Did He Really Mean It?

Thirty-six short little hours left. Two days at work. One sleep till Hornchurch, as a Christmas-obsessed small child might likely say.

My continual state of high excitement has been accentuated this week by reading ‘The Damned Utd’ by David Peace. Although nothing to do with either Dulwich or AFC Hornchurch (Brian Clough was an accomplished manager, but he didn’t quite manage to scale those lofty heights…), the evocative descriptions of football management, what happens behind the scenes, the bust-ups, the drinks and cigarettes, the feelings of elation at winning exciting cup games… All of this made me long to be at a game, long to be watching football, and long to be feeling even a tenth of the feelings described within the book.

Famously, Brian Clough didn’t win the FA Cup. He managed to get his hands on everything else (both trophies and the necks of those he was having disagreements with), but the FA Cup eluded him. That this is a widely-known fact says all you need to know about the importance and the difficulty of this little competition. One of Britain’s most famous managers still couldn’t get hold of it. As much as he strived, it eluded him.

I will obviously never manage to win an FA Cup myself, and so the best I can hope for is to do what I’m doing with this. To get involved. To get as close as I can to the feelings and emotions that the cup can provide. To feel the elation of the last minute winner. The pain of the injury-time defeat.

Above all though, it’s to share the banter of football fans. To feel like I’m part, in my own little way, of a small team, taking on all-comers and rejecting whatever else life can throw at us. To enjoy the highs together, to feel the pain of the lows together - whether that, as is likely, be a Dulwich defeat in the next round, or an away draw at Scunthorpe in the Third.

Team, tomorrow we take on Hornchurch. I will be leaving work early tomorrow, and making my way to Upminster Bridge underground station, where upon arrival at around 5.30pm, despite reviews on certain internet websites telling me that it is one of the most horrific public houses in the United Kingdom, I will turn right from the station, walk along St Mary’s Road and station myself in ‘The Bridge’ boozer. Where I shall sit, in eager anticipation of Friday night. The FA Cup.