Blue Moon

LDV Vans … ?

5 hours ago, boratsbrother said:

Bit odd this. The better we are doing the fewer posts there are in the match thread. 

Aha … you noticed, too … 

Absolution granted. Dominus vobiscum.

Impressed

9 hours ago, kev61 said:

Ah! Tenerife lovely place been there many times in the 80's.Was there not a guy on the old site that lived there?.

When we were there in Costa adayhay we stayed in the Laguna park apartments....enjoy!.

R.bartlett?

you related to Cucu, @Ham? Lucky devil - cold and wet here …

3 hours ago, ShedMiddle said:

Cucurella man of the match.

I don't know why but, I like Jackson. He has a great attitude and keeps going. With all the stick he gets it doesn't seem to faze him.

It was a good first half and held steady when up against it in the second. Great atmosphere - my head hurts today!

Now that I'm sober, and the hangover has diminished to a tolerable level ...

Petrovic was at the very least competent - a clean sheet - well done!, while Gilchrist did the RB-with-a-hint-of-midfield job competently - he'll be a great player as he matures.

I can't say much about Acheampong, Casadei and Tauriainen, as I didn't notice them much - although at least they didn't do anything stupid - but maybe by that time I was on cloud 9, so probably not paying too much attention. Must watch the repeat on the telly.

Mudryk eating the curate's egg, again - he's got what it takes, but doesn't seem capable of delivering it consistently.

Palmer scurried around helping out as required; a quiet day at the office for him, so maybe he's a bit knackered?  Chalobah (nice goal) and Badiashile seem to be settling down and producing some excellent performance. 

Gallagher and Caceido were, as ever, a total bloody nuisance - to the opposition - does Conor ever run out of energy? - he's perpetual motion - selling him would be madness - that's a midfield partnership we disturb at our peril. Jackson quietly continues to improve - not a Drog yet, but heading in the right direction.

Madueke is proving to be an excellent investment - strong and willing performance. I like him more each match.

Which leaves my Man of the Match: Cucurella (and I never thought I'd say that) - the Gnasher of the side (to quote from The Beano Wiki: "Dennis the Menace's pet dog, best friend, and sidekick. He is a black-haired Abyssinian Wire-Haired Tripe Hound who often enjoys chewing and biting anyone and anything". Cucu may not be large, but he pursued and chewed anything in a white shirt last night. What a performance! Thanks to him, I have an appalling earworm: "Cucurella, Cucurella, he eats paella, drinks Estrella and his hair's effing massive!"

Dunno if @ShedMiddle was close to him, but whoever was leading the singing in Shed Middle last night must have laryngitis today. I know I have ... I'll have earache too by Sunday. 'er upstairs isn't too pleased about me cancelling a family lunch due to the changed date for the WHam match, and isn't backward in coming forward with her views on my "sense of priorities". Hmph.

2 hours ago, paulw66 said:

We desperately need some players back. God knows what we would have done last night if we'd had gone behind.

Maybe that is what the team need: backs to the wall?

9 hours ago, east lower said:

Al’reet - Scant praise😂

Flat-cap, Ferret and Whippet waiting for him in’t changin’room?

And a pint o’ mild’n’bitter

8 hours ago, JaneB said:

The Spurs match was postponed from Saturday, 24th February until Thursday night, hence the West Ham match was moved on a day from this Saturday to Sunday, 5th May.

Thanks Jane. I’m still in the doghouse for scuppering a family lunch, but at least I can feel justifiably hard done by.

13 hours ago, JaneB said:

It's on TOCWS

Agreed, but I meant. Has the date changed since it was initially announced? They seem to do that a lot, and it screws up domestic arrangements (ie those my dearly beloved has organised), which ends up with me getting it in the neck.

Has this been moved? Could have sworn it was midweek ?

Is that how you gained your … ahem …. affliction …, @chrisb?

Thanks!

1 hour ago, Max Fowler said:

I am satirising Jason‘s playing down of our 20/21 win. I don’t believe that. Now you know how playing down our win under Tuchel feels to me 🙂

When you’re satirising, it’s a good idea to add 😉. Otherwise people might think you’re deluded, or a bit of an arse. I’m sure you’re neither.

1 hour ago, NoblyBobly said:

Mike Rice! And where is he now? Sounds like a film script. I bet you still own those Woolworths plimsoles! 

Dunno. Left him in the dust. Wore them out yonks ago - Billy Whizz, me. Graduated to baseball boots, then trainers, now me gardening boots or carpet slippers.

7 minutes ago, Max Fowler said:

We won not because Drogba was a great player but because Bayern bottled in the last minute and on pens. Didn’t really count as a win tbh - we’ve only won one UCL really.

With respect: bollocks

RE-2012/2021, there was a clear difference - we'd screwed up the Moscow final and wanted to finally get a CL cup in the cabinet. Hence the win was much more than cathartic - it was positively "Gary Neville orgasmic". My youngest lad, normally a shy and retiring soul, ran round the green in his underpants having won a bet that if we won he'd do so, and we danced round the living room shortly after when the penny dropped: Sp*rs were out of Europe for the following year. Icing and cakes.

Contrast that with 2021, when Covid had cast a spell over us all. Simply not up there. Bit of a damp squib, to be honest.

Sorry, we may have been lucky in 2012, and 2021 may have been technically a greater final, but to say that 2021 was more significant is simply missing the point. I've won prizes in my life, but nothing will ever compare with beating Mike Rice in the 220 yards sprint - not a formal competition, just me racing a swanky bugger with a wealthy father and new spikes when I was running in worn-out Woolworth's plimsoles. 24 seconds, close to the county record.

It's not always the technical win that matters, it's what it means to the individual. And you can never take that away from me. So 2012 was more important, and more significant, and more of a triumph than 2021.

And if you think otherwise, then please go tell the other members of your planet and leave me - us - to wallow in our self- deception.

Oh please ...

Excellent. And it looks like the Tube is running - no strikes - so won’t have to drive in and walk back to the car in the rain.  KTBFFH

Wonder if that’s the full 42k, or an allocation. Looking forward to joining family for a rocking atmosphere this pm. Grabbing a burger at Frankie’s after, so wife, son and daughter will have to endure the Villa match on the TVs there…. 

Spotted dick without custard is like the Stones without Charlie Watts. Sticks in your throat.

41 minutes ago, NoblyBobly said:

I think I know what we’d all like your avatar to be Chris.  

I think @NoblyBobly offered a great one ….

6 hours ago, Michael Tucker said:

Thanks mate - I missed you guys too!

Was in hospital having one of my feet operated on. 

Sorry - bad choice of words there (“walkabout”).

Where’ve you been, Michael? You went walkabout for a while there - we missed you