da pixbet：
da marjack bet：
As the new season approaches I’m doing my best to stay on top of things from South Africa.
The official Wednesday site is a constant feature on my laptop and all my Wednesday related Twitterers are making sure that I keep up to date with everything Owly.
South Africans consider Sheffield Wednesday to be a bit like an old toy that you can’t really think of. They’ve seen pictures and heard mention of them, but it’s been that long since they saw them, that it’s hard to really relate or remember them.
However, a lot of them congratulated me when we got promoted recently. They gave me a virtual pat on the back and said things like, “You’ll be back in the Premier League next year” and “Southampton and Norwich got straight promotions, you could be next.”
As always, I laugh off their comments, it’s not going to happen. I’m not naive enough to think that we have what it takes to get back to the Premier League just yet, but… you never know do you. See that’s the problem that we have as Wednesdayites, we can beat the pessimistic drum all we like, but in our heads we always swing FAR too much in the way of positivity.
However, let’s look at this realistically. As I mentioned in my previous blog, we’ve got a bit of financial muscle for once. We’ve snapped up Chris Kirkland, a once promising Premier League goalkeeper who, despite having injury problems, is still a good, experienced signing. Next up is Kieran Lee, the ex-Manchester United man. Lee, who is still only 23, has been in tremendous form for Oldham over the last two years and has won all four Player of the Year awards for the Latics in consecutive attempts.
Finally, another man definitely turning out in the blue and white stripes next year is Joe Mattock. The 22-year-old defender was recently released from Premier League outfit, West Brom, but has a lot of Championship experience for a player his age and is a player that can definitely be groomed for the future.
With these three signings in mind, Wednesday are also in the hunt to strengthen further. It’s thought that on their list is Portsmouth’s combative midfielder, David Norris, former England international, Anthony Gardner, and talented Scotland forward, 23-year-old Chris Maguire. I also heard a little rumour that the man mountain himself, EWIH (Emile William Ivanhoe Heskey), is also a target.
Looking at all of these I can’t help but let that undying optimism out a little bit. There’s a nice mix of experience, youth, experienced youth and… Emile Heskey. What more could you want?
We all know what the Championship is about. To succeed in that league you need a host of experienced campaigners, some fearless young guns with a bit of talent and a handful of players who will purely run their arses off for you. If I look at what our squad could consist of next year, then I think we may just have all of those things.
And so my mind reverts back to our Premier League days. I was 10 when we last took part in a top flight game. It was on the 14th May, 2000, and goals from Alan Quinn, Andy Booth, Niclas Alexandersson and Gilles de Bilde secured us a 4-0 win over Leicester City.
That same season saw Newcastle batter us 8-0 and Kevin Pressman receive the quickest sending off in Premier League history after being given his marching orders 13 seconds into our 1-1 draw with Wolves.
Honestly, I can barely remember the ‘Glory Days’. The last time we won a trophy was 1991’s Milk (League) Cup, and the last time we won a top-flight division was 1930… I was -70. To be frank, our trophy cabinet is barer than a Scotsman’s backside. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’d like to see that happen again in my lifetime.
Like I say, my head says that we won’t go up. My head hopes we don’t. Purely to avoid a possible embarrassment in the Premier League if we do end up there. However, the blue and white heart in my chest thinks we could. Saying that, it would probably also believe that there was an off chance of us winning the Premier League if we were there… And so I remain, hopelessly optimistic.
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