Hovagod

Was that Fulham game the one just before Xmas? Watched it from the back row of Level seven, surrounded by kids, and nothing at all happened whatsoever. Just one of those bleak, sad little match days that we had all become so accustomed to.

Exactly. ‘Breaking the wage structure’ is going to happen and it strikes me that this is the exact way it should. An internal figure achieving it completely on merit. It seems to fit in exactly with the careful and methodical approach we’re going with, and of course then makes it easier to justify when buying others.

Especially because a lot of the home supporters today would have been there as well and probably have their own horrific memories.

Feel like you’re trying to kid yourself a bit here, like all of your club was madly into getting rid of Gerrard and that can only mean brilliant appointments from here.

I’ve never ducked a challenged in my life and I won’t start now.

Trusty steed, we ride to VillaTalk

There is seemingly mass amnesia about what happened in 2009 when the media happily joined in with celebrating our relegation to the point where it genuinely seemed to become a poisonous agenda against the north east as a place. I can’t be arsed to Google but I remember loads of stuff about our supporters being thick and I remember posting on the WSC forums asking why this one issue appeared to turn many of them into sneering classist Tory cunts. So I know what it’s like to be hated when we’re shit, and now when we’re good. Know which one I prefer. And none of this, by the way, applies to anybody who has voiced concerns about the cunts that own us- concerns I more than share. People like James Richardson who manages to voice them without making it an attack on our fanbase. In fact, I like to think he was the one that got rid of that Villa supporting prick who said last year he hoped we went down, with that 2009 ‘right lads?’ tone. Jimbo was clearly annoyed and I haven’t heard the brummie arsehole on there since.

Can we stop wasting time in stoppage time please? It ends up costing us extra time

He’s in the Bein studio.

Our lad from Sunday isn’t it?

To be honest, when I saw him at a talk-in he just seemed like he had completely fallen out of love with football. Forest at home was the next day and I didn’t even get the impression he would be following it- he mentioned his grandkids. Just something that happens to some people I suppose. He didn’t strike me as somebody at all interested at being involved in any sort of way again. Would also love him to just pop along to a game so we can love him properly one last time but it’s his choice ultimately.

Cunts.

Didn’t somebody have a heart attack?

What chant were the City fans singing?

Just saw this!

The closest precedent to it I could find is the Zaire player in the World Cup booting the ball away before Scotland got to take the kick. A staple of bloopers tapes until people started to wonder if laughing at underdeveloped footballing nations for not knowing the rules was a bit rum.

Is that after Ronaldo claimed that free kick ‘goal’? Thought it marked a new low for Man Utd that, an incredible and embarrassing display of inept classlessness

The Liverpool fans are audibly terrified of Haaland. Not sure I have ever really noticed that before- you can actually hear them drawing their breath as he hovers or gets on the ball.

Champagne problems of a sort, I suppose, but it’s always a let down during a tricky away game that we might have half an eye on snatching bringing our subs on. It’s deflating more than anything else, indicating that we are happy for the draw. Sort of spoils any inner momentum I have built up watching, like ‘Oh, we’re doing this now?’

Hope we one day reach the level where a spoilt cunt managing us refuses to manage an FA Cup game we’re supposed to be competing in.

So do you reckon we’ll draw or lose then?

Plodding on.

Ah, ‘real club’. The eternal siren call of Manchester United fanzines in the nineties, whom, not being content at supporting the best at the game, also decided that they were arbitrators on which clubs qualified to exist in a realm of realness befitting of sharing the sport with Manchester United PLC. The finest example of this was just after Italy beat France in 2006, United we Stand declared this a good thing as Italy are a ‘real football country’ and France are not.

Richard Keys though.

It’s just a couple of episodes about their promotion I think.