Now I was lucky enough to live through the first Golden Era under Lawrie Mac, which started with the FA Cup win in 1976 right through to 1985 when the Big Man moved on to Sunderland. Lawrie's teams always played beautiful football and included some of the finest english players of that time and it felt that it would go on forever, but we were restricted by finances with the Dell's capacity seemingly being cut every season. I have wonderful memories of those Halcyon days, but it was a lot easier in those days for a smaller, provincial club to break into the elite of English football, with only Liverpool being truly dominant in that period. Now the challenge is much more difficult for a club like ours to compete without the riches that Champion's League qualification brings, BUT this season the opportunity is there to join that elite club. The reason I say that is that we have played the entire league now and only been outclassed by one team, Man City, we could, and maybe should've picked up points against Liverpool. Spurs, Arsenal and Man Utd. what is more remarkable that this is a new team, with a new manager, which by the laws of football should get better with experience and familiarity, We also have the finest crop of young talent in the country willing to step up when they are called for. The first Golden Era was always bound to end when the huge presence of Lawrie Mac left the club, but this era is built on concrete, not sand and could last for decades rather than just years.
After today, you should add Chelsea to the list. They didn't win, but they outplayed us and impressed me more than City.
I have to disagree with you. Manchester City were a much better side and far more enjoyable to watch.
What? You were a skate? Fear not, your secret's safe with us. I agree with you, FLT, about Chelsea although it's a close run thing. What was so pleasing, though, was to see the way that the team responded to the Chelsea juggernaut. We need to remember that any point against Chelsea, City and possibly United on current form is a bonus. To finish 4th we need to beat the rest. The Burnley fiasco aside, this is what the team has been doing. Lawrie's team gained a win and a draw against Liverpool, the eventual champions, in 1984. We missed the title because the Reds beat weaker teams while we missed out on some "easy" wins. But I'm totally in accord with the spirit of the OP. There has simply never been a better time to be a Saint - as I reminded my grandson as he pulled on his SFC pyjamas on Xmas night!
