Well folks, here we are: the final game of the 2022/2023 season is here and I dunno about you, but I can’t wait for it to be over. This isn’t a season fans will be reminiscing about in the pub in thirty years, although the inexplicable defending that marred our early season fixtures will certainly be a benchmark against which future failure can be judged. I’ll also never forget the incinerated slab of carcinogenic protein Banbury United sold me under the hilarious label “cheeseburger” – a £4.60 act of robbery that will certainly live long in the memory, as well as my medical history.
How time flies. Has it really been eight months and 23 days since Boston United jogged onto the pitch here at the JCS in front of over 1500 expectant Pilgrim supporters, the promise of an entire season ahead of them like unblemished snow? Yes, it has. And how soon we forget just how heady the expectations were around the place, although in hindsight the lukewarm pre-season performances should’ve had alarm bells ringing.
In fairness, some fans had a feeling things weren’t right, pointing out the summer recruitment seemed at odds with Paul Cox’s style of football and generally feeling a little unsettled by our marquee signings coming from Kettering. But we were still high on the perceived success of our unlikely play-off adventure last May. Sure, we may have still been smarting from the non-event that was the York City promotion final, but two brilliant away wins at Fylde and Kidderminster had finally instilled a belief that United could go toe-to-toe with teams with the financial means to host full-time football.
The summer had been sullied by the club’s inability to retain its two best players, but nothing could have prepared us for what was to follow. As Boston and Southport shook hands and lined-up, the sight of Joe Leesley slotting into the back four sent chills down the spines of more tactically astute fans who knew perfectly well what was about to happen. 90 minutes later Southport scuttled off with three points, leaving a humiliated Paul Cox mumbling unconvincing excuses into the BBC Lincolnshire microphones, and leaving the rest of us wondering what the hell we’d just witnessed.
It’s pointless raking over the debris of those early months: the club made the move to replace Cox very quickly and while that bold decision didn’t result in a run at the play-offs, it did at least fix an error made months earlier. It also eventually resulted in Boston crawling to safety – albeit with only a game to spare. Today we play our final match of a disheartening campaign against already-relegated Telford – a salient reminder of how ruthless the National League North can be for teams who don’t learn lessons from previous seasons.
On Tuesday night, Fylde beat Curzon Ashton and set themselves up as favourites for the National League’s very own Super Saturday today. And while there is still plenty of drama to unfold at the top of the table, today is going to feel anti-climactic as another season ends with no prospect of promotion to the National League. It hurts, of course, but it’s not all doom and gloom. With no play-offs to distract us, our summer business will hopefully be conducted faster and in a less of a haphazard fashion than last season.
There are other positives: crowds here at the JCS have held up remarkably given some of the shocking results. Heavy hitters in the guise of South Shields and Scunthorpe are joining the league next season, so we’ll have two big away days to look forward to, and they’ll travel in numbers here as well. And last week, the club announced a new u23 side to provide a more coherent pathway through to the first team for our academy players. If the club could just stop running out of cheese and sausage rolls I reckon next season could be a lot more fun for everyone.
Anyway, thanks for reading Terrace Chatter this season, and indeed since I was asked to contribute to The Pilgrim back in 2017. It’s been quite the ride over the years: failed trips to Chorley, 9-2 defeats at Fylde, brilliant days out at Carshalton and Rochdale and Kidderminster, a global pandemic, and – worse – Duncan Browne’s jokes. While I’ve long been an exiled fan, I’ve only been down the road in Nottingham, but now I’m about to leave the Midlands permanently for the south-west coast, a twelve hour round trip from Boston. So on a personal note it’s a sad day – my last as a regular Boston United match-day goer. But as tough as it’s going to be watching us from afar, the good news is we’re bound to be absolutely brilliant the moment I’ve gone.
Enjoy the game, enjoy your summer – and thanks for reading.