A Sheffield Wednesday Season Preview - Waiting For Not A Lot

It’s that time of year again – the telly is blaring out pictures of beaming fans cheering (rather than miserable away trips), Jeff Stelling is receiving his final waterproof coating, and fans of clubs in the ‘FL72’ as we’re now called - like a flu virus, are preparing for joy, despair and the narked indifference of predictable home 1-0 defeats.

Yet for Wednesdayites the clichés of wanton optimism and dramatic anticipation just don’t fit. Kids won’t proudly be marching through Hillsborough Park with the name of that new striker we needed stamped across their back for one simple reason – there isn’t one (yet). Until recently there wasn’t even an away kit.

For the source of frustration one only has to look at the front of our shirts, which bear the legend ‘Azerbaijan Land of Fire’. In May it adorned the shirt of the Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid, and in June it seemed that the man behind that move, Hafiz Mammadov was set to take-over at Hillsborough.

Mad About The Cost Of Nike's England World Cup Kit? Then Go Retro

David Cameron is deeply annoyed. Could it be that he’s furious at the sell-off of The Royal Mail on the cheap? Or at Putin’s territorial ambitions? Food banks even? Nope, it’s because Nike’s New England shirt is selling for £90 (the bespoke ‘match’ version, rather than the  ‘stadium’ one, which actually sells for £60).

The marketing bumf that’s used to justify the price of these shirts, essentially a piece of nylon cut into panels and then reassembled to accommodate Wayne Rooney’s midriff, may actually be worth that on its own.

This year according to Nike: “"Two references really stood out during the design process for the home kit – that stunning all-white kit England wore in Mexico in 1970 and the idea of the armour of English Knights.

Ready for war? The England team take their new kit very seriously

In The Sadenning Frenzy Over The Future Of Adnan Januzaj, Only Jack Wilshere Gets Close To Talking Sense

England's latest star? Don't bank on it.

If you believe what you read in the papers and what's babbled over the phone in-lines then Adnan Januzaj is England's next great hope, Gazza with a few extra vowels and for whom peeing in public is something statues do rather than Jimmy Five-bellies.

The fact that a furore seems to have developed around an 18-year-old boy, not qualified for England, who has played well in one Premier League game says a lot about the parlous state of football and the utter cluelessness of those who are paid very well to sort it out, but as well as showing weakness it shows English football’s propensity for pomposity and disregard for anything other than the next headline, its also pretty offensive.

That's because Januzaj's peculiar history, the very reason that poaching him is still a possibility is a sad one that is far more important than whether we can hype ourselves up about whether it might be our year when Januzaj might under FIFA’s rules be able to actually play for England in 2018.

Sir Alex Ferguson's Greatest Achievement Is One Even Manchester United Fans Should View With Regret

In the end its unpredictability was strangely predictable – after the farrago around his previous attempt to retire in 2002 Sir Alex Ferguson was never going to announce his retirement in advance. 

Yet the announcement in some ways still comes as a shock; the end of an era, to use a phrase that will adorn social media networks and lazy hagiographies.

Despite his unprecedented success in the game, with only the combined total of Liverpool’s boot room boys competing as far as honours are concerned, Ferguson still is a polarising figure and one whose achievements have been difficult to love.

EXCLUCIVE: Mikel Arteta Calls On Arsenal To Beat Spurs To Champions League Spot To Reward 'Deserving Fans'

Recently I had the pleasure of a brief audience with Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, and the midfielder called upon his Arsenal team mates to “do it for the fans” Football Manager style when asked if finishing above Tottenham for a Champions League place would be extra pleasurable if it came at the expense of Spurs.

Speaking of the race for fourth, the combative Arsenal man said: “It's going to be tough but it's interesting as well, it's something to play for and we're looking forward to it.”

Mikel Arteta wants Arsenal to trump Spurs to reward their supporters' patience

So far so bland, but like many a Gunner, what really appeared to get Mikel’s juices going was the now yearly duel between his Arsenal side and their greatest rivals, Spurs for the final Champions League spot.

Both sides could of course snatch spots in the competition at the expense of Chelsea, but when asked if beating Tottenham to the final spot would be something he’d relish, the Spanish midfielder looked upon edging out Andre Villas-Boas side as a late season present for Arsenal’s long suffering support, now eight years and counting without seeing silverware.