onionbagblog

No such thing as a free hit - especially when Forest are usually the ones being hit. Christ. The PL is ruthless. How to kill any optimism for a team that is still looking for a new manger bounce? A midweek away trip to Man City. Strap yourself in. This could get ugly.

In Better News: we were wearing all red once again. As ever, I love this. It helped that City were wearing Malmo blue. STRONG Munich ‘79 vibes here. A 1-0 away win would be nice.

The situation is clear for Forest for what remains of this horrid, horrid PL season: out shoot West Ham - and possibly try and drag #lolspurs into it. Whatever West Ham can do, we can do better. I think? Good luck with Haaland and Foden back in the City starting line up.

What’s happened to those 115 charges, btw?

Forest switched to a back three.

DEFEND! DEFEND!

DEFEND! DEFEND! DEFEND!

Oh bloody hell. We’re in for a long evening here.

We started off half decent for the first thirty minutes or so. Forest never really threatened to break through, but the defending was strong as they soaked up the pressure.

There were the occasional glimpses of the magical football that this group of players is able to string together - even away at The Etihad. And what a crap name for a football ground that is, btw.

The inevitable City goal came. The defending wasn’t quite as tight as it should have been. But it wasn’t a disaster. Don’t fall apart, stick to the plan, hold tight.

And then it happened. MGW has been outstanding under Pereira. His basic instructions seem to be: you have the talent, this is YOUR team. Do what you want, run the show. The back-heel was brilliant. There was even a half attempt at badge kissing with the celebrations.

Now then. Don’t poke the bear. Sit back, defend. An away point here is a bloody decent result. But the bear was poked. City were annoyed and took the lead once again.

Hey hoe. I was still relatively happy that we hadn’t collapsed with a 5-0 drubbing. Goal difference may yet be key come the end of the season.

I was about to say that Anderson was having another average under the radar game. And then somehow he managed to be on the right end of a classic 1-2 move, and he had the finish to match.

Bloody hell. We’ve only gone level once again. We couldn’t, could we?

Time for TAIWO! I love it that he is somehow still earning a living as a PL footballer. We know he’s probably a Championship starter at best. But don’t fault the enthusiasm.

The defending for the final fifteen minutes or so was immense. It felt like Forest of last season all over again. Coming away from The Etihad with a point is superb, even if West Ham did win away at Fulham.

The fixture list has been a little bonkers. We share the same fixtures as West Ham, with Forest playing Fulham next, whilst West Ham face City. That end of season shoot out has seen us edge ever so slightly ahead.

Too much noise for me this morning.

⭐ ⭐

I watched us get relegated wearing pinstripes back in 1993. Thirty three years later and Forest are sleep walking into relegation, wearing bloody pinstripes all over again. I flogged my original Shippo’s kit about a decade ago. I was done with Forest. I was wrong, obvs.

I do miss that kit. It had a thick quality to the cut. It didn’t age, despite repeat wearings and washings. And it had the Umbro logo. The Copa remake is a decent substitute. Back to the Future, etc. Back down to the Championship.

“Here in Nottingham and far beyond, there are and will continue to be groups who gather — in pubs, at gigs, on terraces — because Julie once brought them together. That restless, creative, quietly defiant spirit remains her lasting legacy”

Left Lion on Julie Pritchard

Strong US Ozrics vibes here. It sounds like it could have been recorded back in 1969.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐

To the Table of Dreams! Under fading light! This was the briefest of brief games. The Estuary Wilds sun was starting to set. A slight chill was descending over the park. We even forfeited a warm up and went straight into a game. I raced to a 2-0 lead. Easy, this. Soon it was 2-2. Then SHE declared that she had a train to catch and did a runner. wtf?

Probably the last great R.E.M album before the great pop sell out. You snob! Whatever. R.E.M were always at their best as an underground band. Green sees them knocking on the door and being invited into the mainstream. As ever, I’ve no idea what the subject matter is all about. It sounds like the usual R.E.M mismatch between the personal and the political. Musically, Green sounds like a great band, all knowing their parts, and contributing to the greater good. It’s easy to dislike them now. But at the time, they made a statement and were worthy of a listen.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

To The Odeon in Sunny Colch! …on Monday afternoon. The Morning Star Elvis Correspondent recommended that you view the new Baz Luhrmann Elvis film on the biggest FUCK OFF screen that you can. Which for me, meant Screen 2 at The Odeon on Monday lunchtime.

It helped that Mondays at The Odeon is the cheap as chips £8 price for a flick - which seems about right in my distorted Cost of Living parallel economic Universe.

We sat down in a near empty cinema and: ARSE - I’ve only gone and forgotten my bloody specs. No worries. We were on the fourth row. It’s got be better than trying to screen it off a dodgy internet connection on my iPhone in bed.

Our company for the early afternoon screening was half a dozen or so coffin dodgers, probably back from picking up their pension, if that is still a thing. Don’t believe the hype that Elvis is COOL. He also still has a strong fanbase amongst the blue rinse brigade.

The last time we were at The Odeon was to watch… Baz Luhrmann Elvis biopic. Spot the theme here? The new Elvis film is basically a collection of live footage and interviews covering the Hotel years from ‘69 to ‘77. It has a similar back story to Get Back, in that Luhrmann claims to have come across hours of previously unseen footage.

And blimey - halfway into the very enjoyable film and here we have Elvis performing Get Back live on stage. His cover of Something is one of my fave versions of a Beatles song. I had no idea that he had attempted the more upbeat Get Back. He just about passed the audition, natch.

The new film isn’t a great deal different from That’s The Way It Is - a backstage look at the Elvis Hotel years. He holds your attention on the stage, albeit morphing a little into some David Brent style dancing throughout. If in doubt, make it up. You’re still the bloody King, etc.

The band are tight as fuck. They were all seasoned musicians and knew how to serve their master well. Ronnie Tutt on drums in particular holds the stage. It’s no coincidence that Elvis always positioned him almost centre stage, staying in sight so that the two could communicate as Elvis dictated the pace of each show.

The editing by Luhrmann is a little sporadic. It interchanges throughout the years, with no real direction, chronological order, or even explanation. But you don’t really need that. You just need to sit down in front of your FUCK OFF screen and enjoy the show.

The years speed by, albeit in a non-linear style, and soon you’re staring at a grossly overweight fella backed by a band whose own waistlines and hair length have grown throughout what seemed like a never ending Las Vegas residency.

This story was only going to have one ending. Luhrmann doesn’t do the dirty on Colonel Parker in the same way that he did in the first film. Tom Hanks is brilliant in that role, btw. Instead the live Elvis film focusses on the music and the performance.

He’s still got it, even on a Monday lunchtime with some coffin dodgers in Sunny Colch.

I won’t have anything bad said against Brothers in Arms. It’s uncool as fuck, and that is the very reason why I love it so much. Back in ‘85 I was hopping back and forth between The Meteors and Brothers in Arms. I saw no conflict then, and I still continue to enjoy my genre bed hopping these days. It’s just an uplifting, feel good rock ‘n’ roll album. Walk of Life in particular always has been bopping around the kitchen. The main subject matter gets a little grim, but it’s never a BUMMER of an album. Outstanding. Now eat shit and die if you disagree. So there.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

The crappest of Crap Match Reports - ‘cos Brighton away was… crap. REALLY crap. The most excited I got all afternoon was seeing TAIWO back on the sub’s bench. And that’s saying something.

Which was all something of a shame, as Brighton away looks like a half decent day out. You get a weekend away on the coast, and the away end at the shitty nu mega stadium looks surprisingly like an old-fashioned big expanse behind the goal. SHOUT OUT as ever to the thousands of Forest fans who had their weekend ruined by another lacklustre Garibaldi display.

The three goals came quick and fast. One step up, two steps back, etc. It’s easy to gloss over our poor defining. But it’s worth mentioning the class of the MGW strike, plus his all round performance on the day. He seems like the only Forest player that is up for the fight right now. Perhaps he knows that if relegation happens - and it’s looking increasingly likely- then his next move is likely to be another sideways one such as Brentford or Fulham.

It’s saying something when your crappy Crap Match Report leads with relegation. Which is exactly where we are heading without anyone apart from MGW to score any bloody goals. Christ, this was desperate stuff. After the second half substitutions, we simply don’t have a team with enough experience to avoid the drop. Never mind all the pre-season talk of building two squads - we barely have one decent starting eleven right now.

City away on Wednesday. Oh JOY.