It's all about confidence

This article appears in the Exeter City souvenir brochure for the 2008 Blue Square Premier Play-Off Final, versus Cambridge United, at Wembley Stadium on 18 May 2008. Copies are available from the club shop.

EVEN after Wayne Carlisle side-footed the ball into the bottom left-hand corner of Torquay’s goal to confirm that Exeter really were going to Wembley again, most of us standing immediately behind the net still couldn’t quite believe it.

The Grecians’ fourth at Plainmoor, bagging the tie by two clear goals after we’d been two behind, was greeted on the terraces by an explosion of elation, relief, joy and amazement. Something extraordinary had happened. Just when it looked as if the play-off final had Torquay written all over it, a piece of football daylight robbery had been executed, with breathtaking aplomb. But how, exactly?

The answer involves skill, guts, organisation and determination from City’s finest on the park that afternoon, combined with some calm tactical shrewdness from manager Paul Tisdale. “Stay focussed, switch to 3-4-3, keep playing to your strengths and use the fresh energy of the subs,” he told them.

There was another ingredient too. The belief generated by the fans. Players need confidence, and they pick it up not just from each other and from the backroom team, but from the supporters as well. That’s why all of us have a key part to play in making this second-in-a-row visit to England’s national stadium one to remember for all the right reasons.

The energy generated by Exeter’s away support this season has had to be seen and felt to be believed. I caught a whiff of it on a dismally damp Tuesday evening in Crawley back in March, and found myself pitched right in the middle of the mayhem at Torquay.

Usually, you understand, I sit in the “polite seats” near the centre circle. Temperamentally, I’m more likely to stroke my (metaphoric) beard than yell and shout… and, well, I’m a bit of a practiced sporting pessimist. When the Gulls went ahead just short of the hour, a big part of me thought, “ah well, there’s always next season.”

But those standing around me didn’t allow that idea headroom. The players didn’t. The bench didn’t. Instead, they redoubled their efforts and kept the energy up, even when things looked grim. That’s the shared commitment out of which true confidence is born, and it’s the reason why getting behind the Grecians for their latest Wembley adventure is so vital – whether you will be in the stadium (hopefully), at home, or in a local hostelry.

I discovered what a vital commodity confidence is in football when I was a youngster. It happened the hard way. Never a great schoolboy player, and certainly never a goal scorer, one day I found myself, incredibly, standing in front of goal with the ball at my feet and only a yard to kick it. I froze. Completely. Totally. Every ounce of belief I had drained out of me, and the keeper simply doubled back to whip the ball humiliatingly away from me.

It was a crushing moment. Thankfully, a young team-mate picked me up, told me to forget about it and straightaway passed the ball to me, when others wouldn’t have contemplated anything so foolish. His name, funnily enough, was Jeremiah, that of a biblical figure known for being a bit of a doom-monger!

The lesson I learned, apart from the fact that I might need to maintain a day job, was that you can’t unleash the skill you’ve got unless the people around continue to believe in you.

Paul Tisdale showed that confidence in Paul Jones, after his unfortunate mishap against Torquay at St James’ Park. He kept him in the side, the fans cheered his name, and after Exeter’s thrilling Plainmoor fight-back, the young ’keeper came and shook the hands of what must have been a hundred delirious Grecian supporters.

It was a great moment; one that embodies the real spirit of the club. Make sure you’re part of it for Wembley. Keep the confidence flowing.
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A day out at the Rock

Here's the picture from the 29 March 2008 Dumbarton -v- Stranraer game at Strathclyde Homes Stadium -- which I sponsored jointly with the Sonstrust to celebrate my 50th birthday. Unfortunately, Sons lost 1-0 and it wasn't a great game (it's been that kind of season), but the day as a whole was fabulous. Thanks to everyone involved. Left to right : Denise Currie (chair of the Trust), Tim Rhead (Dumbarton & Lomond Amnesty), Carla Roth (to whom I am married!), Simon Barrow, Stephen Lynch (DFC director - Sonstrust and commercial).

[Picture (c) DFC/Sonstrust 2008]
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Hoping it's a victory for Scotland...

Rangers' appearance in the UEFA Cup Final this evening, I mean. There are a number of concerns about this match, and not all of them are to do with the football. It would be a great shame if the sectarian bigots among the 'Gers support and some racists and ultra-nationalists in the Zenit St Petersburg camp stole the show. Both clubs are on warnings about the behaviour of their followers. Then there's the issue of the large army of travelling fans who haven't get tickets to the City of Manchester Stadium, because a combination of the relative smallness of the venue and the number of seats gobbled up by the corporates means that the allocation to Rangers, in particular, was way, way below the demand. So far the two sets of supporters are mingling OK. But it could be touch and go.

Above all, it would be good to get a decent game of football. Zenit are clear favourites and the 'Gers have scored only 5 goals in 8 matches to get to this Final. They have seen off superior teams like Fiorentina and Sporting Lisbon through a combination of sound tactics, grit and determination - with more than the odd flash of skill, to be sure. But I fear tonight could be another story. Zenit took apart both Beyer Leverkusen and (much more impressively) Bayern Munich. The real danger man is Pavel Pogrebnyak - but he's out, I gather. Though I wouldn't normally be cheering the Blues (I agree with Kenny), it would nevertheless be a great night for Scottish football and for the deserving Walter Smith if they could pull off a win. Provided it's done in the right spirit.

[Pic: (c) BBC]
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From Wembley to Hampden

My tickets for next Sunday's Blue Square Play-Off Final at Wembley arrived this morning, by recorded delivery. The poor postman said that his round was going to take him much longer today, as every third household required an autograph! Naturally, Exeter (the city and, er, City) is eagerly anticipating this visit to London... not quite so novel for me, as I am up there every couple of weeks. The hope is that the pitch will have recovered from the exertions of the FA Cup Final the previous day -- when one of the world's most famous trophies will either have gone to a Welsh side outside the top flight (that'll give the FA indigestion!) or to a "lesser" (but still, by most standards, very flush) Premiership side.

As for Wembley itself. Frankly, I found it rather shiny and soulless last year. And £6 for a burger? C'mon. Thank goodness I'm a veggie and had a beanfeast beforehand. It's a venue that soaks up money -- both the taxpayer's and the punter's. This year the Play-Off tickets have been hiked from £25 and £28 to £33 or £38, while the Conference and the stadium argue about who's taking the cut when asked about it (they're not sure?). Compared to other 'big events', that's quite reasonable, of course, though some will argue that this is still Non-League and the actual cost of two top price tickets is higher once the service charge and recorded postage is added. The latter is vital, because there are no replacements, even if you can prove you bought a ticket and its disappearance is demonstrably not your fault. Legally, this is probably an "unfair term and condition." Not that it has put many people off. One Grecians fanatic has shelled out for 336 tickets to help others out, apparently!

By contrast, the New Hampden looks quite a small and slightly unimposing venue when it's empty (I've done the tour a couple of times, while visiting the Scottish Football History Museum), but it's a cauldron when full. I also really like the continuing connection with the roots of the game, emblemized by Queen's Park (thanks for the new defender, guys). I hope to see Scotland take on Northern Ireland there in August, if I have the time and any money left. Which is far from guaranteed. Oh, and it only took £4 million or so out of the public purse when the Glasgae stadium was built, compared to the squillions lavished on North London. Or so I'm told.
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Making peace with Ol' Big 'Ed

The Damned Utd is David Peace's mesmerising blend of fact and fiction, tracking the mental turmoil of Brian Clough as he embarks on 44 ill-fated days as manager of the club he hated most, Leeds United -- along with the torments and joys of his first coaching job. It's engaging, dark, funny, witty, provocative and numbing, all at the same time. Peace features on ITV's The South Bank Show with Melvyn Bragg at 10.50pm tonight (or thereabouts, depending on your location). We are also promised a wider look at football writing. Peace was profiled in The Guardian yesterday.

Oh yes, while I think about it, congratulations to Nottingham Forest for making it back into the Championship (or Division Two, as some of us still call it). My Ekklesia co-director and friend Jonathan Bartley is a fan from his college days. I've always had a soft spot for the Forest, and indeed for dear, departed, delightful, despotic Cloughie. Back in my days as a current affairs editor, I once sent a photographer to take a picture of him down at the City ground. The poor bloke had long hair and an earring. That photo cost him a "right wigging" from Our Brian, as you might expect!
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Tight at the top

Yes, I know, I shouldn't really... being a 'real football' aficionado, the lure of the Big Four in England should be kept at bay. But I will shortly be down the pub watching the travails of Manchester United and Chelsea. Since Munich and '68 were among my earliest major football impressions, I want United to win the Champions League. But it would be quite satisfying if Chelsea pipped them for the Premiership, not least because I told my friend Jim Smith that they were still in with a shot weeks ago, and he dismissed the idea. {He was right. But only just}

Talking of the millionaire set, Rangers gained a mightily undeserved win over Dundee United yesterday, much as I shall be rooting for them in the UEFA Cup final against Zenit (managed by ex-'Gers boss Dick Advocaat) on Wednesday - my goodness, they're even showing it (a match featuring a Scottish team!) on telly down here in England. There's a refreshing change. Even if it is ITV, and something called "contractual obligation".

But I digress. I share Lorraine Kelly's phone-in outrage at the penalty and offside decisions going against Dundee United. Let's hope Hibs get a better rub of the green, so to speak, against Celtic. It's 0-0 on 13 minutes, as I write.

Now, back to fitba'-type football. Congrats to Dumbarton's U-15s. I'd rather be watching them. Honest.
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Field of dreams?

While attention in southwest England turns to Wembley this coming week, some of us are looking forward to other pastures next season. Well, OK. I am. Let's hope the Strathclyde Homes Stadium (or the Rock, as Sons fans prefer to call it) proves more amenable to dreams than nightmares in season 2008-9. Fitba Daft has some good shots [scroll down] of the ground, taken on the occasion of the 1-1 home tie against East Fife on 22 September 2007: a match I was at,as it happens. These things are worth noting when you live the other end of the country - and, indeed, in a different country. Meanwhile, the Scottish Football Archive has a nifty arial photo, presumably sourced from Google Earth [Hat-tip to Freelunch for this thumbnail, too.]

Barrow 'til I die!

Well, it's kinda inevitable, isn't it? My surname is Barrow, after all.

But tonight I'm thinking of AFC Barrow from Cumbria, who have just won the Blue Square North promotion play-off against Stalybridge at Burton's Pirelli Stadium to claim promotion to the Premier Division - only one step away from the Football League proper, from which they dropped in 1972. Hearty congratulations to the Bluebirds! "Barrow's goals-machine midfielder Matt Henney found the net in the 58th minute after the blue-and-whites surged forward," says the ecstatic North-West Evening Mail, promising seven pages of coverage tomorrow. The final result was 1-0.

I can't claim to be a week-by-week follower of my namesakes, but when I was a youngster I used to look out for their results, in the way that kids do. The other connection was that my mother had a nursing colleague called Mansfield. Her son, Guy if I recall correctly, was a couple of years older than me and also a football fan. So the bi-annual tussles between the Bluebirds and the Stags, sadly relegated from League Two this season, were occasions of friendly family rivalry - something it will be possible to relive again this Summer, after 36 years.

In any event, I shall definitely make sure I get down to Holker Street at some stage next season. 'Mon Barrow!
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In the top flight

People who know I support Dumbarton, but who know little about the Sons, are often a bit surprised to discover that we were briefly in the Scottish Premier League, in season 1984-5. I saw the last SPL match at Boghead, a 2-0 defeat to Dundee United. This YouTube footage is of an earlier match against Aberdeen. Given the enormous odds stacked against them, Sons had a creditable stab at competing - and let's not forget that these were the great Dons and Arabs sides who were turning heads in Europe as 'the New Firm'. Those were, as they say, the days...

Looking to the youngsters

In spite of a difficult few seasons, one of the things that gives hope to Dumbarton for the future is its determination to invest in youth football. It's difficult to keep young talent when there are more attractive pastures available elsewhere, but getting 'em early will pay dividends in the end, I'm sure. So good luck to Sons' under-15s (pictured), who play unbeaten St Johnstone in a rescheduled fixture tomorrow, Thursday 8 May. The match is a 6.45pm kick off at Argyll Park in Alexandria.
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All the goals

So it's Cambridge United who Exeter City will face in the promotion play-off at Wembley on 18 May. I have my ticket secure. But it'll be a tough task. Cambridge are a good side and may be favourites, as the Grecians were last year. But they can still do it, having taken four out of six points off them already. Bad luck, Nigel Clough, by the way. Now, hat tip to Dean Lord for pulling together all five goals from the Torquay triumph here:

Great balls of, er, water...

My Geneva friend and correspondent Jane Stranz writes: "I saw this football floating at an unlikely angle in the sky the other evening but until receiving this picture from my colleague Theo Gill did not realise the strategic placing of the ball over Geneva's famous jet d'eau. Obviously the beautiful game is seeking the stars and becoming more heavenly by the moment. Now I'll just have to go into the centre of town in the evenings to see whether the ball lights up at night time like the jet d'eau does... It's actually tethered in place by large steel ropes cunningly hidden - clever isn't it?"
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The beginning of the end

This via the Setanta live coverage: Exeter City's first, rather nicely executed, goal in the smash-and-grab play-off victory at Torquay. Four goals in 24 minutes when 3-1 down over the majority of two legs. Astonishing.

Heading for the top

... and while I'm on the YouTube kick (so to speak), here's Richard Logan's header that put stunned Exeter supporters in dreamland yesterday, taking the Grecians through to their Wembley promotion play off after being two goals down in the tie.

Dumbarton's crack at Cup glory

Here's a newish YouTube clip of Dumbarton's fifth round Scottish Cup exit earlier this season, a 3-0 defeat by SPLers St Mirren at Love Street.