Dave Black

Sporting Eeyore – Part 21: Trophy Buzz Bonjola and welcome to February 2004. Sporting Gijon have been reeling Real Madrid in, and the once 10 point gap is down to 4. More importantly, the dream of the Bees winning the Copa Del Rey is alive and well, can they make it happen and take us one season closer to world domination?

NEW POST: The end of season 7 sees Sporting Gijon chasing down Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. There's some unusual Champions League opponents whilst the Bees desperately try to win the Copa

Sporting Eeyore – Part 20: World European Super Bees Bonjola! Welcome back to Gijon, where Real Madrid have awoken and once again we have our work cut out to retain our La Liga crown. In this episode we'll also have our first attempts at winning the World Club Cup and the European Super Cup, and if that doesn't get your pulse racing then we'll continue our mission to get the B Team into Europe and complete world domination.

NEW POST: Gijon set about trying to make up the 9 point gap to Real Madrid. They also have the joys of the World Club and European Super Cups to contend for whilst the Bees must topple La Liga opposition in the Copa del Rey

NEW POST: Sporting Gijon begin season 7 looking to retain their La Liga and Champions League crowns. Can we recruit some more characters to help the B Team become a real force?

Sporting Eeyore – Part 18: To the wire Bonjola! Welcome back to Gijon, where the once worst team in La Liga history are now relative giants. The current La Liga champions are being made to work hard in their attempts to retain the title alongside trying to win the Champions League for the first time. Let's get to it as we reach the finale of season 6.

NEW POST: It's the end of the season for Sporting Gijon and they are chasing a treble. Our domestic form is stuttering though and there's quite a gap opening to the top, can we salvage the season?

Sporting Eeyore – Part 17: Reinforcements Bonjola! Here we go again then, Gijon looking to retain their La Liga crown whilst competing in the Champions League and to a much lesser extent, the Copa del Rey. Here's where we pick up:

NEW POST: Sporting Gijon endured a rough start to season 6 but can they correct the damage this week? The Champions League group of death reaches a culmination and it's time to go shopping in January

Sporting Eeyore – Part 16: Heavy is the Head Bonjola! Six weeks have come and gone and it's time to get back to civilisation. I haven't even loaded the game since we last spoke, but I have seen two kids through the summer holidays, which summarises how my life has changed over the past 10 years since starting this blog. Anyway, this save. Sporting Gijon were rubbish in 1997 but 5 seasons later we are champions of Spain.

NEW POST: We're back for a new season with Sporting Gijon. Now the champions of Spain, the next steps are to win the Champions League and build the B Team to be just as good. Who can we attract to help us on the journey?

Sporting Eeyore – Part 15: Triple Threat Guten Bonjola and welcome back to Spain for the final update of season 5, and in fact our final for a few weeks. Father duties are calling and I don't have the time or energy to play 3 or 4 nights a week at the moment. See you in September. Meanwhile, Gijon are top of the pile with a 5 point lead, with Barcelona lurking with a game in hand.

NEW POST: Gijon enter the run-in to season 5 with high hopes of a treble. With Barcelona breathing down their necks in La Liga and PSG waiting in the Champions League there is work to do, can Bakayoko fire us to glory?

Sporting Eeyore – Part 14: Record Smashed Guten bonjola and welcome back to the always-a-little-too-long middle section of the season. It is season 5 here in Gijon, Spain, and we're playing Champions League football for the first time. Can we capitalise on a decent start? Our one blot came against Atletico, with Real fading away a little. Let's football.

NEW POST: Gijon are competing on three fronts but any slip could be critical in a very competitive title race. Records are tumbling for one striker but can he help overcome Man Utd in the Champions League?

Sporting Eeyore – Part 13: Breaking Ground Bonjola once more and welcome back to Gijon for a new season. Season 5 promises much as we take our first steps into Europe's Elite with those famous Champions League nights, provided we can see off hopefully a minnow in the qualifiers. More on that later. A reminder though of how we got here...

NEW POST: Season 5 gets underway for Gijon as we ponder how to improve an already very strong squad. There's also a Champions League qualifier and the Spanish Charity Shield as we tread new ground

Sporting Eeyore – Part 12: Breakthrough Bonjola mes amigos and welcome back to Spain, or Gijon to be more precise. It's part 3 of season 4 which means we've got loads of games to get through. There's a very real possibility of us qualifying for the Champions League and, whisper it quietly, we're only 2 points off the top. Real Madrid's insistence on simply turning up for games and keeping the ball for 90 minutes has proven to be a shoddy experiment.

NEW POST: It's the end of season 4 and Gijon have a chance at three competitions. The UEFA Cup is taking us on a tour of England whereas the usual pair are in the way domestically. Can we finally break their dominance?

Sporting Eeyore – Part 11: Men on a Mission Bonjola and welcome back to Gijon, where we're just into the last swathes of Autumn in season 4. Or, late October, if you're not bound by the four seasons. The Summer rebuild didn't really materialise, mainly because all of those players who wanted out and were running out of contract were all mouth and no trousers. They stayed, we topped up with some regens and we prepared to go again.

NEW POST: Sporting Gijon are looking to finally break the El Clasico dominance in La Liga and the form of their Scottish striker might make that a reality. Meanwhile, the UEFA Cup brings a familiar opponent...

Sporting Eeyore – Part 10: Building Regulations Guten Bonjola and welcome back to Gijon, where the third season didn't really see the progress we craved. 5th place is fine, it's a bit like when Stu's father-in-law to be is describing him in the Hangover and basically says he's a crap type of rice. 5th, UEFA Cup runners up and another crack at the same trophy is all fine, but we're 30 points off the big two.

NEW POST: Our plans to rebuild at Gijon are hit by a change of heart. There's a lot of movement in and out still and the B Team are flush with regens. How will Season 4 start for us?

The first episode of @punditsandpaninis.bsky.social dropped this morning.

Click either of the links below to hear myself and @cm9798dave.bsky.social wax lyrical about the January 30th 2002 episode of ITV’s The Premiership!

Turf Roar: Season 6 – part 3 Welcome to the final episode of this series, the Turf Roar boys are still fighting on three fronts, we lead the Premier League by seven points and are still in both the FA Cup and Champions League. Our first match of the episode sees us travel to London to face Crystal Palace. They have his royal highness Edwin Turkington in goal.

NEW from @Taitanator: It’s time for one last visit to Turf Moor! Can Rob finish on a high or is there a final twist?

Sporting Eeyore – Part 9: Going Backwards Guten Bonjola and welcome back to Gijon, where we are still in two cups and occupy the all important "best of the rest" spot in the table. It's the run in, which is a hefty 17 league games plus however far we get in the cups, so let's get to it.

NEW POST: The end of the season for Gijon sees them in the latter stages of the UEFA Cup and the Copa del Rey. Can they overcome inconsistency to land a trophy or close the gap in the league?

Sorry I’m bad at checking Bluesky. Yes please, that sounds great!

Portuguese Men o’ Wolves – Part 40: The final (wolf) whistle | @NTR9798 Bom Dia! and welcome to the final episode with Nick and his Portuguese Wolves, who are struggling in the league, but can still win the League Cup and Champions League for a second time. Will they end this story in style? For the last time, here’s Nick… You wouldn’t believe we started the season brilliantly and were 2nd after 12 games, but things have gone horribly wrong since.

NEW from @NTR9798: As the end draws nearer, Nick’s Portuguese Wolves are still in the hunt for trophies. Can they go out with a bang and win the biggest prize of all?

Turf Roar: Season 6 – part 2 | @ Taitanator During the first third of my final season with the Clarets we had made a positive start on all fronts. We were top of the league with 28 points from a possible 36 and joint top of Champions League Group E, with seven points from a possible nine. The first match of episode two is a Clarets Clash, in the League Cup 3rd round.

NEW from @Taitanator: Rob's made a new signing but he's gone again before he can make an impact. Is a quadruple on the cards for Burnley or will they come up short in the cups?

Funnily enough I was thinking I hadn’t seen anything from you in a while and ended up watching some of your YT content.

Yes this looks fun!

A Royale Mess – A Blog Squad Tale | Part Five: On Brannd | @KingOfTheRooks Hallo, hej, hello! Welcome back. Last time out Zak and his Malmo side had managed to break into the top 2 positions. Which has been quite the shock given Malmo were probably not one of the pre-draw favourites. But they have proved reliable and consistent so far. First up, thankfully, it’s the league.

NEW from @KingOfTheRooks: The latest blog squad league update sees one of the lads lose to Scottish opposition in the cup whilst the goalfest that is the league season continues

Sporting Eeyore – Part 8: Fourteen Goal Thriller Bonjola and welcome back to Spain, where Sporting Gijon are accelerating my descent to grey hair. Or maybe that should be ascent, it could be a positive. I'll let you know. Anyway, the once-worst-team-in-Spain are coming off the back of a third place finish, so now we have the small task of hunting down El Clasico competitors. It's early day yet, I suppose.

NEW POST: Gijon are struggling to find consistency. The cups aren't a problem but their league form is inconsistent at best, including a 14 goal thriller. How can this puzzle be solved?

Portuguese Men o’ Wolves – Part 39: Thrown to the Lyons | @NTR9798 Bom Dia! and welcome to the penultimate episode with Nick and his Portuguese Wolves, who are doing well in pretty much every competition apart from the league. They’ve already secured the World Club Cup, but can they now add the European Super Cup to the cabinet? Here’s Nick… This is how the table is looking. We were 2nd not so long ago, but after just two wins from our last eight games, we’ve slid all the way down to 7th.

NEW from @NTR9798: Despite their up and down league form, Nick’s men have been flying in Europe. Can they add the European Super Cup to the Molineux trophy cabinet?

Turf Roar: Season 6 – part 1 | @Taitanator After the disappointment of finishing second to Wiki rivals Leeds we are back for one final season (unless it all goes wrong) to see if we can win the league and maybe some other stuff. I make two signings over the summer, Martin finally agrees to a bit of Bene and Brazilian Glaucio has been tearing up the Dutch league with Feyenoord.

NEW from @Taitanator: It’s a new season for Burnley and hopes are higher than ever after a good summer of recruitment. However a slow start has them languishing near the relegation zone, can Rob make the tweaks to turn it around?

Sporting Eeyore – Part 7: Home Comforts Hola, Bonjour, Greetings. Welcome back to Spain where Gijon are having a wonderful time in La Liga, establishing themselves as the best of the rest in season 2 and hopefully setting their sights on disrupting the El Clasico duo next. How on earth are we going to do that?

NEW POST: Sporting Gijon need to assess the squad ahead of season 3 but can they get the players they need to improve? There's some familiar names joining the party but problems on the pitch when the season kicks off

Portuguese Men o’ Wolves – Part 38: The boys from Brazil | @NTR9798 Bom Dia! and welcome back to the eleventh and final season with Nick and his pack of Portuguese Wolves that he’s assembled over the last decade. They’ve made a decent start in the league and Europe so far, but will they take their chance to become world champions? Here’s Nick to update us… Here’s how the league table is looking after twelve games.

NEW from @NTR9798: Portu-Wolves have the chance to become world champions, but will they take it? Meanwhile, Nick receives a job offer, but surely he won’t take it, will he?

Turf Roar: Season 5 – part 3 | @Taitanator Welcome back to the Moor, as we enter the final third of season five the Clarets are still fighting to win their first Premier League and to retain the FA Cup. The first match of the episode is the FA Cup 5th round tie, away to Wimbledon. Despite some fine saves from Neil Sullivan we manage to make it to the Quarter Finals thanks to Terry and Dangerous numero deux.

NEW from @Taitanator: Burnley need to put their Champions League disappointment behind them as they chase a domestic double. Can they close the gap to Leeds as the season draws to a close?

Sporting Eeyore – Part 6: Best of the Rest Hola and happy Sunday to you. I hope you've been enjoying this save so far, I find it hard to believe we are now at the end of season two. There are 21 games to get through in this episode, so we best get straight to it. I'll work on the pacing, this is a bit lopsided. Anyway, we're well placed to get back into Europe via our league position, but I can't see it being too likely we'll break the Clasico dominance.

NEW POST: Sporting Gijon are well placed in La Liga for European qualification but could they possibly challenge the top two? Meanwhile the B Team have debt problems as we look to build an empire.

Sporting Eeyore – Part 6: Best of the Rest Hola and happy Sunday to you. I hope you've been enjoying this save so far, I find it hard to believe we are now at the end of season two. There are 21 games to get through in this episode, so we best get straight to it. I'll work on the pacing, this is a bit lopsided. Anyway, we're well placed to get back into Europe via our league position, but I can't see it being too likely we'll break the Clasico dominance.

NEW POST: Sporting Gijon are well placed in La Liga for European qualification but could they possibly challenge the top two? Meanwhile the B Team have debt problems as we look to build an empire.

Portuguese Men o’ Wolves – Part 37: The beginning of the end | @NTR9798 Bom Dia! and welcome to season eleven with Nick and his Portuguese Wolves, who are now champions of Europe! This season will bring them the opportunity to win the remaining three trophies on the list, but first, Nick has some bad news for us… After much deliberation, I’ve decided that this will be the last season of this adventure. After finally winning the league and then the Champions League, it feels like the right time to call it a day, plus the inconsistent league form of this team is really driving me nuts!

NEW from @NTR9798: Nick’s Portuguese Wolves are European champions, and all is well at Molineux, but bad news lies just ahead as they prepare for season eleven…

Turf Roar: Season 5 – part 2 | @Taitanator It’s a third of the way through season five and the Clarets are currently second in the Premier League and looking to make it through to the quarter finals of the Champions League. Our first match is at home to West Brom, despite dominating the first half we go into the break all square. The Baggies scoring from their only shot of the match.

NEW from @Taitanator: Burnley have a Dutch problem in the Champions League and injuries are making it a tough one to overcome. Can Rob bring in fresh blood to get things back on track?