Just to expand on that: I was told that during the final panel interviews all three candidates were set out a scenario about how an opposition team had set up, and were asked how they would respond. Apparently the other two candidates gave good answers. But Neal leapt up out of his seat, grabbed the pen and started illustrating all of his thoughts on the board. That was seen as a good thing. And I can kind of see how it can impress in an interview. But I immediately worried, thinking, "This sounds to me like someone who is most at home when they're thinking about how to stop another team playing rather than setting a positive approach for their own team." Which is possibly unfair: he was just reacting to the scenario that he was set, which sounds like it was itself a negative one. But, to some extent, I'd have preferred a manager who answered, "Fuck 'em: we'll be positive and look to cause them problems." (The best approach, of course, is probably somewhere between the two extremes.)

I can honestly say that I had my first doubts about Neal before his first match in charge when I heard about his interview performance. Sadly, my worries seem to have been well founded. :o/

Are the floodlights good enough for the TV companies Rob? If so it would be a likely one. BT have two or three (Saturday lunchtime and Monday included I think) and there are normally quite a few on the Sunday with BBC moving between them (but you get less money for that).

Personally on the awryness front it was the 2013-2014 season when we were so boring but managed to regularly have more possession than the opposition and yet always lose 1-0 until the climax of being 0-3 at high time to a truly awful Morecombe side on the final day. It was garbage.

Doesn't the BBC do Friday night games for the FAC first/second rounds?

"Shrewsbury v Salford City" for live TV, lol you clearly know nothing about how games are picked for live cup matches.

Morning all. Trebor - it was before Sutton

Was Sutton before or after Curzon Ashton? It all kind of merges into one in my mind. Although Curzon Ashton has turned into some sort of heroic achievement in the retelling, it's easy to forget how they completely outdid us for 80 minutes.

Leddrede's tag needs a little grey cloud over it :)

Eurgh Sutton, the beginning of the very very fucking long end of Ardley.

Given how we seem to repeat our mistakes, I suspect we will go to Haringey and play for a draw, having "bigged up" their artificial pitch in the meantime. If we survive that initial match, I reckon we'd beat them in a replay.

Add to that ,that our defending corners is worse than bostick level,could be a good game for TV

Plus you've picked some absolutely rascal matches there. They may like Salford City but away to Shrewsbury? Have a word.

We will smash Haringey

I'm normally a pessimist about us being a televised match but ours is the match headlined in every report I've seen so I'd be astonished if it isn't picked.

Ledd - ours is the only tie with top possible division v lowest possible division, and that too at the lower club home ground. It's a shoe in TV tie.

A win at Haringey would definitely give our season a lift. A bit saddening to think that that is the case.

Watch as we limp on with Ardley in the hope a win at Haringey gives our season a lift then get thumped at Doncaster.

Protests?

Ours is exactly the sort of romantic tie the BBC likes to prove it gives a shit about grassroots football. Community club in the First Round proper for the first time against woeful League strugglers in a homely ground. Sniff of an upset the cherry on the cake.

Rather it wasn’t shown on TV. If management team still in place we’d probably screw up the protests and look like muppets.

Not sure how many matches are shown live on TV but the most likely fixtures are: Hampton & Richmond Borough v Oldham Athletic, Port Vale v Sunderland, Shrewsbury v Salford City, Chippenham Town or Maidenhead United v Portsmouth and Aldershot Town v Bradford City.

Actually aren’t we unbeaten on 3G in the FA Cup? More than Leeds can say

Russ we’re shit on grass so maybe fake is our surface

Why do we need a ballot? With the way I've been told our crowds have fallen so much and with all those people on here who keep telling us they have given up going to matches, plus those who think it's a forgone result that we will embarrassingly lose we will be lucky to sell 375 tickets.