Remembering a good night and hoping for more!

Sitting here as I do in my lunch break the events of the last few weeks have been pretty surreal. Firstly all the Gay Meadow leaving stuff, followed by play offs and Gay Meadow leaving stuff (2). Then of course Friday night. National Hockey Stadium. Getting to Wembley. Bloody Hell!

It has taken me a couple of days for it all to sink if I'm honest. The reality is seeing the programme cover today with Andy Cooke (a total Shrewsbury leg end!) there with the Arch (almost put Twin Towers then) behind. Do you remember the poor programme cover they did in 1996? It looked like a drawn version of Dominic Cork and Gary Stevens!

Since about 10 o'clock on Friday the world has been a very dream like place! I've listened to the radio, read the papers, and seen the goals. Watched the Cup Final, watched the Conference Final. And you get this unbelievable feeling. Actually, next week guys, we are going to be there!

So here's the story of one long night, and my thoughts on Saturday to come.

I finished work early and dashed back to Salop. Still didn't get back until 3.15 and I hadn't got changed yet. Luckily one of the chaps was late so I still had time to board the 'Lenny Bus' having had a pint. There again the four bottles of real ale I still had in my possession where there to be drunk on the journey, so it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

We left Shrewsbury at just after 4. The sun beating down as we left the Crown Abbey Foregate. We did wonder actually if time wise we would be pushing it. But despite a very desperate pit stop at Corley Services (step forward Duncan Edwards), the toll road, and a pretty clear M1 saw us at the plastic town that is MK just before 6.

Milton Keynes is definitely a weird place. I've passed through it a few times, but here you were in this big open plan town of many buildings and no people. It didn't really have a soul like Shrewsbury does. The Wetherspoons was big, modern and due to the toilets leaking, wet! The banter was loud, and the singing intense, but as the evening wore on, every ones attention turned to the match, and could Town really do it?

The ground itself wasn't as bad as I thought. Yes, we were in an open end, but the view was good. Close to the pitch one row up from the front. Bro and me joined the 1200 'others' hoping, praying for a win!

The atmosphere for such an open ground was brilliant. And Town fans were easily out singing the 'Dongs'. The game itself was tight and cagey. GP had gone with LFW and Symes upfront, and seemed to be putting themselves about a bit. MK was hardly causing us any really problems, and as half time came, everyone was quite happy with how it was going!

Then came the biggest own goal in footballing history. We will truly never know why instead of playing records or offering loads of stadium announcements MK got some young lady to sing 'Hey Jude'. It was of course for Jude Stirling their long throwing player, but he of course wouldn't hear it as he was in the dressing room.

Anyway she belted this song out pretty poorly it has to be said recounting McCartney's tale of Jude not letting anyone down, and then came the chorus, and for some reason, everyone just sung it out, and believed.

I always remember attending the Play off Final in 2003. Lincoln v Bournemouth. I was in a pub in Cardiff with Manda and mates, wearing my Town shirt (even though we had just been relegated) and their fans started singing this 'Nah nah nah na na nah, na na nah City!' The whole pub must have sung it for twenty minutes.

And so it came to pass with us. The rest of half time the Town fans sang one of the Beatles best choruses, and everyone just really believed. I can still here that song in my head, and what it meant, what it felt like, and when the lads came out, this was business!

The second half was probably the most tense 45 minutes (sorry 50) I've ever watched. When the brake through came I was behind the goal that Andy Cooke stuck it in. So sweetly, and then pandemonium. People on the pitch. Me and bro hugging, and going ballistic. And then the realisation that we were now just over half an hour away from Wembley. The new Wembley. The Play Off Final at the New Wembley, and I just stood with my hands clasping my face, and tears flowing down from my eyes.

I kept looking at the clocking, just running it down. Singing, chanting, hoping, praying. And then it came. Their equaliser. Their hops, and dreams. And I just stood there numb. Had our chance gone? The Gloucester Shrews turned to me with a look of shear disappointment. One said 'it's Swindon all over again'. I nodded. Surely not. But Town would probably go down fighting, a honourable defeat, and anyway next season we're in a new ground and all that. And then they start singing 'your not singing anymore' and I just raise the middle finger of my right hand against these plastic franchise football fans, and see Symes get into space and look up and there's Cooke in acres and if Symes passes, and he has, Cooke's in here, and I know that he's going to hit it against the keepers legs and we'll get a corner and all, and then the ball nestles in the net???YEEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then me and bro are hugging each other, three people behind, two people in front, and this is now incredible, and there's like 15 to go now, and again I'm in tears, and going 'I cant believe this. Can't believe this'. And watch on and chant and sing, and the clock is at 79 now. 80 now, come on 80 mins 30 secs, 81 mins, and it goes on and on. And then the board goes up, and 4 minutes to go and it's like don't lose it now. And then they get a free kick, and you just know that's its Shrewsbury Town this is the point in years to come on Meadow Memories Two, that they'll talk to a very old Gary Peters and he'll say 'that was when we lost it' and the ball hits the wall comes back to their player who hits it, and it seems from where we are that it's been cleared (actually it hit a post). Then they get a corner and I look at my watch and it's time and then some, and the ball bobbles about in the penalty area a la Grimsby and you know if they score know they will be on such an up in extra time, with us being so close, and the balls cleared and you know then there is no time for them to comeback, and eventually the whistle goes, and tears run down my cheeks, and I stand there and cant believe it!

Even the fact that about 2,000 MK Dons fans are running towards us and the police horses are on doesn't faze me. We are going to Wembley. How many times have I sung that song and actually believed it? And next Saturday I'll be going to Wembley, and it's amazing. I see people I've stood with for years watching Town. We embrace and I think back to when I've stood with these people on cold terraces on wet nights all over the country and I just so glad at this moment I'm here to experience this with them.

My Mum and Dad ring us. We're speechless. Mum has been listening on the radio. Dad has just got back from his dialysis. They both have tears in there eyes they tell me. Bro texts his girlfriend. Almost nine months pregnant. He asks her 'can I go to Wembley?' She says 'only if you marry me?'. Mark's phone runs out of battery, so I take a picture of Mark on one knee pretending to propose as if she was there. I send the picture on via my phone. I don't want to leave this place. I want to sit for a while, just take it all in. My brother getting engaged hasn't really registered. The players come out, and are chucking shirts at the fans. We sing. We chant, we applaud. The MK Dons announcer obviously has an early start in the morning as he announces 'can the Shrewsbury team please leave the pitch, and the Shrewsbury fans go home!'

Eventually it's time to go. Say goodbye to bro. And walk round to the minibus. Here Bizzy, Gricey, Belly, H, Duncan, and Adam are going ballistic. I join in. It's amazing.

We leave the ground to a barrage of abuse from a Mum, Dad and Daughter. I didn't exactly here what they said but obviously they were upset. I didn't care. Really gracious in defeat aren't you!

Lenny gets the flags out of the van either side from the windows. The journey home is amazing. We didn't stop, but I've heard tales of players and fans celebrating at Watford Gap and Corley. We just wanted to get back home and celebrate.

And we headed to the Crown Abbey Foregate. And swapped tales with Salopians watching at home, and we saw the goals again, and celebrated again, and just couldn't quite believe it.

So of the gang come in from watching it at home. 'Get your arse up here' was my text to them. More beer drank!

We hear that the coach is getting close to Shrewsbury. We stand on 'Telford's Highway' that bisected the beautiful Shrewsbury Abbey. Maybe he did it for moments like this?

Pete Downward comes in the pub. Happy ecstatic. The picture of him on the back of the Star next day says it all. As does the voices of Stu Dunn, and tales of Andy Davies heard later. Town fans through and through.

I left at 2 a.m. and walked home. I wanted some time to myself. Collect my thoughts, and just dream. Well, in a minute I'd drive to Droitwich. I didn't pinch myself because hey, I'd wake up. I wanted this moment to last forever!

I got home at 3. I made myself ham toasties. Put Sky News on and watched the goals again. I went to bed at 4.

I woke up in the morning. Was it real! Mum came in with a big smile or her face, and we talked about last night. Dad came in later too. Then I put on Radio Shropshire, listening to Eric Smith, and I just had to ring up. I heard Dave Matthias talking about it all, and then it was my turn, and in my drunken, happy, morning state I recalled everything. Then I went to sleep until midday!

Since then it's been draining excitement. I've been struggling to shake off a cold for a few weeks, and I think Saturday night everything just came to ahead, so I left Wynnies after watching the Cup Final, after telling more tales of joy, and went to bed. And there I stayed until very late Sunday morning, with a big smile on my face.

Tickets weren't an issue so I thought. Getting information was hard. I was a 'nine to five' webwatcher, Monday to Friday. Phone calls etc, brought the news about ticket sales. I was planning to go down Sunday, and get them. Who wanted to go out of our lot? Dad, Mum, Bro, Little Dave?

And of course I wanted to be with my mates. The '144' Blue and Amber Brigade were reporting for duty behind the goal, but did I want to sit there? I love watching football from the side, but after Milton Keynes?

In the end the boy Wynnie put on his organising cap, knocks us all into line. I don't know what we'd do without him at times, because us lot couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery. So we are in block 542. Up in the gods. But who cares. There are a group of us up there, and we will be the upper extension of the Blue and Amber Massif. Get ready for the noise Brizzle Ruvers!

And so today is Wednesday and in three days time, I'll be there. We'll be there. Enjoy every second, every minute. Take it all in, because as at Stoke, the day will go so quick.

Thank you to all the staff at the club for their hard work this week. Thanks to the board for believing in the club even when we were crap. Thanks to the team and Gary for getting us their.

Sing 'Hey Jude' a lot. Salop and the rest. Lets get behind em!

Now let's go there and win this time! Town fans. B E L I E V E!

Blue, Amber, Red and Black always

Ade Plimmer

Hey Jude - Lennon /McCartney - Additional Salopian by Plimmer

Hey, Town, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let us into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

Hey, Town, don't be afraid
You were made to go out and go up!
The minute you let us under your skin
Then you begin to make it better.

And any time you feel the pain, hey, Town, refrain
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders
Well don't you know that its a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder

Hey, Town! Don't let us down
You have found us, now go and go up!
Remember, to let us into your heart
Then you can start to make it better.

So let it out and let it in, hey, Town, begin
You're waiting for someone to perform with
And don't you know that it's just you, hey, Town,
You'll do, the movement you need is on your shoulder

Hey, Town, don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let us into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

Nah, nah, nah, na na na nah

Na, na nah, Shrewsbury

(Repeat chorus all day long!)