Relegation Thread 2017/18

[AdamStag]

Whats this FA Trophy like?

It's your worst nightmare.

If you've ever won the fa trophy you'll never be deemed a proper club.

 

[Laker]

It’s good if you draw someone like Braintree away whose pitch used to be waterlogged for months at a time. You keep postponing league games to get your Braintree FA Trophy game on (that you don’t even care about) but then that keeps getting postponed too so you end up with an absurd fixture backlog through no doing of your own.

Then when you finally get the game on, you draw and it goes to a replay which means you get another postponement.

We were dreadful in the FA Trophy and kept losing in early rounds (Dorchester springs to mind) but then we won it in our promotion year. In the early rounds, attendances are so low that it’s basically loss making until you reach the semi finals. Then if you get that far, you start taking it seriously.

When we won, we reached the quarters and drew Luton (top) at home which we drew and took to a replay. Then we played Grimsby who were in the play offs in the semis (two legged semis btw) and our reward was a lovely final against Gosport from the league below which we won 4-0. It was the most chilled out I’ve ever been at a game!

I detested being in the competition and detested even more being knocked out of it but I think winning it certainly stands as an important milestone in our club’s history. Some other Cambridge fans disagree (feeling is split).

 

[Laker]

It's your worst nightmare.

If you've ever won the fa trophy you'll never be deemed a proper club.

Go bollocks.....!

 

[AdamStag]

Go bollocks.....!

I remember us losing to Matlock town in the first round - which isn't too far from Mansfield - (much to the amusement of Chesterfield fans) - it was the season we won the conference and was the best thing to happen to us.

Even then it still buggers up your fixture list with other teams playing

 

[Habbinalan]

It’s good if you draw someone like Braintree away whose pitch used to be waterlogged for months at a time. You keep postponing league games to get your Braintree FA Trophy game on (that you don’t even care about) but then that keeps getting postponed too so you end up with an absurd fixture backlog through no doing of your own.

Then when you finally get the game on, you draw and it goes to a replay which means you get another postponement.

We were dreadful in the FA Trophy and kept losing in early rounds (Dorchester springs to mind) but then we won it in our promotion year. In the early rounds, attendances are so low that it’s basically loss making until you reach the semi finals. Then if you get that far, you start taking it seriously.

When we won, we reached the quarters and drew Luton (top) at home which we drew and took to a replay. Then we played Grimsby who were in the play offs in the semis (two legged semis btw) and our reward was a lovely final against Gosport from the league below which we won 4-0. It was the most chilled out I’ve ever been at a game!

I detested being in the competition and detested even more being knocked out of it but I think winning it certainly stands as an important milestone in our club’s history. Some other Cambridge fans disagree (feeling is split).

I think we were lucky that one season. Normally exit asap is ideal and take the (short-lived) humiliation.

In our promotion season, the final was timed perfectly to give the team a useful Wembley rehearsal and get the whole Wembley thing out of their system a month before the play-offs. We knew we were in the play-offs very early and switched off to an extent in our final league matches. The final often seems to have been played at a time that messes up the fixtures of those going for the play offs or even preparing for the semis.

The other benefit was that it gave some fringe players useful game time in the second half of the season.

 

[Si Robin]

When we won the FA Trophy in 1998 it was a massive thing - it was by far the biggest thing our club had ever achieved at that point in our history and when we lost to Kingstonian in the semi-final in 1999 I remember us being genuinely devastated not to be going to Wembley again (where we would have played FGR).

I think at the time, with only one promotion place, the FA Trophy was seen by all non-league clubs as a realistic chance at winning something - sugar-daddy clubs weren't quite the phenomenon they've become with only Rushden and Diamonds being stupidly backed at the time, so if a team was running away with the Conference, as Halifax did in 97/98, then the FA Trophy was the only thing to fall back on. It was also the only way, as a non-league team, to get on telly unless you got a plum FA Cup draw and even then it wasn't a guarantee as only one or two games were shown live in the first couple of rounds at the time.

When we were back in the Conference in 15/16, we played the kids and even attempted to play one of the rounds the day after a league game, which showed how seriously we took it - eventually losing to Oxford City in the 2nd round.

 

[GTFCfish]

Whats this FA Trophy like?

Lol.

 

[northstandexile]

You will know Vale, when you lose against teams like Droylesden, Matlock and Tamworth as Mansfield have done.

 

[AdamStag]

You do lose to some ridiculous teams in there though, remember losing to droyslden once, must have only been 3/4 miles from home and still didn't go. A total of 335 were there, maybe we took 150.

 

[AdamStag]

You will know Vale, when you lose against teams like Droylesden, Matlock and Tamworth as Mansfield have done.

Ha. Who'd have thought we'd have mentioned droylsden at exactly the same time. Urgh

 

[OneDecentLester]

Reading this thread about the f*cking FA trophy really shows how far we have fallen when there's actually a possibility we will be featuring in it next season...

 

[valefan16]

Reading this thread about the f*cking FA trophy really shows how far we have fallen when there's actually a possibility we will be featuring in it next season...

My feelings exactly!

 

[PaulHaddock]

We managed to lose two FA trophy finals.

 

[AdamStag]

We managed to lose two FA trophy finals.

We only lost one - to Darlington.

They then went bust.

 

[mowgli]

We managed to lose two FA trophy finals.

We won 1991 and 93 it was a big competition back then.

 

[Luke Imp]

We were generally shit in the FA Trophy. Lost 4-0 at home to North Ferriby United during their bags of money period, drew at home to something called Carhsalton then lost the replay 3-1.

Last season was slightly different. We played the 'B' team, aside from the semi second leg, and lost to a dodgy handball decision against York.

 

[Vanni]

I don't have time for the FA trophy, but it's still a million miles better than the checkatinpot.

 

[Dave-Vale]

We are shit in the FA Cup and have had some major embarrassments over the years. If we end up having to play in it then we will no doubt get knocked out of it by a team a few divisions below.

 

[joethegill]

I don't have time for the FA trophy, but it's still a million miles better than the checkatinpot.

How long til we start seeing lower league clubs reserves knocking about in the trophy? Gillingham U23s v Harrow Borough - there's a money-spinner if ever I saw one...

 

[Vanni]

How long til we start seeing lower league clubs reserves knocking about in the trophy? Gillingham U23s v Harrow Borough - there's a money-spinner if ever I saw one...

You think so? Personally I can't see it ever happening as the FA Trophy has much more prestige than the Checkatrade. A good number of Conference National sides do take the Fat seriously - barring of course those handful of sides with their eyes firmly set on promotion, and even then, it depends on the size of the squad too. As do, apparently, most of the Conf.North and South clubs.

As for the Checkatrade, all I see is L1 and L2 clubs playing their kids and subs and trying to get away with it. Or, in the case of Luton and a couple of others showing a blatant disregard for the rules, knowing full well they'll be getting in trouble with the FA for doing so.

 

[OneDecentLester]

Seems that us playing so well infront of the cameras has got us a little bit of publicity and sky have done a piece on Jack Lester and what he thinks about our survival chances!

There seems to be a real belief amongst the coaching staff and players that we can all pull together and get out of the situation we're in which is always a positive thing at the business end of the season, and tbh I can sort of sense that belief slowly growing amongst the fans (Something we've not had over the past 2 seasons)

If we can stay up this year I fancy us to have a real go next year at attempting to get into the play offs. Much of that will depend on our transfer business in the summer though, and in recent seasons it's simply not been good enough. As Lester mentions though, there really isn't much between all the teams at this level which is evident in some of the results you see over the course of the season, and normally it comes down to the small details that decides who does well and who doesn't!

Also a little mention of his affection towards grimsby for any mariners fans interested...

http://www.skysports.com/football/n...dreaming-of-steering-chesterfield-to-survival

 

[rudebwoyben]

When we won the FA Trophy in 1998 it was a massive thing - it was by far the biggest thing our club had ever achieved at that point in our history and when we lost to Kingstonian in the semi-final in 1999 I remember us being genuinely devastated not to be going to Wembley again (where we would have played FGR).

I think at the time, with only one promotion place, the FA Trophy was seen by all non-league clubs as a realistic chance at winning something - sugar-daddy clubs weren't quite the phenomenon they've become with only Rushden and Diamonds being stupidly backed at the time, so if a team was running away with the Conference, as Halifax did in 97/98, then the FA Trophy was the only thing to fall back on. It was also the only way, as a non-league team, to get on telly unless you got a plum FA Cup draw and even then it wasn't a guarantee as only one or two games were shown live in the first couple of rounds at the time.

When we were back in the Conference in 15/16, we played the kids and even attempted to play one of the rounds the day after a league game, which showed how seriously we took it - eventually losing to Oxford City in the 2nd round.

For a long time the two FA Trophy finalists also gained exemptions to the FA Cup 1st round. I can’t remember when this particular prize was dropped but it must have been some time in the 90s.
We’ve been terrible in the FA Trophy ever since I started supporting Barnet just before we first got into the Football League, which is in stark contrast to the first two years of the competition when we reached the semifinal and final respectively.

 

[Laker]

I think we were lucky that one season. Normally exit asap is ideal and take the (short-lived) humiliation.

In our promotion season, the final was timed perfectly to give the team a useful Wembley rehearsal and get the whole Wembley thing out of their system a month before the play-offs. We knew we were in the play-offs very early and switched off to an extent in our final league matches. The final often seems to have been played at a time that messes up the fixtures of those going for the play offs or even preparing for the semis.

The other benefit was that it gave some fringe players useful game time in the second half of the season.

Yes agreed, you either want to win it or get knocked out as early as possible. It was helpful as it gave the club a lift in a period of the season when our league form was suffering - it was welcome relief from pressure from my point of view.

We played a lot of games that season - aside from 46 league games, we played 3 play off games, won the FA Trophy and got to the second round of the FA Cup (including a 1st round replay). - must have been about 60 games in the end.

 

[The Terminator]

Whats this FA Trophy like?

You'll have the joy of watching small clubs with average crowds of around 30 play your game against you on a 3G surface like its the World Cup Final.

Also as mentioned, it takes priority and messes with all the league schedulings.

 

[LondonOrn]

When we were back in the Conference in 15/16, we played the kids

We played the 'B' team, aside from the semi second leg, and lost to a dodgy handball decision against York.

I thought you got in trouble with the FA for playing reserve teams in the FA Trophy, for bringing the competition into "disrepute", no matter how much you didn't want to play in it, or how much it buggered up your season by all accounts? Or did I dream that, or are the FA less stringent about that now?

 

[Si Robin]

We tried to play our second round replay game the day after a League game with Kidderminster and it was all arranged before the FA and National League both stated that they disapproved of it.

We weren't reprimanded in any way, just forced to reschedule the League game.

Regarding the teams - I think we had similar lineups to the Checkatrade games, so it may have been the case.

 

[George Reilly's Hairpiece]

Can those wishing to talk about the FA Trophy please start a new thread and respect this one for what it is. Home to a team going down for a record third time, under a manager now for a record fifth time and a chairman that has no idea about a manager for the upteenth time.

We even managed to get ourselves kicked out of the FA Trophy... But that's for another thread.

 

[Luke Imp]

I thought you got in trouble with the FA for playing reserve teams in the FA Trophy, for bringing the competition into "disrepute", no matter how much you didn't want to play in it, or how much it buggered up your season by all accounts? Or did I dream that, or are the FA less stringent about that now?

Can't recall it being the case in the 6 years we were down there.

 

[The Jovial Forester]

Shame we never won the trophy despite making two finals as I think that would have made us the only side to have won that and the Vase. Boss-level tinpot!

 

[Dave-Vale]

Wtf is the Vase? Is That like the tinpot version of the FA Trophy or is it the other way around?