Around a year ago, I wrote a post about the FA Cup final between Manchester United and Chelsea and how incredibly dull and uninspiring it was.
Well, yesturday, once again, it was cup final time (I know, time really does fly). We all positioned ourselves in front of the telly, as is the custom in our house, to watch the encounter between Premier League Portsmouth and Championship Cardiff City. And I am very pleased to report that I was not disappointed!
This year's final was 100, if not 1000 times better than last year's. In fact, it was possibly the best cup final that I have witnessed in my short time on this earth. I have no doubt that this was because the 2 teams involved were not from the Premier League's so called 'big 4' and, were probably as surprised to see themselves at Wembley as everyone else.
The cup this year has been nothing short of magnificent, to watch Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea get knocked out of the competition has been thoroughley enjoyable and, for about 40 minutes on Saturday, I thought there could be one more shock in store. Sadly for Cardiff, it was not to be and Portsmouth went home worthy winners in the end. But what a special day for all involved. Credit should go to the fans of both clubs, who did themselves proud, and what a wonderful sight to see the Cardiff fans stay behind to applaud the victorious Portsmouth players. It really felt like the spirit of the cup had returned on Saturday, having gone missing for quite some time!
Also, a word on Paul Parry from me. I was incredibly proud to see a player who came up through the ranks at my own club, playing on the biggest stage in English football and not only that, but, not looking at all out of place. I'm sure that all Hereford fans are thrilled to see him doing so well for himself, having watched him progress over the years.
So congratulations to Portsmouth once again. I wonder when we will see a cup final like that again!
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Friday, 2 May 2008
Up, Up and Away
Well, it has been an excellent week for British football, with an all English Champions League final and a Scotish team in the UEFA Cup final. But please forgive me for looking slightly closer to home, at my own little football club.
Yes, Hereford United have done it again. Last weekend they secured automatic promotion to Coca-Cola Football League 1, after just their second season back in the football league.
On average gates of 3,200 odd, the Bulls managed to secure the third automatic promotion place in League 2, an achievement comparable to Man United, Chelsea or Rangers.
It cannot be overstated how far this club has come in the 11 years since it dropped out of the league and, it's largely thanks to one person, Graham Turner.
Shortly after that fateful day, when a point against Brighton wasn't enough to keep league football in the city of Hereford, Turner offered his resignation to the then board of directors, who declined it. This would turn out to be a wise decision and, moreover, just over a year later, Turner found himself re-mortgaging his house in order to take over the club. I can't imagine Sir Alex Ferguson doing that, can you?
The rest, as they say, is history and, after a few very difficult seasons, and a few not so difficult seasons in the conference, Hereford's league status was restored, one fine day in Leicester. Now, less than 2 years after that momentous playoff final victory, they are going up again, into the third tier of English football, somewhere they haven't been for around 30 years.
So, as you can probably imagine, it's been a pretty enjoyable few days for me and my fellow Bulls fans. We realise that the hard work is only just beginning, and that staying in League 1 will be no easy task, but, for now, there's a party at Edgar Street on Saturday and what's more, you're all invited!
Yes, Hereford United have done it again. Last weekend they secured automatic promotion to Coca-Cola Football League 1, after just their second season back in the football league.
On average gates of 3,200 odd, the Bulls managed to secure the third automatic promotion place in League 2, an achievement comparable to Man United, Chelsea or Rangers.
It cannot be overstated how far this club has come in the 11 years since it dropped out of the league and, it's largely thanks to one person, Graham Turner.
Shortly after that fateful day, when a point against Brighton wasn't enough to keep league football in the city of Hereford, Turner offered his resignation to the then board of directors, who declined it. This would turn out to be a wise decision and, moreover, just over a year later, Turner found himself re-mortgaging his house in order to take over the club. I can't imagine Sir Alex Ferguson doing that, can you?
The rest, as they say, is history and, after a few very difficult seasons, and a few not so difficult seasons in the conference, Hereford's league status was restored, one fine day in Leicester. Now, less than 2 years after that momentous playoff final victory, they are going up again, into the third tier of English football, somewhere they haven't been for around 30 years.
So, as you can probably imagine, it's been a pretty enjoyable few days for me and my fellow Bulls fans. We realise that the hard work is only just beginning, and that staying in League 1 will be no easy task, but, for now, there's a party at Edgar Street on Saturday and what's more, you're all invited!
Monday, 21 April 2008
Escape The Armchair
This is a rallying call, specifically to Hereford United fans, but also to anyone who's local team is playing tomorrow (Tuesday) night.
Instead of settling down in front of the telly to watch yet another 'tactical battle' between Liverpool and Chelsea, get yourselves along to watch your local team in action. Your team (in my case Hereford United) needs you now, possibly more than any time in the season as those last few vital games come around. Even if they have nothing to play for, why not go along and show them your support at the end of a long, hard season.
You could watch Chelsea and Liverpool pit their tactical wits against each other any time, it's practically a fortnightly occurrence these days anyway. If you are that desperate, the highlights will be on just in time for when you get back and you can settle down and watch them before you go to bed, happy with yourself for going along and doing your bit for your local team.
So please, don't be drawn in by the prospect of European football, a big telly and a warm, comfy armchair. Get out there, brave the elements and shout yourself horse, in the knowledge that you are helping the cause.
Fingers crossed for a good crowd at Edgar Street tomorrow night!
Thank you.
Instead of settling down in front of the telly to watch yet another 'tactical battle' between Liverpool and Chelsea, get yourselves along to watch your local team in action. Your team (in my case Hereford United) needs you now, possibly more than any time in the season as those last few vital games come around. Even if they have nothing to play for, why not go along and show them your support at the end of a long, hard season.
You could watch Chelsea and Liverpool pit their tactical wits against each other any time, it's practically a fortnightly occurrence these days anyway. If you are that desperate, the highlights will be on just in time for when you get back and you can settle down and watch them before you go to bed, happy with yourself for going along and doing your bit for your local team.
So please, don't be drawn in by the prospect of European football, a big telly and a warm, comfy armchair. Get out there, brave the elements and shout yourself horse, in the knowledge that you are helping the cause.
Fingers crossed for a good crowd at Edgar Street tomorrow night!
Thank you.
Friday, 11 April 2008
A Long Time In Sport
A week, they say, is a long time in politics. Well, they may well be the case, but the same is true if you a sports fan.
Let me explain what I mean by taking you back to last Saturday. The day was full of promise as I awoke, it was of course, Grand National day, which is one of those special days in the sporting calander. The previous evening, I had read up on every horse running in the race and decided, in my wisdom, that I would quite like to put £10 each way on Comply or Die. Don't ask me why, I just had a feeling about it. Well, what with one thing and another on that busy Saturday morning, i never got round to putting the bet. Never mind, i thought, I was still off to Edgar Street that afternoon, to watch, what would surely be a win for Hereford United, over lowly Chester City.
All was going to plan nicely and the Bulls were 2-0 up at half time. 'Excellent', i thought, and all concerns about the unplaced bet vanished from my mind.
The second half started and Chester, understandably, were pressing for a goal. Unfortunately they scored it, which set the nerves off a little. 'Oh well', I thought, 'no clean sheet this week, but we should hold out for this win'. Time moved on and we were managing to keep Chester at bay. It got to that time of the afternoon and the result of the National was displayed on the scoreboard. 'NOOOOOOOO!' I cried, 'I don't believe it!' Comply or Die had only gone and won the thing! My heart sank. 'Well' I said, 'as long as we can hold out for this win, it won't be such a bad afternoon'. So I hope you can imagine my absolute heartbreak, when, in the 93rd minute, Chester were awarded a penalty, which they duely went and scored. For a short time on Saturday evening, I was utterly inconsolable. What had started as a day of such promise, had turned out to be a disaster.
Now, I know what you're thinking, that's just one day, and believe me, tha was long enough. But what I mean is, when you follow sport, it's never very long before the next match. On Monday morning, I was still livid about what had happened at the weekend. But, as I sit here on Friday, the optimism is there once again, for all to see, about tomorrow's encounter at Darlington. The bet that never was, has been forgotten and another weekend of sport awaits us. Surely it can't be as bad as the last one... can it?
Let me explain what I mean by taking you back to last Saturday. The day was full of promise as I awoke, it was of course, Grand National day, which is one of those special days in the sporting calander. The previous evening, I had read up on every horse running in the race and decided, in my wisdom, that I would quite like to put £10 each way on Comply or Die. Don't ask me why, I just had a feeling about it. Well, what with one thing and another on that busy Saturday morning, i never got round to putting the bet. Never mind, i thought, I was still off to Edgar Street that afternoon, to watch, what would surely be a win for Hereford United, over lowly Chester City.
All was going to plan nicely and the Bulls were 2-0 up at half time. 'Excellent', i thought, and all concerns about the unplaced bet vanished from my mind.
The second half started and Chester, understandably, were pressing for a goal. Unfortunately they scored it, which set the nerves off a little. 'Oh well', I thought, 'no clean sheet this week, but we should hold out for this win'. Time moved on and we were managing to keep Chester at bay. It got to that time of the afternoon and the result of the National was displayed on the scoreboard. 'NOOOOOOOO!' I cried, 'I don't believe it!' Comply or Die had only gone and won the thing! My heart sank. 'Well' I said, 'as long as we can hold out for this win, it won't be such a bad afternoon'. So I hope you can imagine my absolute heartbreak, when, in the 93rd minute, Chester were awarded a penalty, which they duely went and scored. For a short time on Saturday evening, I was utterly inconsolable. What had started as a day of such promise, had turned out to be a disaster.
Now, I know what you're thinking, that's just one day, and believe me, tha was long enough. But what I mean is, when you follow sport, it's never very long before the next match. On Monday morning, I was still livid about what had happened at the weekend. But, as I sit here on Friday, the optimism is there once again, for all to see, about tomorrow's encounter at Darlington. The bet that never was, has been forgotten and another weekend of sport awaits us. Surely it can't be as bad as the last one... can it?
Friday, 4 January 2008
The Most Wonderful Time of the year!
No, not Christmas, or indeed New year, though i do enjoy those occasions very much, but another very special time of the year is upon us once again.
That's right, it's 3rd round weekend! The time that should give all self-respecting football fans an extra tingle of excitement.
We all know that the FA Cup is the best cup competition in the world, but in recent years, the later rounds and on some occasions, the final itself, have become quite boring and lifeless affairs (note my post regarding the 2007 Chelsea v Man United borefest). But still, that first weekend in January makes up for it year upon year with it's potential shocks and dreams becomming reality.
Up to this point, I haven't actually disclosed the identity of my own beloved football team, although the 2 people that read this blog already know who it is, but let's for argument's sake pretend that someone else is reading this.
Well here it is, I'm a Hereford united fan and proud of it! And now of course, it all makes sense, my love for the cup, or more specifically the 3rd round, is because my team are possibly (no doubt about it in my mind) the biggest cup giant killers of all time.
I won't go on about that famous victory over Newcastle, as I'm sure it may be mentionned once or twice over the course of the weekend. I would just like to say good luck to all the lower graded clubs, let's hope for a few more humblings this weekend, including of course Hereford, who are at Tranmere Rovers.
Enjoy the weekend, it's a special time of year!
That's right, it's 3rd round weekend! The time that should give all self-respecting football fans an extra tingle of excitement.
We all know that the FA Cup is the best cup competition in the world, but in recent years, the later rounds and on some occasions, the final itself, have become quite boring and lifeless affairs (note my post regarding the 2007 Chelsea v Man United borefest). But still, that first weekend in January makes up for it year upon year with it's potential shocks and dreams becomming reality.
Up to this point, I haven't actually disclosed the identity of my own beloved football team, although the 2 people that read this blog already know who it is, but let's for argument's sake pretend that someone else is reading this.
Well here it is, I'm a Hereford united fan and proud of it! And now of course, it all makes sense, my love for the cup, or more specifically the 3rd round, is because my team are possibly (no doubt about it in my mind) the biggest cup giant killers of all time.
I won't go on about that famous victory over Newcastle, as I'm sure it may be mentionned once or twice over the course of the weekend. I would just like to say good luck to all the lower graded clubs, let's hope for a few more humblings this weekend, including of course Hereford, who are at Tranmere Rovers.
Enjoy the weekend, it's a special time of year!
Wednesday, 10 October 2007
Still Here!
I know, I know! It's been literally months. I haven't quite got the hang of this yet. The trouble is, whenever I think about something I want to write about, I am never near a computer. Typical I suppose.
Plus of course, there is also the absolutely staggering ammount of live sport on the telly. Tonight could quite possibly be the first night since the middle of August that there is no live football on TV. Just think about that for a moment... quite incredible. How am I supposed to find time to blog with all that going on?
Anyway, I will be doing my utmost to be more regular with my posting, but I wouldn't get your hopes up.
Plus of course, there is also the absolutely staggering ammount of live sport on the telly. Tonight could quite possibly be the first night since the middle of August that there is no live football on TV. Just think about that for a moment... quite incredible. How am I supposed to find time to blog with all that going on?
Anyway, I will be doing my utmost to be more regular with my posting, but I wouldn't get your hopes up.
Sunday, 22 July 2007
Wet Weekend, Something of an understatement!
If I was the religious type, I would swear that it was judgement day, or at least I'd have started building an ark. I have never experienced anything like this. It certainly does make me wonder whether other forces are at hand. Lucky for us, we live at the top of a hill, so if we got flooded then everyone else would be in real trouble. However the damage suffered in other neighbouring towns is incomprehendable. I think we should all take a little time to think about those who have been severely affected by the freak weather. People's houses and businesses have been ruined, their treasured possessions damaged beyond repair. It could be months before normality is restored in some places. You have to feel sorry for the residents of Tenbury Wells, for whom this is the third, and worst, time that this has happened in the space of a month or so. The town is completely under water, cut off from the rest of the county.
It seems tonight that everything is slowly but surely starting to calm down, but there is still a long way to go. The emergancy services have done a fantastic job, at a time when they were at their most stretched. The public have been amazing too, offering refuge to those with nowhere to go, in a typically British mannor.
I would however, just like to mention the person, who decided to move the cones so they could drive down a closed road in Tenbury, promptly getting stranded in the middle. THEY CLOSE THE ROADS FOR A REASON! BECAUSE THEY ARE FLOODED! DO YOU THINK THEY JUST DO IT FOR A GIGGLE? At a time when the emerancy services were desperately needed elsewhere, they had to come and rescue you from a flooded road. You are a moron, and if it was up to me you would still be there now. Hopefully you have learned your lesson, you can't beat nature.
Anyway back to it, 2 by 2 please, no pushing...
It seems tonight that everything is slowly but surely starting to calm down, but there is still a long way to go. The emergancy services have done a fantastic job, at a time when they were at their most stretched. The public have been amazing too, offering refuge to those with nowhere to go, in a typically British mannor.
I would however, just like to mention the person, who decided to move the cones so they could drive down a closed road in Tenbury, promptly getting stranded in the middle. THEY CLOSE THE ROADS FOR A REASON! BECAUSE THEY ARE FLOODED! DO YOU THINK THEY JUST DO IT FOR A GIGGLE? At a time when the emerancy services were desperately needed elsewhere, they had to come and rescue you from a flooded road. You are a moron, and if it was up to me you would still be there now. Hopefully you have learned your lesson, you can't beat nature.
Anyway back to it, 2 by 2 please, no pushing...
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