Ben Herd / Ben Herd / 14 May 2009 / Leave a comment " class="free-bet-btn" rel="external" onclick="javascript: pageTracker._trackPageview('/G4/inline-freebet');" target="_blank">Free Bet

Shrewsbury's right-back on penalty drama, writing for betting.betfair.com and throwing your toys out of the pram at being substituted.

Wow! We're off to Wembley for the second time in three years.

After a real emotional day at Gigg Lane on Sunday we managed to beat Bury on penalties. Sometimes in football you just get a feeling for something, like it's been pre-ordained, and that's exactly the feeling that I had before Sunday's game.

In the last few weeks we have had a psychologist pay us a few visits and, from these sessions, I feel there is a mutual feeling among the players that we can really achieve something together.

If you look back over the last few weeks it really seems to suit us when we leave things to the last moment and have to pull something out of the bag so to speak; for example the way we needed an away win at Rotherham or the way Dagenham away was also a must win match with the chance to leap-frog them into the Play-Offs. And then, crucially, on Sunday being 1-0 down against a decent Bury side we score in the 88th minute to give us a lifeline then nick it on penalties!

I was on the bench on Sunday and I can honestly say that the physio and I were having kittens between us - at some stages we couldn't even look. Grant Holt was the same when he came off. It was the most nervous I have ever been at a football match. Watching is 100 times worse than playing as you feel so helpless. How Bury didn't nick at least one goal I'll never now but what I do know is that our keeper had the game of his life and was absolutely sensational - I'm sure our fans will now give him hero status!

Obviously now the season has been extended by two weeks for our 49th league game of the season at the new Wembley, this is also a bit of a blessing for me because I get to knock a couple more articles out to bore the pants off you!

In all seriousness, I have really enjoyed penning these articles on a weekly basis and I have actually really thrived on developing a new skill; such things as deadlines are a bit of a throw-back to my school days as we don't tend to get too many in football.

One person who this project has pleased is my Mum, who is glad I did actually learn something at the good school she sent me to. I would also like to thank Betting.Betfair.com for the opportunity to do this and my missus for putting up with me constantly nagging her to proof-read my articles before I submit them! Jesus, anyone would think I'd just collected an Oscar or something given all my "thank-yous".

If anything, it has given me something to concentrate on away from the game which has been a good thing. I also now watch games slightly more objectively, you could say more studiously. As for a career in journalism, who knows? It's not something I'm actively seeking to do but you never know, I suppose. If Jamie Redknapp ever gets tired of talking on Sky then, which I doubt, that's one job I wouldn't mind!

One player who I doubt will be looking for a career in journalism when he does hang up his boots is Cristiano Ronaldo, although he would be suited to play the villain in a panto once a year! What was his hissy fit all about when he was subbed off in the Manchester derby? For me it shows a complete lack of respect to his manager and especially the player who is coming on for him.

In my opinion if he was that unhappy about being dragged off then he should speak to Fergie in private, not cause a tantrum. Call me cynical but his behaviour might suggest that he is trying to rock the boat and engineer that "dream move" to Real Madrid.

Maybe I'm being slightly harsh, or perhaps even a little hypocritical, because if I cast my mind back to when I first joined Shrewsbury I got dragged off at half-time away at Mansfiled when we were losing 1-0, I threw my boot on the floor in anger and my manager at the time, Gary Peters, absolutely ripped my head off!

That was a lesson for me to contain my emotions. Just in case you're wondering, we went on to lose 4-0....good decision Gaffer to bring me off! In all seriousness though, players in the lower leagues can't really afford to throw a tantrum because: a) You will simply lose your place in the team and b) one of the senior lads would probably knock your block off!

Was it just me or did Phil Brown constantly have a bit of a smugness about him when Hull were at the dizzy heights of fourth in the league?

I don't want to lay into the perma-tanned Hull boss too much but things have gone a little bit south in recent months and now Brown doesn't quite have the same charm and charisma as back in October when he is faced with the media.

I know one of the lads has got Hull to go down at [5.0] and, if you look at their two remaining fixtures, then it is difficult to see where they are going to get a result so he's in a pretty good position.

Although in saying that, they do face Man United at home on the final day of the season, and who knows what kind of side Fergie will field if they are already the Premier League winners, with the Champions League game just around the corner?

Hull have done well just to take their Premier League survival down to the last game of the season but this weekend they come up against a Bolton side who have nothing to play for and, with fellow relegation fodder Newcastle at home to Fulham, I feel that they may need to nick something.

So lay Bolton at [2.28]. I fancy this being a low-scoring affair; Get on Under 2.5 goals at [1.83] - a price that reflects this - and for my final tip, I would plump for 0-0 at Halftime at [2.42].