Fan Zone 09/05/2025
- TUST
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
FAN ZONE
TUST's Chair and TUFC board member, Nick Brodrick's column in this week's Herald Express - updated for the latest news.
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IT WASN’T TO BE AS UNITED SUFFER PLAY-OFF SEMI-FINAL HEARTACHE
PLAYERS POST THEIR FEELINGS TO THE YELLOW ARMY
UNITED WOMEN EDGE A POINT CLOSER TO THE TITLE
Torquay United against Colchester United at Wembley in 1998, final day drama at Southend, last day heartache at Layer Road Colchester in 2005, Wembley Play-Off Final versus Cambridge United 2009 are just some of the ‘I was there’ moments in the roller-coaster ride as a lifelong fan. Those are matches which leave an indelible mark on your memory for either good or bad reasons.
And to that list we can now add last day memories at Hemel Hempstead 2025 with over 2,000 Yellow Army in attendance (my TUST colleague Jon Gibbes says we took 2,500 to Leyton Orient in 1998, another ‘I was there’ moment) along with the National South Play-Off Semi-Final at Plainmoor on Saturday as Boreham Wood gave United a lesson in how to control a football match in front of an amazing 5,721.
Unashamedly, come the final whistle there were youngsters and adults with tears in their eyes as all hopes and dreams of a return to non-league’s top flight evaporated in front of us. It was not without effort and desire but the Wood were just more experienced with the core of their team from the side relegated a year ago.
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If anything is to be learnt from defeat it is to try to assemble a new look United for next season with pace and a midfield that can drive the team forward. Manager Paul Wotton has done a terrific job given what he inherited – one player, who incidentally watched the match on Saturday – assembling a hurriedly put together squad. To his credit he managed to persuade a group of footballers to join a club which had been in administration and was taken over by, at the time, an unproved Bryn Consortium with TUST, not everybody’s favourite.
This time around Wotton has first of all to decide his retained/released list which was posted earlier today and more about the decisions next week. And with the club now out of administration and all debts paid off plus finishing so close to automatic promotion, players’ agents are bound to be ringing the manager offering their services.
By knowing our fate now gives Wotton a greater chance of securing his first choices to boost those who will form the core of next season’s squad, unlike what happened after Ashton Gate.
Of course it wasn’t just the fans who were disappointed after defeat, the players too, a number of who took to X to express their feelings.
Cody Cooke wrote, “We’re all hurting, we know we came up short at the weekend. But this club has been reenergised, full of new life and it’s been a real privilege to wear the badge every week.”
Jordan Young said, “Want to say a massive thank you to all the fans, you’ve been amazing.”
While James Hamon added, “Devastated about how this season has finished. It’s going to take a while to get over it that’s for sure.”
“It doesn’t feel like it now but once the dust has settled, we will be able to look back and realise how great the season has been.”
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So, we now know that the second and third best sides in the division will be playing National South football again while the teams that finished fifth and seventh will contest the final on May 18th. Whether you are a fan or not of the play-offs they are the only way a second side can be promoted, finishing first is obviously the goal, and next season will be another competitive one with two of Dagenham & Redbridge, Maidenhead or Ebbsfleet coming down from the National League to be joined by Merthyr Town, Horsham, Dover and AFC Totton. But the National League may decide to move a current South team into the North, possibly Hemel Hempstead or Chelmsford, to make room or Merthyr could go North.
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Credit to the club for arranging at very short notice a community fan zone on the green outside Boots; it was heartening to see so many youngsters in replica shirts enjoying the occasion.
Play-Off Crowd Match: Scunthorpe 6,365, Torquay 5,721, Hednesford Town 4,701, Kidderminster 4,647, Eastbourne 3,194.
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The weekend was not without some positives: first congratulations to Brixham who finished the Jewson Western League in third place but with a late goal won 2-1 in the Play-Off Final against Clevedon Town to be promoted to the Southern League Division 1 South.
And on Sunday United Women secured what could be a title winning point in a hard fought 0-0 draw at current league leaders Marine Academy Plymouth. Had MAP won they would have clinched promotion but their season is completed while United have two matches left, an away trip to Sherborne on Sunday then a last home game the week after; it’s in their hands for a swift return to the Women’s National League. Now that would be a welcome success.
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Might be a week late but congratulations to ex-Gull Asa Hall, who was here on Saturday on BBC Radio Devon duty, for leading Tiverton’s last day great escape from relegation. In the short time as manager, he changed their fortunes – who knows maybe a United future manager.
Before Saturday’s game, along with exile fan Terry Gibbs, we were able to present the TUST/Exile Away Player of the Season Trophy to Sam Dreyer.
For the summer, which is your ‘I was there’ stand-out match you’ll remember for all time? Send yours to fanszone.tu@gmail.com and we’ll print them in future columns.
COYY
Don’t forget to buy a lotto ticket in the 1899 Lottery. Over 200 sold so far.
You can get all the details at: https://draw.ourclublotto.co.uk/tufc/
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