Better late... well, here we are with players that look like a team, a squad that believes and fights for every inch, a squad that want to be here and are desperate to fright for the shirt. It's been a while coming.
It’s what we’ve all be praying for, begging for. Give everything you’ve got and we’ll follow you to the end.
None more so that Dino Mavropanos, scapegoated maybe and constantly a fans’ target, a centre back with a goal in him every game - unfortunately in the wrong net. But his performance in our Rourke's Drift-style battle against Manchester City said everything.
City may not be what they were, but they are still one of the best sides in the country if not Europe and our recent record against them has been horrific. One seasoned observer said we’d have lost that game 4-0 a few months back.
It has taken time, but Nuno Espirito Santo has given them their confidence back; their voice is heard, there’s team spirit, joy in doing the job properly and they clearly are a close knit, tight bunch of mates fighting for their lives. A fragmented dressing room has been reunited.
That celebration picture of the whole delighted squad after the Cup win over Brentford said it all. Usually a non-league team after a giant killing pose for that sort of photo, it looked a touch out of place, but it underlined what this squad has become. A band of brothers, if you’ll excuse the cliché.
Everywhere you looked there were faces of players who cared, for their own self-esteem, their own professional standards, for the club and fans they play for. And that spirit was carried into the clash with Manchester City, a team who usually stroll past us almost with contempt. But not this time.
It was Nunoball, or maybe even Nuno Espirito-Moyes. Defend with their hearts and minds. How David Moyes would have loved that game: one shot, one goal, 28 per cent possession, 25 shots for the opponents and a defensive defiance not seen in these parts for a while.
And that other photo from the game: Dino blocking an Erling Haaland shot of such force that the ball distorted in shape as it came into full-blooded contact with the Greek’s face. Dino managed ten clearances, four interceptions and four blocks. Oh, and the goal that gave us the point.
There were other heroes. Mads Hermansen had looked like a scared deer caught in the headlights when he was thrown into what was clearly an poorly-prepared mixed up side under Graham Potter at the beginning of the season.
Max Kilman and Nayef Aguerd were in defence in front of him when we lost that opening game of the season embarrassingly at Sunderland and our new Danish ‘keeper fell apart alarmingly under the pressures of a defensive shambles.
Not any more. Reinstated now for six league games by Nuno, in which we have lost just once, picked up three clean sheets and nine points. And his bravery, assuredly in the air, concentration and shot-stopping were the sort of performance that builds confidence in front of him.
Nuno has gone back to basics. He's built from the back with Jean-Clair Todibo, Axel Disasi and Mav creating a formidable partnership in the heart of defence. Matty Fernandes is a tough, competitive, constructive midfielder alongside old hand, in comparison, Tomas Soucek, and together they blunted City’s creativity, Rodri was kept as quiet as I’ve ever seen him.
Nuno has accepted the need for the Czech’s qualities. Seven tackles, seven clearances, two interceptions and a force in both boxes who always seems to be in the right place to break up play. Nothing pretty, but frequently effective.
Now I’m still not sure what to make of Pablo Felipe and Taty Castellanos. Neither pose much goal threat and neither look up to Premier League level. But they work, press, track and are a real nuisance. We didn’t have any of that before they arrived, nothing to keep defenders in their own half. So if that is all Nuno wanted from them, well it works well. Keep on running fellas.
More than anything, like the Brentford cup tie, it was a collective effort. Something missing for much of the season. But with only eight games left, this is going to go right to the bitter end. The tension, gut wrenching, stomach churning will be unrelenting. To the extent that I’ve stopped watching our rivals in this relegation battle.
There’s nothing wishing and hoping will achieve. We are helpless. Our point against City was as surprising as it was welcomed. But Nuno was right not to talk too much about the overall situation, making it clear that you had for wait to the weekend games to be completed to evaluate the situation.
Crystal Palace couldn’t beat ten-man Leeds, Forest missed countless chances and had their own issues with VAR. Meanwhile the banker never worked the way we expected, with Spurs finally discovering some backbone after weeks of being a laughing stock. So in the end we all got a point and nothing changed. But what we saw was an exchange of attitude and application - and that gives us all confidence.
Now it all starts over again. If we can win at Aston Villa it would be surely better for there to be a winner when Spurs host Nottingham Forest. That would give us a three-point cushion. Maybe Brentford could do us a favour by winning at Leeds? Who knows, but it’s not worth losing any brain cells over the situation. We just need to win at Villa Park and take care of our own destiny.
Either way a club who can rightly claim to be a ‘champion of Europe’ will drop into the Championship. In fact the four teams in this fight have 11 European crowns between them. Our three, ECWC, Conference League and the much maligned Intertoto.
Leeds have won the Fairs Cup twice (1968 and ’71) while Forest have those back-to-back European Cup wins under Brian Clough in 1979 and ’80. As for Spurs, they won the UEFA Cup in ’72 and ’84, the Europa League in 2025 and the ECWC in 1963. And there are six runners-up places between the four clubs.
But all that will count for nothing when rocking up to Sincil Bank to play Lincoln City. Whoever makes the drop will experience the worst downfall of a club in English football history. Let’s just pray it’s not us.
* Like to share your thoughts on this article? Please visit the KUMB Forum to leave a comment.
* Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the highlighted author/s and do not necessarily represent or reflect the official policy or position of KUMB.com.
