Jonas

I'm nervous in a 4.45pm on a typical work day way about it. Want to celebrate and relax about jinxing anything by changing anything but cant bring myself to until its done. One more massive effort all round. Would be delighted to get back to our clean-sheet and ceding no chances ways.

Groups of four, top two go through, worst four runners up have a play-off - Euro 96 Qualifying style - would be infinitely better but alas would miss out on the filler content and cash, so that's a no go obviously.

Against a beached team in the bottm half with a European final on their mind when you're fighting against relegation that was silage from Allardyce. 4 wins in 27 PL games, 10 without a win.

Last Role of the Allardyce works on the level of him rolling around in cash the wallowing c*nt

Not nervous at all now. (Not at all saying we'll win I must stress) That's alexithymia for you.

A literal slap on the wrist would have been a more hefty punishment.

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/c7dbdb9d-fb84-4581-9917-151bfb6f06df

I was mindful of not being able to continue the momentum from the back end of last season and was expecting a bit of a levelling out and expected a bit of disappointment from people and snideness from the media if we punched just below that. World of difference if we were 5th pushing for top 4 right now as opposed to being ours to lose.

Excellent craic that. Was legit in the charts at the time of the cup final winner.

Back to back 1988 winners, 1989 runners up. you think that's crazy check out who won the FA Cup that year (Wimbledon - who beat Luton in the semi) and who lost the 1990 league cup final (Oldham).

Used to sit next to a bunch of lads (Ronnie) that came up from Coventry through most of the Keegan era. Dont know what difference that makes but happy to see them having some joy nevertheless. My first PL away game was at Coventry, again of no relevance. Went there in a car previously owned by our director Freddie Fletcher. No other chance to slip that anecdote it.

For curiosity you've got to experience that ground. Its ugly as sin but its unique and I miss those grounds. Like MrRaspberryJam says - you all but go through someone's house and aover the back gardens to get to the away end. The one time I was there which I never noticed on camera was they had terraces above the seats in their end. Would says its probably the worst place I've ever been but for that mind,

Can taste the metalic edge on this already. Latter stages of the second-half in a tight game will be brutal. Still not reconditioned to all these edgy games after the melancholic Mike Ashley era. Can't have been like this before even with such things on the line. Reckon next season it recedes.

Hill derby in the final? Ricky v Jimmy.

Lost their presitigous North East Top Dogs trophy for a confirmed 7th successive season I see. And on top of that missing out on promotion to the riches of the PL. Shame.

Juventus away fell on my birthday. Had already booked the day off in advance and everything. Come a long way from Tranmere away in the ZDS cup 11years earlier

Haven't looked back at all the posts admittedly and only caught the tail end but haven't seen anybody say we were going to collapse. Drawing with Arsenal and Brighton e.g. would be about par for the season rather than collapse, one's been a bit better, one's been a bit worse and its all predicated on Liverpool winning all their games, which they're probably more likely to do than not by the looks of it. People are just different. Folks over confidence can make others nervous and peoples caution can agitate others.

Even back in the day it was likewise at Hull and Wolves, liked the look not the luck *and Watford

Reckon the decisive dodgy decision in Liverpool's favour will be 10' either side of half-time today.

Isn't everybody just in the cautiously optimistic camp and the most bed wetting is about people stating that its not certain, because what is?

deserved that for their hubris

The only big clubs Allardyce ever managed the fan-bases couldn't stand him, his atrocious football and the job he did was underwhelming besides that. Could easily make the step from doing that at West Ham, Everton and Newcastle to managing Man City, Bayern and Barcelona though.

Fucking running track.

He did as bad in his last job at West Brom as Pardew and Bruce. With the same players and not of Keegan's choosing after years completely out of football Keegan produced infinitely better football and got better results. Pep couldn't do better though.

Full circle back to where both of our current situations eminated from in this fixture a year ago. Our confidence and style was forged and they got the kick up the arse attitude adjustment from the manner of the beating. Could be second now if we'd just won a tight game 1-0.