Celebratory

It was good, if somewhat wearing on the nerves, to see the premiership title go to the final game. United have never been a team for doing it the easy way if they can find ways of making you suffer up to the last. I don't think I've ever truly got over the last game of the '68 season when City pipped us to the title. I felt devastated for days. I think I cried. But beating Benfica at Wembley was ample compensation. (Even then, it took a brilliant late save by Stepney off Eusebio to keep us in the game. though we made it look easy in extra time. People talk now as if George Best had a great final when he didn't. The unsung Johnny Aston was everyone's man of the match at the time.)

Last night they were showing no fewer than eight games live on local tv. Unfortunately someone decided it would be a good wheeze to shrink the picture size to an awkwardly trapezoid half in order to show the goals from other games just after they'd been scored. When your tv is as small as ours - about 14 inches, I think - this means you keep unexpectedly losing normal coverage as the game suddenly appears viewed through the wrong end of a telescope. As I say, wearing on the nerves. (Noi stayed out of the room which I think was a comment on just how bad I get on these occasions. Poor girl.)