My attempt to compete with HB&B, Mendoza and EFW!

[FalmerforAll!**]

Being an aspiring young journalist, I have been encouraged to do things that will keep me interested in writing and reporting. Because of this, I have set up my own blog to report on the away trips I do this season. The first installment is up, and I hope if you have the time you will enjoy reading it, and let me know what you think.

BHAFC Away

Thanks alot guys

 

[Sam Ovett]

Being an aspiring young journalist, I have been encouraged to do things that will keep me interested in writing and reporting. Because of this, I have set up my own blog to report on the away trips I do this season. The first installment is up, and I hope if you have the time you will enjoy reading it, and let me know what you think.

BHAFC Away

Thanks alot guys

I thought it was very good. Succinct and an enjoyable read. Cheers

 

[Gav1901]

Very good, good luck with it.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

I really enjoyed it.

Nice style and loved the Sheffield / Rome fact.

The only minor suggestion I would have for future ones would be to maybe make it a little shorter. I went to a regional web meeting for Johnston Press (who I work for) and the advice we were given were try and keep web stories shorter than their print versions as people have more distractions online.

Will add you to my blog list when I get home.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Scrap that length comment. Maybe just widen the text bog on your blog. That way it will seem shorter.

Also, loved the post card!

 

[Mr Banana]

Less commas (get rid or substitute for hyphens in a few places). Make the column wider and don't centre align. Standard of writing better than most though owd lad. Kimberworth is the bomb

 

[Lord Bamber]

Excellent read FfA, looking forward to more.

 

[FalmerforAll!**]

Thanks for all feedback so far, particularly the tips as well. I will try and make the blog wider, but it took me absolutely ages to get the hang of template designs and all sorts last night!

 

[tonymgc]

Nice job look forward to reading your future adventures

 

[Notters]

Can you post it on here as it's blocked for me.

 

[FalmerforAll!**]

Knowing that we would miss the opening day trip to Swindon due to being abroad, the old man and I agreed that our first away day experience of the new season would be hosted by the city of Sheffield a fortnight later. It's easy to see why too, with neither of us having done either of the two stadiums in Sheffield, it seemed the perfect time to tick off another ground from the 92 (my 51st if you were wondering).
I suppose I had better explain the picture at the head of this post, as part of my photo diaries that I tend to put together, I usually make an introductory picture to give my viewers a taste of what it's like in the city I have spent the day in. Well, as I'm sure you can see yourself, the standout thought of the day from the trip to South Yorkshire was the impeccable tram system being used. I can assure you it wasn't my intention to include a power station in the background, but it is a fine tribute to not just Sheffield, but the north on the whole!

The journey up is easy, if not uncomfortable stuck in the back of a full car, in the middle seat as well which let's face it, everyone hates. However, this was no major issue as we reached our destination in good time, and by 12:30 we had pulled up outside Hillsborough in search of tickets for the away end as we had failed to buy in advance. We were told to pay on the turnstile, a rare but welcome method in this day and age, and on that note we set off in the attempt to find a nice pub for a few drinks and some food before the match. However, before we could do this it is worth mentioning that we did stop off at the Hillsborough Memorial for the tragic deaths of 96 Liverpool supporters in 1989. Walking through the gangway into the away later on certainly put a shiver down my spine, and certainly put things into prospective.

Sheffield was unfortunately one of the more challenging places to find a pub that I have encountered, and we ended up eating in a place called Kimberworth outside Rotherham. The name of the pub escapes me, but the food was decent and the service was fine, meaning we had plenty of time to get to return to Hillsborough ahead of the game.


Time for a bit of trivia, did you know that Sheffield is built on seven hills, and is in this way similar to the structure of Rome, one of the finest architectual cities in Europe. I think it's unlikely that Romulus and Remus founded Sheffield however, more like 'Eggy' and 'Duck'.


Onto the game itself then, and in a strange atmosphere which struggled to really get going in the away end, the first real action of the game comes within the first ten minutes. The action is nothing to do with the football however, and involves handbags from Wednesday's Neil Mellor and Brighton's Adam El-Abd. They clash over a tussle following a cross from the left hand side, and when Mellor pushes El-Abd away, the Albion centre back flies over clutching his face in a way worthy of winning an Oscar. Having seen two team mates sent off for 'violent conduct' in the past two weeks, both in situations where they raised their hands in a similar way to Mellor, you can see what El-Abd was trying to do. However, the referee and linesman, who discussed the incident briefly before making their decision, decided correctly to book Mellor and get on with the game.
The first half was dominated by Wednesday but the Albion looked threatening on the break. It was first blood to The Owls however, in the 38th minute a well worked move involving Marcus Tudgay and Giles Coke saw the latter curl a beauty past Casper Ankergren in the Albion goal with his left foot. This was the wake up call the Seagulls needed though it seemed, and it almost sparked an instant response as Radostin Kishishev forced a good reflex save from the Wednesday keeper. Nonetheless, this was all in vain as the Albion trailed at the break.

The second half began in similar fashion, with Brighton pressing the hosts for the equalizer, and only the crossbar stood between them and young Jamie Smith getting it. The next incident of note took place on the half way line, where a horrendous tackle from Chris Segdwick of Wednesday on Brighton's Marcos Painter should really have been punished with a red card from the referee. Unfortunately he disagreed, most likely due to the intimidatingly loud Wednesday supporters, who to their credit were extremely vocal throughout.


The game drew towards a close, and whilst having plenty of possession Brighton failed to create any clearcut chances, and it was Wednesday who looked the more threatening on the attack, twice having should have put the game to bed with far post chances being headed over. In a last ditch attempt to salvage something from the game, Elliot Bennett was bundled over in the area, and once again the Albion will feel hard done by the referee, who dismissed any complaints from The Seagulls that Bennett was impeded. The Albion failed to score, giving the points to Wednesday.


Highlight of the Day: Without a doubt, overtaking an elderly lady in one of those motorised vehicles designed for the pavement, on the road. A close second was watching 'The Football League Show' later on that evening, and seeing that Albion boss Gus Poyet had emailed the show to complain about the comments of pundit Steve Claridge the week before, who claimed that the decision to give Rochdale a penalty against the Albion was the right one in The Seagulls' home game on the 14th. The look on Claridge's face was priceless, as it was proven that the penalty should not have been given and the show apologised! Lesson learnt, don't mess with Poyet!


RATING: 6/10 - Despite an easy journey there and back with minimal delay, the day itself was somewhat ruined for me by the poor atmosphere created by the some 1500 Brighton fans behind the goal. Although placed on the lower tier by some incompetent stewarding, it was still disappointing to be totally outsung by the Wednesday supporters with very little attempt to sing back. Hopefully just a blip.


Next stop, one of the longest trips in the English football, as I attempt to conquer Carlisle!

Thanks for reading,
Matt

 

[Notters]

Thanks, that's a good read. Do your pub research before hand though, there are some lovely boozers around Hillsborough!

Oh, and those mobility scooters, the ones that go at 8mph HAVE to go on the road.

 

[house your seagull]

i've put this on our, ahem, blogroll

 

[Colossal Squid]

Infinitely better than the dross HB&B posts.

You could probably get that up on the Argus website as they're always looking for new bloggers.

Looks good to say you have your work published by a regional newspaper.

If you need contact details let me know

 

[bristolseagull]

really really boring.

 

[The Large One]

Less commas (get rid or substitute for hyphens in a few places). Make the column wider and don't centre align. Standard of writing better than most though owd lad. Kimberworth is the bomb

I thought you were someone who understood English...

A good read, Matt.

BTW, don't demean yourself by thinking you're competing with HB&B. He'll twist this comment himself, but there is no competition, really.

 

[sam86]

How old are you? Good read that. Very well written. Keep it up.

 

[FalmerforAll!**]

I thought you were someone who understood English...

A good read, Matt.

BTW, don't demean yourself by thinking you're competing with HB&B. He'll twist this comment himself, but there is no competition, really.

Believe it or not I actually enjoy all of HB&B's stuff!

How old are you? Good read that. Very well written. Keep it up.

16.

 

[Mendoza]

Good read that, enjoyed it a lot

 

[Mr Banana]

Quick sub on a few points while I'm procrastinating, bloody good read though. TLO - you are right, my understanding of English is essentially haphazard at best...

It's easy to see why too, with neither of us having done either of the two stadiums in Sheffield, it seemed the perfect time to tick off another ground from the 92 (my 51st if you were wondering).

It's easy to see why, too - with neither...

I suppose I had better explain the picture at the head of this post, as part of my photo diaries that I tend to put together, I usually make an introductory picture to give my viewers a taste of what it's like in the city I have spent the day in.

Colon should be instead of the comma after "post"

I can assure you it wasn't my intention to include a power station in the background, but it is a fine tribute to not just Sheffield, but the north on the whole!

"...it is a fine tribute to both Sheffield and the north as a whole"?

The journey up is easy

Bit of flicking between tenses...was?

Walking through the gangway into the away later on certainly put a shiver down my spine, and certainly put things into prospective

"end" after "away", "perspective" not "prospective"

Time for a bit of trivia,

Colon not comma...

did you know that Sheffield is built on seven hills, and is in this way similar to the structure of Rome, one of the finest architectual cities in Europe.

Questions have to end with question marks

Onto the game itself then, and in a strange atmosphere which struggled to really get going in the away end, the first real action of the game comes within the first ten minutes.

Tenses switched again

Wednesday's Neil Mellor and Brighton's Adam El-Abd

If you're gonna use "Wednesday" got to use "Albion" as well really

It was first blood to The Owls however, in the 38th minute a well worked move...

Comma before "however", hyphen after. Seeing as it's repetition of "however" I'd probably switch it round to something like "The Owls took first blood in the 38th minute when a well-worked move..."

equalizer

American - with an s in English

The game drew towards a close, and whilst having plenty of possession Brighton failed to create any clearcut chances, and it was Wednesday who looked the more threatening on the attack, twice having should have put the game to bed with far post chances being headed over.

Albion failed to create any clear-cut chances despite having plenty of possession as the game drew to a close. Wednesday looked more threatening and should have put the game to bed with two far-post headers that went over the bar.

The Seagulls that Bennett was impeded. The Albion failed to score, giving the points to Wednesday.

consistency of nicknames