Sad news for United fans this evening.
One player doesn’t make a team (and even if it did, this wouldn’t be that player), but it’s so frustrating and disappointing to lose such an integral part of the setup a week and a half before the new season kicks off.
Thanks, Ili. All the best.
Yesterday, I went to the gym to see if I could survive a workout and therefore pronounce myself fit to play football in the evening. The workout went very well, thanks for asking, and so I pronounced myself fit to play football in the evening. I then played football in the evening.
Dream day.
It was only after playing football in the evening that I realised that I had done a gym workout that morning. 20000+ steps. 600 (or at least the equivalent of 600) Discovery points. All in just under 10 hours. This is what is known in gym/football circles as “a bit much” for one day.
Consequently, today I am feeling battered and I did not want to get up.
I will not be exercising today. I feel that I have earned a rest day.
There is still plenty to be done around the house though, so it’s only a rest from actual exercise, not from life. And that’s sad, because with dark grey skies up above and disappointingly chilly temperatures, I’d honestly rather be in bed.
Hey. It’s been a while. But this is a live blog post written… well… now.
Wow.
We’re on a fast train on our way North to Chesterfield. Why? Because Sheffield United are playing a friendly game there today, and when in Rome (the UK), and this is your only chance to see the Mighty Red And White Wizards at work, you pull out all the stops to get there.
Our half of the journey is going well, but the other party (my dad) meeting us there has been plagued with repeated ridiculous delays. Missing passengers on his plane. Missing air traffic controllers at the airport. A man sleeping on his train. A carriage that wouldn’t couple.
He’s got the match tickets.
But we’ll be there on time and ready to go.
Despite the image above, the weather is looking rather threatening, with heavy showers – plenty of flooding out of the window already – and strong winds, but it doesn’t matter. I checked in Google and apparently the “people” of Chesterfield discovered roofing a couple of years ago, so we’ll be dry at least.
Meanwhile, Sigur Rós is providing a very decent soundtrack for our big day out.
Just one month to go before the mighty Red & White Wizards kick off their Premier League campaign against Crystal Palace at Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane.
The 2023/24 season will start on Friday 11 August 2023. The final match round will be on Sunday 19 May 2024, when all fixtures will kick off simultaneously as usual.
The season schedule returns to normal following the COVID-19 pandemic and the FIFA World Cup 2022, which has caused disruption across three consecutive seasons.
So, have we signed anyone?
Well, not at the time of writing. But hopefully something will have happened on that score by the time you’re reading this post.
I’m looking forward to the season with the usual amount of excitement and trepidation. And, along with every other Sheffield United fan, I would bite your arm off (not literally) for a guaranteed 17th place finish.
Anything more would be an absolute bonus.
Because we are (hopefully) arriving on the Isle of Man today, here’s a great article about this year’s IOM TT Races. Much maligned by many in the “mainstream media”* (especially the pisspoor Sky News), there is still something very special about this two week period for many, and it’s often seen as something of a pilgrimage for motorcyclists the world over.
And if you think “oh, well it’s just more motor racing”, you really couldn’t be more wrong:
Formula One has turned itself into a mainstream sport by focusing on everything outside the racing. The way F1 is marketed makes it seem almost like they want you to ignore the racing because they understand that it is dull, and that they cannot fix that it is dull, and instead focus on that there are things to do to distract you from that dull racing.
It’s true. One guy wins all the races…
…and so you have to turn to Netflix documentaries and pitlane feuds to prop up the excitement.
The TT is the same, but also almost totally the opposite. If you have only ever experienced the TT from the sofa – rather than a grass bank, a garden, or a hedge – it is likely that, on arriving to the island for the first time, you will simply be blown away by the amount of people there, and the amount of motorcycles. There is a lot going on outside the racing, but it is all created by people who are there primarily for the racing, so it doesn’t detract or distract from the racing, because it is, ultimately, generated by the racing.
I don’t envy the author. It truly is an experience which is near indefinable in words. But he gives it a good go, and I quite like the honest, warts-and-all approach he takes. Less so the awful photos that he took, but hey, you can’t have everything.
It’s a good read. Especially (but not exclusively) if you like your island-based, two-wheeled motorsport.
* amazing albeit accidental alliteration