I'm an Essex Owl

So just to be clear - that season you could have a season ticket to watch Bobby Robson’s brilliant UEFA cup winning Ipswich team for less than one to watch Southend in division 4!

Born in Essex. Parents from Sheffield. First game I can ever remember (age 5 or 6) was my dad taking me to a pre season friendly against Coventry at Hillsboro running about in the Lepp. Back in Essex in the 70’s for First division football (Prem for you young uns) it was either Ipswich or West Ham. My mum would have killed my old man if he’d take me to West Ham (seriously nasty place in the 70’s) so Ipswich it was (the successful Robson years) then in the late 70’s my sister started dating a Sheffield lad at college in Essex. He was a big Wednesdayite and would take me and my brother to away games down south like Peterborough, Gillingham, Southend Cambridge (even the first replay at Highbury in the 3rd round marathon against Arsenal) And Wednesday had the maddest fans. And the most loyal and the loudest. And the team were meh but I just fell in love with the team. The history, the name, the ground. Fast forward a few years to the mid 80’s and choosing a Uni - had to be Sheffield. I still think Wednesday chooses you. But took no chances with my son. Inflicted the curse on him too… WTID

Yeah but they never stuck Owen in net as far as I can remember

TV pics suggest otherwise

Yes it is the curse because referees who could stamp it out don’t. Of course if we had scored 4 and played like we did for 30 minutes against Portsmouth it wouldn’t matter how bad the ref was but he set the tone for tonight. Not arguing that we weren’t good enough and in balance they edged it over two legs but I can’t stand arrogant p r I c k refs not enforcing the laws of the game and spoiling wha t should be a good game of football. How does he fail to book their lad for that foul on Byers within first 5 minutes. How does he not book three of their players for simulation? How does he not give a foul for that forearm smash on Gregory. How does he not give a penalty for Windass ? Beggars belief.::.

if people like marmite that’s cos they have bad taste not cos it tastes nice. No other player in the league puts that ball through to Johnson with that weight and precision. Lose Bannan and it’s a minimum 3 year rebuild. He has carried us this year - we look clueless when he is not on the pitch. It is for the rest of the team to up their standards (and effort and work rate) to his - then we might get somewhere

Agree we didn’t do enough to win over the two legs but you are wrong to say he had no material Impact on the game. He failed to give us a penalty when he clearly should have done and he allowed them to tomewaste and foul and fake injury and dive to break up the game and frustrate our rhythm. It is basic away side shithousery and his failure to enforce the basic laws of the game ruined it. He was awful.

Not sure where the love in for Sunderland is coming from. Neill even got that Nian lad to do to Byers what Ben Pearson did to Forestieri when he faked a headbutt for Preston few years back. Not sour grapes but they were anti football tonight (time wasting diving faking injury niggly fouls) and we had one of the weakest refs I have seen all season. But we have a core that is soft as sh i t e. That and us not really stringing two passes together all night except for the goal has cost us. Beginning to think we are a cursed club.

In the words of the great Hugh Cornwell- “There’s always the sun…” and I don’t think he meant the slightly contemptible newspaper…

Best performance I have seen by a number nine at Hillsborough for a long time. He was outstanding today. Though some may prefer we start with Kamberi (apparently due to his goals from open play and his “running around the pitch” stats) I think Gregory is a class above

He was just getting a drink with Master Bates

Hutch isn’t on Twitter pretty boy

Me too. My lad reckons Atdhe missed a worse one once but I genuinely believe that is the easiest goal scoring opportunity wasted at Hillsboro in the over 40 years I’ve been going. But we won. Hope he forgets it and smashes in a few more over the next few weeks

Used to be Millwall’s penalty taker - has taken 33 penalties in his career scoring 26 of them I believe