Manchester '08

On the poker front I played five $6 turbs on Tuesday night and took down two of them.
End of poker content for this post!

Before my trip report I wanted to say I was sorry to hear today of the death of ex Celtic player and manager,Tommy Burns,from cancer.I don't have much time for any celtc players,past or present but he was a true gentleman and will be missed by all decent football fans in Glasgow and beyond.

Ok,at about 9.30am yesterday I picked my cousin up and after stopping at the bank we hit the road to Manchester for the Uefa Cup final.We lost the game 2-0 in the end, but apart from the result we had an amazing day from the moment we hit the motorway on the way down.It seemed every car had Rangers flags and scarves hanging from it and every bridge we passed under has banners of support and people waving.Manchester city council now estimate aprox 200,000 people made the trip and it certainly felt like we were at home when we arrived in Manchester.

We were due to meet friends of my cousin and we were lucky enough to grab a parking space near to the centre of the city.The visit to the bank earlier had been to withdraw enough to allow us to pay a ticket tout a vastly inflated price for a game my cousin and I decided we just couldn't miss.We met up with the tout and did the deal ( two tickets for £1160/$2250 ) in a lift in a shop.My mum reckons we were "deranged" to pay that kind of money but it's coming out of my poker account and despite the score it was still worth every last penny.

Thanks to Mark at Pokerpains for his post on the strength of the Dollar.I've now extended my overdraft ( for 3 months) to cover the cost of my tickets and will cashout when the dollar hopefully hits around $1.70 as per his advice and will obviously sue Mark,siting his blog post if it doesn't. :-)))

After we'd secured our tickets we walked to the fanzones which were just a massive sea of red,white and blue.There was a huge US flag in one of the zones and some guys/gals had even travelled from as far as Australia and Singapore for the game.The atmosphere was friendly and the local police and people could not have been more helpful or welcoming.We did meet up with my cousins friends for a short while before my cousin and I headed off in the car to try and find the stadium for the game.

I was disappointed by the Asda store and Macdonalds attitude.They are both right beside the stadium and neither would allow parking for the match.Now on normal matchdays I can understand that but surely when you have so many visitors from another country visiting,an exception could have been made for once.We had even bought food/drinks from Asda but there was a guy with a clipboard taking registration numbers to enforce the 1 hour 45 min max stay rule they have.Luvin' it? I don't think so.

We did get parked ok ( £10 at nearby rip off car park) and for once ( my cousin and I always run late) we made it to the ground with plenty of time to spare.The tickets we bought looked genuine but we were still both relieved to see a wee green light for "go" when we scanned the barcode at the turnstiles.We may have paid over the odds, however they were fantastic seats positioned right on the halfway line and just above where the press sit.

The game itself flew in faster than any I've ever experienced.Zenit are a good team and had by far the better of the play in the first half with Rangers content to contain them.We started the second half more brightly and made a couple of good chances before they scored with a neat move in the 72nd minute.We threw men forward and were caught out again with the last kick of the ball when they scored to make it 2-0.My cousin and I stayed to cheer the efforts of our team and to give applause to the Zenit team as they collected the trophy.

We did have the option to stay with my cousins friends in Manchester which was great but we were on a downer after the game and just wanted to head home.We were soon on the motorway and although we were held up for an hour by an accident ,we made it home safely for just after 2am.

I was saddened to read today of trouble in Manchester caused by a very small minority of the huge number of fans that travelled there.Apparently the big screen that was supposed to be showing the match was switched off just before kick-off and this caused some of the fans to kick off.Rumour now has it that the council switched them off due to the sheer numbers of people as they were worried about health and safety issues if Rangers scored.I'm not for a second condoning any bad behaviour but if the rumour is true it beggars belief.Makes me even more glad my I secured a ticket for the game and headed home afterwards.

Overall my cousin and I had a fantastic day out and although I'm gutted that the Gers didn't win and bring the trophy home,I'll never forget the experience.We are the People!

Off to pick Nacho up shortly,take him for a run and maybe hit the tables later...

Brace yourself Manchester!

The Gers are coming!

The convoy has begun as the cars begin to pass by outside my work with horns blaring and flags flying.I've no idea how many are travelling down to Manchester for the final but estimates range from 80-125k people! It's going to be some party!

My passenger side electric window has been stuck half down since Sunday but thankfully the garage have jammed it back up until it gets fixed on Friday.Looks like I'll be leaving for Manchester about 9.15am with my cousin.We don't have tickets yet and so far the plan is to watch the game on the big screens the council are providing.We have somewhere to stay but I may just drive back up the road straight after the game.Sadly Bristol is nowhere near Manchester or a detour may have been taken!

Congrats to Mr Edge who played really well to take down Sunday nights Bloggerment.Although it seemed a little slow and took some time to come to the boil,it was an enjoyable game and thanks to all who played.The numbers may be down but the chatbox was still buzzing and I don't think it's time to put the tourney to bed just yet.It is open to all bloggers/readers and that includes those who read blogs but don't have the time or inclination to leave comments!

I played a few turbs afterwards and didn't cash.I did bubble horribly yet again ,this time when some muppet shortstack called my K8 push with 95c and rivered a flush.No other option other than to ride out the crappy streak I was on and keep battering away at the sngs.

Weegem asked me at the Bloggerment if I do any coaching and I said I'd give it a go over a few games with him and see if I could be of any help with his turbo sng game.I'm not sure I'll be able to help much, but I did always want to be a teacher and I do love my poker which makes me think it's worth a try.

He plays mainly $3.40 single table turbos and I began my poker last night by playing one to get a feel for it.Verdict? Very fishy indeed!

At one point a big stack limped,I reraised with AK and when it got back to the big stack he shoved all in with AJ.After I'd won that pot I didn't have to do much else, although I did think I was in trouble after a failed steal attempt left me in fourth with five left.That was until the big stack shoved and two idiots called,one with 52 off and the other ( current 3rd placed player) with KJ.The bigstack won the hand,I made the money and from there I managed to chip up and win it.

A bit later I played two $6 ,18 player turbos with Juice ( Quixote) and took both down for a perfect 3/3 sng win record for the night.After my nightmare weekend at the turbs,those wins were very welcome and hopefully the worst of my bad run is over.Don't get me wrong,I expect to lose many, many races and have plenty of big hands busted during a session, however I also expect to be able to win enough to make up for the standard beats the turbs provide.

Ok,don't expect any posts for a few days.Manchester and the Uefa Cup final await....

Should I stay or should I go...

Although the weather has been fantastic and I was off on Monday it's not been a great week so far for a few reasons.I did enjoy last nights game at Ibrox which we won after a peach of a goal from Ferguson with less than twenty minutes left.That kept our Quadruple hopes alive!

After the game I watched The Apprentice and didn't bother playing any poker.I played six turbos without cashing on Tuesday night after running badly and not playing that well either.I wasn't in the mood to play and I should have recognised that and taken a break.Doh!

I've also spent the last few days/nights glued to Ebay to check on the price of tickets for the Uefa Cup final as sadly both my cousin and I missed out in the ballot held for season ticket holders.They are currently selling for around £1500 ( $3000) per pair and I've spent the week wondering if I should raid my poker roll to cover the cost.( my cousin would pay me back over 9-10 months)

Stop Press: Just finished speaking to a girl at my work with contacts in Russia( our opponents, Zenit St Petersburg, are Russian) and it looks like I can get tickets for around £130-£200.The only problem is that they'll be in the Zenit end of the ground, however I reckon there will be Rangers fans all over the stadium and it's worth taking the chance.Manchester here we come!

Ok,my cousin is visiting tonight and I'll probably be heading out tomorrow night.

Just time for this topical snippet from the paper...

As Rangers fans bid excessively for Uefa Cup final tickets, a fan bewails on a supporters' website: "My other half has just called, absolutely spitting feathers. She has just seen our bank statement and called to ask if I thought that spending over £1800 was a bit excessive for a football match.
I tried to explain it was a once-in-a-lifetime game. She then went off on one again saying the money could be put to better use. I asked what better use, and she replied, an engagement ring'. "So I reply, if we win I'll get you one, then'. Jesus Christ, I should have just kept quiet and taken the abuse." Proving once again that such sites are no place for relationship advice, a fellow fan replies: "You can always get another woman. You may never get another Uefa final."

Uefa Cup final here we come....

Achieving nine league titles in a row was a special moment I never thought could be equalled as a Rangers fan.I was wrong!

Last night as I waited for my cousin and Dudley to come round to watch the Uefa cup semi-final,making the final in Manchester suddenly seemed a million light years away.We were up against an Italian team currently ahead of AC Milan in the race for a Champions league spot in Serie A and possessing top quality players like Mutu,Vieri and Jorgensen in their ranks.

We broke out the beers and smokes as the game kicked off and sat back in nervous anticipation of what was to come.Fiorentena started well and kept the pressure on Rangers for most of the game, however we defended heroically and our keeper didn't actually have many saves to make.The match crept into extra time and still the deadlock remained unbroken.The tension and nerves were almost unbearable by this point as Dudley,my cousin and I reached for the pixie dust to regrow our gnawed fingers.

We had Daniel Cousin sent off with ten minutes of extra time remaining and somehow managed to hold out for the penalty shootout decider.I felt quietly confident as the shootout approached convincing myself that Rangers heart,spirit,mental strength and sheer determination would be enough to see us through against the more creative and flair filled Italian team.Then our captain,Barry Ferguson,stepped up to take Rangers first and had his penalty saved by their keeper.The nightmare scenario of being so near yet so far loomed large.

Both teams scored the next couple of kicks before our keeper,Neil Alexander,saved low to his left and after we scored our next penalty, Vieri hit his effort high over the bar.All that remained was for Nacho Novo ( who else!) to stay cool,step up and blast Rangers into our first European final since 1972 with a finely executed penalty low and hard into the corner of the net.



Tables were knocked over and ashtrays sent flying as we celebrated our historic result by going completely wild with joy.It's still sinking in that we were actually going to be playing in the Uefa cup final in Manchester on May 14th!

My guess is that between 80-120,000 people ( maybe more) will make the 220 mile trip down south although it looks like my cousin and I will have take my car as there isn't a coach or motorhome available to hire anywhere from here to Carlisle for that day! Seems like there's a better chance of securing a copy of "Fly Fishing" by JR Hartley!




As a season ticket holder I'll be in a ballot for a ticket and I'm seriously considering a major raid on my poker bankroll to pay for a ticket via ebay if I don't get lucky in the draw.

I did make it into my work for 8am but feel so tired I could be an extra from a zombie film.Thankfully it's a holiday weekend so hopefully I can catch up on lost sleep ( may grab an hour just now!) and get back to the tables for some pokery fun.I notice Full Tilt now have 18 player turbos and my cousin and I tried one last night before he went home.It was an $11 entry fee and seemed just as fishy as my usual $16,18 player games.Even having my 1010 shove called by A3 ( Ace on flop) couldn't wipe the smile from my face.