Bournmouth (p) – The ACN Review

Biggest Positive

I think this is obvious at this point. I hope you’re as hungover as you read this as I am drunk writing it.

Weekend Whinge

It’s become a bit of a cliche to now mention “I wish we were there” and “gutting that the fans missed it” and I nearly didn’t put this here for that reason but, you know what, it’s still 100% true. Remember that it is ok to feel sad that you weren’t able to see this all happen, no matter what some smartarses say on Twitter, because football is, and forever shall be, an experience of true community. Celebrate in your own way and on your terms and if that’s by not really celebrating at all because you still feel a bit weird about it all, then that’s fine; then we’ll make sure to have a party when you’re back.

Oh and we lost apparently. Didn’t see this myself as the red card wasn’t actually a red card and in my head we went and won the game 3-0 as we threatened to, but that is what people tell me.

Moment of the Match

I hear someone was sent off after a dodgy decision where “plucky little Bournemouth” decided to be absolute shithouses? That probably was the moment. But in the words of Barry Davis: “Frankly, who cares?”

Farke Watch

Bit weird to replace Teemu with Przemyslaw Placheta, but I can’t fault him if he was on the Pilsner Urquell like the rest of us.

Grant Hanley Award for Random Star Performer

This goes to…Grant Hanley. For getting injured and getting up and then being the aboslute fucking hero he is in refusing to be substituted. Made in Scotland. From girders.

Summary

Have you ever sat back and considered why, logically, you support a football team? It makes no sense. Here’s this vague business entity that you pour money and emotional investment into only to often find yourself feeling a great deal of pain and suffering. In what other form of entertainment does this happen?

When we were relegated last year in such a disastrous way, it was a culmination of a horror couple of months both inside and outside of a football world. We all try and separate our football emotions from our real life emotions, but with the swirls of all sorts of emotions during that first lockdown, this was extremely difficult to do. Whenever you have a bad time of it, all the bad things, major and trivial, seem to happen at once; and here was, the classic icing on the cake for all of us – a complete Norwich collapse on top of all the other shit that was going on. Why do we bother?

And this is it, the fact it is so illogical is what makes it logical.

Here we are again. The highest of highs through the most incredible of seasons. An incredible team that picked  Goals and winners. Distant we may have been, but together we were. Just think about being back at Carrow Road for that first game at capacity. The roar and the noise and feeling your eyes well up as On The Ball City is belted out for the first time. The party we will have that day, no matter when it is, will be something to behold. Something where we are all together once more.

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