Jonas

Never seen it back since but always had the recollection Villa were the best team we played at home for the first 15minutes...and possibly the worst (or made to look the worst) for the rest of the game. Somebody was down injured for a while and the crowd went through nearly every players chant and were acknowledged by said player - with the recollection there was one player we didn't get to. A generally underrated match/occasion when we look back at great ones.

Dunno, looks like he prefers punching to catching

Greg Lake believes in Father Christmas so not sure how much we can put on his take

Chelsea were okay with Hoddle on down producing mediocrity for average crowds of below 20k but once Matthew Harding's millions came in followed by Abramovich's billions that was when it stopped

I can see the headlines now: "The hundred year Wor"

The mere mention of them often fair curdles my blood to be fair. Horrible memories.

That wouldn't prove anything. He'd have to go to a similar sized club with similar finances and do better. You don't know what you're talking about with either Keegan or Sir Bobby's departures tbf. One had nothing to do with the fans and the other scarcely anything. Sir Bobby was sacked 5month (no wins and a player revolt) after the boos at the end of the Wolves game.

Our performance has nothing to do with them. Its been objectively bad and I cant see that being above them would change any reading of that.

As an indictment of where were at currently and esteem he was held in - I thought when respones and being hurt were talked about, we would get that response. Didn't mean we'd win at Palace but I thought we'd see something, even just a fleeting 20minutes of being all over them at the start or something. And we've seen absolutely nothing. Its not even got worse for redoubling their efforts in response or anything, just a continuation of exactly the same dreck. Its the most consistent I can remember us being.

This season has been so unacceptably bad that I think we've passed the point of no return now. A drop off was expected by almost everyone and the goals were pretty modest and all it would have took to maintain parity and decent vibes but this is so bad its really eroded faith, hope and enthusiasm for even next season.

Maybe at our match at home to Oxford? Remember having the lip on about how that was going and vowing to support Whitley Bay instead after hearing their result. Obviously was back for the ZDS cup game the very next game. (was convinced even then at that age that that was a dive by Mark Stein - pretty in line with it near the back of the Gallowgate)

Mancini was my favourite player as a kid but I've never been sure about him as a manager (Man City at that time was a slam dunk). I wouldn't be comfortable with his appointment beyond the romanticism of that for me.

Had a dream about it last night. Will absolutely kick myself if we come from behind to win 3-2 and Howe and Tindall have a mock pushing match to illustrate a bad decision by the referee.

Watching the first-half of Saint & Greavsie before catching the bus to the match.

Not surprised, didn't go to that but it looked great fun and a parallel universe to the regular environment on the news the next day. I remember being in the bowels of the East Stand as the teams were being read out against Aston Villa in 89 and after Paul Sweeney was announced hearing people chant "Sweeney, Sweeney" and jumped to the conclusion 'he must be good if they're chanting his name'. Just being in the seats in those early days took some orientating for me, seemed so steep and unsafe, like you could easily fall right down them. Just not used to them.

I just squeezed into the era by starting going in 88/89. None of it should have appealed to a kid especially considering what followed but I was absolutely hooked and the football was the least of it and there were no thoughts of glorious futures or anything, it was just the experience itself. When I first went into the Gallowgate bogs (was my haunt from September89-February90 so some point then, post match and dark) I couldn't figure out what the deal was. The next time I had that experience was in the bogs at the Olympic Gallery at Wembley for the Charity Shield - similar urinal, just a floor with some drainage - bit too much like just pissing on the floor to me, which as I hadn't started nights out on the drink I wasn't yet used to. Could have stopped to ponder how far we'd come since the last piss in such a toilet

A most agreeable pair of results there. Barcelona can fuck right off too.

Longstaff runs like Foot Soldiers running into the fray on the Turtles in Time video game.... apropos of nothing

That was a poor response, no response at all in actual fact, to all that time to prepare and to the group being so preciously sensitive about getting flack for losing a derby in limp fashion. I expected a naff game and am still taken aback and more disappointed by the lack of response.

He's more liable than anybody else to do something so I'm okay with him even when he plays badly and see it differently to say Murphy playing badly, plus he's likely off in the summer anyway so no point getting upset about him being with us. Will we replace him with anybody better? probably not.

Exactly how you imagined it. Same as the last game

Another aspect of this season thats mirroring 97/98. Said at the start it would be like 97/98 this season, never imagining it would drop to these levels.

I almost admire the purity of how appaling that was. Team performance, individuals, manager, result, response, mentality, growth, effect on overall season. On to the next stage of forlorn hope we'll come good and were not in fact now shite - in the pressure free absolutely nothing to play for era of the remainder of the season.