Wolfcastle

Would have preferred them to get a home win out the system before hand for sure.

The massive decline was as a result of finishing 5th not to finishing 5th. It caused everything that followed that lead to that decline. Which was even bigger than feared at the time. Its understandably hard to have a good attitude in such circumstanes and go 'oh well'. It wasn't a commentary on 'only finishing 5th' so much as on the complete fuck up that was likely to be critical to the club. The half that didn't boo Robert off booed Viana on in response,

Nice thought. Suppose its either the CL or something we'll be at least one of the favourites to win.

You Pies love justice

Man United under Ferguson did a lap of honour in 05 or 06 in a third full Old Trafford. Was hardly Ferguson out.

There was two games to go, 5th or CL had not been confirmed. The fans that were disappointed were right to be because missing out on the CL (through stupid decisions - Lua-Lua, playing Arsenal 46hours after a CL game for TV money, only signing Bowyer) caused a massive decline at the club. It wasn't just finishing 5th, it was with Abramovich on the scene squandering our seat at the top table. I dunno if there was 5000 there, I left, but I was one of the 35,000 that stayed behind after the horrible 00/01 so I don't how that gets squared.

Had the same doubts in 92 with three games to go until the end of the season fighting relegation to the third as I do now, being fair weather as fuck.

No chance. He doesn't even often play well nevermind live up to the hype

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Cant judge on today but how often does he live up to the expectancy placed on him when he's out?

Speaking of which, similar scenario to today, we lost at Sheffield United, deservedly so, probably the worst performance under Keegan. People were allowed to acknowledge the fact, would have been delusional to think anything else, without being attacked as not being supportive or delighted with the season overall.

That, with the same points, is classed as 'bed wetting' before the fact but the opposite of it afterwards. Think the concept needs to be better defined.

More measured would just be to accept that whatever position a team is in fans always have and always will have justifiable doubts.

We battered you at home more than they battered you at home in fairness.

Even if things worked/work out it was totally reasonable for folk to be unsure of things and urge caution because far weirder things have happened in football than NUFC dropping good points. Going to have to beat Brighton most likely and always had that down as a draw so cant welch on that now, so its probably down to the wire.

Poor game. Poor performance. Poor refereeing. Poor result. Poor luck. More not less pressure. Weather's good though.

Dreading the last 10' if it stays like this. Radabe off the bar vibes

Think it was open season on NUFC at the time, which I wasn't against with the owner and feel that away shirt was much maligned still think that piece of garbage under Dalglish in 97/98 is the most putrid thing I've ever seen - the shirt that is, not what he did to Keegan's team

I know. They've both got different ends of the stadium in Italy anyway so its not even as compliacted as Palace v Wimbledon at Selhurst was. When one's at home they get the home dressing room and the other teams allocation is in their 'Gallowgate'. Still don't get it, every stadium has three dressing rooms for the teams and refs.

The form we went down in under Rafa was better than the form we finished 2nd in under Keegan.

That's pretty much me too. Its more a case of not wanting to count my chickens and tempt fate when it comes to NUFC. And that colliding with people that feel different and vice-versa. One's sides percieved hubris bothers the other and the other sides doubting the other. Whilst seeing potential pit-falls in any game - a debut, new manager, return from injury, good record against, bad record against is actually often a sign that logically (on the field) I feel were covered.

Never heard of that but also don't understand why they'd need three.

Remember when Zamorano was 8+1 or something? *yes I see clearly people do. Recoba appreciated the applause for his goal and said he'd had it once before for Uruguay at Peru.

Think its the straight knock-out versus league format is a factor. No immediacy with the CL format (all formats now - at least one should be a knock-out) Metz, Dinamo Zagreb in the 90s all sold out - and Roma brought a fair wedge. Then so did Kiev and PSV in the CL. Maybe its more that there was no novelty to Europe for a lot of these clubs, in it every year and more so for Italian and Spanish sides who were a big game for others but not vice-versa.

Re the CL gates. You had to apply for the tickets you wanted all at once and it was very expensive, in fact the first time I realised how expensive it all got just seeing season tickets as a tax. Putting in for an away game for me meant blowing off one of the home games. Very few teams sold out their games back then - that includes Liverpool, Rangers, both Milan's, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus and Barcelona.* There's no other explanation as to why Rangers would get 45,000 against Motherwell at the weekend and 33,000 against Dortmund in the CL. *Liverpool's first game in the Champions League was 30,000 (less than what they got for Grimsby a month later - though they often got really poor cup gates even when they were dominant) - they only sold out twice in eight home games.

We've been to both them too (albeit 19years (doesn't feel like it) in one case)