Like yellalee, first time I've watched it again too...

... Memories from that day: absolutely unbelievable support, a wonder-save from Green (was it from Horsfield? Can't remember off hand), and getting seriously pissed off with Rivers. I lost count how often he charged down the flanks, support arrived in the middle, before he screwed up the final ball time after time - meaning our exhausted players then had to hare back down the field again. Birmingham's fans laughing and gesticulating at us as we headed away from the stadium wasn't nice either: absolutely disgusting, given all they'd been through with penalties. I'd always disliked them before that day, but have hated them with a passion since, and would be delighted if they blow promotion, as seems increasingly possible.

Oh, and the feeling of utter foreboding when we sat back after scoring: I, like so many others, just knew what was going to happen. On the train back to Oxford, I was next to other City fans who were just proud of how we'd played: but I was furious. It was there for us: indeed, I'd go so far as to say we were fated to go up that year (making the top 6 by the tiniest margin possible, conceding four in our opening game 4-0 a la 81/2, Ipswich being relegated a la 85/6) - but we blew it because of our manager's caution.

It was strange: given how much we'd spent in Summer 2001, we really needed to go up in 01/2 - especially when the ITV Digital deal fell through. Certainly, we should've been expected to challenge by pundits instead of being treated like this amazing surprise package. Worthington did a fine job keeping the pressure off his players - after all, and somewhat ludicrously, we'd been considered relegation candidates pre-season - but what was noticeable was how, whenever the pressure came on, we choked. We had countless opportunities to go either top or 2nd in the autumn, but kept spurning them; and it's no coincidence that we made the play-offs thanks to a late surge (in a run-in which I'd always been confident about: it was set up perfectly for us, frankly). Had we been defending a lead over other clubs in the final stages of the season, it would probably have turned out very differently.

Because the problem with adopting an attitude of 'nothing to lose' is, invariably, the players buy into it too much. Birmingham probably expected to win the final, whereas we just hoped we could: and once Iwan scored, suddenly the players realised we DID have something to lose (?30m, to be precise). And what happened? We folded like a pack of cards, and were lucky to even make it to penalties.

Such a shame. I loved that team, and right up until extra time in Cardiff, had that marvellous feeling you occasionally get watching sport that they'd achieved the absolute maximum they were capable of - but what happened following Roberts' goal changed all that. Indeed, if we'd gone up as we bloody well should have, I've always believed we'd have come back down in 02/3 (probably in 18th, given how awful Sunderland and West Brom were that year), won the title even more impressively in 03/4, and would've been far more demanding in our approach to staying up and establishing ourselves in the Prem. Losing the final actually contributed to where we are now: it put us in a deep financial hole, meaning the Premiership money could only go towards dealing with that, rather than helping us really transform ourselves as a club; and meant when we did go up, we lacked the confidence and toughness of approach to make a real go of it.

Posted By: thebigfeller, Feb 5, 05:46:38