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It’s a good job the Monday following the match was a Bank Holiday as it gave me a chance to try and come back to earth. Actually I didn’t quite manage that until Wednesday and then I started getting dizzy at the thought of this coming Sunday so it’s been a week of living my life in body but my soul elsewhere. I’ve had distractions but nothing’s taken my attention away from my beloved Blues for long…

On Monday Nel treated me to seeing the Avengers Assemble film – I drove us to the Metrocentre and she paid for our tickets The film was excellent and brought the characters from the previous films together beautifully. This was also my first trip tot he all new cinema in the Metrocentre and I was impressed – especially by the extra room for wheelchairs and other disabled users. We did however take our own picnic lunch as their prices are extortionate. After the film I managed to visit the O2 shop and sort out my new contract tariff which was something I’d been wanting to do. It was really nice to spend the day with my lovely daughter – thanks Nel.

On Tuesday I was back at work in my own job – but everyone was talking football to me so it wasn’t too much of a successful distraction

Wednesday was busy with shopping, gym, meeting and preparations for a short break next week – and I did start to calm down a bit.

Thursday and Friday I worked for another department helping out and was kept busy but even so my mind kept wandering into football mode now and then and by Friday afternoon I was already really excited.

Saturday (today) has been very busy but I’ve found it very hard to concentrate on the laundry, packing and a million other things I’ve needed to do because all I can think of is tomorrow and the match! It may be a good job I will need to be up very early as I may be too excited to sleep anyway Billy is going to his game away at Everton so we are driving down to Manchester early in order for him to meet up with his friends and catch the train from Piccadilly to Liverpool.

Come on City……… one more push…..

After all the excitement and tension of the derby on Monday, here we were with another huge game on Sunday – and the family derby to boot! Billy and I had set the ground rules: Enemies only for 90+ minutes, not the whole day; Absolutely no texting during the match or half time; neither of us is responsible for anything that happens on the pitch, the ref, or other fans of our clubs! It’s taken a few years for us to learn these rules need setting – I’ll let you guess which of us needed the rules to be set!

We decided to take the bus to town as this is the one fixture a season when I can have a matchday drink or two, and we popped in to see Paul at work on the way. (Work being a betting shop) Billy put a betting slip in front of me but I am superstitious and didn’t want to bet on either the City or Swansea games. Eventually I chose first/last scorer in our match (Ben Arfa for both) and hoped it was a safe enough one to win or lose On arriving at our usual pre-match pub we soon found the North_East Blues and the Irish Blues as well as some other Blue individuals I know, before Billy’s Toon gang arrived. Pre-match socialising was therefore a whirlwind of trying to see everyone and be everywhere at once for a couple of hours. When I was ready to head to the stadium, I left Billy to his drinking and walked up alone – nerves not quite as bad as they had been earlier, thanks to two halves (of lager) Good job I am used to those stairs up to level 7 and paced myself though there were plenty of others who didn’t, and a few who were even managing to sing as they climbed.

The consensus of opinion in the pub had been that this was a tough game to call. Two in-form teams with much for which to play. Two loyal followings supporting their team all the way. Two decent managers who have done well this season.

The opening 15 minutes of the match followed City’s frequent pattern of needing to settle into it. We away fans hadn’t sat down (and never did) but if we had, the nerves would have soon had us on our feet I think. We did find our pace and come in to it after this period and in general for this half we had more of the possession and frequently took the ball forwards only to faff about in and around the area trying to tippy-tappy the ball in. By contrast, when they did get the ball, Newcastle made a determined break for goal and looked like they’d take any chance of a shot they could get – my poor heart! Newcastle started to look more dangerous towards the whistle and both keepers made a couple of good saves to keep it 0-0 at half time.

City’s half time team talk must have been good because the second half was all about us; we dominated the game though still couldn’t make the break through and Newcastle still gave us a scare or two. Eventually the obvious substitution was made – De Jong came on allowing Yaya to come further forwards and what a difference this made! Sure enough, our big-game player sent us wild with a 70th minute goal We went nuts in the away end, and despite non-stop singing up to now, we somehow managed to crank up the volume in celebration. Neil, who was next to me, says I burst his eardrum with my ecstatic screaming OMG! Could we do this? We dared to believe and a happy Poznan broke out, giving me more bruises to add to my football tally, but I wasn’t complaining!

A poor quality photo of the TV footage just about showing me finishing celebratory cuddles after the goal:

Both sides then had a couple of great chances that came to nothing and our nerves were as stretched as ever. It didn’t help that as soon as we’d scored, the stadium’s digital clock went off so we couldn’t see how long we had to hang on for. It seemed forever! And then almost at full time, Yaya sent us delirious again with another beautiful goal. Oh how we went wild! Surely now we’d done it? We had 3 added minutes to endure, but then the whistle went and we jumped, cheered, clapped and sang our hearts out! We were so proud and so delighted to have witnessed a great second half performance against an excellent team.

Another poor photo from TV – my back at full time as we were leaving:

The ref was poor in terms of starting off card-happy and booking players without cause and then letting them get away with things for which they more deserved to be booked! However, he was equally so with both teams and certainly didn’t change the game or its outcome. Both sets of fans were excellent, singing in support of their own team rather than abusing the other, and applauded each others’ players which was nice.(See NUFC and MCFC fans’ tweets here) Best chant of the day: “Fergie’s cracking up….he’s cracking up…he’s cracking up..“

Eventually it was time to head back to the pub and I walked there with Rick, hoping Billy would get the chance to stay behind for Newcastle players’ lap of honour as it was their last home game of the season. We were walking amongst hundreds of home fans of course, but were touched at how many made a point of wishing us luck with winning the title. When we got back to the pub I headed for the corner where Billy would be when in so he wouldn’t worry about me (I had also sent him a couple of texts of course) and Chris bought me a drink as he was the first of the gang to get back. We had another enjoyable couple of hours in there with friendly Toon v City singing and relaxed banter (a couple of City fans did go slightly too far at one point and it could have kicked off, but they settled down and all was well) and we all watched the Swansea match. There was even a Swansea fan in I think we all expected a home win but I bet Fergie and Co were very disappointed with only 2 goals

After a record 3 drinks for me (5 over the whole day) Billy and got the bus back home, munching a picnic on the way. He needed the loo so we popped in to Donnie’s for that and stayed for one more drink to chat with Steph who was on her own behind the bar. SIX drinks! Still, I reckon I deserved it after what City’s put me through

So there we have it – City are in pole position to win the title at the last game of the season the next Sunday. City and ManUre equal on points but we have an 8 goal advantage. You’d hope we can beat relegation threatened QPR at home but this IS City! So my nerves will be stretched to their limits again as the game approaches. As an aside, I’d love QPR to survive (mainly thanks to them having Shaun and Ned in their team) but would like it to be because Bolton have lost their own match rather than having QPR beat us.

Do I dare to start believing yet………?

MCFC’s 60-second highlights here
MCFC’s extended highlights here
Fan YouTube video here if you fancy getting caught up in the mood
Well respected NUFC site’s match report here – a good read though the author didn’t see our Poznan & Shawcross was booked on his debut for us

Excellent song – listen to the words, try not to cry near the end! :

I drove down to mum’s on the Sunday, ahead of Monday night’s HUGE game, thanks to my colleague swapping working days with me to make it possible for me to go. I managed fairly successfully to put the match out of my mind until about 2pm when the stomach curling nerves hit me and I was like a cat on a hot tin roof waiting until it was time for me to go. Derby days are always awful (ask any football fan what his/her derby pre-match tension is like and they’ll tell you it’s like no other game) but the thought of losing this one was too horrible – not only would it pretty much hand them the title, but it would also mean it would be them that broke our undefeated home run and oh boy, would they crow about both! Eventually I deemed it time to go and got my timings fairly spot on, having allowed for the heavy traffic I ran into so I didn’t need to panic.

I enjoyed 3/4 hour of the pre-match entertainment in City Square before needing to take my seat, and though I’d hoped to meet up with Rick to get my Newcastle ticket, ran out of time since I wasn’t prepared to miss a thing on this massive occasion. On the way I did bump in to Shaun, whom I hadn’t seen for years and had a quick chat which was very nice. When I got to my seat I was pleased to see the young lad who has sat in front of me for years until this season – he is now all grown up and working/playing sport himself so I hadn’t seen him for a long time and his dad has been bringing other family members in his stead. We were all nervous but loving the occasion and the atmosphere was building nicely already.

Our starting line-up was unchanged from the wonderfully attacking team for the last game, and I have to say we didn’t think much of the ManUre one – they’d obviously come for a draw which would suit them better than it would us. For the entire match itself I, and everyone around me, was a nervous wreck! The first 20 minutes or so allowed ManUre some decent possession and a half chance or two but gradually we gained dominance and it felt like only a matter of time before we scored – surely. As half time got closer this looked unlikely, alas, but then into stoppage time our Captain Fantastic rose to the occasion – quite literally – and headed home to put us in front. The stadium erupted! We went absolutely crazy with delight! The already poor away fans stood silently as we all cheered, Poznan’ed and sang.

Shaun Goater made an appearance at half time and was well received (I’d already seen him in City Square prior to the match and he’d been welcomed as a hero there too.) I felt sure that Fergie would change things a bit for the second half as they now needed to score to equalise if they wanted that vital point, but amazingly after the break, the game picked up where it had left off. The trouble is, although ManUre were poor and never really looked like scoring, we all KNOW how they can get one out of nowhere and we all KNOW how our Blue boys can lose concentration for just a few seconds – long enough to concede. So we were far from comfortable at just 1-0 and I was praying to Dad and his dad (and everyone else I could think of ) to just let us not concede! I could actually feel my heart thudding in my chest and I was literally shaking – and not with cold! When 5 minutes Fergie time was added the prayers got more heartfelt than ever and we were all on the edge of our seats.

Finally, the whistle went. We’d won! Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! We’d done the double over them, put 7 goals past them this season, 5 different scorers, knocked them off top spot and had bragging rights for the summer! Immediately the speakers were cranked up to the max and Blue Moon played full blast with City fans belting it out as they raised scarves and hands to celebrate. This was followed by Wonderwall and more (led by Mr Gallagher himself on the big screen We all stayed to applaud the players and to party – best of all, the away fans had been kept in for safety and had to endure The singing continued down the spirals and all around the ground as we made our way back to cars, coaches and homes.

The atmosphere throughout was electric – home fans were loud and proud and I wasn’t aware of hearing a single Munich chant which was fantastic. Away fans were poor (to be fair, their team didn’t give them much to cheer) and easily drowned out when they did attempt to sing. They were treated to several renditions of “It should have been 10…you lucky b*ds, it should have been 10″ and Mancini was very loudly supported with many airings of his song, especially when he and Fergie were head to head on the touchline. But the best chant was when Ashley Young came on as a sub – “Dive in a minute, you’re gonna dive in a minute…” and he did! (Well, he went over under a challenge anyway )

The entire team played well – no-one had a poor game and it was so hard to choose a MotM, but I think for me, it would have been Zaba - he was fantastic in both attack and defence all game. Just a word on Mr Marriner the referee for the evening. This was a very high profile match – breaking TV viewing records in the UK and USA – with much riding on it and therefore a huge occasion for any referee. He did get a few things wrong, but nothing outstanding and all forgiveable, but in all he did a great job. He let the game flow as much as possible whilst remaining in control of it, and he certainly wasn’t there to get himself noticed. Nice job ref, well done

I had to wait some time to get out of the car park but this was fine – I was too hyped up to be tired and was happy enough texting people whilst waiting. I was quite proud of myself for having the presence of mind to remember I wanted some petrol as I left Manchester and had already picked the petrol station on my way in – a 24 hour one very conveniently located. However it turned out to be a very weird experience and I can only think that the attendant was a ManUre fan who reacted to my City shirt and car stickers. There were a couple of cars already in and filling up/paying and I picked up the pump which was zeroed by the bloke inside ready for me to fill. The other cars left and there was only me there. Just as I was about to start filling the tank, a voice on the PA announced that he was closing for 10 minutes. I thought it very odd to do this after setting my pump to zero and it didn’t feel right. Luckily I hadn’t started filling so I put the pump back, drove off and left it as I felt I would have been vulnerable having to wait for ten minutes to pay. Had I already started filling I would have had no choice and running through my options afterwards I wondered what I’d have done. The very least would have been to lock my doors whilst waiting, but even then I’d have been unable to use my phone if needed as you can’t use them at petrol stations. Ah well, bizarre as it was, it didn’t shake my grin

When I got back to mum’s around midnight, she greeted me with a stiff drink (I’d been dying for that all day, but obviously couldn’t indulge as I was driving) Aaaaaaahhhh! Bliss! I was still buzzing and we stayed up until 1am chatting about the game (which she’d watched on TV) but then when I went to bed I crashed out instantly. I slept in a little later than usual and was greeted with a cup of coffee, breakfast and the TV remote controls – mum had recorded the game and said I could watch it again if I fancied. Oh I fancied! How wonderful is my mummy?

In fact, it took me until Wednesday to really come back to earth after that epic night. I suspect we will lose to Newcastle in our next game and therefore lose out in the title race (funnily enough Newcastle fans have said they expect to lose to us and end up in 6th ) but I would rather we miss out on the title by losing to anyone but ManUre - I can live with a loss on Sunday if I must, but I badly wanted the derby victory. Of course, winning both would be simply wonderful

MCFC’s 60-second highlights here
MCFC’s extended highlights here
Kippax Blue’s photos here
Beeb pundits on the title run in

On Tuesday, Nel mum and I went to Newcastle – via Ten bus at Nel’s insistence so we had a thorough tour of every town and village on the (very winding) way We decided we needed lunch first since the 1.5 hour ride meant we arrived at noon, so we took advantage of a special offer and a voucher we had to enjoy a Pizza Hut special. Mmmm. Mum and I then followed Nel round since a) she knew where she was going and b) she had specific shops she wanted to visit. She came back with a few bargains, mum bought one thing she’d been after, and I came home empty handed (though there was nothing I’d been after, to be fair.) During our equally long return bus ride home, Stephen phoned to ask where everyone was as he’d planned to spend some time with Granny (Men!) but by the time we were home, he was busy with friends again. We didn’t do anything much in the evening bar watching some TV and mum packing. Oh and a bit more mutual love and attention between mum and the cats – who loved having someone else around to adore them.

Mum returned home on Wednesday, though I’d soon be seeing her again when I went down at the weekend ahead of my football match and I got on with my usual Wednesday jobs at home. This time it involved putting things back to normal of course, but I could do that at my leisure. I have got so out of the habit of having guests now, though in the past I’ve always had regular visitors and have always had a home and spare room ready at all times. This time it took a lot of clearing, sorting, and cleaning to prepare (mainly because with all the hours I am working, I am not here to keep on top of things) and I had to scrabble around somewhat for decent spare bedding having used it all ourselves over the years. Nel helped, and Billy earned lots of Brownie points both in the preparation for and during mum’s visit as he really was a huge help physically and with moral support – sssshhhhh, don’t tell him though else he’ll just blow them all in one go

Hopefully now mum’s retired she might visit again occasionally as we all enjoyed having her here

This year for our St George’s Day celebrations, mum came to stay with us and have them here so that Billy, Raji and the kids could join in to suit – we’ve been saying for a couple of years that we need a bit of help with the boozing side of things since we’re pretty light-weight

First order of the day, after exchanging cards, little gifts and greetings, was to collect our rose button-holes from Dillies - and they did a fantastic job for us, even supplying pins with red beads at the heads making them absolutely perfect We then wandered up in to town and had a coffee whilst admiring the roses (and my nails!)

Billy was working just the morning, Raji had plans for the day, and the kids were sleeping, so we pleased ourselves for the morning before returning home for lunch, popping back in to Dillies on the way, where we sampled an exquisite wine called Apricot Velvet Mmmmm (think we’ll be buying some of that in the near future!) We’d planned to visit the Old Gaol in the afternoon, only it doesn’t open on Mondays So we decided that The House of Correction looked interesting – only you have to arrange a visit in advance This wasn’t looking great and the weather was pretty grim too (what a contrast to last year!) so we were running out of ideas. I had wondered whether mum might fancy The Roman Army Museum on Hadrian’s Wall, and when Billy came home he gave us the push we needed and that was where we (Billy, Mum, Nel and I) went. It was very much the kind of thing dad would have loved and he always had a special interest in the Romans so it was an appropriate activity for the day. It had changed a bit from last time I was there and the new 3D film was excellent – it really brought history to life and gave a wonderful bird’s eye view of along the length of the wall. After a cuppa in the tea shop, we drove back along the Military Road so as to continue the sense of history and to admire the views – an excellent idea of Billy’s.

After freshening up, Billy took mum, Nel and I up to town where we met Paul and the men showed us girls how to place a bet – something Nel and I had never done before, and Mum had not done herself before. We had thought to bet on a horse in the day’s races at Hexham, but were too late for that, but there was racing at Windsor which was apt as dad had been stationed there. Mum and Nel bet on a horse each but I decided I preferred to stick with something I know and bet on football instead – Leicester v West Ham. For the grand total of £1 I bet on it being a draw at half time with a 1-0 win for the Hammers at full time. My half time bet won me £2.25 so I won on my first attempt (Mum and Nel’s horses didn’t come in sadly, and mum’s football bet on Leicester v West Ham finishing 1-1 didn’t either.) The five of us then went to The Coach for the first drink of the day and toasted St George, King Harry et al, plus absent friends and any other relevant toast-worthy things/people we could think of. It was really nice of Paul to join us and much appreciated. Raji came in just before we left to meet up with Stephen and have a meal at Wetherspoons.

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After a very enjoyable meal, Stephen disappeared to meet a friend and the rest of us went to the Globe for a couple of drinks, and then on to the cricket club for a couple more. Nel got pleasantly tipsy and very loquacious and all in all it was a perfect end to a day that dad would have enjoyed very much.

Happy St. George’s Day

Having picked up mum from Carlisle and then having a family roast dinner, I decided to record this match and watch it after the meal, so I warned fellow Blues with whom I normally exchange texts during games not to text, and then mum, Billy, Raji and I watched it together. I hoped we could beat bottom of the table Wolves, but our away form isn’t great so I wasn’t completely confident. However, City had excellent incentive to win as Everton had miraculously managed to score 4 goals at the swamp to hold ManUre to a draw (after being 3-1 down as well!)

We played a good attacking line-up and the match started brightly with both teams playing well. Frustratingly City missed 3 excellent chances before finally scoring half an hour in (Aguero) making me very nervous – and poor Billy and Raji had all my nervous squeals, frustrated sighs and mutterings in stereo as mum and I echoed each other Hart made at least two good saves to keep it at 0-1 for the half time break. City wavered for a while which did little for my poor heart, but then managed to sort themselves out and start playing again – and got their reward when Nasri scored our second goal – making me breath SLIGHTLY more easily. Wolves didn’t roll over and die though and it remained a game to the end – happily we kept the 3 points, though I’m sorry it sent down a team I like in the process.

If I was nervous about derbies before, I feel positively sick at the thought of Monday’s forthcoming one… we’re 3 points behind ManUre with +6 better goal difference, and there are only two games to go after that. City have to win it to stay in the title race…

MCFC’s 60-second highlights here
MCFC’s extended highlights here

This week we played top of the league, Sun Inn, who will be promoted next season. Last time, we were pleased to manage 5 wins so we lost 6-5; we didn’t expect to do as well this time. Simon and Claire were away so the rest of us played and the random order was: Senior; Graham; me; Paul; Billy; Junior.

We won: both trebles; the first doubles and then Senior’s, and Graham’s singles so that it was 5-5 with just Junior’s singles game to go.He had been playing with a bad wrist and was wearing a wrist support which hindered as much as helped, and sadly he was beaten. So again, we lost to the best team in the league 5-6 – not at all bad

My own darts weren’t brilliant but not bad, and I expected to get absolutely hammered by my opponent – who scored 180 with his opening throw in our doubles! He did lead but I managed a timely 100 to close the gap and he wobbled slightly, missing his x8 so that I had a chance to get to a 3 dart finish – but he didn’t slip up again and got the win I had expected him to. The others of our team who lost, were unlucky to be beaten but we were nevertheless pleased with our efforts on the night.

That was our last league game and we finished in a respectable 9th place. Roll on next season!

I’d have loved to have gone to this game – I like Norwich very much ( as you may recall) and it would have been great to have gone down and seen my friends again. Actually if I HAD gone there as an away fan, I wonder which way I’d have swayed it – 100% home win or 100% win for the team I was supporting As it was, I watched the game on TV – after a slight delay when I spilled a freshly made cup of tea all over my lap (OUCH!) and had to fly upstairs to change out of my soggy jeans!

We had an exciting looking line-up again and were clearly going for it - and the game started with pace. Very early on we had a penalty shout – but the ref booked Tevez for diving, and to be fair, in real time, I also thought he went down softly, yet replays clearly show it was a penalty. Happily Tevez soon showed he didn’t need it and scored a beauty of a goal which was followed around 10 minutes later by a belter from Aguero We looked comfortable and went in to the break 0-2 up.

Early in the second half, Norwich scored a lovely goal of their own which had looked like coming as we’d taken our foot off the gas a bit. I was very nervous now and feared we’d blow this. (I wasn’t alone, the texts were flying and others thought the same.) For a neutral it was a very entertaining spell – for those of us who were NOT neutral, it was a bit nervy. All of a sudden, my boys got the bit between their teeth, kick-started by another Tevez goal about 20 minutes after the Norwich one. And that was it ………. off we went on the rampage – another for Aguero, Tevez again (to get the match ball) and finally AJ to make it 1-6! Magic!

I was just sorry that this came against Norwich and the scoreline is rather harsh on them as it makes it look like a doddle, which it most certainly didn’t feel like for much of the game. However, it was a welcome 3 points and a lovely goal difference booster and though I still think it’s too late, you never know – it just might come in handy.

MCFC’s 60-second highlights here
MCFC’s extended highlights here

On Friday night we were playing away at The Grapes. Billy went to cricket nets (as the season is about to start) and joined us later so I walked up with Claire and Simon. I’d had quite an intense week so was looking forward to just relaxing with my friends – and that’s what I got to do, since the random order left me out of the play.

Our random order was: Paul; Graham; Junior; Senior; Simon; Claire.

We had to play the second doubles game before the first as Graham was AWOL (later found in the loo!) and after losing both trebles, the Rogers won their double, as did Paul and Graham, but Simon and Claire lost, making the scores 3-2. Paul, Graham and Junior won their singles, but Senior and Simon lost – making it go to the last game with the score 5-5. Claire was not amused as she’d told the others they weren’t to leave it to her Happily, she ground out a win and we took the game. Well done Claire.

After the darts, we all decided to stay out for another drink (bar Senior who went home) and as Paul is friends with the lad who has just taken over “Donni’s” (actually it’s called Studio, but will always be known by its former name) we went there. He’s actually made a decent bar on the first floor and it has a huge TV on which he screens sports so that he can run the place as a sports bar (much needed here so a good idea) During the course of the evening, he let us explore the top floor which was the night club, and given that I’d never set in there before whilst to locals it was an institution that every young adult visited, Simon and Roger described how it used to be. It needs some tidying up before it can be used again, but it’s huge, with lots of nooks and crannies so it was great fun poking round up there. Whilst not exactly passing my initiation to be a local, I can at least now say that I have been to Donni’s

Once again the price of petrol and a mid-week game combined to keep me at home and my seat empty However, now that I have the lap-top I could settle in bed and watch online – and what a game! I was quietly confident that we should win this one, and when I saw the starting line-up I was very excited – Aguero and Tevez both in, and Silva and Nasri too! What a mouthwatering prospect!

City started the game brightly – and kept it up throughout Some absolutely beautiful football was played and it was a really enjoyable performance, one like those we enjoyed in the first half of the season. Aguero scored just after 5 minutes in and the City attacks just didn’t stop, although it took until the 2nd half to score again. Another for Aguero, one for Tevez and one for Silva – just a shame Nasri couldn’t get one though he tried.

I wish I’d been there, but as it was I loved the football we’d played and was well pleased. Imagine how delighted I was, then, when I heard that Wigan were beating ManUre 1-0 and when our final whistle went, I was following the 5 minutes of Fergie time added in the other game – convinced THEY would score. But they didn’t! Never felt more like singing the Blues….City win, United lose….

I still think it’s too little too late so am not expecting us to pip them to the title, but it’s always fun to enjoy it when we win and they don’t

MCFC’s 60-second highlights here
MCFC’s extended highlights here
Kippax Blue’s photos here