worth_the_wait

My first thoughts were ... which "United"? and "Friday 7th" of which month?

Our current mess is actually all Castagne's fault. If only he had slightly mis-hit that volley in injury time up at Newcastle 2 years ago, we would've won that match, not been relegated, not had to sell our better players for knock-down prices, etc etc ...........................................

Definitely. Works a treat ...

Being able to get away from the ground at full time, nice and easily.

Not exactly a euphemism, but "our situation has not improved" https://www.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/e0b5f82a-f1a1-42b5-ba0e-7fcc9168d21a

Where have the last 43 years gone? Oh Erica !

You could legitimately advertise it as "pre-match hospitality at Leicester Football Club". That would confuse a few ...

Some people might think it's more than just a "narrative". And not just people from outside, either ...

oh drat. Well, there certainly didn't seem many of them. And I don't remember earing that horrible "zchee zchee" sound once. But maybe I was asleep ...

I woke up this morning, and thought of something good last night. I don't think there were any clappers. Or not that I remember, anyway.

So long as they've not been sold, I believe you can just go onto the website and "untick" the resale boxes. And the ticket is back yours, so as to speak.

What dim-witted Forest fan would buy a blue sweatshirt? That would be like a Leicester fan buying a red away top, and wearing it at home to Man Utd. It would never happen, would it? Err ............

7 times actually in 1974-75. Twice in the old First Division League Cup and replay FA Cup, replay and 2nd replay

I think the worst fog-affected game in "modern times" was the England U21 v Bulgaria U21 match at Filbert Street in 1979-80. The England v Bulgaria senior match had been called off due to fog (the previous night I think), and I think they just wanted to get the U21 match played no matter what. Maybe the result wasn't unduly significant in the scheme of things. Anyway, the match went ahead in dense fog. It really was bad. I mean, much worse than yesterday or the Blackburn match above. Utterly farcical. We won 5-0, not that anyone saw many of the goals, unless you just happened to be standing right behind one. As I say, I think they just wanted to get the thing played. But it was a farce.

I was about to post something along the same lines. It doesn't matter where you live in the City or County (or anywhere else) ... Forest, Derby and Cov are our 3 local rivals. I don't want either of those 3 doing particularly well. ("our" being used in the sense of a collective shared-emotion fan-based situation, or whatever you want to call it.)

There's an article on the BBC, about how the role of the goalkeeper has changed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cp3z0wx3x54o There's a bit in the middle about how goalkeepers take goal kicks. Whether playing it short to a defender, or playing it long into the oppo's half. Every club is analysed, and interestingly Forest have the most kicks into the oppo's half. Well who'd credit it ... kicking long to a big centre forward is working wonders for them.

That happened in 1977-78. And it was the worst season I've seen. Be lovely not to repeat it. *** Edited to say *** Just a bit more context on the infamous 1977-78 season. We got knocked out of both Cups by 3rd Division teams. We set a (then) record low number of goal scored in the top flight, to get relegated with 3 matches to spare. We were utter crap all season ... apart from one great day away to Hull City in the FA Cup 3rd round. Forest won the League Cup, reached the FA Cup Quarter Finals, beat us home and away, and won the League with 4 matches to spare. Depressing doesn't even begin to convey the emotions of that season.

Tigers tickets for Saturday cost between £31 and £61. Interesting?

The number of people saying "good luck to them". The mind boggles ................................

What I wanted to know was ................... 150 words, but why the one comma ?

Well, some countries seem pretty laid back about the whole thing ... aided and abetted by UEFA never banning any club, even when English fans are set upon time and time again. But the difference we've suffered that no other European country is this ... Bradford fire (59 deaths) Heysel (39 deaths) Hillsborough (96 deaths) Three catastrophic events that shaped everything since. Bearing in mind, Heysel was the export by Liverpool fans of death and destruction. Not just a domestic issue. These 3 issues scarred everything about our football with regards to fan culture, safety and sanitation. Then add in the clubs becoming money grabbing greed machines, and you have a set of circumstances that i don't believe any other European country has come close to. But i agree, we could all still do a lot better.

It's nothing to do with "English people". One of the explanations for this, might be quite simply ... because England had such a hooligan problem in the 70's and 80's, the clubs and authorities went all out to eradicate it. More so, than any other country. Not just the real hooligans, but anything that could even be mildly considered to be associated with it, like fanaticism and passion. It took many years, but this attitude towards typically young/male/working class demographics eventually took its toll. Add in an obsession with well-behaved sanitised family crowds paying lots of money (for foreign club owners) etc, and eventually you get what we have now. It's the football authorities, in bed with club owners and the police and local authorities, along with an OTT risk-averse government bodies .... that have collectively done the damage over the last 30 years.

One of the reasons I love watching Rugby League now. With just one exception (if a tackle is too high, round the neck or head), there is absolutely no benefit to play-acting or simulating anything. And the culture is still 99.9% not to squeal like a baby. If someone is hurt (unless it's obviously something "serious"), the trainers just come on whilst the game continues.

The grounds are a bit more similar these days, with them being all seater. But in the 1980's you had a great contrast. Ibrox was the modern, mostly all seater stadium, but still 9000 or so terraced on the Main Stand paddock. Even Celtic fans admitted it was excellent. Parkhead was the complete opposite, being covered terracing on 3 sides/ends, and just 9000 or so seats in their main stand. It felt like something out of the 1930's, especially with the old mean Barrowfield estate just behind the West terrace. But they both had fantastic atmospheres - as also did games at Hampden Park, for that matter I went to quite a few Old Firm games in the 1980's and was lucky enough to savour some amazing games. Really exciting matches, but also noise off the scale decibel-wise. In those days, Parkhead held 67,000 and Rangers would take up to 23,000 away fans. Just thinking about that now is amazing. Even if the grounds were big enough, no one would allow anyone to take 23,000 away fans to any game! And in the early 80's, getting tickets was easy. You just pitched up and bought a ticket the day before, or squeezed through the turnstile with someone on the day. It was chaos tbh, and I sometimes wondered how Glasgow stayed in one piece. Drinking around the bars before and after those games .... a great experience!

Here's a retro clip from 1985, a perfect example of not needing so-called "quality" for it to be exciting, Two things stand out: the tackles flying in, with no one rolling around playacting. And the noise of a 1980's Old Firm game. This one's at Ibrox, but it was the same at Parkhead.