Jonas

Completely misses the ball, over the top of it too (in itself questionable) and hooks Barnes

Its slightly worse than the best possible draw.

Some fans always have to have one of their own to get at. Not at all saying Elanga's been a good signing just that some people cant wait to get on someone. Gary Speed was there once.

Only lost in the final and on pens since Eddie's been here. Grazed a Quarter Final once in a blue moon for 40years before that.

Did a great defensive header in the first half, better than the goal, what with that goal in Leverkusen, he's cracking header of a ball

Both teams got what they deserved Except it deserved to be more comfortable for us, just the right amount of deserved agony for them though for their tactics

Wont make any difference long term to replace him though everything is just stale this season and there's an arguement for freshening up. We'll still have the same spending restrictions and furthermore Howe has proven he can win cups and edge us into the CL - which is all we can realistically aim for, that's where were at. So why replace someone that can provenly achieve what you want a manager to achieve. All we could ask of anybody else is to do exactly the same. Any less and we'll be having polls about them too.

There isn't one. Except a personal choice to accept it or bay for blood. That's what we are stuck to being generally whilst we might out-perform or under-perform in any given season our general level is set to compete for the minor European cup places. Cant strengthen how we'd like and replacing the manager solves nothing in the long run. Were extended by the CL which stretches us like it did the last time. Were trying to manage it because not doing that lead to a ridiculous injury crisis then but were not giving any one game our max - which few can get away with.

Said after the Villa game, were going nowhere, got told off by someone, plenty agreed with them. Seen nothing to change my mind since except for 'going nowhere' representing a success now. Were serving too many masters, always one eye on the match after the one before us.

Taking people at their word re the atmosphere from the two sets of fans. We were debating the size of the derby generally and I'm the camp of its overblown. Think its mythical that the atmosphere's are special - the two games in 2000 stand out to me for the reason that they were. Its not even a knew thing or post prawn-sandwich all-seater thing. Cant think of any notable atmosphere's against them or from them except for the afforementioned. Certainly pre Ashley I doubt if there ever was a season we'd rank the home games against them as the best atmosphere or (albeit hard to not be bias) rank them as the best away support.

Turns out it wasn't bed wetting and turns out it was asking for it hubris all along then. Who'd have thunk it?! I mean surely there was just no way with our record against the likes of Bournemouth, Brighton, Luton and the fact last season was the first where we didn't drop points to relegated teams in at least 45years and that the vast majority of derbies have been horrible forgettable games of football, there's no way this could possibly happen.

10k empty seats in 2006. Was only 40k there and only that because of an increase given to us. The Birmingham derby isn't far off ours at all. The both extremely rarely finish ahead of us and Villa (8-1 in the last 40years) and on the other hand Birmingham have won a cup and played in Europe, they've been in the third tier about the same amount of time too. Very few occasions in half a century or so has at least one of us and the mackems not been shit. In the 90s the Sheffield derby was bigger. Better attended - even the ZDS cup game. Even as an insider until the 2000s I'd never have put ours near the top, its just our version of all the other ones bigger and smaller. If its about needle then 'tin pot' derbies come back into the equation, but then you rule out the Glasgow derby for the same thing - its daft really to imagine that Rangers and Celtic being in the same city and the only two challengers for honours wouldn't hate if they had a shared or no religion.

Would that mean it would be tinpot without those gates - basically prior to 1999 or post 2006 when they couldn't shift 10,000 tickets.

Felt like a big derby when both teams were decent and it was competitive 99-02. The atmospheres and looks of both grounds in those days it felt Milan derby esque. Not been the same since or before and do think its overblown internally. Big stadiums and the dead atmosphere from the Manchester clubs and Liverpool aside its somewhere between those "tinpot derbies" and the bigger ones. The other derby its most similar to for me is Villa-Birmingham.

For all the choppy displays we've possibly played better than them over the season if the stats are anything to go by (never watched them). Glad I'm not feeling it for various reasons, Time of year, general post cup win 'what's my motiviation' vibe - especially with the league, other stuff. Usually (pre Ashley) it was a lingering annoyance in the back of the mind from the moment the game before finished.

Furthermore the top division was being extended to 22teams so the following season only two teams went down. Two massive breaks. Still went down mind.

Unenjoyable as fuck.

About as unsexy a draw as was possible. Still that's kinda what I want from these things I suppose.

Its a happy medium. He wouldnt have gone to Liverpool for less money than we or an Arsenal offered whether they were likely challengers for trophies or not.

Cant manage games out, even when comfortable prior, the mentality or something just doesn't help and offers encouragement to the opponent which brings them too close. Get a pass because of the amount of games at the moment. Was a nothing game really, just about management for most of it. Imagine a lot of the games today were similar excerises from the looks of things. Imagine even the losing teams were in conservation mode for a chunk of today.

Surprised that for a change they didn't score with their one shot on goal and standard 0.something XG and get a result tbh

Favourite kick from Tanaka since the Orient Express' finish

Couldn't have worked out much better. A fourth and a hammy away from sheer perfection.

Don't think he was regular anywhere going from memory but he was at the opposite end of the East Stand near us too circa 92-94 quite often. Always remember the sheer randomness of it, almost never during a crescendo of defending or attacking.