TheBrownBottle

That doesn't describe the Leicester I've watched in a few games recently. Those performances were utterly gutless and pathetic, and Maddison was as bad as any of them. It isn't even about pressing - just playing with zero heart. I'd be spitting blood if I was watching that bunch of strollers in B&W.

How about ‘London is 280 miles that way ⬇️‘

Tbf we did say ‘YOUREACOCKYOUREACOCKYOUREACOCK’ Pinas, actually

The songs still make my heart glow. Happy days. Simple pleasures

Yep, that's my memory of it too - it was also unusually thick for a football shirt, and the stitching was a real nipple-irritator. At the time I thought it was ugly as fuck, and still think it today - it is the worst away kit we've ever had. Christ, that's well remembered if that's the case - wouldn't mind but I was at that game; Tomasson scored, we were shit, but we got a canny rhythm going slamming Hillsborough's old wooden seats. 'Attack, attack, attack attack attack'. Fucking mid era Dalglish NUFC ...

Yep, I had a draw vs these and Leeds in the predictions. And wins vs Leicester and Chelsea. Somehow I’m a bit more nervy about a draw now though! I still think Liverpool might drop points vs Villa

Liverpool’s %s still look too low for me

Agreed, though Brighton are exactly the kind of side we don’t want to be playing when we’re going for three points. If the same side that faced Leeds starts again then we’re relying on a win at Chelsea

Can’t be certain of it. We’ll beat them though. It all boils down to Brighton now - win that, and I think it’s almost nailed on

I like that the outcome is hilarious either way on that score

Liverpool play Soton final game. They’ll surpass our GD

Proper ‘on their holidays’ performance from Leicester this. Has anyone told them they’re not midtable yet? Any club signing any of their players had better be fucking sure of it. Tielemans, Barnes, Maddison - their big sellable ‘assets’ - just look disinterested. They should be at bargain basement prices - and even then, their attitude is clearly so shit that there is a danger that it infects the dressing room.

It all comes down to Brighton, then. Because playing these gutless bastards should be a cakewalk. I’ve never seen a team more worthy of relegation - they’re sleepwalking into it. No urgency, no desire, no fight. Leicester’s support must be raging about it.

Every time I’ve seen him this season I’m left scratching my head. I’ve seen the goals etc but in terms of full matches, sorry all, just don’t see a top player

Nope, it was that summer. Terrible summer of recruitment. Partizan (H) remains the most disastrous result in the club's history for me - it really precipitated a quick decline.

Robson should have went at the end of that season. We were dross for most of it - 34% win ratios don't tend to get you 5th - this season it would be a bottom half win ratio. Nowt entitled about it at all - he should have went and the club's new manager would have had a summer to rebuild. Instead, we waited too long, then made a disastrous choice of manager.

Funnily enough, the away game vs Barcelona that season is probably the only disappointing Euro away day I've had. Terrible weather, shit game between two poor teams, empty stadium with neither side likely to qualify. Barcelona the second time was great though (result of course less so, but it is Barca in the Nou Camp ...)

Martin Tyler is a Woking fan I think, but he wrote a history of Arsenal. I don't think he holds anti-Arsenal views. Keown is a deeply strange man

Yeah, it is fantastic - I'd encourage anyone on here to really try and get to an away day in Europe next season if they can. Don't worry if it doesn't turn out to be the 'big one' - any European game is an adventure and will stick in the mind forever.

Likewise. I did big Champions League aways - Inter, Barcelona, Feyenoord, Juve etc - and even Intertoto (Lokeren - now there was an entertaining away day). All were fantastic.

All but a handful of my favourite NUFC matches were European ones. I love watching us play in Europe - it is incredibly special, and the rarity value of the opposition sticks in the mind. Teams you've seen only on TV or know through being football daft - from giants to relative minnows - every single one is exciting to me. Playing CSKA Sofia or Ferencvaros is still more exciting to me than Crystal Palace or Watford in the PL. I get irritated by the modern fan who sneers at these tournaments; the worst being when you hear them talking like fucking accountants 'we should just play the reserves and get knocked out, it isn't worth it financially' etc, somehow losing the point that this is the reward for their team finishing high up the table the year before. Talksport punters are good for this one. Get fucked you tiresome twats.

I don't think he's been the same player post-WC break, and unfortunately the decline in form has now arrived at a nadir; it is over half a year since he scored, for example, even though he has had plenty of shooting positions in that time. I do think he's getting caught on the ball more as teams and coaches have thought of ways to handle him during that break - as mentioned earlier, the rolling the ball with the studs to buy space is getting caught out more, as is short burst driving the ball too. This is a compliment to his talent; it is less of an issue if we have other midfielders of his undoubted skill level then it would free up space and time for him. We'll know he's injured if he runs straight off for surgery at the end of the season - but I just don't see someone like Howe playing him if he isn't fit; gegenpress doesn't work if you're carrying players, particularly in centre midfield. I just think the lad's form has dipped, and teams have some coping mechanisms to deal with him. He's still an excellent footballer, so I don't doubt he'll hit form again - but some are probably starting to see why he's an excellent midfielder rather than a world class one.

It really is worth remembering that we only need to match Liverpool’s next two results and prevent a Brighton win. A point may well be more than enough.

If Longstaff is back we win this. If that same three man midfield is named I’m far less confident.

Agreed. The ‘you all booed Lord Sir Robert Robson for finishing 5th’ needs huge amounts of context. We were terrible for large chunks of that season. Anyone who travels to away games will remember this well - we won twice away from home that season. And they were back to back games within a few days of each other in October. The squad was clearly riven with dressing room issues, and Robson was obviously struggling to manage them. The wider context is that this also wasn’t Ashley’s NUFC - this was one of the world’s richest clubs with actual stated ambitions who were falling apart at the seams. Excerpts from the always reliable NUFC.com’s review for that game: “Paying through the nose to sit (and stand) through a mind-bogglingly mediocre campaign doesn't leave one well-disposed to sympathising with the people appointed to carry your hopes and dreams, who week after week do a good impression of rubbing your face in the muck. And knowing that the rest of the league barring one team are utterly bloody ordinary just makes it worse. Seen enough: bad play, boring games, questionable tactics, unenjoyable wins, players not trying, fellow fans not getting involved, people walking out, inaccurate newspaper articles, patronising player interviews. … Ten months of slowly fermenting frustration, now mutating into sheer bloody disappointment once more. … Bobby and Co. may have cringed and griped at the booing, but they should reflect that it was typically British - in other places they would have waved handkerchiefs, (like his beloved Barca) hoyed cushions or bottles or come on the field and attacked those held to account. Bobby may wail about bleeding black and white and pin on his toon army medals, but he was many, many miles away when we suffered in near-silence the tribulations of the Dalglish and Gullit eras. It's a mite unfair, but those on the field on Sunday bore the brunt of successive failed administrations and countless regrettable signings in recent decades. Thanks for trying Bobby, but it's defeated you, like all the rest. We've cheered you, we've supported you and now we just plain don't believe you anymore. And neither do the players. We got close, we've almost failed. Again.”