Judgement Day

The first 200 words of this essay...

Judgement Day

"First of all, let me apologise for our pathetic performance against Crystal Palace. Enough has been said about that already, and now we must focus positively on this afternoon's match. It's a game we must win, and then keep or fingers crossed about the eventual outcome. I don't want to think about the unthinkable."

The colourful, shiny programme I held in my hands trembled as I read this. It was from the weekly interview with the Portsmouth F.C. manager, Graham Rix. It sounded a long way away from the cool and collected manager, who had denied all problems and remained optimistic until this day. For you see, this was no ordinary day, no ordinary Saturday match for the inhabitants of the bustling south coast city of Portsmouth. This was like something out of a cheesy American movie. It was the last day of the season and, as they had been forced to do four times in the last six years, Portsmouth had to win to stay in the division. It was their own fault really, as many a Pompey fan would admit. They had spurned their chance to escape this last day nerve-jangler only three