SteV

A related (albeit somewhat self-indulgent) story. If anyone can remember the Black n White magazine that came out in the mid-90’s, well they ran a fantasy football competition (the precursor to FPL for any youngsters) which 15 year old me won for season 96/97 (largely thanks to inspired late season subs of Pav, Robbie Elliot and Dean Sturridge if memory serves). Anyway the prize was two ST’s for the 97/98 season. As I didn’t have ST’s at the time and only really attended matches occasionally this was obviously a tremendous prize. Subsequently had to attend SJP with my dad for the photoshoot for the magazine and met the editor (I think), a guy called Mark Gillespie (obv not that one). Everything went great with the ST’s, apart from us being piss poor under Dalglish and Shearer being injured, but we bought CL tickets and obviously was at the Barca game. FA cup came round and we were able to buy our seats no probs. Reach the semi final against Sheff Utd at Old Trafford and we applied for tickets with a neighbour who also had a ST with his son. As I remember you had to apply for away tickets via a particular slip from a little booklet you got with your ST, and post them off, so we posted all for applications off together. Got word back that two had been successful and two hadn’t, but there seemed to be some confusion over which was which. Anyway, my neighbour said they were the successful ones, and they went, although it transpired that it should have been us as the money got taken from my dad. I think it was all probably a genuine mix-up and my dad probably didn’t want to have an argument about it, so just let them go. Obviously get to final and apply for tickets again (can’t remember if we did it with the neighbour again or not). After applying we get a phone call one day from this Mark Gillespie, saying sorry but the terms and conditions of winning the ST didn’t allow us to buy cup tickets. Obviously my dad was like, wtf are you talking about we’ve been buying them all season, but this twat clearly wanted them for himself, or someone he knew, and managed to pull enough strings to get them diverted to him. So I suppose the moral of the story is that cup final tickets will always bring out the worst in people.

Chelsea fans coming across tremendously in this protest…

I wouldn’t leave the seat empty mate, well unless you scan their ticket at the turnstile as, as I suspect going forward they’ll be looking at using the scan data to determine if people have actually turned up, and will probably use it against you if you haven’t. Anyway, always easy enough to find a buyer for any spares on here, and very straightforward to pass on unless they improve the tech around them.

Did not expect to be referencing these teams in this thread mind. *although I’ve no doubt the mackems ‘would give them a game’ (™️RTG) in every single instance.

That can’t be right on Spain, surely? In the CL, rather than just Europe maybe? Off the top of my head I’d go: Barca Real Atleti Bilbao Villareal Betis Sociedad Mallorca Valencia Deportivo Celta Vigo

I thought he was much more competitive aerially than we have seen from him previously. So he should be to be honest, my mate met him recently when his kid was playing against his younger brother and he said he is a bit of a monster physically when you see him close up.

Yeah, based on the video. I think he just brings his arm round to push him back to stop him running beyond him, but gets him in the face so it looks like a slap. Just randomly slapping him would have been an incredibly bizarre thing to have done.

If we make the FA Cup semi then our home game against Ipswich would be moved, so that would likely be one of our last games.

No one else think he’s just handing him off to stop him doing a give and go on him, but happens to catch him in the face?

Understand the frustration but telling people making a decision that is liable to cost one and half billion pound to ‘just get on with it, man’, feels a bit silly.

They’ll probably peddle Ramsey in that instance with him being ‘pua profit’.

https://x.com/utilitafootball/status/1894054825265873136?s=46&t=OQLMckSuatbpqWF13Al4mQ

Loads probably, but that’s fair enough IMO.

Just to clarify, it would take a fairly ridiculous set of results from here on in for England NOT to get one of the extra CL places.

It is

Looking forward to the follow up opinion piece in The Guardian entitled ‘Are Saudi Arabia Using Their Wealth To Buy The Moral Consciousness Of The Next Generation?’

I kinda admire your commitment to this, but it is utterly pointless expecting a major PL club revert back to a situation where people are sleeping outside the stadium to queue up to get in. For a start I very much doubt the local SAG (or whoever the fuck does all the safety box ticking these days) would allow it. The club would have to policing the queue for however long, so that’s hardly something they’d be keen on. Having said that, maybe a new stadium would allow something of this ilk but on a much, much smaller scale to what you’ve outlined.

You’ve got to mix it up though. You can’t just go down the middle all the time or after the first few the keepers will just start standing still. Next pen Isak gets he needs to drop the stutter-step. Keeper will be expecting it so won’t go early. Run up and side foot it in the corner. Keeper won’t react in time. Job’s a good un.

Stuart Pearce was in Wings yesterday.

Today was for your grandad @Ghandis Flip-Flop 👊

I think we can play one way at Anfield (e.g Arsenal) and another way in the final. Until today these had looked susceptible. Can’t dispute great win today. Hope they are as focussed for PSG…

Everyone involved would settle for a point.

Whilst I’m not gonna dispute any of that, if you think that’s the thought process of the majority of the youth in our fanbase when they tell Forest they are scabs, I think you’re probably giving too much credit to how far genuine local historical knowledge filters down. And that’s not even a dig at the youngsters, they’re just going to the match and joining in what they’ve heard, most likely fairly ignorant of the origins of it. But that’s OK. Better than them just being on their phones…

Yes, so for you it’s probably understandable. But when there’s a couple of 17 year old Newcastle fans telling some 17 year old Forest fans they are ‘scabs’, it’s not quite the same. I should point out I’m not necessarily against generational vendetta-holding by any set of fans. To quote our antipodean friend, “it’s who we are, mate”.

And there is nothing that football fans do better than holding a vendetta against opposing fans for something than happened a generation ago, often before they were born.