Blade for Sale
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http://www.gazzetta.it/Calcio/Ester...html?cmpid=shortener_9c501affHb&refresh_ce-cp
Hope I'm not standing on Roy's toes here! A nice article in the Gazzetta dello Sport about us. By far the biggest sports paper (any paper actually!) in Italy. Translation below:
Sheffield United compared to Athletic Bilbao – only British and Irish players in the squad
Foriestieri? No thanks. A few days ago, recent Premier league champions Leicester City played a League Cup tie against a squad which holds a particular record. Take a glance at Sheffield United’s squad, and you will find only British and Irish players. A rarity that distinguishes the Blades form all other sides on the top 3 divisions, and the antithesis of modern day football.
WE’RE GOING UP!
From Goalkeeper Simon Moore, English Keeper born 1990 (currently behind Blackman in the 1st team) all the way through to Billy Sharp, captain and scorer of 51 goals in the last 2 seasons, you will find a long list of home-grown players. Stearman, Brayford (RIP) and Sharp himself the only players valued at over 1m €. Nationality? English, along with 13 others. 2 Northern Irishmen (Lafferty & Lavery), 2 Scots (Fleck & Coutts), 2 Welshmen (Evans & Freeman) and 2 Irish (Stevens & Carruthers). A matter of tradition, passion, and let’s not forget the joy this side brought to the 33,000 Bramall Lane faithful by winning the League 1 title last season. In brief, a well-oiled machine that perhaps doesn’t need much in the way of maintenance.
Such a philosophy inevitably invokes thoughts of Athletic Bilbao’s Basque traditions. Same colours, same habits. The Spanish side has fought to maintain its stance for years in the face of what modern football (in particular the latest transfer window) has become. Football which maintains some romance, a sense of belonging, and above all, sustainability (Bilbao, along with Real Madrid and Barcelona, remain the only sides never to have been relegated form Spain’s top flight).
OK, maybe Bilbao is the more renowned case, but in this year’s Championship there are those who would try to emulate the Spanish club. In a summer which has seen €222m spent on Neymar, €180 on Mbappe and may still see €160m on Coutinho, Sheffield United represent a homemade model to stir the feelings of the more nostalgic fans. Almost 12 years after Arsene Wenger named, for the 1st time, a completely foreign first 11 for Arsenal v Crystal Palace, Chris Wilder’s men (also English, from Stocksbridge) are the last bastion of a bygone age, an almost extinct football landscape; after a great start to the season, maybe theirs will be the latest English fairy-tale to grace the magnificent stage of the Premier League.
Hope I'm not standing on Roy's toes here! A nice article in the Gazzetta dello Sport about us. By far the biggest sports paper (any paper actually!) in Italy. Translation below:
Sheffield United compared to Athletic Bilbao – only British and Irish players in the squad
Foriestieri? No thanks. A few days ago, recent Premier league champions Leicester City played a League Cup tie against a squad which holds a particular record. Take a glance at Sheffield United’s squad, and you will find only British and Irish players. A rarity that distinguishes the Blades form all other sides on the top 3 divisions, and the antithesis of modern day football.
WE’RE GOING UP!
From Goalkeeper Simon Moore, English Keeper born 1990 (currently behind Blackman in the 1st team) all the way through to Billy Sharp, captain and scorer of 51 goals in the last 2 seasons, you will find a long list of home-grown players. Stearman, Brayford (RIP) and Sharp himself the only players valued at over 1m €. Nationality? English, along with 13 others. 2 Northern Irishmen (Lafferty & Lavery), 2 Scots (Fleck & Coutts), 2 Welshmen (Evans & Freeman) and 2 Irish (Stevens & Carruthers). A matter of tradition, passion, and let’s not forget the joy this side brought to the 33,000 Bramall Lane faithful by winning the League 1 title last season. In brief, a well-oiled machine that perhaps doesn’t need much in the way of maintenance.
Such a philosophy inevitably invokes thoughts of Athletic Bilbao’s Basque traditions. Same colours, same habits. The Spanish side has fought to maintain its stance for years in the face of what modern football (in particular the latest transfer window) has become. Football which maintains some romance, a sense of belonging, and above all, sustainability (Bilbao, along with Real Madrid and Barcelona, remain the only sides never to have been relegated form Spain’s top flight).
OK, maybe Bilbao is the more renowned case, but in this year’s Championship there are those who would try to emulate the Spanish club. In a summer which has seen €222m spent on Neymar, €180 on Mbappe and may still see €160m on Coutinho, Sheffield United represent a homemade model to stir the feelings of the more nostalgic fans. Almost 12 years after Arsene Wenger named, for the 1st time, a completely foreign first 11 for Arsenal v Crystal Palace, Chris Wilder’s men (also English, from Stocksbridge) are the last bastion of a bygone age, an almost extinct football landscape; after a great start to the season, maybe theirs will be the latest English fairy-tale to grace the magnificent stage of the Premier League.
