Two excursions to the south coast produced a mirror image in results. The first I followed via text updates from Sky and Joel. This was supplemented by Hannah (his significant other) complaining about West Ham ruining her Monday evening as well as Saturdays and Sundays and asking plaintively why it was so difficult to score. She obviously needs to watch Julien Faubert more.
The second was anchored in front of the telly in the downstairs room, with The Controller descending from her lofty television-watching eyrie (where she'll watch anything but West Ham and a subtitled foreign film), to check once in a while on score and mood.
It was the classic scattered family communion. Jessica was watching at her home in Walthamstow where her partner Joe was no doubt still curled into a sobbing ball in the corner following the Manchester Derby game the previous day. I mean we've had some pastings at Old Trafford, but it's not our ground and we're not a multi-million pound team that was in the Champions League final last year. Or next year or any year, Pornographers please note for the bullshit-ometer. So she probably couldn't be too celebratory as misery loves company. Jack was watching in a pub in Brighton, rather than on the terraces in Brighton, having failed to, ahem, source a ticket. And given the local sensibilities, he also probably had to keep the enjoyment reasonably constrained. Joel was, I assume, using my SkyGo log in to feed his obsession (and not ruin Hannah's Tuesday evening as well) in Wapping.
Whereas I was in Brentwood environs, accompanied by two Golden Retrievers who respond well to enjoyment and slink away at the abuse that unfailingly appears at moments of tension (like Julien Faubert missing another cow's arse with his super-sized banjo).
But there was relatively little to get excited about. We scored and never looked like conceding even when the ref gave 8 minutes added time working on the theory that if we always concede in 90 plus minutes, that was long enough for us not only to let in one goal, but more likely two. But we didn't and the dogs could happily wag their tails in appreciation of the result, if not the play.
But who cares, what we need is promotion and winning will get us that if we keep it up. And 0-1 away from home will do nicely, thank you very much. As The Controller sagely commented, 'Good result'.
Now, about that home form ....
No comments:
Post a Comment