Goonerholic

I usually love Friday, and i’m sure I’m not alone in that. A new arsecast is always fun, every other week I only have to work a half day, and there is the anticipation of the weekend game. Five minutes of madness on Wednesday night have left their mark though. This is not one of the better Fridays.

I’ll just very briefly offer some thoughts on the trip to Stoke because there are more uplifting things to consider. First the good news. For whatever reason William Gallas is out, and we await news about the knee injury sustained by Emmanuel Eboue in a strong wind at Shenley (sorry, cheap shot I know).

Kolo Toure will almost certainly return, and I suspect will partner Mikael Silvestre. Another new pairing needs to try and forge an understanding in our weak spot, and quickly. It will be interesting to see if any protection is added ahead of them. That would be harsh on Denilson, one of the better players in the derby match, but we wouldn’t want to go to Stoke with a 4-5-1, would we?

The ‘holic pound is being placed on an away win, but a clean sheet at this time would be a bonus rather than an expectation. I’ll try 1-3, available at 11/1 if you shop around, although the two accounts I have are only offering nines. Shame on you Paddy and Stanley!

Competition Winner

My thanks are again due to Octopus Publishing for providing these four great Arsenal titles as prizes.

Arsenal: The Official Biography, by Steve Stammers, published by Hamlyn on 6th October.

Arsenal Confidential, Photography by Stuart Macfarlane, Club photographer, Hamlyn 6th October.

The Official Arsenal Encyclopaedia, published by Hamlyn on 6th October.

Arsenal: The Official Illustrated History, to be published by Hamlyn on 7th November.

I have given a bit of extra detail about three of the books in the last week. Tonight we look a little closer at Arsenal: The Official Biography, by Steve Stammers. I’ll be reviewing this title in greater depth in the next week or two.

As a club that has featured in so many of the game’s seminal moments, Arsenal: The Official Biography examines the themes of passion and tradition, isolates key episodes that have influenced Arsenal’s fate and ties together the stories of characters who have figured so prominently in its history.

More than just a match-by-match history, this book gives you the complete picture of how the Arsenal came to be North London’s most successful and fascinating side.

To win you had to answer which three clubs were managed by Arsene Wenger before he arrived at Arsenal in 1996. Of course everybody got Nancy, AS Monaco, and Grampus Eight Nagoya. So the random number generator (ok, it was Mrs ‘holic with a half-full book of raffle tickets!) has done its stuff, and the lucky winner is (wait for it)…

Dino k.

Many congratulations Dino, I have dropped you a line with the details. I hope you get enormous pleasure out of the prizes. Thanks everyone for your entries, and some of the good wishes contained therein.

Right, the weekend starts here, so if you are off to the Potteries take care, and hopefully you will be rewarded with the right result and at least ninety four minutes of concentration from the boys. Those of you who, like me, will be hunting for a decent stream, good luck. Have a great weekend, ‘holics.