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When the 2026–27 football season gets underway, players signed for eye-watering sums during the transfer window will take to the pitch in the colours of their new clubs. Yet in the beautiful game we call football, talent alone is never enough; you also need fortune on your side. Let us remember an ill-fated striker who played in England during the 1990s before continuing his career in La Liga and, later, in our part of the world.

Dalian Robert Atkinson was born on 21 March 1968 in Shrewsbury, a town of 72,000 people in northern England. He signed his first professional contract in 1985 with Ipswich Town, one of the prominent clubs of that era. With his extraordinary pace, ability to beat defenders and exquisite finishing, he soon made a name for himself in English football.

In 1989, he joined Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £450,000—a considerable sum at the time. Since we have mentioned them, Sheffield Wednesday deserve a brief detour of their own. One of the oldest clubs in world football, they were founded in 1820 as The Wednesday Cricket Club. Because they played their matches on Wednesdays, the club’s founders incorporated what was, to them, a “sacred” day into its name.

Known in football as “The Owls,” Sheffield Wednesday were among the founding members of the Premier League. They were once a major force in English football, winning four league titles, three FA Cups and a League Cup—trophies that remain reminders of happier times. What followed was a long period marked by financial difficulties, relegations and promotions. They will compete in League Two, the fourth tier, in the new season. May fortune favour them, and may they soon return to where they belong.

Returning........

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