Time To Deliver On That Promise, Arsenal
Aug 1st, 2011 by 'holic
It’s a different game today alright. I had the good fortune to view proceedings from a privileged vantage point, and for much of the afternoon the football matched the surroundings. It was relaxed, calming even. However, the sting in the tail was one mistake too many for some elsewhere in the ground.
The rights and wrongs of booing are debated elsewhere this morning, and I have no desire to add to the debate. I am surprised that people don’t show more patience at what was no more than a pre-season friendly, but equally understand the frustration that is a result of our delayed activity in the transfer market.
It was an afternoon that could have produced a much different result from the crowd had the referee not observed the letter, rather than the spirit, of the law when informed of Arsenal’s wish that Thierry Henry be allowed to play the second-half for Arsenal. His judgement was that although it would be allowed in a friendly this was a sanctioned tournament and he would be hauled over the coals for allowing it. At half-time Arsene Wenger again went to the referee and pleaded for Henry to be allowed to pull on the red and white again, just for the final five minutes. Again the request was refused.
So instead of being off the pitch donning a different kit in the 84th minute, Thierry was very much still involved in the action, and orchestrating the attack that ended with poor Kyle Bartley putting through his own goal to provoke the end of match unhappiness. Once again a squad defender was involved in the incident that provoked the outpouring of dissatisfaction. It was not a ‘typical’ Arsenal goal to concede, and young Bartley is not a serial offender.
To that point Arsenal had done just enough, and no more. As it was the second match in twenty-four hours it was no surprise that the tempo was a little subdued. The lead was secured when Robin van Persie climbed to head home a free-kick from the again-impressive Tomas Rosicky. His selection ahead of Samir Nasri was an interesting one. The starting eleven looked like the team Arsene would have preferred to put out were this the first competitive fixture, but that is pure conjecture by me.
Gervinho, again lively, and therefore standing out from the rest, had a couple of opportunities to put the game beyond the visitors. Perhaps he needs to do some work on chipping the ‘keeper with Carlos Vela this week? Joking aside, we do seem to have signed ourselves a proper footballer for a reasonable fee. They are still out there. Now lets find the defenders to provide a base from which he and the other attackers can bring the disillusioned back onside.
The message of the weekend is not a new one, and yet we are now one last friendly away from competitive action. The fear is growing that we are playing Russian roulette with the loaded weapon that is the Champions League qualifier. There is a growing feeling that the Fabregas situation is starting to be more of a distraction than it should be. The bloodsuckers at Barca will love that. That is for another post. Most of all though, those known defensive frailties are no closer to being resolved. We have been promised they will be. It’s time to deliver on that promise.
I would also like to thank those with whom I watched the matches yesterday, and occasional guest writer here, Bergkamp the Man, who brought the delightful Helen to meet us in the Pins afterwards. Once again Ollie was a bad influence on me, as you may have guessed by the tardiness of this post. It was good to see Paul again, still pouring the best pint of Guinness in North London.
It was reminder that Arsenal is a bond that ties. It was a reminder that perhaps drawing a pre-season friendly (yes, Mr Friend) isn’t the end of the world.
Oh, and did I mention, it was a reminder we are still a couple of defenders short?
268 Responses to “Time To Deliver On That Promise, Arsenal”
I reckon we’ll sign Spahic on the 31st who’ll probably end up being Squillacci Mk. 2.
I don’t usually come second.
That’s okay. I don’t usually come first.
fakkanguy – Spahic has joined Sevilla…
Is that McFly being a bad influence? Pint of Doom for me please.
See you 8!
good shit, jv.
Well done Dr.C @ #2, a true gent 😉
Thanks for the report ‘Holic, measured as ever. “…Now lets find the defenders to provide a base from which he and the other attackers can bring the disillusioned back onside…” I’ll drink to that.
PS: “Ollie was a bad influence”??? I note that he’s very quiet today. Was the ST good to you y’day Ollie? 😉
Gibbs doesn’t look strong enuff to play LB. Looks like he’s too easily brushed off the ball.
AW has already said he’ll buy the players when he feels we need them. Clearly that time is not now. When exactly that time will be, well we’ll all have to keep guessing and waiting.
@ Lars, still think it is crazy that we wouldn’t spend the money to strengthen the squad?
Its almost (not quite, but almost) become a moot point regarding signing players. Any of the positions that needed filling could and should have been done weeks ago (esp in defence) to allow understandings to be developed new surroundings/ tactics/ culture etc to be integrated not just by the player but also their family if they have one. One would assume this would make for a happier player and thus a more effective/ productive player.
There is not one among us that doesn’t think the squad needs improving. Jack has been the latest player to add his voice to a call for new faces.
Alas the board and the manager have fallen asleep at the wheel and not for the first time why are all asking ourselves ‘why?’
Clearly none of us really know what really goes on behind closed doors but it seems to me that IG has no power or authority at the club and everything is decided by AW. Simply Le Boss has too much power.
No Dein, No Trophies. Like him or loathe him, call it coincidence if you want, but those are the facts.
Something needs to change because this situation (lack of clear authority by the board) is becoming ridiculous.
My Gran, who cleans at the Emirates, is in no doubt that there will be big signings by M. Wenger before the Window closes on 31st August. There is much wheeling and dealing going on behind the scenes, she says, and we have to wait and see which top-class players will be joining. She tells me that all the bother with Cesc and Nasri has thrown a spanner in the works a bit, but it will be sorted very soon to the benefit of Arsenal FC.
Here is the handiwork of a Dein for you…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2021099/Barcelona-offer-36m-Arsenals-Cesc-Fabregas.html
£26 million with 8 down. Where do you suppose that came from?
Darren Dein can fuck right off.
Reminder to Arsenal. We can still say no. Cesc has a European Championship to aim for next summer. He’ll get fit for us pretty quickly I reckon.
Wenger have to go! He has no ambitions longer for our loving team, and it`s time for him to go on, and for us to bring in another top manager. There is so painful to watch this situation where the manager and board, try to keep players who are so greedy and respectless. Get rid of them at once, and bring in some new good players as Mata and Cahill.
I could only get to watch Saturday`s game, which we managed to throw away in time-honoured fashion In the second half I was hoping for a glimse of Afobe but who did we get but Eboue….EBOUE! Christ, I thought he was finally off to Turkey. If so whatever was the point of his appearance, except possibly if AW has finally forgiven him for the Liverpool penalty, after all he is on a long contract. Can someone tell me why Squillaci is still at the club? If he`s on more than £10k a week he`s robbing us blind.
I didn`t catch yesterdays game but it appears we had masses of possession, albeit of the slow kind, but created very little. Since all of our goals in this tournament have been down to defensive slip-ups, it would be nice to think that AW would finally see he has to act quickly but I won`t be holding my breath.
On another topic, I have renewed my season ticket after much soul-searching, although I couldn`t really afford to: so this morning I called the box office to enquire as to whether the home play-off CL was included in the ticket exchange scheme (forgive my ignorance) but was told that it only applied to league and Fa Cup ie. oversubscribed games. I`m tempted to write them a letter to tell them its nonesense in these straitened times.
Come on Holic, you know which Dein I’m talking about.
Also most transfers consist of part payments so nothing new there.
I’m still convinced that our beloved Cesc has sold the club out and hence why Barca point blank refuse to go above this £36m mark. Once again, conjecture, but I suspect the convo AW and Cesc had last season may have become privy to the Barca hierarchy or at the very minimum Xavi (probably whilst he was rubbing factor 6 over Cesc shoulders).
Finally you should be ashamed of yourself believing what’s written in the Daily Mail.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Holics
Hot off the presses,
According to the venerable crotchety old Myles Palmer on ANR,in an exclusive post this morning,ARSENAL are about to sign THREE,yes that’s THREE players this week.
All Internationals and 2 of them already playing in the EPL.
So there you go,all is right with the world,Arsene knows,and apparently so does MP.!!
cheers
Clive
Heh NB, touche.
Not believing it as fact, but without a doubt that has been planted by the son of the orange one.
I share your gratitude for the good stuff he did, but I have 75 million reasons for not wanting him anywhere near the club again.
@ Clive
3 players??
Bring on the dancing girls….
*looks suspiciously at Clive* – “You still in the secure unit”?
Heh zico @ #18, very good!
Clive, you’re “out now” aren’t you? Thanks for the post, made me chuckle. How about getting your mate MM to pay that arse MP a little visit with a fresh tube of spatula polish at the ready? 😉
Best I’ve seen on current state of play, in addition to Holic’s above, is Yogi Warrior @ ACLF, excellent piece today.
Hope you don’t mind the plug, Barman.
I’ve already retweeted the same piece zico.
Anyone else just take the Ems Cup for what it is – just a friendly? Obviously I’d much rather win it than not but seriously, who gives a flying fuck? People should save their hand-wringing and gnashing of teeth for real competitive games that actually matter.
Of course you can say “the same old problems have surfaced, that’s us buggered then”, but in all fairness all sorts of things could have been going on in those games. Can anyone definitively say, as a fact, that the players were giving 100% and that this tinpot cereal bowl of a cup matters to any of them? Maybe some of them were on that pitch thinking, “You know what, no need to go haring around risking injury in a mickey mouse game, I’ll take it a bit easy”, or even, “I’d rather eat a plate of cold sick than ponce around on this pitch in a friendly, can’t wait for the season to start proper.”
People who make predictions about our season based on the Ems Cup should look at all the previous ones we won and then study the seasons subsequent to them. That’s right Einstein, they don’t tell you a whole lot.
I agree with Nicky’s Gran .
Nicky,
Does your Gran drink with Pam The Tea Lady?
Afternoon tabs
Oh come on. Yes it is a tinpot trophy, but these games are meant to fine tune things for the coming season. If Schezz ir right, and we are finally practising proper defending, it isn`t producing any discernable results. Don`t forget, we are talking about things as basic as they come here.
Afternoon TS ,
From the last drinks , thanks for the heads up re Blogs bit about the C*nt Savage . Had actually already seen it and was a bit disappointed as I was going to call him helium-powerered until Blogs got there first 🙂
Arsenal world is a bit smelly this morning . I understand the frustration , but in this observer’s eyes booing is never acceptable . In this regard I found RockyLives ‘ article refreshing . Booing is corrosive and just gives the f*ckwits , whether they be in the media or on the usual blogsites , just another stick to beat the club with .
I’m staying out of it until the atmosphere becomes a little less poisonous .
Good restrained article ‘Holic .
Why on earth is everyone concentrating on our defending and no one is saying a word about our lack of creating?
Our defending is error-prone – We know that, but I find it a lot more disconcerting that our offense has stopped creating chances.
@ Biscuitbum (cool name btw), you have a point and I can’t argue with what you say should be the aim of a friendly. I just think that, knowing what we’ve seen of this group of players, they might not have been taking the games as seriously as some of us would hope or believe.
When I read about the goals conceded and the manner in which they happened, I’ll admit to thinking we’re just picking up in the same depressing place where we left off last term. I guess I’m just trying to do two things: not dwell on last season too much and get into the spirit of the new season.
On a slight tangent, I read somewhere that AW’s recent words and (in)actions have echoes of his dying days at Monaco. Can anyone enlighten me on how that ended?
Zico @ 18 and TS @ 19
Yes i was released on Sunday morning, with a very special
‘ Lovers Kiss’ from the delighful Cicilia, to help me on my way.
She has slipped me a security pass to her Rooms at the back of the SU,so i can visit her as and when my urges overcome me.
As for ‘ MM ‘, if you remember TS,dear old Wolfie and his crew kidnapped the fucker a couple of w/ends ago.
What he has done with him/her has never been revealed.
Rumor has it though that Wolfie violated MM with the 12 inch strap on to teach him/her never to mess with the Avenell Road boys.
Apparently it was not a pretty sight.
Up the Arse indeed.!!
cheers
Clive
Snir , we created 4 or 5 reasonable chances in the first half when the “A” team was out .
In the second half , we made 5 changes , players are still finding their fitness , it was a warm day , the pace had slowed to that of an exhibition game , and it was a pre-season friendly which in the wider scheme of things , matters not one jot .
tabs
Plenty of air fresheners under the bar for when the LWCs come visiting with their sh*t-stained shoes and trousers. Feel free to spray away like a randy tom-cat and open all the windows.
I’ll see if we can add a few bottles of pure O2 to the CMC.
Never mind that Blogs beat you to a He refernece to Savage, you were the one who coined ‘Lady Robbie’ 😉
Lillie Savage might work too…
*applauds Clive for the series* Thank you for a great read 🙂
Delighted you’ve made it out . See you on the HT .
PS Strap-ons not Wolfie’s style , but can’t vouch for his crew . 🙂
Tabs, I didn’t feel we were dangerous enough in those 2 fixtures, but like you say, just a friendly, “everything’s gonna be alright”.
Thank you for the correction about MM Clive, how could I forget?
Perhaps Wolfgang might know of his current whereabouts and be able to release MM, whom I’m advised now does a passable impersonation of Supermac from the waist down, on the unsuspecting, helium-fuelled LR?
Alternatively, I bet Martin Keown wouldn’t need much persuading to unleash a vicious left hook having spent a couple of days with the f*cker on behalf of ESPN. I swear I could see him biting his lip when he and LR were giving their opinions at the side of the pitch.
Lets hope so Snir , nothing that a couple of new defenders and Mata won’t put right .
Beers on the Bar boys .
nasri @previous drinks –
have you got me confused? I didn’t refer to Samba or ‘deadwood’ as far as I know, in any comment.
Is there an impersonator in the house ?
Off swimming now – will read the new post properly on return, although the title looks encouraging.
Afternoon teas all round ?
I thought Martin Keown was fantastically restrained , TS , you could see he was getting visibly irritated , not so much with the criticism of Arsenal per se , but with the total sensationalism and the ignorance , that lay behind it .
Someone asked in the last drinks why Szczczczszy has been given the No 13 shirt and not No 1.
Just a personal hunch, but I still wonder if Reina could possibly be on the way. Mugsmashers have now signed Doni, and I can’t believe that he would go there to be a number two, if you’ll pardon the expression.
We did try last year, and since then he has lost his Champs League football.
???? 😉 Cheers Steve T 🙄
Afternoon Tabs, TS by the way.
Help yourselves to tea 😉
Cheers Trev. I’ll get to that after tabs’ beer.
I so wanted Keown to do a van Nistleroy on LR and then to see LR break down and weep like a little girl. Unfortunately, there’s more chance of LWCs winning the title.
What’s with all this Tea business?
Gone soft, you lot?
North Bank 1: “@ Lars, still think it is crazy that we wouldn’t spend the money to strengthen the squad?”
I’m afraid you’ve lost me there. I will happily give you a proper reply, but I am not really sure what you are referring to 🙂
Clive, nice to hear that you are safe and alright in your new-found freedom!
Trev, tea? I don’t see why not.
Zico,
Get on board, soft is the new hard 🙂
Accoriding to the media rats, Arsene believes this too 🙄
Afternoon Lars, you back in civilisation yet?
Trev, don’t think we’re after Reina. I honestly don’t think we need a new keeper. Szczesny and Fabianski is a better combo than most teams have.
And how do you do the rolling eyes thingie?
All the more of the real stuff for me, suckers…..
India 3 wickets down for 31 runs – its curtains
‘:roll:’
Afternoon Trev , Dr Z , Lars ,
With Dr Z on the tea front , I’ll stick with the Beer ta .
TS, no not yet – we are going back to Stockholm tomorrow. Got some trees to chop down this afternoon (cue links to YouTube of Monthy Python’s Lumberjack Song), then a good night’s kip and sometime tomorrow we’re off back to town.
I’m now contemplating a ‘tea-top’, tabs. Imagine the *boilk*?
🙄
Don’t think it’ll catch on TS 🙂
‘:grin:’
Ah, it was that easy… 🙄
zico, on second thoughts – screw the tea, give me a pint of beer!
🙄
OK then Lars…
‘Oh Lars’ a lumberjack and he’s OK
He sleeps all night and he works all day
On Monday’s he goes choppin’
And spurns lager for Earl Gey’
‘holic, Good match report and assessment of our current personnel needs. Re: Dead wood in the crowd: It was to Matt who I should have directed my comment in the last set of drinks, so apologies. Dead wood meaning all present company excepted, Matt? 😉
Grey not Gey 🙄
nice one tabs @ #53
and zico @ #54
😀
Found a link to a page with all the smilies possible:
http://www.nichewp.com/how-to-use-wordpress-smilies-in-comments.html
This is how we would all look if Arsene really did sign three good players this week:
😯
This is how people at Le Groan look:
😡
This is how you would look after having had a few too many and thrown up all over the bar:
😳
…while all your mates look like this:
😆
(hope this works now, otherwise I will look a right fool…)
Thanks zico, now I finally know how to do a proper wide-mouthed frog smile.
Any others?
Tabs @ 33
thnks for the compliment,
hats off to you as well for the manic/convoluted/hysterical/mangled/
dope fuelled excesses of your own little series.
As to the HT,i haven’t received my lifetime free travel pass yet,i expect it’s in the Post.
I have a feeling when working hours permit,that the lovely C will want to ‘ climb ‘ aboard,if you get my drift.
TS at 35,
I expect an update from Wolfie once he logs on and sees my comments.
Lars @ 43
Glad to be out my friend.
By the By,
I understand the boys played a couple of practise matches at the w/end,and the JCL’s got a bit restless.
Good job my Old Dad wasn’t there,he would have dropped the fuckers on the spot.!!
cheers
Clive
That gilliumme Spanish mouth has jus said on sky that mata has agreed new contract with Valencia,with a buy out clause of 60million,he was waiting on us or barca but didn’t get any offers.
I cut down trees
Don’t wear high heels
‘Cause that’s Wolfgang Smallballs
I fear his orange Speedoes
And his golden Jimmy Choos
Superb Lars, great link. Now we know….
Lars @60 , great stuff , this could get messy 🙂
Super @ #64 too! 😆
Lars , I like a good Woodsman . The ability to get wood is much underrated in my view .
tabs,
Does Mr.WS wish to reply to our honourable friend the gentleman from Stockholm Central?
ah, too late *withdraws*
Mr Smallballs, I think you have got things back-to-front. I am about to cut down wood, not bring it up.
The wires now alive with the ‘collapse’ of the Mata deal 😐
Clive ,
I am now in a position to confirm the fate of MM , having conferred with the Adam’s Apple gang .
Apparently they offered him a choice of Death or Hardinso ( a little known Malaysian word meaning fun by Strap-on ) . When MM chose Death , they went into a Malaysian celebratory dance and started chanting Hardinso Endit ( literally death by Strap-on ) .
You won’t be hearing from MM again – his race is run .
Best Wishes
Wolfgang Smallballs
Heh Wolfgang! 😀
Lucky for LR eh? Perhaps the AAG might consider a direct attempt at Hardinso on him?
Here’s hoping TS
Dear Clive Waterman, (Gs54)
DL Ltd are pleased to offer you a seat free of charge on the Happy Train MkII for the season 2011-12. We don’t offer lifetime seats as the HT has been known to derail at various points over a season and reconstruction then becomes necessary.
The fact that you are tee-total and thus leaving more of the HT delights for HT management, is totally incidental.
Bad influence me, eh? Many thanks for the day ‘holic !
Round for everyone in the bar
If we don’t get Mata and no CB, I will have serious issues with AW and the board.
Internal Memo – Delirious Locomotives Ltd:
___________________________________
From: Professor Edwin
To. Doctor Feelgood
________________________
Subject: HT Mk II Technical Issues
Dear Doctor
With most of the seats booked and as we have now completed a majority of the pre-season testing, I though it worth reporting back on the train’s suspension and ride and how it might affect our passenger/customers.
We’ve tested as much as we can at this stage and have not experienced one single Class One Event or ‘derailment’ as they are commonly known.
We expect that the ride, on certain routes, may indeed get seriously bumpy but this is to be expected during the course of a season’s timetable esp. on particularly poorly maintained routes e.g. within a 0.5 mile radius of SHL and a 5 mile radius of The Potteries.
Whilst every effort has been taken to perfect the HT Mk II’s suspension components, we cannot simulate all possible conditions and so the following short list has been compiled which we believe could constitue a ‘Class One Event’:
1) Premature departure from CL Central.
2) All chances of stopping at a Silverware Terminus extinguished.
3) The closure of St.Totteringham’s Station.
Any other event is classed as secondary and should not cause a derailment.
Please disseminate this information as you see fit. The technical team’s recommendation is that passengers buckle-up for the long-haul and try to enjoy the qulaity of the ride along the way. Should any of the above events occur then extra supplies for the CMC will be shipped in to cope with demand.
Regards,
Edwin
80? Gotta be worth something…
Prof T E Storey – pls watch out for an appropriate response from Dr Feelgood this evening…..
Dr.z, I’ll tell Edwin to keep ’em peeled.
Reports are that we have missed out on Mata by dithering around.
I think it was Trev that said that we are currently being mismanaged on so many different levels…..
I will hold fire until 1st September, but the gun is loaded and pointing at the club in general.
Another plug with aplogies to the barkeepr. Good piece on 7AMKO if, like me, you loathe Lady Robbie/Lillywhite C. Savage.
takeabowson and True Storey
My Gran says to wait until the 1st September and then you will be able to shout out
“Nicky’s Gran was so right, all along”.
O Ye of Little Faith!
Nicky
Does your Gran also want a seat on the HT Mk II? 😉
Is it true that we will sign young innocent Joey Barton now he is free
Sorry must be the HT again
Nicky ,
I think you misread my post . Your Gran and I are singing from the same hymn sheet . In your Gran I trust .
Bloody Wolfgang getting involved again ! 88 was from me Nicky .
Yes Wolfgang, I’m a paid-up member of NGKB as well.
Nicky, Le Gran rules! 😆
tabs, now your causing errors on errors 😉
Apologies TS .
Got a link to that 7amko piece ?
So let me get this straight. There is a good faction of fans out there that believe it is wrong to boycott matches and/or to boo your own club if you decide to attend to those matches. To me, if a fan forks out the money to attend a match they have every right to boo the club. Especially when the club doesn’t listen to its fans and makes unfulfilled promises. How exactly are the fans ever going to affect change then? By writing letters to the board and Le Boss? Please 🙄
The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
It seems that the board and Le Boss did not get the plain as day message by the travelling support that ventured to Craven Cottage for last season’s last match when they implored, “Spend some fucking money!” Those discerning fans forgot to also implore the club to spend the money on a timely basis. Obviously it was an implicit request. I’m afraid when we do spend, it will be too little too late. We’ve been in this position before haven’t we? Déjà vu? Groundhog Day?
Things are not looking good transfer wise, if that happens AW will get an enormous amount of stick.
CG – My gun is loaded as well, my finger is already on the trigger.
I hope to God that Nicky’s gran is right 😉
Sorry but I have to reply to that SV – No, it’s not right to boo your club.
Booing your club is stupid and will never help, especially to players who aren’t mentally strong.
A fan can do 1 of 3 things while he’s in the stadium.
Help the team by cheering.
Be neutral to the team by not cheering and not jeering.
Be a disturbance to the players by jeering/booing.
You pick out what you think is right, I know what my beliefs are.
And it doesn’t matter how much money the ticket costs, there should be no reason to boo YOUR team.
Sorry, but I can’t accept it, just can’t. Booing your own team is totally unacceptable to me.
Good measured post ‘Holic and while I agree with it’s sentiments, I am now finding it almost impossible to remain relaxed in agreement.
“playing Russian roulette with the loaded weapon . . . .” is the most salient point to me, and while I have seen no details as yet, I now hear/read that the Mata deal is collapsing because we are dithering (that courtesy of Catalan in Spain ).
If that is true, it is inexcusable. What the hell are we doing pissing about hoping and praying that a spoiled, want-away, too often anonymous Nasri will stay, while missing out on a World Cup winning replacement.
Under what circumstances precisely does the club captain leave the stadium during the pre-season tournament at half-time ?
How much more small-time can this massive club get ?
I’m sick and tired of hearing this great, great club being talked about like some directionless laughing stock.
If anyone is still in charge, please sort this shocking shambles out.
zico, tabs – had to be Tea, I’m afraid, ‘cos I was driving.
TS was right though, zico – ‘soft’ is the new ‘hard’, the girl from Sainsbury’s told me.
Booing ;-
1. Undermines the team you profess to ” support ” .
2. Increases the media field day around the club .
3. Is completely embarrassing at a pre-season friendly .
4. Will not change one iota the transfer policy of the club in this pre-season .
5. will potentially increase player dissatisfaction at the club .
6. Is totally premature in any event .
7. Was completely at odds with an occasion in which the crowd were doing a mexican wave for most of the game and it was planned that TH14 would swap sides .
8. Betrays a complete lack of understanding of the word “support “
Trev
My source – the Spanish based journalist Graham Hunter. Dont know if that’s good or bad reliability.
Things can’t be that bad can they? From what people are saying the club management is as hands-off as they were portrayed in “Behind the Arse”? What do people think is closer to reality? “Behind the Arse” or reality itself? Hard question, I know, but somebody has to ask them. 😉
Paydirt!!
Trev – He didn’t leave at HT, he was spotted in the tunnel with TR after the game, but of course the Mail won’t write that.
I think AW was dithering on the Mata deal cause he wasn’t sure that Barca will come up with the cash.
But, like you say, it’s inexcusable especially when we have about 25M to spend without the Cesc cash.
If we lose out on Mata and Barca will come up with 36M and ask Cesc to fund those last 5M, I don’t see a scenario where AW will refuse that offer since I’m quite sure Cesc would put enormous pressure on him to accept.
If that happens and we can’t get Mata, that would be an utter disgrace.
Trev , fair enough I’ll let you off with the tea . Doesn’t sound as if the Girl from Sainsbury’s will let you off so easily . Dr Z will , I’m sure , be having words . 🙂
Dr C – I have no idea of the truth of this Mata thing , coming , going , never interested etc – I do know however that Graham Hunter will always go for the most sensationalist angle of a story and is generally wrong . Let’s hope so .
Nas@99 – my sources for Behind the Arse are impeccable – huge contacts within the Lama community .
CG and Tabs – Hunter is just like Sid Lowe and Guillem Balague.
They mostly write crap just like the rest of the Spanish press but in English.
I do wonder though what would happen if it’d be a bidding war after Mancini stated he wants a winger and we all know AW won’t get into a bidding war.
Snir and tabs,
In American sports it is a right of passage for fans to boo when they’re displeased. It’s sending a message to the players and mgmt that performance is unacceptable. When that doesn’t work, they just don’t show up.
Try telling a New Yorker not to boo. The “Bronx cheer” is an effective form of communication.
Fans from Philly sometimes boo when they are happy. Hell, they even booed Santa Claus.
Spanish and South American fans whistle when they’re displeased. They often are.
Big difference in cultures I suppose.
What do the two of you recommend fans do if they are displeased and want the decision makers at the club to affect change?
South American whistle when they’re displeased ?! Are you mental?
River fans sang like crazy when they got relegated!
I’m talking about the match itself.
You want to change the board’s decisions? Write a song about it and sing it after the match or at HT (SSFM is a good and non-harming way of letting them know).
The example of how to be a fan (during matches) are Argentinians (Boca, River, Independiente etc.), Greek (AEK, Pao, Olympiacos etc.) and the Balkans.
And don’t even get me started on the American culture of supporting.
And one last thing – Fuck the Yankees and everything New York related.
What I’m trying to say is that no good thing would come from booing or jeering your players. You would only harm their confidence.
Think about it like this.
You go to a match in which your friend plays.
He misses a sitter and you start shouting “Yo John, you useless piece of shite, how did you miss that?”.
He then scores an own goal and you keep on shouting at him.
He then scores the winning goal and you start cheering him – “John, I love you, I knew you can do it…”
I don’t know about you, but if I was John, I’d tell you to fuck off “you hypocrite bastard”.
TaBS,
The Llama have informed me that under no circumstances will they support this fad of “dropping the extra L.” Further, they have promised me that, if current club managment continue their dithering and we start the season understrength, the herd will lend their considerable bleating powers to the BBB and assault the Ems on a regular basis. 👿
I don’t know if their threats should be taken with the same regard as IG’s promises to finish the club’s “business.” Just what is that business, exactly? 🙄
The Llama representative also threated to walk/shuffle on their contract to provide “comfort” services in the Noah carriage if things don’t turn around. How will PHW ever be able to manage?
*very worried indeed*
SV – it’s also known in American sports for an owner to move their team across the country, existing fans be damned. But that doesn’t mean we should adopt that philosophy either!
Doomtastic everywhere?…Blimey!
I think we will sign the center halves(?) we need so badly
You guys just need to relax and test all the CMC supplies once
💡
*Pops in some ‘shrooms*
SV, one point of correction… the Philly fans (who are degenerate, inbred, wastes of human flesh in my mind) actually pelted Santa Claus with flashlight batteries…
They take things to a new level in that there city (brotherly love my ass).
The old Veteran’s Stadium was the only NFL stadium with a court and a jail in the basement. It was great the hillbillies could get boozed up and locked up all in the same place.
Brilliant.
I just opened a stream for the U19 Final and the Liverpool game.
I wanted to watch the Liverpool game and listen to U19 Final but as soon as I heard Stewart Robson on the U19 Final, I had to mute that…
I literally can’t bare to listen to him.
The evil smiley is evil LG 🙂
Trev @ 96
soft is the new hard? Do I swap my DMs for slippers then?
(And don’t bring that treacherous blonde into it, her ship has sailed….).
Back home.
It’s also sunny and warm here.
Catalan – feeling slightly reassured if Graham Hunter was the source.
He’s a TalkSh*te regular – say no more.
Snir – clearly he’s waiting to see what Barca are going to do, but why?
Just decide and act for god’s sake.
Sorry, but too fed up with it to say any more.
The most tedious subject of this, or any other summer. 🙁
Trev – I agree completely, there is no reason to wait and see what Barca do when we have 25M to spend without the Cesc cash.
Just use them for God’s sake.
And I know what he’s thinking – “if I spend 25M on Mata I won’t have any money for a CB” – Well Arsene, you can always sell Eboue and NB, but I’m sure you already thought of that, didn’t you :roll:?
I heard that about Mata, It`s probably tied up with our faliure to get rid of the the overpaid deadshite. We won`t be paying the extra 10m euro it will now cost us. Indeed its even possible that that could be it for this summer, and it`s possible AW just cannot bring himself to spend the money even though he knows it could mean the tin tack at the end of the season.
Internal Memo – Delirious Locomotives Ltd:
___________________________________
From: Doctor Feelgood
To: Prof T Edwin Storey
cc: DLL Management team
________________________
Subject: HT Mk II Technical Issues
Professor, thanks for your memo earlier today. Before getting into the conclusions drawn from your tests, can I just remind you that patrons of DLL are not passengers, but in fact customers. With lots of disposable income. Remember that you should only refer to them as passengers when you are communicating externally, but in these internal notes they can be called what they are, gullible marks with lots of disposable income. (Or not so disposable, but income none the less). Again, for internal purposes, remember the primary objective is to make the Company as attractive as possible for the day when we float on the stock market, and float away ourselves on a purple cloud of Happy Train loot.
I note your 3 Class One Events and on the whole agree, that only these things will result in complete derailment, but what you are unaware of is I have had a secret testing team working on an additional layer of protection for the potential bumpy trip ahead – suits of individual bubble wrap. These are a bit like the Peruvian Anti Riot Suits, but on the whole look much more benign. Each passenger gets equipped with a Bubble Wrap Suit (BWS) on embarkation, and there may be a requirement for DLL employees to assist some individuals into these suits for their own protection, should they partake too readily at either Bar or Cabinet.
In a further development, behind the scenes, we are feverishly working on sending a decoy locomotive train down the track before the football season starts in earnest – this will be a ghost train where the disgruntled can all go “Boo!” to their hearts content.
Anyway, Edwin keep up the good work. Lots to do before we get to Newcastle on Saturday week.
Lonestar – personally glad to see that PHW still has such influence. I believe it was his rant about greediness that first caused the L(l)amas to drop their quite unnecessary extra ‘l’.
If we don’t get this club sorted soon, we Gooners will soon be having to drop our extra ‘o’s. 🙁
That reminds me of one of my favourite old North Bank chants, directed at Man City fans one bizarre day, of ‘what’s it like to have no E’s’. North Bank regulars of the time may remember ?
No TS, zico, the E’s were not drug related. 😉
Stingy – I can’t really add to what Snir and Charlie have written @106 and @109 . SSFM at Fulham was as good a way as expressing discontent as anything I can come up with , and was , and is , a sentiment I agree with , as long as it is used with’Holic’s emphasis on the SOME .
Lonestar @108 – Please accept my apologies , and my confirmation that such a slip will not occur again 🙂
As for the LLamas threats , you’re the Boss , tell em to get in line and do their job . They’re under contract right ? That should mean something … … it doesn’t ? … Oh !
zico 🙂
But Bubble Wrap Suits ? This is going to result in serious embarassment should any passenger/customer attempt to sit down in transit.
May scare Cusop and the pets ? 🙂
Heh, Trev, just wait till they get into the Sports carriage in their suits, we’ll charge extra for spectators. (For “we” read “they”).
Oh and anything that upsets Cusop is got to be worth having on board anyway. 🙂
I’m with Trev , after the copious pints , we might need a wee . Could lead to chaos .
Snir, TABS and Trev. Happy to hear your assessment of Hunter. Hope that you are right.
Still, I have my gun, and it is loaded. So does Snir. Maybe we should have an armoury car on the HT MkII ??
Snir,
No time to reply fully as I’m watching the UEFA U19 Final at the moment. ESP 1-1 CZE after 90′.
I believe the River Plate fans rioted and tore up the Monumental after the game which relegated them 😉
I’ve got another Barça crack (ace) for you. Delefeu. He’s 17 wearing #17 today. He just got promoted to Barça B this season and almost got into a senior team match last season. He’s loaded with pace and loves to take defenders on. He’s causing the Czech defense havoc today out on the left wing. This guy could be something really special. I know you’re going to rip him now.
Anyway, I’ll catch up on the drinks after this match. You’ve said that we’re dithering on Mata is spot on. We bitch at FCB for being cheap and trying to get the best price for Cesc while we dither and try to get the best price for our targets. It’s basic economics I suppose (buy as low as you can and sell as high as you can). However, at some point, our dithering on targets is beyond stingy. It’s becoming unprofessional. Especialy when our weaknesses in defense are so profound and have been for years. Mgmt is negligent and unprofessional. One friendly left, less than two weeks to the start of the campaign. It’s almost criminal 🙁
Bubble wrap and needing a wee….. I actually witnessed the results of that unfortunate scenario once! Perhaps a tale for a different blog…
Having seen Liverpool’s (the team an increasing number of people are saying will bump us out of a top four slot) pre-season results so far, I eagerly await for newspapers such as the Independent running a full page article on this (like said article did for us today) and saying how it clearly means their season is doomed to abject failure already.
tabs @ 164 – what’s wrong with chaos? The last thing we need is order – that might attract the fraud squad 😉
Charlie, spot on. Sad thing, so many of our “supporters” believe them.
Ah TaBS,
Touche. Thanks for the salient rejoinder.
Believe me, I run Lonestar Ranch LLC with a ruthlessly, firm hand. (No comments from you Wolfgang – or, I’ll send some llama wranglers out your way) I have informed the disgruntled bleaters that – to quote our fearless leader PHW – “They can fuck off.”:shock:
One can take only so much of this “We’ve got South American DNA” crap. FFS.
I presently intend to call up my shearing and glue-making contacts, as I have a solution in mind for the malcontents if this crap continues past mid-August.
As I said earlier, my only concern is for the hardworking, “dedicated” passengers/customers on the HT Mk II. They work hard for their money and “deserve” glory, honors, and a well-stocked Noah’s carriage. I fear I may be unable to deliver that final demand. If AW and the board get things squared away, we might be able to provide the other two.
Beer, beer, beer, said the pirate…
😯
This is what happens, when you give toys away, Lars…
SV – About fans and stuff, I’ll link a couple of videos for you to understand what I think a supporter should do in the stadium (and yelling D-fense, D-fense every 30 minutes or handing out high fives after their team score isn’t enough).
About Mata – It is not like Barca. Barca are trying to unsettle the player and buy him on the cheap for 3 years.
We are dithering cause we are looking to buy him with cash that we’re supposed to get from a different transfer.
Now for the main event –
Maccabi Tel Aviv 2 – Zeljeznicar 0
Zeljeznicar fans – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtiwwHgwclg&feature=player_embedded
Aris Saloniki 1 – Penarol 2 (A FRIENDLY!!!)
Aris fans – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LIIRyqWNuA&feature=player_embedded
Manchester City 3 – Aris 0
Aris fans – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aht_zVymRW4
Notice how I only linked videos of losing teams’ fans.
That’s SUPPORT!
Boca 1 – Estudiantes 2
Boca fans – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgAL91EP7ic
Holic, please approve my 132 comment, it says it’s awaiting moderation 😀
My Gran has looked into her mystic ball (as used in the last World Cup) and says: “Look out for young Ryo Miyaichi. If we can get a permit for him, he will be THE sensation at Arsenal during 2011/12”. Next May, Gooners will be saying “Nicky’s Gran has done it AGAIN!!!!
Gents and ladies, I have to say this Noah’s carriage is sounding all too delightful to allow the likes of Cusop inside. 😉
8 Ball – rest assured, we will find appropriate menial duties for the Marshman, and of all the pets he’ll be the only one that really needs a cage
ESP 3-2 CZE AET UEFA U19 Final.
The Spanish are now the current WC, Euro, UEFA U21, and UEFA U19 champs. They are really, really, really, really doing things right in Spain. They are a football factory that just keeps churning them out. Is anyone at the English FA and the rest of the UK taking notice? They may just be doing things the proper way over there.
Hey Snir, LG, 8ball, and any other American ‘holics – What are you boys doing dragging things out so long regarding increasing your Debt Ceiling over there? Talk about taking things to the last minute. Now that’s dithering.
Who thinks Le Boss would make a fine politician?
Oh. I almost forgot. Spain are also serious contenders for the U20 WC.
I remember the days when Spain were even bigger underachievers than England. This winning everything just doesn’t feel right somehow!
Mata may not be an ideal target after all. He’s probably a phone call away to reveal his Real Madrid DNA and we’ve got many pocket-sized players already. He’s possibly not our first choice in an ideal world given how many times we’ve stated our interest in Eden Hazard. And all our transfers deals have historically happened at the very beginning and end of transfer windows, I can’t recall a deal in the middle of it. So perhaps this is why we let his release clause run out. Still it’s impossible to ignore that both Arsene and the player have stated in the last few days they were interested in the move.
I accept the argument that the football operations are only breaking even and that it will be another 3 seasons before we’ll make 15-30M more a year with our renegotiated sponsoring contracts. I understand that we’ll have soon to substantially increase the wages if we don’t want more Flamini – Nasri – Hleb scenarios. And we’ve already spent money on Gervinho and Jenkinson.
I also understand that it’s wise to plan for success (huge wage increase would more than offset the additional TV income as happened to Barca) and failure (losing 30M from CL money).
But we’ll already more than offset the money we’ve spent this summer with the sales of Clichy, Bendy, Eboue and JET (and errrr Almunia?). We can sell Nasri for 20M in a heartbeat (maybe a bit less if we don’t want him to play in Manchester).
Back in May the Swiss Ramble had a very detailed post about our available funds: http://swissramble.blogspot.com/2011/05/arsenals-transfer-budget.html. Of course assumptions had to be made but even his lowest estimation of available money is north of 50M (let’s not forget the “ring-fenced” money from the property redevelopments) even if not all of it is there for transfer fees.
The question is: Considering how it looks like again we’re planning on sales to fund purchases, is the board really releasing any of that money? I’ll wait until the end of the transfer window to form a definitive opinion but meanwhile I’m starting to seriously doubt it.
CG @98 – From my experience and perspective, Graham Hunter is a very well respected and reliable source. He’s far more reliable than Sid Lowe for my money.
SV,
Tsk, tsk, tsk, remember the “No Politics in the ‘Holic Bar” pledge… 😉
Zico, please pass along to Dr. Feelgood and the other primaries at DL Ltd. that my understanding (purely as a vendor of course) that no “undesireables” like Cusop, BBB-card carrying members, etc. would have access to the Noah carriage.
I can’t have trogs and their ilk molesting my well-cultivated llamas. Even comfort-llamas have their limits, therefore I would consider admittance of such hooligans to be a breach of contract.
Of course, this objection in no way speaks to my readiness to receive and pay for my seat on the HT mk II in my capacity as a supporter…
@Charlie: too right about Liverpool. They spent shitload of money so I guess it’s ok losing to Hull and drawing in Norway.
As for Spain it goes in cycles. I’m surely not the only one to remember Italy lording over the world for a decade of drab football. If it wasn’t for Barca’s cuntish behavior towards us I’d be actually pretty happy about Spain’s streak. At least they’re decent to watch.
Charlie @128 – Couldn’t agree more .
Dr Z @129 Good point , well made . I’m still hoping to be in a Peruvian though 🙂
Lonestar @130 🙂 I have every faith in you that those Llamas will be delivered ship-shape and on time . If all else fails , start munching on a llama burger in full view . I dont think this present militancy would survive that .
Nicky @134 – Once again I think your Gran is on the money . Big if about the work permit though .
I still disagree with you fine gentlemen regarding booing. You make very good points and I understand where you are coming from though. We can agree to disagree and still have drinks (virtual or real) 😉
I have two serious questions for everyone and anyone out there:
1) What % of the 60,000 at the Grove boo for a competitive match?
2) Name any grounds in the EPL (or the UK) which are known to boo their team when the team underperforms? This is largely an English/UK cultural thing, not booing, I take it.
LG, In light of the present all-out media attack on all things Arsenal, it could be time for the Trojan llama defense. Do you have a giant one for the purpose?
heh, sounds like a marvellous idea, bt8bnn.
Lonestar,
Cusop was our first pet and the animal carriage was constructed solely for him (until we found out about Dr C and his Nanny). You will just need to get your herd to man up, (or Llam up or whatever it is they do).
SV – I can’t believe what you just said.
A UK thing not to boo? Just wait till Holic approves my message @132 and you’ll see what I wrote :D.. It’s all videos of teams’ fans that are losing and see how they act.
Matt – It’s quite clear that we have 25M to spend without selling either Cesc or Nasri but yet it seems as though it’s becoming less and less likely with every AW presser.
Apparently the release clause was always 60M but it was a gentlemen’s agreement between club and agent to allow him to move clubs at around 22M.
According to Mata’s father we DID bid but Valencia rejected the offer. The deal isn’t dead yet.
DF,
Thanks for the update. BWS for the passengers and a Ghost HT for the BBBs in particular are a stroke of genius. Would be v.int to meet with the chief of the shadow test team. I may have some ideas…
Anyway, forgot to add earlier that in the unlikely event of a derailment, we have designed the pets carriage to spontaneously combust so that our resources post crash can be conserved. In a nutshell, we won’t be wasting the ultra pure contents of the GT, WT or MT on creatues that can’t or don’t deserve to enjoy such pleasures. If the self combusitng doesn’t work then all members of the Security Carriage are given orders to set flamethrowers to toast and to shoot any surviving pets on site. Trust you approve of this in the interests of self-sustainability.
I’ll leave the continuing work on the IPO in your capable hands.
Edwin
tabs @ #97,
I’m clapping here. Well said sir. The media are having a field day now as a result of y’day’s events. Hopefully, we can now move on and focus on the really important things like preparing for some crucial games of football in August.
Come on Arsenal, hands of c*cks & pull up socks, PLEASE!
LG @ #131,
😆 😆
@SV/145: It’s a cultural thing across Europe, things have to get really bad before teams get booed.
I’ve been living in the US for quite a while and it’s very different here. I found it very hard to explain on multiple occasions. The way I see it, sports in an entertainment in the US whereas in Europe for a long time being a supporter was akin to being in a gang, you’d get behind your brothers whatever happens.
You wouldn’t believe it today by looking at the ticket prices in modern football but not so long ago football was a sport for the working-class/blue collar masses (and the unemployed too I shall add). The local club was more than family, it was the most important thing in the life of many. You wouldn’t get away insulting or disrespecting their players or their team and an average second-division game was as heated as CL games are today. People were 100% behind the team and the players were giving it back, considering most of them grew up in the vicinity.
Things have changed since then, the US conception of pro sports is spreading in Europe for many different reasons. I think we’ll only see supportive crowds again for a few exceptions like big CL games and cup finals.
I understand that from an entertainment perspective booing is OK if you feel you don’t your money’s worth. But a supportive crowd adds 5-10 points to the season’s tally. If you want your kid to succeed you encourage him, same goes for your team.
Not that long since Gooners responded to a big match defeat with class…
LG,
Can I just assure you that Llamas are completely excluded from the scenario descibed above in the unlikley event of a ‘Class One Event’
Edwin
tabs @ #92
Here’s that link for you….
http://www.7amkickoff.com/
`Holic, indeed we’re blessed with the best away support.
We should petition for the right to stand during games and lower ticket prices. Then we’d see that kind of class at home too.
Matt @143 – I agree that watching Italy is painful and always has been. But I don’t recall Italy winning as consistently at so many levels in such a short span of time as Spain is right know. And Italy never won ‘the right way’ in my lifetime. Spain is winning ‘the right way’ right now and therefore their success should be more consistent going forward.
Snir @101 & 117 – I agree with you regarding Mata. See, we can agree after all 😉 However, your recollections of Argentinian footy differ from mine. The players are lend unto the field inside expanding protective bubbles, are separated from the fans by fencing, barbed wire, and sometimes moats, and have riot police inside the stadia instead of stewards for a reason 😉
tabs,
Prof TES and Wolfgang making the same mistakes.
Edwin, get back in your cage please 🙄
Matt – Agree completely.
Sports here (U.S) are no more than entertainment and not “life or death” issues apart from places such as New York, Boston etc.
And even in Boston, the Patriots were contemplating on moving to Connecticut.
It is not only a Europe thing, have a look at the video I put on for Boca vs. Independiente.
It is the US where they don’t have the actual cheering culture.
England is a bit of a problem too cause most (not all) chants are merely chants and not songs therefore they last 1 minute tops.
The ambition for crowds like Aris, Pao, Boca, Partizan etc. are 90 minute cheering, it’s quite hard with chants (for instance the Eboue song – 7 Nations Army, is one of the most successful songs among European crowds).
Granted, it’s hard to sing and not chant with no drums and I know that drums are not really allowed with the stewards being cunts.
Lonestar @130 – heh! 🙂
TS , thanks for your kind words , and the link . I hadn’t got the acronym , a crime on these pages 🙂
Sky Sports News…
“The 23-year-old is a man in demand as he is now into the final year of his Los Che contract, meaning he could leave for free next summer.”
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_7076536,00.html
Guardian…
“He has four years to run on his contract at the Mestalla, which he renegotiated after he returned with the Spain squad from their triumphant World Cup campaign last year.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/aug/01/arsenal-valencia-juan-mata
Make your minds up for Christ’s sake 🙄
Nas @ 146, unfortunately, given their reproductive proclivities, the Llamas are very much averse to Trojans or anything else prophylactically related…
I will look into some other variant on the Greeks-bearing-gifts paradigm.
Zico @ 148, the llama have now become all “unsettled” at your latest pronouncement.
That is all. 😀
You guys are being way too harsh on Italy, the best Italian national sides have been a joy to watch (OK granted the worst ones – 1996, 2004, 2010 – are dismal) – and Paolo Maldini is one of the best players of the last 25 years or so (I’d say only Maradona, Zidane and Messi rank alongside him).
Cheers Matt for your explanation.
Can anybody answer my two Qs @146 though? I’m still interested in that.
I’m not so sure it’s a uniform thing across all of Europe though. In Spain, fans will first whistle (instead of boo) and if they’re really disgusted with their team they will wave their white handedchiefs at their own players as a sign of surrender, shame, pity, etc. And although I’m not saying we should sack AW, but a ‘big club’ in Spain and Italy would never tolerate going six years without silverware (seven without a title). No matter what that manager’s prior track record is.
By big club in Spain you mean the only two that can win things? Spain is Scotland with more fans.
Prof @ 155, thank you, kind sir, for the reassurance… the llama (and their masters) are sensitive folk.
Trojan Llamas, ‘nasri? Heh, marvellous! 😀
Well I did try to warn you all.
Did I not say that the presence of the Yanks would lead to nothing but trouble ?
There I was, sitting most comfortably in my specially adapted hospitality box – I’d had the thing soundproofed for the weekend against all those dreadful trans-atlantic accents, quite unbearable, what? – when in burst Gazidis panic stricken assistant screaming “Boos”.
“G and T” please old boy, I replied. No, he informed me, I didn’t understand. The idiots were actually booing the team, or Arsene, or who knows what .
But it’s a fucking friendly, I told him, such as any game against their sort could ever be friendly.
Typical, they come over here and sit in our seats, their team does nothing for most of the contest, they fire in one bloody shot in the final throws of the contest, which we actually have to score for them, and then off they go with the trophy like they won the thing all the time.
Plus ca change, as Arsene keeps telling me . . . .
As your Chairman, I have to say that I have not the first idea what is going on just now. I have, I’m afraid, been most royally stitched up by our own Stan Kranky – do you see what I did there, with the old rhyming slang – but I’m sure Gazidis will be here to inform you all soon enough.
Won’t he Takeabowson ?
Have you ever been stitched up Takeabowson, have you ? . . . . 😉
SV – Spanish fans are a disgrace.
To wave white handkerchiefs to Barca when they’re dominating every single team in the world is beyond criminal.
I answered you plenty of times with video evidence 🙂
Have a look at my 96,106,107,132,133,150 and 160.
Have a look at the first video of Zeljeznicar fans. Bare in mind that they’re losing 2-0.
‘Holic @163 –
don’t get wound up ‘Holic, once you go we’ve all had it. 🙁
And Italy is shit as well, so much shit that the Mafia took control of the Fossa Dei Leoni (Milan’s group).
Charlie @ #128,
Well said. It’s all ABA at the moment ‘Anyone But Arsenal’. In the immortal words of Tricky Dicky ‘f*ck ’em’
Only when Wolfie’s around Mr Hill Wood Sir . Preventitive measure I should add Sir , and not as a result of any damage actually inflicted Sir 🙂
Someone, please fetch PHW’s medicine. I think Lady Nina has hidden it from the old man.
The “Yanks” 🙄 won the cup all fair and square. [Don’t make me go and get all patriotic…]
*looks for musket and “powder”*
Well done PHW,
Over-paid, over-sexed and over-here, eh?
We’ve just set Anglo-American relations back over 50 years.
You’d better try and patch things up a little with Stan The Kranker. Who knows, he may even be sufficienlty outraged to respond in person???
Not wound up at any inaction, Trev. Just piss-poor reporting. This ‘buyout clause expiring’ stuff is astonishing, and utter bullshine.
Have to say one thing though. I was, like a number of others, party to a list of deals planned for the summer. Now I know that you need willing buyers for those you wish to offload, and willing sellers for those you wish to buy.
There are four weeks left of the window, and nine deals still to be done. They won’t all happen, that much is now clear.
I still believe the negativity should be put on the back burner until the window is closed because we aren’t close to knowing how much is going on. It would be so disappointing though if we don’t do the very few incoming deals that should make us competitive at the top level.
9 deals?
Am I missing something here ?
NB52, Almunia, Eboue, Greedy Frenchman, Cesc, Mata, CB is what I could think of… I’m still missing 2 more 😀
@SV: nothing is set in stone. First at international level, the number one rule is to never rule Germany off 😉
Then look at France, they looked set for a decade of domination and where are they know? Their team imploded, none of the “new Zidanes” really delivered and their youth champions haven’t made the step up.
Not saying the same will happen to Spain but consistency at that level is one of the hardest things to achieve with competitions every 4 years.
@Charlie, you’re right that we’re a bit harsh with Italy but it’s a bit telling that their best player ever is a defender 😉
@SV: The thing is managers are fired for underperforming. Considering RM and Barca have consistently the biggest budget in Europe, not winning anything is a terrible performance. On the other hand, Moyes has never won anything with Everton in 9 years and by everyone’s account he is performing admirably given the budget at his disposal.
At Arsenal our football budget has been half that of our top competitors in Europe since the move away from Highbury. From the board’s perspective the ROI generated by Arsene has been exceptional. On the basis of their investment we shouldn’t even be in the CL. Fans who chose to ignore the financial reality can blame it all on Arsene but with that kind of budget a change of manager will more likely send us downwards than upwards.
That doesn’t justify one bit why we’ve yet to see a single penny from the properties redevelopments invested in the team.
‘Holic @ #178
Of the nine deals ‘still to be done’, can you divulge how many are incoming and how many are outgoing?
Mark Spitz ?
@Snir:
Jet, Denilson, Bendy, Almunia, Eboue, Almunia out
Gervinho, Jenkinson and 2 new players in
Cesc, Nasri like new signings.
That’s 12 deals for you 😉
It’s certainly a cliffhanger to go to bed on .
My best guess :
Out – Almunia , Bendy , Eboue , Fab , Squill .
In – Jag , Mata , Def Mid , Benzema .
Oh forgot Diaby back in 10 weeks aka 4 months. That’s our winter window’s new signing.
Matt @ #183
Some good posts mate, however….
Almunia: so bad he’s leaving us twice? 😉
@TABS: After the praises heaped on Frimpong by none other than Riquelme, there’s our new DM. Not that I mind…
‘holic – I think you’ll find that other Spanish clubs have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League (and even had an all Spanish final) and been to the final of the UCL (much like us, might I add) during this century. Comparing La Liga to the SPL is a bit disengenuous and a cheap shot with all due respect.
Yep you’re right Matt , so who’s the ninth ? Keeper Back up ? Enrique ?
Yet another take on the Mata deal
http://www.footylatest.com/juan-matas-father-confirms-arsenal-offer/23304
I haven’t a f’in clue who or what to believe but I’m certain that Arsenal would have gone into this, or any other deal for that matter, extremely well prepared and with eyes wide open.
tabs @ #189
Maybe it Wolfgang?
Real Madrid 31, Barcelona 21, Atletico 9, Bilbao 8, Valencia 6, Sociedad 2.
Rangers 54, Celtic 42, Aberdeen 4, Hearts 4, Hibs 4, Dumbarton 2.
The defence rests.
@Trev: Almunia? 5 times if need be 😉
I’m a bit harsh again, I remember he had one good season. Say, how about 3 times out?
Wolfie @73
Many thnks for the update,with MM out of the way,
I am sure the SU will be a much more enjoyable place to visit next summer.
Zico @ 76
Peerfectly understand re my lifetime TP.
I just require your confirmation that it will be renewed each season FOC,once the HT is confirmed as Railworthy.
To all Grumpy Holics
Just be glad you are not a Hearts supporter.
They have sacked the manager after just 2 games.!!
PS,i have heard a whisper that The Arsenal Management have been so impressed with Wolfies escapades that they are trying to sign him to a long term contract to play CMF,when Fabricated and Nauseous piss off to ‘ Greener ‘ pastures.
I gather the only thing holding up the deal is Wolfie absolutely refuses to sign unless he can play wearing his Speedos and Jimmy Choos.!!
TS @191 , injury prone .
Oxlade Chamberpot ?
LG, Settle down, I’m not advocating llama birth control or anything of the sort. Go forth and procreate, I always say, not least of all when it comes to hoofed animals. 😉
You heard right Clive 🙂 that was actually in this week’s concluding BTA !
Let me guess … ‘holic’s remaining deal to be done is an experienced and decent new left back?
C’mon Holic you can’t keep us hanging!!!!
9 deals you said, but I can’t gather 9, help me out here 😀
@Tabs/189: Joey Barton on a free. What more do you want to know?
Seriously my crystal ball’s as muddy as ever. If anything Arsene’s poker play has gone up a notch this season 😉
Clive@194
My pleasure , or rather I should say , the pleasure of the Adams Apple Gang .
tabs @ #195
No, its that Big Soup Campbell. A ‘done deal’ according to Gunnerblog.
If Joey Barton’s the answer Matt , then what on earth is the question ?
Ah TS you’re right .
Incomings revised to Jags , Mata , Campbell , Oxlade .
Hmm – Balance doesn’t look right to me .
@Clive: Lol at the Hearts reference, I had all forgotten about the other russian oligarch and his desire to win the CL.
@TABS/203: the ninth?
I always thought that Roberto Baggio was Italy’s best creative player. But yeah, other than that most of their best players have been defenders and GKs.
I thought we had a transfer kitty at the start of the window and that we have known for quite some time that our weakness is the back five. The real games start mid August. Waiting until the end of August, when the window closes, and not taking care of our obvious back five deficiencies during the beginning of the window is negligent, unprofessional, and approaching on criminality.
Waiting on the situations of both Cesc and Nasri has nothing to do with the back five. We should be trying to improve and not just trying to hold serve.
I’m very disappointed at this point. I may need a real drink soon.
Matt @193 – how come folks keep replying to me for comments I haven’t made. Didn’t mention Almunia I’m afraid. 🙄
tabs,
For balance, what about S.Parker in on loan, and Oxlade stays in his Chamberpot?
I’d rather have Joey than Oxlade for next season…. him and LJW could go around and threaten a good chinning to any player that even thinks about leaving before thier contract is up. They could be the twin Tebbits to Arsene’s Thatcher? 😉
Apologies to Trev and TS for mixing you up guys. Trev I take it you’d like us to keep Almunia then?
Just kidding…
In repsonse to #207
I can assure anyone who hasn’t met us, that Trev and I are quite different looking in real life.
I’m looking at you Matt 😆
Matt@205 – ‘Holic outlined 9 deals yet to be done @178
Tabs @ 197
I look forward to the final episode of BTA with great anticipation.
To all those restless Holics re comings/goings,
you all need to relax,getting wound up over media twaddle about impending transfers does nothing for your peace of mind.
Until it is announced on the Arsenal website and the player in question is pictured in his new Arsenal shirt,everything else is just pure speculation.
Holic,re your 9 deals,
You have given some Nervous Nellie Holics,a very very sleepless night,
well done.
cheers
clive
‘holic – Those numbers are all well and good. But I did say since 2000 for one. And no SPL club other than the top two compete in Europe these days while Spain have four UCL spots just like the EPL. Also, both Valencia and Deportivo have won the league since 2000. You cannot say that about the SPL.
Anyway, we won’t be agreeing on this, I can see, so have wee dram of your favourite single malt.
Talking of players ‘out’, I see that Pubis is wooing our Great Dane to team-up with Lenny and co. next season.
Message for Nick: You were on the pitch and nearly puked when you saw what that ‘orrible c*nt did to Rambo. I know you need to move and would like to stay in the EPL but Stoke?????
@TS: I hope I’ll find the opportunity so check by myself this season 😉 Although by the look of things, I’m tempted by an away game this time. For the 2 grands or so it’ll cost me I’m thinking the ROI would be better. It’s been a long while I haven’t been to Birmingham, I wonder if it’s as bad as I remember it to be. Maybe worth the trip…
TS@208 – certainly more balanced , but I’m not a huge Parker man . Over-rated in my view , and bloody expensive , even on loan .
“Waiting on the situations of both Cesc and Nasri has nothing to do with the back five”
Stingy, The transfer account at Arsenal, as we all should know by now, is not a bottomless pit.
The sum of money available for signings is at the moment almost entirely dependent upon two things. What Barca will pay for Cesc, and can we sign an equivalent if we can do a deal on Nasri?
A chunk of the available free cash has gone on signings believed to be good value, Gervinho and Jenkinson. Insufficient free cash remains to complete the deals in the pipeline.
The long and the short of a very complicated situation is that Barca’s bid is still far south of what Cesc is worth.
Consider a hypothetical situation. If we cannot get the money we want for Cesc, and you use what we do get to strengthen the defence, and the money you may or may not get for Nasri does not cover the deal for Mata, what do you do?
Hypothetical it may be, but that is not a million miles from the situation we are facing.
I am as frustrated by it as anyone, and there may yet be a satisfactory conclusion to all of the negotiations going on, but this is not a computer game, so cut the “negligent, unprofessional, and approaching on criminality” bollocks.
Thanks.
@Tabs/211: can we count the 2 Barca wonderkids we just snapped in the 9? Because then we’d be all clear, done and dusted.
Nervous Nellies Mr.W???
Just a bit of sport to pass the tedium unitl the season starts on 13th.
I’ve already gone on record here saying that I’d be pleasantly surprised on even one more deal during this window but then that big mouth Ivan went on record himself declaring that our business of squad strenthening was far from over.
I shall sleep very soundly tonight…er…. rest assured
Matt , nope , those deals are already done .
Matt @ #215,
I’d definitely recommend an away game. The support is fan-tastic (sorry)!
When you say B’Ham, do you mean you want to visit Villa Park or The Hawthorns cos those c*nty Blues have been relegated?
Villa Park is always a good day out . Their fans a lot better than the Blues of the City .
Matt
I can vouch ofr the Aston Vanilla fans making a lot of noise when they visit The Ems. Esp. last season 🙄
‘holic,
We all knew, especially mgmt, that the priority at the beginning of the window was the back five. Yes we have spent on two players, only one of which is going to help the first team this year. Mgmt said their was a transfer kitty of some £25m? at the beginning of the window for new signings. That money should be going to strengthening the back five first. Not on the two that we have signed so far. At the start of the window we could have began the season with both Cesc and Nasri (or neither, or one of each). Any loss of Cesc or Nasri should be reinvested in the front six. The original transfer kitty should have been used towards the back five (not on Fivehead).
Therefore it is mismanagement. My words to discribe it show my level of dissatisfaction.
And if no deals are done for Cesc and Nasri and they stay with the club we don’t have any money to improve the back five (unless others go like NB and Eboue, etc). Hypothetically speaking, we could be stuck with no new signs, both Cesc and Nasri staying, and not addressing our glaring weakness which should have been addressed from day one of the window with the original transfer kitty money. Not the last day of the window — if at all.
Old Red Nose never would be acting the same way given the same constraints. He would have addressed the team weaknesses first.
So, yes, unprofessional, negligent, deriliction of duty, etc. It’s almost criminal. ORB lost his keeper to retirement. What did he do early in the window? He addressed his GK weakness.
@TS & TABS: We’ll see what’s available when I’m free to go but I’ll try hard to aim for an away trip if that’s possible. As for Brum I was mostly joking, if it’s to revisit a place I’ve already been to I’d rather go somewhere else. No wonder they’re football fanatics 😉
@SV: Ferguson has been awash with money in the last decade, your point about the same constraints is rather moot. As for addressing his GK weakness, he paid an extraordinary amount of money for a GK. The money has been spent but only time will tell if the GK weakness has been addressed.
As for our glaring weaknesses, it’s glaring but replacing a 4th choice CB is not the most pressing thing. On the look of how we handled set pieces in pre-season it’s clear that some work has been done in training sessions and we’ve yet to see TV and Kos playing more than 3 games together which I think is a very appealing proposition.
Settling the cases of Cesc and Nasri is the most important objective at the moment. The uncertainty is killing us. At least us fans 😉
Lots to read. Lots to get through. I think the general view is that we are still a shambles at the moment. Behind the scenes Gazidis must be exhausted with the hours he is putting in.
Holic, I know you are not a fan but we do miss David Dein. I have no intention of getting into a debate about what he may or may not of done but the fact is that we miss him. I wonder what the Cesc situation would be if he was still here? IG needs to step up to the plate.
In my opinion you are spot on re the booing. It is the the result of months of frustration.
Many seem to have one in the spout and an itchy finger. I understand that completely. I can not imagine anyone being able to explain to me and justify the inaction so far.
Holic @217. I must say I do not buy any of that at all. The club has had a transfer budget for some considerable time. Granted that will be
increased when the sales go through, but to say the rest of our dealings are down to money raised from sales I just think is wrong.
Just landed Stateside after a great week in The Kingdom.
Featured a very fine Wednesday night out at The Diggers enjoying the long promised pint(s) with Zico and then a fun filled weekend in the sun with a multitude of Sunday School outings at Emirates Stadium watching two fine warm up games into which I refuse to read anything of significance other than that most of the squad looks to be a couple of weeks of perfect pitch with a couple of weeks still to go and most likely two more players to arrive.
Also featured a walk from the stadium via Monument to the Pins with Her Nellieness in tow for a restrainede couple of beers with a somewhat less restrained Holic n Ollie – only joking ads. Nice to see you both again.
As for the games themselves, I was puzzled that Boca took their game with us quite so seriously. WTF? I was even more puzzled by the BBB contingent who chose to boo on both days. Mind you, the extent has been dramatically over-emphasised by many, much like Mervyn The Mute Mouse farting through The Who’s sound system. Still, WTF?? Grow up chums and please remember before we even start that:
****** More boos do NOT equal more goals***********
Of the games:
– Ramsey and Wilshere shone.
– Sagna, TV, Kos and Song looked VERY solid season starters.
– “We’ve got Robin Van Persie” – and I feel a fully fit season approaching
– Rosicky outplayed Nasri
– Gervinho looks to be a very good signing
– Frimpong is an outstanding prospect, not ready for primetime though
– Afobe did really well, didn’t put a foot wrong
– Russia’s finest haircut now needs to deliver (as does Theo)
– Gibbs needs to be the Gibbsy of a year or so ago
– Why the hell did Eboue and Squillacci get game time?
– The younger Pole between the poles will be an Arsenal legend
And by the way, the week in the Fife sunshine was enhanced greatly by the visits of the extinguished Rt Hon Sir Peter Hill-Wood; Prof TES and Dr F. to this bar which is quickly becoming an institution of merriment, good comradeship ad some fine points of view.
Here’s to a 1) entertaining 2) winning season – always in that order for me.
Matt,
ORB learned the hard way a long time ago that GK is a top priority. Generally speaking, GKs are relatively cheap in the transfer market compared to outfield players and can have a great affect on team performance and morale. They are cheap commensurate to their affect on a match or season relative to their outfield counter parts. Some may not rate De Gea highly and say he is inexperienced but he was one of the best GKs on the market this year (along with Neuer and Stekelenberg — why didn’t we go for him? He’s at Roma now). ORN knows that a proven keeper is a priority. We could learn something from him imho.
Regarding our CBs, TV basically missed all of last year. Can he be relied on physically to go most of this season? A man visiting from Mars, hypothetically speaking, visiting the Grove last year would have seen that our weaknesses were in the back and especially the central spine of the back (CBs and GK). The Martian would be aghast that the problem has still not been sorted. The problem there is not a 4th choice CB. It is upgrading the position.
The only guy we could really rely on in the back 5 last year was Sagna. We’ve lost our first choice LB (we got money from that which hasn’t been used yet btw) and I don’t have much faith in Gibbs.
That’s where I’m coming from.
SV: You’re dooming again, don;t forget your magic pills 😉
The man from Mars would have had a very different opinion if he’d visited us before or after our collapse. And if he knew anything about football he would have diagnosed a collective problem rather than scapegoating players.
The GK situation has been sorted out for years to come, you can wish as much as you want for a new keeper it’s clear it won’t happen (and I’m personally very happy about it, I believe our keepers will not have anything to be ashamed of when compared to De Gea and at least one of them will become a monster keeper).
As for the CBs, Kos had a more than decent first season in uncertain and ever-changing conditions and if anything he proved against Barca that he can raise his game to a level all the CBs we’ve been linked with can only dream of. And there’s no way any one of those would claim TV’s spot.
But yes if either one got injured it’s possible we’d be better off with Samba instead of Squillaci or even Djourou. Or not.
Let’s wait a few games and see if we’ve learned to defend set pieces better during the summer. Then we’ll know if the position has been upgraded. No amount of money spent can tell you that now. Nor for United for that matter.
the thing in all this that concerns me is we have always since i can remember had decent CB’s or at least one for the others to grow against we were probably most spoilt with the O’leary Adams Bould Keown time but other than Verm we have nothing IMO please AW get the job done and give us fans what we all see we need.
matt@230 Kos ahd a good game against Barca who are as equally bad in the air as we are although i would have their CB’s over ours
Matt and Holic,
Holic – I’m with Steve T on this one.
I’m pretty sure we had some cash to spend and the purchases of Gervinho and Jenkinson offset with the Clichy sale (more or less, it’s about minus 4M but like I said, it’s not like we started the summer with 0). Let’s say we have 30M to spend without selling, that would mean we still have 25M.
I think signing a CB is more of a priority than Mata, take those 25M and sign a CB with some of it, then accept the bid for Nasri and get Mata.
And that without selling Eboue, Almunia and Bendtner.
Matt – I really rate Kos, but unfortunately he’s good against ball playing teams, not against Rugby teams. Teams who play on the ground (Barca, UTD, Chelsea) are a treat for him, it’s the Rugby teams that give him a hard time, that’s why we need someone else for those matches, just like Djourou first played with Kos in the Chelsea game because AW wanted a physical presence against Drogba, up until then Djourou was still “coming back to full fitness and has to be eased in”.
For everybody – I don’t remember who wrote it on twitter yesterday but I totally agree. it went something like this. “Analyzing football games is normal cause we have all the details, analyzing the transfer deals and market is impossible cause we don’t have all the details”. I think that’s the way we should think about it.
(I know I wrote to holic something that could be interpreted as analyzing the transfer market but that’s a detail we do know – we DIDN’T go into the summer with 0 to spend)
BtM – Glad you and Nellie enjoyed your visit. Another fine post. Thanks for sharing your experience. You deserve a shot of your favourite single malt. Cheers.
Matt,
Our top two current keepers are both inexperienced and have no more than half a season of being the number one keeper. Chezzer shows a lot of promise and potential but he is very inexperienced. That position is still not sorted without risk. Le Boss is risking much by not even going with an experienced back-up GK this year. Especially considering what’s in front of the GK. Sagna is top self, no worries there. TV is a top CB but he is still a big injury concern and nobody knows how he will perform post injury. Kos has one season behind him and shows potential but certainly cannot be described as a rock. JD neither can be described as a rock at the back. Gibbs has soon his inconsistency on a consistent basis. He’s a very inexperienced LB. There’s a lot of inconsistency and inexperience back there to be honest. Too many of us are putting a great deal of faith in potential on our back five.
I’d feel better if we had a proven experienced GK behind them. I know we couldn’t afford Neuer and Bayern was always going to get him. ManU was going to get De Gea (he’d prefer to sign there). But couldn’t we go after Steklenberg from Ajax? He just signed with Roma. Wouldn’t he have preferred UCL footy and us over Roma? He’s a much more experienced GK with full seasons as a number one behind him (compared to Chezzer) plus he is the Dutch GK and has international experience behind him including playing in the WC Final. Chezzer could prove to be a solid GK. Could. Time will tell. I hope he proves to be truly top flight. But it’s a big risk for AW and even bigger having an equally inexperienced GK backing him up.
And if our only defensive weaknesses last year were from set pieces and coaching then surely they could have been rectified during the course of an entire season last year? Maybe Le Boss could use a Defensive Coordinator this year a la the NFL?
If our back five remains unchanged from today I honestly cannot say I feel confident going into this season. Can you?
On a positive note, RvP almost won the golden boot last year. I think he has a great chance of winning it this year (of course, if he remains healthy). Either way, I believe he’s a very solid shout putting a few pounds down on for that wager. Probably would get very good value for money too.
Re: SV @234, One point you don’t seem to disagree with ‘holic about is that we need serious upgrading in our back line. He has consistently been saying that we need two more signings in that area, and I heartily agree because I don’t think Gibbs and Squillaci are going to take us anywhere fast but mediocrity.
8balll,
I disagree with a lot of fine gentlemen on this site it seems but I’m not 👿 I just have a difference of opinion … quite often. But the world would be a very boring place if we all agreed on everything. And ‘holic is a good man … an even better man when he agrees with me 😉 And I now think Piers Morgan is a twat, as he does, but for different reasons. Tonight I found out PM is a Keynesian 🙄
Lars,
I knew a few of those smileys but you’re the bomb with the link @60. Have a Boddington’s upon your return. It’s one of my favourites too. A tall pale Swede drinking a Bods in a pub is a 😎 man indeed 😀
Cheers
I forsee a smiley-fest will come upon us in short order now. Much like past pun-fests and rhyming poem-fests of posts not long ago. A veritable locust infestation of smileys 👿 😈 Locusts just love Mr. Green
Hey. Good news. When we play the Mugsmashers they will be sans Gerard due to a groin infection. Hmmm, I wonder what Senor Smallballs thinks of that?
More favourable scheduling: We play NUFC without Barton due to a twit and his tweets. Is it a prerequisite to be a twit to use Twitter? I know I complain about SSFM but at least we’re not NUFC. Thank God. They got loads of cabbage for Carroll, lost Nolan, now lost Barton, and Enrique looks set to go too. And where’s the reinvestment in this club for the upcoming season. Put a few pounds on these muppets dropping yet again.
So what’s the matta with not signing Mata on time? We missed the deadline on his €25m buyout clause and he wants to come. This signing should not have to depend on selling Cesc first whatsoever. The remainder of our unspent net transfer kitty should almost cover this signing. He is not a natural replacement for Cesc anyway. He is a natural replacement for Nasri (only he has a Spanish accent and not a French one).
Here’s a hypothetical for everyone. We have a wantaway asset that is valued at around £20m. Mata’s buyout was £22m. Let’s say we didn’t even have a transfer kitty. We should have gone to the bank and gotten a loan, buy Mata, then sell Nasri, and all is settled.
Another example of mismanagement.
And if we lose Nasri on a free next year that is an opportunity cost of £20m and would be criminal mismanagement.
What the hell is mgmt doing at the Grove anyway? I say we all should make a march upon the Grove in our Speedos carrying torches and placards 😡
Watch AW go after Barton and forget about Mata altogether. Why? Because a free is pretty cheap. Can’t get cheaper than free right? Barton is not a suitable replacement for Nasri.
However, let’s go get that other disgruntled Tooner Jose. I’d take him as our first LB over Gibbs every day of the week and twice on Sunday 😉
Welcome to the Stingy-alogue. It’s a monologue but only this time it’s with Stingy. And if you disagree with me … you’re worse than Hitler 😀
Good to be back. Spent yesterday over at ArsenalArsenal, which was a noisy cauldron of doomers throwing their weight around, trying to drown out the voices of a few good men arguing that booing was counterproductive. The views of some of these kids sadden me, but my life is far happier if I just don’t engage.
Each to his own I guess.
So our friendly on Sunday unleashes a tide of articles in the press and online about how serious things are at Arsenal, a grim season ahead, 5th place finish likely etc. Liverpool (the team which spent part of last season in the bottom half of the table) draw yesterday to Valerenga in a friendly to go with their recent defeats to Hull and Galatasaray, and the Guardian has a big article about how serious things are at Liverpool… no I tell a lie, it has an article saying ‘Liverpool owner sets sights on top four’.
Last word on the subject because nobody is listening anyway.
You need to factor salary into the player trading account, because Arsenal do.
Clichy had to be paid off.
Part of Cesc’s negotiation is about the huge sum due to him.
If you take the three players and transfer fees alone being bandied around at the moment you can do the maths yourself, I’m sure.
Jagielka (£15m) ,Cahill (£17m), Mata (£22m). Then add salary packages for them all on I’m guessing 2, 4, and 4 year deals (approx £20m). I also believe there is potentially another deal flying under the radar.
The numbers may be imprecise but are as near as damn it. For a self-sustaining business there has to be income before that sort of outlay.
Please try and understand at least that.
Over and out.
Nice comment I just saw on an article:
‘Christ, when will this nonsense end? I mean, the endless evidence-free speculation by hacks and bloggers alike. Almost no-one knows — really knows — what Arsene and the club are planning before the transfer window closes. Almost no-one knows — really knows — what’s happening behind the scenes. Almost no-one has any serious information about these things. Go on, admit it. And still they keep coming: the “insights”, opinions, dodgy factoids and fourth-hand rumours. Who, at the end of the day, is any the wiser after reading all this crap? No-one. Bring on the footie before we all disappear up our own arses.’
Even though I am potentially part of the problem, Charlie, I entirely sympathise with that.
Sorry holic, didn’t mean to imply you were part of that rant!
Not necessary Charlie, I really do understand what you are saying.
I will say you might be surprised at the amount of info that is leaked ‘unofficially’, and who to…
Of course it isn’t always strictly accurate 😉
True Storey – you can call of the dogs, Ticket in the North Bank secured for Mugsmashers. See you on 20th!
And he hits a cover drive for 4 to take him to 250…..the ball is at the boundary, hang on is that tea? Is that ball still live? Has the batsman made a huge mistake……?
In the spirit of the game, he should have his membership enhanced to silver status on account of a being a generally good egg 8)
To Bergkamp’s the Man,
is that really you Dennis ? Or is it just another impersonater confusing things in this bar. I really don’t have the faintest idea who is who anymore.
Anyway, whoever you are, I am pleased to have, in some small way, enhanced your stay in Fife, wherever that is.
Nice summary of the weekend’s events, by the way.
Dashed if I could work out what was going on. Does Arsene usually “change up” – think that’s what I kept hearing – that many substitutes in a game.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, the delightful Lady Nina has invited me over for lunch. Apparantly she has a fishy delicacy for me to try.
Good to see you’ve landed safely, BtM.
I thought we were expecting TS in the pins too, but it looks like I was misinformed.
Didn’t get this from the press though.
Sleep is a wonderful thing.
Several hours of it and a few calm, insightful ‘Holic comments and I am relaxed and returning to the old stance of ‘nothing more to say on transfers, at all, until I see new players wearing Arsenal shirts, or old players wearing someone else’s’.
Enjoy your day, ‘holics,
*strolls off singing . . Que sera sera, whatever . . * 🙂
Happy pills supply has arrived – c/o Trev 🙂
Thing is, they actually work zico – 🙂
Did someone mention happy pills ? 🙂
Yes, Trev they do.
tabs, clear jar on your left…..
‘holic – was the ‘Mr Friend’ referredto in the post me? And if so was it because you were agreeing with something I tweeted or disagreeing. If it’s not me and I’m being paranoid I aologise – I don’t even remember tweeting anything about being / not being the end of the world.
An extra cold Fosters please.
Yours in confusion,
John
Dr Z , cheers . Also got a ticket for the Mugsmashers . Beers on the 20th ?
Hello John, sorry it is paranoia 😉
I was referring to the killjoy referee who denied Thierry the opportunity to appear in the red and white one last time.
Petty-minded if you ask me, but applying the letter of the law accurately. Bloody jobsworth.
Massive ‘holics gathering at the Mugsmashers?
Well they’re expanding the Tollie.
John, I suspect ‘holic was referring to Kevin.
Unless you’re really called Kevin.
*adds to confusion*
259- I think he meant the ref Kevin Friend.
Holic – Let me make sure I got this right.
You’re saying the kitty includes the money that goes on wages and (if I understood correctly) we could pay for Gervinho and Jenkinson but would need to sell in order to buy more (assuming Mata and Nasri is a straight swap since transfer fee and wages are practically identical)?
If that’s the case then where is the progress and financial growth the board has been talking about? We still need to sell in order to buy just like in the last couple of years.
I might be misunderstanding the whole thing but it seems weird to me we only had 13M£ + wages to start the summer spending with.
Surely you mean ‘except when the letter of the law refers to matters happening on the pitch, especially in the box’, ‘holic 😉
Otherwise, I think ‘accurately’ is quite inaccurate.
Well if the Test match showed us anything it’s that the letter of the law is a total ass in comparison with a bit of good old common sense and sportsmanship. But in these times where pre-season draws are booed and 12 year old keyboard warriors call one of the greatest managers to grace these shores a c’nt and think they could do a better job then what else should we expect?
BTW I’m glad it didn’t refer to me – was starting to think my memory was worse than I’d remembered it to be before I forgot stuff.
Afternoon Snir , Ollie ,
New post on t’other side .
Thanks Ollie – the confusion appears to have been dealt with. I wasn’t aware that ‘Uncle’ Kevin reffed on Sunday….
Arsenes wish list
1. David Bentley (Only 15 million Arsene loved the goal)
2. Hutton ( Great buy at 11 million)
3. Pav (14 million he will help Ashavin with his knitting pattens)
4. Robbie Keane ( Now he is so unintelligible he must be a bit french)
Basically here is the deal lads you buy the first 3 and a we will through in Keane for free. Apparently AW and RK have a favourite restaurant in common, they could pop out for pasta.
Your a bigger club than us your allowed to buy our players (well only the ones we want to get shot of )
have fun at the weekend, Ive got nothing to do at the moment, bloody marshmen