave they were against Chelmsford.
With Dartford losing just once all campaign, tomorrow promises a bit of a struggle for a Wood team who will likely be set back after last week’s poor showing. However, if there is something to show for the season so far is that Wood tend to raise their game for the bigger sides and generally do well (I doubt anyone would have predicted a 5 point return for games against Woking, Welling and Chelmsford, particularly when the Woking and Chelmsford games were away), so I’m not going to give up hope just yet. The draw is 11/4 with Blue Square Bet and I reckon it’s worth a few quid.
I can’t wait to get back to Meadow Park tomorrow and hopefully see the boys pick up a valuable point or win. Following both t6eams exit from the cup, Wood will be away at Hampton and Richmond next Saturday, which hopefully will tuen into a blessing in disguise as the games begin to build up later on in the season. The only other bit of news, thankfully good this time, is the youth teams progression to the third and final qualifying round of the FA Youth Cup, after beating Bishops Stortford 1-0, with Harvey Scott-Morris grabbing the winner. The youngsters now go on to face Billericay Town, a win away from the big boys. Let’s hope they can make it through.
As a last piece – please go here http://consultations.external.bbc.co.uk/bbc/localradio/ and help The Non League Show be saved from the savage cuts facing the BBC thanks to the current seventh circle of hell government. They are on BBC London, so please click there and answer the relevant questions. Non League Football doesn’t have a great voice in the media, and even if it’s not everyones cup of tea it still offers a place for non league fans to share their thoughts. Don’t let it die.
As always, thanks for all your continued support. I’ve been so busy the last few weeks that I’ve been restricted to one update a week, but now the social calendar is drying up and there isn’t a wedding or a festival every weekend, I can start to focus more on getting back to the blog. I can be found on twitter @wearethewood, and all shares, RTs, opinions are always welcome.
Until next time….
WE ARE THE WOOD!
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