Did you just see that? Did you?
An absolutely incredible performance by every Sheffield United player.
100% effort, 100% determination, 100% commitment. 100% brilliant Blades.
Whatever happens this season, this will be a night I will remember for a long time to come.
We needed that. I needed that.
Thank you, Chris Wilder. Thank you, United.
No – not that United (obvs):
This United:
Forget all your fancy big name, big money international signings – it’s getting job done on the pitch that matters, not your massive weekly wage and your lucrative boot sponsorship deals. We got the job done, you didn’t.
And while we left it late, I’ve done a quick check and both those Michael Higdon goals count, so we’re through to the last eight (where we’ll probably get murdered by some big name, big money international signings, but that’s beside the point).
Louis – if you want to get in touch with our boss and find out how to win cup ties away in Milton Keynes, go through the switchboard at Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane: 0871 995 1899.
Last night’s Carling Cup action brought shocks galore – if by ‘galore’ you count four Premiership teams falling to lower league opposition.
The big one for most people was the hilarious 4-0 drubbing of Manchester United by League 1’s MK Dons. As was noted by one astute individual – Louis van Gaal looked like he was about to cry:
And while it was funny, it was also sad that Shrewsbury’s win at Leicester was overlooked, and that West Ham’s home defeat to the mighty Red And White Wizzzzards of Sheffield United didn’t make more headlines. Yet another Premiership scalp after our amazing cup run last season,and, given that this was the first meeting of the teams since the infamous Tevezgate scandal, an especially nice one to take.
The Blades had to work hard for their win on penalties, but to take a young team down south to a Premiership ground, hold them for 120 minutes and then pop in five out of five penalties is no mean feat. No wonder Nigel was happy.
No real point to this blog post save to record this for posterity. And that has now been done.
Sheffield United’s much-vaunted Academy side goes to Old Trafford tonight in the second leg of the FA Youth Cup Final. Now that might not sound like a big deal to anyone else, but the first leg at Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane last Tuesday attracted a crowd of 29,977. For a Youth game. Put that in perspective against two other games that week: the Championship play-offs for a final at Wembley and a place in the Premiership (allegedly worth £40m), which attracted 19,816 and 24,081 respectively.
The first leg finished 2-2, (with the usual controversial goal awarded to Man U), so it’s all to play for this evening, and the Blades are taking an amazing 6,000 fans over the Pennines for the game.
Unsurprisingly, it won’t be broadcast in SA, but should we win, I’ll surely fill you in with a few details tomorrow!
COME ON YOU RED AND WHITE WIZZZZZZZZARDS!
I settled down to watch the ding-dong battle between Arsenal and Manchester United last night, only to have my wish for an exciting game ruined in the first 12 minutes by some dodgy defending, some dodgy refereeing and some dodgy goalkeeping, all of which left Arsenal needing to score 4 times to win the tie and left the game as good as dead.
I was irritated. But at least it wasn’t my team that lost. Heavily.
It was Suleiman Alphonso Omondi’s team though and he could apparently take no more, as Sport24 reports:
Nairobi – An Arsenal fan in football-mad Kenya hung himself following his team’s 4-1 aggregate drubbing by arch-rivals Manchester United in the Champions League semi-final, police said on Wednesday.
Suleiman Alphonso Omondi, a 29-year-old Kenyan living in the capital Nairobi’s Embakasi neighbourhood, hung himself in his Arsenal shirt late Tuesday after the match, police said.“We were watching the match at Bamba 70 pub, and when Arsenal was defeated, Suleiman just walked out in protest and he was crying,” Calvin Otieno, one of his friends, said.
“We didn’t know he was going to hang himself until Wednesday morning when we received the reports and came here to find his body at the balcony,” Otieno said outside the deceased’s home.
Tragic tale – and one which, if nothing else, demonstrates Suleiman’s passonate support for his team.
But having reported the story, which staff reporter looked through the files for an appropriate photo to use and came up with this?
Arsenal players training
Was there really no other shot available? Cesc Fabregas in full flight? An upset or angry Arsenal fan at the Emirates, maybe? Perhaps a pic of the scoreboard or one of the Bamba70 pub? Even one of ugly Ronaldo. Ugh.
In fact, anything that doesn’t feature an apparently slumped black man being dragged away, really.
Is it just me or was the choice of this particular photograph mildly inappropriate?
EDIT: Sky News gets the story and uses Arsenal badge as graphic. Better.