Nick Clegg Cares About Sheffield Wednesday

It's a news story that's almost as random as the photograph, boys and girls...

Nick Clegg: Long-term solution for Sheffield Wednesday must be found
Wed, 17 Nov 2010

Commenting on the news that Sheffield Wednesday FC has avoided a winding-up order by being granted a 28-day adjournment by the High Court, Deputy Prime Minister and Sheffield Hallam MP, Nick Clegg said:

“Today’s adjournment is welcome news for Sheffield Wednesday and will hopefully give the club the time it needs to attract the required investment.

“It is, however, only a stay of execution and much more needs to be done to safeguard the long-term future of this wonderful football club.

“I have been in regular contact with both the club and the bank over the last few days and I know how hard everyone is working to find a way forward. I will continue to help all parties in any way I can to find a workable solution to the club’s plight.

“I know how much Sheffield Wednesday means to the fans and the city itself and a successful long-term solution must now be found.”

Personally I'd be surprised if Clegg actually knows where Wednesday are in the table at the moment: but then, he may well have other things on his mind at present. However, it does seem to suggest that while he misjudged the public mood on tuition fees, he does still talk to people on the ground. The question is, would he get in for free at Hillsborough?

On a sports related note, David Cameron actually made some Premier League predictions on the BBC Sport website quite recently: it's worth watching for the last prediction alone. Liverpool 0-6 Aston Villa? Hahahahaha. Let's hope he's slightly better at predicting economic growth (it finished Liverpool 3-0 Aston Villa, in case you were wondering).

"We're not that bad, Prime Minister!"

Thanks for reading,

The Evening Stanners

Constable Time

Curse you QPR! Or should that be QP Yarr? I think it would have been better if Ipswich had lost 3-0 to a team of pirates. Much more acceptable, Jim lad. Unless of course, you're a ninja, in which case it's unacceptable. But enough of pirates vs ninjas!

I am in Ipswich at present - visiting the gal, of course - and will shortly be heading to Manningtree in order to explore Dedham Vale, which is also known as Constable Country, due to its high concentration of policemen. I mean, because some guy painted there and everyone was like, "Check out the hay wain on that!"

So yes, more reports on that shortly. In other news!

1) I am in the process of getting my internship with Andrew George sorted, eeee! His assistant is just checking dates for me and will get back to me after the Lib Dem conference in Liverpool, which takes place this week.

2) I was in Zummerzet on Monday, visiting such awesome places as Dunster, Minehead, Williton, Cannington, The Quantocks, and, er, Taunton. Hmm. But if you do get half a day free, do visit Dunster: proper little old-school village with a yarn market, a whacking great castle and a deli that does good cornish pasties. Tasty times! It was also good to see Uncle Clive and his family: we went to the Tandoori in Williton, and if the chocolate mousses are always that good, I may have to move there, hehe.

3) I watched the IT Crowd with my cousins Thomas and Amy. It was awesome. "Damn that mash looks tasty!" And it turns out I can play "London Calling" on left-hand guitar! Who knew?

Thanks for reading, more this evening, with...

The Evening Stanners

Will Jeremy Hunt Become Rhyming Slang?

Answer: only if he keeps thinking before he speaks. In trying to praise the England supporters in South Africa, you see, Mr Hunt (the Culture Secretary) decided to draw comparisons between the sensible behaviour at this tournament, and say, the hooliganism of Heysel. And Hillsborough.

Ah.

Now, both Heysel and Hillsborough were terrible disasters. But they are very different disasters. Heysel, which occurred in 1985, was a result of Liverpool fans deciding that breaking through a fence to attack Juventus fans was a good idea. It wasn't. The Juventus fans tried to scarper, got crushed against a wall, and 39 people died, 32 of them Juventus supporters. Unsurprisingly, Liverpool were banned from European football, and quite rightly so.

Hillsborough, however, was not the result of Liverpool supporters running amok; far from it. What happened at Hillsborough was ultimately more tragic: many supporters were late for the match, and the police desperately tried to get fans in through a few entrances. It was a fatal mistake. The rush of people was too great, and people began to be crushed against the fence at the front of the terrace: again, common sense on behalf of the police would have saved many lives, as two policemen on horseback at the front would have at least broken up the crowd. Instead, South Yorkshire Police were left with the very brutal consequences; 96 Liverpool fans dead, only 14 of which actually reached a hospital.

Does that sound like hooliganism to you? It doesn't to me. It sounds like a number of failures by a police force to keep control, which is what the Taylor Report later concluded. Very different from Heysel, though Heysel still retains the power to shock the neutral.

So methinks Jeremy Hunt should actually go and watch a Liverpool game at some point. It might just be that he hears the following chant that's been going for over 20 years: "Justice for the 96". Though he might want to pick an away game first, mightn't he?

The Evening Stanners

PS I can't help but feel saying sorry to Liverpool is becoming a legal requirement for prominent Conservatives. Boris Johnson a few years ago, anyone?

PPS Ooh, Michael Howard (former Conservative Party leader) is a Liverpool fan! Perhaps my hypothesis needs work...