FA Cup: Heartbreak and Anger (Kingstonian, Home)

Jen Kelly – a.k.a. Cheshire’s Revenge / The Word Nerd – brings ilovemacc her own take on the highs and lows of The Silkmen

FA Cup 1st round weekend. One of the defining moments of any season, especially for the lower league teams. There is something truly magical about the FA Cup, something that is almost impossible to put into words…

Although, seeing as I’m the Word Nerd I’m gonna try!

Memories of happier times…

The FA Cup is the ultimate David and Goliath face off. Football has become more and more unbalanced in recent years, with the rich getting richer and the poor scrabbling around for scraps at the bottom. So the prospect of a giant killing fills any lower league fan with excitement. Every club has its FA Cup moments that have gone down in its personal history. For us it’s Fulham in 1968, Cardiff in 2013, taking Bolton to a reply in the 3rd round in 2012, and of course Chelsea in 2006. For me I even have fond memories of that trip to Highfield Road in 1999. Doing the conga around the away end as Coventry put 7 was a weird but wonderful moment. Memories of fabulous goals, stomach-in-mouth moments of joy and goal celebrations that felt like they went on for weeks. Hell, I think I still celebrating that Murphy moment 13 years later!

And it’s with all this in mind that I found myself sitting on my settee on Sunday afternoon. Not wrapped up warm on the LRT. Not dreaming of a glory tie later in the competition. Not enjoying some football on a beautiful afternoon. Sitting on my settee, watching Final Score and feeling altogether furious.

Let me be really clear at this point. There is NO blame on the players out on strike, nor on the loanees and youthers on the pitch. No blame on the staff or volunteers who are also striking or withdrawing their services. The blame lies at the door of our majority shareholder, Amar Alkadhi and the various governing bodies of our wonderful game. No-one else.

10 months of late payments to your staff, Amar. 10 months. The fact that they’ve waited until now to strike is only down to the summer break and the fact we’ve seen almost a full changing of the guard since this rigmarole began. Perhaps also down to the professionalism and belief of our players and staff. What’s worse than the late payments is the distinct lack of any communication whatsoever. No warning each month, no clue as to when the payments might drop. Just absolute radio silence. What sort of boss has so little respect for their staff that they can’t even be bothered to talk to them? An awful, arrogant one, that’s who.

The thing is, Amar knows that there are likely to be no repercussions whatsoever. Not from the EFL or the FA. And he’s right to be smug. The organisations who we look to in difficult times within the game have, so far, proven to be about as useful as a one-man stretcher team. 

Absolute sweet F.A.

The FA seem to spend their days talking about reform and making hundreds of thousands of pounds a year from footballers slagging them off on Twitter. When you can charge Ashley Cole £90k for calling you “a bunch of twats”, why would you concern yourself actually dealing with the real issues? What’s that? You called me name?! Right, to the bank!!

The EFL, although generally less controversial over the years, have recently launched an “independent review” into themselves (however that works!) after the Bury/Bolton fiasco. No news as to when that will happen, or how many clubs will suffer in the meantime. And lets not forget the PFA, an organisation that seems to be more concerned blowing smoke up each others arses than actually representing players in the real issues. Yes they’ll release statements and help with funds when required. But do they actually offer any genuine representation for the players at clubs like Macc? I’m yet to be convinced. And the fact that the whole management committee stepped down last year ahead of a “full and open review into the PFAs finances” suggests that yet another group of London-based fat cats have been pissing about in their swimming pools full of £50 notes while the rest of us fight over a £5.

Do we really think that Macclesfields plight will result in any real change based on all of this?

As I watched the goals roll in yesterday, and the panel of Final Score sympathise with our situation, I’m not ashamed to say that I shed a tear. I’ll bet I wasn’t the only one. With news of the Sealey takeover starting to gain momentum, there might be a tiny bit of light up ahead. But until something solid comes from it, things still feel very bleak.

I could make a plea to Amar here. Plead him to see sense and sell up. Macclesfield Town Football Club could move on and look to the future. And he could walk away and get rid of the hassle that he obviously has little to no interest in anymore. But it seems pleas have been falling on deaf ears for years when it comes to our deluded leader. I feel that time has passed. 

You say you want a revolution…

And so we look forward to the EFL Trophy on Wednesday night. With no news of the strike breaking, it could be those young lads that are called on once again. The issue of throwing a bunch of teenagers under the bus should be causing shock waves across the football family. But, as we saw with Bolton earlier this season, it really doesn’t. And what about the Mansfield game at the weekend? Are our young lads even allowed to play in a League game? 

The fact that all we’ve heard from both the FA and the EFL once again are threats of expulsion and punishment, not offers of assistance and support. There are so many issues in the football pyramid, and it is those at the bottom that suffer, time and time again. I guess we shouldn’t be massively surprised of course, as it’s simply a reflection on the way our country and the wider Western world often operates. The rich count their wads of cash with one hand whilst punching the poor repeatedly in the face with the other. 

Surely it’s time for a revolution?

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