View from the Home End

Milton Keynes Dons 0 v Sheffield United 3

League One

Saturday 22 April 2017

Twitter @ball_sup

It's on days like today you find out what you're really like. It's depressing. I'm churlish. An utterly dominant performance by the Blades on the pitch. Sharp's 200th goal. Local independent beer IN THE GROUND. Some beer belters. I shook hands with Keith Edwards Of Nazareth as the pitch celebrations got under way. But, let's have it right, I'm having a go. The delicious Mrs Ball Sup was with me today. She is not an SUFC Member & she only has a handful of loyalty points. I thought tickets would reach General Sale for her. They didn't. So, we've simply blagged home end tickets. Isn't the first time. Won't be the last. No worries.

So, we've paid particular attention to the shit the club has put out this week about MK Dons tickets. Read it yourself. At a time when everyone is claiming we've got our club back. Raising the roof that he's one of our own. They've still managed to drive a stupid wedge in. Basically they've said - go on the Home End, you could be liable to Criminal Prosecution. What a fucking joke. Phone your brief. Get the cuffs out. You'll never take me alive Copper. Joke. Unnecessary. If I hadn't already got a home end ticket, I'd have got one like a shot.

Plus. Picture of a fella with a flare at Port Vale. Request to Grass him. Shop your son, win an Austin Metro. Look, I know the drill. Pyro is illegal. Check, you've got to say that. Zero tolerance to Pyro. Check, you've got to say that. Images will be shared with the Police. Check, you've got to say that. Ring this number to grass him. No, you haven't got to say that. You've fucking chosen to say that. And, it's unnecessary.

Anyway. I've watched that game from the Home End. You know where I live. Send the Coppers round.

Bonus. Concrete Cow Brewing, Pail Ale at 3.7% from a bottle in The Cowshed Bar on the concourse in the Home End. Throw the key away.

That beer sandwiched between….

Meantime, London Pale on keg at 4.3%
Sierra Nevada, Pale Ale on keg at 5%
in All Bar One, Euston
BBNo. 05|21 Azacca & NZ Cascade IPA on keg at 6.2%
Track Brewery, Sonoma Pale on keg at 3.8%
in The Euston Tap
One Mile End, Session Black IPA on keg at 4.3%
Gipsy Hill, Hepcat IPA on keg at 4.6%
in The Alma, Chapel Market, Islington

I mean. Come on. Not a bad list. And a local independent beer in the ground. And, I'm self confessed Churlish. That Brew By Numbers 6.2% IPA was the Standout Beer Of The Day.

What a performance. What formation is that? Jake Wright Snr & Ebanks-Landell can't start. So, James Wilson is lobbed in. In the first half, Basham (supposedly one of three at the back) is OVERLAPPING Freeman on the right. O’Connell (supposedly one of three at the back) is OVERLAPPING Lafferty on the left. It's like 1-3-4-2. With the four being Basham, Freeman, Lafferty & O’Connell - playing in front of Coutts, Fleck & Duffy at times. Ridiculous.

I know a lot of it is confidence & momentum. When you've already won the League, you can do owt you like. But, that was utterly dominant. You've got a wonderful creative player like Carruthers coming on as sub. He gets given the ball. Traps it. Looks around. He's got acres of space. He can do what he wants. It's wonderful. It's attacking. It's rare. Big headache now. They've got it so much together at the end of the season. Maybe. Just maybe. Existing personnel are good enough to hold their own in The Championship. Maybe. It'd be Churlish to suggest otherwise.

I'm Spartacus.

467/977
87

Edges Frayed

Sheffield United 2 v Milton Keynes Dons 1

League 1

Saturday 29 October 2016

Twitter @ball_sup

Here’s the harsh reality for Football Bloggers. If your team are pushing in the right direction & winning games, there’s much less to Blog about. ClickBait is controversy, shit performances, scandals. Luckily, I’m not in it for all that. Unbeaten in 11 League games. Won 8 of them. Fourth in the table. Game in hand. Best part of twenty & a half k in the seats.

Elements of it were frayed around the edges. I’m a believer in square pegs in square holes. So, with Matt Done out, I’d have slipped Harry Chapman in. But, Wilder has left/put Scougall in. So, it looks very thin up top with just Sharp as the recognised striker. I prefer Basham in midfield. But, he’s set up in a back three. I wasn’t thinking the plot has been lost. But, I was thinking - hhhhmmm.

As it happens, the boss has switched to a conventional back four at some point for tactical reasons. That has let Basham loose in midfield anyway. Scougall has scored the early opener & major assist in Sharp’s winner. No knocker me. Salute.

It’s now partly an embarrassment of “riches”. The odd injury, the odd suspension, the guy coming in is proving difficult to drop. Wilder is having to juggle all that. Freeman & Lafferty looked reasonably comfortable in a back four, although their strength is wingback. Jake Wright The Elder was immense. Ebanks-Landell too. Fleck & Coutts superb in midfield. But, he can only play 11. The cliche is it’s a nice problem to have.

A nice malty, but not spot on Stancill, Barnsley Bitter on cask at 3.7% in The Red Lion.
A thoroughly gorgeous Kelham Island, IPA of the Dead on cask at a whopping 5.9% in The Tap & Tankard.
And a decent Blue Monkey, Chimp Chim In Nee on cask at 3.8% in the same venue.

Good Day.

394/830
38

Frustration at BDTBL

Sheffield United 0 v Milton Keynes Dons 1

Tuesday 2 December 2014

Twitter @ball_sup

A nice simple drink followed by a very frustrating 90 odd minutes at Bramall Lane. I went in The Red Lion on Charles Street. It’s a pleasant, straightforward pub, which I don’t go in very often.  It does give me the chance to say that matchday pubs can get very crowded for us old fellas nowadays.  Two things have changed. Firstly, I’m now no longer up-for-it enough to be banging on the door at 11 Bells & bagging a seat, and hogging that until 5 to three. Secondly, there’s not as many matchday pubs to go around.  Years & years ago, we’d do The Lord Nelson, The Pump, The Sheldon, The Sportsman & The Cricks.  Of those, it’s just Fannys & The Cricks left - rammed on matchdays.

The Red Lion is busy but not bursting & suits me fine.  I had Sheffield Brewery Co. Five Rivers at 3.8% and Stancill Barnsley Bitter at 3.8% - both on cask. Both well kept, served in tip top condition. On the night, I leaned towards the Stancill. A good flavoursome bitter - nuttiness from the malt - but not oversweet.

Difficult to know what to make of it at The Lane.  A lot of frustration around. I still feel we are where we are. The main problem with football (or indeed other sports) is that the team you’re playing want to win as well.  Some of my fellow fans are frustrated because there seems little evidence of the hoped for (dare I say promised) investment from the new Saudi co-owner.  I’ll pass on that. But, the Board do need to realise that if they stick their heads up & say “we will get this put right” (or similar) (Jim Phipps on Twitter), if it isn’t put right, people won’t be happy. If you Talk the Talk……

Our new Striker loan signing went off injured. We conceded late on. The crowds are holding up.

In past dark days, I’ve cried out for a consistent, simple approach to the game.  In a way, we do have a consistent system - built on simplicity. But, we do have personnel changes week in week out. So, it often feels we’re fitting square pegs in round holes. And, we lack that final third quality to actually stick goals away, put teams under the cosh & bully them.

Wish I’d been in the pub at 11 Bells - it’d all have looked different.

I Heart MK

Milton Keynes Dons 1 v Sheffield United 2

Tuesday 28 October 2014

Twitter @ball_sup

There I've said it. Milton Keynes is OK. I've always been able to find a decent drink. The stadium has its soulless qualities. I'll give you that. But it's modern & very comfortable. I hope they do very well when the Rugby World Cup comes to town.

People's main criticism seems to be the roundabouts. I don't give a flying. I've nothing against MK fans they didn't nick anything off anybody. Some sympathy with some Wimbledon fans. But not the ones who bleat. If Wimbledon fans had turned up in numbers back in the day they'd have stayed in South London/Merton.

The Football League/Association were the villains in the Franchise Football Fiasco.

You don't hear of MK needing The Administrator every other year. Nor are they sacking managers every two weeks. I know it's The Benefactor model, but they're well run.  Good luck to them.

I find the town centre a pleasant change from Chained Identikit English High St.  But ..... I ended up in Lloyds/Wetherspoons. (The Secklow Hundred)

I feel less benevolence towards the Wetherspoons Real Ale Festival. It's still a good initiative. But it's really just Big Boy Rebadging.  Their buying power is leaving little room for smaller independent breweries to get on this particular gravy train.

Even the foreign brewers showcase thing is overreaching I feel. Anyway. I ploughed into Golden Ale at 4.4% from Two Birds Brewing from Melbourne (made at Banks's). Pleasant enough. Honey sweetness followed by a gentle spicy bitterness. Some nice body to it.

My "notes" say I've had the full blown version (and Taco and Sunset Ale) on a previous Australia trip ..... but I don't recall them particularly.

Another late late late show by Cup Kings Sheffield United. Loved it.