Sheffield Steel, Reborn!

Possibly.

Tom Barrasso. A new name to be added to the Sheffield Steelers staff. Hopefully a new name to go down in Steelers history. 

He has a massive uphill job to do. He has to rebuild just about everything to do with the on ice product, almost from a standing start. An inherited team, originally signed by the best coach in the universe, and at the moment of Tom taking over, a team very much in a well deserved last place in the league. Last place, which will take some shifting from, as even though we are on equal points to the team just above us, they have played 4 games less than us. This applies to most of the rest of the teams in the league. They have all played less than us (except Nothingham, who have played 1 more, but are significantly higher up the league, (even though this might be a false position when other teams like Belfast, Fife and Cardiff start catching them up with games played)).

Last place, say it out loud, say it softly, or just think it. Whichever way you say it, it doesn't bear much in the way of inspiration, or instil a lot of confidence for the future. But last place is where we are at, and for Tom, that's his starting point. We were in last place under Thommo for his last week with us, so at least Tom knew the score and where we were at. Also, he has watched a couple of videos of this seasons games and has now seen us at practice sessions and been on the bench as head honcho for a couple of games....

…. AND HE'S STILL HERE, PEOPLE!

So, that in itself, sends a small, but very significant, boost to the confidence levels of the fans, who have had to put up with the demise over the past, few years. Hopefully, it will also ring bells with the current team. Whether they are the best we can get, or not, at this point is irrelevant. This is Tom's starting rosta. Changes may come in the weeks ahead, they may not, we shall have to wait and see how it pans out, but for now, it's all uphill from here. 

A few things worth noting, Tom has already said "the guys are buying into the idea that we can fix this" which is an immense step forward as he has them realising that it is broken, and broken badly. 

Also, no denials from the estate agent that it isn't broken, especially as he was asked when Thommo resigned "how did we get into this mess" to which he replied "We've been in worse spots, we can fix this", so another admission that things were broken.

A quote from Tony Smith saying "He couldn't get the team to play, a team he recruited" about Thommo, Recruitment, something mentioned a few times over the last couple of years by people on social media and on the forum.

Both Tom and Tony have accepted that booing is part of the game and the fans (paying customers) way of announcing that they are very unhappy about the product on the ice, even though the estate agent just wants to call us all "haters" (and no, I will not leave it alone, as I personally think he has done more damage than good for the Sheffield Steelers).

Tony was aware of the booing and said "fans have every right to do so". Tom has also said, "Fans will start to boo if the team doesn't start to get results" and he doesn't want that, so he knows he has to work miracles and in a relatively short period of time.

Everything coming out of the Steelers office now, is pretty much what the "know nothing" fans have been saying on social media for some time now, and not just this season. Again and again, our thoughts have become fact and we have had to sit here and endure abuse from just about everyone in the Steelers office. I suppose sitting here waiting for any form of apology or even an acceptance that we do know more than you think, will mean me wading through tons and tons of popcorn, and having to bite the bullet and think, NO, that will never happen.

For now though, looking forward, is a new future on the horizon?

Is Tom the man to take us to that future?

I certainly hope so. I'm willing to give him the chance to turn things round. How long a chance, well, we'll have to see. I am thinking he will take considerably less time than his predecessor to get players to work as a team and put some working performances out there for the fans.

Good luck Tom.

Bring the belief back.

Mart.

A New Start!

Old v. New.

Steelers heritage and history was being flushed down the pan at an alarming rate. The trouble is no one was watching it, and no was willing to do anything about it. One of the main problems is having to admit your best mate, who you have already touted as "The best coach ever to stand behind a bench in this country", isn't. This is where the size 12, extra thick blinkers came out and were worn on a daily basis.

With the above statement, the Brummie had already crucified his best mate and is more to blame for the eventual crash and burn, than Thommo himself.

In estate agents language, he could try and cover it up, or as was the case, try and shift the blame onto someone else. This obviously felt like a good plan, but when you start blame shifting to the paying audience, you are treading on very thin ice (didn't mean the pun). There will always be the bunch of gullible types that believe estate agents, there will always be a few that will jump on the bandwagon and try and escalate it, and there will always be those with the so thick, rose tinted glasses on, that they are brainwashed into thinking what ever happens with the Steelers is all well and good.

Sorry, to disillusion you, but you're living in a completely different space to the rest of the world. Anyone still out there thinking that a small (and I mean small) bunch of people who jokingly set up a resistance page are responsible for the fall from grace of the best hockey coach, this side of the moon, are sadly, not playing with a complete set, and sitting there with your pink specs on believing every word from an already proven liar will only be making your rehabilitation back into the real world, that much more difficult.

Refusing to see the obvious does not make you correct. Hearing the same lies over and over and over does not suddenly make it the truth. The Steelers have been taken on a massive backwards retreat for the past 3 years, and the upper echelons of the club have had their eyes firmly shut to what has happened.

The list of players recruited, who seemed to need all season to gel is frightening. The list of excuses even more so, but the one reason never mentioned was "I don't know what to do".

The estate agent, the Star, and even the owner are massively complicit in what was going wrong at the Steelers, but after trying to blame the fans, causing a massive rift between fans with differing feelings, causing a major rift between fans and the team, bringing masses of ridicule on themselves from all other teams in the league, and completely refusing to see where the problem lies, needed to change their own, extremely blinkered mind set.

Everything said about Thommo not being the coach the Steelers needed, right back as far as Adams being sacked has been borne out to be correct, even though the estate agent and the Star have criticised every word. Continually being told "you don't know what you are talking about" or "you know nothing" is just a blanket to cover it over. Continually bleating on about the progress being made behind the scenes, while all well and good and much needed to build a stable club, is not what the fans are paying their hard earned for. They are paying to watch an ice hockey game.

Here's a quote "The hockey is crap, the Steelers are rubbish and the games are really boring, but I am so impressed with everything that is going on behind the scenes, lets have more of this crap hockey, and keep all the secrets about what is going on behind closed doors" said NO ONE EVER. These people, who the estate agent finds it so easy to be abusive to, to blame when things go wrong and also to accuse of knowing nothing on a regular basis, all seem to know a damn site more than him, as everything said over the past couple of years has suddenly come to light as being more correct than anything he has said.

This last couple of years have been disastrous for the Steelers. It needs a massive boost to get things moving upwards, with the fans, the league, the media, the feelings, the history, pretty much every aspect. If nothing had happened this last 2 weeks, I could see the Steelers collapsing completely, as the booing (not from a vocal minority David) would only have got louder, and then eventually would have got quieter as fans decided they would find other things to spend their money on. This is one of the main areas that the estate agent seems to struggle with. They spend their money on a seat ticket, on 50-50 tickets, on shirt raffles, on being abused by the announcer. How much damage will it do if they stop spending their money?

Thommo resigning, hopefully is now going to give the Steelers a chance to start a rebuild. We have to find a coach who can be just a bit better than the best coach in the universe, and also the owner has to find a way of getting credibility back in a large portion of the fan base. Hard work, I think, as a lot of damage has been done. I shall monitor the feelings and the results over the next few weeks. I have already noticed in the Star, BW has changed his tune somewhat. Is this to try and turn the anger away from him, after spouting the propaganda given to him against the fans. We shall see.

The new coach has arrived and it sounds good. In fact, it sounds exceptional. But I'm not one for hyping things totally out of context. I'll leave that to the estate agent, he's good at it, not correct most of the time, but good at it.

Welcome to Sheffield Tom Barrasso.

Mart.

Why I want to Leave this Planet!

Just briefly!

 

Frightening times.

The problem with the planet at the moment, is, we have evolved into a new species. Well, some of us have.

Millions of years ago, there were Hominids, the first breakaway from the apes.

Followed by Homo Erectus.

Then Homo Habilis.

Then Homo Sapiens.

Then to what a lot of us are at the moment, Homo Sapiens Sapiens.

But there seems to be quite a few who belong to the new species of our evolution.

Homo Sapiens Gullibalis.

These are the ones that are becoming more and more prominent around the world. They are reproducing at an alarming rate and there are powerful people who are using them to further their own devastating agendas.

For example, we had Nigel Farage and he told stories and lies and Homo Sapiens Gullibalis believed every word.

Boris Johnson told stories and lies and Homo Sapiens Gullibalis believed every word.

Donald Trump, even though he is a member of the species Homo Sapiens Gullibalis, as well as a member of the species Homo Sapiens Fucktard (very few of these about), he managed to persuade millions of Homo Sapiens Gullibalis (most of the US deep South) into voting for him.

Hence why I want to leave this planet.

Hope that clears up a few things.

 

Mart.

The Journey!

Step by step.

 

Ok, just for those who might be interested, my journey so far has included the following:-

 

Kodak Brownie 6-20

Zeiss Iconta Baby A

Agfa Silette 3.99

Fujica St605-N; 50mm f1.7; Tokina 70-210 f3.5/4/5; Vivitar 24mm f2.

Olympus OM10; 50mm f1.8; Halina 28mm f2.8; Soligor 300mm f4; Metz 42.

Olympus OM1; (added to above kit).

Minolta X-700; Minolta AutoWinder G; 50mm f1.4; Minolta X-700; Minolta Motordrive 1 (3.5 frames per sec); 50mm f1.2; Minolta X-500; Tamron 80-200mm f2.8; Tamron 75mm macro f3.2; Tamron 2x converter; Tamron 500mm f8 mirror; Metz 50; Mecablitz 75.

All stolen..............

Canon Z115 to see me through an empty spot.

Fujifilm S3500 small bridge to get me started in digital.

Fujifilm Finepix S9500.

Olympus E510; Zuiko 14-42mm f 3.5; Zuiko 40-150mm f3.5/5; Zuiko 35mm f3.5 macro; Olympus FL36 flash.

Olympus E3; Zuiko 12-60mm f2.8SD; Zuiko 50-200mm f2.8 SD; Zuiko 8mm f3.5 fish; Olympus FL50 flash; Olympus FL50R remote flash; Samyang 800mm f8 mirror; Zuiko 25mm extension tube; Zuiko 2x converter.

Olympus E420 added to above roster.

Current set-up.

Olympus OM-D EM1 Mk1; Olympus E420; Zuiko 25mm mft; MFT adaptor 3; other lenses as above; flash units as above; Giottos Pro-MTL 9351-B; Giottos Pan and Tilt MH 5001 head; Manfrotto 680B monopod; giottos MH7001 ball head; Cowboy studios 200mm 4 way slide head; 

Velbon CX-200 mini lightweight tripod. Loads of batteries, loads of memory cards, loads of filters, loads of other stuff, just to weigh the cases down even more. Numerous cases.

 

So, there you go, quite a trip.

 

Mart.

It's been a while!

Starting Again!

 

So, to the future!

I've decided to start this thing up again, so expect more cynicism, sarcasm and idiocy, as well as the occasional bit of common sense. This is usually thrown in somewhere obscure just to throw everyone off balance.

It'll still include such mundane topics as photography, ice hockey, motoring, and the world in general, although, the world as we know it shouldn't be here now due to the religious fanatics and conspiracy lunatics having proclaimed that Sept 23rd, 2017 was the doom and gloom day that the Earth would disappear. Well, I'll be, it's still here. You got it wrong (again) guys. Must try harder! Get your act together and try and come up with something at least convincing. Continually bleating on about this extra planet Nibiru and how it's going to sneak up on the Earth and then destroy it while no one is watching is just getting a bit tedious and also a bit lame now.

I'll nip back later and add a new page, but for now, it's good to be back.

Mart.

The Deed is Done!

Hmmmm!

 

Well!

There’s a thing. I have saved hard throughout the year from my pension, to meet the requirements of buying two season tickets for the Steelers. £690 needed this year, to pay for a couple of seats for about 75 hours over the coming season. It took me until about the middle of January to get enough twenty pence pieces stashed away, which by a long shot coincidence is about the same time that I had gotten fed up with seeing a few teams play ice hockey over and over and over and over and over……

You get the picture…..

(This is what we call in the trade “A Link”, going from ice hockey to picture.)

Pictures is one thing which always comes above ice hockey for me, and being able to take these pictures is quite a priority, so when my rather old Olly E-3 started having electrical problems, I was close to tears. Having to revert to the back-up E-420 was not exactly a way of keeping up with technology. So a lot of thinking went on. Eenie, meenie, miny, moe, season ticket or camera to go….

With “The Photography Show” being staged once again at Brummyland NEC and me being in proud possession of a ticket to allow me into the place, I decided to remove the season ticket money (plus a bit extra) from the bank and to take it with me. As far as I am concerned this was a masterly move. The day arrived, and off I went, ticket and money clenched in my grubby fist. Once inside the place, a quick bee-line to the Olympus stand and time to play with some shiny new toys. 40 minutes later, after sampling numerous pieces of equipment, I was now at the stage commonly known as “DILEMMA”. Should I buy one, or should I take the cash back home again and keep it for a couple of season tickets.

Nah, sod it! Spend it now. So I did. The “exclusive” show price was £200 cheaper than the shops, so money counted out, slapped on the counter and the nice guy behind the counter hands over a box with my new machine in it.

I am thrilled. The proud owner of an Olympus OM-D EM-1. With the adaptor, I will still be able to use all my Olly lenses, so everything is now as it should be. First class machine, and top quality glass.

 

I am not overly disappointed at not being able to afford season tickets this year, as most of you know my thoughts on the game at the moment. Being close to pissed off with the Conference system, meant the camera was a fairly easy choice. It won’t get any better, as all the teams can see is £ notes. A dozen games against Nothingham brings in more money than a dozen games against 4 Scottish teams, so for them, the Conference system works. All they have to hope is, that getting new bums in, doesn’t stagnate otherwise the old timers like me, who have had enough will outweigh the newbies and that just leads to decline.

 

Mart.

The Build up to Next Season.

Despair…

Well, it’s difficult to know what to say.

At the moment, I am really struggling to find it in myself to justify even thinking about parting with, in excess of 600 sheets, to buy a couple of season tickets for next year. The last couple of seasons, I have talked myself into, or been persuaded by the latest news, to actually go and pay for them at early bird prices, only to be totally disappointed by, either some new crappy league format, or some new staff format.

The past few seasons have cost me a fortune for an extremely mediocre product, none of which have lived up to anywhere near, the over hype announcements and news releases.

It has now got to the stage, where, I am already thinking of spending the season ticket money. I have already seen a couple of camera bodies that would replace my aging Olympus E3 machine, and at the moment, Tony Smith, the new camera body is so far in front, you would be struggling to see it, even with a top of the range high power zoom fitted. The E5 does look like a good way of spending the ST money, and at least I know perfectly how much enjoyment I would get from it.

I am now at the stage, where I don’t care one iota what anyone else thinks, but me spending over 600 readies last April was a total waste of money, and as such, I have no intention of doing so again. Nothing this season has given me the slightest inkling that I did the right thing. It has been full of extremes.

1.       Extreme apathy from team/coach as to what is considered a hard hitting, exciting team (as promised at last years fan forum)

2.       Extreme boredom at the repetitive nature of the league set up, and the conference system.

3.       Extreme frustration at seeing so many of the Scottish (and Hull) conference teams being shunted to Ice Sheffield, a venue I am not keen on and cannot really afford to pay the extra cost on top of the ST price.

4.       Extreme anger at being told over and over that myself and many like me have no knowledge of anything to do with the game, by someone who should have been left out of the equation years ago.

5.       Extreme despair, after having spent all this money, and then getting abusive reports and notices on various social media and in programmes from people on the staff, who really should learn how to treat your paying customers.

6.       Extreme annoyance at having to waste many Sundays, due to having to piss about and get fed early enough to be able to go to the numerous afternoon games and not get stuck in the Meadowdump traffic, because of the crappy face-off times and overwhelming number of Sunday games.

Can you perhaps tell, I am extremely pissed off with everything Steelers/EIHL at the moment. I have no enthusiasm for any upcoming game. I’ve seen the teams too many times. I have no enthusiasm for any announcement, because most of them are hollow and full of deceit. I have no enthusiasm for pretty much anything that happens on the ice, as it appears that few in the team have any either. And as for the noise, well words fail me. Sell by date is probably the one phrase which really does spring to mind.

I do not believe (at the moment) and frankly, I don’t care either.

Mart.