italian dave

How can you get “very nearly” a howler? Surely it’s either a howler or it isn’t?

You were lucky. We were sat for hours in a car park next to the ground. Thought we’d done well getting there early to get one so close. What we didn’t realise is that the road it exited onto was closed after the game. And that most of the other cars in it seemed to belong to Brighton fans. It was like the awful experience of those 90 minutes being extended for another 90!

Morning Dave! You did! To be honest, I had a quick look when we stopped for a break on the way home and just seemed like there was none of the elation I was feeling. I did see the Tanner one when I got home, missed the Wells/Knight one: I put it down to fatigue - Middlesbrough and back in a day is a long drive! And, although your ‘but’ did play its part, it wasn’t just that! I just couldn’t help thinking of all those defeats and the threads that usually follow. A thread on almost every individual player and their faults. At least two on Manning and his deficiencies. And probably a poll on whether the Lansdowns should be publicly humiliated or merely exiled. (I’m exaggerating, but you get my drift!) But yesterday, nothing on how sound Max was, nothing on the amazing Dickie and Vyner - ever present but still timing tackles and throwing bodies in when necessary. Nothing on how Pring and Cornick dominated that left side. And so on. And, nothing on Manning. You can critique individual decisions to rest, start, sub individual players, you can critique how we set up and manage games, but overall I think he and his back room team deserve huge credit for the way they’ve managed what’s been an incredibly taxing period with a small squad. We’ve had a far more difficult schedule to manage than either of our last two opponents and yet we finished much the stronger side on Wednesday and yesterday we stormed into a two goal lead which, until the 92nd minute, we never looked like losing. So, not aimed at you (I acknowledge you did start the only two threads about individuals) and I know others have made comments on some of the other performances I’ve mentioned above. It was just that a quick look at the forum at 7 yesterday seemed so quiet compared to when we lose, and didn’t seem to reflect what was a great performance as well as result.

Grease…….Frankie Valli

Back from Middlesbrough, and check in here expecting to find some happiness and some positivity after a great day…and what do I find? Just two new post match threads: one seemingly designed to provoke an argument, and the other headed “…..But” Come on. We’ve got a result no-one really expected for the second time in 4 days. We’ve romped to a two goal lead playing some great football, and then defended that lead successfully, only conceding one lucky-ish goal in injury time. We’ve done that after playing 120 minutes at a PL side only 4 days earlier, whilst Middlesbrough had a free week. And, R####s lost at home. Let’s just celebrate. Well done lads! (And thanks @Olé for bringing a bit of positivity!)

Of course. Tho’ in fairness, both Wells and Cornick scored their pens, so had we left TC on at the expense of one of them it would have made no difference. That’s how I’m managing my annoyance, anyway I take no credit for that point; I think you made it first!!

Or, to win it in 120 mins…..which we very nearly did!

I knew there must be a reason we’d got from sniffer dogs to here!

Let’s Stay Together……Al Green

Conference Primier, I think you’ll find……

I do wonder how some people cope with Bristol Airport and EasyJet!!

Maybe, maybe not! I thought you were dead right on another thread earlier in the week, when you made the case that both Cornick and Wells came very very close and on another day one of those would have gone in and the subs would have been genius! Would Conway have stuck away that Wells chance? Who knows! You’d like to think so - but maybe his tiredness would have meant he didn’t make that run in the first place. All ifs and buts I guess.

You do realise that shopping for a striker who can score goals in the Championship isn’t the same as shopping for a tin of beans in Tescos? (And, just to take the analogy a bit further, that the January window is a bit like shopping in Tescos at 4pm on Christmas Eve: the shelves are empty!)

I think the point is that this thread is about the sniffer dogs, and specifically those at Forest. I understand where you’re coming from in terms of the photos, the searches etc. I accept the reasons for the searches - at my age most of them tend to be pretty cursory anyway. I’m less comfortable with someone pointing a camera at me. I get really irritated at grounds where they won’t let you keep a cap on a water bottle. But compared to all those things, having a dog amble past me sniffing the air around me really doesn’t seem like something to get too upset about!

Yes, I noticed that. But I didn’t realise who it was and his own experience. Top man. He didn’t just pat Sam on the head, he was with him for quite some time and seemed really genuine,

Tom Tom. Same up to A453, but then it suggested a delay ahead and a quicker route, and it felt like we were doing the equivalent of the Chew Valley and Dundry to get to South Bristol! I’ve been to Forest loads of times and never this way. We even went through a place called Bunny. Journey home was great. We did the M6/M5 to avoid the closure, and got back to Portishead bang on 1.00.

It sounded like you didn’t have the best journey getting to Nottingham either. There must have been some big problems somewhere: our sat nav took us around the back of beyond once we got off the M1.

Got to be honest, I don’t see what the problem was with the dogs. They weren’t intrusive, in the way that the searches we’ve come to take for granted are. If it keeps pyros out of the ground, and if it stops the coked up arseholes that occasionally make life so unpleasant when we have a big away following from getting into the ground, then it’s fine with me.

Do they not have Sat nav’s - or being nostalgic, maps - on the coaches?!! M6/M5 misses that closure and only takes 5 mins more than when it’s open! Seriously, I noticed that even more if the M42 looked like being closed all weekend - that will affect us Saturday

Don’t know how he missed…..and someone with a no 9 on their back certainly shouldn’t! I actually thought Mehmeti did ok last night. More than OK at times - there were spells as the game went on where most of our creativity was coming through him. But otherwise agree, it was a good night.

Just back, and happy to just agree with @MarcusX - I’m ready for bed! Only 50 odd hours and we go again to Middlesbrough!

Flexible! But, no, I’m seeing 4.

Jimmy Mack......Martha and the Vandelas