NEWS

25 May 2007

It's been a strange week. Really, it's been a strange week. Whether it's because we're still laughing over Franchise's demise or not I don't know, but it's been odd.

I suppose it must be because all of a sudden, we've had to get used to a new way of doing things at AFCW. This week, there have been plenty of transfer stories, yet absolutely jack shit on the OS. If anything, it got to the stage where AFCW should have seriously thought about linking the OS directly to the Wimbledon Guardian website. Anyway, today the club officially spoke about everything. Or rather, TB did. Before you continue, read here.

Digested all that? Lot to take in isn't it? Very professionally done as well, which is always encouraging. With all due respect to our previous managers, this must be the first time our manager has come in, and stated "I want wingers", or "I want a target man". In short, a game plan.

While we've been promised a little lull in proceedings for at least a week or so, let's reflect on what the AFCW 2007/08 squad looks like. The thing that strikes out most of all is how much it hasn't changed. There was always the feeling that we would only have had about 2 players left that ended the season. And under DA, we probably would have. Right this minute, it's almost as exciting finding out who's new.

A cursory glance at the team that beat ETU a month or so ago (though that game feels a lifetime away now) shows that ten out of the starting eleven are still here as I type. LO'L is gone to try his luck professionally (and I hope he fucks Franchise up from the inside), both PL and RDS are seeking full time football as well, and SB and Steve Wales are gone full stop. The rest are signed up or have been asked to stay. That's quite an impressive retention percentage.

Chances are we might lose SF as well (no reason, just a hunch), and I sure as hell hope that Andy Little stays, though his presence at the sponsor's do gives us hope. But here's a comparison to last year:

At the end of the 2005/06 season, when we lost to Fi$her, our starting 11 was : Little, Woolner, Sargent, Finnie, Frankie, Curley, Brennan, Garrard, PB, Battersby and the not-so-much-maligned Richard Butler.

At the beginning of the 2006/07 season, when we beat Carlshiton, our starting 11 was: Little, Wales, Haswell, Frankie, SB, Kersey, Rooney, Daly, RB, RDS and Byron Bubb. That's about 3 players who finished the season who started the next season.

OK, it's a bit of an unfair comparison, there might have been the odd injury etc, but that is one hell of an unsettled squad. I daren't compare what happened in 2004/05, that seemed to be a new squad every month. If you look at what's likely to start the season, it will look reasonably familiar to what ended at ETU. Sure as hell won't just be three players remaining, I think we've kept four of the back line as it is. For a new manager with new ideas, the side still looks pretty intact.

I can't be arsed to check the Aldershot site to research whether TB brought in lots of players during the season, but he hasn't come with that reputation anyway. I think we all got worn out with DA's approach which ultimately backfired. Remember the Darren Grieves saga? Getting shot of him and putting in a clearly fucking shite low on confidence Ryan Peters at a vital stage of the season may have fatally damaged our former manager.

As an aside, if we're desperate for a target man, why not get DG back? True, he was ever only good as an off-the-bencher, but sometimes you need that. And if not, I understand Shane Smeltz got released by Halifax.....

Now, you're probably looking at all this and wondering to yourself "Hang on, isn't this squad a bit on the small side? And not in the Lilliput sense either?". Yes, it is. I know we seem to have as many injuries per season as the average war, and 18 players could be stretched rather thin as the season goes on. As stated earlier, I don't think TB will go down the DA route of buying in a whole new team in the space of 5 games. So what's the plan?

With luck, it'll be the traditional Wimbledon method of youth and reserves coming through the ranks. The likely promotion of Simon Bassey to first team is highly significant - he's well liked and highly regarded in his coaching, and he knows the reserves better than anyone here. Why bring in two loanees when we have players lower down the ranks who actually know where KM is?

The youth teams have come on a bundle, and from what I saw of our reserves last year (ie one game) they looked lean, mean and occasionally fighting machines. Start nurturing them and we could be onto something.

One other thing has leapt out at me. For a guy who's been here for less than a fortnight, TB doesn't half seem to know who to keep and who to get rid of. How many would really disagree with 98% of what he's done? OK, there's arguments for and against getting shot of Steve Wales, or keeping Wes Daly, but that's inconsequencial really. It does seem that TB has been watching us for longer than just the Bromley playoff game. Has he? Has he been picking DA's brain about our squad, strengths and weaknesses? Or is it just sheer pot luck or intuition on TB's part?

Whatever happens, keeping much of last year's squad is good. Hopefully, we can tie down Andy Little, Paul Lorraine, RDS and Fergie to name but four. What I will say is this : I hope TB can scrub away the mentality that set in some way back from last season in this squad. That is the fear of losing matches. How many games did we draw? That to me is the big negative of retaining last year's side. That's where the apparent leadership qualities of Jason Goodliffe will need to come in. That's where the ball winning proclaimation of Rob Quinn will need to come in. And that's where the Marcus Gayle factor will really need to come into its own...

Can it be done? Well, if it isn't, it ain't for the want of trying....

Finally, shall I mention proceedings in a stagnant new town 70 miles away from here? I think I mentioned too much about them last time, and I don't think you want me going on about it again do you? No, that would make me bitter and twisted.

Fuck it. As predicted by anyone with an IQ in double figures and above, which certainly leaves out any Franchise fan, as soon as Martin Allen got a sniff of an exit he scarpered. And boy, did he look happy to be at Leicester. Hardly surprising really, if the alleged meeting with him and some Colchester fans this season is anything to go by (sorry, can't find a better link. If anyone could oblige.....)

The reaction in Frenzyville has been extra special. The thousands hundreds tens of loyal Frenzy fans has been unaminous in its condemnation of Allen. "Traitor" they screech. "How dare he?" they wail. My favourite one is the Mong who felt betrayed by Allen as he previously thought he was "MK through and through". I suppose in the "How to be a football fan" manual that they were given a couple of years ago, saying you were [insert team] through and through was a sure sign that you were legit. Shame the manual didn't say what to do when people started laughing at you.

Anyway, who's lining up to replace Allen? I don't quite know where this comes from, except I nabbed it off t'Other Site. It's classic:

"The deal has been agreed for Allen to go with MK Dons getting a compensation package of around £150,000. He will be taking Whitbread, Doyle, Hockaday, Lewis and Bankole. Winkleman feels let down by Allen who had promised him he would see the job through. Winkie has received 20 applications from potential managers. The names being touted (although not necessarily in the list of 20 applicants) are: Micky Adams (who is apparently a friend of Winkie’s), Mike Newell, Nigel Worthington and Paul Ince, Mike Dove, Alex Inglethorpe, Ian Atkins and Gary Megson".

I just had to bold that bit. Reminds me of that Porridge episode when the celebrity football match was a children's TV presenter and a local weatherman. Is that the sound of desperation I hear? It's coming across as "Look at us! Look at us!". Yeah, we're looking at you. It's close season, we're bored, and it's better than any sitcom.

Never mind, the Frenzies will always be all right, because they have Winkie. Muslims have Allah, Christians have Jesus, and the Frenzies have, urm.... Well, it's not so much a pleb-deity relationship, more like cult follower-David Koresh. Anyway, the quote of the week came from the Frenzy who, in venting fury at Allen the Traitor said "Pete doesn't tolerate failure". Please, don't laugh at them, it's cruel.

Actually, Wankie doesn't look in the best of health these days. At least if this is anything to go by [WARNING: NOT SAFE FOR WORK. OR HOME. OR PRISON]. We know he makes Bez from the Happy Mondays look straight edge at best, but that is seriously unhealthy. He even looks like a far-gone Cult leader. I know his followers will claim that the Great Leader is merely tired out from striving towards Heaven and the goods that will come upon the Believers. But for those of us who live on planet Earth, he looks creepier than ever.

I think the realisation of what's about to happen has just hit him. Yeah, he's got £150k from Leicester, but that will go PDQ into a massive black hole. Allen was only there because Wankie had one more year getting Asda's money and went for shit-or-bust. Wankie is now on his own, more or less, with a half-built stadium that doesn't even have half the car parking spaces, hotel and conference facilities apparently.

And worse of all for him, he now has a Frenzy fanbase that will be very demanding. They were force-fed to believe that by the time the WankieDome opened, they would be facing Manchester United. Instead, they'll be facing Morecambe and Macclesfield. One sniff of a Wembley appearance and suddenly his followers demand it every year. And he knows he can't deliver it for them. What will happen if they finally twig just how he's fucked it up? Remember that list I printed just now? Somehow, it's more likely to be Mike Dove than Mike Newell...

Anyway, I think that really is enough Franchise bashing for now, until they fuck it up next time. Last season was a difficult one for us, we were doing pretty ordinary and they were doing quite well. The free tickets were dished out a plenty and it seemed for once they had the upper hand. But perhaps predictably, we ended up in a far better state than they did. We're visibly on the up. Can they say the same and mean it?

Meanwhile, I'm off. Playoff final tomorrow for me. In the Shrewsbury end as well, though my ticket has some other team on it as well. Maybe it's some Northern pub-league side that they're taking for a day trip to see what a crowd and real support looks like..

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20 May 2007

I think this weekend must have been serious pleasure overload. Thankfully, Chelski won (did I really write that?) because United winning would have been too perfect for words. And I would still be floating on the ceiling even now....

Anyway, let's start off with the older news. Marcus Gayle has returned. Yes, Marcus Gayle, whose last memory I have was him being slagged off at Wycombe by a rather well known (and drunk) Womble, who looked like a guy knowing he was on his way out to better things. Sadly for him, he ended up at Rangers, a step down in anyone's book.

Now, at about 37 years old, he's back. It appears TB wanted him first and foremost, obviously because of his approach with the kids (and aren't there laws against that very thing?) but perhaps as a bit of PR as well. Think about it - what better way to get the fans of your new club onside with the re-employing of a popular player from days gone past? If you remember the buzz you felt when you first heard the news, or indeed the glow you had when the news sunk in, you'll know that the job has been done.

So, what role will MG play? Apart from cult hero status? Well, he can play upfront (well, duh), or we're also led to believe he's a pretty decent centre back. He won't be as quick as once was, and don't expect him to play every game. But like Mick Harford, you don't lose the skill when you get older, just the pace. And by all accounts, he's well happy to be here, genuinely chuffed by the reception he got at the Legends game as well. How many of next season's shirts will have GAYLE 11 on them? Although knowing us, he'll probably get the number 2.

With this signing in mind, attention will turn to who's staying and who's going. At the sponsors' dinner on Friday, not only was MG and TB there, but also Andy Little, Paul Lorraine, Frankie Howard and Simon Bassey. I think we can safely assume that all of those will be in our colours next season (does Bassey count as a squad member?). The apparent retention of AL is certainly a massive boost, as I consider him the best ever AFCW goalie.

One player that isn't so clear cut is Steve Ferguson. Why? Well, in this week's freebie Wimbledon Post, there's a headline with "No Need To Sack Dave", coming from SF himself. An open barb by SF towards TB? Not really, but here's what Fergie said anyway:

"I don't think Dave should have gone. All we'd have needed is three new players to boost the squad and I'm sure we'd have won the league next season. The players wanted him to stay but Dave said he knew it was coming.

"It's as much our fault for the team not going up".

Interesting. From comments apparently heard at the Family Fun Day, SF does want to stay with us, and it's possible that he's simply pissed off because he's lost somebody he gets on very well with. Mind you, after his bust-up with Glen Cockerill he probably found this place a godsend. Guess we'll wait and see on this one.

Mind you, the same piece also has Luke Garrard in it as well. Jist of it is basically he's gutted DA has gone and that he left AFCW in a far better state than when he arrived (something SW19 agrees with 110%). This was telling though:

"There were too many draws and perhaps the players were not mentally tough enough to win them."

Interesting again. That quote could bring up so many comments it's untrue. But I'll say this - TB's main task is not to radically change anything, but simply to install the belief that we can win games instead of drawing them. The right noises are being made right now, and with luck they'll pan out.

One other thing I'm surpised nobody's picked up on - TB said he was at our Bromley playoff final. Coincidental surely, when you're linked with a job when the current manager is still there? I know TB and DA are good mates, but even so.... Mind you, DA watched about 4 of our games before he became manager, so if we done what I think we've done, it wouldn't be the first time.

Now, what else was I going to write about? Playoffs? Let's see, Blackpool beat Oldham. No, that wasn't it. Yeovil beat Forest. Blimey, that was a good one, Leeds vs Forest next season in the old Third Division. Two previous European Cup finallists in the third tier. Oh my. What else was there? Derby v West Brom? Nah. Shrewsbury v Bristol Rovers this Saturday. Hmm. Hmm. And Hmm again. Rovers beat Lincoln, so who did Shrewsbury beat? Anyone remind me? Anyone?

OK, I daren't write about Franchise losing because it took three hospital trips, a thousand stitches and god knows how many pints of blood to stitch up my sides after the game finished. And you wonder why it's taken me 48 hours to write about this? Yes, we all laughed because it's them. It was their big final and they lost it.

I actually allowed myself to watch the last ten minutes and true, they did throw everything forward. But TBH I think Shrewsbury had the edge, and no I'm not being totally biased. Some of the letters pages suggested how unfair it was that Franchise are out despite being fourth and 10 points clear of Shrewsbury. Well, funnily enough I remember comments of some of their games this season, which all came from very late goals, penalties and opposition players sent off. Very few reports of them actually playing well. In short, they were pretty lucky to finish third.

But on Friday night, their luck gloriously ran out. The thought of them going to Wembley was sickening. Yes, they probably could have mustered 30k, because there are a lot of people would would like to see the new Wembley everywhere. No doubt Wankie would have laid on free shirts, scarves, banners etc etc to make his experiment look like a success. "Look" he would have claimed, "we're at Wembley and all these people are here supporting us. This proves it was the right thing to do". Don't worry about your reaction when reading that, it was pretty sickening to even write that, and it was a hypothetical situation. Fuck knows what we'd felt if they'd won..

But it's all academic. It can't happen now, so relax and bask instead. Seems they were pretty arrogant before the game, with their messageboards apparently treating their victory as a given and wondering how many they'll convince to go down to North London. And how can you not love gloating at this? Really, read that again and just take in the breathtaking smugness of that. How glorious it is to ram that in their faces. How absolutely satisfying it is to have something to remind them for the next few weeks. Or months.

You see, this defeat rankles with them because they know our reaction to it. Us laughing at them hurts them, because they know we have the upper hand on them. Sure, they claim that we're two bob, that we're a pub team. But if anything that hurts them more. They want to be taken seriously but their failures just reconfirm that we're right, and we always will be right at their expense. Did Martin Allen really do a teamtalk this season with the words "Let's stick it to those AFCW bastards"?

In effect, we're the jilted ex-lover who they want to see disappear but keeps popping up to fuck with their head again. No matter what they do, they know we have the child paternity document on them, and we're not afraid to bring it up again and again. We know that half the reason Franchise didn't hit the ground running was because of our efforts with AFCW and the anti-franchise stuff. When we boycotted SP after 28/5/02 the momentum was lost forever. The first game of the brave new MK era was played out to a crowd of less than 1000. The NOTW lampooned them, perhaps fatally.

Had they gone up to MK immediately in front of a full house (which let's be honest, they would have got for that one game) things would have been different. But they lost the momentum straight away, and we're a very large reason for that. The first post-28/5/02 battle was lost by Franchise, and they've never really recovered from it. They're very insecure, hence the arrogance. And we happily prick at that insecurity every single time they fail.

This is why we should never get over it. Granted, we can move on more or less, and we concentrate on AFCW these days and not bang on about anti-franchising every single second. But every so often, the old wounds re-open. And that's nothing to shy away from. There's no point in being all politically correct over this, thinking it makes you a better fan by pretending they don't matter. Of course they matter. Liverpool matter to Man United. Rangers matter to Celtic. Bristol City matter to Rovers and Exeter matter to Plymouth. Football is tribal by nature, that's why the Fans Stadium (spew) concept totally failed. Think AFCW should formally drop that now, even the new AFCW hoarding outside the Main Stand doesn't feature it.

The truest words ever about football supporting come from Danny Baker - "It's not so much about us winning, it's about them losing". Never be ashamed to reserve your bile for Franchise when appropriate. Never.

Any more anti-Franchise comments? Hell yeah. This is actually worse for them than you realise. Remember my "momentum" comments just then? They needed promotion more than any other club - they're running out of money (Wankie is apparently on his own next season regards funding), they needed to justify their constant free tickets by actually doing something. And they could have been in the same division as Luton next season. Now, wouldn't that have made a merger a lot, lot easier?

Yes, there was talk of a Luton merger a couple of months ago, and apparently Wankie refused to comment over it. Hmm. Another rumour is the fact that MK-based Red Bull might be looking into buying them up and rebranding them as Red Bull Franchise (a la Salzburg and NY). Whether a club that got into the playoffs despite their Modus Operandi is what they're after I dunno, but I would guess they're cheap to buy now. TBH they probably would do a lot better with their money. But it would guarantee to scrub out any respect they might have somehow earnt.

Right now, there are some who buy into the myth that Franchise have done well against the odds. Make them Red Bull MK and they really will finally look like a franchised outfit. Just reading that very name is wrong on so many levels. There's a level of commercialisation that the average football fan just can't stomach, and that'll be it. Remember how much shit the new Liverpool owners got into when they referred to the Anfield side as a "franchise"? And isn't respect and "acceptance" what Wankie and co wanted all along? Apart from the new Asda supermarket?

Also, don't you just want the Daily Mail to come out with the headline "Red Bull Gives You Cancer" a week after Red Bull take them over?

I'm sure I could write tons more, but I now have a memory blank. I'll finish with their pitch invasion. Yes, their brand spanking new ground (don't laugh) should be closed off for that. And yes, a heavy fine and points deduction as well for invading the pitch and viciously assaulting an opposition player. Sorry for putting that in bold, I really can't think why I did that.

No, they won't get docked anything. It's a long held belief of mine that the FA and FL want Franchise to succeed. Why? Because long term, the authorities want a top division with no promotion or relegation (can't have the likes of Colchester in there). Now, this will mean some well-populated areas may never see top flight football. So why not move Fulham to Cardiff to create South Wales United? If Bolton struggle, why not move them to West Yorkshire? Far fetched? Hey, ever looked at the Magners Celtic League? Or the way the NRL was structured? Don't think it'll never happen, global TV rights are easier to sell when you can guarantee popularity of a team.

OK, enough conspiracy theories. But the point still stands though. You do have to admit that Franchise will probably get off lightly. Didn't those pitch invaders look like they'd found Wankie's secret medicine cabinet? We all knew they had absolutely no class, and finally they proved it on TV. We throw a bin or a can and all hell breaks lose. Doubt that Wankie will ever ban them, he probably thinks that having a violent element merely proves to everyone that Franchise are a "real" club now. Let's hope the police horse wasn't too injured when it stepped on that junkie's head.

Finally, spare a thought for Wankie. His outfit really could slump now, they practically had one season to boost themselves and now it's gone. Dreams of Wembley with a large following, one or two of them even knowing what a football is, simply gone. Success in the dust. And just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, on the very same day his side lost he goes and reads this.....

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16 May 2007

In the dim and distant past, when we were plain old WFC, it always seemed that whenever I went away something always happened. When we were relegated, I was trying to find out what was going on from Toronto. When a credible merger with QPR was unleashed on an unsuspecting world, I was reading with jaw on floor on an internet terminal at Denver airport. In fact, if I was to give you a list of dates in the last eleven years when I've been out of the country, you could probably find some sort of happening.

Which is why I have a massive sense of deja vu again when I reflect on AFCW happenings this past fortnight. First things first. DA's departure wasn't exactly unexpected after the playoff final. The concensus right now seems to be that under him, we put 2 and 2 together and ended up with 3.85. Nearly, but not quite there.

Now, I know things have moved forward a helluva lot since then, but it's worth putting it all into perspective. Two weeks ago, we were pretty much down and wondering where to go from here a little bit. The club's advert for a new manager was pretty swift and in many ways a statement of intent. Remember this bit?

"Have a clear vision of how they can deliver success on and off the pitch for the club"

Bold emphasis is mine. I wonder if the club made their mind up as to whom they wanted even before they advertised. My hunch is that they wanted TB first and foremost, but had a second individual in mind just in case there was a last minute hitch. Read the job advert now and it does give the impression that the description was written after the appointment was made.

Right man in the right place at the right time? The fact it came together so quickly, and with an almost 100% approval rating from the opinion formers (and drivel formers as well, and we have plenty of them....) could make you believe in fate.

So, enough of all that, what about our new manager? Well, people are certainly sitting up and taking notice. I'm reading stories that lapsed ST holders (and a new one or two) are about to write cheques out to the club again this season. I've actually interviewed TB and he's got that slight roughness that will go down well with a few Wombles. His record speaks for itself, and getting in Stuart Cash is the other TB (one Mr Burton) to OGEM. Hopefully, Mr Brown won't go all funny and demand that AFCW should move to County Mayo, then ordering SC to look at training methods in the Oberligas of Europe.

Needless to say, such an appointment is bringing out the pre-season optimism even before pre-season really gets going. How many Wombles will now be predicting certain automatic promotion? Too many for my liking. Don't forget that next season will still be a damn tough league. There's still Chelmsford, Rickay and Margate to contend with again, not to mention the rather, ahem, widely discussed views on AFC Hornchurch and their funding.

If anything, next season will be harder than the season just gone, because all of a sudden the expectation has risen threefold. And let's face it, it's not like we're patient at the best of times. But it's interesting to look at TB's approach. He's full time, he's going to introduce more sophisticated methods of training and seems very keen to keep much of last year's squad together. It's a very different approach to DA's, although it's quite unfair to compare the two. DA was part-time and was never going to be a full time manager anyway.

Make no mistake, this is a massive appointment, probably the biggest one AFCW has ever made. This isn't an appointment to get us up into the Conf South and a few years consolidating against Sutton United. This is an appointment that is meant to get us into the Conference full stop and to keep us there. TB and SC's remit is to repeat with us what they did with Aldershot.

In fact, I'm having a job coming to terms with how big this appointment is. I have to be honest and say that I didn't think we'd go down a full-time manager route at this stage. Are we going to get a couple of full time players as well? If the comment on the OS about extended training is anything to go by, quite possibly. What it does prove is that AFCW is no longer prepared to play second fiddle to the moneybags sides like Chelmsford. It was always hard to swallow teams like them and Braintree and Fi$her putting that dough in with combined crowds worse than ours.

Has AFCW realised that there's potential to fulfill? I'm sure if you read reports from the last two years, you'll notice how often I hint at things not feeling right, of a malaise. I think the Appeal last season showed us what we have as an entity. And just as importantly, what we were throwing away through drifting. In short, the club has woken up from a slumber. I reckon that we knew we couldn't get by just being a Fans Club, and would have to start spending money (and wisely as well). The signing of Richard Jolly for a little bit of dough was telling enough.

So, be buoyant but be cautious as well. We haven't even had any pre-seasons yet, and the time to initially judge TB will not be now, nor even in six weeks time, but by November when we've had our first round of the Ramsgutters, and the Ashford Towns. Nothing is guaranteed in this game, certainly not success. We'll see who stays and who doesn't. personally, I think RDS might go but people like Andy Little, Frankie, Fergie, Jolly, RB and one or two others will stay. And people like Goddard and Shroot will be involved more, as there'll be more emphasis on the bridge between the reserves and the first team.

OK, it sucks being in the RP again, but I wouldn't trade in our mid-to-long term future with anyone either in our division or even up to the lower reaches of the Conf. If we really did get about sixty applicants for the post then that says everything about the viability of AFCW. Yes, it's annoying that H&R and Bromley are above us, and I'm sure we'll be reminded of that on occasions. They'll fall and burn out soon enough, those sorts of clubs always do. At the end of the day, there is precious little to respect at this level, and never forget the small minded attitudes shown to us last season.

Finally, I'm off on my travels again late June. Expect Dean Holdsworth, REMBE and Marcus Gayle to all sign when I'm gone...

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1 May 2007

Whether it's because I'm buggering off on vacation tomorrow or not I don't know, but after losing to Bromley tonight I'm feeling strangely placid.

I guess it's because the performance tonight didn't really surprise me. There was a lot of huff and puff, but no real cutting edge. When Wes Daly got sent off and we suddenly sat back, you just knew it would bite us on the arse. And sure enough, one defensive lapse was all it took. And yes, while we missed an open goal right at the end I can't say we really deserved anything else.

Yes, the ref was a cunt. The same cunt who did us against H&R and is probably on Turdey's payroll. Yes, Wes Daly was a twat. Yes, putting up with the Ryman for a third successive season will piss many off. To my mind though, I think we saw the end of a chapter tonight. Quite simply, I would be gobsmacked if DA was around next season. There was a distinct feel that we couldn't go any further tonight, that this current bunch of players and management had reached the end of a pretty hazardous road.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't as if we were lazy or anything, but the crunch came tonight and we didn't deliver. I will now state that DA should go. We need a fresh start, an injection from somewhere. The fact we failed to capitalised on the euphoria and newly-found verve post-Appeal has come home to roost in a rather pointed way. Yes, we did the right thing by keeping DA on, and this has to be the first time I've openly called for him to go.

The club has grown up in many ways this past year or so, and I don't think it's quite caught up on the field. What tonight encapsulated was the DA reign in a nutshell : nearly, but not quite. This club is more than capable of stepping up to that next level, I just think we need to do that now on the field. The FAT run gave us a taste of what we can do, but instead of relying on beating the top sides and throwing it away against the Worthings we need to be a lot more professional IYSWIM.

Will attendances drop next season? If we get a carbon copy of this season just ended, then yes. If, however, we boost the club and the fanbase, then no. An AFCW romping away with the title will always get in more people than an AFCW middling about living off its name, reputation and big fanbase. Which is what has happened in recent months. Be honest, until certain incidents this season AFCW was drifting. Dare I say a malaise was forming?

AFCW needs to be brave now. It could take the easy option out and keep DA on, scraping into the playoffs each year and praying that one season it will click. Or it can be bold and put somebody else in who may fail but may also take that one step further. Again, tonight proved that DA has taken us as far as he can. The club can afford another couple of seasons in the Ryman providing everyone can sense we're going somewhere. Right now, there ain't that.

I guess the worst thing for most of us is the outright glee we're now going to experience at our expense. You know what I mean when I say that. The lectures aimed at us are pretty tedious, very easy to disprove and just exacerbates the attitudes displayed. That said, I'll soften the blow for you all though : at the end of the day, the others have to live with us and that's what fucks them off most of all. They have to put on extra staff for us, extra facilities etc etc. We are, as one Ryman fan said of us once, a nightmare to cater for.

No, we're not part of the Ryman clique, less so than ever these days. To be honest, I don't want to be in that grubby little club either. But eventually we'll be out of here : clubs with significantly bigger crowds and infrastructure always find their way back to their natural level. Bolton, Blackburn, Sunderland, Forest, Man Shitty and Leeds (to name but a few) all went to levels below what their size warranted, but eventually they get/got back up. Our trouble is patience.

We have learnt a lot over the past two years. When the club approaches next season, it will know more about how to do things than even 12 months ago. Tonight was another point on a learning curve, and in footballing terms we're still at kindergarten. We are however at a cross roads right now. There's no harm in choosing the wrong path, but right now the worst thing we can do is to not change anything, and instead just sit there and wait for a signpost to fall on us.

Tonight won't kill AFCW. Even at our lowest ebb it's still a mightily powerful organisation. But I think now is the time to start realising that potential.

When I come back on the 15th, I expect changes. It will never have a better time to carry them out.....