Category: sheffield

Transfer

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Sometimes, football transfer windows are all about who you sign, and what they can do for your team. This time around for us, it was more about who we could hold onto, given our current lofty league position, a few desirable players, and a pending takeover bid for the club.

And it didn’t look good, with our Norwegian midfielder, Sander Berge, left out of the squad for last weekend’s FA Cup tie on instructions from the board, and the blue side of Liverpool (amongst others) after our Senegalese star forward, Illiman Ndiaye.

There’s obviously more to the team that just those two, but their influence can’t be understated and losing either one of them would have been a huge blow.

Thankfully, the club owner made a decision not to turn in a quick profit, and told the bidding teams from the Premier League (and beyond) that we were not selling anyone. That was good.

And then he stuck to his word. That was even better.

And so once the chaos and rumour of the transfer window was closed, the club’s social media team chose to advertise the next game with this image:

Both still here with us. Both – hopefully – Ultimate Champions.

We didn’t buy anyone – we couldn’t (it’s complicated) – but that wasn’t what mattered this time around.
Holding onto all our players has given us as much of a boost as any new signing would have.

It feels good to be a Blade this week.
And look – he seems happy to still be at Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane.

Onward and upward*.

* T&Cs apply

Womble Grotto

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Having done a lot of research (I Googled once), I have discovered that the below image would have been right about the time that I was a kid. A Womble-loving kid. And yet I have no recollection of ever visiting the Womble Grotto on The Moor in Sheffield.

Why on earth not?

I’m guessing that the J Sainsbury sign is obscuring the actual Womble you would get to meet. The thought of going along to a Womble Grotto and then meeting John Sainsbury – who by that time would have been dead for almost 50 years – doesn’t really seem all that appealing.

I need to chat to my Dad and find out why I was never taken to the local Womble Grotto. To me, this seems like a massive dereliction of parenting duties.

Early start

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Last night was a late one at the airport as Granddad arrived for a three week vitamin D boost in the South African sun. Sadly, he was greeted into the Mother City with unseasonable – although perhaps not unexpected – rain.

But this morning has at least got a bit more summery.

I’m still not sure why I got up at 7am though (and that was an hour after my wife!)

And that wind can ‘tsek.

Tomorrow, we’ll head down to the cottage for New Year and few days away on the beach.

But for now, it’s a going to be a chilled day with an afternoon nap so that I’m still alive and able to watch the ridiculously late kick-off in Blackpool this evening.

A late night ahead, but hopefully an enjoyable one. And on the big screen too, thanks to the magic of having electricity from 8:30 onwards.

Two Photos

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I alluded to a good football score on the weekend, but I didn’t go into detail. Unable to watch because of the dodgy internet in the deep, dark wilds of deepest, darkest, wildest Africa (well, the very bottom bit of it anyway), I chose to nap the afternoon away, and catch up with the news at the end.

And what great news it was. But it was a couple of social media posts from the club which really brought home to me just what a special afternoon I had missed.

Here’s Jack Robinson (left) who – after a personally horrific first half – got our third goal. Yes, the passion and the relief is clearly evident, and Oli McBurnie looks like a naughty schoolboy running away having just chucked a stink bomb into the staff room, but the photographer getting the big screen in the background is what really makes this image so good.

And then the aftermath of that duo running to celebrate in the corner. (Is that the previous photographer bottom left?) (And is Oliver Norwood levitating?)

But everywhere you look: happiness, joy, unbridled glee. From the ball boy at the front to the dad missing the high five with his son on the left, and the chilled, gilet-wearing surfer dude in the grey beanie who is just taking in the moment. (I’m excusing the steward with the corner flag lodged in his chin – that must be painful). It’s another really great shot.

Football is a sport that often brings out the best (ok, and the worst) of passion in people, but we need more of this exaltation and delight in our lives, especially when you look around at what else is going on in the world right now. 90 minutes of escapism each and every Saturday afternoon seems like a very good idea.

I just wish I could have been there for this one.

On the way to footy

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Indeed, and slightly early, due to a drop off along the way, and a weird lack of inbound traffic. So I pulled over here, and took a (phone) photo:

Beautiful.

There can’t be too many football pitches with this just across the road.

Still, there’s something to be said for an Arnold Laver timber yard right next door to the main car park, too.