Best Atmosphere in England? Mauricio knows…

I’ll just leave this here:

Asked about the best atmosphere he had experienced in his time in England, Pochettino picked Bramall Lane. “They are a historic club currently in the third tier and for a Cup game there were 35,000 people in the stadium. So it’s that, not Old Trafford, or Stamford Bridge or the Emirates that stands out.”

Not wrong there, Mauricio.

And HITC Sport’s Subhankar Mondal evidently knows his stuff as well:

English football is not necessarily the most aesthetic, but support and passion in the lower leagues is probably the best in Europe. United regularly get thousands of supporters for League One matches, sometimes more than some Premier League clubs do.

The Sheffield-based club are one of the biggest of England despite playing in League One, and retain one of the largest fanbases in the country. What is refreshing about the United fans is that they have remained loyal and go to games despite their team not being in the Premier League or in the Championship.

Yep, there’s just something about being a Blade that brings out the passion and encourages undying allegiance, and despite the occasional disappointments, there are many moments to savour as well.

Still proud

The Blades may have gone out of the Capital One Cup last night on a snowy evening at Beautiful Downtown Bramall Lane, but they went down fighting until the very last minute and have every reason to be proud of yet another amazing cup run.

Here’s our hero of the moment (although there were many outstanding performances), Che Adams, hard at work:

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Sheffield United v Tottenham Hotspur, Britain - 28 Jan 2015
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And manager Nigel Clough agrees with me:

I’m incredibly proud of the players, to run a team like Spurs so close, that bit of quality made the difference.
We knew one goal would change the complexion. We got the second and then had a chance for a third and just missed it.
We were disappointed when we came away from White Hart Lane with a 1-0 defeat and we’re even more so tonight, as we came so close.

Yep. So very close. But it looks like we’ll have to settle for just the FA Cup and automatic promotion this season.

Rite of Passage note

Just a quick note to record this moment for posterity. My boy and I have just played his (and therefore our) first game of EA’s FIFA15.

While we’re certainly not a family of gamers, this is an important moment for him, and obviously for me too. It’s basically 20 years *weep* since I played my first FIFA game.

He chose to play as Sheffield United (proud dad moment, right there) and I was randomly assigned Luton Town by the Sony machinery.
For the record, the score at 90 minutes was 1-1, thanks in part to a late defensive error by the Luton centre back and the lightning quick reactions of a pixelated Marc McNulty.
The penalty shootout which followed was a tense affair, with the Blades amazingly triumphing 1-0.

Happy days. Everyone’s a winner.
Except Luton.

Do You Remember The First Time?

I took the boy to his first Sheffield United game this afternoon. The Blades v Plymouth Argyle in the second round of the FA Cup. A potential banana skin of note.

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(Just check out those blue skies, by the way.)
(And please excuse his hair, he’d just taken his beanie off.)
As local band Pulp once sang:

Do you remember the first time?
I can’t remember a worse time

And at half time, 0-0 and having endured a thoroughly depressing 45 minutes, I’m not sure I could, Jarvis, no.

But then in the second half, things perked up. They got a penalty and they missed it and then we got a penalty and we didn’t. And then we got another penalty and we didn’t miss that one either.
And with the boy thoroughly excited, we then slotted in another (not a penalty) and all was right with the world:

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All’s well that ends well, and this did end well.
It’s taken a while to get him there, but I’m glad we did. Another rite of passage in my (not so) little boy’s life.

Ched Evans: a decision

Finally. It’s taken far too long quite a while, it’s been fraught and it’s been wholly unpleasant. But finally, Sheffield United have come to a decision regarding Ched Evans:

Following the statement dated 11th November and after ongoing and extensive deliberation, Sheffield United Football Club has decided to retract the opportunity for its former player, Ched Evans, to use the Club’s facilities for training purposes, as was previously intended.

And, I suppose that means (although it doesn’t actually say so) that he won’t be playing for us again either. And as Paul Heaton pointed out last week, that’s probably a good thing:

I firmly believe that Ched Evans has the right to rebuild his career in football but rebuilding a career should not involve walking straight out of prison and into the shirt of the club he so badly let down.
I believe he needs to move away and move on…

United remain defiant in their statement though:

As noted in previous statements from the Club, the legal system of this country provides for both the punishment and the rehabilitation of every person who has been found guilty of a crime. Sheffield United will not be used to promote the view that professional footballers should be treated differently, as has been the want of certain sections of the media and various commentators. In addition, we remain disappointed at some of the inaccurate reporting, misinformed views and commentary, as well as the actions of a minority of individuals on social media. Professional footballers must be treated as equals before the law.

And yep, I agree with all of that.

But the fact is that this was always going to be a no-win situation for the club. While there obviously isn’t going to be the widespread, media-driven condemnation of this decision as there was with the original training thing was announced, there are a large number of “true” Blades fans who don’t agree with it. They see it as the Board “bottling” it – the local term for running scared or giving way under pressure. They cite (correctly too, I think) the fact that the vast majority of negative comment came from individuals who had and have nothing to do with Sheffield United. Whether that makes those people’s opinions less valid (I think it probably shouldn’t) or less influential (I think it probably should) is still up for discussion.

And supporting that opinion that they buckled to social media pressure, the Board seem to admit that they are nursing a bloodied nose and bruised ego:

During this whole period, we have been served a timely reminder of what we have been throughout our history: Sheffield United is a Family and Community Club that, even in times of adversity, will remain strong and grow from its experiences.

How these “true” fans will choose to react to this decision also remains to be seen, but it seems that as far as Sheffield United go:

The Club will not be making any further comment on this issue.

…it’s case closed.