TT PREVIEW

Steve discusses the Wood

TALKING ABOUT THE WOOD

Can you imagine how Sky would react if the Premier League experienced a season like the one we’ve just seen in the National League South? A campaign that saw six teams go into the last day of the season with a chance of winning the title would have had the marketing people salivating at the prospect. A countdown clock to Saturday, numerous hashtags, and irritating influencers talking complete drivel would have dominated our lives.

It did make me chuckle when Sky belatedly jumped on the National League South bandwagon with their terrible tweet in the week leading up to that final Saturday (it has mysteriously disappeared). I was also a little bit peeved at their barefaced cheek, as they tried to join us cool kids who have been following teams across the country for nine months in this crazy league. Sky doesn’t even show the National League North/South scores on Gillette Soccer Saturday, so these Johnny Come Latelys can just leave us all in peace.

Maybe I shouldn’t have been so tetchy, though. Surely any publicity for the non-league should be welcome, a chance for the joys of football at this level to be promoted to those who have yet to discover anything beyond the 92. With more and more fans being priced out of the game at Premier League level, the attraction of non-league football should be highlighted. It was the very reason I started to follow Boreham Wood.

As my son’s love of football grew, I wanted him to experience the thrill of attending matches in the flesh. In my younger days I had attended over 400 Arsenal matches, both domestically and on the Continent. But apart from the odd visit to Ashburton Grove, taking my son regularly to top flight football was impossible, unless I won big at the casino. So I switched my gaze to lower down the league ladder.

I had an affinity with Boreham Wood due to a lot of my family living in the town, so when I spotted that the team had a Conference South play off final against Whitehawk in May 2015 it looked like the ideal moment to make our debuts. And what a day it was. Beating Whitehawk in extra-time, the Wood reached the top tier of non-league football for the first time. We were hooked. For the next nine years the shared moments and memories gathered.

Staying up in 2016; reaching Wembley in the play-off final in 2018; the FA Cup run in 2021/22, including a win at Bournemouth and a trip to Goodison Park. But it hasn’t solely been about the football. The non-league experience has allowed us to visit so many new grounds, make a lot of friends along the way, and as I go to most matches with both my mum and son, it has provided quality time together which should never be taken for granted.

There have of course been disappointing times. Missing out on promotion to the Football League after failing to beat Tranmere who had ten men for basically the whole match; the COVID season when no one was allowed in stadiums, which demonstrated to me just how much football means to me; missing out on another Wembley trip in agonising fashion at Notts COunty (still too soon to talk about this fully); and relegation to the National League South last season.

I’m still confused as to how the 2023/24 season ended in relegation. The hangover had not shifted from the play-off disappointment the previous campaign, yet the Wood should never have been dragged into a relegation scrap. But poor form in March and April sucked the club into the mire. Despite eight points from their last four matches, the damage had been done. Long-serving manager Luke Garrard left at the end of the season, an unfitting way to leave a club he clearly loved.

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I tried to see the positives after the dust had settled. The club was going to remain full-time and retain the services of many players who would surely be good enough at National League South level to provide an instant return. New signings came in, a manager arrived promising a change in playing style, and I would at least get the chance to clock up some new grounds. Maybe a year in the National League South wouldn’t be as bad as I feared.

It soon became apparent that this division would not be an easy one to escape (in the right direction). Dorking, Maidstone and Boreham Wood may have been the three teams with the shortest odds at the start of the season to win the league, yet as the weeks progressed it was clear that on any given day any team was capable of upsetting another. The road to promotion would not be smooth.

Changing the manager after just eight league matches may not have been part of the plan. With former Oxford City manager Ross Jenkins trying to adopt a patient passing approach, at first it seemed as if the change would work, as the Wood claimed ten points from their first four matches. Yet soon the alarm bells started ringing, and it was clear that the chairman was far from happy with the new man. Bravely he decided action was needed.

It wasn’t a complete surprise to me when Jenkins left, and to be honest Garrard’s return was not entirely unexpected. Part of me was concerned that he may have been slightly too rigid in his tactical approach previously and that we would see the same problems again on his return. But maybe some time away from the game had given him a chance to analyse improvements he could make a second time around.

This season has been a rollercoaster. One moment you are up, safe in the knowledge that promotion is inevitable. Then you are brought back to earth with a bump and you start wondering if you will even make the play-offs. After an abysmal 1-0 defeat at Aveley, the club embarked on a 14-match unbeaten run in the league and FA Trophy to steady the ship. A 4-1 home defeat against Chippenham put an end to that run and any misplaced confidence I had allowed to build.

Towards the end of the season, the club had put themselves within touching distance. But an appalling defeat at Weymouth was followed with losses against Dorking and Maidstone, and all of a sudden we were looking over our shoulders and wondering if Weston-super-Mare would deny us a play-off spot. But Luke tweaked the formation, moving away from his tried and trusted wing backs system to more of a 4-2-3-1. Five consecutive wins cemented a play-off place.

The home eliminator against Dorking illustrated perfectly the nature of this mad division. Winning 1-0 against the run of play, the Wood actually started the second half quite well. But before you knew it they were trailing 2-1 and looking down and out. Dorking were then reduced to ten men, surely a turning point. It would prove so, but only after the visitors had gone 3-1 up.

Eight minutes left, time ticking away and dreams fading. Yet an Abdul Abdulmalik goal gave us hope, and when Cameron Coxe headed home a last minute equaliser, Meadow Park erupted. Often derided for low attendances, Boreham Wood’s cause was not helped with Arsenal playing in the Champions League on the same night. But the crowd of over 1,600 made their voices heard. When Femi Ilesanmi hammered home a 96th minute winner, the volume only increased.

All of this brings us to Plainmoor on Saturday. A match that could go either way. Both league matches between the clubs ended as draws – I may have slightly lost the plot when celebrating the Wood’s late equaliser away from home – so I wouldn’t be massively surprised if extra-time and penalties are part of the drama. Either way, may the best team win. Failing that, a smash and grab for the away team will do me.

Sadly and frustratingly I will not be able to attend the match on Saturday. A family party has been arranged on the night of the play-off semi – why do some people think organising events during the football season is ok? – so I will have to watch it online. The Wood should be bringing a few hundred though if the early uptake of coach travel continues. I’m just gutted I can’t be among the Wood Army come 3pm on what I’m sure will be another nail-biting occasion. Steve