Tales of the unexpected.

 

I don’t go on BBC Radio Lincolnshire any more. I’m sure I’ve covered this on the blog before but the station contact people they’d like to come on the sport shows in advance and ask if they’d give the benefit of their wisdom and if you do they treat you like some overenthusiastic fan who’s phoned in, in response to their on air request. Been to the game? Call this number to discuss with Michael, Rob or whoever. I’m sure they do put on air people who sound like they can string a sentence together but that’s how it worked with me. Would you like to come on? Yes please.

Anyway, I think my sin, the reason I’m no longer in good books was to answer the question what formation do you think the manager should employ tonight with the observation that I’m a fan, not qualified, certainly not qualified you might say as a reader of this blog, to give a considered answer. I’m a fan, I watch and support I hope, the manager or head coach I should properly say, stipulates how the team should line up and play. They win, I’m happy, they lose, I’m sad. In the event of a draw, I’m something in between. I didn’t put it in those words but the upshot was, no more invites.

All of which brings us to last nights complete reversal of our expectations for the team last night. I said to Stewart as we walked past the almost deserted fan village, we were a bit late and just got in for the national anthem, but I said I’m expecting a tonking but it’s just the sort of game City might just produce a result no one at all was expecting.

I thought everything last night was right for an upset, for that surely was what it was. The atmosphere was sizzling, helped by the fact that the Derby fans were in fine voice, anticipating the mauling their team was about to inflict on their tinpot opponents and the seven or eight goals they were about to savour. The lions den comes to Daniel, you might say.

Except of course that didn’t happen. The home supporters seemed to find a voice that’s maybe been missing this season, determined not to be drowned out by those fans who have spent most of their tine at a considerably higher level than now and City had a not so secret weapon, the 617. I don’t know how many are in their number but it sounded a lot, the rest of the attendance took their cue and, certainly after City scored, well against the run of play, really that was the end of the noise from the Rams. Apart from the roar that greeted the disallowed goals. How we laughed.

How did City do it? Well you’re asking me what formation the Imps should play, they simply bust a gut to get on top of a Derby side that looked the part initially but, as the game wore on we all, players and fans alike started to realise that they were all mouth and no trousers and that this game was there for the taking. Mind you, even with two or three minutes to go I was still convinced  our formerly illustrious opponents would get the two goals they needed to take an undeserved draw.

It did rather help that reinforcements are now available with more to come but in the minus column Ted Bishop limped off and no Walsh. When will this injury saga right itself? No matter, the talk was all about this unexpected win and how good City were. Long may it continue.