Vase Vessels, Trophy Tins, Cup Cans

Sheffield United 0 v Brighton And Hove Albion 5 

Premier League 

Sunday 18 February 2024 

SUFC 2023/24 Game #50 

Hallam 2 v Lincoln United 2 

Lincoln United win 6-5 on Penalties 

FA Vase 5th Round 

Saturday 17 February 2024 

“I see that's a milestone, Phil. Your fiftieth United game this season. Did you enjoy it?”

“All I'm prepared to say is I drank a Pint of Abbeydale Moonshine in The Cricketers. Otherwise, can we move on?”

Hallam's Vase adventure came to an end on Saturday. The game was cagey at times. Committed at others. I didn't quite feel The Countrymen did themselves full justice. Maybe not always playing to their strengths.

Lincoln United play in the United Counties Premier North. That's Step 5, the same level as Hallam. A fleet of coaches dropped their fans off opposite the hole in the ground where The Plough used to be. (Question for Editor. Is it appropriate to declare three as a Fleet?) Fair fucks to them. Although, they were dwarfed in a frankly fucking ridiculous 1,287 crowd.

Anyone from Hallam reading this - you need to start investing some of this money into Development Teams, and Women's Teams. Demolish the “Golf Club” image. Move towards “Football Club”.

Look. I'm not proud of this. But, there was always going to be a large crowd. The Can Bars are all well and good for the Civilians. But, they've dropped off our radar now they don't stock Crosspool Alemakers. Sure, the Carrier Bag Firm can get up the hill early enough to grab a Salt LOOM in the 1860. But, refills? With that crowd? Gonna be a tough ask.

So. We “had to” go down our own smuggle the cans in route. Not proud. Here's the drill.

Pick cheap cans. This is just alcohol delivery. In the unlikely event you get questioned at the Gate;

“Oh. I'm sorry. My Bad. I didn't realise. I don't want to do the wrong thing. I'll just put them in this bin, shall I?”

Cheap cans are disposable. A few quid? Just walk away from the problem.

Pick 330s. They'll stand out less in the stands. A big fuck off 500. You're drawing attention to yourself, Pal. A 500 looks like a Tin of Beer. A 330 looks like a Can of Pop.

May I introduce you to - Lock Ten Brewing Co. No hiding. That's “really” Freedom Brewery in Staffordshire. Freedom brew for Aldi. A bloke called Jim drives it from Freedom to Aldi. And I fucking buy it for a Quid-a-Quaff. Disposable at that price. In a 330? Yes. In a fucking 330.

The Lock Ten Brewing Co, Session IPA at 3.9%, is, by collaboration with the Carrier Bag Firm, packaged to look all the world like a can of orangeade Fanta. Other brews in the stable look like Vimto (Mark had that one), Lemonade and Tizer. They are, undoubtedly the perfect Vase Vessels, Trophy Tins and Cup Cans.

Cascade, Jester, Herkules, Centennial, Progress and Columbus Hops. That's less than 17p a Hop!!!

Lincoln U went ahead on 26. Basile Zottos equalised for Hallam just after HT. A penalty to LUFC on 61 pushed them ahead. Danny Buttle himself scored the two all penalty with seven left.

Hugo won the toss for the shootout to take place in front of the overspilling Shed End. It went no miss five all. Before Lincoln United got it done.

Don't forget to, discreetly, put the empty tins in the bin. We're not savages….

You can find ALL my previous Blogs at

www.ball-sup.blogspot.com

Would you please consider subscribing (free) to have my Blog delivered to your email inbox (via Substack). Thank you.

You can find me on Social Media

X @ball_sup 

Untappd ball_sup 

Stats 

I have now Blogged from 1,383 games in 3,470 days 

He Doesn't Live On Shoreham Street

Sheffield United 2 v Brighton & Hove Albion 5 

FA Cup Fourth Round 

Saturday 27 January 2024 

SUFC 2023/24 Game #42 

Sheffield United U18 0 v Birmingham City U18 2 

U18 Professional Development League 

Saturday 27 January 2024 

Played at Shirecliffe 

SUFC 2023/24 Game #41 

Sheffield United Community Foundation A 3 v Derby County Community Trust B 0 

Community & Education Football Alliance League, North Central 1 

Wednesday 24 January 2024 

Played at Handsworth 

SUFC 2023/24 Game #40 

This week's beer adventure was on Woodseats. I was brought up at the bottom of Woodseats Road in Sheffield. My Dad used to play snooker in the Woodseats Social Club. One year, the Committee did the end of year numbers and found they could offer Members 5p off a drink. My Dad and his mates immediately switched to drinking halves. That way, they got 10p off a Pint rather than a Bob. Fuckers.

Over Christmas 1977, I worked behind the bar in The Big Tree. Baptism of fire, that ‘un. A coach used to go from the Tree to Sheffield United away games. They called it - The Snakebites FC - coach.

Previously, I've been a #BigFan of Guzzle MicroPub on Chesterfield Road. But, recently, a number of other pubs/bars have opened on Woodseats. So, I went for a big catch up.

The Boston Arms

676 Chesterfield Rd, Woodseats, Sheffield S8 0SD

By the gennel, on a corner plot, next to Woodseats Primary School. Bar in the front room with some seats. A separate side room. And, I hear, some additional seats up top. When I went in, there were three Casks on. Including Abbeydale Moonshine. And a Keg list that was a tad safe & uninspiring. It's context ain't it? SALT Loom, the best in ground footie beer around. A go to. But, if it turns up on Woodseats, I'm all - fuck me, not again.

Still. I was on a little bit of a crawl. And I can only drink one at once!

Brew York, JARSA, IPA on Cask at 3.7%

They've acronymed it bruv. From Juicy And Refreshing Session Ale. Very nice beer. The initial burst is citrus. That hails a long way down. But there is some tropical fruit down there.

Mesters Tap

706 Chesterfield Rd, Woodseats, Sheffield S8 0SD

Same side of Chesterfield Road. The other side of the ‘spoons. Opposite Woodseats nick. My mate Craig was once locked up in Woodseats nick after a United home game. When he came to on the Sunday morning, the Copper asked him his name and address.

“What you asking me that for? You've locked me in all night. So, you must have took those details when I came in.”

“We did Sir, but we don't believe you're called Keith Edwards. And we don't believe you live on Shoreham Street…”

The outlet for Little Mesters Brewing. A single room affair. There was a hand pull. But no sign of anything on it. Seven on Keg. But those included Camden Hells, Pale and Stout.

For the uninitiated, Little Mesters was the phrase given to self employed craftsman in Sheffield. Often self employed in the cutlery game. The last living Little Mester was reputedly Stan Shaw. Stan died in 2021, aged 94. Legend has it he made knives for the Queen, US Presidents and Elvis Presley. Stan was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2017 for his services to manufacturing in Sheffield.

Little Mesters Brewing, Stan, IPA on Keg at 4.6%

That was named after Stan Shaw. It was an OK, but safe, keg IPA. Falling a little way short of the sort of Craft Stan and the other Mesters were famed for.

A longer schlep along Chesterfield Road, past The Big Tree, to a Gaff I did not even know was there until my guide/kidnapper pointed it out.

The Herd

5 Holmhirst Rd, Woodseats, Sheffield S8 0GU

The best way I can describe it is - a mini food court. The Baaa (fuck sake). No Forks Given (breakfast and street food). Dough Bros pizza. And maybe others. I was too taken aback by the wonder of it all. And this is in Woodseats.

SALT Huckaback, Hazy IPA on Keg at 5.5%

Mosaic, Citra and Amarillo Hops. The Citra coming through. A lot. Just the right amount of joooooce.

So, finally, just across the road to;

Guzzle MicroPub

843 Chesterfield Rd, Woodseats, Sheffield S8 0SQ

I've still got great feelings about Guzzle. I just think their throughput means there'll always be a new and interesting cask doing the rounds.

Neepsend Brew Co., Alphito, Hazy Pale on Cask at 4.7%

Superb. Double dry-hopped Mosaic and Azacca. Wheat and oat malt base. Smooth as your chosen smooth thing. But some dandelion bitterness coming in.

Very enjoyable little trail up in Woodseats. Which I thoroughly enjoyed. I inevitably felt the Boston Arms beer choice was a bit "safe". I found the Mesters a bit odd. Didn't really feel like they were showcasing their own beers. Herd was a surprise and lovely.

But I still feel Guzzle is the best of a good bunch.

A poor show from the U18 Blades. Who couldn't really get anything going at all. Although, they were a bit better after the substitutions. The Young BlueNoses extending their lead at the top. They're now five points clear of Crewe. And, seven clear of Barnsley in third. Birmingham certainly fully deserved their points from this one. United remain in eighth. 

Ryan Andrews in goal.

Set up as a back three this week. Prunty (armband and attitude) in the middle, Okyere on his right, Tahir on his left. Sam Colechin wide right and George The Trialist wide left.

Jackson Blaize up top on the right, Marshall Francis on the left. Looked like Sam Aston anchoring midfield this week. Billy Blacker to the left, Ethan Cummings to the right. But, they were very fluid across there. 

Ethan Cummings fired wide on 24. But chances were scarce at both ends, despite BCFC being well on top. The Young Blades conceded on 41. George The Trialist made a mistake on the left corner of the penalty area, got robbed, and as Keeper Andrews came out, the striker went down over his outstretched arm. Penalty. From a defensive error. It's Shirecliffe. There's not many watching. You can hear what the players and staff are saying. That's part of the fun. Penalty. From a defensive mistake. And didn't Jayden Prunty let EVERYONE know who had made the mistake, and what he thought of him.

Keen readers will recall that Prunty had onfield slanging matches with both the bench and teammate Beattie, last week at Barnsley.

Ryan did really well to save the Pen. And, got an awful lot on the second go off the rebound. But he couldn't keep it out. One Nil Blues. The nearest defender to the scorer as he tracked down the rebound was George The Trialist. So, Prunty had another fucking go at him for not getting there first.

There's passion. And there's leadership. And there's out and out bullying. This Blog has been a supporter and “friend” to many Academy Lads over the years. But, we call it as we see it. Always.

“Jayden, you can fuck off with that eyeballs out berating of your teammates anytime you fancy.”

George The Trialist didn't come out for the second half. I hope he was putting Deep Heat in Brunty’s keks. Like for like Mekhi Haughton-Parris replacing George.

We went two down on 60. Failed to clear a corner. And the West Midlands Lad lobbed/volleyed it back in.

The Coaches changed it all up after that. Noah Kiwomya coming on for Marshall Francis. Blaize dropping back into midfield. With Blacker and Noah up top. We looked much more lively and coherent after that. Kiwomya even hitting the bar on 83.

But, that was it. Everyone back to the dressing room for a bollocking from Prunty!!!

Good team to watch ain't they Brighton? Just constantly looking to move it. And move it accurately to someone's feet. Not hopeful hot potato like a lot of United's play. And then. They don't give you a moment. Good positioning in the first place. And boom. They're on you. And, you feel they've got that decisive, clinical thing going on in the opponent's box. Not a bad fucking blueprint that.

Cup Run(neth) Over.

You can find ALL my previous Blogs at

www.ball-sup.blogspot.com

Would you please consider subscribing (free) to have my Blog delivered to your email inbox (via Substack). Thank you.

You can find me on Social Media

X @ball_sup 

Untappd ball_sup 

Stats 

I have now Blogged from 1,371 games in 3,448 days 

Good Beer, Bad Barman

Brighton & Hove Albion 1 v Sheffield United 1 

Premier League 

Sunday 12 November 2023 

SUFC 2023/24 Game #24 

Hallam 3 v Silsden 0 

Northern Counties East League, Premier (Step 5) 

Tuesday 14 November 2023 

Eccleshill United 3 v Maltby Main 0 

Northern Counties East League, Premier (Step 5) 

Wednesday 15 November 2023 

Ground Tick #458 

Brighton

Simple thing innit? Even though you're struggling. Even though you're not playing well. At one nil, you're still in the game. The Carrier Bag Firm celebrated that point on the concourse (in the hope the queues for the trains would die down. Narrator - they didn't) with the pictured pint;

Harvey's Brewery (Lewes), Sussex Best, Bitter on Cask at 4%

In general, I love Harvey's beers. Long established recipes, using proper English ingredients. Water filtered through the Sussex Downs (a bit pompous, but I'll give ‘em that). And their own 60 year old yeast strain.

Earlier in the day, we'd had a Good Beer, Bad Barman incident at the John Harvey Tavern in Lewes. That's essentially Harvey's brewery tap, down a street opposite the brewery. Six real ales on. Including Sussex Best always on Gravity.

Harvey's, Armada Ale, Golden Ale on Cask at 4.5%

That was glorious. Pump clip says Dry Hopped. A good bit of hay & grass on it. It tasted packed with hops. Served by a very friendly and welcoming barman.

And. Then. I went back for the next ‘un on the list. Different barman. He's got his back to the customers (ie me). He's a-pfaffing an’ a-fiddlin’ on his phone. Eventually he turns around. I order the next beer. He selects a pristine glass off the rack. Picks up a half filled glass of beer off the shelf under the bar and pours that beer into my clean glass. For the avoidance of doubt, he's not pulled my beer fresh from the pump, he's recycling one from another glass.

“Where's that one come from mate?”

“(flustered) From the cellar…”

“Right, I'll have a fresh one. From the pump. Please.”

“I've literally only just poured that one into this other glass.”

“Oh right. Why did you do that then if no one had ordered it?”

“I've literally just pulled it into this other glass.”

“Let's make sure we're not at cross purposes. I've ordered a beer. You've just poured that beer from one glass into another glass. And you're about to charge me for it. That's what has happened. Right? Because if that's happened. I'll have a fresh one from the pump.”

“Alright mate. I've literally just pulled it.”

At this point. Despite the fact that it's a great pub. Serving great beer. The customer mutters a silent - Fuck Off. And fucks off. Poor.

Hallam

You knows what beer I've had up at Sandygate. Currently, the best Footie Beer on the Island.

SALT, Loom, Pale Ale on Keg at a Footie Friendly Four

In the second half, my Carrier Bag Firm comrade noticed and mentioned that the fella in front was swigging from a can. She was curious as to its contents.

“Ask him, it's non-league, you can fucking ask anyone owt at non-league. From the artwork it looks to me like either Brew York or Northern Monk.”

Matey shows us the can. Engages in dialogue about where he bought it. And what sort of beers he likes and usually drinks. This is what we go to school for. Turns out it's;

Vocation Brewery, Tuscan Truffle, Espresso Martini Tiramisu Imperial Stout at 10%.

Fuck Sake mate. That is deffo NOT a footie beer. The Carrier Bag Firm salute you.

A rather disappointing 312 up the hill. But, it was a shocking night. A great win for The Countrymen. Three wins on the bounce in the league. Unbeaten in four in the league. Currently eighth in the table. One point behind opponents Silsden. And, in touch with the play offs.

Hallam opened it on just 2 minutes. A deep header from a corner. Begat a second header into the six yard. Nathan Cartman controlling it, spinning and knocking it home.

On 15, a hang it up there for the big lad corner, a right on his noggin header, a yard(ish) above his marker, and Dan Burns made it two. A header so timeless, I've had to nick the photo off Twitter.

Once a Blade, always a Blade Hugo Warhurst kept Hallam in it with a number of excellent saves. I was amazed he wasn't named MoM. But, let me say unequivocally, I'm biased. Hugo saves a lot of shots with his legs and feet. That's because he keeps his eye on the ball, and uses everything he's got to form an impenetrable barrier, if you get a shot off, it'll hit him. Great to watch.

Hallam made it three nil on 56. Matthews jinked past defenders wide right. Pulled it back from the line. Calum Ward knocked it home.

There was utter madness on 85. Silsden had their chances. Hugo did his stuff. And suddenly, the Hallam bench exploded. Mainly at the nearest lino. Some bad fucking language I can tell you.

From what I could make out, Hallam players had asked the officials - how long added on. The message got passed around on the wind. When it was relayed to the bench, we were in - send three & fourpence we're going to a dance - territory.

“Lino, lino, where the fuck have you got seventeen minutes from?”

All. Hell. Loose.

A marvelous bit of reffing in the face of abuse. Calmly explained they'd misunderstood and it was Seven Minutes. Upon which information they sat sheepishly. Classic.

Eccleshill United

Gratuitous 458th ground tick, no beer visit to wherever that is.

You can find ALL my previous Blogs at

www.ball-sup.blogspot.com

Would you please consider subscribing (free) to have my Blog delivered to your email inbox (via Substack). Thank you.

You can find me on Social Media

X @ball_sup 

Untappd ball_sup 

Stats 

I have now Blogged from 1,339 games in 3,375 days 

The Kitabdjian Conspiracy

Sheffield United 1 v Brighton & Hove Albion 1 

Premier League 

Saturday 22 February 2020 

SUFC 2019/20 Game 53 

Twitter @ball_sup 

www.twitter.com/ball_sup 

Untappd ball_sup 

Dear Brewer

Generally, I'm attracted to the taste of your beers. Sometimes, the names you give them help me out in understanding what style they are. And hence, what to expect. But, normally, I'm not too fussed about the beer names. Pun away fella……

Regards

The Carrier Bag Firm

However, I have to admit. Five Towns Brewery, brewing in Outwood (betwixt Wakefield & Leeds) have had me scratching my head with this one. Let me explain. Last week's Beer Adventure was to the Bradford CAMRA Beer Festival, in The Victoria Hall, Saltaire. Off Peak train ticket & Railcard restrictions meant we couldn't get there for the 11am start. Weekday Daytime Festival Sessions are increasingly popular among CBF-a-likes. Often free entry. No piss head mither. You can hear yourself think. If I'm honest, too popular. We had to get a right old shift on to try and secure Base Camp Seats ahead of the pack. In. Stairs. Excuse me. Is that free? Would you mind? Done. We're plotted. Only then can you turn your attention to getting the festival glass, getting the beer vouchers and the Other Meaningless Bits Of Paper that constitute the Programme & Beer List.

Many civilians can then waste precious drinking time rigorously auditing the beer list against existing beer ticks to produce the Essential Beer Hit List. Not for us. Get a Beer. Any Beer. Use your Noggin. "Can't remember having that one before, it's a Pale, believable abv" Grab it. Retire to Base Camp. And then you can do the fucking paperwork. You know. While you're drinking.

But, Five Towns have thrown me. The very first beer I notice, in the very first room I waddle into is;

Five Towns Brewery, The Kitabdjian Conspiracy, #WACCOE Pale, 4.3%.

Hang on. Go previous. That is surely named after "a thing". And not only that, but "a thing" I've never heard of. This. Changes. Everything. By the CBF rules, I should grab a beer & get back to the seats. But, if you don't learn, you don't grow. I hadn't got it in me. I couldn't leave the bar until I knew what The Kitabdjian Conspiracy was. Also what the fuck is WACCOE? Is it a Hop I've never heard of?

Gooooooogle

Michel Kitabdjian was a French football referee. Born in Nice in 1930, with Armenian roots. He reffed the 1975 European Cup Final between Bayern Munich & Leeds United in the Parc des Princes, Paris. Goals from Franz Roth & Gerd Muller gave Bayern a two nil victory. But, Kitabdjian turned down penalty appeals when Beckenbauer handled in the box & then appeared to clatter Allan Clarke. On 65, Johnny Giles dinked one into the box. After a bit of pinball, Peter Lorimer banged it home. Only for Kitabdjian to disallow it. (Apparently for Bremner being offside in the mêlée). It was nil nil through all that. Two latish Bayern goals won it. A German TV Operator lost an eye in the ensuing RIOT.

Understandably, many Leeds fans felt they had been robbed & cheated. That there was a Conspiracy involving the French Ref. The Kitabdjian Conspiracy. Leeds fans felt they were the rightful Champions, the Champions of Europe.

W e A re C hampions, C hampions O f E urope

WACCOE - no Phil, I'm afraid it's not a Hop. Beer teaches you stuff. Also - 45 years later - LLAFAA.

Congratulations, you have just been informed by the Carrier Bag Firm.

I thought United played really well against Brighton. Not the result we needed. But, big picture. We might not look like we're unlocking defences. We might not have anyone who looks like a priceless, twenty goal a season striker. But, we're a constant threat. Opponents can't relax. Of course, it was disappointing to go a goal up. And then not be able to manage it over the line. The corner routine for that goal was superb. Simple & superb. Fleck to Norwood to Fleck to Norwood. To create a straightforward two v one wide right. Alright. Maybe the cross is not meant to fall to Stevens. But, he's there. And he finishes.

There is an odd malaise around Blades fans at times. No one has seen the fringe players play. So, they can't be good enough - "or the great leader Wilder would play them". It doesn't work like that. Wilder has to play the best ones. Doesn't mean the others aren't up to it. Step forward Ben Osborn. Subbing left wing back at HT for Stevens. Come on. You barely noticed a difference in how we played. He did very well.

I'm also singling out McBurnie. It's going to sound negative. It isn't. It's observation. What goes on with his legs? Is it those ankle socks? And kids pads? Or is it just how he is? He always looks like he's stretching for the ball. It always looks out of reach. He's sort of gangly. I'm beginning to view Wilder as Tweaker Man. He's not a constant Tinker. Changing this, that, the other, in real time. He's just made basic Tweaks to our system. To suit our changing circumstances. And our changing personnel. Ditch the Ten, go flat three. Stick McBurnie in, go more direct at times.

It'll be interesting how Wilder approaches the ten or so games left. Of course, we've always been "playing for something" - playing to survive. Now, we're playing for seventh (and hoping European Qualification goes down that far). All results have mattered & do matter. But, as we can see down the home stretch, they measurably matter. We might have to say - have a point, don't risk losing later on in games. He might have to Tinker more.

Stats

I have now Blogged from 905 games in 2,013 days

A Free Beer Romper

Brighton And Hove Albion 0 v Sheffield United 1 

Premier League 

Saturday 17 December 2019 

SUFC 2019/20 Game 40 

Twitter @ball_sup 

www.twitter.com/ball_sup 

Untappd ball_sup 

That "new" Brighton ground, opened in 2011, was the 224th ground I have seen a Sheffield United XI play on. Although, I have actually been to the ground before. I went to see England Under-21 play there in 2015. It's an out-of-town ground. And, I realise that they don't work for everyone. But, I have to say, the supposed transport logistic problems actually make it a great Carrier Bag Firm day out. The subsidised public transport included in our match tickets allowed us to have a right old beer roam around both before and after the game. A free Beer Romper.

And, bizarrely, the logistics mean that the ground stays open well after the final whistle, beer drinking for the use of. That means Brighton have had to think a bit about their in ground beer offering. Which allows me to give a full-on press of the in ground beer KLAXON. Harvey's is a local Sussex Brewery, brewing up there in Lewes. The bar in the away end had a Harvey's Beer Wall. Bit much to call it a fucking wall mate. As it was selling just TWO different Harveys beers. But, I admire your style. It looked to me as if it was all Keg. Although there were rumours of cask. Anyway, let's deal with that one straight off the bat.

Harvey's Gold Bier on keg at 4%. All you non-drinkers do realise that beer tastes differently depending on your mood don't you? If you slurp a pint of the best beer you've ever had, but in somewhat miserable and desperate circumstances, of course it'll taste like shit. Today, that was the reverse. Euphoria, as I realised there was a beer in the ground tick. It don't really matter what it's actually like, it's going to taste banging. Simple fact really. So, yeah, first up I thought that one was alright. The floral hops came through quite well. I even wondered at one stage whether it might be dry hopped. It weren't.

Part of our beery stop start journey down to the ground, had actually involved us having a drink bang opposite the Harvey's brewery in Lewes. In the heaving John Harvey Tavern. A nice place, with loads of different Harveys beers on cask, gravity, and keg. It was laden with football fans, and Christmas shoppers. But, they were great at coping with the crowds.

However, by far the best place we hit on our day out was the Lockhart Tavern in Haywards Heath. We were banging on the door at 11, and enjoyed it so much, that we shot back in there to celebrate after the game. A great whack of lovely local Sussex micros up there on the board. Along with a few big-name big hitters. Sixteen in total, split fairly evenly between cask and keg.

The best one I had was;

Downlands Brewery (West Sussex), CAM-RAA and the masters of the brewniverse, Stout, on keg at 7%. That was glorious, thick & rich. Great bitter chocolate tones which suited it very well. Bright & effervescent.

Christmas can be a difficult time for us atheists. But, when your football team is on a run, the great midwinter festival does at least give you a milestone date on which to hang the stats. Sheffield United. The New Kids on the block. Newly promoted. Punching above their weight. Are still fucking unbeaten away from home before Christmas. Have that.

That felt a bit more like a battling, get it done win, than a free-flowing relentless attacking win. Towards the end, once Brighton got more and more into it, they were chucking the lot at our defence. With hindsight, of course we coped with it very very well. They were never really a dangerous threat. But, in real-time, it felt like surely, surely they'll get an equaliser here. 

Of course, I feel the love for Didzy. Playing out of his skin. Making a real difference to this team. Be the 10. Be the striker. But, I don't mind admitting, I was fuming when he battled and created that chance, took it around the keeper, and then knocked the fucking thing wide. Put that one in kiddo. Take a breather, have a blow, and we're home and hosed. Instead, we left ourselves a lot of defending to do at the death.

Ultimately, none of that mattered. a great win and a great day out. More. Of. The. Same. Please.

Stats
I have now Blogged from 887 games in 1,950 days