Boreham Wood: Redemption for Luke

Saturday April 20, 2024: Luke Garrard applauds the North Bank at Meadow Park, seemingly his last act as Boreham Wood manager after nine years in charge. Unfortunately the tears in his eyes are not solely down to the fact that he is leaving the club he loves. Relegation was not how this should have ended.

Fast forward two years. Garrard once again in front of the Wood Army and emotional. Yet these tears are for a very different reason. This is a moment to savour, a shared experience of joy at Carlisle's Brunton Park. Garrard has just led Boreham Wood to a Wembley play-off final and his remarkable road to redemption is complete.

Boreham Wood: Luke Garrard

All good things must come to an end. After nine years at the helm, Boreham Wood manager Luke Garrard takes charge of his last match at the club on Saturday. There will not be a dry eye among the Wood Army at Meadow Park. 

Hopefully there will be tears of happiness and relief added to the emotional outpouring after the final game of the season against Ebbsfleet. At the end of a tough campaign, the Wood face a crucial 90 minutes to determine which level of the National League they will be playing in. Win and they stay up. Anything else and it's the drop.

1973 FA Cup third place play-off: Arsenal v Wolves

This article orignally appeared in edition 273 of The Gooner.

Those of us of a certain vintage will forever bang on about how great the FA Cup used to be, and with some justification. The competition was rightfully viewed with pride as worldwide audiences were left enthralled at the magic of the cup. Sadly, the riches of the Premier League and Champions League has left the FA Cup looking like a slightly poor relation in comparison. Well done, everyone involved.

Many of the great traditions have been lost – marathon replays, neutral club grounds used for semi-finals, the wacky 3pm kick-off time for the final – but fortunately one experiment has long since disappeared. I yearn for the days of old, but you can keep your FA Cup third-fourth play-off match.

1979 FA Cup: Arsenal/Sheffield Wednesday marathon

This article originally appeared in issue 275 of The Gooner.

If a top flight team has everything their own way, then it is possible to win the FA Cup in roughly 540 minutes of football. But Arsenal Football Club have rarely done things the easy way throughout our wonderful history. The start and end of the 1979 FA Cup triumph is a prime example of this.

The final has gone down in FA Cup folklore, solely due to the dramatic five minutes at the end of the match, as Arsenal threatened to pull defeat from the jaws of a comfortable victory, before somehow getting off the floor to deliver the delicious knockout blow via Alan Sunderland’s rightfoot.

2018 World Cup review

A few thoughts on England at the World Cup, as football narrowly avoided coming home, lager flooded our streets, and Russia 2018 proved to be a raging success.

It’s Coming Home

I lost count of the number of times that I heard this during the World Cup. Or spotted it on Twitter. Sadly, it looks as if football has decided to stop off across the Channel for a couple of years at least; but it was fun while it lasted.

Boreham Wood make it to Wembley

We never expected this kind of excitement. When in May 2015 I asked my 8-year-old son if he wanted to go to the Conference South play-off final between Boreham Wood and Whitehawk, little did we know that we would end up here. Just three years later, the Wood are going to Wembley.

My Sporting Diary: Part 13

I've had a few weeks off from writing my sport diary, and not a lot has happened in that period. Well, there has been the ball tampering affair, Man City losing a few notable matches, the first golf major of the year, and the start of the Commonwealth Games. But, as I say, not much has taken place.

My Sporting Diary: Part 12

The latest entry in my 2018 sport diary, as I finally back a winner at Cheltenham, international week drags on and on and on, and the England cricket team take us all back to the 80s and 90s.

My Sporting Diary: Part 11

The latest entry in my 2018 sporting diary, as Jamie Carragher explodes, West Ham fans protest, and I look forward to Cheltenham and Boreham Wood visits.

My Sporting Diary: Part 10

Part ten of my 2018 sporting diary, as Arsenal play Jekyll and Hyde, and Aggers and Tuffers entertain.

My Sporting Diary: Part 9

Part 9 of my sporting diary, as Arsenal continue to frustrate, England lose the rugby, and snow is everywhere.

My Sporting Diary: Part 8

Part 8 of my sporting diary, as Wigan shock Manchester City, Rashid and Hales point the way to a worrying future, and Lizzy Yarnold is the golden girl again.

My Sporting Diary: Part 7

Part 7 of my sporting diary, as the TMO causes controversy, Harry Kane annoys me again, and English teams thrive in Europe.

A lot has been made of VAR and the teething problems the system is experiencing in football. Apparently football needs video technology in the game, though, as it is a multi-billion pound industry, and it works so well in cricket and rugby.

Ah. It's not often that I'll say this, but I felt a bit sorry for the Welsh last Saturday. To my untrained eye I thought they had scored a try against England in the Six Nations. Sadly for Wales, the TMO didn't agree with me. They probably shouldn't have let Anne Robinson step into the TMO hot seat this week.

We'll never know how the match would have developed had the try been given. But it's odd that a system brought in for incidents such as this has, in the opinion of many, led to a wrong decision being made. When we start booing the VAR, third umpire, or TMO, then you have to wonder if it is worth it.

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Sadly I wasn't surprised that Arsenal lost the North London derby. Luckily a combination of Petr Cech and some bad finishing kept us in the match, up until the final whistle. Unfortunately, both our big chances fell to Alexandre Lacazette, a man who looks so low on confidence at the moment.

Lacazette won't have the chance to right these wrongs, as he's been ruled out of action for six weeks. It's a shame, as he could have been a key player for us in the Europa League. Realistically this appears to be the only route into the Champions League for Arsene Wenger now. However, there are some decent teams left in that tournament. My optimism regarding us winning that trophy is probably comparable to Lacazette's state of mind. You never know, though.

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On Monday, my son and I attended the semi-final of the Hertfordshire Senior Cup between Boreham Wood and Kings Langley. The Wood won 2-0, but an injury to key player Tom Champion was worrying. Hopefully he'll be ok for Saturday, as we make our way to Meadow Park for the match against Gateshead.

Morgan Ferrier has notched two in as many games since his return to the club. Exciting times ahead as the season draws towards squeaky bum time. I just hope that the players hold their nerve better than me, as I'm always a mess come the end of a pressurised season.

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In supposedly bigger competitions, the English clubs did very well in Europe this week. Manchester City continue to march towards a quadruple, which is a major surprise seeing as they have a top coach and a bottomless pit of money; Liverpool's attacking trio of Mane, Salah, and Firmino continue to terrorise defences; and congratulations to Tottenham, who according to some of the press have just won their first Champions League after drawing 2-2 in Turin.

The lack of Champions League football on Sky must be a right choker. On Thursday morning, presenters on Sky Sports News talked about Liverpool's fine win in Porto, whilst showing still photos of the action. Very BBC News covering major boxing bouts in the 1990s. They then went on to discuss the success of Liverpool's orange kit, before hastily showing actual football clips from their match against Southampton. I'm sure I could hear the screams of Sky Sports bosses as the feature went out.

Previous entries:
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6

My Sporting Diary: Part 6

Part 6 of my sporting diary, as this week I look back at the Tottenham school of diving, briefly touch on the Six Nations, and get a bit over excited about Jossy's Giants.

My Sporting Diary: Part 5

Part 5 of my sporting diary, as this week I look back at my evening at the darts, cast an eye over the midweek Premier League fixtures, and breath a sigh of relief that deadline day is over.

My Sporting Diary: Part 4

The latest entry in my sporting diary of 2018, as Alexis plays the piano, and Twitter storms kick off left, right and centre.

My Sporting Diary: Part 3

The latest entry in my sporting diary of 2018, as Arsenal lose another away match, and the world of football pays tribute to Cyrille Regis.

My Sporting Diary: Part 2

The latest entry in my sporting diary, as the feud between Mourinho and Conte continues, and my Ashes misery is finally put to bed.

My Sporting Diary: Part 1

The first entry in my 2018 sporting diary, including darts discussions, Jose Mourinho moaning, and Eden Hazard's balancing problems.

2017: History in Hertfordshire

Football, bloody hell. That famous expression used by Alex Ferguson after Manchester United had completed the treble came back to me on Saturday November 4, 2017. Some might say that Boreham Wood's moment of history against Blackpool in the FA Cup first round, should not be mentioned in the same sentence as Clive Tyldesley's "balmy night in Barcelona". Try telling that to anyone lucky enough to be at Meadow Park as the final whistle sounded.