Sheffield United vs Coventry City

UTB 39
period in terms of major honours, and it’s
kind of ironic that our last major silverware
was handed over by her mother. Ok, we
had a few FA Cup semi-finals, a League
Cup semi, a few play-off finals and a few
promotions, but no captain after Gillespie
had the chance to shake the hand of
the Queen and walk off with the trophy.
Sobering to say the least.
Think of the players we have seen in
her time. Fewer and fewer are around
who recall the majesty of Hagan, Shaw,
Ringstead, Hawksworth and co. In fact,
the side that played the first game after
the death of her father was: Burgin,
Furniss, Shaw (G), Hitchen, Shaw (J),
Toner, Ringstead, Smith (FA), Browning,
Hagan, Hawksworth.
All now sadly gone, the last to pass to a
higher League being Derek Hawksworth a
couple of years ago.
When Elizabeth became Queen, Bramall
Lane hadn’t really changed since Victoria
was sat on the throne. We had a roof on
the Kop in 1936, and the Luftwaffe had
done their best to blow us to smithereens,
but it was basically the same as it had
always been. Look at it now. Modern,
clean, cared for and, above all, when so
much else has changed and gone forever,
the Queen herself illustrating that, it is still
very much here and doing the job that it
was always built to do. It seems that most
things just do not last forever. Things in life
constantly change – you may get married,
divorced, change jobs, move home and, of
course, pass on, but the club since the day
it was started keeps going. It’s a constant.
We all woke up on the morning of the
9th of September with a King instead of a
Queen, which was strange. On Christmas
Day, there was a King’s speech that’s
not just a film. The faces on your money
will change, it will be King’s Council as
opposed to a Queen’s and those who
are awarded honours will possibly also
▲ The late Queen on a visit to Sheffield Cathedral back in 2015
have them bestowed by a King and
not his mother.
In her Platinum year, she clearly wasn’t
well enough to take part in many of the
celebrations, but still wanted to make the
connection with the people that she had
served for such a long time and, even from
my point of view, she constantly tried to
connect on a different level. I remember
coming home once and finding my mum
playing my copy of New Gold Dream by
Simple Minds, startling as she was way
into her 60s but, in her own words “she
liked it”- and I got that in the same way as
when the Queen was filmed with Daniel
Craig in the James Bond skit. The piece
with Paddington Bear having tea was
another great example of someone who
clearly cared and was game so fair play.
Even I could see that she was trying to still
make that connection in a vastly changed
world, and I appreciated that.
By and large, I have always found that
generation to be grounded and wise.
Growing up with parents of that age
myself hopefully taught me to have one
major thing, be respectful and, as a result,
even though I don’t class myself as a
Royalist per say, I respect those that are
and those that mourn the passing of what
was, without doubt, an incredible life lived
forever in the public gaze.
SHEFFIELD UNITED vs COVENTRY CITY