Well, the uncertainty continues apace.
We’ve been denied the delights of the Notting Hill Carnival, which might not please all Londoners, but the Metropolitan Police at least will be delighted by that particular decision.
And also there will be no Eurovision Song Contest this year which is certain to displease one Graham Norton and all those TV viewers who like that kind of thing.
Closer to home the Cromer & Sheringham Crab and Lobster Festival was cancelled, which actually did disappoint me as it’s great fun. And to top it all the visit of Dippy the Dinosaur to Norwich Cathedral – all 130 feet of plaster and plastic of him – has been cancelled too.
Dippy [a diplodocus by the way] is self isolating in Rochdale of all places. Lucky him.
League Two has shouldered arms. Holty’s old club Barrow look sure to replace Bury by being promoted from the National League but even that’s not been confirmed as I write.
League One are rumbling on without yet admitting defeat but if League Two can’t play on I fail to see how they can.
Dear old Rick Parry is all over the papers shouting the odds about what the Championship might and might not do and the FA’s favourite phrase is “we will veto all plans for no relegations and promotions” and they’re already getting their slide rules out to deploy PPG, weighted or not.
Our very own Stuart Webber upset some Leeds fans last week by talking common sense, which is largely wasted on that lot as we know.
And the lawyers in every footballing city and town in England are rubbing their hands together in anticipation of grabbing their fees. That could amount to £200 an hour per person. An that’s just for the juniors. Nice work if you can get it, of course.
We are all urged to pick a Bundesliga side to follow as of course they reconvened over the weekend. The Daily Mail thought it was fun to compare every PL club with a Bundesliga equivalent.
Needless to say were offered Paderborn, although with our connections I’m going with BVB. Okay, Bayern should win it but you never know. As long as it isn’t RBL I don’t really give a monkey’s chuff.
I did have a middle-aged chuckle when I discovered the new manager of Bayern is actually Herr Flick. I’d rather call him Hansi.
Now who was this speaking at the weekend about his experiences “playing” in a nigh-on empty stadium? Harry Kane? Trent Alexander-Arnold? Or the self-appointed demigod that is Cristiano Ronaldo?
“The biggest problem I experienced was keeping my concentration levels because there was no atmosphere in the ground… without that noise and atmosphere you can easily switch off. As a result your focus can drift and mistakes can happen. It’s human nature”.
In fact, it was none of the above but vastly experienced referee Mark Halsey talking about having to regain his fitness, sharpness and stamina after a cancer scare in order to return to the PL list when he had to referee an under-23 match at Hinckley Town years ago.
Watford’s Troy Deeney, Brighton’s Glen Murray and our club captain Grant Hanley have not been disruptive this week by saying words to the effect of: let us know what we’re walking into and we’ll hopefully agree with restart proposals. If we don’t agree it’s safe to return to the pitch we won’t do it.
Quite understandably things remain in limbo.
I deserve kudos for not referring to the PFA’s Gordon Taylor because if I did editor Gary would have had to waste his time in deleting a couple of paragraphs on this article because of obscenity.
When Taylor last played I think that year’s Cup Final was between Wanderers and Royal Engineers. £2million a year? For him? Jeez.
Anyway this year there’s to be no watered-down Lord Mayor’s procession either.
Every cloud…
Stay well y’all.
Stuart Webber should have been told by his parents that it is better to say nothing , & be thought a fool, than to open his mouth & confirm it!!
Nuff said.
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Hi Funky.
Stuart Webber is anything but a fool as his deeds as much as his words have proved.
I read on [I think] the Yorkshire Post site that their “man in the know” says it will come down to PPG and you will definitely be going up. Personally I don’t truly begrudge you promotion because you play some decent stuff from what I’ve seen and Snr Bielsa is quite a character.
Thank you.
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Good advice Funky, a pity you ignored it….
Oops, I nearly forgot the obligatory the “I’ve posted something really clever” double exclamation mark!!
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That second sentence of yours Keith is subtlety at its finest!!
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But.. but… you opened your own mouth to confirm it?
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I was waiting for something like that as soon as I saw you’d picked out the word “Leeds” in the headline 🙂
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😉
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And then there is another way to confirm you are a fool. Nuff said
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Hi Andy
Indeed.
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Complete bias towards Norwich City saving their season, they have been the worst team, and are rock bottom because they deserve to be, the table doesn’t lie.
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This is a Norwich City website – as editor, I demand ‘bias towards Norwich City’.
No one here is arguing that we don’t deserve to be bottom, only that we be given a fair chance to save ourselves over 38 games. Leeds, by the same score, have ample time left to undertake their annual implosion.
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Hi Andrew.
I kind of look at things this way: we’re seven points from safety with nine to play [inferior goal difference] and you’re seven clear with x to play. I haven’t looked at the EFL tables recently so I can’t be sure of the exact figure.
I’ll freely admit your run-in is pretty favourable, but so is ours. We deserve every chance to escape on merit just as you don’t want an asterisk on what would be a well deserved title or promotion – if you see it out to the end, of course. Which you haven’t managed recently but I think this squad would do it for you if I’m honest.
Guess you lot are as pi$$ed off with the dithering as we are.
Thank you.
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Nice one Gary Leeds the cock up masters were under revie as well promised so much deliver very little nothing has changed except their big egos
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Hi Kevin.
If Funky and Andrew M are anything to go by they’ve been pretty civilised so far.
Strange how one sentence in a 700-word article can cause a kerfuffle!
Keep good mate.
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Marty, you’re a bad lad pressing the Leeds button.
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Hi Cutty.
‘Twas just a passing reference. Underneath the Crab & Lobster Festival and Dippy the Dinosaur which kind of showed the priority.
Our Gary knew what he was doing when he wrote that headline 😉
Cheers pal.
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Ho Martin
An amusing article and winding up the implosion experts from Leeds.
Busy day today looking after grandson and doing virtual viewing of houses while reading the fallout from SW comments Chris Sutton and some under achiever from Chelsea now at Leeds had a dig and a couple of Sky pundits agree both leagues need to play to the end for a correct season ending.
Best quote was from Deeney when he said why is it safe for footballers to return to playing when it isn’t safe for supporters and I agree.
My suggestion last week of taking the bottom 3 and top 3 playoff to see who get what was boo hooed as impractical as a mini league but much less games to fit in and it could throw up some surprises and Leeds could try and prove they are better than the bottom 3 lol
Onwards and upwards
OTBC
Keep safe and well
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Hi Alex.
Yeah, nowt wrong with a bit of levity just now. Actually the Leeds reference simply had to made although it wasn’t a major part of the article.
It’s Graham bl00dy Taylor that annoys me. Not in the same way that Murdoch does but he’s a pretty close second. What does he do for £2million a year? Seven tenths of begger all I would say.
I honestly think that back in March we would have quite easily beaten Leeds over two legs or a one-off on a neutral ground. It wasn’t a deliberate attempt to wind them up – Stuart W had done that job already and oh boy did they bite.
Good luck with the virtual house viewing – just remember that in the days of Henry VIII court painter Hans Holbein [yes he was German] would have gone the way of Ann Boleyn if he hadn’t made Henry look like a young Adonis – when he was 50. Henry, not Hans.
You keep good too.
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With regard to the Crab and Lobster Festival, and ignoring those fans of other clubs with a sense of entitlement, I see that PETA, the vegan fanatics, suggested it should become a vegan festival. The EDP ran a poll to get people’s views. 94% said no way!
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Hi Jim.
Yeah I found that pretty much amusing too, in a ridiculously pathetic kind of way. My stance is simply that if you wanna be vegan, go do it and best of British but don’t preach or expect me to join in.
Strangely because of my oft-mentioned teeth extraction with no hope of falsies anytime soon I’ve been on a piscatorial diet for the last six months with loads of finely-chopped veg and some creative sauces. I don’t actually miss meat that much tbh.
Perhaps I should threaten people with the idea that this is the way forward for us all.
I’d kill for crispy duck with pancakes, hoisin, spring onion and cucumber though!
Cheers.
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Gary, just a suggestion. Can you rename MFW as WUL? I think Wind Up Leeds is a great name for a site, and should guarantee you plenty of hits.
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Am sorely tempted to include a Leeds reference in every single header tbh
“City resume the EPL with a win, on the day Leeds lose at home to Wigan”
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Or:
“Arrivals on official LUFC supporters bus cause every NCFC steward to attend coach park”.
That was not a good day, believe me.
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From where I stand Jim, my Leeds references are not deliberate… but they do occur. Sometimes I wonder why, but never for very long.
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Why are Leeds fans so worried about the prospect of playing the full season? I’d say it’s more memories of their games against Brentford (a) and Wigan (h) last season than any health and safety concerns.
Terrible news that the Crab and Lobster Fayre is cancelled. When I was younger I would regularly go to Cromer in the full knowledge that I could get crabs. I don’t know what I would do now-maybe go to Leeds?
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Hi Don.
Patient: “Doctor doctor, do crabs walk sideways?”
Doctor: “Yes sir they do.”
Patient: “Oh f*** me I must have lobsters”.
I think that so-called joke came from the era that Leeds last won something.
Cheers mate.
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Ah the damned united !
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Your choice Dave:
Leeds, Manchester or Sheffield?
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Hi Martin, I always thought the only football team between Sheffield and Middlesboro, speaking geographically, was Bradford. Are not Leeds a rugby league team , ..
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Hi Bernie.
After a quick 10 secs on Google maps to confirm, it’s Rotherham, not Bradford, but if you just go up the A19 and/or the A66 as I often did for work, you won’t even hit that.
I don’t mind them #Marching On Together – I just wish they’d be quieter about it.
Cheers me ole Walrus.
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I lived in Bradford for three years and you’re best to ignore its existence (geographically, sportingly, or otherwise.)
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Hi Dave
I’m in total agreement with you there, especially on the “otherwise” mention.
Once in the 1990s I went to see us at Valley Parade with a work colleague, one John Blundell – a big Bantams fan who had some kind of matchday role within the club and was a VIP there. I can’t remember exactly what he did but it was definitely within the hospitality remit. Their equivalent of the 101 Club?
John said after the game [which we won] that when we drove out of the official car park I must keep the windows up and the doors centrally locked.
Jeez that was good advice. I dropped him home [about 10 miles away] and went to the lovely pub he’d booked me into.
It was scary, scary, very very scary. And that was over 25 years ago.
No I haven’t mentioned exactly who frightened us, for obvious reasons.
But they didn’t like football. Any of them.
Cheers.
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Hi martin sorry to hear you will miss the crab and lobster festival but you don’t want to catch the Cromer virus . Been a good read today had a a few chuckles keep well mate
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Hi Kevin.
I like the C[o]romer virus line. Can’t believe I’ve not heard it before but I haven’t.
I always like to put a bit of humour in unless I’m being serious… oh well, you know what I mean. MFW is lucky in that we have a great team with very diverse styles.
Of course I can be the most childish of all of us – but only on a good day 🙂
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Good read today martin sorry to hear you’ll miss crab and lobster festival but you don’t want tocatcth the Cromer virus all the best
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How many games has the carrot munchers won this season I bet not many
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Not many, but we played some fine football and were a pleasure to watch.
And it’s carrot CRUNCHERS, if you please.
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It was a fair question mate.
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And got a fair answer.
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How many games has Norwich City won this season I bet not many.
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Five, glorious five, as you well know.
One of which was against Man City. Fancy your chances against them?
As I said to one of your mates above I don’t begrudge you any promotion you might get. Us Norwich folks just want everything sorted out fairly and for what it’s worth I bet you lot do to.
Thanks for the trilogy!
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It’s all getting very depressing. In addition to missing family, friends, work, the gym etc. Football is likely to change forever, and not it seems in a good way.
I’ve kept away from most references to football, where simply standing up for your clubs interests, which is exactly what Every single club is doing at this moment in time brings torrents of abuse and ill informed monosyllabic crap from any tool who feels indignant enough to respond.
The current glut of Shirley Crabtree lookalikes venting forth bile in their gravy stained vests while slurping cheap lager and burping is one of the most unpleasant aspects of the whole outbreak. Inviting them on to do so is not something I particularly endorse.
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Hi Chris.
Yeah there is a bit of the Big Daddy about them in the 30-50 age range, agreed.
Although Shirley Crabtree was a Yorkshire showman and a gent which some of their lot have never really taken on board.
I haven’t use the gym for yonks cos I’m too old and stuffed up for it but number two son does miss it immensely. One of his mates is a barber who can’t see where his next penny’s coming from. Said mate Pat, a Villa fan, did a preview with me for MFW last year when the pubs were still open. But he’s got a toddler to keep him occupied and Sue and I never get bored while the dogs are around.
You should copyright your final par. Accuracy on a stick.
Cheers mate.
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I hope Dippy enjoys Rochdale, where Norwich City first tasted the glamour if a major final. Leipzig in its own way is a fine city, and I’ll happily take Ballgamesonthelawn over Bayern.
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Hi John.
That would have been the two-legged League Cup final in 1962 of course.
I’ve been to several large German cities [mainly for work] but never Leipzig so I’ll take your word for it. It’s the Red Bull bit I disapprove of, not the City!
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