DO you remember the time we lost at home to Farnborough in the FA Cup missing out on a plum home draw with Arsenal? Or the Remembrance Sunday game at Hornchurch when we were made to look silly by a tiny non league club? Or, more recently, that night in Hinckley that nearly finished the club off? We have some pretty disastrous memories of the FA Cup which almost justified the fortune we enjoyed when being the lucky loser in ’99.

The FA Cup seems to have elicited more what ifs during the years I’ve followed Darlo than anything else. What if John Burridge had been six inches taller to save Rochdale’s winner and earn us a trip to Anfield? What if we’d beaten South Shields on Saturday? With each year that we don’t have at least a mini run in the FA Cup, it feels like the apparent damage it causes to the club grows exponentially. This year, a cup run was going to sort out the seats. In fact, it was going to be a panacea for all our ills.

The reality is for a club below the National League, making the first round of the FA Cup where the difference-making money really starts to build up is like an Alaskan salmon first of all getting past all of the trawler out at sea before avoiding the bears, wolves and eagles up river. It’s tough. Some clubs make it look easy and we envy them but the reality is it’s a big ask to get through three rounds of cup football.

Saturday’s defeat to South Shields meant so much more than just another underwhelming cup cameo. Saturday saw us sink to a new low that seemed almost unimaginable after ten days of the season. Back in the good days, we looked like we had the stoicism to deal with the best sides in the division away from home. Meanwhile, we had the firepower to deal with the poor clubs at home. It’s been steadily downhill since.

We were awful. There wasn’t a silver lining. Or was there? Since those heady first four games of the season, our performances had raised questions of a number of players that until post-game Saturday hadn’t been answered. How many times can defenders fail to perform the basic functions of their role? How many times can a misplaced ten-yard pass be excused? How many times does a winger get away with not getting past his man and delivering a cross? Seemingly, Saturday was the answer for both fans and management.

The first half of Martin Gray’s post-match interview was exactly what I wanted to hear. There was no pulling of the punches. No lame excuses to let off culpable players. Great! Then, teed up by Ray Simpson in a way Mark Beck can only dream of, Martin Gray got to talk about the need for more resources. Heaven forbid we might already be one of the best funded clubs in the division, more is apparently required.

Clearly, there are players at the club who are either not good enough or just not willing to put in the work. Let’s get them moved on. If we can’t move them on due to contractual issues, then the ball is back in Martin Gray’s court. Providing further funds to paper over poor recruitment (and retention) is not the solution for our club at this time. All involved need to start upping their game and be more accountable for what goes on when they cross the line in our black and white shirts, starting with Boston this Saturday. They owe us a performance and the owe us to get our season back on track. Let’s hope that they have heeded the stinging words of Gray and Phil Turnbull and sort it out.