Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more…

[Fonda]

Don t know about you, but I m pretty excited about the prospect of what tomorrow will bring. Sure, there have been problems and hitches along the way, but this is TUFC – that is how we do things.

The attendance will be lower than even the most pessimistic (me) predicted, and there s every chance that whatever the result tomorrow our manager will be swapping Plainmoor for pastures new, but these are issues those of us that are making the trip have to ignore. If we re to enjoy the day, and give the team the best chance of success, attention needs to be on the pitch and nowhere else.

From the moment your journey to Manchester starts, be focussed on our ultimate goal, and that alone. If there are only 6,000 of us there, sing twice as loudly as normal and my maths suggests it ll sound like 12,000. These are moments to be cherished, don t let negative thoughts ruin the occasion. Old Trafford will be a new experience for many – embrace it, don t reject it.

We are in a truly enviable position. There is little pressure on this game. It s not like the BSP Final, where success (or failure) was a real moment of destiny. Of course we all want promotion – it s what the game is played for and would represent another fantastic achievement in the history of our club. But the future of the club is not on the line here. If we stay down, there are obvious consolations in the shape of Argyle, Rovers and Swindon.

I plan to enjoy the whole occasion – whatever the outcome. If those that are there get behind the team in the way much smaller numbers have done previously, and the players give the kind of performance of which they can be proud, I ll be more than satisfied - and confident.

It s not football snobbery to suggest that we are the football team in this encounter. Stevenage will niggle and time-waste and foul and moan. The ref is there to stop that, but the clown we have tomorrow can t be trusted to do it. So we have to play through it. And if we do, i'm hopeful we ll win. And if we don t, we can at least appreciate having attended another historic occasion for our club, and plot the downfall of Argyle next year!

And after all that, on Sunday I can go back to be cynical, pessimistic and generally angry! So, something else to look forward to!

C'mon Yellows!

[chippygull]

Ref: Stevenage gamesmanship. My Oxford supporting friends were getting very annoyed by something they do with water bottles. Can anyone remember what it is?


Hmmmm.

http://www.not606.com/archive/index.php ... 95445a2a0a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[chippygull]

A ha!

found it

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp ... probe.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Northumbergull]

Well spoken, Fonda

No matter what the post-season shannanigans are, our club will REMAIN our club.

I wish I was able to be with you guys at OT. I went there in the 70s to support my First Division club, Leeds, against the Reds. Due to lack of (as in NO) security, a few of us even had a pre-match kick-about on the pitch and I scored a "goal" into the Stretford End! Unfortunately, these days, it's no Theatre of Dreams for me, more a Den of Cheats! Much as I'd love to see the match, I feel physically sick when I think of what usually gets played there. I'm a fan of football, not the "soccer" that passes for the game at OT.

So, sing up for the lads and let's hope we can beat both Stevenage's tactics and a ref who has already been shown to agree/turn a blind eye to such.

COYY!

Cheers

Bruce

[stargull]

Such good advice, and yet so hard to follow!

I'm not an optimistic football supporter; between work commitments and travel I don't get to many games but it probably means something that only twice in the last decade can I remember being at a game and being certain that we weren't going to throw it all away. (Weirdly, Cambridge before kick off and Barnet somewhere around half time; the latter didn't last long).

I'm not going to make Saturday's game either, although I'll be watching, and the overwhelming emotion right now is fear. There's some excitement, but a prize that very few of us thought could be ours so soon is right there for the taking, and the thought of dealing with missing out isn't a pleasant one. There will always be next season, and by August I'll be exciting about Argyle and Rovers and Swindon and the rest, but it'll be a long few months to get there. We're not a club for whom play-off faliure means a springboard to success next season - we don't get too many of these chances and we need to take them.

Can you believe Colchester was only 6 years ago? I remember sitting on the train afterwards with a few friends who had only recently found the Gulls, and trying to explain quite how bad it was going to be, that relegation wasn't necessarily going to lead to another tilt at promotion. I know things are different now, but my heart and guts haven't learnt.

In short - I will enjoy the experience of this roller-coaster of a season only in retrospect, and only if we get the right result. Until then, I continue to marvel at the idea that supporting a football team is considered 'fun'!

P.S. Of course the fun part is the people, and I'm sorry to be missing friends at Old Trafford this week. Have six pints for me please - and sing loudly!

[Dave_Pougher]

Good post Fonda. I still can't believe where we are at now. Some of us would have been happy to see the back of Buckle in our second Conference season when we were low in that league. What a turn around to be where we are now.

Our last venture into league one probably ranks amoungst my favourite season. Anyone remember Brentford Boxing Day? (Bet Claridge doesn't!) It was tough but I really enjoyed it. I still say had we have had a chairman then that wanted to be there we would have survived. Likewise, should we be winners on Sat. then I feel next season will be even more so enjoyable. It will be tough, be give me league one tough than league two tough anytime!

COME ON YOU YELLOWS

[Fonda]

Can't say many more times that he has achieved far more than i ever thought he would. He's done a very good job when all is considered. I'll still be less disappointed to see him leave than many others will, but that's for another day.

[monty]

one of the few things I remember about the Colchester defeat, was a very p*ssed up colchester 'supporter' hitting a police horse in the mouth BEFORE match...I remember turning around to a complete stranger (a Torquay fan) and saying did you see that...

[Fonda]

Safe journey to all those travelling. See you on the other side. That's the other side of the M6, not the other 'other side'.

Really need to get to bed. Early start in the morning afterall...

Sing loud, be proud and lets do this!