Playoff Final 2007 - Would you do it again?

Writing that just made me go and look at the YouTube highlights. Bl**dy H*ll, we missed some sitters that day.

I had a career-changing meeting the morning of the playoff final, in Dublin. It was a really, really tough decision to give up the chance of seeing DCFC win at Wembley for the first time since the Charity Shield back in 1975, having witnessed defeat first-hand against both Fester and Cream of Celery.

So as it was that afternoon, I was in Dublin but I met my pal Seamus and we ventured down to the Porterhouse for a skinful. I had given up smoking five years ago, but after just 5 minutes of the game against the Baggies I had gone to the paper shop to buy some tabs. I ended up sitting in the smoking area watching the game through the doorway and the gaps between my fingers, smoking myself senseless (to say nothing about drinking myself into a similar state).

After the game, in my inebriated state, I decided to celebrate with a €25 Cuban cigar which took about 2 hours and another 5 pints to get rid of.

Premonition or no, I wouldn't have swapped that day for the world.

*five years before

It was Billy who was the disgrace - not Paul Jewell. At least Jewell had the grace to go without his pay-off. No such qualms with Billy. He always only looked after Billy. It was Billy who, after winning the play-off final (and therefore being already late in terms of new team building) who spent 2 weeks arguing about his personal terms, then went on holiday for another 2 weeks and finally made a belated attempt at signing some decent players. Needless to say they had all gone by then. He did find one signing (Earnshaw) when he finally came back to work, made by a director I imagine in desparation, and therefore in his usual state of pique, refused to play him. Almost ruined Earnshaw's career. And then he had the gall to play him as one of his Forest signings when finally he pitched up at the CG.

Then the cycle restarts and he drove ND to distraction by his constant moaning ( I believe) to engineer another pay-off

I have totally zero admiration for that wee man.

Yes - definitely do it again.

Think, how many teams would give their collective left or right spherical reproductive bit to play and win a play-off final.

OK, the subsequent year was torrid but seeing 8YO at Wembley and the joy it brought was worth the anst and pain - honest!

With the benefit of hindsight, I wish we had lost! but seriously everyone is wiser after the event, as in life. Did anyone think we'd be so appalling? I doubt it. It was a combination of bad decisions from board to manager and I think Billy Davies craftily distanced himself from the mess which he helped create and Paul Jewell took responsibility for/the blame.

I thought we were already a weaker side after winning at Wembley when Seth Johnson got injured. It was his grittiness that got us through the play-offs as much as anyone rather the new signings.

You also wonder about how much 'behind the scenes' friction cost us. Billy spent most of the summer trying to bring David Kelly than he did signings.

Billy Davies never replaced him or brought in a midfield enforcer. You look at Norwich shipping goals under Hughton and he has brought in Tettey to add steel. This is what we needed and lacked, someone to win the ball, shield & protect a vulnerable defence. We also lacked creative players who could hurt the opposition.

You can argue that the PL season meant GSE but it was Gadsby's decision to sell - and we also used £30m to pay off our historic debt. Whatever you say about GSE, it was Jewell who failed to get us promoted and turn around the slide.

typo
to bring David Kelly in than

The saddest thing after that was, buying Clod Davies, and alien Earnshaw!!

Bob:

I assumed that you meant 'to bring David Kelly off'.

wassa
they cost a combined total of £6.5m!