By Matt Badcock
Even Donald Trump wouldn't try and spin the National League promotion final attendance.
Clearly, in an ideal world, more than 16,306 would have clicked through the Wembley turnstiles to watch Tranmere Rovers take on Boreham Wood.
In an even more ideal world, the planks who threw beer bottles (plastic, not glass) from the Boreham Wood end at Tranmere players – Josh Ginnelly was hit – wouldn't have been inside the stadium.
But the occasion did allow some football fans to indulge in one of this country's favourite past times – willy waving. ‘My crowd is bigger than your crowd ner ner'.
Even the league's sponsors Vanarama got involved, tweeting out a video of Wood's section and asking, ‘Why have they come dressed as seats?'
Harsh
Perhaps the fact it has since been deleted shows it was an ill-thought out tweet taking the mick out of a club that have had a great season and were about to take part in the biggest game of their history. Alas, that is the social media ‘bantz' stakes these days.
Boreham Wood's travelling support took its fair share of stick in the days leading up to the game too. Manager Luke Garrard even mentioned it in his post-match press conference as he pointed out how the players wanted to stay on the pitch to thank those in the stands.
On TalkSPORT that morning, Mike Parry put forward his argument that a club with a small fanbase like Boreham Wood shouldn't be allowed into the Football League, adding the size of the club represented a level one above pub football.
Look, we all know how it works. Lob a lit match into the firework factory and watch it all go off. However, it's ridiculous to suggest just because a club has a certain amount of fans, they shouldn't be allowed to progress.
Yes, Boreham Wood have the lowest average attendance in the National League. But they earned it on the pitch playing some fine football under a talented young manager.
We are crowd snobs in football, and even then can't make our minds up. Whenever a crowd base swells on the back of glory, they are labelled plastic fans and glory hunters. So which do we want?
The quick turnaround, borne out of necessity, between the semi-finals and the final, didn't help the figure. Die-hards will be there whatever, but the floaters who aren't always on the pulse will often take time to decide whether to go.
No doubt some of those who did would have been put off by the prices. £44 – £41 plus £3 booking fee – for the best seats in the house is too much for a Non-League game. The £1 fee to print your ticket at home is laughable, but by now we should all be used to ticketing companies pinching pounds out of our pockets for no good reason.
This is not to have a pop at the National League. They do run ‘early bird' ticket deals – although hardcore fans parting with money for a game they might not be interested in is a hard sell – during the season and they are motivated by the desire to have a fitting finale to their season.
So they should take great credit for staging the final at Wembley Stadium at the end of a gripping play-off contest. The expansion from four clubs to six clubs will be copied by other leagues in time, so they have been groundbreaking in that regard too.
Dream
And let's not forget, it's what the clubs want. If they all stood up at the summer AGM and said let's move it elsewhere, then that would happen.
A smaller ground would absolutely help with the atmosphere and it would look better on the telly, but it's just not Wembley. Win or lose, the chance to play there or see your team play there is a dream in English football.
Sometimes the crowd is going to be smaller for a Non-League final on account of the clubs in the competition. That's the beauty of English football. If you can get it done on the pitch, you can win your way from the bottom of the Pyramid to the top.
Had it been Tranmere v Leyton Orient, you'd fancy it to be a much fuller Wembley. But Boreham Wood were streets ahead of the O's this season and rightfully took their place on the hallowed turf. And just maybe we should marvel at how football in this country is supported. Nearly 17,000 for a fifth tier football match. Not many countries could Trump that.
Barratt painting his own picture
Sam Barratt is a shining example of the different routes into professional football.
The 22-year-old moved this week from Maidenhead United to League One side Southend United, and he fully deserves it.
While many young footballers start out in academies before dropping into Non-League and bouncing back again, Barratt has taken the country route.
He's had trials at clubs like Crystal Palace and Reading, but at heart he is a product of Non-League football where he started earning his stripes as a 16-year-old in the Hellenic League Division One East with Bracknell Town and then in the Hellenic Premier.
In 2014, Johnson Hippolyte took him to Maidenhead United and he's flourished under the tutorship of Magpies' boss, the former England international Alan Devonshire.
An artist by day, Barratt has been attracting plenty of attention with his wonderful left foot and ability to carry the ball forward quickly.
Capped by England C, Southend boss Chris Powell is giving him the chance he has earned. Knowing the “nasty side” of the game, as he told me in an interview earlier in the season, Barratt will be ready for his shot in the League. And with full-time training he will surely improve even more.
The best of the game…
Organisation stress in the build-up to our National Game Awards is quickly forgotten when the day comes around – and everyone turns up!
I think we can all feel frustration with football at times, but Wednesday was my annual reminder of how special this level of the game is.
Big name managers and players, rising stars, clubs, fans and people who have dedicated their lives to the cause all mix in a room for a few hours talking about the thing we all love – Non-League football.
*This article originally featured in The @NonLeaguePaper which is available every Sunday and Monday
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