LED Expert

Founder and CEO of digiLED, frequent traveller to China, US, Hong Kong, Korea #digiLED

[LED Expert @_LEDExpert]

@mikewhitesport @bbcburnsy @IamAlexBurgess Happy Birthday Swanny 🎂

[LED Expert @_LEDExpert]

@bazdjcooper @GrahamCannon Sorry to hear that, get well soon.

[Out of Context Football Manager @nocontextfm1]

The big six.

[Championship Terrace Talk @ChampionshpTalk]

Wishing Hull and all their fans all the best ahead of their first game back in the Prem.

This division feels weird without you in it but promotion is well deserved and after this week we all hope you ram Coles arrogance down his throat come May.

Here's to many maulings! #hcafc

[Gianluigi Buffon @gianluigibuffon]

Il 19 novembre 1995 ho esordito in Serie A contro il Milan. Avevo 17 anni e dall'altra parte c'era il capitano di quella squadra: Franco Baresi.

Per un ragazzo della mia età, trovarsi in campo contro campioni come lui era qualcosa di incredibile. Da quel giorno ho avuto ancora più chiaro cosa significasse rappresentare il calcio con classe, leadership e rispetto.

Ciao Franco. Riposa in pace.

[EuroFoot @eurofootcom]

🚨❤️‍🩹 Paolo Maldini: "Ciao Franco, Today I feel the same feeling when, for whatever reason, you couldn't go on the field next to us: what will we do without our Captain?"

"You taught me to fight until my last breath, what does sticking to the shirt mean and the value of being a true leader. You did it by example, every day: few words, but lots of facts."

"You protected me as a child, guided me as a boy and inspired me as a man. You were the strongest football player I have ever had the honor to play with."

"A loving hug to your whole family, especially to your wife and your children. We'll miss you, Captain. But the light of your star will continue to shine on us forever."

[Sama Hoole @SamaHoole]

Two hundred of the thousand acres at Diddly Squat grew nothing at all this year. That was a decision taken in advance, on a spreadsheet. Wheat or barley on that ground was a guaranteed loss before the drill left the shed, so Jeremy Clarkson left it bare and explained why in his Sun column this week.

One line from it went everywhere. Farmers have reached the point where it is quite simply impossible to make money from growing food. Every paper carried that sentence, and every paper stopped there.

The list underneath it did not get printed anywhere.

Because he went on to set out what two hundred acres of good English ground could do instead of feeding anyone, and there were four items on it.

- Rent it to a global agri-company growing crops for anaerobic digesters.
- Cover it in solar panels.
- Put a data centre on it.
- Sell the farm to a Chinese company for a multistorey high-intensity piggery.

Every one of those pays. The only use of that land which reliably loses money is the one that puts food on a British plate. He added that he was not being ridiculous, and that anybody in 1926 would have laughed you out of the room for suggesting the factories would be gone by 2026.

Now the bit with a date on it.

From 1 January 2027 the UK's carbon border tax applies to imported fertiliser. The Treasury's own costings put the take at £140 million in 2027-28, rising to £180 million the year after. Estimates of the hit run from around £33 a tonne to £75, which is a fifth to a quarter added to the largest input bill an arable farm carries. The Central Association of Agricultural Valuers has warned that a typical 500 acre cereals farm could be down as much as £70,000 once fertiliser and fuel costs land.

So the fertiliser that grows the wheat gets taxed on a known date, in writing, by a government that says out loud it wants food security.

Nobody in Whitehall has ever signed a policy to stop Britain growing food. They have signed a great many that make every alternative pay better, which arrives at the same field.

And understand whose field this is. Diddly Squat has a television crew, a farm shop with a queue down the lane, a pub, a lager brand, a bestselling book every autumn and one of the best land agents in the country. It is the most commercially advantaged thousand acres in Britain, and two hundred of them were left bare this year because putting seed in them was the losing move.

Every arable farmer in England is doing that same sum this autumn. Almost none of them have a production company to cover the difference.

Those two hundred acres have not gone out of production. They are waiting to hear which industry wants them more than you do.

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

One moment in a long, very full life summed Kevin Keegan up perfectly. Back in 1976, the then Liverpool footballer competed in the multi-sport “Superstars”, a TV special that pitted legends against each other and regularly drew 15m viewers. Sports stars duelled in a series of disciplines, including sprinting but it was in the two-man cycle race that Keegan again made headlines.

Rounding the track in Bracknell at speed, Keegan clipped the wheel of Anderlecht and Belgium defender Gilbert Van Binst, and tumbled painfully on to the cinder track. Bloodied and bruised, Keegan was patched up, entered the re-run and won. Typical. That was Kevin. A refusal to be beaten. It defined his sporting life but he also did it with grace. It’s one of the many reasons why emotional tributes flow from all over at the sad news of his passing, aged 75.

Keegan was a sporting colossus in the era of sporting giants like Seb Coe, Ian Botham, Daley Thompson, Steve Ovett, James Hunt and Barry Sheen. Keegan was such a charismatic individual that he transcended his sport, even one as immense as football.

He was a phenomenon in the 70s and 80s, plundering goals and winning trophies, becoming one of the first true commercial forces with advertising for such brands as the “great smell of Brut”. Splash it all over. I can still hear him say it. I can still almost smell it. He even taught me, and millions of other kids, how to cross the road. Keegan was even a singer.

He had aura, he had sporting success but what made Keegan even more loved was that he was a super-hero who reached for the stars, and touched them, while always keeping his feet on the ground. The world has lost a very special human being, emotional, funny and caring, as well as a sporting legend.

Keegan didn’t just live a great life. He seized it. News of his passing brings intense, widespread sorrow but also deep admiration at how much Keegan put into his 75 years and how much he got out of them. Hewn from mining stock in Yorkshire, Keegan maximised his ability through sheer graft and will to win. He had ability, of course, an eye for goal, speed and physical strength, but it was mindset that made Keegan special.

That mentality drove him to make it at Scunthorpe United (22 goals in 141 appearances), become a champion of Europe with Liverpool (100 in 323), captain of England (21 in 63) and two-time Ballon d’Or with Hamburg (40 in 113). In his 30s, he became a galvaniser, leader and prolific force at Southampton (42 in 80) and Newcastle (49 in 85). The numbers need stating to reinforce the legend. He delivered.

Keegan became a manager of real charisma, quotability and hunger to attack at Newcastle, Fulham, England and Manchester City. The Entertainers at Newcastle are fondly remembered, not least by us reporters as even a short interview produced a large box of fireworks to light up the back-pages.

Yet Keegan is often most associated at Newcastle as being crushed by a 4-3 defeat at Anfield, slumped over the advertising hoarding. Yet there was the 5-0 humiliation of Manchester United capped by Philippe Albert gliding forward, taking a pass from Rob Lee, and chipping Peter Schmeichel. St James’ Park shook with joy. To be there was to believe. Keegan really was the Messiah and they've followed a few.

Newcastle eventually faltered but Keegan’s teams were invariably well-intentioned. As was he. When he resigned as England manager in the dressing-room loos at the old Wembley after a dispiriting loss to Germany in 2000, Tony Adams and FA execs in Adam Crozier and David Davies desperately tried to dissuade him. Keegan was adamant. He just felt he couldn’t give the players the direction they needed. “I feel I fall short of what is required in this massive job,” he said honestly. Rather than sit tight and take the money, Keegan resigned. A man of principle.

It is through this prism of principles that Keegan must be viewed. Kenny Dalglish, who famously followed Keegan at Liverpool in 1977, spoke of his many football attributes as an “exceptional” player and also manager – “he brought belief, excitement and pride” back to Newcastle. Kenny added Kevin was also “a wonderful person and genuine gentleman”.

Kenny’s so right. Keegan was honest, wore his heart on his sleeve, and cared deeply about people and about the importance of doing the right thing. Those principles. It was the way he was brought up. And that meant respect for others. Respect was at the heart of Keegan’s infamous “I’d love it” rant about Alex Ferguson’s challenging comments about his Newcastle team in the race with Manchester United for the 95/96 title.

Keegan felt Ferguson’s mind-games comments were disrespectful to Howard Wilkinson and his Leeds players, to Stuart Pearce, the manager of Nottingham Forest who Newcastle were about to play, and also to his own players. So an angry Keegan took the bait and seethed on Sky Sports about respect. Ferguson knew he had him hooked. Manchester United duly won the title.

That was classic Keegan. Standing up for others. The stories are legion of how Keegan impacted countless lives with his humility and humanity. Since news of his passing, online filled with fans recalling his generosity with his time as he signed autographs, asking them questions, making them feel special.

Even us England reporters who occasionally robustly critiqued the team’s performances and results, especially at a disastrous Euro 2000, Keegan was invariably polite. He was uplifting company. He once took the press team for a training session at Melwood, his old training field of dreams, and was endlessly encouraging even with some of us clearly hopeless causes. As a press pack, we fell out with Kevin and swiftly fell back in. Impossible not to. Plus there was always that underlying respect for what Keegan achieved as a player.

So news of his passing hits hard, and thoughts and prayers are immediately with Jean, Laura and Sarah, all of his family, all of his many friends, and his former team-mates and clubs. Liverpool, with typical class, produced a moving video elegy. Beautiful tributes came from all his clubs. He touched so many lives, so many careers. He shaped so many dreams.

Love also came from Germany where he was revered for his commitment and match-winning contributions at Hamburg. Keegan’s locker sits proudly in the wonderful German Football Museum opposite Dortmund station. The sad news brought heartfelt tributes from Bayer Leverkusen - “Rest in Peace, legend” - from FC Union Berlin - “a true friend of German football”, amongst others, as well as from a “devastated” Hamburg who added. “Rest in peace, Mighty Mouse”.

Rest In Peace, King Kev. Your legacy remains in countless memories and trophy cabinets. Your legacy remains in how your inspiring example encouraged people not only how to play the game well but also to live their life to the full.

[LED Expert @_LEDExpert]

@TigersEarly I love these

[StozUTB 🇸🇪😎 @StozUTB]

#HCFC #WFC #UTB
😂

[LED Expert @_LEDExpert]

@thetrainline I’m not planning on claiming expenses I just wanted the refund

[LED Expert @_LEDExpert]

⁦@thetrainline⁩ here is the booking for my ticket I referred to on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Train was the 18:50 from Hull which was cancelled in Doncaster. 5 of us split the cost of an Uber - £75 each to get to KX. Once at LX I had to get a Black cab as the tube close

[LED Expert @_LEDExpert]

@thetrainline Gareth, this is from your colleague

[LED Expert @_LEDExpert]

@thetrainline My contract was with you, not Hull Trains, therefore I expect you to refund the fare and if you choose to collect from Hull Trains that is your prerogative. Do you need my account number or will you credit the card I used?

[LED Expert @_LEDExpert]

@thetrainline Thanks Cat, all done. Sent from email [email protected]

[LED Expert @_LEDExpert]

@thetrainline bought a ticket from you on Hull Trains which was cancelled last night so I shared a £380 Uber plus a further £45 Uber to get back home 4 hours late. Now your AI Bot tells me you won’t even refund the portion of the ticket which was cancelled. What is going on?

[LED Expert @_LEDExpert]

Step into out-of-this-world; Push Beyond at #ISE2026
📍ISE 2026 | Fira de Barcelona | 3 - 6 February 2026
https://t.co/schjI3Cjsm

[Hull City @HullCity]

From ours to yours 🧡

#hcafc

[LED Expert @_LEDExpert]

@SlowSportsNews Nicely done ! Hook line and…….