sheffstats

Anyone old enough will remember Christmas Eve 1973. Derek Dooley turns up at Hillsborough thinking that he is discussing potential transfers but leaves the ground without a job. Nearly 30 years before he forgave them for doing so, or at least until he attended a Sheffield derby. I'm not sure he ever truly forgave them but who knows.

Just an update on this via The Star website... A 15-year-old boy has now been arrested on suspicion of malicious communications and is currently in police custody. Chief Superintendent Natalie Shaw said: “After a prolonged search of Birley Academy, a device has not been found. “Hoax calls are malicious and irresponsible, they can cause a considerable deal of distress. “Anyone found to have committed this offence could face a prison sentence.” Read more at: https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/i-ve-never-cried-in-fear-like-i-did-today-worried-parents-react-to-bomb-hoax-chaos-at-sheffield-school-1-8916482

You would think that a stupid, ill-conceived hoax is likely to be the most likely of outcomes I guess. If so then it is of particularly bad taste with everything going on in the world. Factor in the cost of the resources drafted in this morning to deal with it all as well....... I am sure in 2017 they should be able to trace the source of contact. Anyway I hope they do and whoever is responsible gets their comeuppance...oh and the bill for the waste of police time if this is indeed a hoax.

Breaking from The Star: https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/bomb-threat-at-sheffield-school-1-8916088 Worrying indeed in the current climate of what is going on in the world.

I'm surprised not to see something on here already really. I don't know anything in the slightest about what has gone off however it it is all over The Star website this morning. There are at least three articles on there which describe a panicked evacuation from the secondary part of the school at around 9:30 this morning. Pupils were sent home from the site without notice and the school have since made a statement that the school will be closed for some time. Since then in the last 15 minutes or so, The Star went live from the site on social media and showed police officers standing around in the grounds as well as sniffer dogs working the perimeter of the school. Quite worrying really, or at least the timeline of events with no further information make it feel that way. I do hope all is well and whatever or whoever to problem is are dealt with quickly.

If we have learnt anything 5 innings in, it is that supposedly "experienced" lads are letting the side down big time. Batting wise, Cook with his 69 runs or whatever it is in 5 innings....and then from Moeen Ali down the order last night! Say what you want about lower order batsmen / tailenders, for me...they are first class cricketers, representing the country at the highest possible level! They should be able to hold their own and should be able to find double figures with the bat! A gutsy performance from those last few batsmen would have brought up a 470 total. I say it again, this is a batting wicket! Australia got us out at the right time and with little movement in the ball, our bowlers are ineffective and they will struggle! The days of reliable Jimmy and Broad are well gone, both are sporadic at best...but mainly just impotent! If we allow yourselves to throw away the advantage through ineffective bowling, then a good few players need to be ashamed of themselves. After this test we need a good reshuffle! Cook, Moeen, Broad, Anderson can all go for me. Fed up of watching boring, ineffective, impotent cricket.

Is it not measured from leaving the bowlers hand, to the point of impact? When they tried to explain the Waca pitch in the build up to the test, they explained that the Waca has the highest clay content of all of the Australian pitches. Once the clay heats in the baking sun, the particles stick together and bake. With this in mind the makes less contact with the pitch itself, therefore it absorbs less of the energy put into the ball by the bowler. The simple science behind it all is apparently that the additional pace is down to.....A lesser resistance of friction of the pitch and off the surface of the ball. Of course the pitch has been dug up a few times over the last decade or so and the Aussies played down the pace a bit....But never the less it is still said to have a high clay content of around 40%, this clay then bakes in up to 40c heat for large spells of the year.....Making it formidable.

Does this not open up a can of worms in regards to "official fine" vs "Private Invoice"? As in....Are the company issuing legally binding fines on behalf of the council? Or are they merely issuing a non-enforceable invoice? I am totally anti littering, I think it is both lazy and filthy. But the expense of recruiting a third party to come and hand out non-enforceable invoices would be nothing but counter productive and a waste of money.

The advances in modern technology have made listening to music, easier and more appealing to me than it has ever been before. I have always enjoyed music and have been somewhat of a vinyl junkie for a long, long time. Most weekends I have always enjoyed music in some capacity anyway.... But now with Amazon Alexa, Multiroom speaker setups and wireless technology as a whole, enable me to instantly access whatever music I want to listen to... with one simple voice command. These days I generally fit an hour of music minimum into my working day. Be it digital radio in a morning or Spotify to unwind in the evening. In fact modern technology has helped me to broaden my own musical tastes as well by randomly selecting genres and artists based on what I have listened to previously..... A fantastic era for music lovers.

In regards to the national eye... I think the local council as well as local political representatives have made a right old mockery out of Sheffield as a while this year. For once I would just like to see somebody take control who has the best interests of Sheffield at heart. Somebody with a refreshing approach towards looking after our own, whilst driving us forward into the current era. I am sick to death of hearing more about the public purse and misplaced ambition. As I said, I have tried to remain impartial to the debate however one thing I can say is that it has been allowed to go on for way to long.

Depends what you mean by unexpected really? This was always going to be the sort of wicket that a good set of batsmen would go out and get a decent total on. Both wanted to win the toss because the ground isn't what it has always been historically and has been producing 400+ totals for the last couple of years. The we have the bold above..... I guess this is where the unexpected bit comes from? Too many scratchy performances in the first couple of tests with a heavy mix of nerves thrown in. Today however they played on the front foot with plenty of confidence about them, the shot selection as a whole was a hell of a lot better....and all in all, they just seem to be getting it right. I don't think i'm overly shocked by the batting performance...I think we have shown enough in the first two tests to give optimism that players can score runs. Bairstow for me should be coming in earlier anyway...... Just need to resist the temptation to play any silly shots early doors in the morning and we might well be heading to a 400+ total.... The panic then starts with our bowlers!...Hopefully they will deliver the length after a wake up call in last test...The wicket plays well and ineffective bowling will be punished. ---------- Post added 14-12-2017 at 15:09 ---------- Also....Am I the only one who is fed up of hearing Vaughan write us off every 2 minutes? His negativity is doing me in.

I quietly fancy us here to get a total anyway. Wicket looks well and in bat first, hopefully take advantage of it fingers crossed. Not losing the early wicket would be a start! Steady opening partnerahip and a solid first day please chaps. ---------- Post added 14-12-2017 at 02:57 ---------- Well that shows me for getting excited! I actually thought both openers started out looking very assured...And then boom, starc throws a fast one and cook walks AGAIN. Nearly 70 runs from 5 innings from and opener....ouch! Fingers crossed the rest steady the ship and hit some runs now...

I know we weren't exactly brilliant in the last test and we bottled the opportunity in the second innings...however I am taking the positive from it, mainly in the bowling depart. This wicket might just throw up some confidence boosting totals for a couple of our batsmen with a bit of luck. At 2-0 down it's time for a couple of players to stand out a bit and give us some cause to be optimistic. A draw wouldn't be a terrible score but a win at the Waca would ruffle a few feathers.

Another instalment this evening then?... I stumbled upon blinders later than most and initially I found my gripped to the whole plot, in fact sadly I demolished the first two series over the course of several days.... The third series was somewhat a slow burner initially, however eventually I managed to rekindle mt interest and pull myself back into all... This fourth series however?...... Really? Don't get me wrong it isn't terrible however it is hard not to feel that the writers have lost their way somewhat. As if the third series didn't become far fetched enough, suddenly it feels like a completely different programme. Have the dragged Luca and the mafia into the plot to attract to a wider audience from across the pond? I hope tonight will provide the twists and build up to a fantastic last couple of episodes, as the seasons before have done.

I'm sure there are a million threads regarding the tree issue as a whole, however I am trying to make this specific to the happenings at the Town Hall this evening. I was just notified of a live stream via The Star on social media. It was a live stream from the consultations and supposed decisions surrounding the future of the memorial trees that are scheduled to be removed. I have tried to be impartial to the whole tree thing as a whole, not because I don't care (I do have my opinions however don't for one minute think that our individual opinions matter on this subject), but as a whole it seems quite a fiery debate which has captured global imagination......and well, as a general ruling I guess I am a little too long in the tooth to get involved in such heated debates. Anyway the stream was a poor one or at least the sound on the feed was minimal to the extent that I don't have the foggiest of the conclusion. Can anybody shed any light on the final outcome / verdict?