Occasionally in sports blogging you have Eureka, or Jonathan Liew* moments as I like to call them.
Today is one of those days.
As I was about to take the dust sheet off the Manx Football Blog to spout nonsense about this weekend’s FA Inter-League Cup final, news filtered through on the wires that the Jacksons are going to play the Villa in September.
‘Flippin brilliant!’ I thought. ‘I can use the titles of the Jacksons’ extensive back catalogue to convey my thoughts on Saturday’s big game with Herts!’
(Tenuous is not the word, but I’d already used the blog ‘gold’ about ‘lucky’ Disco Dave in my pre semi-final drivel so it will have to do. ‘Don’t Blame It On The Boogie’, blame it on this Wikipedia page.)
So sit down and settle in as I look ahead to this weekend’s final, while giving the two of you that regularly read this a timely reminder of the Jacksons’ biggest and, in some cases, smallest hits.
1980’s chart-buster ‘Can You Feel It’ was used in the headline as a way of summing up the feeling of anticipation surrounding tomorrow afternoon’s massive game at the Bowl.
Although this run hasn’t quite reached the excitement levels of the one that took us to the 2012 final, or the ‘heart-stopper campaign’ as its referred to in certain quarters of the sports desk, it has been intriguing none the less.
It has been the first Inter-League assault under the stewardship of Steve Burns. The former Corinthians and Rushen coach has adopted a new system and style that has helped to take it to a third Inter-League final.
I took the Pulrose ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters’ to Bowl last week to watch one of the squad’s final training sessions. The pace and intensity of the session impressed me especially with Burns telling me after it was a light session.
What also impressed me when talking to the Island supremo and his players after was their belief and togetherness of the camp (See team-mates video above for further evidence of that). They are determined to right the wrongs of two years ago and that infamous extra-time defeat at the hands of Jersey.
The squad also have the Uefa Regions Cup within their sights. This seems to be a massive pull for many of them and may just be the incentive we need to clinch the silverware this time. Let’s hope we’ll be ‘Goin’ Places’ in September.
For ‘Superstition’’s sake ‘Lucky’ Dave Norton will be taking the reporting duties. Don’t worry though ‘I’ll Be There’ in my Julian Ringham replica top along with hopefully a very large partisan home crowd. For those of you queuing to get your Jacksons tickets and who can’t make it to the Bowl, fear not there will be Tweets @manxfootyblog from just before 3pm,
Let’s hope Saturday is as simple as ‘ABC’ for the Men and that the Inter-League trophy will be ‘Coming Home.’ That would most definitely start the ‘Good Times’.
*The guy is a genius - follow him on Twitter @jonathanliew, he is to the sports blogging genre what Neil Buchanan was to teatime television in the 90s.