Public Holiday because Women’s Day.
But we all get the day off. And it was a slow start to the morning:
Cometh the hour,
Presseth the snooze button.
But now I’m up, I’m doing a million things, all of which will culminate in another game of football this evening. Looks like we might be a bit short of subs, so I’d better bring my A-game (which is local rhyming slang for “Zimmer Frame”).
Wish me luck.
The rules are very clear.
They state that on the first day of the new Premier League season, you have to share this song:
And if you are in the Western Cape (which I are), you are also obliged to remind readers that this fantastic and original video was filmed in Piketberg, just up the road from Cape Town.
I’d much rather that Sheffield United were up there (the Premier League, not Piketberg) competing with the best in the land (and also Nottingham Forest, Dirty L**ds and West Ham), but maybe next year when I share this song again, we’ll be there.
Twice. And neither of them with the result that I would have liked, but… that’s life, I guess.
United finally got their season underway at Watford last night, and were unlucky to lose. The performance was OK, but there were a few last minute injuries and admin things that meant that we couldn’t get our strongest – and more importantly, most balanced – side onto the field. One goal settled an ugly game, and now we move onto our second of six games in less than 19 days… Ridiculous.
And then tonight… I finally played football again. GET IN THERE!
Just over a year after Covid flattened me, it was great to get back onto the field again. And I was so touched that the guys gave me a guard of honour just before the game started…
Did they, bollocks. Lol!
But despite the result, I really enjoyed playing again, Honestly, it was something that I really didn’t know I would ever be able to get back to. But my biggest issue tonight (aside from the scoreline) was that my smartwatch kept telling me that my heart rate was getting a bit high, and trying to SMS my wife.
I’ll be switching that option off ASAP.
And I’m feeling good. Might be a bit stiff tomorrow, but good stiff.
And I’ll be ready to go again next week: hopefully with a better outcome.
Well done to the England Women’s Football team. Won a hard fought final against Germany and take the Euro 2020 Championship.
Quality wasn’t always evident, but in an often attritional 120 minutes at Wembley, they came out on top.
And some wonderful game management at the end. Lovely to watch.
One of the best footy nights of the year, when we put our football nerdiness to the test and choose our fantasy football teams for the upcoming season. Ten players this time around, but the ever-sapping effect of emigration means that only six of us were in Cape Town last night, with the other four being spread across the rest of the world in four different countries, on three different continents, and in several different hemispheres. That meant that there were 19 hours between the first and last time zones: one living miles into the future, the other still almost in the 20th century.
I got drawn tenth in the draft, which meant that I got the last pick of the first round and the first pick of the next. Was this a disadvantage? No, obviously not: the draft system is ALWAYS FAIR AND EQUAL.
(Yes, I would have liked to have been in the top 3.)
The pressure of choosing each player within 60 seconds doesn’t sound too bad, but when the guy in front of you takes the striker you wanted right before your go, you have to start thinking fast. And then if you are at the end of the draft order (I was) you have to choose another one immediately afterwards.
Those are some of my excuses, anyway.
So, here’s who I ended up with:
Aaron Ramsdale – Arsenal
Wesley Fofana – Leicester City (but on his way to Chelsea, allegedly)
Tariq Lamptey – Brighton & Hove Albion
Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool
Ben White – Arsenal
William Saliba – ArsenalBruno Guimarães – Newcastle United
Morgan Gibbs-White – Wolverhampton Wanderers
Thiago – Liverpool
Joelinton – Newcastle United
Neeskens Kebano – Fulham
Yves Bissouma – Tottenham Hotspur
Luis Diaz – Liverpool
Luis Sinisterra – Leeds United
Raheem Sterling – Chelsea
Che Adams – Southampton
Some established names, some new names, a couple of leftfield choices that might have great seasons or might disappear from the team roster very quickly. We’ll see. In fact, looking again this morning and given some of the names that surprisingly didn’t get picked up last night, I’ve already booked in a few changes which should go through before the season starts.
As a side, I think that it looks OK. The only thing between me and inevitable fantasy football glory in May next year is the other 9 teams which looks equally good or better.
Well, apart from one of them – you know who you are.
I’ll keep you all updated. Assuming things go well, that is. Otherwise, you’ll hear nothing.