Meenzer

Aye, my first thought afterwards (and during) was of my uncle in Sweden, who was as big a fan as almost any of us. Back in the days before satellite/cable TV, he used to crack open a couple of Brown Ales purchased at no small cost from the government-owned liquor store and "watch" our matches on Swedish TV's teletext. He was very good at English swearing and he'd have no doubt texted me saying he was "over the fucking moon" or something. Not least with a Swede scoring the winner and having such a brilliant couple of seasons for us. Time's a bastard, isn't it.

My watch says my heart rate was over 150 for the entire last 20 minutes or so.

Only because the staff were all "But Mr. Strode, you were the drummer in Kajagoogoo"

Duke's lad.

A club legend-worthy 8.

Can you guess how many appearances he made for them? Go on.

I may be guilty of turning a blind eye to sportswashing but at least I know "churlish" isn't a verb.

Bloody hell, lads.

Fuck me, we've actually turned up for a final. But they can't possibly be as weak in the second half. Howay.

Tom Waits though. Still magnificent.

We used to be devoted to it but gave up somewhere in the early 20s (I'm talking about Survivor here, not life generally).

Here's hoping

VAR, red card Joelinton.

I was looking at going along to non-league around here but Peterborough Sports (same division as South Shields) want £15 online/£18 on the gate. That's more than actual Peterborough United charge for EFL Trophy games. 😬

Aye, the trains between northern cities are buses on wheels that go at 30mph but sure, the benefits will positively radiate out of Manchester

I clearly need to investigate this podcast at long last but fucking hell, there's so much of it I think I'd need to retrain as an HGV driver or develop even worse insomnia to even make a dent

Seventh tier! (Though to be fair, that is as much a bearded London hipster problem as it is a Mackem problem...)

Well, Trump did say he'd make things more affordable. Turns out he meant shares.

Can't believe you didn't just go with the classic: 😬

Bawitdab-ouch

My Goodreads stats also suggest that my concentration span is deteriorating along with the state of the world.

😬

Bit weird, I thought they loved world wars?

We used to do the 24-hour ferry to Gothenburg back when it still existed. Bit less of a booze cruise, but you didn't half learn about cabin fever after a while. Harwich to Hoek van Holland is ideal by comparison. Rock up in the evening just in time for a nightcap in the bar, away to bed as you're setting sail, then wake up already at your destination. Only trouble is Stena Line plays fucking "Don't Worry, Be Happy" over the PA to wake everyone up.