Most "real" supporters are riven with doubt. It's part of the masochistic pleasure, and partly the ludicrous "not wanting to tempt fate" superstition. But (on the other hand) it's rational, because statistically only a very small proportion of teams can be successful.
As a Stokie, I always assume we will be beaten. I agree with the Bolton comment above. 5-0 sounds hugely impressive and the ITV highlights made it look incredibly one sided. But it didn't feel quite like that at the time. Even at 3-0 I wasn't confident. We only had to be competent to win. We were something more than competent, but Bolton were (by their own admission) poor.
I doubt anyone outside SCFC knows whether Etherington will play, but hamstrings are not an overnight thing. And the comments here (and on the Bolton forum ahead of the SF) about Kenwyn Jones are interesting. And I'm not referring to the miss against Blackpool either. He CAN be v effective, but many Stokies will tell you that in far too many games this season his contribution and body languge have been shocking.
Many years ago when he was doing 606 (and I know he's not everyone's cup of tea) Danny Baker used to suggest that before clubs plunged into the transfer market they should "consult" fans of the exporting team in local pubs - a much more reliable way of gauging value for money than videos/agents/pundits. I think one or two Sunderland fans might recognise my description above.
The bookies make huge amounts of money predicting the future and they have it about right. If we played you 5 times you would win 4.
So, yes - I am also actually quite scared - that we may get a complete tonking...
But don't rain too much on my parade. This is SCFC's first FA cup final in nearly 150 attempts. And the chances of my being around the next time are probably slim...!
