Musings on 2013/14; the weirdest & most ridiculous season of all time.

First of all it would be worth opening up this blog post by informing you that a lot has changed since I last published one of these dreadfully inane, attention-seeking, ill-informed, dull, long-winded several paragraphs of complete gibberish. Since then Dover Athletic have become a Conference Premier side (I still have no fucking idea how or why either) while the whole blog title will have to become redundant soon now I have lost 5st 1lbs (& counting) in the new calender year. I can assure you though that I am still a miserable cunt as ever and my writing style is still as tedious as it has ever been. 

What an incredibly fickle game football is, eh? It was only 23 days ago that we lumbered to a 1-1 draw against a very limited, fourth-bottom Whitehawk side in our penultimate game of the regular season, to all but end our play-off hopes. At that point, Havant & Waterlooville only required 2 points from their final two games at home to third bottom Maidenhead and away to an already relegated Tonbridge side who we've never been the best of friends with. 

At that very point in the aftermath of the game, everybody had given up and consigned this season to the bin of non-descript wastelands. Kinnear was a football dinosaur, everybody was dreading another season with him at the helm while we stagnated for yet another season at this dull level. Home crowds had fallen to a worringly low average of 655; lower than what it had been when we finished 2nd bottom in the ryman premier 9 years ago. 

And yet here we are; two & a half weeks later, basking in the glory of promotion having seen off our Kentish rivals Ebbsfleet United in the play-off final, for which was the third time we have got the better of them since they pinched half of our squad in the Summer. 
Chuck in the relegations of Dartford & Tonbridge, a run to the FA Cup 2nd round and having had a respectable go in the FA Trophy, it would have to be the dream season, wouldn't it? 

It's mental how things can change so rapidly in football; the very thin line there is between success and failure. Had Havant not capitulated against Maidenhead, had they not missed a penalty, an open goal & had one legit 'goal' ruled off during their failure to beat Tonbridge on the final day, this season could be a totally different story. 
Had the referee not in our final game against Hayes at Woking not spotted the handball committed inside their box, 3 minutes from time in a game we weren't particularly playing well. Had Barry Cogan not show the true grit and nerve to dispatch the ensuing spot kick with such confidence. 

Now, however we're a Conference Premier side, returning after 12 years away, salivating over the thoughts of visits to Bristol Rovers, Torquay, Wrexham, Cambridge and the like. Whereas a few weeks earlier my apathy of the club was at an all time high, I was no longer enjoying games, I couldn't stomach the thought of another season of Kinnearball, I was more enjoying my new found hobby of groundhopping (something I should also write a blog post on??). Yet here we are right now and I am already buzzing for the new season to start; a feeling I haven't felt for a good few years now.

Does a fan, who has slagged off the management (& a lot of the team) for the majority of the season, deserve such a sudden upturn in fortune? Probably not. While still present at most games this season, I've been a terrible fan. 
Though, having said that, I couldn't give a flying fuck. I've been there when we were getting humped by teams like Met Police, Walton Casuals and Molesey at Crabble. I've been there when we've played Truro on a Tuesday night (yeah, yeah, had to fit that in). I've been there nearly every step of the way. As ridiculous as it may sound to some, who for playing lower division non-entities like Grimsby Town is a run-of-the-mill fixture, I can't wait to see us pit ourselves against these clubs who are a massive gulf and leap in size from us. 

It's what we need after the last few boring years of stagnation and apathy. I'm looking forward to the change in culture; where we are one of the tinpot nobodies, getting sneered at by all the bigger clubs, rather than the other way round. I'm looking forward to a possible relegation battle, a scrap, where every point and win clawed is so much more important. Not like now where it's been "oh well, we've only beaten Whitehawk, a county league side with 55 fans". 
I'm looking forward to travelling to all the huge grounds, being segregated in a shitty area of the stadium where only 46 of us are in the away end, with the looming threat of getting the shit kicked out of us by locals with a nawty element. I'm looking forward to the 600 mile round trips on a Tuesday night just to see us get gubbed by fitter, superior sides. 

Should we remain in this league for more than what most are already tipping us, the novelty may wear off eventually. But now, having said that, anything will beat having to go to Boreham fucking Wood or Basingstoke on a cold shitty November Saturday for the umpteenth time. There is so much to look forward to. 

Let's be honest, on the basis of the season just gone it is probably going to be one almighty scrap for us. Our tally of 69 points is the lowest in 9 seasons of the Conference South's formation, to get promoted on. Our negative home record, in which we lost more (8) than we won (7) will have to significantly improve, against significantly better sides. Kinnearball, which has been ridiculously effective on the road for us this season , may actually serve us better in the league above. Teams will come to Crabble against little Dover, and not sit back like a lot in our league do, so our counter-attacking style of football may be allowed to flourish more. 

Also, the mental toughness of our players will no doubt be beneficial; the fact that the players have performed when it truly matters in the season just past will stand us in strong stead. Players like Stone, Wynter, Kinnear Jnr, Modeste,Elder etc always show a mental toughness and put their bodies on the line to chase the lost causes. They have done us so proud in the play-offs and when the situation doesn't favour us.

Will that be enough to get us through though? Probably not. We need more quality, particularly in the middle and upfront, if we harbour serious ambitions of this being longer than a 1 year stay in the big boys league. Momentum may carry us to a certain extent, but if you show too much sentiment towards the players that got you there then you won't get very far. I've already been warned this by a Woking pal, who in comparison to us went up after strolling through the conference south, rather than us who went up via a whim. 

But, whatever the challenge that faces us, let's just relish it. Let's worry about the important stuff for later. But for now we can just sit at home, scratch our heads, smile and think to ourselves "Dover Athletic is a Conference Premier club", by whatever means we have achieved it.