So, it begins!!! As we face the biggest cup game at home we have faced for decades. How’s everyone doing?? Some are confident many of us are apprehensive some are nervous already and me Mr glass half empty well…..
 
The players seem quietly confident, the coach seems a bit less cautious than normal and most of the fans I speak to think we might just do it. I wish I could somehow share their confidence. But as a hardened sceptic and blind follower of the FC, try as I may to be confident, I just can’t see it. I often approach big games like that because if your right you somehow feel better and if you win who cares anyway. 
 
This is going to be so tough and one thing’s for sure we need a solid start with no penalties given away, because if they get as far ahead as Wigan did then I know that lightning won’t be striking twice!!! 
 
I hate that lot with a passion, but they are a bloody good team this term probably as good as there is in the British game at present and they have gone off with a bullet whilst although we have still got off well for me at least we’re not really firing on all cylinders and as always injuries abound. But rather like the fans at times as a team we’re flying on the fumes of belief passion and a never say never attitude. Which we all know can get you a long way. However, for this fan, the greatest thing of all is that had this scenario unfolded last season we would simply have been watching through our fingers, head in hands or from behind the settee just praying we could at least keep the score down. 
 
When you step out of the cauldron that is this game you have to wonder just how amazed would we all have been back then last year if we knew that we would have possibly the richest owners in the game, who have bought into everything we have for so long believed in, a proactive and influential Football Manager/Chief Executive, a strong Aussie coach full of common sense and integrity and some of the best and most experienced hardened pro’s in the game AND be where we are after 6 league games. Having knocked Wigan out of the Cup at their ground!!!! When you list all that  and compare with last season its almost getting to miracle status !!!
 
 We have come so far and the fans god bless ‘em, (hardened by seasons of disappointment, false dawns, abject banality  and the guiness book of records turning up to assess our end of season losing  runs), are again turning up in great numbers away from home and packing the stadium for a Derby no one in the game outside the ranks of the FC pilgrims feels we have a hope in hell of winning!!! 
 
The faithful do it as we all do in hope, rather than expectation, but are starting to believe again. However as for Saturday I think it just might be a step too far too soon, but as long as we give it a go as we have every game this season, we have a chance and I’ll be happy.  I knows that it’s the hope that kills you well I never learn, because this season I have it all over again. So for me, a massive game but as far as the future is concerned this time I honestly believe it could be for real thing. So, strap yourselves in for Saturday but whatever happens I think there are certainly some better times ahead. COYH

It was pretty much as I expected. But a big positive for me is that they’ve been conceding less that 8 points a game and we put 18 on them.

I thought we did ok and it's where we are at, we aren't nowhere near ready yet but we are showing plenty of grit but still need to cut the errors out, think if we'd have scored at 0.0 things might have been slightly different but still encouraging times ahead for me. 

A couple of key turning points were rovers scoring off that god awful kick for their 2nd try and then us failing to score off the pryce break on half time.  If they don't score there or we score off the break I think it's a different game but these small margins are what win and lose games.  rovers were much better at exploiting them than us

There's a good after match press conference with JC on the club youtube feed.  The big man is clearly disappointed but honest, both of which are good for me.  We're not a million miles away and if we can get everyone on the filed for a few weeks I think we're a match for most in the comp.  Very encouraging as we're miles ahead of where I thought we'd be but maybe a reflection on how poor the standard is in the comp overall

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