EFL Vertu Trophy Final: Peterborough United 2-0 Blues
A gaggle of thoughts about a frustrating day following Blues as I fought between logic and emotion and got pictured with Tom Brady... sort of.
It’s taken a couple of days for me to start writing this because I’ve not been entirely sure where to start.
It’s hard to explain my feelings after Sunday. I think above everything, I’m annoyed but annoyed at myself rather than what played out in front of me.
Logic v emotion is a tricky balance as a football fan.
I often post at half-time and full-time to gather my thoughts rather than posting in-game and potentially looking a bit of a dickhead. I often avoid writing my reports until the following day so I can let my emotions pipe down somewhat before analysing things.
This group have defied my logic on a number of occasions this season. Concerns about whether the Wrexham game was a little too much given all the hype around it and us being such a new group. Concerns over internationals continuing to play upon returning. Concerns that the pitch and weather and available options at Barnsley would harm us. Concerns that five games, three on the road, in 12 days over Christmas and New Year would see us drop points. Concerns that the idea of us winning the league and doing Wembley in the same season was a bit farfetched, even if attainable and achievable.
That logic follows from experience. Blues have often stepped up with their backs against the wall but our backs aren’t against the wall anymore. This is a new Blues. A Blues that expects rather than hopes and it’s a feeling I’ve been uncomfortable with, so I try to take emotion out of it and avoid expectation. Avoid emotion. Let’s just see what happens and enjoy it.
But it’s almost impossible to do. I’m 31 now and have been Blues all my life. As many of a similar or elder age will know, you just get that gut feeling heading into games and you just know. It might be hearing the atmosphere on the way to the ground. It might be seeing the team selection. It might be seeing the first couple of challenges in a game and understanding how this will go.
My gut has been right on so many occasions this season.
It told me we would struggle on opening day. It told me we would be fine against Wrexham on the walk to the ground. It told me we would be fine against Peterborough United. It told me we would struggle at Charlton Athletic but that it wasn’t all bad. It told me that we were too casual against Lincoln City and Bolton Wanderers and would be punished soon. It told me we would get a result at Wrexham despite that tricky second half. It told me that when Keshi Anderson thumped one in at Huddersfield Town, we would win the league. It told me we were hammering Cambridge United when I saw that starting XI. It told me would lose at Bolton Wanderers.
But my gut isn’t perfect. This group have defied me on so many occasions. Jay Stansfield at Barnsley. That response at Wigan Athletic. I was preparing for penalties when Lyndon Dykes headed home against Bradford City.
And off we head to Wembley. We should beat Peterborough United. But it’s been a long season. Have we built up to this occasion too much? It would be Typical Blues to turn up and lose in front of huge support at Wembley. But we’ve got Jay Stansfield. Ethan Laird and Keshi Anderson are enjoying themselves. The stress of the title is no longer on us. Surely Juke won’t lose in his big Wembley appearance?
As that battle in my head ran on, my gut was screaming at me. I should have listened.
I didn’t know what to expect from the EFL Trophy this season.
I was just over a year old the last time we competed in it. I’ve seen the pictures. I’ve seen the goals. I’ve seen the t-shirt. But I didn’t know what it was about, really.
Nobody really seems to like it from a general fan perspective. As somebody in tune with what is going on in the EFL as a whole, I was more than aware of fans boycotting the competition amid the influx of under 21’s team and concerns around the future of English football as a whole. I completely understand the concerns, and there is a certain irony in being understanding while also looking to contribute to the problem in the future by allowing our Category A youth team take part.
The trophy also brought with it this sense of anticipation. Those of a bygone era reminisce about John Gayle, Paul Tait, Barry Fry, the double-winning team. We’ve a proud history in the competition despite rarely taking part in it – victory this year would have been our third in four attempts, a success that would have seen us go level with Bristol City for most titles. The aim from day one was to go to Wembley and win it.
That felt a long way away when we hosted Walsall at St.Andrews in a game that felt like a pre-season friendly with a number of our squad unavailable due to international duty and then we lost a penalty shoot-out. What is this competition?
We took Shrewsbury Town apart at the New Meadow with three-quarters of the fans in attendance being of a Blues persuasion and dismantled Fulham’s kids in a game that just felt unfair. Exeter City were cast aside despite a goalkeeping error and we navigated a tricky tie against Ian Holloway’s Swindon Town.
Things got a little more serious at that point yet the quarter and semi-finals could scarcely have come at a more awkward time, being part of a run of seven consecutive two-game weeks in which we were facing seven of the top nine in League One and Premier League Newcastle United in the FA Cup.
Changes were made for Stevenage but Davies took it seriously enough and his substitutions paid off as Lyndon Dykes made space for Marc Leonard to send Jay Stansfield in behind for a cute finish.
Then came the semi-final. A full stadium. An incredible atmosphere. An emotional night that saw Stansfield produce magic before injury struck. Bradford City equalised but we plugged away and found the winner, Dykes rising high to head home and send Blues to Wembley. Que Sera Sera.
When it came to the League Cup in 2011, I was only able to attend midweek matches. I was 16, had a couple of part-time jobs and didn’t really have the money so the cheap midweek affairs in the League Cup were the best I could do. I got pretty fortunate for that reason, even if I did need my Dad to pay for my final ticket, a ticket that cost double of my mates because I had just turned 17.
This time around, I’m 31. I have a partner, kids, a home, a full-time job and I’ve not gone down as much since my youngest was born, as I shared a few weeks back. When I have gone down, it’s been with my brother using a spare, a spare that was never going to be made available for the final and understandably so – people did not want to miss out!
It made my route to the final an interesting one – I was either part of the lucky draw for non-ticket holders or relying on the goodwill of somebody. This is where constantly chatting shit about football online worked out nicely, and then worked out even better as I was able to spend the day with the legend that is Gabriel Sutton. Not only that, but we were in the Bobby Moore Suite and with a cracking view of the pitch.
Like most, I found myself on a coach with people I knew, people I didn’t know, spoke a lot about football. Sitting on top of my seat belt wasn’t particularly fun and left with me a slightly bad back but it was a route to the game, I got to meet up with some old pals, there was minimal traffic and the journey was otherwise smooth.
From there, I allowed myself to get a bit annoyed with a couple of things and it was stupid stuff, which made it more annoying. Like walking up to the Green Man to go and say hello to my brother, stepdad and grandad without realising there was absolutely no chance of it happening. Then after going into the right queue to get into the ground, I doubted myself, walked away, went to walk back in only to be told my bag was too big – the same drawstring back I’ve used for almost every event in a stadium – and that I would have to pay a tenner to park it by the Ibis. And I know this stuff is my fault, so I couldn’t complain and didn’t complain but it just felt like I was wasting what should be a good day.
And I needn’t have felt that way given where I was located for the day. The suite was gorgeous. I walked past Lee Carsley, looking very dapper. Got fed for free with a two-course meal (though why do these events always bring out sparkling water?), saw Jim White, Clinton Morrison and Simon Davies on stage.
Then we walked into the stadium and it felt like the good stuff. The seats were fantastic. I was able to see Troy doing his Sky stuff up close. The Wembley walk way was in touching distance with my partner texting me pictures of me on the tele. I was a few seats away from the excellent Nieve Petruzziello, Blues players in their suits walking past and the press box not too far away. The child in me was thrilled – especially when I realised the seats had cup holders which blew my mind. I felt out of place but this was also really cool.
It had been some week for Blues.
We officially secured promotion on Tuesday at the home of our Wembley opponents Peterborough United. On Saturday, Wrexham drew at Wigan Athletic which officially confirmed us as champions.
I enjoyed Chris Davies’ press conference. He spoke with the same clarity that he always speaks with, acknowledging that the celebrations took place on the pitch and players had Wednesday off, as is always the case following a Tuesday night game, and that they were back at it on Thursday preparing for Sunday. He knew he would have some tough conversations but he had been having those all season.
Enjoy the day. Enjoy the weekend. Make the most it.
It was hard not to feel good and I could allow myself to be carefree about Wembley – whatever happened in the final wouldn’t take away from what has been a wonderful season. We set out first and foremost to win League One and do so in style and we’ve done just that.
Trips to Wembley to play in finals don’t come around often. Only 12 non big-six clubs have played at Wembley in the last 10 years in the FA and League Cup and a number of those were semi-finalists in the FA Cup. Reaching Wembley to play in a final is an achievement in itself, even if the expectation was always there because of our standing at this level.
But I knew that emotionally, once Sunday came around, I would be like every other fan, desperate to see us win and lift a trophy and cap off what ought to have been the perfect week.
We’re in the stadium and the team gets announced and it’s the first time I go logic v emotion.
Willum Willumson is starting. Lukas Jutkiewicz is on the bench. Alfie May and Taylor Gardner-Hickman are on the bench. Krystian Bielik misses out altogether.
I get that little pang of feeling in my stomach. I might have started Alfie May given his recent goal streak or Taylor Gardner-Hickman. I’m concerned that Stansfield is going to be isolated. And Bielik isn’t in the squad which feels weird given he was fine against Peterborough in midweek. Is Jutkiewicz an emotional pick or the best option?
But this is Chris Davies. I find him easy to follow as a fan because he takes every game seriously and analyses every detail, no matter who we are playing. His favourite phrase is “the next game is the most important” and it’s easy to believe him when he says it because it’s evident that they aren’t just words – he truly believes and acts on it.
Willumson has clearly been a key piece of the jigsaw not just from an in-play perspective but also set-pieces. He may not have started as much had we been able to utilise Bielik and Dykes more but given the size of the Posh centre-backs, Kyprianou and the two lads up top, I can understand why we’ve selected him, especially as it helps us win the numbers game in the middle of the pitch.
Jutkiewicz. I was worried the selection of him might be emotional rather than logical given the build up to him never playing at Wembley but it’s a final. If you need a goal, you want to give yourself somebody that will just throw themselves at the ball. I expected Harris or Hanley to miss out, mind.
It’s okay, right?
I mean, I’ve had this nervy feeling while seeing all the interviews we’ve done this week. The promotion celebrations. The title being sealed. The documentary being announced. It's all going too well.
But the team is good. Logic dictates were the better team. We’ve stepped up every game this season. We’ll be fine.... right?
Then the game started.
And again, I'm fighting on whether to trust my gut. Because the first thing we do is lose two challenges in the middle of the park. Then when Peterborough set up, we aren’t 5v4 with their speedy attackers with a defender spare but 4v4 with Iwata stepping on. We aren’t covering each other as well as we did the other night. The feeling in my gut just grew. I’m really starting to listen.
But I don’t want to listen and when a loose pass finds its way to Willumson who in turns feeds Stansfield down the side of his marker, I sit up in excitement only to watch the ball go narrowly wide of the post. Actually, the replay shows there is nothing narrow about it. But it’s a positive sign. And with Peterborough only having what feels like one of their first choice back four in place, we’ve got to be in a good spot to have a go.
But we’re loose at the other end. Poku is killing us and in particular Cochrane. Space is opening up because others are covering inside and Abraham Odoh is free but the pass is overhit. Mothersille is in but his shot is blocked. Poku is dancing again and now he’s straight up taken out.
“I think he scores this”, I told Gab as Harley Mills stepped up for the free-kick. Admittedly, I didn’t think the strike would be quite that perfect. What a fucking hit and what a place to make your name.
Odoh is in again and Laird has to sprint back to make a big challenge. A break in play given both managers a chance to refresh and Blues do move the ball better we slip up down the right, allowing Mills to deliver. The cross is cleared to Kyprianou and it’s another fine strike. Fuck.
We’re okay in possession until we reach the final third. We’re not great out of possession, particularly defending transitions. May arrives for Willumson. Anderson and Stansfield get shots off but only after Fernandez has headed wide at the back stick, leaving Darren Ferguson turning to his bench and asking how on Earth he’s missed.
Laird is hauled off and he isn’t happy but Davies was frustrated by his decision making throughout and screamed at him when he decided against giving the ball to Klarer, instead trying to go 2v1 and losing against the first man while his team-mate was free. Still, I was touched by Laird mouthing off in frustration at being replaced, stopping for a moment to shake Davies’ hand before continuing to show his frustration. Respectful.
Peterborough should probably have a penalty as Jones outpaces Paik in a straight sprint towards the box, a sprint that pretty much ends Paik’s match. Allsop makes a fine stop in the aftermath. Jones is then through again and Klarer makes a big last ditch tackle. Kyprianou fires over from a set-piece and Blues just aren’t at it.
The time ticks on. I’ve not had reason to believe and as I look up, 72 minutes are on the clock. We’ve had lots of the ball, spent a lot of time in good areas but nothing is working. I’m looking at what the next change could be but with us unable to deliver quality in the final third and Peterborough taking gamesmanship to maximum levels – Abraham Odoh going down holding his head, having a look around then proceeding to get up and sprint when he realised the referee wasn’t blowing was as hilarious as it was angering - we were struggling to build momentum.
Logic and emotion are now beginning to align. We needed to score within about 15 minutes of half-time and we were just racing against the clock at this point as players began playing at different tempos. There wasn’t clarity in our actions and cohesion in our play.
Dornelly once again loses out down the left and Stansfield cuts back. The shot falls back towards and he’s scored. A chance. And as I jump up to celebrate I hear a guy say “he’s offside” and you can’t not look at the flag. Raised. FUCK.
Fuck it. It’s done.
Juke arrives to fanfare and comes as close as anybody, forcing a fine stop from Jed Steer before accidentally creating a melee having reacted later than Steer to kicking a ball in the box. Knowing Juke, he wouldn’t have meant it but Posh players reacted angrily and Blues players then steamed in.
Full-time. The Posh fans around me in the posh section are celebrating while most of those to my right are as dejected as me. Then it kicks off again on the pitch and it just looks awful. I don’t even know why it kicked off and I’m beyond caring. I just feel dejected and the players feel the same way as the Blues end begins to empty.
And so we come back to emotion.
I’m annoyed. But as above, I’m annoyed with myself more than anybody. The silly stuff before the game. Not listening to my gut and I guess allowing myself to believe. And irrationally getting wound up by the Posh fans celebrating around me even though there’s nothing wrong with it. A day of emotion and being on the wrong side of a lot of things leads to annoyance.
I watched the Blues players make their way up and it turned into a really awkward couple of minutes. Davies appeared to be advised not to go down his side but whenever Anderson got the message to go down his side, he was stopped and there was this weird back and forth of players bouncing side to side. Wagner and Brady didn’t look too interested and everybody just looked solemn and annoyed at what had transpired.
It was after a good minute, minute and a half and Davies and Anderson trying to lead down the stairs twice each that Wagner brought them all in. It wasn’t as if they walked up and Wagner grabbed them to have his moment, which made the clips that surfaced all the more weird. Maybe I’m naive and completely wrong but it felt as though Wagner just decided to make something of a really awkward moment rather than having a pre-planned documentary style talk – it’s not as if he had been to speak to the players post-match and advise that was what they were doing. It felt to me more like leadership than vanity.
But the narrative is what it is and Wagner won’t care. FEA.
I couldn’t really bear to watch the Posh celebrations. I responded to a couple of texts from people in the ground and decided I needed to clear my head, so went on a walk to go grab my bag. It didn’t work entirely. If anything, it just annoyed me that I had to go and grab my bag having paid a tenner to park it. I met back up with Gab, we grabbed food, grabbed a Starbucks and headed back to the coach.
I apologised to Gab for not being the best company but he was fine and it was quite nice to see a couple of people take time out of their day to say hello, shake his hand, get a picture. I noticed a bit of it in the stadium too with fans of both clubs and it’s just nice to see good people receive such warmth. And then you see the kids of Blues and Posh persuasions with smiles on their faces, singing songs and you remember that it’s not the end of the world. Back to the coach and they’re singing Robbie Williams, Queen, Girls Aloud and whatever else. Somebody throws up.
I might be tired and ready for bed but people are enjoying themselves and that’s what these days are about.
We’re over two days on and I can think more logically now.
I don’t believe my post-match summary was completely false. We were second best on the day, we deserved to lose the game.
I think we struggled to get some of the fundamentals of the game right. The tempo of the game was different depending on who had the ball. The quality decision making that we’ve so often had in how we create overloads and opportunities for ourselves wasn’t there. Players slipping at vital times, being unsure when to go and when to sit, not getting that lucky bounce. It was just one of those days where cohesion lacked at pivotal moments and we were punished by precision at the other end.
Why did that happen? Who knows.
One reason is simply the mental fatigue, something I’ve mentioned on a few occasions. This was game number 54 of the season and you can tell since around the start of March that we haven’t quite been at the same level. It’s been a long season for players that didn’t have a full pre-season and with so much change happening at the club. It’s not a huge surprise that we’ve reached a point where performances aren’t quite as controlled and perfect as they were earlier on.
Another is the build up of the day. It felt like it meant a lot to us and there was big pressure to perform. We had 50k fans, huge expectation, all the articles and clips and everything else this last week. It’s still new and it’s a lot to take in.
And we have to credit Peterborough. They took their chances. They defended their box. They backed each other up. I heard Darragh McAnthony bigging up how hard we work and how he wanted his team to work as hard, referencing the wingers getting back and ensuring their team-mates aren’t left alone. They backed each other up, exploited space and worked their gonads off for the win. They did everything they needed to. Credit to them. They were the better team and deserved to win.
Some of the hyperbole, scapegoating and other things is a bit over the top for me. One bloke called it the worst performance he’s seen and I’m thinking, he watched us under Wayne Rooney last season, right? Not to forget Aitor Karanka, Steve Cotterill, Lee Clark. Stansfield is getting it. Willumson is getting it. Dowell is getting it. Davies is getting it. Cochrane. Let’s all just calm down a little bit eh?
Which brings me to the second part of my tweet.
A week that has shown just how far we’ve come & how much further we have to go. It’s still only the beginning.
In the summer, we had to respond to relegation. We lost our manager to illness. We had to appoint somebody new. Organise a new recruitment structure. New coaching staff. We signed 17 players and let over 20 leave. And sure, we spent money. But the turnover was enormous and for Davies to get the culture right, get us winning football matches, get the fans believing, to take us to Wembley, to win the title earlier than any League One side has previously and possibly the EFL – certainly in the last 30 years anyway.
We are still on track to break three records:
Most points accrued in League One (103)
Most points accrued by a team in the EFL (106)
Most wins by a team in the EFL in one season (33)
This has been a fucking phenomenal campaign. A campaign we will never witness again in terms of the sheer volume of matches won.
We will be a Championship club again next season and the aim will be to finish as high as possible next season. Let’s enjoy party season and get ready for another big year of football as we continue this journey up the Football League ladder.
Up the fucking Blues.
KRO.
Superb, Ryan,many thanks for this. Yes,we were beaten by the better side on the day. Poku is a fine, fine player but Posh as a whole, were excellent.
We were outplayed. It has been an excellent season, but let's hope it doesn't just fade out.
I think a lot of fans were angry afterwards, myself included, simply because we were second best on the 'big' occasion. I spoke to my friend in Cumbria afterwards. A lifelong bluenose who struggles to get to games and watched this one on tv. His advice;"calm down,it's been a brilliant season".
So I took his advice.
KRO!
Superb summary Ryan , KRO