 After the shock of the weekend result at WBA I wasn’t sure
where I should go with this week’s blog. Should I have a rant about what went
wrong? Take a look at how WBA did a Sunderland on us by outworking us, being hungrier
than us etc? Or should I just accept is a blip and concentrate on the upcoming
derby? Well, I still can’t bring myself to criticise the club (not after one
bad game out of 15 or so), and anyone that does needs to give their head a
shake. Even Man Utd has the occasional off day!
Besides, under the guidance of O’Neill what do we have to
worry about? At the start of this season (and indeed last) I went into the
first derby game of the season full of expectation and optimism. Looking at the
two squads on paper it was going to be a walk in the park for us. Pre-season
they’d got rid of Nolan and Barton (arguably their two best players) and
brought in a crock of a striker in Ba and a poor mans’ David Bellion in
Obertan. We’d brought in a load of good new players, already proving their
worth away at Liverpool on the opener.
Well, we know where that optimism got us don’t we! O’Neill
had the good sense to save our worst performance since the removal of Bruce for
the game before the derby. He obviously told the players to take it easy, not
to run themselves into the ground (like they have done for the previous 15
games) and to avoid unnecessary injuries/bookings. At the same time as
achieving all of this (with the exception of a Bardo injury), he also managed
to dampen the heightened levels of optimism and expectation with a
comprehensive 4-0 thumping. If that’s not evidence of O’Neill’s genius when it
comes to football management, I don’t know what is!
All joking aside, it was a wakeup call that we probably
needed. A reminder that, without the hard work and commitment we have become
accustomed to seeing, we are a team that can be beaten.
And so the build-up to the derby has officially begun. In
six days’ time we will be stepping out at “Answers on a Postcard” Park looking
to exact revenge for our previous derby day defeat and to exercise the ghost of
WBA. At the moment I feel ok, a little nervous, a faint feeling of butterflies
in the pit of the stomach, but nothing too bad. As the days pass, I know that this
feeling will gather form and become a constant ache in my psyche. By Friday I
will have spent half of my time in banter with friends from the dark side,
winding them up and accepting their taunts in retaliation. The other half of my
time will be spent with a growing sense of trepidation and unease. By the close
of play on Saturday I will spend a restless night, tossing and turning, playing
out every eventuality (good and bad) in my head as I lie in bed drifting into
dreams of exhilaration and waking in a cold sweat following the nightmare
scenario.
Sunday morning will be a morning to avoid me. I will be
grumpy, irritable and likely to snap at anyone that has the bad sense to try
and talk to me. A word of warning in advance, anyone that suggests to me that
it is ‘only a game’ then I will not be held responsible for my ensuing
outburst!
I would also like to offer my apologies to the opposing left
winger on Sunday morning, as my pent-up nerves and fragile emotional state will
no doubt see me kick them at least three foot into the air if they try to go
past me at right back (I expect Bardo – or his deputy – to do the same to any
filthy mag trying to go past him on Sunday too).
And so to the game itself. The feelings will be the same as
any match day – hope, excitement, dread, fear, expectation and belief – all
heightened to a dangerous level. I’ve no doubt there will be highs and lows
throughout the ensuing 90 minutes. As the final whistle blows, who knows? Will
I be delirious, depressed or somewhere in-between? Only the lads that step onto
the pitch can make that decision for me. I only hope they can make me proud, as
they have so often since the arrival of Martin O’Neill. It would be nice to
enjoy a derby day game for a change without the usual nail biting, nerve
jangling, roller coaster that we are served up.
Haway the lads!
Graham Halliday Follow me on Twitter @Grim72ftm |
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