A Week After Twitchy, Will The Noddy Men Be Slade?
Nov 5th, 2009 by 'holic
A text from my grandson expresses impatience. He wants it to be Saturday when we will be at our first Arsenal match together. He is not alone. I hope it is his ‘fever pitch’ moment when he first sees Arsenal take to the pitch, that feeling he will never forget. I hope this casts the lure of Manchester United from the other half of the family firmly into the flames of eternity!
Of course it would have been better had it been at the Grove, but hopefully Molineux, and the home club, will not make a lasting impression. There will be a strange moment when we see the statue of former Wolves and England legend, Billy Wright, for he was the Arsenal manager when I first remember attending Highbury back in the sixties, barely younger than the ‘little man’ is today.
Fortunately he will not have the same memories of his first visit to the home of the Wolves as his Grandad. Anybody else remember that bloody underpass they used to march you through where the locals used to recycle half of the bottles in the Black Country down on your nut? The old South Bank was one of the great ends though, until they allowed it to dilapidate.
As I am travelling up on Friday, and won’t return until Monday, this will be an early preview, and my take on the match is highly likely to be delayed at least twenty-four hours, if not double that. You can be sure therefore that the team news on Friday lunchtime will completely bomb the ‘holic pound!
There was no news at today’s press conference of any more injuries. With an international break around the corner there is not much point in rotation. The only change I would make to the side that started against Alkmaar would be the return of Bacary Sagna at right-back. His confidence must be high after his double assist against the shambolic rabble from up the road last Saturday.
I did, however, like Arsene Wenger’s attitude when quizzed about resting one or other of William Gallas or Thomas Vermaelen. “I do not like to rotate too much in central defence because we are in a position where they have a good understanding and every point is vital so it’s not worth to take a gamble if I’m not forced to do it.”
We are on such a good run at the moment it would serve no purpose doing anything other than unleashing the best side available on whoever is unfortunate enough to be facing us. If and when form and confidence dips will be the time to tinker. That time isn’t now.
The ‘holic pound follows the assumption that we will go for broke, and succeed, on Saturday. Wolves will have a good work ethic, as you would expect of any side put out by the Barnsley Paddy, Michael Joseph McCarthy. That won’t be enough if Arsenal are disciplined, determined, and can reproduce the free-flowing football that has blown away most this season.
A similar scoreline to last Saturday is probably the sensible bet, but Arsenal to win offers little value unless you take a chance on the outrageous. I like Ladbrokes offer of 50/1 against 5-1 to the visitors. That would certainly fund a new Arsenal kit for the grand’holic at Christmas!
Silent Stan Gets Closer
It is strange that on the weekend we visit the home of seventies glam-rockers Slade, the headlines are about ‘My Friend Stan‘.
Forgive me for not commenting in depth about the potential takeover of the club by Stan Kroenke. Should he find himself in a position where he is obliged to make an offer for all of the shares of the club I will be looking with some interest at the proposals that accompany any bid.
Like nearly everybody else I am wholly opposed to anything that will alter the multiple ownership and self-sustaining model that currently governs the club. I remain mildly suspicious, if not downright sceptical, of the motives of any individual who seeks to grab control of our club.
It is inevitable that, in time, the club will fall into hands other than those currently at the tiller. If Stan is the man who will first succeed in claiming the greatest prize, we can only pray his intentions are to work with a fanbase that is the lifeblood of the club, along the lines established by successive boards.
We shall see.
So that’s it from me for another week. If I see you on Saturday, remember who I am with and keep it clean! I’m really looking forward to seeing the travelling Gooners in action again. Although I may have to lie a little if young’un asks me what they are singing about Adebayor. As Noddy Holder once said in these parts, “Cum On Feel The Noize“. Have a good one, ‘holics, “Coz I Luv You“!
55 Responses to “A Week After Twitchy, Will The Noddy Men Be Slade?”
Jesus. And I thought yesterday’s was bad.
What blogs said.
2nd reader today it seems 😉
A brandy to celebrate, thanks.
Heh, blogs. How long before I get virtually beaten to a pulp do you think?
Hang on, pulp.
The match report headline just got sorted i think…
I’m no man to criticise bad puns, ‘holic, as you know from far flung places.
what i really want to know is if stan makes an offer for the remainning shares but it doesnt get accepted what happens next???
Hello ‘holic,
A great post as always.
I hope we perform as expected and score a hatful!
I’m sure that will turn your grandson “away from the dark side” that is supporting ManUSA.
Have a great day!
red, even if he is obliged to make a bid, the other shareholders are under no compulsion to sell. Therein lies the conundrum.
It is not beyond the realms of possibility he may not even secure fifty percent in those circumstances.
Or, are his intentions to force Usmanov to make a move?
Who knows, certainly not me.
Arseblogger,
Since you appear to be online at the moment I wonder if I can ask you a question.
I am a receipent of your daily e-mail to my inbox (which I enjoy reading) and I couldn’t help feeling let down by your post of Tuesday which appeared to be very negative regarding Diaby. It was almost the direct opposite of the blog posted by ACLF on the same day.
My question is whether as a major Arsenal blog you feel any responsibility for the negativity directed at Diaby by commentators on various blogs?
Personally my feeling is we should support ALL players Arsene Wenger picks to play.
I would be interested to hear your (and ‘holics) thoughts on the role of bloggers in creating supporters/ the medias perception of certain Arsenal players.
dharg,
I suspect you would be better asking blogs ‘back at base’ as it were.
For my part I think you greatly overestimate the power of the bloggers to influence. Actually it is a relatively small percentage of the overall support that spends any degree of time following the various websites.
Arseblog churns over huge numbers, but a lot of those are repeat visitors. The same applies all round. The fact that readers like yourself are prepared to challenge what we write sometimes is a sign of a healthy relationship.
You are picking an interesting subject on which to prompt the debate as well. Diaby is widely acknowledged I think by most that I have read as a player who, at his best, is a real asset. His problem is a lack of consistency, and on occasion, the first half last Saturday for example, an apparent lack of application.
I would love to see him come good, but as players get fit I think the competition for places could see him slip back down the pecking order.
‘holic,
Thanks for taking the time to respond to my comment.
My apologies for posting a question to another blogger on your blog – no offence was meant to you – but I had noticed Arseblogger’s comment and thought I would ask him the question and your goodself while he was online. Plus I find the qulaity of comments on your blog more thoughtful than those posted on Arseblog.com.
I think blog power in on the up and Arsenal seems to have a high number of bloggers posting on a daily basis.
It would be great if all suporters were positive about the club and it’s players. The Diabys, Songs (slated last year), and Bendters (ditto) are good enough for Arsenal – it can’t just be about the superstars.
Arsenal will win because of teamwork, confidence and belief. The last two are entirely in the power of supporters (and blogs) to provide to the team.
No offence taken.
I’m a firm believer that eventually players will get the response they warrant by their efforts. I think everybody starts with a clean slate (unless you are a big ginger centre-half from Tottenham who got sent off against Arsenal back in the day!) and keep the fans on your side or lose them depending on the degree of effort you put in and by giving the perception that you care about the club.
Anybody who falls short on either of these counts can expect a degree of negativity, which is only human nature. I’m not saying I agree with it, but I am saying I think there is precious little the blogs can do to change it.
Dear Arseblogger,
Since you are online, can you piss off and leave holic’s blog alone, you glory hunting b*ll*cks!
Nice write up holic, keep up the good work, youth will soon replace the old gaurd.
Oh my,
Evening Das. See you in April, I trust?
Yes Holic, definitely, although possibly even before then.
Enjoy the game with the young lad, my first Arsenal game was away to West Ham, they couldn’t turn me.
Dharg, as long as Holic doesn’t mind – I just gave my opinion on Diaby, honestly, as I always do on my blog.
It wasn’t meant to be negative, just my assessment of how he’s performed so far. I think it’s fair to say he’s been hit and miss. Much better against AZ than he was against Sp*rs where the game passed him by, and I’m being kind to him there.
I would love it if Diaby came good on a consistent basis because he’s obviously got real talent. My gripe, such as it is, is that he appears sluggish and lazy at times and you just get the feeling that if he added the workrate of a Flamini, for example, he could be a really top player. That he doesn’t do that is frustrating.
If he can add consistency to his game then I’ll be as happy as anyone but my job, such as it is, is to give my opinion about Arsenal and the players. I try to be honest, I don’t have any agenda, I’m not trying to stir shit or anything like that.
And stick it up your lanky hole, Das.
Arseblogger,
As someone who spends a lot of time on all matters Arsenal related do you think Diaby is still suffering from the fallout of his broken ankle curtesy of Dan Smith’s reckless tackle in May 2006?
It must take a lot of mental strength to overcome such an injury and the follow on little niggles as as we have seen with Edurado. Perhaps it affects his commitment in tackles?
I recall a recent newspaper article that mentioned how Diaby’s gait made hime appear “lazy and sluggish” but the reality was that he was working as hard as any other Arsenal player.
Heh, you’ve got to love the cross-fertilisation and community in the arsersphere.
Have a great weekend ‘holic. You’re obviously going to some effort with the grand’holic, but no less than he deserves. What is that line from pulp fiction about the path of the righteous man?
You have a good one too blogs, whichever bar you end up in.
cheers.
Found it – if that tunnel is the valley of darkness…
The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children.
Well in.
Snaily, I hear you are under the weather, or something. I hope those bastard gardners stop feeding you beer 😉
A touch of snail flu. Mucous everywhere. I’m getting better though, thanks for asking!
Bad puns 🙁
Steady on Sajit. That is my best material you’re having a pop at there 🙂
Every time someone complains from now on I will make the next one worse!
Roll on Sunday or Monday…
Dharg, I think if Diaby is going to be a top class footballer then he’d better not be still suffering the after effects of a 3 year old injury. I’m not saying it wasn’t serious, clearly it was, but he’s young enough and strong enough to be over it now. Certainly physically.
I think that he’s got enormous potential, I’m remain unconvinced as to how hard he’s willing to work to realise it.
Get a Phil Collins pun on there next time. Sure the Arseblogger would love that!
Great blog as always ‘Holic. My first game was against Chelsea, when we beat them 4-0. Remember Dixon scoring the penalty and Dave Beasant having a mare.
Get a Phil Collins pun on there next time.
Let’s not get silly now.
Organised and industrious this Wolves side will most defeinitely be. We need to show up, and if/when we go ahead, not let up. I’d agree with the Sagna switch ‘Holic but I’d also be inclined to swap Rosicky for Nasri. Another full 90 for Samie so soon when Tomas is ready to step in, if he is, might not be the wisest. No other changes. Lets just bag us some goals and we can go wild wild wild.
Blogs and holic on the same thread… I’ve got shivers. It’s like watching Einstein and Nils Bohr chat over breakfast.
Interesting to see who will start at Wolves. The whole Nasri / Rosicky conundrum is playing havoc with my fantasy team selection this week. Sod it all to soddery, I think I’ll have both.
Great to see your g/son seems to be moving away from the dark side. Well done that man!
I’ll call a 4-1 away win – surely Arshavin is due a goal? Perhaps one (or two) for RvP, maybe another for Rosicky too (the latter who I believe is worth a start).
For what it’s worth, re Diaby, I struggle with the idea that a 23 year old at the peak of his physical development should still be carrying the after effects of a 3 year old injury, yet have often wondered whether his long strided ‘gait’ does give the impression he is working less hard than he is in reality. Who knows? Could be.
That said, I think he is a great squad player and appears to be responding positively to Wengers tutelage. That’s got to be a good thing.
Keep on believing 🙂
Heh, these drinks are very entertaining.
I’ll have whatever those Oirish madmen are having right now.
Pointless but true fact number 30:Perry Groves rates Diaby very highly.
*waves*
Which Perry Groves, Ollie, ours or the clubs?
Having a long strided gait doesn’t mean you have to pass the ball to the oppo at every conceivable opportunity
Exactly Gary, its partly Diaby’s laziness that annoys people about him but its also his crazy dribbling near our own area, passing 5 yards to the opposition, apparent inability to know anything about where the rest of his team are.
He has had so many opportunities people have every right to be frustrated. In some ways the dramatic improvement in Song goes against Diaby – we have seen someone who looked out of his depth just keep raising his effort and game week after week until he has won most of the fans over. Diaby has had more opportunities than Song.
To say he is inconsistent actually overstates his case. One decent game for every 5 poor games is not inconsistency its being a poor player. And when he is bad he isn’t just average, he commits absolutely horrendous errors like the Utd header. I would happily take one good game, one bad game from Diaby at the moment.
And dharg, regarding slagging players off, if we all just got on here and talked positively about everything like some brainwashed happy clappers regardless of what we really thought what would be the point? The whole idea of blogs is to hear other peoples’ opinions, whether your agree with them or not and contribute your own opinions. You are perfectly free to use evidence, stats, emotions, insults, jokes etc to prove your point that Diaby deserves a place ahead of Ramsey for example. So go to it.
PS. love arseblogger his daily posts are a must read every morning, but I find his bloggers are a bit dull as they hardly ever talk about football, its more of a social networking thing now, if i want tips on how to clean my oven or make a pavlova i’ll go to a website that does that shit, theres more football chat on here, le grove, gunnerblog etc
I say buy and wrap an Arsenal scarf around Grand’holic. That would be a nice touch to his Arsenalization.
The young one must submit to the Gunners. Any other outcome would be unthinkable, ‘Holic.
Oh, just a thought.
I think most would totally disagree but Diaby kinda reminds me (somewhat) of Edu some years back. One moment he’s scoring and dribbling like a true Brazilian, the next moment he’s giving away hospital balls to the opposition and some of them resulted in goals against us.
The Edu experiment was frustrating for me personally as i would rather play PV4 and Romford Pele/Gilberto any day.
Similarly now, the Diaby experiment is decidedly very frustrating for most (and myself sometimes) Gooners. One moment he’s putting in a very good tackle that wins the ball cleanly PLUS violently putting the opponent on his bum, the next moment a dumb pass across the midfield to the opponent.
All i hope for is that the Wenger Magic will work on him as Monsieur Wenger has given a hint at the start of this season that “this is a make or break season for Diaby” so i think Diaby will move on to other clubs or down the midfield pecking order if the experiment fails.
Just like how Edu moved on to Valencia’s treatment table.
Safe trip ‘holic. Sock it to them Brummie-wannabe’s!
‘holic, hope you and the grandson have a brilliant day on Saturday. He’ll be watching his first game at a time when we’re slowly, dare I say it, starting to replicate the kind of brilliant football we played when Henry, Pires and Bergkamp were in their pomp. With all due respect to Wolves, if we maintain current standards then the little fella is in for some great football and a few goals. And if it ends up being an atrocious 0-0 draw then you’ll probably have done him the favour of inocculating him against football for the rest of his life.
‘Holic your chances of definitively converting your grandson have never been as great as this season, even more so when we consider the impeding demise of United.
Something to spice up the wait: Estmond and Merida are among the 18 players to travel to Molineux. I really hope we will see them on the pitch although I doubt we’ll see both. After all they are barely twice your grandon’s age.
Please convery our respects to the travelling cohort. They’re our best supporters as every exiled arsenal fan knows it.
Forgot the joke of the day by no one else than our ex-striker on his new club’s official site: http://www.mcfc.co.uk/News/Team-news/2009/November/I-love-Arsene-says-Adebayor
“I love Arsene Wenger, and I will always keep that love for Arsene – he is the person who made me what I am today.”
He forgot:”..and gave me the boot when I deserved it”.
I agree with dharg – bloggers should take some responsibility for what they write. You are not talking to your mates down the pub you are publicly expressing an opinion that is widely read and passed around. Many read without posting and the readers talk to their friends and fellow supporters. Lazy hacks pick up on the ‘mood’ of the fans from blogs and amplify that in their papers.
If someone is setting themselves up to express an opinion about the players which they want to share with others they ought to take the time to do bit of research and check the stats then they would actually discover that there is more to the player than what they choose to see. All players give the ball away at times, but if someone has been labelled people only notice their errors and fail to see all the good things they do, just as people only see the good of those with the better reputation.
Also, how many times does Arsene have to prove you wrong before you stop rushing to judgement about players?
Ok, first a criticism- how fucking hard is it to suggest some more defensive set piece training? we would be *UNSTOPPABLE* if we didn’t fall apart whenever there is a corner.
Now that is out of the way- omg Alex Song you are a God. Not only is he perfect as a destroyer, he plays with his head up looking for smart forward passes all the time. He’s everything Alonso gets tauted for but with age on his side and none of that incompetent ‘just smack it; i scored from the halfway line once ya know’ bullshit that Alonso brings.
Arshavin, Gibbs, Cesc, Eduardo, Ramsey – hell, the whole team pretty much deserve praise for today until that last set piece.
also great game to pick to take the grandson to.
2nd in November. Not too bad.
Lovely blog as usual, ‘holic
Hope you and the young fella had a great day. I’ve a feeling you did
Mr Wenger.
“I just like the things you do”…..
Just got back from Wolves. A fine evening’s entertainment.
anyone know what eduardo’s shirt meant? i’m assuming it was because he watched this weeks (in america, torrented) mad men where jfk was shot but no-one told him it was set in the sixties…
Samuel. It was calling for peace in his homeland where there has been lots of gangland violence.
Excellent measured team display yesterday. Yes the goals were great (Cesc’s being the star turn – what was Eduardo doing for the 2nd – he clearly got lucky with that one). Although for me the most satisfying bit was the first 25 minutes in which we withstood the physical onslaught from a very determined Wolves who were clearly playing to an offensive gameplan dictated by their manager, ‘plucky Northern Mick’. Last season, I have no doubt we’d have capitulated by giving away maybe a goal or two in that period. Yesterday was different.
And……say it loud “I’m Song and I’m proud!!” (surely there is a new song somewhere in there for the fans – to the tune of the old James Brown classic choon)……what a difference a ‘Song’ make? This guy just is becoming more and more key to our progress going forward and, for me, exemplifies the whole ethos of Arsene Wenger as regards his development of younger players.
Finally, I’ll mention that I’ve never been a betting man. But having called the result spot on, I’m now reconsidering.
Keep on believing!!! 🙂
I personally love our official chant for young Alex: “We’ve only got one Song”.
Yesterday’s game was a strange one for me too. Billy Wright was my grandad and I’m the biggest Arsenal fan ever. Really wished we could have watched it together.
Welcome, Hayley. Your grandad was a gentleman, and a very fine footballer. Shame he didn’t play for us and manage Wolves.
Indeed! It could have been a very different story.
[…] — Rosicky on, Eduardo off. Fine, let Rosicky get the 5th. By the way, Goonerholic is at this match with his son, taking the boy to his first Arsenal game. What a first game […]