When Donald Trump tried, and failed, to repeal Obamacare, he found it largely impossible to do. The problem was that the bill was structured like a tower of building blocks. If you took one from the top, it just produced a slightly less tall tower, if you took one from the bottom the tower would fall down completely. As a result, repealing the bill was too radical for some, not radical enough for others. Brilliant.
Sunday’s EFL Trophy Final to some a non-event, to others a low priority, but it might actually be the building block which might define the season. What does that do to your moral compass?
After Saturday’s non-event against Northampton, the game against Bury threatened to be a peculiar one. Five days before Wembley and with only an outside chance of the play-offs, it was difficult to predict which team would play let alone how they would react. Why throw yourself into challenges and risk missing Sunday? Why play your game changers when you need them fresh for the big stage? As our ninth game of the month, fatigue was always likely to be a problem.
Certainly the crowd seemed to take the week off with it being the lowest we've seen in over a year. The atmosphere was sleepy, those who did turn up seemed to be there out of a sense of duty rather than anything.
Bury came off the back of some solid form, avoiding relegation is the only thing they have to play for. With some application and a bit of organisation, they could have picked us off, which would have left us further adrift of the play-offs and with doubts going into Wembley.
However, they contrived to put on a display as inept as any team we've played this season. If this was an illustration of their ability they would struggle in League 2. Passes went astray, shots ballooned into the night’s sky, organisationally they were hopeless and their discipline was completely absent.
It was a non contest as we cut them to ribbons. If we'd scored seven it wouldn't have been a surprise. It was the perfect pre-Wembley fillip, an opportunity for those who have struggled with form and fatigue to gain a bit of confidence. But, with results going our way we also suddenly found ourselves just four points off the play-offs.
I'm not quite sure how; form this month has been pretty moderate. Two games in a week has looked too much for our small squad. But somehow we've negotiated our cluttered agenda and come out the other side with the season in tact.
So, to the weekend and what seemed like the least important game of the season might just be the most important. Ultimately, it's a play in two parts; first, Saturday’s results have to go our way. If by 4.45pm we’re still within sight of the top 6, then the whole perspective on the season changes. Part two is Sunday; firstly, because it will get the distraction of Wembley out the way, but also the objectives for the season become clearer – either the play-offs are on or they’re not. If we win on Sunday, that might just give us the boost we need to propel us through the final stages of the season. Suddenly what might be the most innocuous building block of the season becomes critical to its success.
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