[theo_luddite]

Hillsborough Stadium
Lots of restricted views
Just up the road from Owlerton Speedway
Where Tigers ride bikes
Who saw the last tiger in Sheffield by the way?
S6 1SW

Kick-off 15:00 UK Time
Saturday 07/10/23

Wendies Boardroom 04/10/2023, 10:30am

Time to go-oh!


"Oooer, what day is it?"
"Wednesday."
"Yeah, I know what we're called, what chuffin' day is it?"
"The day between Tuesday and Thursday, numbnuts."
"Oh! did we play last night? We don't seem to have a game today. We must protest to the EFL about that."
"No, as usual we put a side on the pitch, but didn't really turn up and lost. Again. We were in West Brom, where the hell you were is your business. Hope she was worth it. This new coach you brought in hasn't had the players turn up all season really."
"Hmmm! Who do we play next?"
"Huddersfied Town."
(Sound of a Gin and Tonic being spat across a desk/keyboard.)
"Hudders-broody-field Town? Shit, sack the useless sod we can't be losing to them! Everyone sacks their manager before they play Town, it's become a tradition."
"We already have his P-45 ready, and for the coaches he brought in, just waiting for your authorisation on the contractual pay-off."
"Deal. Send Xisco down the disco. Now where's that bloke I didn't want to give a pay rise to at the end of last season. He was sort of all right him, maybe I can meet him half-way."
"Huddersfield Town."
"Stop pissing me about, you've already said who we're playing next".
"No, numbnuts, he's now coaching Huddersfield Town. If you want to meet him half-way take a taxi up Penistone Road."
"Oh, so what's their previous coach doing?"
"He's gone fishing and he used to coach United, so don't bother asking, unless you want to put your head in another noose if that doesn't work out as you might have planned. Are you with me? If your looking for someone that knows the area and has previous in this Division and that one above, there's some chap call Mark Hughes apparently looking for work. He seems a bright spark. In fact ther, ther, ther, they call him Sparky, maybe he could spark some life into this lot?"
"Give me his agent's phone number ....... Is he going cheap? I'm not spending my money on him or anyone really. I told you all that last week. Can you put out a press release?"
"Ok Mr. Chancer, er Chansiri ...... and I'll let his agent tell you his wage demands.... " 



Swap SW6 for Paradise, you'll get the gist.

PS - The Cowley's are also looking for work - https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/foo...y-27848618 

It's a small, small, small, small world. 

On the tellybox

Not showing anywhere at the moment other than iFollow for the furiners. Streams may be available somewhere as the EFL kindly broadcast the games on the t'interweb anyway so they can look for illegal streams popping up. It would probably be labelled as a sting operation if it was policed properly.

Pies, pees and pints

It's all in here : Football Ground Guide - Hillsborough

Latest news

Ann Hough celebrated 30 years of working for Town this week. From Assistant to Club Secretary to Director of Operations in those few short years. Had the pleasure of a discussion with her about season tickets and the way the club was communicating to supporters about them a few years ago. Then she had the pleasure of meeting Ian Hollowmouth. That would have put anyone off football for life on both occassions. Fortunately, she's made of strong Yoorkshire stuff.

Wendies fans are a tad dischuffed with Chansiri to say the least. That wasn't helped when he put out a statement last week saying he'd had enough of the toxic atmosphere and abuse aimed at him and his family and wasn't prepared to put any more money into the club. This just further encouraged the 't'Owels fans to further call for him to sell up and go. The mutual disconchantlement no doubt will continue until he does.

We've already discussed the other thing about (some) Wendies fans after last weekend, it's being dealt with accordingly, fortunately. 'Nuff sed'. Yup, the two brothers concerned will be forced to watch Wendies for the rest of the season. If they appeal, they'll be forced to watch United as well.

That's in addition to one of them losing his job. Couldn't happen to a nicer bloke really.   

Out Injured/Suspended/Isolating

Hoggy (and the rest) maybe will, maybe won't be available.

Back training but not oven ready/Back in the frame

No other injuries reported from Tuesday, apart from to our bank balances that went to watch that, but we can still crock a few in Friday's training session. We usually do.

Last time out

After an excellent performance at home v a normally free scoring Ipswich, Town didn't turn up in Brum. Starting with 6 defenders spread around the back 3 and middle 5 didn't help much. Worst performance I've seen us put in at Brum for a while, though I've seen a few horror shows to be honest. Generally we reserve these performances against them for our place.



I may have mentioned Wendies also came 2nd, also down in my neck of the woods. That was their 10th game at the start of a season without a win. A club record they didn't really want. The saving grace for them is that The Blunts have also still to win a game. Oo'd a thunk that after they both got promoted at the end of last season, eh?



Apart from the two results we already know about, Boro won their 3rd League game in a row to climb up to 17th, bringing Cardiff's winning run to a shuddering halt. Leicester and Ipswich won again to already put at least 5 points between them and Both Ends who were at Leicester. Plymouth have lost their scoring boots after putting 6 past Norwich the other weekend, Sarfampton won again, on a cool, dry Wednesday in Stoke, so fair play, but hell, where did this run of form come from and why wasn't it raining and cold? QPR and Rotherham also came up pointless, QPR were at you know who up the road.



Musical Interlude

This was Sheffield in May. A city full of ...



in Sheffield in October perhaps?



Well it's all doom and gloom. Can Town rain the goals down on them Saturday? Don't hold your breath on that one.
Poppadom wrists needs to up his game for a start. 

The Sack Race

I may have mentioned, Xisco Munoz and Mark Hughes both got the old Tin-Tack this week, it might even have been on Tic-Toc. So did Neil Harris at Gillingham on Thursday morning. Hmm - Scott Malone and Conor Mahoney (loan from Town) couldn't have gone to a better place could they? We haven't drawn Gillingham in a Cup competition have we?

Darrell Clarke was appointed new coach at Cheltenham Town last Friday.
Job 1 - score some goals. In fact just score a goal.
Job 2 - get them to more than 1 point.
He failed last Saturday and again on Tuesday. Their only point so far came in a 0:0 draw at league leaders Pompey. Go figure eh?

Tables, Form

Wendies two points have come from draws against Boro (H) and L666s (A), so they are taking The Yorkshire League somewhat seriously. That might be a warning.









Innies and Outies

Jack Hunt's (deluded?) hopes of Prima Donna League football appear to have finally escaped him. Joined The Gas? Oh well.
Otherwise they've spent about as much as we have. Just not on head coaches wages.



Who's banging 'em in

Helik became our top scorer on 3 with his late goal at Brum. Sorba Thomas with 3 is our top "assist provider".

Wendies have scored 5 this season and all 5 scorers are listed. Hell, a team where we've scored more goals than they have, there's a novelty.



They can't all lose

There's a Brum/Black Country derby on Friday night between the teams that beat us both this week, a North East derby between The Mackems and The Smoggies and a Midlands "derby?" between Leicester and Stoke. In the Upper Echelon's, Ipswich play Both Ends, which could put the top 2 even further out of reach. Down amongst the dead men, apart from us two, QPR (2 draws in last 5) play Blackburn, who have lost their last 4 games after a fairly good start. Watford go to Cardiff. Anyone's guess, though Watford are probably due a new head coach by the International break. Colin's gonna be inundated with choices and it's not even close to February yet.



We've played 'em before

Town are slightly ahead in the Head2Head fixtures, though we haven't won recently at Hillsborough (last 5 league games) other than a certain play-off semi-final that went to penalties.



Next up?

We've all got the weekend off, it's International break time again. Joy. We're at home to QPR on the 21st.

Pressers

Moore's Mumblings

Here we go again, 10 minutes of bugger all because we've forgot how to edit this stuff.



Tom Lees

"It was good for me to be back but obviously the performance was a long way below the levels we've set for ourselves.

"It's not an easy as calling it one of those nights - we can't be that flippant and accepting of it. We need to hold each other to account. We've looked at the videos of where we've come away from what we're meant to be doing, and we know that if we drop off by a couple of percent we'll get beaten in this league.

"For some reason it was flat on Tuesday and if there's one thing we know on Saturday after what's happened there with the manager, we know it's not going to be flat. We've risen to the occasion plenty of times lately in big games with big atmospheres.

"It's up to us now. We saw the other night when they played Sunderland, they scored straight away and killed the atmosphere, and that's what we've got to go: go and impose ourselves on it and kill the atmosphere straight away. I'm sure it'll be a great occasion.

"I think there's a lot of clubs with the kind of expectations they have at Sheffield Wednesday, but they're a massive club with big support. Maybe coming up from League One you usually get a bit of grace but there there's no time.

"If we play like we did against Ipswich and Coventry and a few games under the old gaffer, we'll be fine - but if we come away from that, like we did the other night, we'll get beat. We need to make sure we're on it.

"When I worked with the gaffer before it was just him and Jamie Smith, but now he has the whole coaching team to work with so it is quite different. He doesn't have the pressure of being on minus points at the bottom of the league, he's got a younger group here, a fresher group I think it's fair to say, and it felt like it was just him and Jamie at Sheffield Wednesday whereas now each coach has their own area to present to us on and coach us on. It's a lot broader and allows the manager to focus on his man management etc.

"He's probably learned a lot, as you do at a club like Sheffield Wednesday. All his staff are with him and adding to it as well.

"We're very determined to get him his first win and it's an ideal chance to erase Tuesday, if we can go and win a Yorkshire derby away from home it helps us move on and forget it. The disappointment just gives us a bit of extra motivation because we watched it back today and we know it was poor."


The restricted views from the Leppings Lane Stand.
(Not to mention the lack of leg-room).

Awaiting a presser from the new U21 chap who's done it before. Will add it here when available.

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/foo...s-19531809

https://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football...ng-4360923

[Lord Snooty]

I can't be bothered with Big D's press conferences anymore. We've gone back to bland, uninteresting again. Are you with me?

[theo_luddite]

The 10 minutes of silence is often the best bit

[theo_luddite]

He's been reading my threads again hasn't he?

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/foo...y-27854737

[theo_luddite]

Today's line-up's.

Neil Thompson has made six changes from Xisco Munoz's final team selection against West Brom in midweek.
Into the side come Cameron Dawson, Michael Ihiekwe, Reece James, Callum Paterson, George Byers and Lee Gregory.
Out of the side go Devis Vasquez, Akin Famewo, Tyreeq Bakinson, Juan Delgado, Anthony Musaba and Ashley Fletcher.



Hogg is fit to start after having a calf injury. He comes back at the expense of Ben Wiles, who is a sub.
Tom Edwards also comes in for Tom Lees, who drops to the bench.
Moore’s final switch sees Josh Koroma return for Ben Jackson.



Jones drops out of the squad.

[Lord Snooty]

Well that looks like a proper line up.

[theo_luddite]

Other than Hoog, why didn't we go with this on Tuesday?

That said, after the dodgy penalty, West Brom didn't lay a glove on Brum last night either.

[Lord Snooty]

Still sounds like we're awful.

[Lord Snooty]

Disallowed goal looks harsh. Never a foul, but the whistle had gone and by the time Harratt shoots, the Wendy defence had stopped.

[theo_luddite]

Sky app highlights don't even show it.

Tom Edwards and Mumbiling Moore on Radio Local

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0gk36d8

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0gk36gs