Off The Post Blog: How do you deal with a 7-1 defeat at home?
By Luke Ramsden
It's a very small and exclusive section of the football community who can say they were there to witness their beloved team get torn apart 7-1 on home turf. It's even rarer that Halifax Town fans can share a kindred bond with fans of the Brazilian national team but on Saturday afternoon we shared that sinking feeling of horrible humiliation in being utterly humbled at home.
How do you begin to compartmentalise a 7-1 loss at home? A 7-1 loss at home is never a freak result. A 7-1 loss at home is usually a perfect storm binding an attacking team at peak strength on a particularly clinical day versus an opposition that's on the verge of cracking and visibly not mentally strong enough to deal with anything approaching adversity. Watching the 7-1 loss at home for FC Halifax Town against Cheltenham Town on Saturday afternoon at The Shay was in many ways even worse than it sounds.
The sub plot to this? Long standing Halifax boss Neil Aspin was relieved of his duties on September 17th and was replaced by former (albeit briefly) Oldham manager Darren Kelly two days prior to the game. The Northern Irishman was in the dugout but was at pains to make clear this was not his team.
If you haven't been paying close attention to this corner of West Yorkshire recently, the 2015-16 season so far for Halifax Town has been one kick in the gut after another. Just when the pain seems to relent and a chink of light appears, an even bigger roundhouse has landed and the idea of surviving seems further and further away. Sitting 23rd in The National League, positively thinking, the only way is up.
Town fans just have to pray this latest 7-1 reversal debacle is the bottom of the barrel and the fast talking, ambitious new gaffer (alongside wily Conference veteran Jim Harvey) will be the saviours that can turn this season around.
Focusing on the weekend's game is something we just want to forget about. Overrun and statuesque in midfield, lacking organisation and a leader at the back, zero ideas and service to the final third... the reasons are long and endless as to why this one will go down in the history books as one of the worst days in the new clubs history.
However, as Darren Kelly will put it - the slates will be wiped clean tonight at Altrincham. Away from The Shay and against a traditional non-league rival, it can't get worse (it just can't).
Miracles can't be expected overnight but the Shaymen faithful will want to see drive, commitment and some sense of co-ordination - attributes sadly missing from The Shay on Saturday from anyone in blue.
If you think you had it bad this weekend, spare a thought for the Shaymen. A 7-1 home loss is not something we wish to experience ever again.
Luke Ramsden has followed Halifax Town in both its incarnations for the last 15 years. He plans to write a musical one day about 'That Night In Garforth'. Follow @FCHalifaxTown for the unofficial fanfeed on FCHT.