Gah! Bring Me Some Football
Jun 28th, 2009 by 'holic
Another completely news free week, unless you are a fiction fanatic. I’m starting to get the right hump with this summer. I checked on what football streams were available yesterday and found I was out of luck unless I could work up some enthusiasm for the J or K Leagues. No offence to those in Japan and Korea, but I couldn’t.
Today at least there is the Johnstones Paints international invitation final between Brazil and the United States. That will give us another opportunity to cast wistful glances at Gilberto Silva, and his colleague Melo, who is becoming more and more expensive with every passing day. I’m not sure we have seen enough from him in this tournament to suggest he is worth anywhere near the twenty million plus his value seems to have doubled to in this close-season.
What makes this game watchable is the prospect, however remote, of the USA repeating their astonishing drubbing of Spain. Now even allowing for the fact that everything that could go right for them, did, and everything that could go wrong for Spain, did, you have to applaud what the States have achieved with the players at their disposal. There is a lesson there for some Gooners, and Piers bloody Morgan. You don’t need to have the biggest names to achieve.
There is basically a week left before pre-season gets under way. That could make this a big week for Ivan Gazidis as we try to usher along deals that Le Boss would like to secure before the players get back together. However, unless you are Real Madrid or Manchester City it is starting to look as though everybody else is playing the brinksmanship game and sensibly looking for the best deals for their limited budgets.
I think we should start considering which of the youngsters may be offered the opportunity to step up in the early friendlies, and I will return to this theme in the blog in the coming week. Other than that it looks like I’ll be digging out the old videos and dvd’s of seasons past for my football fix.
Apart from today. Good luck to the Merkans, but forgive me if old memories have me cheering Brazil on. Until Arsene came along the 1970 Brazilians were the finest footballing side I had the pleasure of watching. I’ll always have a soft spot for them.
And tomorrow, of course. Theo Walcott and Kieran Gibbs should feature prominently as England take on Germany in the European under-21 Championship final. I’ll be hoping they can avoid any knocks as much as wishing them all the best on the night.
Have a good Sunday, ‘holics.
18 Responses to “Gah! Bring Me Some Football”
Thanks for that, ‘Holic. I’m looking forward to today’s final.
What’s your take on the kind of forgotten youngsters ‘holic? Yr Jay Simpsons, Barazites, Traores, Gavin Hoyte etc. I was kind of expecting them to all be sold or loaned back out but if they are being kept around it must be for a reason. Barazite was very highly talked of before he went to Derby (the Young Guns website had him player of the season) but last year he became a bit anonymous. (What I just said could pretty much be applied to the rest- extremely exciting as a reserve and in pre-season friendlies but then with first team responsibilities seemed to squander their hype. And to screw with my own point, I’ve just remembered something very similar happening with Gibbs at Norwich.)
It’s so amazing to read the transfer gossip.It’s just outlined how low class some journalists really are and the crap they wrote.
One moment we were poorer than a church mouse and all of a sudden Arsenal FC now rivals Real Madrid under the ‘brilliance’ of those journalists.
70m GBP in all.Wow… We must have won some kind of lottery.
Should’ve had a look at the J-League, is a lot more interesting than the average rubbish you get served up in international football
Same here ‘holic, real footbal withdrawals, hence thanks for your blog, it helps. Agree with you completely about not needing to have the best, but that those we have give their best. Cheers!
Before the season starts is there any way fans get can a petition arranged to have the opening song at The Emirates changed – it is probably the worse record that Elvis Presley made and it does nothing to raise the spirits of the fans or team – it is the most boring stadium music in The whole league! I am not sure how we got lumbered with this song – I never go to my seat until it is ended. Who chose it – certainly not the fans!!
Maybe England’s derisory attitude to the Confederations Cup is because, well, they’re never involved in it?
For us smaller nations, we look at it with a certain fondness, I feel.
You may well be right Aus, but I don’t think Britain is the only place where this competition is regarded just as an exercise in checking on the planning of the following years World Cup, and of little value other than that.
That shouldn’t be taken as belittling the efforts of the sides involved, who I am sure are giving it everything. The confidence that the States, for example, draw from this years tournament will take them up a level internationally.
England only aren’t at the tournament because we didn’t win the Euros or World Cup. If we did, we’d be there. We’d still be indifferent, but we’d still be playing (and would have gone out to a controversial decision or penalties, as is our way. :))
We are going to signBenzema- hooray! Ribery also, whe- hey! Champion`s League? Its in the bag! What`s more I know its true because I read it not only in the NOTW but in the Sunday Times.
One minute we haven`t a pot to piss in, and the next we are going to spend £30-40m on one player. The trouble is we all want to believe these stories even though we know they are entirely made up so we avidly read them, looking for one little sign, one quote, anything that will give the story some credibility, some hope that we really are at last going to make that signing to make everyone gasp, to send us on our way with a spring in our step. Then you read a quote from AW: “I am not on the look out for a striker. In fact there will be very little movement with us”. How nice of our manager to understand just what the fans want to hear.
Thanks for the cheer for the States Holic’, I’m an American or Yank as y’all so fondly call us, and even though we gave up a 2 goal lead to Brazil I’m still very very PROUD of our boys especially Fulham’s Clint Dempsey who was the man in this tourney….. Anyway I dont post here much on your site, but read it daily and I really enjoy it, again thank you so very much; and btw I agree the 1970 brazil WC team was the best of all time (at least in my opinion)…. I’m looking forward to Pre-season and looking forward to the Gunners finally taking away that title from Man’ure, 3 yrs in a row is more than enough for old purple nose and his gang of merrymen or is it Ferrymen??? UP THE ARSE!!!!!
Do you know, we have been linked with a total of 148 players so far this transfer window? Is the media that out of control??????
A group of us from the Supporter’s Club in S’pore will be shaving our heads on Sunday for charity. Would appreciate any gooners out there leaving a message on our page.
Here’s the link: http://www.ccf.org.sg/hfh/webApp/listShavees.php?group=1
goonerpanther
It’s not just Britain where the Confed Cup is taken lightly, it’s the same in Brazil and elsewhere in S. America. The top sports stories in Brazil these last few days have been the big Rio derby (Fla-Flu) and the shocking decision of the Palmeiras board to fire one of their most successful managers, and Brazil’s most successful club manager, Wanderlei Luxembourgo because he had publicly attacked the Board for going behind his back in negotiations with Barca for their young star player Keirrisson. There was more news coverage of the Rio marathon and the Brazilian basketball team’s fortunes at a tournament going on right now than the CC.
Mine’s a large brandy tonight!
Cheers.
Pint o’ heavy big man
I’ll have something cool and refreshing. What’s inthat jug on the bar?
*drinks heavily from it*
Hmmm it tastes a bit like… Well a bit of everything really. Is it a beery cocktail?
I’m relishing the silly moves by Man City and Real, may lead to some sort of Fifa breakdown.
…sounds like Real are planning the breakdown anyways though.