Bad Day for the Blademan

The day started brightly enough. Rangers dumped Celtic 3-0. Then things started to deteriorate. But why was I surprised? The Blades squeezed an undeserved draw out of what should have been a home banker against the 'mighty' Preston. The Pigs (Sheffield Wednesday for the uninitiated - I will never ever refer to them by name again!) had an unaccountable 4-2 win away at Stoke. And to the main event......we lost against South Africa and the southern hemisphere video referee. Lets not even bother. If you cant be big enough then fine.

Going to bed. Am I in a minority who does not actually care whether Lewis Hamilton wins the F1 championship? Who cares?

Up the Blades! Swing Low!

Front Row Carnage: Spot the Difference

Everyone knows that forwards win matches. Backs decide by how many. So rest assured. On Saturday the Chariots will prevail. And where we will really turn the screw is in the front row. And the reason?

One Andrew Sheriden. He's the decent, polite, mild mannered looking young man on the left. That is off the pitch according to those who know him well. However on the pitch he is 20 stones of solid grief for opposing props (particularly woosy Australian ones). However I dont think he discriminates according to nationality, colour or creed. Anyone crazy enough to think they can scrum against him get blown away, politely but often with a bit of shoeing (but only on soft tissue)

So what have South Africa got to counter act this threat (or should I say promise?) Why none other than the up and coming, photogenic Bull of Blomfontein, Oz Du Randt, pictured here on the right talking tactics with the Bok's imported Aussie 'guru' Eddie (soon to be second time loser) Jones. It's obviously a change of emphasis from the bootcamp concept. Eddie is evidently trying to introduce a more relaxed approach to nutrition and training which is obviously suiting Oz down to the ground. 50 rand (thats £3.50!) prize for the winner of the caption contest.

56 hours to go. Swing Low!

South Africans

I like South African and South Africans. Me and Sue (thats er indoors) visited for an unforgettable 3 months this time 2 years ago. We met lots of great people and made some lifelong friends. Like me , many South Africans are crazy about sport. When I was there I really bought into this aspect of South African culture. One of my favourite occasions was a visit to Newlands in Cape Town to watch SA play New Zealand. I always enjoy watching 2 developing nations trying to master a game we devised and gave to the world. Here I am with my mates Piet and Vernon, great guys (and great drinkers!) getting near to the end of a game which I am glad to say SA won.

Now as we approach a momentus weekend when we play one of our colonial cousins at another game we invented my rants over the next day or so (ok there has been a long fallow period but I am only slowly emerging from a Robson induced torpor affecting all the Blades fans I know) will be directed at my best and well loved SA buddy Pete Grassow. Pete bless is of the one of the SA 'to win is our destiny' school of thought. For starters, what I want to know is what good does it do even if you can run faster than a cheeta if you are at the bottom of a ruck getting a bit shoe pie from Cozza and co? The tone is set! Bring it on Pete. Percy wont be able to totter around on his high heels when Lewis 'I'm very moody' Moody is about to take his legs from under him. Front row? Lets not go there.....well not until tomorrow!

Swing Low!

Ok. Those in the know might be assuming that this blog is going to be all about football in general and about Sheffield United in particular. Well at times that may well be a sound assumption to make. But it will be about more than that. Why confine a rant to football when there is politics, religion, the BBC (the broadcasting organisation rather than the notorious 1980's football hard crew!) the Guardian, low level anti-social behaviour ....in fact all the sorts of issues which give grumpy old men like me the goat! So in true Al Murray fashion 'my blog..my rules'.

I thought pride of place for my very first blog has to be one of my all time hero's Neil Warnock who put the pride and passion back into the Blades after years of decline and mediocrity. I was privilaged to attend one of Neil's book signings recently in Wakefield. A great man and a super blade who will be sadly missed. I would recommend his book if you want to read about a guy who actually wrote his autobiography because he had a story to tell as opposed to the early twenty something vacuous premiership footballers who think that the news that they have to go to bed with the light on is a big enough reason to fork out the £20 odd quid. First rant over...that feels quite good.

Anyway a class book by a class man.