Reflecting & appreciating

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

In the cold (or warm) light of day it hurts and the missed opportunity is absolute gut wrenching heartbreak for me and other fans.

But also the players. Thinking about the players and the current situation, I think circumstances are more to blame than lack of effort. I have been absolutely wretched at work (from home) for the last month during lockdown, it has been a struggle. The last thing I could face would be a life defining once in a career opportunity after 100 days of no lockdown.

So I think it is commendable the players played these two games when many people, including some on here, were against the whole idea. Yes the performance was unforgettably and shamefully awful, but I still believe it is commendable. I had a close relative who contracted Covid-19 at work (they are fully recovered so all ok) so I can understand the concerns of Reuben and Tozer and others given the personal/health circumstances in their household before the game. Again, commendable when many are scared to go outside or get within two metres of any one.

I am not excusing the performance, and I am by no means over it or feeling any worse about it. Just felt it was important to say it was commendable of the players and I appreciate the effort made by them and the Club to play these games, ultimately for our benefit.

[Hubert Parry]

Agreed. I can't recall being so affected by a football match before but I'm hoping these feelings will ease with time. I can't imagine what it must be like for the players.

[everyman]

Agreed. I can't recall being so affected by a football match before but I'm hoping these feelings will ease with time. I can't imagine what it must be like for the players.

We have often suffered disappointment following Ctfc over the years , but as you commented this recent result has been the most devastating of any in our history.As an older fan it hurt even more than any defeat by our one time local rivals Glos. and that was unbearable though thankfully a rare occurrence.

[Shade]

Late to the party but I was not so affected by this disappointment. I was much worse after relegation to the NL and the defeats in the previous two play-off campaigns. I think that was mainly because after 0-3 and such an abject performance I kind of just switched off and put it down to the bizarre circumstances that we find ourselves in. Seeing Northampton win the final by a bigger margin than they beat us, as unjust as it was based on the whole season, made me write it off completely as the freak ending of the good 3/4 of a season that it was.

[Robin]

I have to admit, as a I reflect, I felt physically sick after the second leg of the play offs. Going into it I was confident we were the best team and would likely get promoted so to see it unfold like that put me in a state of shock. Not sure I've totally recovered yet but hopefully when we know the dates for next season (and hoping it's safe for fans to return) the pain will subside and I can look forward with optimism.

[Shade]

I think it was just such a shambolic performance I was able to write it off as an aberration. I mean, I was apoplectic immediately after the game at most, if not all, of the performances (Boyle, Raglan and May's smile after missing by a mile late on being the things that played on the mind the most), and it hurt, but by the next morning I found it easy to move on. I think the fact there had been no football for 3 months helped, as it didn't really feel like a whole season had gone down the swanny.

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

I think it was just such a shambolic performance I was able to write it off as an aberration. I mean, I was apoplectic immediately after the game at most, if not all, of the performances (Boyle, Raglan and May's smile after missing by a mile late on being the things that played on the mind the most), and it hurt, but by the next morning I found it easy to move on. I think the fact there had been no football for 3 months helped, as it didn't really feel like a whole season had gone down the swanny.

It was the fact it was an aberration which made it so sickening for me. Like Robin I never felt worse about a sporting event ever.

A close tie which we lose, a missed penalty or a deflected goal deciding a competitive affair are all frustrating but they are part and parcel of sport but are things you always know could happen and plenty of things like this take place often enough to not be upset by them. With such an aberration this isn’t the case, it is such a shock, such unfathomable and unexplainable occurrence that it is hard to write off as a normal football event. It truly knocked me for six.

I was also the opposite of you re: the 3 month gap. With the form we had I was looking forward to the exciting run in to promotion. Then when that was denied the play offs were a second chance. And after the first leg it really looked like we snaffled that second chance. Then a once in a career horror show from every player which featured, rather than a genuine sporting incident or piece of luck, as what stole the hope we all had.

As for next season, it will take quite a long run of games with proper performances to erase the second leg. Currently, without new signings I will struggle to watch games without expecting misplaced passes, failed tackles, calamity defending, aimless set pieces, no energy, etc as some of the scenes of that Monday night are ingrained deeply on my minds eye.

[Shade]

I know what you mean and I understand everyone who feels like you, but I think it would have been worse for me personally if we had just been edged out 1-0 or 2-1 on agg, because I would be going over and over missed chances, who messed up for the winning goal, if only so-andso would have done that there, if only that one player had performed better, etc. I also think I've got so used to disappointment that maybe it just doesn't hurt as much as it used to! There was always a part of me, I think, that knew we could f#!$ up so spectacularly. After all, there was that tinpot game earlier in the season, where we lost 7-4 at home to Newport with our first choice defence, that showed they are capable of not turning up. Obviously, it wasn't expected, but the possibility was there.

[Ben3]

Look - it's football. It was an appalling performance and result and all fans were really brassed off. But it's football - you go into each game and each season knowing you can win, lose or draw. No point moping about it, there's always next week/season.

It was worse for me as I thought we'd be promoted before the season started, and backed it and so was expecting good financial recompense for my expert football-predictoration. And if the season had finished normally we would probably have gone up automatically.

If we keep Duff we'll go up next season, I'm really convinced of that - unless the financial situation means the squad worsens dramatically.

And you can have this one for free - FGR to really struggle and either go down, or jettison cooper and hang on by the skin of their teeth. He's a poor manager and their recruitment so far is simply dire

[GrahamPC]

Look - it's football. It was an appalling performance and result and all fans were really brassed off. But it's football - you go into each game and each season knowing you can win, lose or draw. No point moping about it, there's always next week/season.

It was worse for me as I thought we'd be promoted before the season started, and backed it and so was expecting good financial recompense for my expert football-predictoration. And if the season had finished normally we would probably have gone up automatically.

If we keep Duff we'll go up next season, I'm really convinced of that - unless the financial situation means the squad worsens dramatically.

And you can have this one for free - FGR to really struggle and either go down, or jettison cooper and hang on by the skin of their teeth. He's a poor manager and their recruitment so far is simply dire

I half agree that CT will do well next season.
But there is a possibility that MD might be head hunted and it could go pear shaped.
On paper EFL2 season 2020-21 will be the most open for years.

I don't give a jot about FGR's recruitments. They never make marquee signings but always do good with their unknowns. I will wait until we meet them before offering an opinion.

[paperboy]

Look - it's football. It was an appalling performance and result and all fans were really brassed off. But it's football - you go into each game and each season knowing you can win, lose or draw. No point moping about it, there's always next week/season.

It was worse for me as I thought we'd be promoted before the season started, and backed it and so was expecting good financial recompense for my expert football-predictoration. And if the season had finished normally we would probably have gone up automatically.

If we keep Duff we'll go up next season, I'm really convinced of that - unless the financial situation means the squad worsens dramatically.

And you can have this one for free - FGR to really struggle and either go down, or jettison cooper and hang on by the skin of their teeth. He's a poor manager and their recruitment so far is simply dire

I half agree that CT will do well next season.
But there is a possibility that MD might be head hunted and it could go pear shaped.
On paper EFL2 season 2020-21 will be the most open for years.

I don't give a jot about FGR's recruitments. They never make marquee signings but always do good with their unknowns. I will wait until we meet them before offering an opinion.

I agreed with the first part of your post Ben3. , but agree with Graham regarding FGR.
Perhaps you've seen their new signings in action but I haven't.
The crucial signing for FGR will be finding a decent goalkeeper and sticking with him.

TBH although our loan signings were fantastic last season the opposite could be said of our "marquee" signings.
Reid,Ince and Campbell were good acquisitions on paper but their impact on our season was negligible.

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

Look - it's football. It was an appalling performance and result and all fans were really brassed off. But it's football - you go into each game and each season knowing you can win, lose or draw. No point moping about it, there's always next week/season.

It was worse for me as I thought we'd be promoted before the season started, and backed it and so was expecting good financial recompense for my expert football-predictoration. And if the season had finished normally we would probably have gone up automatically.

If we keep Duff we'll go up next season, I'm really convinced of that - unless the financial situation means the squad worsens dramatically.

And you can have this one for free - FGR to really struggle and either go down, or jettison cooper and hang on by the skin of their teeth. He's a poor manager and their recruitment so far is simply dire

I half agree that CT will do well next season.
But there is a possibility that MD might be head hunted and it could go pear shaped.
On paper EFL2 season 2020-21 will be the most open for years.

I don't give a jot about FGR's recruitments. They never make marquee signings but always do good with their unknowns. I will wait until we meet them before offering an opinion.

I agreed with the first part of your post Ben3. , but agree with Graham regarding FGR.
Perhaps you've seen their new signings in action but I haven't.
The crucial signing for FGR will be finding a decent goalkeeper and sticking with him.

TBH although our loan signings were fantastic last season the opposite could be said of our "marquee" signings.
Reid,Ince and Campbell were good acquisitions on paper but their impact on our season was negligible.

Reid’s little run in the new year was crucial to turning our form around I felt. He and May helped turn us around from heading to midtable with countless draws to starting to catch up with our rivals in terms of the number of games won.

We were joint fifth in terms of games won, so it is clear where improvement is needed to get the job done next time. With L2 being more open as Ben says then hopefully we can achieve that.

Problem is we have a full cast of strikers already signed so may have to move some out to get more in.

Or, we need to focus on 2-3 more midfielders who can chip in with goals and assists like Broom did in spells.

Let’s see what Duff does with the current players and who we sign. I feel it is being quicker in the transit and counter attack that is required. Thomas and Clements sometimes dwell too much and the split second opportunity to puncture the lines dissipates.

[Shade]

We had goals from all around the team, didn't we, but nobody that scored a load. Broom was top scorer with 8, I think? Add a Mo Eisa or Eoin Doyle to the mix and we would have been 10 points clear when the season was ended. I think most of the games that we drew we should or could have won but couldn't get the ball in the back of the net (2 of them at home against 10 men late on, battering on the door), and the 6 games we lost, all by 1 goal, and I think maybe only 1 of them we didn't deserve anything from the game.

[RegencyCheltenhamSpa]

We had goals from all around the team, didn't we, but nobody that scored a load. Broom was top scorer with 8, I think? Add a Mo Eisa or Eoin Doyle to the mix and we would have been 10 points clear when the season was ended. I think most of the games that we drew we should or could have won but couldn't get the ball in the back of the net (2 of them at home against 10 men late on, battering on the door), and the 6 games we lost, all by 1 goal, and I think maybe only 1 of them we didn't deserve anything from the game.

A case in point is Addai’s miss of the decade with the open goal at Crewe which was pivotal in the end. Would have been ahead and well placed to win the game. Had we done so we would have finished above them on actual points. A more extreme version of Duffy’s missed penalty at Swindon which could well have cost us promotion that season too.