Before I went to Leeds on Friday, I warned how if Leicester won, not only would they ruin my unbeaten record at Elland Road, but as the trip to Leeds was a gift, they would ruin Christmas and also ruin my life. OK, ruining my life may be a little excessive, but I think it’s fair to say that Leicester’s goal-scorer, David Nugent, will now forever be known as The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.
All that said, besides the last four minutes, when the winning goal was scored, I did actually really enjoy my trip to Yorkshire and return to Elland Road.
We stayed overnight before the game; eating our evening meal in an onsite restaurant. While eating my meal, I couldn’t help but overhear a very loud child announcing each dish they would consume in their large 3-course meal – a huge feast for a young child, which would challenge a fully grown man. On the way out, I noticed the child and their family. Let’s just say they probably can’t safely share a lift together…
After the meal, I retired to my room and went to bed early. To bed. On a Friday night, while staying in Leeds. So rock ‘n roll. I am pleased to report that I had a surprisingly good night’s sleep, once I had kicked Lenny Henry out of the room.
In the morning, we went for the all you can eat breakfast. “All you can eat” being a term some may see as a challenge. The family from the night before had clearly beaten me to the hot food, as I had to wait while the chef cooked up a new trough of eggs, bacon and sausages.
We got to Elland Road in enough time to allow me to visit the club shop. That place is always packed. You can hardly move. It’s worse than Asda on Christmas Eve. Not that I would ever brave a supermarket at Christmas. It takes enough courage to go there on any normal day.
Having spent enough money on merchandise to fund the transfer of Luciano Becchio (Leeds United board, if you’re reading this blog… ‘HINT HINT’), I headed for the turnstiles, not forgetting to visit the Don Revie statue on the way. It is the first time I have seen the statue and what a fabulous tribute to the great man it is. It is just a shame the late Sir Don has to face the monstrosity of the East Stand a certain ex-chairman wasted millions of pounds refurbishing.
Now for the match. That 90 minute period we had travelled the length of their country for, including staying overnight in a budget hotel and having to use disgusting motorway service station toilets. Considering they had been thrashed 6-0 just a week ago, Leeds started well against the league leaders, Leicester, and should have scored on a number of occasions. This is Leeds United though, and what should have happened and what actually does happen are completely different things.
Of course, Leeds didn’t score. Leicester did, in the last few minutes. For fucks sake. Disappointing, but certainly not unexpected. Still, Leeds fans never fail to amuse me and yesterday was no exception. Every time Kasper Schmeichel, Leeds’s former goalkeeper, now at Leicester and son of a little-known Manchester United player, touched the ball, he was greeted to a rendition of “Your dad’s a c*** and so are you”. I can see, that despite having been away for almost three years, some things never change and Elland Road still has the lovely, friendly family atmosphere it always had. As one Leeds fan behind me said, “Leeds like to hate people”. So true, and that is why I love Leeds United.
I am blogging in advance. Using the wonders of modern technology (well, a setting within WordPress), I have pre-dated this blog so it should appear to you all on Friday afternoon, when I will be in the car, somewhere on the motorway, being driven up to Leeds. I am actually blogging on Thursday evening! What a cheating bastard I am.
My Christmas present from my Dad to me was a trip to Elland Road to watch Leeds United play Leicester City this weekend. We’re staying overnight in a Premier Inn as thanks to Sky television the game is kicking off at midday, as opposed to the usual 3pm, which would mean a very early start. At least we’ll get back to Bath earlier.
I must admit, I am a tad worried about the game. Leeds haven’t won in what seems like years. Leicester keep on winning and are running away with the league. After their 6-0 drubbing last weekend, some have predicted Leeds to have the ‘wounded animal effect’. I just hope this wounded animal is like Cujo, the rabid St. Bernard, from the Stephen King novel, who goes on a mad rampage, killing lots of people (namely professional football players from Leicestershire). Knowing Leeds United, however, they’ll be like a wounded badger. Run over by a car and lying on the side of the road, being repeatedly driven across by other vehicles, until all its blood, guts, bone and brain become squashed into the tarmac.
I have never seen Leeds lose at Elland Road, so that is somewhat of a good omen –although I fully expect that to change this weekend. I am also the world’s worst gambler, so as a failsafe, I have stuck a tenner on Leicester to win. Therefore, when Leeds take all the points, I‘ll be taking all the credit. Yes, the win will be all down to me, even if Ross McCormack scores 10 goals, I’ll take the man of the match champagne.
If Leicester win, not only will they will ruin my unbeaten home record, but they will ruin Christmas (as the trip was a gift) and also ruin my life.
Hayes and Yeading’s Christmas present to Bath City
This tweet was made with the Bath City Supporters’ Coach about 20 minutes away from their ground.
Considering the entire country had been rained on all week, with no improvement this morning, surely it would have made sense to have a pitch inspection prior to allowing the fans and players to leave Bath? Obviously not.
This was the first and hopefully last time I make a 4 hour round-trip to a motorway service station.
It’s a pity Hayes and Yeading didn’t pour this on their pitch
A few weeks ago, we went for a very unpleasant birthday meal at The Lodekka pub in Bristol. Since then, one reader of my blog, namely Simon, pointed out to me that I should not be surprised to have been served up rubbish, haven chosen to eat in Bristol.
You will all then be surprised that yesterday we decided to return to the same pub for our Christmas meal. Why did we decide to eat at the place which served me something so foul? The simple answer – we had already booked and paid for the festive dinner.
So how was it? The fact I am blogging the following day shows I haven’t been poisoned to death. I am not blogging from a hospital bed either (I know the wards are equipped with WiFi these days). The most surprising thing about the whole evening was the quality of the meal!
The head chef at the pub had clearly read my critical review the other week, sacked his colleagues, replacing them with trained chefs, before taking a basic cookery class himself. Yes, it was edible. I would even call it “OK”. Oh what the hell, it’s Christmas! The meal was NICE.
I’ve been for many Christmas dinners in the past with work and to be blunt, they haven’t been very pleasant at all. I seem to recall blogging about them all, so a quick dig through the archives will show you what I mean. This one, however, pleased me.
Yes the starter of tomato soup could have been from a tin, but the main was really hot, well cooked and accompanied by the biggest Yorkshire pudding I have ever seen. Mick McCarthy (the most northern man on the planet) would be proud of it. To top it all off was the dessert. A bowl of custard with a slab of deep-fried Christmas pudding in the middle, and I normally HATE Christmas pudding! The fact this calorific treat was covered in molten fat made all the difference. I’ll try not to think about what it has done to my insides. My arteries have only recovered from that battered Mars Bar I had in Grimsby two years ago.
About Me
So you stumbled across my blog. No doubt after searching for something bizarre on Google. Before you hit that 'Back Button', why not stay and have a read for a few minutes?
If you are after a website which gives advice on how to hack an iPhone X, download the latest Steven Seagal movie, or view nudy ladies, you've come to the wrong place and may now press 'Back'.
However, if you would like a lifestyle blog, written by a 30-something chap, living in Bath (England), feast your eyes on this.
You won't discover how to copy PlayStation 4 games. What you will find is a blog, covering life in the West Country, the highs and lows of supporting two unsuccessful football teams, while sharing a house with a wife and rabbit.
All written by a man, somewhere on the sanity-scale between normal and eccentric.
