Gary Brink

Excuse the pun but I would say We´re on the brink of a new year, One more win and I think we stay Up here in this premier tier   And though this one might seem to lend Itself as a no-score draw tip, With two goals apiece last weekend It may not be a wasted trip   A win to either would cement A place for two thousand fourteen, And give no reason to lament What´s gone before or what we´ve seen   But we´ll need to match them with fight As everyone there has to do, We know they´ll have the edge in height For Stoke take only six-foot-two´s   So how about this for a ploy Play Hoolahan, Jackson and Fox, And Garrido, just to annoy Them, as they buzz round in each box   And keep the ball under knee high While moving swiftly left and right, From their lofty perch in the sky Those giants may just get a fright   For we´ll not beat them at their game Many have tried, but all have failed, Fought fire with fire when they came, But found themselves being derailed   So who will rule Britannia then When we visit this Saturday, Will it be those Staffordshire men Or Canaries who take the fray. OTBC

..that is always the question.   I for one Would like a run In the FA Cup this year, At least rounds 3 And 4 would be A break from PL fare   Round 5 and more With a good draw Well then those Wembley gates, Aren´t far away And who can say Just who the cup awaits   Of course, we know That our league show Takes preference as it should, But a cup run Can be some fun And also do some good   It gives some games To lesser names While resting some of those, Who need a break If muscles ache Who´ve been worked off their toes   And Burnley, here Themselves quite near A top 6  Championship spot, Should be a tie Good on the eye If both sides keep it hot   And though it´s gone The MK Dons Game showed what can befall, Our gallant team If they´re not keen To work and keep the ball   And guess who they Play Saturday None less than QPR, I wonder now Will Warnock bow Or rant, if Hoops don´t star. OTBC              

Not Mr. Mancici, Mr. Mancini, naturally.

Between you and me, there´s nothing to fear When visiting ´Stade Etihad´, The chances are that we will be walloped there With a narrow defeat, we´d be glad So, all is to win, and nothing to lose A game totally pressure-free, That´s certainly how, if I had to choose I´d prefer our matches to be We could just be silly and expect to win Or even perhaps scrape a draw, But the chances of either are extremely thin And would certainly cause a furore But, then again, all of us know too That despite all the betting odds, Being heavily stacked on Mancici´s crew It´s not in the lap of the gods We will have a say, even if it is small And we´ve proved already this year, That up against top teams we always walk tall So PL´s message I´m sure is clear Go out and enjoy it for all it is worth And they´re worth a packet we know, But big bucks don´t always ensure you the earth And you never know how things will go And the Yellow Army, if we should just score From one of our many attacks, I´m sure will remember that what they adore Most of all there, is to turn their backs But if as expected we fail in our task Lambert won´t need to get his coat, And should we be able, in some points, to bask You can bet they´ll sit up and take note. OTBC

The time is right To stop the blight Of goals against, methinks, This knack of ours Continually sours PL´s after match drinks So when we are v. QPR In front, if so it be, Then lock the door Don´t let them score Especially one for free Simple it sounds But how we´ve found It hard on a match day, And if we go Score four or so To their three, then OK But that 4 - 3 Could easily Become 3 - 4, you know, If they can sense That our defence Have Christmas gifts to blow Now a one-nil Will always fill Me with a sense of joy, And to concede No goals won´t lead PL to get annoyed It´s not his way I know, to play With a one-nil in mind, But even he I´m sure, would be Happy with one this time But if the norm Of this year´s form Continues, and they score, Then let it be Most happily That we go and score more. OTBC

To be perfectly honest, I´d say This G-Day we may get blown away, But, what the heck It´s not going to wreck Our season, nor the way we play But, interestingly enough For Gunners, it might, if they´re stuffed, And just what that shows I´m not sure, but goes Some way to helping, when it´s tough A defeat here, they cannot bear While for us, it´s nothing to fear, Not many expect That we will collect Three points, and a celebratory beer And though we´re closer to the top Right now, it´s those down near the drop, Who we need to beat If we are to meet Our target, and avoid the chop So far, at home, we haven´t seen Any of the really top teams, So it´s hard to know Just what sort of show Our lads will put on, if they´re keen We´d like to think that we will match Those big wage earners on our patch, And that´s the beauty Of this game, you see And what keeps us wanting to watch For no-one´s yet worked out a way To prophesy just how the play, Will go, or who´ll win Before it begins On any one November day So although the Gunners may feel That this one´s almost a done deal, They should know by now Whether low or highbrow That no game is ever a steal. OTBC

Will we see any fireworks aglow When off to Villa we go, It is Guy Fawkes day So maybe ´twould pay If a Holt rocket could steal the show We have sparkled this year away So if a cracker or two, say, Should just find their net We could well be set For a win, this November day Again, an all Scottish affair Lambert versus that Villa pair, Of McLeish and P. Grant, who fleetingly Had a spell in our manager´s chair Which some do find too hot a place As he did, so had the good grace, To leave us and find A job just behind The boss, as again in this case So far they´ve made a steady start Especially drawing, is an art, They´ve mastered so well Six games of the spell Have ended with a point on their part But if just for once we don´t leak A goal at the back, could we sneak, A win, then I´d say Unquestionably, Yea! For nothing less will Lambert seek Watch out though for Agbonlahor A dangerous man who can score, But if Barny´s awake He could easily quake At the thought, and end up feeling sore So, on the day of the gunpowder plot Let´s hope we rain plenty of shots, In on Villans goal And hope for a hole To appear, so it´s they who feel hot. OTBC

This week seems to just have flown by After the Swan´s game left us on a high, Will we feel the same After tomorrow´s game Or will we be left high and dry I´d say, if we play as we did There, and as Lambert often has bid, " Go out there to win And enjoy the din " We could make even Kenny´s reds skid Against the other red coloured team Our lads paddled bravely upstream, And both could and should Have been a goal to the good Before Fergie´s lot picked up steam But whatever we pick up here Is a bonus, and can only cheer, And help in those games Against lesser names Where sometimes there is more to fear Our confidence is at a peak And how great if we should just sneak, A point or a goal And shine as a whole That would really cap off the week It´s maybe too much to hope for A repeat of that ´94 score, When the old Kop fell And ´Pool did as well Emulate that, and we really will soar So here, where they never walk alone And despite us not being at home, ´On the ball City´ Will ring out so pretty As our other away games have shown. OTBC

We´re looking the part Now that the start Of this league campaign has just gone, Much has gone right Here in the top flight And so very little´s gone wrong Which may surprise some Though not us who´ve come To follow PL and his team, They make us all smile With their playing style And just never run out of steam Both those old and new Have embraced the view That Lambert so often has aired, "We´re here on merit Go and enjoy it We´ll get nowt if we´re running scared" And so they have done And easily won Three out of the eight games to date, And two other draws Show that there´s no cause To change either padlock or gate For we are no steal Nor a sticking wheel That´s grinding its way to a halt, No links are weak At least none to speak Of, all is secure in our vault But can we go on In this marathon And maybe surprise a few more, And build on our start Of hard work and heart I´d say, just don´t rule it out, bor The euphoria Of PL´s era Will last yet for many a day, ´mongst players and fans Up and down the land And be reflected in how we play So it´s hard to deem If we have yet seen The highest that this team can climb, Just who can say Knowing PL´s way It bodes for some exciting times. OTBC

A 4-5-1 look to our play I like, so is it here to stay, Or 4-4-1-1 I suppose, as some Would call it, both home and away The key really is Hoolahan Or whoever plays the spare man, Between he who soars And the midfield four Such an integral part of the plan I thought with one striker alone It would leave us possibly prone, To very few goals But v Cats, many holes Appeared, and chances to score were shown At least, if the movement is there Which Morison and Wes did share, For Sunderland too Till they went 4-4-2 Tried the same, without getting anywhere And with Bennett and Pilkington who Are both quick and talented too, At crossing the ball The chances did fall And with it, the confidence grew And just maybe it´s easier to switch To 4-4-2, if there´s a hitch, Than making the other play Which in a psychological way Seems a negative move on the pitch So our diamond for now´s packed away In the safe ready for a rainy day, But it could still shine And sparkle any time If brought out between now and May. OTBC

Got it in one Crofts, thought I´d pay a visit.

[quote user="paul moy"]Evra and Ferdinand are the key. Ferdinand was lucky not to be sent off for a professional foul on Frei last night and Evra does not backtrack to defend quick enough after attacking. De Gea has made more saves than any other keeper in the Prem apparently. [/quote] But shaky he is And gets in a tizz Much more than perhaps he should, And how many mill Did he cost on the bill If it turns out he´s not all that good.

Not forgetting the pen Given against our men Which for some reason last game we missed, It´s bound to come here If it comes anywhere The most obvious place on the list.

Mister de Gea Just doesn´t fill me With confidence, I have to say, Unlike van der Sar Their previous star Who would always just get in the way, So maybe, bombard Him with a few hard And accurate shots from the start, On Saturday next Could be in the text If one slipped in, that would give heart, On crosses, he too Gets into a stew So if Fox could be on his game, We could have some fun And make Sir A. run Around in despair and in pain, Clutching at straws Maybe, but because We´ll need all the help we can get, He looks a weak link And a possible chink In their armour, and how we could net, We´ve nothing to lose It won´t make the news If we get beaten in this spree, But if we should win You might hear a pin Drop, and Mister de Gea could be key. OTBC