Motorways, queues, service stations, lagers, loads of rain.
At one point there was a football match too but that bit was fairly dull.
Last night’s game surely consigns Forest to the play-off drama – and secures Newcastle’s promotion.
The mood at the end of the game was certainly one of finality.
Forest fans descending the 15,000 steps sang Que Sera Sera while the Newcastle supporters, newly awakened after their 70-minute slumber, slapped each other’s backs and planned for the Premiership.
The last time we sang the ubiquitous (and presumptuous) Wembley song Forest launched into an impossible unbeaten run and snaffled second spot.
I don’t see it happening again. But on a more positive note, at no point were Forest embarrassed.
It was a fairly solid performance across the board but the difference in quality was fairly obvious.
One or two of our players froze on stage and became preoccupied with trying to avoid mistakes, stunting our creativity. We can only hope this isn’t a precursor to a Wembley meltdown.
Deploying Tyson as a centre forward, and thus using him in his only viable position, could have changed the game.
The pitch at Newcastle looked as long as the stadium is tall and Tyson’s only real contribution was a burst of pace in the opening exchanges. On the wing he was hidden, or hiding, and his pace was rarely exploited.
It was a fair effort, but really it was far too easy for a side who should have been worried about playing us. The first goal ended the game.
And without wanting to sound like Billy Davies, two or three new faces in January – or even March – may have reduced the gap.
With the play-offs fast approaching we must address our away form as a matter of urgency. It will also be important to maintain our home form if we’re to bag a Wembley spot, but how we will adapt to our compromised ambitions remains to be seen.
The ‘famous’ Newcastle supporters were a fairly predictable brew of the jobless, brainless and hopeless. Quiet too, regardless of what the sycophants on TV may have said.
But the more affable sorts boozing in the town centre afterwards were predictably talkative and humble in victory. Significantly better company than the slurring chumps we see most weekends.
It’s the sort of trip to the sort of stadium we ought to be making more regularly. Here’s hoping.
Ratings:
Camp – 8 – several smart saves to keep us in the game.
Perch – 7 – far more suited to right-back, several eye-catching tackles and an improved all-round performance. But from where I was sitting, admittedly about nine miles above the pitch, he still looked lost.
Wilson – 7 – a solid performance overall
Morgan – 7 – seemingly dependable on any occasion
Gunter – 7 – caught wrong-footed several times on the left, but a Gunter operating at 60 per cent is preferable to Perch or Chambers lumbering in the same role
Anderson – 7 – never really found the freedom to make an impact, but he didn’t give up trying
Majewski – 7 – plenty of effort but little to show for it on the night
Moussi – 7 – improved distribution and a better all-round performance on the bigger pitch
Cohen – 5 – the usual blood and guts, but a lot of his passes seemed to end up in the wrong hands – or the crowd.
Tyson – 5.5 – up front or nothing as far as I’m concerned. He’s useless on the wing.
Blackstock – 7 – won plenty of headers but there was no way through.
