20 days.......

[Insidious]

Well - who would have thunk it?

20 days from now on April 7th we will be facing off against Slot's arch-nemesis, PSG.

A wonderful throwback performance against Galatasaray where we were absolutely rampant against an admittedly poor Turkish outfit who have only won a single knock-out match in Europe in their last 37 attempts (which was against us....nice one.... ) was a wonderful gulp of fresh air in a smoke-filled season.

Nottingham Forest fans might sing "in your head" at Arne Slot, but it was PSG who made us look like mugs last season. Yes, we took them to penalties, but realistically they were better than us for probably three and a half of the four halves of football - and we saw Arne try to take little snippets from the Luis Enrique PSG set-up in the remainder of the 24/25 season.

So.....what to say other than they are quite a bloody good side? If we turn up like we did against Galatasaray then we can certainly compete, but Chelsea have shown that if you don't bring it, then you will get absolutely spanked.

There's life in some of our Old Guard yet and some of our newer acquisitions certainly gave a good account of themselves tonight (Kerkez was absolutely full of energy, flicks and tricks from Ekitike, clever positions from Wirtz even if his ideas lacked the killer edge, Szoboszlai not a "newbie" but not one of Klopp's long-term servants and bossed it) and how nice to see Salah, admittedly a shadow of his former self, grab a 50th Champion's League goal with a trademark finish.

I have such mixed feelings about this upcoming fixture. It could be unpleasant if we don't bring it, but it's worth reminding ourselves just how ridiculously privileged we are to partake in fixtures such as this, as so many clubs rarely (or never) get the chance.

Sometimes fans ask "what's the point of being in the Champion's League if you look like you won't win it?" but simply having the OPPORTUNITY is such a blessing and such a privilege. We have to make sure we are in it next season as nights like what we had tonight and what we can look forward to against PSG are absolutely magical.

Hopefully we can squeeze out some form in the League to make sure we have more nights like this next season. A win against Brighton before the international break would be massive.

In 04/05 our League form wasn't all that, but Rafa Benitez and our lads ended up having an absolutely wonderful campaign in Europe in the end. I must say I don't foresee us emulating that campaign, but you know what? We are one of eight sides - so we have a chance.

Questions remain about the management and about the squad, but we have some talented players here and we are stable - a decent finish to the season and a few of the right transfers......we should be okay. Not perfect, but okay - and sometimes "good enough IS good enough" and we will have more joyous evenings next season.

*Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh* - what a lovely fucking evening that was. We are so lucky to follow this club, we really are.

20 days and we can have the jangled nerves again - dreading it, yes - but I can't wait.

[redebreck]

Well - who would have thunk it?

20 days from now on April 7th we will be facing off against Slot's arch-nemesis, PSG.

I have such mixed feelings about this upcoming fixture. It could be unpleasant if we don't bring it, but it's worth reminding ourselves just how ridiculously privileged we are to partake in fixtures such as this, as so many clubs rarely (or never) get the chance.

Sometimes fans ask "what's the point of being in the Champion's League if you look like you won't win it?" but simply having the OPPORTUNITY is such a blessing and such a privilege. We have to make sure we are in it next season as nights like what we had tonight and what we can look forward to against PSG are absolutely magical.

We are one of eight sides - so we have a chance.

Questions remain about the management
but
We are so lucky to follow this club, we really are.

Superb post.