As a Hailfax supporter that came from the States for this match (first ever match watching Halifax in person) I was surprised by the amount of people in the stadium that told us to sit down, I felt like that definitely deterred from my experience.
Sadly that’s the Wembley experience nowadays. Jobsworth stewards earning minimum wage ruining one of the best days out for the supporters especially for non league as that club may never be back there
@@kingmarble3400 wasn't the stewards, the fans were moaning about it, went on a whim and went in the Halifax end behind the goal and everyone around me, behind me were screaming for us to sit down, which I thought was shit, especially behind the goal as that's where you always need the atmosphere at it can drive the players more as you're closer to the action
I've been to multiple Non-League Finals Days and always enjoyed it. There are downsides, and the wait between games is the major one, but I think there's also a science to doing it well. Our formula has always been to get a big group together, get tickets with one of the sides for the first game and just get involved with them as shameless day-trippers. If they happen to win its a great thing to be part of and a lot of them will tend to hang around - which eats up some of the waiting - and if they don't having a side to support generally livens the game up either way. Every single time we've been there, we've been able to find staff members willing to let us into a section adjacent to the fans of one of the sides for the second game, and every time that offer has attracted a lot of neutrals and got us all sitting together to enjoy the second game. The worst way I can possibly imagine doing it is to go in Club Wembley. Wembley is sterile enough for this event without going and picking the extra-sterile part of it and just guaranteeing that what atmosphere there is will always be elsewhere.
I'm so sad you had a disssapointing day Smiv. Here's a couple of points from me as to why non league finals day is still great. 1. Fans of every club dream of seeing their club play at Wembley. As a Hadley fan probably the most disappointed I've ever been was when we lost on pens to eventual finalists Binfield after battering them throughout the game. Promotion and relegation will come and go but only 2 step 5 teams get this chance per year. Now that we got promoted to step 4 it'll never happen I feel. If the final was at for example Villa Park I would get knowhere near as excited for the Vase and imo it would devalue the competition. It is an FA competition after all. 2. Halifax and Gateshead are absolutely miles away from London and they also have 2 of the lowest average attendance figures in the national league. Their general fanbase is about 1.5k for Halifax and 1k for Gateshead. I predicted 20,000 to be the attendance so it was actually far more than I was expecting. Again I don't feel like it's right to complain about these clubs not packing out the ground like Chesterfield and Notts County did. Chesterfield and Notts County are far far bigger clubs. I feel that the fans of the smaller clubs deserve to see their team at Wembley just as much as the fans of the bigger clubs. 3. Yes the standard of both games was poor. Let's put it down to nerves. I've felt like that watching FA Cup finals before. There have been some shockers. Remember Portsmouth v Cardiff? 4. The huge gap in between the 2 matches is there just in case extra time and pens is needed in the Vase game. Don't forget that they then have to do the trophy presentation and then allow the players enough time to celebrate with the fans. It might have felt like an eternity to you but that's purely because the match ended after 90 mins. So yeah in conclusion I completely understand why you as a neutral didn't have a great time but I personally think that nothing about Non league finals day should never change. I would hate to see a stadium downgrade. Wembley is the home of football after all.
I went to the FA Trophy Final in 2011 (Darlington v Mansfield) with Uni mates who were Darlo fans. Think this was back before they did the Trophy/Vase double-header on the same day. Felt weird being in Wembley with a 25,000 attendance (not bad at all for two sides in the 5th tier) and the atmosphere did get lost a bit as the top two tiers were shut. I thoroughly enjoyed it in the end as Darlo got a 119th-minute winner in what was otherwise a forgetful game. Great memories for everyone in the town, but I agree in that it didn’t have that Non-League “feel” that we know and love.
Villa park or king power after the season has ended would make so much more sense, from both the full ground perspective, and logistically will most likely be better geographically for more teams
The finals day has to be planned months in advance, before they know who's going to be in the final. Can you imagine Wrexham Vs Southend or Oldham or many of the London Clubs, they would also pretty much fill Wembley (especially as fans wouldn't have to travel). They would easily get 60,000 plus. Imagine the criticism they would get if they had it at a stadium that only held 40,000. Also the FA own Wembley and it doesn't make a lot of sense paying someone else to stage the match, when you have a stadium and employees idle.
@Dave davids notts county and Chesterfield are 2 of the biggest teams in non-league, and they had an attendance of 40k for the playoff final, so the chances of a final selling out villa park seems unlikely As for geography, the middle of the country just makes the most sense as it would mean noone would have to travel more than 3/4 hours max And im guessing Wembley staff are paid per event and staff will be provided by a company. That can be done anywhere in the country
@@jamescooper3739 The Notts County vs Chesterfield match was heavily affected by the train strike. I think it was pretty much impossible for both sets of fans to get a train back after the game. So that would have reduced the attendance by thousands, most likely tens of thousands. Also the closer a team is to Wembley typically the higher the number of fans who will travel. So Southend, Barnet and the London clubs etc would get a lot more than would be expected for their size (especially as a lot of there fans are shared with bigger London clubs). As their fans wouldn't have the distance to travel.
@@jamescooper3739 Also English football, as with the population of the UK is getting more and more South focused. This is illustrated by a fact that half of the entire national league is either within London or within 40 minutes drive of London (ok Easteigh is about an 1 hour). More teams than the entire North, Midlands and Wales combined (with just 10 clubs).
Sadly agree with you Smiv, came to my first non league finals day this year and was real excited for it, however the games didn’t have the most excitement and there was too much of a gap inbetween
I went last year and really enjoyed it. as a fan of a team that has won the FA Vase at Wembley I think the final should stay there, it’s an iconic stadium and these players will never have another chance to experience it plus it’s a great day out for the fans too. I get the points you’re making though and can understand why your experience wasn’t that great
I went to Wembley with Cheltenham Town in 1998 (before none league finals day). It was just the Trophy back then. As a fan although Old Wembley was not full it was the most amazing day every. Seeing the team you support play on a ground where only the bid stars play was magical. It was the real spring Board to Cheltenham getting promoted to the FL. Since then I have seen them win 2 playoffs at Cardiff and loose one play off at new Wembley. Along with winning the League two title. And nothing has compared to that trip to Wembley. Maybe as a fan of non of the clubs playing it took away from it, but I am sure it was special for those fans.
Good editing at the start 😊 i think being played at Wembley is good, gives players, fans and groundhoppers chance to go Wembley for a much reasonable price They give two hours in between each match in case it goes extra time and penalties i do understand though waiting two hours is boring 😊 As a viewer and a fan of your channel i think it will be interesting to see if you have one more match this season, a Ac Milan match San Siro OTR on the road next month would be good if you are able to go because you do like Italian football as you mentioned before or a match abroad elsewhere if you can 😮 i would wear a suit if i was a manager for a non league final at Wembley. Well done ascot United and Halifax town. A Halifax OTR next season would be a possibly 😊 Fortuna Düsseldorf in Bundesliga two are giving away free tickets next season is worth looking into if you’re able to find this online.🎉 Many of the viewers will suggest you to go Borussia Dortmund’s stadium for a match. If you’re able to do a League table prediction for next season and a shirt related video of every four Leagues, premier league down to League two would be good Smiv😊
I went to Non-League Finals Day sitting in the Ascot United end. I stayed for both matches, but left the FA Trophy game a bit early. In my opinion, the main improvement to NLFD would be the ability to leave the stadium in between the two games as it was very boring during the wait with nothing to do.
The last time I was at a Vase final for Sholing vs West Auckland, the attendance of little over 5,000 probably spelled the death knell for the finals on seperate days. I agree that taking the finals away from Wembley would reduce its appeal for both players and fans. For fans and players at any level, the chance to play at the national stadium is a main part of its appeal - especially as the National League playoffs final had usurped the trophy as the climax of the non-league season. In much the same way the Championship final has usurped the F A Cup final as the climax of the league season.
I agree regarding Wembley, I think both finals should be a premier venue but not Wembley as it’s far too big and looks like the atmosphere as occasion suffers as a result.
As a York fan I have seen us in the FA Trophy final 3 times at Wembley and only 1 of those was a non league finals day but I didn't go see the first game. I think as you mentioned it's a huge thing for fans to see their club play at the national stadium but yes the emptiness of it at times does hinder it. I do think the whole not letting people out between games is ludicrous and surely it's something that can easily be sorted by just showing your ticket again. It is also hard to judge if more fans would go at a different ground. Say the FA Trophy was at Elland Road or Old Trafford so more Northern based for both teams, I don't know if it would entice more fans as it's nearer or the chance to visit Wembley which many may not have before would lure more fans in. There are different things to improve with it but there is also a lot of good with it! Love the vids as always Smiv, always shining a light on the non league
I did Non League Finals day in 2019 and luckily 3 of the 4 teams were fairly local to London so there were 42,000 there (mostly Leyton Orient fans) and most of them spent the while day there. There was a wait between games but not as much as the Vase went to extra time. Generally a good experience but it's always a risk you might get a day like this one.
One major problem is the fact you have 4 sets of fans in one stadium. Wembley is realistically the only stadium set up with the infrastructure in and around the ground to accommodate 4 areas, separate pubs, neutral area etc.
thnx for suffering so we had a bit of a glimps of non league day. Something we don't have (and never will have) in the Netherlands. And even though the attendance wasn't as high as you hoped, it still was a lot more than those players have ever played for.
I had one of my worst experiences I've ever had at the Football at non league day too. Went to see Orient in the FA Trophy Final and also cheer on Os legend super Kevin Lisbie in the vase final for Cray Valley Paper Mills. Neither game was particularly entertaining, both Orient and Cray Valley lost, our seats were terrible and me and my brother nearly got in a fight with the tourists who always crawl out of the woodwork when Orient are doing well (can take 25,000 to Wembley, but where were they when bechetti was destroying the club) because they got angry with us both for singing and trying to get the atmosphere going. The post match party in box park afterwards was fun though.
Went to a World Cup U19 double header in Dunedin, NZ in mid-winter. Covered stadium but just 4-5C at peak, close to freezing late on. Mexico, Mali, Uruguay, Serbia. The teams tried hard - clearly skilled - first game OK - but it just got very cold and ho-hum. Meal and drinks out afterwards saved the day but I wouldn't repeat. I think that double-headers sound good to marketers - but it's too long for neutrals to take.
1998 we got to the Quarter finals before losing in a replay to Southport. I can't tell you how excited I was at the prospect of Gary Mills leading out the team I've followed since the late 60s at Wembley. I've seen us play at over 200 grounds and the best ones I've seen us at are no higher than League One. So, for me, I wouldn't care if there were just 100 of us Eaststanders. I'd take the Wembley experience any day. As for lack of atmosphere, if you have people around you excited and into the game it doesn't really matter, that creates the atmosphere. I watched a Johnstone Paints final in those seats with 60,000 and no one around us was remotely invested in the game. I do think having both on one day is a mistake. Plus, much depends on the teams who get there and you had three out of four teams who all had recent Wembley experience.
I think something about having non league finals day at wembley is that day trippers will turn up purely as its wembley and idk whether you'd have as many doing that if it was at vill park or old trafford or somewhere similar. I do agree about it being a largely empty bowl with no atmosphere and its made worse by the fact you can't leave
As a Gateshead fan train cancellation and result aside is was a great day (two days ) out . The atmosphere is what it is , remember these aren't big clubs and an away trip is always memorable.
I think it should stay ae Wembley because frankly these games aren't for the neutrals. They're for the fans and the players. The fans who never in a million years thought they'd see their club at Wembley and the players who never thought they'd get to play there.
Assuming the desire to have it still in London, the ground you’re looking for is probably Stamford bridge, or selhurst park when they finish the expansion there. But I don’t think anybody outside of a neutral would want to give up the chance to be at wembley.
The problem with football is that the game itself is largely going to dictate the enjoyment and, even as someone who was covering the games for the Non-League Paper, both games were pretty dismal affairs which is a shame because I covered the Gateshead v Barnet semi final which was a belter! This is the 4th successive NLFD I have covered and the 2020/21 finals were a million miles from this one with Warrington Rylands beating Binfield 3-2 followed by Hornchurch upsetting Hereford 3-1 in the Trophy - the atmosphere, despite a COVID restricted attendance, was incredible and I think the frustration at being locked out of football and playing behind closed doors for so long had an oddly positive impact on the finals day atmosphere. I think everyone said 'just enjoy ourselves' as we knew we were only one Chris Whitty slide from having it all taken away. Don't do Club Wembley though, the atmosphere is much better closer to the pitch - working pitch side I still got that buzz from the crowd being inbetween the fans and the pitch so I suspect you would have had a much better time being in amongst it and hearing the noise closer to pitch level as well as seeing what it meant to be playing at Wembley for the staff and players of each club. NLFD won't go anywhere else, the FA have a mortgage to pay on Wembley so they are not hiring another stadium and giving money away - go next year but sit in amongst the fans and I guarantee you will have a better day. Nobody can guarantee the football will live up to the hype but the sense of occasion is much better looking at it from a fans eye perspective IMO. I don't think you can recreate the non-league feel for a final like this other than to play it at a ground that offers no sense of occasion - it would also kill the FA Trophy as so many National League clubs, especially those chasing promotion, don't take all too seriously and I suspect the Vase would go the same way - the road to Wembley is all part of the early round appeal otherwise it just becomes a glorified county cup that no manager chasing promotion or staving off relegation wants to bother with. Stick with it, move seats next year!
There were a few neutrals in the ascot fans area too. Myself included. I enjoyed the two games in a day, but wish it was a bit more attacking. Also food at wembley needs me to remortgage.
The thing is these events have to be planned many months in advance so they have no idea who's going to be playing. Imagine Southend playing Oldham or Wrexham vs Chesterfield, they could easily bring 70,000 (also the London clubs such as Barnet on their day if fans don't have to travel). So if you played it say at Villa park there would be also lots and lots of complaints fans couldn't get tickets. Also the FA own Wembley and if they had the game somewhere else the FA would have to pay for that stadium at the same time as having their own stadium empty and their own staff idle.
I totally agree with finding a smaller stadium for the non-league finals. Villa Park would have been able to fit the fans in most of the past seasons and is in a more central location that would be fairer on Northern fans. You also don't have to pay so much for parking and the emissions charge, which cost me more than my actual ticket to the Non-league playoff.
I went to Villa Park to watch Canvey Island in the FA Trophy final a long time ago and I think it's a good compromise. Its relatively central and is a small enough big stadium
As a Macclesfield FC fan who was at a Finals day (and lost) fully agree pack a smaller stadium out. Get yourself to MacclesfIeld FC as well a genuine non league legend of a club.
tbh i think Villa Park should be the host of non-league finals - more central to be fairer on the northern teams and smaller than wembley so the fans feel more connected
Had the pleasure of going to Wembley 4 times in my life to watch Wrexham, the only 4 times we've ever played at Wembley in fact! Shame we lost 3/4 though, but we always made a day of it down in London. Losing the FA Trophy final to North Ferriby was a new low for me though haha
It's a shame that it didn't live up to your expectations, but I think for the players it would still be a once-in-a-lifetime experience getting to play at Wembley and for the fans seeing their team there, even if the game wasn't great, would be pretty special. I'm just a little unsure about the title of your video - calling it the "worst day at the football ever", even though that's what it was for you, seems like it could put people off non-league and doesn't really say anything about how much both teams would have put in to get there. Cheers for the video though, and hope you were a lot more happy with the Spurs result yesterday!!!
Can’t say much for the ascot game as I didn’t see it but for our game, it wasn’t a classic and the game felt Asif both teams didn’t want to take a risk and cost their team the game. Only thing that will stick with us fans is the goal and lifting the trophy and that’s what matters to us. For a club like ours to have never visited Wembley in over 100 years and to then visit it twice in 7 years just doesn’t feel real but it’s what us as fans dream of.
I can agree that the games wernt the best but the reason you didn't have a great time is because you went in a Neutral zone, i went down for fun, by myself, and sat in the Halifax end and it was great, to kill the waits in between the games, all that was needed was a chat with some Halifax fans and then during the games you could get on it with them instead of doing what you did and sit by yourself
Think you chose the wrong year for your first Non League Finals Day. Both games were poor plus all 4 teams taking part weren’t that well supported compared to the previous 2 times I’ve been. Didn’t find the break that bad as you have the celebrations of the first game and the warm up for the next game.
Must admit Smiv, absolutely love everything you do but a bit disappointed with this video. The wait between games is necessary (have to allow for the potential ET/pens, as well as trophy lift and warm up for game 2). I was there myself and I get the games weren’t fantastic, but you missed the first 30 of the first and decided to watch more of the second on a TV outside- at what point is it not even worth going? NLFD fills the stadium out a little more for both finals, gives teams a day out at Wembley they deserve, don’t think that should be taken away
I was at Wembley as a neutral sat in with the ascot fans who were great. But it was the 2 worst games of football I have seen this season out of the 51 games watched (still didn’t see a 0-0). I think it’s a dream for any footballer to play at Wembley so get it being there but The FA need to do something about a couple of things 1, sort out the food and drink and 2, try and put some sort of entertainment between the games maybe a penalty shoot out 5 kids from each of the 4 teams in f some up and coming musical artists from each of the teams home town. But overall I agree the worst games of football this season. The worst non league finals day experience I’ve had
I was at this game and was there last year when Newport won the thing, dont agree with having it at a smaller atadium at all. Gives the players and the small towns an opportunity to have the spotlight on them and feel as big as everyone else. Last year the attendance was much much higher, hard to expect a big following from two Northern clubs, but last year Wrexham sold out and Bromley still won. Its exactly what it should be and its great for small teams.
Nah, not having it, Smiv. Worst day at the footie ever? Come off it. Club Wembley is for neutrals anyway, so what were you expecting, the Dortmund Wall?
@OPTIC23100 There's far worse days at the footie in my experience. Travelling 300 miles midweek to find the match cancelled. Getting piss-soaked on an open terrace watching my team lose to a last minute penalty. Being pelted with bricks and coins leaving Old Trafford while the police did nothing. Getting kicked out of a ground because the bloke next to me chucked a plastic bottle. So 4 non-league teams didn't generate Boca-River Plate fireworks and that's the worst day ever at the football?
I dunno Wembley is just cavernous. It seats 90k. You don't have to go too small, but Emirates, Spurs, the Olympic Stadium all seat 50k+ and have that big match feeling but would feel a lot more filled up if 27-40k. For Example my College, Ithaca, competes at the D3 level in Gridiron College football (ground quality is about Conference North level) . As we had a lot of Alumni (myself included) in the greater NYC area the college decided to go for the D3 attendance record at Metlife Stadium which seats 82k for our schools rivalry (derby) game. While we broke the record with 45K+ and had a blast I have to admit it felt pretty empty similar to what was here. It just felt half full. 4 years later we tried it again but this time went to Yankee Stadium, which seat 50k for football. We drew less, only 40k, but the atmosphere was light years better due to the smaller size and ground feeling more full. TLDR I think these lower league trophies would be far better served at one of the smaller stadiums in London.
As a Hailfax supporter that came from the States for this match (first ever match watching Halifax in person) I was surprised by the amount of people in the stadium that told us to sit down, I felt like that definitely deterred from my experience.
Sadly that’s the Wembley experience nowadays. Jobsworth stewards earning minimum wage ruining one of the best days out for the supporters especially for non league as that club may never be back there
One question. Why Halifax? Just interested
@@CessBee123 Why Spurs?
@@kingmarble3400 wasn't the stewards, the fans were moaning about it, went on a whim and went in the Halifax end behind the goal and everyone around me, behind me were screaming for us to sit down, which I thought was shit, especially behind the goal as that's where you always need the atmosphere at it can drive the players more as you're closer to the action
@@neuteredcow88 I'm a hostage
OTR needs a comeback
I've been to multiple Non-League Finals Days and always enjoyed it. There are downsides, and the wait between games is the major one, but I think there's also a science to doing it well. Our formula has always been to get a big group together, get tickets with one of the sides for the first game and just get involved with them as shameless day-trippers. If they happen to win its a great thing to be part of and a lot of them will tend to hang around - which eats up some of the waiting - and if they don't having a side to support generally livens the game up either way. Every single time we've been there, we've been able to find staff members willing to let us into a section adjacent to the fans of one of the sides for the second game, and every time that offer has attracted a lot of neutrals and got us all sitting together to enjoy the second game.
The worst way I can possibly imagine doing it is to go in Club Wembley. Wembley is sterile enough for this event without going and picking the extra-sterile part of it and just guaranteeing that what atmosphere there is will always be elsewhere.
I'm so sad you had a disssapointing day Smiv.
Here's a couple of points from me as to why non league finals day is still great.
1. Fans of every club dream of seeing their club play at Wembley. As a Hadley fan probably the most disappointed I've ever been was when we lost on pens to eventual finalists Binfield after battering them throughout the game. Promotion and relegation will come and go but only 2 step 5 teams get this chance per year. Now that we got promoted to step 4 it'll never happen I feel. If the final was at for example Villa Park I would get knowhere near as excited for the Vase and imo it would devalue the competition. It is an FA competition after all.
2. Halifax and Gateshead are absolutely miles away from London and they also have 2 of the lowest average attendance figures in the national league. Their general fanbase is about 1.5k for Halifax and 1k for Gateshead. I predicted 20,000 to be the attendance so it was actually far more than I was expecting. Again I don't feel like it's right to complain about these clubs not packing out the ground like Chesterfield and Notts County did. Chesterfield and Notts County are far far bigger clubs. I feel that the fans of the smaller clubs deserve to see their team at Wembley just as much as the fans of the bigger clubs.
3. Yes the standard of both games was poor. Let's put it down to nerves. I've felt like that watching FA Cup finals before. There have been some shockers. Remember Portsmouth v Cardiff?
4. The huge gap in between the 2 matches is there just in case extra time and pens is needed in the Vase game. Don't forget that they then have to do the trophy presentation and then allow the players enough time to celebrate with the fans. It might have felt like an eternity to you but that's purely because the match ended after 90 mins.
So yeah in conclusion I completely understand why you as a neutral didn't have a great time but I personally think that nothing about Non league finals day should never change. I would hate to see a stadium downgrade. Wembley is the home of football after all.
I went to the FA Trophy Final in 2011 (Darlington v Mansfield) with Uni mates who were Darlo fans. Think this was back before they did the Trophy/Vase double-header on the same day. Felt weird being in Wembley with a 25,000 attendance (not bad at all for two sides in the 5th tier) and the atmosphere did get lost a bit as the top two tiers were shut. I thoroughly enjoyed it in the end as Darlo got a 119th-minute winner in what was otherwise a forgetful game. Great memories for everyone in the town, but I agree in that it didn’t have that Non-League “feel” that we know and love.
Villa park or king power after the season has ended would make so much more sense, from both the full ground perspective, and logistically will most likely be better geographically for more teams
The finals day has to be planned months in advance, before they know who's going to be in the final. Can you imagine Wrexham Vs Southend or Oldham or many of the London Clubs, they would also pretty much fill Wembley (especially as fans wouldn't have to travel). They would easily get 60,000 plus. Imagine the criticism they would get if they had it at a stadium that only held 40,000. Also the FA own Wembley and it doesn't make a lot of sense paying someone else to stage the match, when you have a stadium and employees idle.
@Dave davids notts county and Chesterfield are 2 of the biggest teams in non-league, and they had an attendance of 40k for the playoff final, so the chances of a final selling out villa park seems unlikely
As for geography, the middle of the country just makes the most sense as it would mean noone would have to travel more than 3/4 hours max
And im guessing Wembley staff are paid per event and staff will be provided by a company. That can be done anywhere in the country
@@jamescooper3739 The Notts County vs Chesterfield match was heavily affected by the train strike. I think it was pretty much impossible for both sets of fans to get a train back after the game. So that would have reduced the attendance by thousands, most likely tens of thousands. Also the closer a team is to Wembley typically the higher the number of fans who will travel. So Southend, Barnet and the London clubs etc would get a lot more than would be expected for their size (especially as a lot of there fans are shared with bigger London clubs). As their fans wouldn't have the distance to travel.
@@jamescooper3739 Also English football, as with the population of the UK is getting more and more South focused. This is illustrated by a fact that half of the entire national league is either within London or within 40 minutes drive of London (ok Easteigh is about an 1 hour). More teams than the entire North, Midlands and Wales combined (with just 10 clubs).
Sadly agree with you Smiv, came to my first non league finals day this year and was real excited for it, however the games didn’t have the most excitement and there was too much of a gap inbetween
I went last year and really enjoyed it. as a fan of a team that has won the FA Vase at Wembley I think the final should stay there, it’s an iconic stadium and these players will never have another chance to experience it plus it’s a great day out for the fans too. I get the points you’re making though and can understand why your experience wasn’t that great
Somewhere like Villa Park is ideal with a decent capacity and central location. They've played the Trophy Final there before.
It's easier to get to London from the north east than to get to Birmingham.
@@teamboy19 That's nice.
Love the video could you go to the league 1 play offs or just any more finals coming up
I went to Wembley with Cheltenham Town in 1998 (before none league finals day). It was just the Trophy back then. As a fan although Old Wembley was not full it was the most amazing day every. Seeing the team you support play on a ground where only the bid stars play was magical. It was the real spring Board to Cheltenham getting promoted to the FL. Since then I have seen them win 2 playoffs at Cardiff and loose one play off at new Wembley. Along with winning the League two title. And nothing has compared to that trip to Wembley. Maybe as a fan of non of the clubs playing it took away from it, but I am sure it was special for those fans.
Good editing at the start 😊
i think being played at Wembley is good, gives players, fans and groundhoppers chance to go Wembley for a much reasonable price
They give two hours in between each match in case it goes extra time and penalties
i do understand though waiting two hours is boring 😊
As a viewer and a fan of your channel i think it will be interesting to see if you have one more match this season, a Ac Milan match San Siro OTR on the road next month would be good if you are able to go because you do like Italian football as you mentioned before or a match abroad elsewhere if you can 😮
i would wear a suit if i was a manager for a non league final at Wembley. Well done ascot United and Halifax town.
A Halifax OTR next season would be a possibly 😊
Fortuna Düsseldorf in Bundesliga two are giving away free tickets next season is worth looking into if you’re able to find this online.🎉
Many of the viewers will suggest you to go Borussia Dortmund’s stadium for a match.
If you’re able to do a League table prediction for next season and a shirt related video of every four Leagues, premier league down to League two would be good Smiv😊
I went to Non-League Finals Day sitting in the Ascot United end. I stayed for both matches, but left the FA Trophy game a bit early. In my opinion, the main improvement to NLFD would be the ability to leave the stadium in between the two games as it was very boring during the wait with nothing to do.
Yeah totally agree!
The last time I was at a Vase final for Sholing vs West Auckland, the attendance of little over 5,000 probably spelled the death knell for the finals on seperate days. I agree that taking the finals away from Wembley would reduce its appeal for both players and fans. For fans and players at any level, the chance to play at the national stadium is a main part of its appeal - especially as the National League playoffs final had usurped the trophy as the climax of the non-league season. In much the same way the Championship final has usurped the F A Cup final as the climax of the league season.
i was there. saw smiv and tom in the second half but didn't say anything i can see myself at 11:08
I agree regarding Wembley, I think both finals should be a premier venue but not Wembley as it’s far too big and looks like the atmosphere as occasion suffers as a result.
As a York fan I have seen us in the FA Trophy final 3 times at Wembley and only 1 of those was a non league finals day but I didn't go see the first game. I think as you mentioned it's a huge thing for fans to see their club play at the national stadium but yes the emptiness of it at times does hinder it. I do think the whole not letting people out between games is ludicrous and surely it's something that can easily be sorted by just showing your ticket again.
It is also hard to judge if more fans would go at a different ground. Say the FA Trophy was at Elland Road or Old Trafford so more Northern based for both teams, I don't know if it would entice more fans as it's nearer or the chance to visit Wembley which many may not have before would lure more fans in. There are different things to improve with it but there is also a lot of good with it!
Love the vids as always Smiv, always shining a light on the non league
0:54 - FOOTBALL!!! (Megaphone version) 🤣🤣🤣
As the photographer with his hands on his head in the video, I'd love if I could stop reliving this game. Not ideal. 😭
Just wanted to let you know that we have a awful record against Halifax, nevertheless I enjoyed my day out at Wembley despite the result.
I did Non League Finals day in 2019 and luckily 3 of the 4 teams were fairly local to London so there were 42,000 there (mostly Leyton Orient fans) and most of them spent the while day there. There was a wait between games but not as much as the Vase went to extra time. Generally a good experience but it's always a risk you might get a day like this one.
One major problem is the fact you have 4 sets of fans in one stadium. Wembley is realistically the only stadium set up with the infrastructure in and around the ground to accommodate 4 areas, separate pubs, neutral area etc.
thnx for suffering so we had a bit of a glimps of non league day. Something we don't have (and never will have) in the Netherlands. And even though the attendance wasn't as high as you hoped, it still was a lot more than those players have ever played for.
I had one of my worst experiences I've ever had at the Football at non league day too. Went to see Orient in the FA Trophy Final and also cheer on Os legend super Kevin Lisbie in the vase final for Cray Valley Paper Mills. Neither game was particularly entertaining, both Orient and Cray Valley lost, our seats were terrible and me and my brother nearly got in a fight with the tourists who always crawl out of the woodwork when Orient are doing well (can take 25,000 to Wembley, but where were they when bechetti was destroying the club) because they got angry with us both for singing and trying to get the atmosphere going. The post match party in box park afterwards was fun though.
I went today for The League 2 final, it was madness. The Carsile directors were above us
Went to a World Cup U19 double header in Dunedin, NZ in mid-winter. Covered stadium but just 4-5C at peak, close to freezing late on.
Mexico, Mali, Uruguay, Serbia. The teams tried hard - clearly skilled - first game OK - but it just got very cold and ho-hum.
Meal and drinks out afterwards saved the day but I wouldn't repeat. I think that double-headers sound good to marketers - but it's too long for neutrals to take.
1998 we got to the Quarter finals before losing in a replay to Southport. I can't tell you how excited I was at the prospect of Gary Mills leading out the team I've followed since the late 60s at Wembley. I've seen us play at over 200 grounds and the best ones I've seen us at are no higher than League One. So, for me, I wouldn't care if there were just 100 of us Eaststanders. I'd take the Wembley experience any day. As for lack of atmosphere, if you have people around you excited and into the game it doesn't really matter, that creates the atmosphere. I watched a Johnstone Paints final in those seats with 60,000 and no one around us was remotely invested in the game. I do think having both on one day is a mistake. Plus, much depends on the teams who get there and you had three out of four teams who all had recent Wembley experience.
Glad to see Tom made it and fireman Sam is welsh not geordie
I'm still alive. Just.
I think something about having non league finals day at wembley is that day trippers will turn up purely as its wembley and idk whether you'd have as many doing that if it was at vill park or old trafford or somewhere similar. I do agree about it being a largely empty bowl with no atmosphere and its made worse by the fact you can't leave
As a Gateshead fan train cancellation and result aside is was a great day (two days ) out .
The atmosphere is what it is , remember these aren't big clubs and an away trip is always memorable.
I think it should stay ae Wembley because frankly these games aren't for the neutrals. They're for the fans and the players. The fans who never in a million years thought they'd see their club at Wembley and the players who never thought they'd get to play there.
See you next season Smiv. Hopefully you'll make it to Halesowen Town for a game .Cheers for all the vids
Ascot united were lucky to be in final as a Bridgwater united fan
And the mighty newport pagnell should've won
Assuming the desire to have it still in London, the ground you’re looking for is probably Stamford bridge, or selhurst park when they finish the expansion there. But I don’t think anybody outside of a neutral would want to give up the chance to be at wembley.
Agreed! This all comes from a neutral stand point which is a little selfish of course. Any club with its players as fans would always choose Wembley
The problem with football is that the game itself is largely going to dictate the enjoyment and, even as someone who was covering the games for the Non-League Paper, both games were pretty dismal affairs which is a shame because I covered the Gateshead v Barnet semi final which was a belter!
This is the 4th successive NLFD I have covered and the 2020/21 finals were a million miles from this one with Warrington Rylands beating Binfield 3-2 followed by Hornchurch upsetting Hereford 3-1 in the Trophy - the atmosphere, despite a COVID restricted attendance, was incredible and I think the frustration at being locked out of football and playing behind closed doors for so long had an oddly positive impact on the finals day atmosphere. I think everyone said 'just enjoy ourselves' as we knew we were only one Chris Whitty slide from having it all taken away.
Don't do Club Wembley though, the atmosphere is much better closer to the pitch - working pitch side I still got that buzz from the crowd being inbetween the fans and the pitch so I suspect you would have had a much better time being in amongst it and hearing the noise closer to pitch level as well as seeing what it meant to be playing at Wembley for the staff and players of each club.
NLFD won't go anywhere else, the FA have a mortgage to pay on Wembley so they are not hiring another stadium and giving money away - go next year but sit in amongst the fans and I guarantee you will have a better day. Nobody can guarantee the football will live up to the hype but the sense of occasion is much better looking at it from a fans eye perspective IMO.
I don't think you can recreate the non-league feel for a final like this other than to play it at a ground that offers no sense of occasion - it would also kill the FA Trophy as so many National League clubs, especially those chasing promotion, don't take all too seriously and I suspect the Vase would go the same way - the road to Wembley is all part of the early round appeal otherwise it just becomes a glorified county cup that no manager chasing promotion or staving off relegation wants to bother with.
Stick with it, move seats next year!
There were a few neutrals in the ascot fans area too. Myself included. I enjoyed the two games in a day, but wish it was a bit more attacking. Also food at wembley needs me to remortgage.
The thing is these events have to be planned many months in advance so they have no idea who's going to be playing. Imagine Southend playing Oldham or Wrexham vs Chesterfield, they could easily bring 70,000 (also the London clubs such as Barnet on their day if fans don't have to travel). So if you played it say at Villa park there would be also lots and lots of complaints fans couldn't get tickets. Also the FA own Wembley and if they had the game somewhere else the FA would have to pay for that stadium at the same time as having their own stadium empty and their own staff idle.
I totally agree with finding a smaller stadium for the non-league finals. Villa Park would have been able to fit the fans in most of the past seasons and is in a more central location that would be fairer on Northern fans. You also don't have to pay so much for parking and the emissions charge, which cost me more than my actual ticket to the Non-league playoff.
I went to Villa Park to watch Canvey Island in the FA Trophy final a long time ago and I think it's a good compromise. Its relatively central and is a small enough big stadium
iirc i went to watch tamworth at villa park in the fa trophy final some time ago, was a really good experience
nobody gives a shit about villa park though. Players and fans will want the opportunity to go to wembley. Fuck the neutrals it isn't about them
As a Macclesfield FC fan who was at a Finals day (and lost) fully agree pack a smaller stadium out. Get yourself to MacclesfIeld FC as well a genuine non league legend of a club.
I certainly need to!
We were sat in 248, small world. It's a shame the games were so poor, it was quite nice being in the Club Wembley seats on a budget though!
Head over to Scandinavia during the summer for some fooooootball.
Completely agree, I went as a Gateshead fan and I just think it was far too big and took away the atmosphere
Any football shirt content coming up? Love those vids - will take more uploads of owt tho!
tbh i think Villa Park should be the host of non-league finals - more central to be fairer on the northern teams and smaller than wembley so the fans feel more connected
Had the pleasure of going to Wembley 4 times in my life to watch Wrexham, the only 4 times we've ever played at Wembley in fact! Shame we lost 3/4 though, but we always made a day of it down in London. Losing the FA Trophy final to North Ferriby was a new low for me though haha
Should be in the middle of the country! Villa Park or something
I barely wanted to travel to Wembley when Villa got to 2 play offs and a carabao in recent years. Garbage place, too far, overpriced and souless.
Went to this myself…it was poor on the pitch, but off the pitch in the lower seats 3 bars open between 4k fans…made it even worse. Woeful from Wembley
It's a shame that it didn't live up to your expectations, but I think for the players it would still be a once-in-a-lifetime experience getting to play at Wembley and for the fans seeing their team there, even if the game wasn't great, would be pretty special. I'm just a little unsure about the title of your video - calling it the "worst day at the football ever", even though that's what it was for you, seems like it could put people off non-league and doesn't really say anything about how much both teams would have put in to get there. Cheers for the video though, and hope you were a lot more happy with the Spurs result yesterday!!!
can't believe you met the two darlo legends adam and jakob !!!!!!
There’s only one Trevor with the leather… Trevor with the leather
Can’t say much for the ascot game as I didn’t see it but for our game, it wasn’t a classic and the game felt Asif both teams didn’t want to take a risk and cost their team the game. Only thing that will stick with us fans is the goal and lifting the trophy and that’s what matters to us. For a club like ours to have never visited Wembley in over 100 years and to then visit it twice in 7 years just doesn’t feel real but it’s what us as fans dream of.
As a Gateshead fc fan i was gutted about the result but was a very long day to.
Blackburn Rovers are the only current team to win 3 FA Cups in a row.
I think Everton's new stadium will be a great place for it.
Didnt go Luton vs Cov?
I can agree that the games wernt the best but the reason you didn't have a great time is because you went in a Neutral zone, i went down for fun, by myself, and sat in the Halifax end and it was great, to kill the waits in between the games, all that was needed was a chat with some Halifax fans and then during the games you could get on it with them instead of doing what you did and sit by yourself
I’m not sure the comment about the Phoenix sides is correct. Hornchurch and Hereford faced each other the other year
Smivadee! What a man!
Think you chose the wrong year for your first Non League Finals Day. Both games were poor plus all 4 teams taking part weren’t that well supported compared to the previous 2 times I’ve been. Didn’t find the break that bad as you have the celebrations of the first game and the warm up for the next game.
coys lets go smiv
I've genuinely told everyone about Beer52, and ordered one myself 😅
Love the vids smiv hope one day I see a video about my club on here :)
Bolton wanderers by the way
Must admit Smiv, absolutely love everything you do but a bit disappointed with this video. The wait between games is necessary (have to allow for the potential ET/pens, as well as trophy lift and warm up for game 2). I was there myself and I get the games weren’t fantastic, but you missed the first 30 of the first and decided to watch more of the second on a TV outside- at what point is it not even worth going? NLFD fills the stadium out a little more for both finals, gives teams a day out at Wembley they deserve, don’t think that should be taken away
Nice vlog there
I was at Wembley as a neutral sat in with the ascot fans who were great. But it was the 2 worst games of football I have seen this season out of the 51 games watched (still didn’t see a 0-0). I think it’s a dream for any footballer to play at Wembley so get it being there but The FA need to do something about a couple of things 1, sort out the food and drink and 2, try and put some sort of entertainment between the games maybe a penalty shoot out 5 kids from each of the 4 teams in f some up and coming musical artists from each of the teams home town. But overall I agree the worst games of football this season. The worst non league finals day experience I’ve had
I was at this game and was there last year when Newport won the thing, dont agree with having it at a smaller atadium at all. Gives the players and the small towns an opportunity to have the spotlight on them and feel as big as everyone else. Last year the attendance was much much higher, hard to expect a big following from two Northern clubs, but last year Wrexham sold out and Bromley still won. Its exactly what it should be and its great for small teams.
Great day of football normally but really poor standard on that day
Where is the Horsham on the road!!
Coming 👀
cracking smiv
Cheers Dylan!
Villa Park, honestly.
Bromley v Wrexham last year was lots better. Very big crowd.
Yeah for sure!
the FA have a habit of making football dull and they will continue to
Nah, not having it, Smiv. Worst day at the footie ever? Come off it. Club Wembley is for neutrals anyway, so what were you expecting, the Dortmund Wall?
No way you’re defending that atmosphere
@OPTIC23100 There's far worse days at the footie in my experience. Travelling 300 miles midweek to find the match cancelled. Getting piss-soaked on an open terrace watching my team lose to a last minute penalty. Being pelted with bricks and coins leaving Old Trafford while the police did nothing. Getting kicked out of a ground because the bloke next to me chucked a plastic bottle. So 4 non-league teams didn't generate Boca-River Plate fireworks and that's the worst day ever at the football?
It doesn't make sense to always be late
Chips init 😂
The chicken was better
I dunno Wembley is just cavernous. It seats 90k. You don't have to go too small, but Emirates, Spurs, the Olympic Stadium all seat 50k+ and have that big match feeling but would feel a lot more filled up if 27-40k.
For Example my College, Ithaca, competes at the D3 level in Gridiron College football (ground quality is about Conference North level) . As we had a lot of Alumni (myself included) in the greater NYC area the college decided to go for the D3 attendance record at Metlife Stadium which seats 82k for our schools rivalry (derby) game. While we broke the record with 45K+ and had a blast I have to admit it felt pretty empty similar to what was here. It just felt half full. 4 years later we tried it again but this time went to Yankee Stadium, which seat 50k for football. We drew less, only 40k, but the atmosphere was light years better due to the smaller size and ground feeling more full.
TLDR I think these lower league trophies would be far better served at one of the smaller stadiums in London.
Beer52 isn’t easy to cancel 😂
I Twitter DM’d you a much more exciting cup final Smiv! 😅
Also… nose cam 🤣🤣
Mum I made it 🤝
The should've held the game in Fulham.
There’s an idea!
Bosh
Einfach Preußen Münster Sticker
Wembley is a awful stadium
dull.
Wrexham are massive
Cocks?….Dicks?…….Wankers?
Games Gone
So so gone