What an absolutely brilliant division League Two has been this season. Not necessarily in terms of quality, but when it comes to drama it's absolute box office. In terms of pure "quality" I think any one of last seasons promotees, (Stockport/Wrexham/Mansfield) would have won it comfortably, but they aren't in it. So without them and without any big gun new entrants from other divisions, it's been an absolute back bar brawl between lots of evenly matched teams.
Hardly surprising then that at this stage, there is a distinct lack of "On the beach" teams who have bugger all to play for. Unfortunately for us, tomorrow's opponents Chesterfield are definitely still in the game. Unlike us they have a relatively easy run in with two very winnable final games. They'll be thinking that if they win tomorrow, they are right in the mix.
They may not catch US (and thank God for our defence & goal difference) but they'll definitely have an eye on gatecrashing the playoffs. So obviously will Colchester, while even as far down as 11th spot (Crewe) they'll be thinking "Win our last four and we're in", they probably would be too.
I'd say that for us with our chunky GD, four points would see us in. But hang on, since when have we looked DOWN this season? I also think that if we win our last four we go up automatically. That'd probably not now be as Champions, but so what?
So anyway how do we do it? Well first things first, if we continue to play with the spirit, resolve and desire we showed at Doncaster we will piss into the playoffs. We were absolutely magnificent from minute one, and to my mind deserved to win the match in the end. That's away, with ten men, against what is without question one of the best teams in the league. The players and coaching staff were absolutely given a standing ovation at the end, they thoroughly deserved it.
That last bit, "The coaching staff" is important. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that over the last few weeks we've decided to roll the dice a little more. That's both in selection (with Josh Kelly, Usama Follo and Aaron Sasu being dusted off and wheeled out BEFORE the 89 minute mark) but also tactically too. On Saturday for example we obviously had to defend when down to ten men, but once Billy Sharpe got sent off we opened up and had a proper go at winning it. It DID take us ten minutes or so to realise that we didn't actually have to get everyone behind the ball any more, but once we did and once we made the subs, we were much the likelier winner of what became a basketball match. The players were on their knees at the end, they gave absolutely everything. That's the football that we (or I anyway) love to see.
So bravery, rolling the dice etc, what does it look like? Well it'll disappoint many that for me anyway, it doesn't mean wholesale changes to the starting eleven nor the style. It's tweaks we need not tinkering, and now we realise what we actually have on the bench it's very much a question of using it.
And what do we have? Well Josh Kelly is probably the best "footballing" forward we have. He has the pass, the feint and the finish to effect games and have an impact whether centrally or wide. I remain convinced he's a very good player who could have done much better for us save for the bounce of the football here and there. He will in future.
Young Folo is as raw as a kid being shoved through a brothel doorway on his 18th birthday night out. Absolutely no idea what he's doing but totally bristling with intent. He has endless potential, he's a striker I would have hated to play against at any level. He also has that beautiful gift of the fact that when he's around, stuff happens. You can't teach that. If he played cricket he'd come on to bowl when the partnership was 150 and take a wicket with his first ball (a slow full toss). Some people just have it, he does.
And Aaron Sasu. I used to meet lots of folks who said to me "I just don't see it Mick, what does he actually DO?". Others told me I was clueless, the kid was at best National League South standard and that he should be loaned out/given away. A fella told me at half time on Saturday that he's never had a goal involvement in 38 games (forgetting that in many he's played two minutes). Well suffice to say that in football fan parlance, where Sasu is concerned "It's all gone quiet over there". Frankly if you still "Can't see it" after his last couple of appearances, I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to say. What I WILL say is that I'd be very surprised if we aren't fielding decent offers for him in the Summer (I'm talking multiples of a hundred grand). Thank God Johnnie & Skivvers "see it", but unfortunately the rest of the football world does too.
So tomorrow. Massive match, let's get behind the lads and see where it takes us. A win almost guarantees a playoff slot, four more wins and I reckon we go up automatically. COYD
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