It's great news that we've confirmed European football for next season and all things considered, quite spectacular all things considered. I mean, we were on the verge of another relegation fight when he took over and got us European football that season. In his first full season, the manager and his team took us to the Champions League and this season we got to the quarter finals.
This season, if things go for us, we could qualify again for the big one. But if we don't, there is still European football next season and things haven't look this good for years. Spectacular is maybe not the right word because nobody could have predicted this.
And following that theme, with two games still to go this season, nobody can predict how this is going to end. I mean, it is going to come down to the last game of the season. The only thing we know for sure is that Liverpool have won it and I'm going to suggest the ridiculous now, but Arsenal could finish sixth and that would mean Newcastle are confirmed top five and the other three places are between us, Manchester City, Chelsea and Nottingham Forest.
And if we beat Spurs on Friday and Arsenal do lose to Newcastle the last weekend of the season is going to be, what did Sir Alex call it, squeaky bum time and I don't know if I'll be able to cope for 90 minutes, let alone the week running up to it. And regardless of that result, it's going to be a very long week.
And some of us might think that Spurs is an easy win, with them having the UEFA Europa League final coming up on Wednesday next week, but there will be players picked for Friday that are playing for a place in that match, so this match for some of them, will be as big as the match is for us, so we have to treat this match as a final. I'd say it's even more important for us as it is for some of them. Friday could define our season it's that big.
And Spurs or Manchester United playing in the Champions League next season doesn't seem right, but that's another post, maybe for Footballocracy. I don't think it helps either of them and just because it's called the Champions League doesn't make it right but it will be seen as success.
And on Friday, while we are playing Spurs, Chelsea are also playing Manchester United and we'll all be watching that result as much as we're watching us. Then if Newcastle do beat Arsenal, it arguably makes it tougher for us and I'm suggesting that might happen. Then we're all going to be supporting Southampton on the last day of the season because we will need them to beat Arsenal.
So does this mean, I'm supporting Arsenal on Sunday? I guess it does and on the last game of the season, Newcastle have Everton at home. Does that mean I'm supporting Everton as well as Bournemouth and Fulham, who Manchester City face in their last two games?
But then, on the last game of the season Forest play Chelsea at home. I don't know who I need to support in that game. Maybe I'll be hoping for a draw and maybe I want Nuno to show the owner he knows how to get the best out of his players. Maybe Forest are in with a shout when it gets to that match and if they are, maybe Chelsea will have one eye on their final the following Wednesday.
Maybe, when I get to the end of this post, I'll have figured it out. Although I suspect I'm here and I haven't. There are too many things that can happen. There is a word for that too, I'll figure it out when giving this post a title.
What I will say again is that we've qualified for European football for the third season in a row. Maybe we don't get Champions League, maybe we do. But to think where we've come from and where we are, it really is quite remarkable. No, that doesn't work either. It really is magnificent. No, doesn't work. Splendid? Maybe wondrous. No, still not got it.
Fantastic. It's bloody fantastic.
I'm adding this last paragraph, because I've just learnt that Chris Heck is leaving at the end of the season. Love or hate, he didn't do as bad as the man before. The man coming in is Francesco Calvo, Juventus’ managing director of revenue and football development. A proper football man by all accounts.
Will be interesting to see how this changes things. But I think we all trust the decisions that are made by these owners and I suspect Unai and his team had a say in this.