Oh, playoffs.
So, we went to Grimsby with us falling out of the top seven a near certainty and… er, yeah.
Thanks to modern technology, I didn’t need to leave SW19 Towers to watch a game that had the potential to go very wrong.
I wasn’t planning on going to Blundell Park, and after getting a puncture at 70mph on the A3 on Friday night (as fun as it sounds) I certainly wasn’t going to make a last minute dash up north.
Especially as spare tyres don’t allow you to go about 50mph.
During the first half, I was trying to sell a car battery (which I eventually did), which was more entertaining than watching what was on the screen.
I’m not sure we had any attacking prowess whatsoever, words that have been said since about February.
News that Salford were losing but Chesterfield were winning didn’t help things, nor did the commentator saying that all we needed was a draw and we wouldn’t be worried.
Clearly he hadn’t done his research. One should always be worried when supporting us – especially when we’re 4-0 up with a minute left.
We could have been forgiven for expecting more of the same in the second half. Yet strangely, and pleasingly, we came out fighting.
When Sam “I haven’t scored in three years” Hutchinson found the net, and at least he had presence of mind to pounce on the ricochet off the bar, that was more or less it.
Considering Grimsby were chasing playoffs themselves, I thought they were ordinary at best and didn’t really look like equalising.
Ourselves on the other hand? We seemed to chill out, loosen our shoulders and start playing without the pressures of the world on our shoulder.
Whether we could have got a second I don’t know. It would have been nice to have done so, but it ultimately didn’t matter.
It’s certainly the best half of football we’ve played in a while, and it’s not a bad time of the season to do that.
The important thing is – we’ve extended our season.
Congrats to all involved, by the way, as we’ve been in them for much if most of the last nine months. It hasn’t always felt like it, but we’re here on merit.
JJ has fulfilled what was apparently his remit this campaign, and he can have a bit of quiet satisfaction this morning, before the big week(s) ahead.
Had we fallen out of them, I would have expected his resignation by tomorrow. I think his future tenure would be permanently damaged, but he’s clearly in charge again.
I wonder what his approach to the next two (three?) games will be? Judging by his interview, I expect more of the same.
And yeah, before we gush too much, automatic promotion and all that.
The coach in the Youtube link, in case you’re not familiar with this classic meme, is an American football coach called Jim Mora.
He’s most famous for the “PLAYOFFS???” quip above, but he also came up with this one as well.
“Coulda, woulda, shoulda don’t mean shit, and you can print that in the papers”
That’s kind-of my attitude about missing out on the top three. We had plenty of chances to get in them, and we didn’t.
If we were meant to go up without needing the playoffs, we would have done so. But we failed in that quest, and we have (hopefully) three more games left instead.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda indeed. And I’m happy to put that in writing.
Back to the upcoming period. I have to admit, I quite like this time of year with the playoffs. Regardless if we’re in them or not.
There’s that sense of achievement that you’ve got this far, that it’s effectively a new mini-season.
True, you want to go up automatically, but that didn’t happen, and the games suddenly feel fresh and exciting again.
It won’t be all plain sailing, in fact we’ll all need to buy new undergarments within the next week or two, but it’s better than fighting relegation.
Because it’s the playoffs, league form doesn’t really matter.
Granted, you don’t want to go into them playing like piles of toilet that haven’t met each other yet. And winning up north yesterday helps.
But there’s no point in saying we should beat Notts County because we did well in the league against them.
More often than not, the opposite happens. I hope we’re aware of that.
I don’t know who has playoff credentials in our ensemble, I don’t think JJ has – does Skiverton?
Player wise, Joe Lewis has been there with Stockport, but who else knows how to handle at least two cup finals?
As for how we approach them, this morning people are saying that JJ’s approach might be ideal for the first leg at Meadow Lane.
Certainly having the second leg at PL helps, but I’d rather us go and get the win anyway.
Why? Because it puts less pressure on us for the return fixture.
Part of the reason we played so well in the second half yesterday was us relaxing a bit. We knew we would be extending our season, and we could take a break from the pressure.
That might have been part of the reason why we failed to finish in the top three – there was probably too much of a push on the squad, and they just couldn’t cope after all.
I won’t say it was a bottle job, as Notts County and Walsall** could also say they could have been auto bound too.
** – if any team has bottled it this campaign, it’s Walsall. And it must have been even more a kick in the bollocks to see Bradford win in the 96th minute yesterday.
I think everyone expects them to lose to Chesterfield, so it might be worth a few quid on them getting to the final. It’s the kind of thing what happens in the playoffs.
In some regards, we might feel like we’ve got a second chance, but in truth I think we were always likely to have to go the scenic route this season.
That’s academic now anyway, and we’re already planning where to drink in Nottingham.
The EFL have finally figured out when we’re playing (8pm next Saturday at Meadow Lane, 12h30 at PL on Saturday 17th), and I bet it pissed off a few when they announced it on the Friday.
This is the first test of AFCW’s general organisation in the playoffs since 2016, and the first since our return home.
I expect some horror stories of ticketing, and already there’s a couple of gripes about those with debentures.
We made such a ballsup of the ticketing when we arrived back in SW17 and we’re still paying for it today. I just hope those always-empty seats in the east stand get sat on for once.
But these kind of games are what you look for, the big day(s) out with hopefully the big wins.
Whatever happens, happens. If we go out to Notts County or lose in the final, you’ll be gutted but it won’t mean the season is a failure.
I don’t believe next season will be any stronger, division wise, and we’d be one of the favourites for the autos.
We don’t want that of course, and we want Wombley II with the same outcome as Wombley.
And if we don’t get that, let’s avoid what happened to Franchise in last season’s playoff semis…