FA Youth Cup Runneth Over

Great night at Bramall Lane as both Sheffield United and Manchester United played in the FA Youth Cup Final 1st Leg.

It was a great advert for youth football - just under 30,000 were in the ground and the youngsters did themselves proud.

Some controversy with Man U's first goal - which never crossed the line and some more great goals saw the tie finish level at 2-2.

But it wasn't just the football that impressed Claude, it was the spirit in which it was played. No diving, no cheating, no surrounding the ref and hard challenges saw players jump straight to their feet with no complaints. It just makes one wonder what happens to these 18 year olds when they reach the first teams? If these youngsters can provide such excellent entertainment in such a fair and sporting manner, then why can't the senior players?

Credit to both teams, there looked some real future stars on show (Slew and Macguire for the Blades and Keane and Tunnicliffe for the Reds) - the 2nd leg will be interesting...

Moving Experience?

So, after a good three and a half years battling the M1, Sad Claude has finally decided enough is enough.

Sadly, the reason was not a new fabulously well-paid job, but a new house, much nearer work. No chance of selling the house we own, so we will rent it. We have in turn just secured a house we will rent. It is an amazing house, the sort I can't believe I will live in. A 5-bed behemoth which allows yours truly a dedicated room for his guitars.

Heaven does come at a price though -it is costing a ruddy fortune!

Cheats Never Prosper (Eventually...)

Well, it came four years too late, but at last West Ham are relegated.

It just shows that when they couldn't rely on breaking the rules by playing an inelible player, they slumped to relegation in poor fashion.

Hopefully they are destined for a long spell out of the top flight.

Sad Claude - The Band

Sad Claude is also a band - with yours truly taking on song-writing, singing and guitar duties.

You can check us out here:

http://www.myspace.com/sadclaude
http://www.boba1.f9.co.uk/sadclaude/
http://www.youtube.com/user/SadClaudeBand

Upcoming gigs to be announced...

It's Back

Yes, after, it has to be said, quite a long absence, this blog is back!

Sad Claude has been a busy boy lately - baby on the way in June and a house move in July.

More to come - especially updates on the new band...

Steel Derby

They made hard work of it in the end, but Sheffield is red and white once more.

Property Tycoons

We now own two houses - scary!

Great Albums

Claude invested in a few of the new remastered Beatles albums yesterday. Some tracks sound great, while some, hmmm, still suffer from some analogue "hiss" (at least through the Audi's system anyway, yet to try it through the Linn).

But, it got me thinking about my favourite albums of all time and it is tricky to choose. Definitely on the list would be:

• Together Alone - Crowded House
• The Beatles (White Album) - The Beatles
• Twist - Dave Dobbyn
• Songs From the Deep Forest - Duke Special
• Imagine - John Lennon
• Cut - Hunters and Collectors
• The Bends - Radiohead