Bassett's Allsorts

I'm glad we've got home advantage for the first derby of the season or I think the nerves would be getting to me. At the minute I'm quietly confident and think we'll just edge it, but come Saturday night I'll be doing everything possible to distract myself from it (might involve alcohol).

Really? It was ridiculous at Elland Road a few seasons back when they kept us in for over an hour and people couldn't get to the toilets due to the backlog of people trying to get out.

Once you get over that floating pass he sometimes plays thinking he's David Beckham, you can recognise the job he does for the team and accept we haven't got anyone else who can do it with as much discipline.

This. Dominated the midfield in the first half and controlled the tempo of the game by dropping into the back 3 to bounce the ball. Hooper and Lee didn't know how to deal with him and left him with the freedom of Hillsborough for 45 minutes. Credit to Carlos (I don't say that much) as he obviously saw this and got Lee to man mark him in the second half.

Found this in the loft a few months ago...

It's about time 'Hey! Ho! Let's Go!' was let go and never used again.

I saw a photo of Hirst, Waddle and Harkes in the boozer on Sunday that Waddle posted on his Twitter, but don't remember seeing any others. It's a shame that the relationship between the club and Hirst has turned sour to the point he'd reject being part of last night's celebrations, especially considering he's one of our greatest ever players. Doesn't bode well for young Hirst's future at the club.

Was just about to post this. Otherwise it's perfect.

Looked like a great night from all the posts on social media. Someone definitely needs to get that big Ron quote on a flag for the pig game!

First Game My old man got me my first season ticket in the 1992/93 season so my first game would have been Forest. I can't remember that one but I do remember my first away game that same season; Derby Country at the old Baseball Ground in the FA Cup and it finished 3-3. First Memory FA Cup Final replay against Arsenal - cried all the way home and told my Dad I hated Chris Woods. Best Memory Play-off final '05 - amazing from start to finish and the lads I go to the matches with still reminisce about it today. @oh_weds_we_love_you sums the rest up perfectly.

It was a top priority for me since Jeremy Helan left and Carlos hasn't addressed it. You only have to think back to the play-off semi final at Hillsborough to see how a player with pace can change the dynamic of a football match (especially against us) when a tired, slow Pudil was run ragged for 20 minutes.

On the other hand, if we make £2 million off Hirst and re-invest it back into the academy/club then does it pay dividends? Probably not from one sale, due to the cost of developing and coaching each youth team player from an early age, but surely selling a few academy prospects every now and again (like Sheff U and Barnsley have done) has its benefits over having no academy at all, e.g. financing transfers for first-team players, providing jobs, supporting the local community, growing the clubs image and brand etc. Premiership teams will always circle like vultures around any youth player showing potential, and we can hold on to them for as long as possible, but the truth is the glitz and glamour of a Premiership club will turn heads and we'll be held to ransom until the end of his contract when a tribunal will decide how much he's worth. How do you combat this? Rush the development of the player and get him in the first-team football and hope he lives up to expectation (not going to happen with current number of strikers). Get him on a long-term deal. Become a Premiership club. For me the club are handling this in the only way they can and are fighting to tie him down on a long-term deal. If he wont sign then lets sell to the highest bidder and move on.

What happened to that lad at Stoke, Terry Henfleet?