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I think those that are still traumatised/angry by the 0:3 Trumpton were/are doing the wrong stimulants/intoxicants. We had tickets for the Stone Roses at Spike Island the end of that month, we were buzzing all summer, The Few weren't spoiling that. Mad fer it, we were. I hope we never win the Third tier again in our history.

Yeah, thanks .... that's what I was saying, "it was Steve Lansdown," but without saying "it was Steve Lansdown," trying to find another way to say the same thing. Ashton under Lansdown appoints LJ and Deano, and they go on to coach at a lower level, downwards, with no success; Ashton free of Lansdown appoints McKenna who's coaching career takes off, spectacularly. Even Steve Lansdown himself cannot fail to recognise the problem here now, and what is holding us back.

Thing is, according to an Ipswich fan on here, the appointment of McKenna was 100 % down to Ashton, given free rein to go out and pick someone; whereas here he feels it necessary to appoint Lee Johnson and Dean 'Deano' Holden, ffs.

This was, surely, the greater loss. That night at Trumpton, of course, was painful but the long term damage of Joe clearing off far exceeded the little local scrimmage between us and them. The 90s were a waste of time for us, poor, after starting the decade so well.

People on here keep indulging in this self flagellation, whipping themselves into a frenzy of what a trauma it was that night, each to their own I suppose; to me, 1989/90 was Bob Taylor, Big Joe, winning games, winning away, Swindon and Chelsea in the cup, Dave Smith tearing down the wing, Shelts everywhere, Birmingham away, Tranmere away, cheeky John Bailey, wanting a slightly taller keeper, Biff, Psycho, Rennie flicking corners on at the front stick, Cambridge, singing "and now you're gonna believe us: the Welsh are ****ing sh*t" as we score 4 then 5 at Swansea ..... If there was any "trauma" it was blown away by August when we blitzed Blackburn 4:2. We had a great season in 90/91, very enjoyable. I've just looked it up, the Few lost that opening day at Leicester and won one in their first 10 games. It's just not how I remember 89/90 or even the conclusion to 89/90; the sun was shining, we were up, and we had Bobby Taylor and Big Joe, the sense that we were on to something (I was young back then, forgive my charming naivety) . Happy Days. If I could wave a magic wand and win one game we didn't win that season, it would be Cambridge in the cup meaning a quarter final at Highbury over winning at Trumpton, no question.

Bournemouth "found a way" to get there, as did Luton. As might Wrexham. Fair means or foul football is all about getting away with what you can get away with, it always has been.

This is good, you say? I'm not a consumer of any of this stuff but that to me is made for people with very short attention spans experiencing a sugar "high" or some other attention problem. Absolutely dreadful (but perhaps, as you say, "spot on" for those it is aimed at).

But we keep appointing English/ Brit blokes when they could be the next Deano, LJ, SO'D, McInnes, Coppell, Tinnion, Keith Millen, Wilson, John "I need help" Ward, Osman, Denis Smith, Pulis, Lumsden (DM me for the full list), so maybe we just appoint no-one when Manning goes?

The numbers attending this season have been excellent, imagine what they might've been like if we had one England player, one star, or managed to win two or three at home. Or played Barcelona at AG now. Imagine Arsenal's crowds if they had our team. When West Ham played Everton in December the crowd was 614. When we played Arsenal away, it was 3,500. Leicester are a good comparison, playing at their own ground like us: average 2,300 or so. To our 7000 plus. I don't think "plastics" quite explains this entirely. Sadly, I fear it will be quite some time now for local (girls) fans to see the top level of women's football and all the top players. Very disappointing.

Not once but consistently; chances are we won't strike gold immediately. Benny was the once; the only real mistake there was not going back to Europe again to find a coach. It was the right idea. Assuming those that follow SL will be from beyond Blighty (whenever that comes about) I cannot imagine they will be delving in L1 for a head coach, or appointing "from within." Not when football is played, managed and coached all over the bleedin' globe.

.... because, the rumination about what might have been or was not been distracts us from the anxiety of what will be and the inevitable failure and disappointment/disaster of the fast-approaching future. Try it!

I suppose most people's idea of us "going for it" is football people choosing the footballers, and Steve keeping well out of it/just "signing the cheques"

I really hope so. It's absolutely devine to be right, delicious, it's what we all crave; but that would mean City being shite and struggling grimly against relegation next season, and as much as I love being right, and being seen to be right, I don't like seeing us being shite.

Yes, Kalas was out for months.

It's called: One team in Bristol. And you only have a phrase like that when there's two or more teams in one place. They don't tend to go around Norwich saying: there's only one team in Norwich. I don't suppose. Norwich played the Few earlier in the season, I'd imagine they called them Bristol too. The pair of us are pretty anonymous, as professional clubs go. Unremarkable. So unremarkable are the Few I am convinced that when they started wearing the comedy quarters jester strip again in the 60's or 70s or whenever, it was a desperate attempt to be noticed, because they're never going to get attention for their football.

Much of what you write there applies to, say, Brentford in the PL. Or Burnley, under Dyche. You sound resigned to our mediocrity here but a regular of this forum might be forgiven for thinking that you are wanting more, and better, from the club, its owner, its staff and management. And matchday officials ........

So, what are we bothering for then?

Marley Watkins came closer than most to achieving this, when smashing Tommy Kalas's chin with his nut at Wigan, I think it was

Needed someone swift to "cover" Forbes, or Mark Hughes, or whoever was the solid but slow and cumbersome No.5 that everyone other than Liverpool seemed to have back then. He was Kyle Walker before Kyle Walker was born

Try calling it a "Sing when we're winning (but not always even then) section,"

Missing something this ^ ^ (although I love that they have got a comma in there), fer me .... how about: "CREATED BY THE POOR, TRASHED BY THE FOOTBALL LADS BETWEEN ABOUT 1968 AND 1989, STOLEN/CLEANED UP/GENTRIFIED BY THE RICH" ?

What was yer third?

Chubby Tomlin, Psycho, Belgians in the Concourse! "We didn't start the fire, it was always burning .... " Free the Trumpton Ten (are they out yet?)

I believe that the ladies were trying to establish their game a century ago but ran into some ... difficulties with the, er, blokes at the FA (otherwise they might be a bit more, stand alone, by now)

Whoever scouted him needs a pay rise (or an offer to come back); whoever coached him and/or decided to get rid, needs .....