Mixed Feelings On A Significant Afternoon
Jan 23rd, 2012 by 'holic
I haven’t had the benefit of watching any reruns, either of the game, or of the key incidents. I have walked in the door, just, and am trying to make sense of about as mixed a day as I have experienced at the Arsenal for a long, long time.
It started well. I arrived early, was bought a pint of breakfast by Akhil from Hounslow, and my phone was buzzing with news that Thomas Vermaelen and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were in the starting line-up. That news spread fast, and spirits were lifted.
The first half was a fascinating watch from close quarters. There is something about the pace with which United counter attack that reminds me of earlier incarnations of Wengerball. We prefer with our current team to weave pretty patterns with precision and deliberation. In truth, we are a little too slow in execution, and against the better sides that costs us more often than not.
Having said that we looked to have held our own. We had survived numerous scares down our right flank where Johan Djourou looked horribly exposed, and were unlucky not to have something to show for some bright moments by Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott. Then as the opening half drew to a close we were exposed once more down that flank. Giggs cross was converted by Valencia.
The half-time substitution of Yennaris for Djourou was unfortunate, but felt necessary. Ironically young Nico Yennaris appeared to win the battle with Messrs Evra and Nani, and United switched the focus of their breakaways to our left side, where Thomas Vermaelen was, frankly, struggling. Not a surprise I would imagine, given the hurried nature of his comeback. At the other end though we remained a threat. Robin van Persie contrived to miss the target after Rosicky put one on a plate for him.
There followed an astonishing passage of play that started with Park and Arshavin arriving on the touchline fully tooled up and ready to make an entrance. That merely served to prompt a more important and telling reaction, particularly from Oxlade-Chamberlain. The young attacker set up his skipper for the equaliser, which frankly was no more than Arsenal deserved. The subs were sent back to the bench, but only for a minute or two.
When Arshavin was again summoned just a couple of minutes later, and Oxlade-Chamberlain was called off, a vociferous cross-section of the home support let Arsene know they were not in favour. Some have mentioned booing since, and for what it is worth I cannot deny that happened. I still believe the jeers were for the departure of a lively left winger, and not for the oncoming substitute. However Andrey contributed to the winner, sadly netted by Welbeck rather than one of his red shirted team-mates.
The final whistle prompted scenes the like of which we could definitely avoid. The abuse dished out, particularly to Theo, was a real eye-opener. Perspective will never be attained at the final whistle of any match. I hope and pray that most have had time to digest what really happened this afternoon, and all are now chilled.
Having said that, I hope Arsene and the board will consider carefully what is happening to our challenge for a Champions League place, and concur that some degree of change in the playing staff would not necessarily be a bad thing. It is to be hoped that we will see some relaxing of the purse strings before we face Villa in next week’s fourth round FA Cup tie.
I accept that spending money for the sake of it is not the be all and end all for us, but non activity looks likely to cost us dearly. If the club reaches the end of the window without attempting to address what growing numbers consider to be an essential strengthening of the squad, then I dread what the atmosphere could become.
Let’s do what is right for the future of this Football Club, please.
548 Responses to “Mixed Feelings On A Significant Afternoon”
First? A hollow victory :/
Nice post, Holic. I do not know what else to say, it has been quite a depressing day. Only one thing – booing never helps the team, esp., in a high profile game such as this. I wish people would not do that, but then again, I was not at the stadium watching it unfold. Am looking forward to better days.
The usual call to reason from `Holic. Still I haven’t fully recovered from the appalling display from some in the crowd. I watched the game with a couple of non-Arsenal supporters mates who have taunted me to no end. One of their mates came after the game and said something about it being a bad day for Arsenal, my mates said I wasn’t an Arsenal fan anyway since I didn’t boo them even once. Sums it up for me.
I’m optimistic for 4th because Chelsea are no better than us. Still lots to play for. with Wilshere, Arteta and Sagna coming back we should be Ok
I believe you are right “Holic, the booing was in disappointment that the Ox was coming off, not against Arshavin….although he got his later, rightly or wrongly. We will continue to have problems until our fullback situation is sorted. Is Sagna back this week?
I really thought Kos was immense, he was completely gassed at the end, what an effort. Still think Ramsey needs a year under his belt after his horrific injury…it’s amazing that he can play as much as he can given what he went through. I do believe that Theo’s play will improve once Sagna comes back.
What else can you say about the Ox, he really, really had a fine game. We will debate him coming off for years to come.
Three weekends in a row shaking my head after a loss….we really need to avoid watching how the other teams do, just worry about what we do and concentrate on three points each week.
I will at least take a positive in that Oxlade-Chamberlain appears to be following in the footsteps of Jack Wilshere. Would like to see more of him.
And to the board. I know signing players isn’t easy, and I know it isn’t the answer to all of our troubles. But don’t underestimate the power of a signing to boost the supporters and signal your intent to keep this club at the top level.
HOLIC GLAD YOU HAD A GOOD DAY!
Can we please stop putting this team into this over protective imaginary bubble?
Matt, so they booed it was probably the locals or the younger ones who will only boo when things will go wrong and we would end up there is a much deeper gash than what happened tonight.
Guys also one last thing good luck attended debating I’m too flat do anything
Matt, I have witnessed some of the worst behaviour I have ever seen from Gooners today. It’s sad, but I have to say it is not surprising.
Nobody got a whack, nobody got badly abused (other than a couple of players, which is what sparked it), but someone who deserves better got rounded on by fellas who should know better.
Once again we are turning on our own, and I hate that. I also hate what it may mean. No club can have supporters at each others throats for long without taking steps to resolve the situation, whatever they may be.
Unfortunately there was an air of inevitability about the proceedings. Defeats in previous seasons against United have hurt like a kick in the gut but I just shrugged my shoulders at this one and I don’t consider myself any less of a supporter for doing so, the anger and frustration is being replaced by apathy and that’s what scares me the most. Where has Wenger the great tactician gone? In past seasons we eagerly awaited Wengers moves against the Premiership elite and diners at Europe’s top table but now he just seems to hope instead of plan. We no longer have the players to play the passing game of old but I don’t see any direction, the players just don’t seem to know how Wenger wants them to play and RVP is often isolated against 3 or 4 defenders when we have the ball. The halftime substitution was a rarity, players now know that they can play like crap for an hour and still not be subbed. Last week against Swansea we were being outplayed all over the pitch yet we didn’t see any subs until the usual 65-68 minute mark, yet a radical half time overhaul was required.Wenger needs to send them a message like the fans are sending him messages. Defeats to Man Utd won’t define our season but the annoying thing is that we are unable to take advantage of the fact that Liverpool, Chelsea and Man Utd are all more vulnerable than previous years, it is only City and Spurs who have stepped up through the gears (admittedly with superior spending budgets). Dropped points against Wolves, Fulham and Swansea are harder to accept. Chelsea and Liverpool will improve in the second half of the season. Will we?????
I dont thing that supporters are booing AW or Theo or even Bilbo . They are booing fraustration. 60,000 in that crowd know we need to spend money and if we are not going to when its needed then cut the prices of the tickets and lets agree to be a middle of the table team and just make money for the board.
Holic. Deep down we all know that things haven’t been right for several seasons now. Regardless of how much we don’t spend or who is injured, we are horribly predictable to play against. And only one person is responsible for that. We know it, he probably knows it and every team we play against knows it. The time has arrived and it’s been a long time coming.
The only players that would be available in January are out of form or out of favour yet clubs will still demand big money so I can see Wengers refusal to do such deals but he will probably have a knee jerk reaction at the death like he did in August. I don’t see the point of bringing in full backs for one or two games, Sagna and Gibbs are only a week or two away now and it was greta to see Vermaelen back. One more note about RVP’s reaction to the substitution, I was more alarmed at his reaction at the final whistle, standing still,staring off into space, what was he thinking?
It was a pretty ironic that bringing on Oxlade-Chamberlain at Old Trafford brought about a disaster and then bringing him off at the Emirates brought about our downfall. I saw a video clip of RVP asking why Oxlade was being taken off as well…
Anyway, surely those having a go at the players realize that it just damages the ability for the team to perform????
This is my first drink at this esteemed establishment, and may I introduce myself with a round of Rรฉmy Martin XO Premier Cru for everyone? I have been dropping by to hear al the excellent conversations now and then and thought finally to join in.
Unlike many (most?) of you here, I am relatively young to Arsenal ways, following seriously only since the halcyon days of late nineties, and almost always from the distant lands of India, France and for the last decade from US. And leaner the years have become my passion for this club has grown more and more. A club of true class and vision and quality, a courage to stand for its own convictions, led by a truly outstanding manager.
However, in recent years there has been a strange and paradoxical combination of hubris and self-doubt apparent, from the board to dear Arsene down to the players (Cesc, as much as we all loved him, suffered from it like no other).
However much one empathizes with Arsene for being the target of so much rancor and malice and not getting enough recognition for many of the ‘rabbit in the hat’ acts he had pulled off even in these ‘trophy-less’ years , one should also be able to question his judgements without having to hear about his years of experience every time.
Playing TV5 and AS11 in the meaningless away tie in Athens was spectacularly self-destructive and can only be explained by more than a bit of narcissism about appearing ‘good’. Yes, Santos might have been injured later, but he might have not as well. Already being so very thin in full back department that decision caused a real loss of momentum when things were starting to look good. Santos — all the typical British press short-sightedness notwithstanding — was becoming a key member and he has been missed in more ways than one. TV5 never really looked like enjoying the LB position and Koscielny was a significantly better option in RB than inconsistent Djourou or the youngsters (however spirited Nico or Coquelin have been).
And then even noticing all of that and still not opting for a recognized full back to fill in — yes, all those issues about squad number and wage are all relevant, but surely not insurmountable and surely not more important than staying in CL and making progress in this year’s CL? — as early as possible and merely hoping that the injured ones would all enjoy a smooth and quick return? That is either indecisiveness of the worst kind or a lack of humility or both.
Today’s match — despite the lackluster first half and despite Ramsey’s engine grinding to halt and despite missing Arteta and despite AA not showing up for fifteen minutes — could have been won if there was a decent full back in the left side and Kos was playing out of his skin on the right and TV5 commanding the center. That is where we lost today.
The season is still not beyond redeeming. and I would like to join in with the wise counsel of the barman in requesting Arsenal — the club of class, vision and spirit — to take the blatantly obvious step in the right direction.
GoonerTerry – bit of a response to you in the last drinks (penultimate drink) and then got immediately superceded – again !
Usual voice of reason ‘Holic – nothing to argue with there.
Keeping my counsel ’til tomorrow, but replays of RvP questioning AW’s Ox sub a bit worrying.
I would just like to voice the opinion that Andrei was not entirely at fault for the second goal. I have watched it over a few times and I am asking myself where is Vermalean while AA is tracking back and trying to stop Valencia.
AA may have been skinned on the edge of the box but he worked hard to get back around Valencia and knock it away…..unfortunately straight to Wellbeck who slotted it home. I just wonder where the defensive support was. No holding midfielder came to help, the left back wasn’t there and the left side central defender did not come and help. Is it a shock that AA (a poor tackling forward) would get rounded and is it also a shock that he was unable to clear it properly when making his last ditch tackle.
All that said I don’t think he should have been on the pitch at the time as the Ox was having a ripper of a game and we all know AA is not bringing much to table offensively or defensively these day.
I also beleive that Wenger should bite the bullet and play Ozyikup in the creative role in midfield instead of bringing in Rosicky. We are pretty much done and dusted for the season and it might as well be the time we gave this talented youngster his footballing education.
Wenger has lost the plot these last six years.He should know putting on Ashvin will be a gamble.He is so far lucky to have weathered the storm and at any other big club he would have been axed by now.The problem is Wenger is an
arrogant FM who thinks he can do no wrong.
The defence is one part of team building he has continuously failed to bring up to the required level for a top team fighting for honours.His player acquisitions have been more misses than hits.
I believe 4th place is still within reach provide the gunners go on a winning run of 6 to 8 games consecutively to close the gap on Chelsea.Otherwise it will be out of reach.
By then Wenger may embark on a spending spree which could be a question of too late.How ironic when if he had paid two to five million more he could have better quality and epl players.
Really sorry if Theo was the target of abuse; he is a perfect example of the peter principle. As for Wenger’s decision to sub AA for the Ox, I’ll remind you of RVP’s reaction. One I’ll never forget. Considering the work ethic put in by most of the team today, I think it a bit harsh to say we didn’t deserve more. On a more light hearted note, the BFG’s save was absolutely a delight to watch. Kos was invincible and the Ox played just as many of us knew he could. As for the signing of a new player, I would truly be shocked if that doesn’t materialize.
Brendan @16, while I respect your opinion, I vehemently disagree that we are pretty much done and dusted for the season. As frustrated as I am, I refuse to accept your reasoning as there is still a lot to play for. We need to focus on getting the next three points and ignore our rivals at this point. The season ends in May and we can’t just give up when there is still 15 league games still to play as well as the FA Cup and the Champion’s League. Now is not the time to adapt a defeatist attitude.
Let’s beat Aston Villa next weekend. Gunners4life!!
*adopt*
Long time reader, first time poster. Thought we were poor yesterday, especially in the midfield. We didnt really have a creator. Young oxo and Kos had great games. Oxo kid is a proper footballer, with the right technique and attitude. Kos, our own Baresi!! An absolute gem of a player!! RVP’s finish was classy. Dont’ know what the boss was thinking when he made “THAT” substitution. The reaction of tens of thousands of home fans and, more importanly, of our Captain showed what they thought of it. And we all know how that ended!!
Still don’t think we will get players in this window. Boss will wait for the summer. I just hope that he gets some decent players in and ship out the disinterested ones. One thing is sure. If it goes on like this, RVP wont sign a new contract. The look on his face at the final whistle was frankly worrying.
Sorry for the previous post.. Was testing to see if I can still post on here ๐
Anyways some stuff to think about. I believe its time we got pragmatic.
Since its looks increasingly likely that we may finish outside the top 4 this season…
1. Who are the players you think we are really gonna struggle to keep hold of?
2. How do we attract quality players to the club without CL football?
3. Can we make a comeback into top 4? More importantly, will we?
4. Is Wenger still the man to bring us back into Champions League?
unbelievable , who br
Delighted to meet you again this evening ‘Holic and thanks for the Glenfiddich. My turn next time. And a pleasure finally to meet True Storey and TABS. I wish it had been in other circumstances.
Fine summary of events ‘Holic. I did not see the events at the final whistle – not because of leaving early (that is anathema to me) but because I was distracted by a feverish debate regarding our inexplicable substitution of the Ox. The boos were clearly against the substitution, not against Arshavin. I have just watched the highlights and it is clear RvP thought the same as the fans who booed.
Fine games from the Ox, Kosielny, Szczeny and Rosicky. RvP battled hard, got nothing from Dean for all the barging, took his goal well and must be forgiven his miss for the credit he is due for carrying us this season. I wish I could be optimistic that he will sign. The board’s actions in bringing in more talent will determine that as much as gaining 4th place.
If we can play like we did in the second half and get our wounded back without losing others, then 4th place is still a realistic target. COYRs.
Impeccable1 @ 19 – My done and dusted for the season is finishing in top spot. Not being a defeatist but being a realist.
I truely believe that we wil achieve a top 4 finish but not win the league.
I also think that in both knockout competitions that we have a good chance of bringing home the bacon. Get past Milan and you never know what the draw might throw up.
Just think we need to allow the Rosicky’s of this world become “only in an emergency” type players. Youth normally brings some desire to perform/win at all costs attitude. That is not a slight on Rosicky but I don’t think he is the one that will get us out of our current plight.
The annoying thing is we’re losing, not necessarilly from not buying new players, but more down to tactical flaws and using players in the wrong postions.
The wingers should be Ox; Gervinho; Theo & Ryo in that order but with Theo’s place under pressure from Ryo. Arshavin should instead be in the mix between Rosiscky & Benayuon but again, the manager insists otherwise and by that makes things worse for himself and Arshavin. It may all be too far gone at this stage to repair the mental state of both of them for different reasons…
Whilst understanding the arguments for not purchasing a left back with Gibbs and Santos on the mend, I’d be more inclined to try and get Samba with a fee + Squilacci but Blackburn could well say sod off and, at the same time, it’s prob the last thing on Wenger’s mind as preferring to stick it out with the last minute buy of the slower Mertesacker, who’s not even scored a goal yet that you’d expect from his height and popping up in the opposition box late on in games.
Some striking tips of looking up before you shoot wouldn’t go amiss for all the players at the mo!
“Holic – sage like as ever — a constant voice of reason in a typhoon of malignant rage. Generally I agree with your stance, And I shudder at the thought of Arsenal players being booed by thier own. HOWEVER, It is my humble opinion that year on year we are declining, almost impercievably I grant you, but declining nonetheless. We are no longer genuine contenders for any of the major prizes. This is not rocket science. We all know that the asset stripping, in the form of player sales, has done the damage. To win matches, generally you need better footballers than the opposition. When I look at our current squad, with the obvious exceptions, I fail to see fantastic footballers. Good players, of course. Not Arsenal quality though.Certainly not as good as years gone by. I started going to the Arsenal when Bertie Mee was the guvnor, seen good and bad Arsenal sides, seen some great ones too. The greatest of them all were undoubtabley The Invincibles. Arsene is on record as stating that the current crop is the best he has ever worked with. If that doesnt set the alarm bells ringing, what will.Arsenal will always have a very good team, but that no longer satisfies the legions of fans raised in the Wenger era.They want to win the league. Sounds simple when you say it quick! I waited a long time to see a team as good as the Invincible Arsenal. I fear it will be many more before we travel that joyous road again.
Arsene whatโs your reaction to the game?
We played with fantastic fighting spirit and had the chances to win the game quite comfortably, but played a little bit with the handbrake on today under special circumstances. We were unfortunate that they scored two goals from our defensive mistakes.
Thatโs two defeats to United this season, and three losses in succession, and there is now a 10 point gap behind Spurs who are in 3rd place, and you are 5 points behind Chelsea in fourth, do you now concede that you will not qualify for the Champions League next year?
No – we have the special technical quality and fighting spirit to finish in the top 4. It will be the same as winning a trophy, as we have done every year since I have been here.
Why do you think you lost?
Man U played with the handbrake off.
Why did you substitute Oxlade Chamberlain immediately after he created Van Persieโs goal?
It would have killed Arshavin if I did not.
Apart from van Persie you havenโt been scoring many goals, why is that?
We lack a little bit of quality and sharpness in the final 3rd.
Any news on prospective signings before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month?
There is no need to sign anyone in the transfer window, when Diaby is fit again he will be like a new signing.
So you donโt think you need to strengthen the squad?
No this is the squad of players with the best technical quality that I have had in all my time at the club.
Arsene thank you.
Well Doctor Faustus @ 14 I am glad that I came back for a peek to see if the Maestro had posted his reflections – I had actually gone to bed having drained myself of all emotions in the last set of Drinks…
Top man Doc. I bid you stay and become a regular in this establishment. I know that the others – like me – always enjoy a good argument. But more than that, we enjoy a well put together post. Congratulations on a fine debut. TABs will have to start watching his back…a young pretender is after your crown (Erm the one I gave you for being the best in case you were wondering…)
Anyway goodnight again..
P.S. Great stuff as always Holic…worth the wait for me..
Brendan – fair enough then. It seemed like you were generalizing with your initial comment. I concur with you as it relates to us winning the league. I think that would require an absolute miracle now.However, I still think we can get into the top four, if we turn it around starting at Bolton. I also agree that we can excel in the two cup competitions that we are still in.
A drink of your choice on me Brendan!
11:40 PM Jamaica time and signing off – Over & out..
Brendan: while I agree with some of your comments regarding Rosicky, I actually think he has not played too badly when he has played this season. By the way, I don’t think he had a bad game against Man U. However, I understand the essence of your comment.
On another note, Koscielny must now be rated as one of the top central defenders in the league and possibly the world in this form that he has found himself. Truly magnificent player he is.
With all due respect to the Big German Mert (who I also think had a good game today), if our first team full backs ever return, I think our best central partnership would undoubtedly be Vermaelen and Koscielny.
I feel bad for Arshavin. The man is NOT a winger. He does not have the discipline or the defensive nous. He enjoys a free role, and playing at the apex of a midfield might be best.
I fail to understand why Arsene persists in playing the Russian in a position for which he is ill suited. It is symptomatic of an overall philosophy that has NOT borne fruit and shows no sign of doing so anytime soon.
Not good enough. Again. It will be a major coup if we claim fourth place.
Cheers for ths post ‘holic. I share your pain.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts ‘holic.
We just do not compete in these games. Among wenger’s sins:
1. not getting players with the right attitude
2. Not tough with players with wrong attitude
3. Not buying proven premiership players
4. gambling season after season by including injury prone players in an already quality thin squad.
5. losing the faith in his best players
DrF@14: welcome. Nothing like a generous bribe of the alcoholic kind to ease your way through the door. You already clearly have your finger on the pulse of this bar. If you continue to post so thoughtfully you will also be more than welcome to stayโand to take advantage of Lars’s wallet.
‘Holic, Measured words, as ever, though I suspect even your patience must be starting to wear thin. Interesting that you saw the first half as so even; on TV, we looked second best, even if we nearly made it to the sweet tea and oranges even Stephen. Not so in the second half, though, where it looked that we were the better side overall.
The only thing I would add to what you posted is that if we bring in new players, they have to be better than the ones leaving to make room (by which I mean that is a condition, not a self-evident description). Any signing might cheer us up as a sign that the Board is doing something; but a second-rate one risks infuriating us further in the cold light of day.
5am@27: you have a point about AA being played out of position. He should have taken over Ramsey’s role and The Ox left on.
For those boo-ing Theo. Get over it. He may be our main man playing down the middle next season, if RvP is away.
sacked in the morning. you wont get sacked in the morning. sacked in the morning. we hope you dont get sacked in the morning..
If you were RVP, now 28, would you look forward to playing yet another season for this club? What’s he seen? Four years of flashy promise with zero to show for it. He understands too, the rest of the present crew (save Song, Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, and the goalie, maybe Wilshere) are never going to be ready for prime time.
(Walcott will be claiming his pension before AW finally gives up on that experiment. Arshavin the same. Like them both but the bees knees definitely they are not.)
I hope RVP never looks AW directly in the eyes searching for answers. It would destroy AW who would have to mouth “Sorry” and hang his head in shame. AW has been a brilliant manager but is now morphing into the role of a confidence trickster. Of a mostly self delusionary kind. He sees so many trees (injuries, loss of star players, finance, past glories, unfair media, Pat Rice’s non retirement) he’s totally lost sight of the wood. Shows how much of the plot he has already lost. Days were he couldn’t see the wood for the trees but now he’s even got that backwards. Adieu mon brave. Join Ancelotti in Paris he must need an assistant.
(Could be worse. The rumour is —I started it — the Board are thinking of asking Bendtner to be the next AFC player manager!)
@ 14 – Excellent post mate. Found myself agreeing with your arguments
I thought TV5 had a mare yesterday too
Please Arsene, bring a left back in. It’s fucking up the whole system
Coquelin made a mistake at Fulham for their goal
Miquel was at fault for the one at Swansea and now TV
It’s not so difficult to see that we are losing points because of this, is it?
Maybe us gooners need to pray to the footballing gods a little harder…
Please Dennis, lend a helping hand
If wenger has lost the confidence of his captain just like the previous one, then surely its time to part ways..
I am not disappointed because i was expecting the result.Ferguson isnt a great manager for nothing.He knew we were poor at RB and every attack went down that side.If it had been 5-0 at HT we couldnt have complained
Wenger has lost the plot.
As Paul Merson said on Sky we we have the ball we are the best team in the country but the worse without it.We just dont close our opponents down.
I cant see Wenger turning things around.Its 5th or 6th at best.Poor Poor Season
after the game and 12 hours later, I just have to ask why most of the Arsenal fans can see the problem but not the club or Arsene, maybe a more pertinent question is why nothing has been seen to address the problem ? Substitution at half time of JD with Yennaris was tactical and correct (when was the last time we’ve seen Arsene doing something like that.) But really why another sub right after we equalized with effort from the Ox and the team was gaining momentum, my guess is Arsene wanted to bring in AA to keep possession and played for a draw which was utterly inconceivable given the circumstances.
I don not see why Arseanl still set up in a 4-3-3 formation to be honest.
Having Nasri and Fabregas it was ideal. Song sitting in front of the defence gave Fabregas the opportunity to focus on what he was best at and the system also gave Nasri the required freedom.
Ther current Arsenal players are more suited to a 4-4-2 like the last time they gooners won a trophy.
Walcott is not a winger and would benefit being Van Persie’s direct strike partner. I suppose Bergykamp/Henry is an obvious parallel, although RVP is more of a poacher than Bergkamp.
Arshavin would also fit better into such a set up where he lacks the energy and pace to play as a forward in a three.
In addition, both Xolade Chanberlain and Gervinho could do a fine job as out and out wingers. Likewise Rosiky would be ok on the left of a four in a similar fashion to Pires.
Arsenal’s midfield future surely depends on Wilshire and Ramsay. Getting these two in the middle would keep you having a good footballing engine. It would also enable Song to add to your central defensive options.
Just my humble opinion, but you have not won anything with 4-3-3 and now lack the players to do so. Time for you to switch back to the good old days of 4-4-2 and two forwards.
We’ve enough of Wenger’s nonsense. Enough is enough, we are second to none and could no longer lead by a mediocre manager that has not delivered a single champion league trophy.
16 years are long enough, you either make it or don’t .
Pack your thing and and go, we need a champion manager to lead us to the next level
as i said on the live site yday we were so far behind united it was extraordinary to think that a few years ago we considered ourselves their equals. for 20 mins in second half they took their foot off pedal and we had some chances but as soon as we equalised they upped the pace again and there was only going to be one winner, especially after THAT substitution. we righty complain about injuries but they had their first choice central defence missing (we had both playing, albeit one at LB) and three arguably first choice midfielders + young and others. then they lose Jones put a right winger at FB and he creates the winning goal ! that to me says it all – rather than moan they get on with it and have playesr who find a way to get the job done and don’t moan. can you imagine walcott the twat even agreeing to play FB much less have the ability or discipline to do it ?
ox looked very promising and JD was awful but as some have pointed out OX gave JD no cover at all and evra and nani had the freedom of that wing. while yennaris did better some of that was united taking foot off and some nani getting injured.
someone on this blog mentioned winning the league. we need to get a grip – there is more chance of a 3 legged horse winning the derby right now. we we are probably 5- 7 players from having a team and squad that can challenger for top 2 much less go on and win it. and as for CL – don’t make me laugh. my sides hurt already
‘holic, another excellent post. I am pleased a couple have pointed out that TV was guilty for both goals, but that is not a criticism for a player coming back from injury. If it had been Kos or Per they would have been slaughtered.
As for those who think AW should leave, have a serious rethink. Whom would you have to replace him? We partly lost because of a lack of full backs, Arteta and Wilshere absent and Gervinho in Africa. We all know we need to make changes, but we have to stick behind this team. All is not lost.
Many interesting comments in the bar helped cool off ๐
This feels so familiar, we’ve got a string of bad injuries and as a result we’re wobbling again after a run that had everyone hope the team was finally sorted out. In the last weeks we’ve had to play Yennaris, Miquel, Coquelin, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Djourou on the sides and we can’t field our best CBs together (although thankfully Mertesacker is having a decent first season).
Since 04-05 (Toure – Senderos – Cygan – Flamini) we’ve had to field a makeshift defense for the most part of every season. We falter around the time of the injuries peaks like clockwork. After a few negative results a vocal section of the fans turn against the players/manager/club. Scapegoating is mixed with concerted demands for the magic money solution. Following a few weeks of revolt even those who think we have it bad realize that while 4th may not be glamorous, dropping out of the CL would be many times worse.
Once the transfer window closes with or without transfers the danger will be obvious to all and at the same time the injury situation will clear up with improving performances. Until then the discontent will be extremely virulent before fearful hopes get everyone to push behind the team, similarly to what happened after our awful start.
7 seasons now that the we went though the same scenario albeit with slight variations. This season the danger is the greatest we’ve ever faced with the looming prospect of a Liverpool-type descent to hell from where spending a lot of money does not seem enough to escape from. With enough starters back and/or an Arshavin-type savior we can pull off another 04-05 season (the FA cup, a good CL run and very late qualification to the CL). Should injuries blight us further we’re in for a hell of a ride and with apoplectic doom prophets all over the place to make it worst.
I recall having made almost the same post quite a few times over the years already ๐
Quality report as always, ‘Holic.
Have to say I am a bit surprised to see some hail Ferguson for the “clever” tactic of attacking down our flanks. First of all, United have built their game mainly around attacking down the flanks for years and years (remember those guys Beckham and Ronaldo?) and secondly, we all said before the game that they would target our stand-in fullbacks. Not very surprising then that they did just that, right?
We have work to do and big mistakes have been made. But I for one am not going to call for anyone’s head for the simple fact that I firmly believe that very, very few outside of the inner circle of Arsenal FC know what has really been going on behind the scenes. My belief, which may well be wrong of course, is that Arsene would have done a lot more about the squad if given proper backing by the board. Does that mean I am calling for the board to move on and give someone else the reins? No, it does not – because it is only what I believe. I don’t have all the facts. Maybe it is Arsene who is the main culprit, maybe it is the board or a combination of the two.
Pints all round on my tab.
@`Holic: not much more to do than brace ourselves for a wee while at best I’m afraid.
@Champagneblade: Can’t agree with you more on 4-4-2. We’re being penalized for sticking to 4-3-3 when injuries weaken us. We’ve never won anything with 4-3-3 which only works when we play well with our best players available. The force of the champions be it the Invincibles, Chelski and United was always to grind at least draws when they were having a bad day. I am getting convinced we’ll never be able to get to this level of consistency over a full season with 4-3-3.
the press have started a campaign to light a fire between RVP and Wenger by claiming “Arsรจne Wenger under attack from Robin van Persie” he might have disagreed with the decision but he is certainly did not attack the manager. This has shades of Rafa Benitez with Steven Gerard when Torres was substituted. Rafa got the sack after. The hacks will try but Wenger has more say than anybody in the club so I am afraid their campaign to drive Wenger out will fail.
Matt @48
I think that’s a bang on synopsis of where we are.
I would only add to it that the wage bill appears, to me, to have been badly mismanaged, to the point where we are finding it difficult to (a) quickly move on our underachievers; and (b) pay out the market rate to our top performers. The former has resulted in the likes of Vela, Bendtner and Denilson remaining on the books, and the fact that they are still with us, contributing nothing and earning handsome salaries is presumably a major block to the January transfer activity we’re all crying out for.
We could also do with showing a little more ruthlessness with perenially injured players.
Our squad contains a fair few players who are killing themselves for results and cannot be faulted. It also (still) contains a large quantity of dead weight, several of whom will presumably be content to run down their contracts if necessary.
We will probably never have the resources to compete financially with the likes of City and Chelsea, but that only makes it imperative that the club is run as efficiently as possible. Currently, it is clearly not – the above named factors and our horrible long term commercial deals are serving as a major drag factor.
Re: the injuries, I strongly suspect that this phenomena flows on from the above. Arsene clearly does not trust his back up options (quite rightly in many cases) and as a result he is under-rotating his squad. The Santos injury was, of course, eminently avoidable, but I’d say the same of Arteta: why on earth did he start the Leeds game given his age, injury record, importance to the team and number of games already played?
We cannot do much about the landscape around us, but all of the above are problems we can and must solve. A repeat of last summer (which was pure clown school) does not bear thinking about: the lesson of Liverpool is there for all to see.
Morning all.
Nice post Holic.
I’d like to clarify my emotional remarks of last night – written whilst watching the game – my anger was entirely at the decision of the substitution, not at the oncoming substitute.
AA is no longer my favourite player, and I believe my ideas as to where his future lies are clear, but I would never boo one of our players.
Thought Theo was much better in the second half – set up a few chances.
Now to back drink….
In the main a spirited, energetic and determined performance yesterday but the difficulties and short comings were there for us all to see.
Djourou works hard and has a good attitude but he won’t be a full back as long as I’ve got a hole in my arse. It’s not his fault that he is being asked to play a role he is wholly unsuited to and I thought that Yennaris on for him was a good move in spite of Nico’s youth and inexperience. Nico plays with pace, energy, enthusiasm and a lack of fear.
Similarly TV struggled a bit but this I am sure was as much down to a lack of full fitness as the role he was asked to perform – he did lose his attacker for the headed goal.
Loyalty is usually in short supply in football and it is usually a commendable characteristic but it often seems to me that AW carries this virtue to excess. How many chances is AA going to get? Everyone knows exactly what we will get from him on the pitch and I can’t imagine that he contributes much at all to the dressing room and spirit of the team overall off the pitch, in fact I would imagine that he has a bad effect. We all know he doesn’t really want to be here and he even said that he didn’t feel like playing any more after Russia failed to qualify for the Europeans I think it was. I realise that finances are an important issue but can we afford not to off-load him.
Like everyone else I was baffled by replacing The Ox by AA. The team immediately lost it’s momentum and AA was largely at fault for the second goal against us. I only hope that it didn’t/doesn’t piss of The Ox too much.
We have Coquelin to come back and there is also Yennaris and Frimpong out on loan (how bad his injury is I don’t know) and I would rather see these spirited and hard working youngsters given a chance and not have to put up with the slumped shoulders and indifferent attitude of AA any longer. Arsene – please get rid!
On a brighter note we have Wilshere and Arteta to come back soon – but Jack will need some time – together with the full backs and Diaby – yes Diaby – who I still believe could be a great player if only he could get an injury free run of games and there is also Gerviho and Chamakh (cough) who will return from the A Cup. The season is far from over, Chelsea are not looking good and thanks to the spirited effort from the bargain basement team who play just down the road from where I live, got only a point on Saturday. Liverpool are a busted flush and I don’t think Newcastle will sustain their early form. I think fourth place is the best we can do, but it is doable.
‘Holic, I always feel a little soothed by reading your posts and the sense of perspective they bring. Thanks!
Norfolk, I still think third is possible but it is maybe a 10-15% chance. We need Tottenham to falter and stumble while we pick up the pace again and we do of course have to beat them at home. Assuming we do that, that leaves us with seven points to catch up from the other 15 games – difficult but doable. That does, of course, also assume that we get a few players back and don’t lose any more to the treatment table so it really is a best-case scenario.
Likewise, to have a decent chance at fourth spot we most likely have to beat Chelsea at home. That would leave us with two points to catch from the other 15 games, which is definitely doable. But a loss would mean eight points which would of course be much, much more difficult.
The performance yesterday was much better than in the previous few games.
Defeat hinged on not a lot.
Still disappointed with the crowd reaction to the substitution.
Good to see many ‘holics yesterday.
And let’s not forget that the OX started.
There would have been no booing if he hadn’t, strangely.
Props to Rosicky on yesterday’s performance too.
“We prefer with our current team to weave pretty patterns with precision and deliberation.”
Where’s Jackster? ๐
I prefer the game we started to click together when the slump at the start of the season was over and everyone was gelling. Even Theo was playing well. Fast passing, more tempo and much more direct.
I don’t know what’s happened since then, but all this ‘get it, half turn back on yourself, pass it sideways’ stuff is what’s killing us. We have a team that can’t get any momentum going and it comes from the way we are playing.
These players are capable of fast flowing football and they’re not doing it. Ironically, the more they try to keep the ball the more they lose it. Sad to see.
True Ollie
Thought Rosicky was good, and while I was angry with the substitution of Ox, credit for the correct one at half-time of Yennaris for JD.
Thought Yennaris did well, and should play until Sagna is back, even if he looked like he’d lost his Coconuts… ๐
Time to get back to the mindset of Oct – Dec. Just worry about our results. Forget everyone else, and see where we end up. A similar run to that one would be nice. Nose to the grindstone boys….
Indeed Dr C
Measured post from a good view ‘Holic. Your description of the booing left me quite shocked, a lot different from what I was able to perceive during the match, I didn’t want the Ox off cos I’ve seen 1st hand how he can lift the crowd (vs Shrewsbury League Cup) and the sub would have the opposite effect but if he was cramping or fatiqued, what can you do.
DsyDรoctor Faustus @ 14, I can only agree with GoonerTerry’s sentiments @ 30, very nice eloquent post and arguments.
Brendan @ 16, good point. For a player of his calibre, its obvious from his performance that he was rushed back for this game.
abb @ 18, ‘perfect peter’?
The reaction to the sub was indeed shocking and disappointing, includiong ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ chants.
I cringed.
Morning All
‘Holic, good to see you as always yesterday. I find it quite remarkable that you were able to post that amount of good sense and reason considering what you’d managed to consume during the day. I’m guessing that the gift from Top Man Snowy did it’s job and helped to get you back home safe and sound (heh). Perhaps more poignantly for me, your comments @ #8, in reponse to Matt, are a truer reflection of the mood at The HoF yesterday. Plenty of ugliness, some of it condonable, some of it not. Football support is all about passion and commitment for me. Your tale of what happened at the end of the match was really hard to hear. Gooner vs Gooner can never be good and like you I hope the club take some very necessary steps to help resolve the situation. On the flip side, there was also some very passionate positive support going on around me yesterday. Well done the people of Block 129.
Lars @ 49, I liked what you posted. I tend to agree. To me it looks/feels like the gap between Highbury House and London Colney is widening. I believe this to be a primary cause of our current malaise. I think that many, maybe even the majority, of the supporting faithful senses it too. Just to blame AW for where we are today does not bear scrutiny in my opinion.
Some positives from yesterday:
1 – Top company pre and post-match from top GoonerHolics and a couple of others. You know who you are are.
2 – Meeting BtM for the first time. A real pleasure. Looking forward to the next occasion.
3 – Watching the highlights on MoTD it struck me what a fantastic goal our equaliser was. A pacey, perfectly executed, counter-attack. The Invincibles would have been proud of that. Even that pranny Hansen heaped praise on it, incluidng Kos’ tackle which started the whole thing off.
4 – O2TC has emerged as a genuine star-performer in the making. I thought yesterday was his coming-of-age against the tactically astute and well-oiled machine that Yanited are.
5 – Kos and The BFG. With proper full-backs either side of them and with Vermy back in the centre, our defence will look solid again and we’ll be able to kick-on. Note the massive caveats!
6 – Young Yennaris did incredibly well, for the second time, as a very necessary half-time substitute at RB.
7 – Having a good ol’ laugh at the rug-wearing, granny shagger. He will always be a cheating, diving c*nt in my book notwithstanding the fact that he happens to be an incredibly gifted footballer too.
Negatives? Plenty. Like Trev and other regulars here, I’m going to keep my counsel for a while.
Have a good day all. You may need to buckle-up for a bit. The track ahead does not look smooth.
I have to say I was sitting next to two very reasonable and positive Gooners in the stadium, stayed to the very end, clapped the team off, saw some positives and I enjoyed chatting with them post-game too.
Some of the stewarding still feels absurd though as we were asked to sit down despite sitting in the last row. Presumably we were hindering the brick wall/birds’ view….
Props Ollie @ #65 for clapping the team off the field. To my shame, I could not muster that yesterday. I let my disappointment get the better of me. You did the right thing.
Welcome Doctor Faustus @ #14. Just a suggestion, I’d keep that Premier Cru on ice for a happier moment. Nice gesture though.
Blimey Where to start, Positives – Kos Again, Ox and I thought Rosicky put in his best performance for a long long time,Van Persies Finish – Negatives obviously the scoreline and the fact we have no Fullbacks which has contributed massively to the last 3 results, but also worrying is that Song looks knackered and in dire need of a breather,
Now for the substitution โ The fans are not privy to knocks or strains so although it looked bizarre we will never know the real reason, so to boo and jeer for that alone would be most odd but the dissatisfaction shown is a indictment of the club as a whole and what the fans see as a club at best treading water and at worst going backwards,
I wasnโt surprised at the reaction as I doubt many others were as its been brewing for a few seasons and with what happened in the summer (Price increases the selling yet again of our best performers and then the Supermarket sweep on the last day of the window).
Its only surprising that it hasnโt reared its ugly head a lot sooner. Do I agree with it no do I understand it Yes and so should the Club as if things donโt improve its going to get even more vicious and for what Wengers done for the club it will be a sad sad end to his tenure and one I wouldnโt like to see,
The whole club needs a lift and the sort of lift a big signing brings – I know the ethos is not to sign star names but everyone connected to the club from the players to the fans needs to know the club are not settling for 4th or 5th best it will also bring some Harmony to the club as people will at least see they are trying to improve the squad, Yes it costs money but at the end of the day it will bring hope and that is priceless,
And now for those that Boo and Jeer during a game against the Mancs;
Remember Who you are, What you are and Who you represent , The Arsenal are bigger than that bollocks and that saying goes far beyond the playing staff and should strike a chord with every fan, Get behind the lads till the seasons end they are going to need it.
Matt
: weโve had to field a makeshift defense for the most part of every season”
its another one of our excuses. i’m not saying it isn’t true but its an easy crutch to lean on rather than try to overcome it. united also face this – they make do and play carrick/fletcher/valencia there as needed.
I know he has to defend his decisions but to justify bringing the fat pudding on by saying he is captain of Russia is ridiculous. Who cares if he’s captain of Russia? He’s been abysmal for us for a couple of years now. The Ox was having a great game, just before being subbed he had created a goal and nearly created another. The longer the game went the more trouble he gave the Man U defence. For someone supposedly starting to cramp up he was doing brilliantly so why take him off? Arsene’s prickly outburst after the game sadly seem to sum up the complacent, delusional and hubristic way he has run the club in recent times. We have money to spend and a squad badly in need of reinforcements but does anyone seriously think Arsene will do anything about it? What is the point of saving money now and spending it in the summer – if we finish outside of the top 4 we will almost certainly lose some of our better players and won’t it far more difficult to attract top players to a club in the Europa League? Losing to Man U is a blow, but one point before that against Wolves, Swansea and Fulham is completely unacceptable. Worrying times.
Well done, Holic. A very measured and thoughtful report having just got indoors.
Superb day yesterday. Great to meet up with you and the rest of the merry Goonerholic band – excellent, amusing, enjoyable company.
I enjoyed the game. A good contest. Contrary to the mass myopia on the substitution, I thought the turning points were the twin misses by Robin and Rambo just after half time. Had either of these hit the net I think we would have gone on to win.
I expected that we’d be stressed on both wings and that we were came as no surprise. I was pleased to see JD20 spared the agony of another 45 minutes and like many here, I was encouraged by Nico Yennaris contribution in the second half, both defensively and offensively.
Arsenal are blessed with Sczez, Yennaris, Jenkinson, Miquel, Coquelin, Frimpong, Aneke, Afobe, Chamberlain, Ryo, Ramsey and Wilshere (and the young lad who’s playing up at Rangers who’s name escapes me temporarily)
Finally, the level of support in the ground until the sub was superb I thought. I was so loud that the lady sitting next to me kept putting her hands over her ears. Apologies mam, but maybe water aerobics might be more to your audio frequency.
Heh BtM! Your “mass myopia” and “water aerobics” comments are helping to lift my mood on a fairly challenging day ๐
Chippy, good stuff.
Good to see you again, BtM, good post.
Agree with the support until the sub too.
Ollie, me and two other chaps were also told to sit down despite being in the back row at the Bolton game in September. I asked the steward at half-time why we had to sit down despite not blocking anyone’s view and he said they’ve been told it’s just a health- and safety rule that they have to enforce because it is an all-seater stadium. He actually looked a bit embarrassed when he said it, I don’t think he was particularly happy about having to tell people to sit down for no real reason.
Chippy@67: that is a great post.
BtM@70: I agree, it was a rather good game overall in my eyes. Yes, we struggled a little in the first half but we did to a large extent correct that with a half-time sub (I don’t see many giving Wenger credit for that) and for all their possession out wide, ManU didn’t really create anything before the goal. They had the shot from Nani inside the box, but Nani really only had one spot to aim for and that was covered well by Szczesny. Other than that? Not very much. If the Ox really was tired and felt his muscles cramping up then the sub was the right decision. Maybe we could have put Benayoun on instead, but then again that would have meant Arsene would have been targeted for being too defensive-minded when we needed a win.
(And the bloke at Rangers is Kyle Bartley, by the way.)
Spot on Lars, on all accounts.
Morning Holics
I was too deflated and too tired to post last evening. Having left home in an optimistic mood with the prospect of having TV5 back in the side and the Ox in the starting line-up, reality set in not long after kick-off.
As in previous weeks, our passing and control of the ball in the first half was abysmal. We resorted to the Denilson song book of passing the ball across field at snail’s pace.
We were being out paced and out thought on the flanks and very few chances were created. When the first half stats were displayed on the screen at half-time , I was astounded to see we had 5 attempts on goal, 3 on target ! Utter rubbish!
The crowd was very subdued in the first half with little to get us on our feet, so the half-time substitution of JD was met with approval in my area and the increased attacking energy in the team got us going in the second half.
Plenty has already been said about United’s goals which both came from a combination of defensive errors but we did have some great chances in the second half which yet again we failed to take.
As for the substitution ,if the Ox was suffering from cramp,I would have put Miquel on the left, who has looked promising going forward in recent matches and would surely have been better defensively than AA and has a bundle of energy.
The booing by the crowd was embarrassing for the likes of oldies such as myself, who have supported the Club since the 50s. I am as concerned as the next man/woman at the present malaise in the side but give Arsene the benefit of the doubt. We cannot be so judgemental until the team has two of its key members back in the side, Sagna and LJW. The LB berth is a real concern but I don’t have a solution .
Praise must go to Kos for yet another great display, TR7 put in a good effort and to the Ox for his attacking play and enthusing the fans. Theo had another nightmare of a game and how things might have been different had RVP put away his great chance from Rosicky’s pass! I hope young Yennaris gets another chance at RB , he has possibilities of being a class player.
Let’s hope Arteta and TH12 are fit for next week, we still have a chance of a good run in the FA Cup.
As always COYRs
Great post Delia @ 75, sagely words as usual ๐
Fuck, the home game v Newcastle has just been moved from Saturday 3pm to a fucking Monday 8pm kickoff. That puts very effective paid to the plans I had to attend both the Milan game and the NUFC one. I might still be at the Milan game, though – I have got tickets for both me and the missus for that one, but it depends on other variables too.
Cheers, Ollie.
Morning all.
The sub of Johan for Yennarris was of course correct, and shouldn’t be overlooked by the ‘has AW lost it’ brigade.
The OX sub will bewilder us. Quite why AW treats us with such disdain by not explaining it isn’t good.
But the whole thing still spins on the fact that defensively we are simply awful. Yeah yeah, both the R & L backs are out, blah blah… but we are strangers in defence.
Might be better if AW doesn’t spend any money. Keep it for the new manager to spend on the players he wants might be a better idea.
AW to leave I hear you say? What?
I doubt that he’ll stay when his contract is up, June 2013 I think that is. Booing won’t sit well with his pride. Or is that arrogance?
Afternoon all,
Have to say I am still struck by the extremes of civility and hostility I witnessed yesterday.
Great to see so many ‘holics in the pub. Thanks for providing the high spots of the day. My badge is secure ๐
BtM, fine guests as usual. If only I didn’t have to witness the hour and a half in between session one and session two ๐
Ollie and Lars
Re standing up…. I was at a rugby game in the land of the convicts, British Lions vs Australia in 2002.
Right at the back of a pretty steep stadium. When we scored we naturally went berserk… and I ended up upside down 3 rows lower than when I started. The chap I landed on took a swing at me. Probably fair enough.
So health and safety…. BUT I was sitting before the try, and what tripped me up? The seats….
And maybe the influence of the pub before, of course…
Lars, what a fucking joke.
These monday kick-offs have to stop!
One more game I’ll probably not attend then.
Cunts.
Dr C, I thought about that ‘not tipping over’ thing, but the FACT (as LR would say) is that you stand up for goals, all over the stadiums, and you’re in fact more likely to tip over as you’re already doing an upwards movement, no?
Whereas in the last row, and if you’re already standing, you don’t have that movement, and nobody will push you in the back either.
Sorry for the long post, quoting Mediawatch from F365, as usual.
Why Wenger Really Can’t Win Here
Mediawatch is perfectly aware that it was frustrations from other things boiling over that contributed to that furious reaction to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s substitution on Sunday.
However, the booing and whatnot was particularly ridiculous, especially when one bears in mind (as others have said) the reaction to Oxlade-Chamberlain’s signing in the first place.
And not just from the fans. John Cross, The Daily Mirror’s Arsenal correspondent, reports this morning:
‘Arsene Wenger reacted angrily after Arsenal fans turned on him following a third successive defeat. They chanted: “You don’t know what you’re doing” and booed after Wenger substituted Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (after his impressive full Premier League debut.
‘Gunners captain Robin van Persie also appeared to shout “no” as TV cameras panned on to his reaction after the substitution. The mood then turned even uglier when Oxlade-Chamberlain’s replacement Andrey Arshavin was at fault on Danny Welbeck’s winner.’
And here’s how Cross reported Oxlade-Chamberlain’s signing back in August: ‘Arsene Wenger finally got Arsenal’s chequebook out on Monday – but left some Gunners fans raging over who he hasn’t signed. Wenger tied up a ยฃ15million deal for talented Southampton teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. But fed-up Arsenal supporters want to know why he is prepared to spend big on a rookie but not on proven Premier League players.’
So basically, Wenger shouldn’t have signed Oxlade-Chamberlain but now he’s been proved correct and the lad has turned out to be quite handy, the knives are out after he took the rather ballsy decision to start the youngster in one of the biggest games of the season but took him off when the 18-year-old was cramping up.
Good. Glad that’s clear.
Cheers ollie and Lars,
Its good to be back although work dictates i can no longer spend so long in the bar ๐ Just a shame its not in happier circumstances !!
Ollie@84: well caught by Mediawatch.
I am going to go somewhat against the grain here but I personally don’t think Arsene Wenger deserves any credit for the half time substitution of JD. He shouldn’t be anywhere near right back, especially when confronted by guys like Nani.
I’ve seen more potential at right back in the two recent occasions when young Yannaris has been slotted in there, he at least seems to understand how to play the position. Whereas anytime Djourrou plays at full back it’s a nightmare just waiting to happen. His ambling out toward Giggs for the cross for the first was just cringe-worthy, and epitomised the lack of energy in our play the whole of the first half.
I know Arsene wants to protect young players but the substitution at half time demonstrates that he got the original decision wrong, so he ain’t getting plaudits from me on that one.
And the other question (I’ll ignore talking about Oxlade Chamberlain sub, I said my piece on it yesterday in the drinks) that Arsene Wenger needs to answer is why, oh why, do we not play with the intensity that we showed in the second half (until the substitution) from the get-go? It just happens too many times. It’s hard not to conclude that the players have stopped listening to him, and now manifesting in his own captain questioning his substitutions publicly.
And as for blaming injuries. We really need to look in the mirror and recognise that United had massive injury problems yesterday as well. The fact is that the squad is not good enough. There are too many players on the payroll who are not of the required quality if we really want to play CL football every season. The bar has been raised and some of these guys can’t reach it.
Now, were you all too subdued to go table dancing, or what? ๐
Chippy @ 67 – post of the day, thus far.
Itโs hard not to conclude that the players have stopped listening to him,
Have to completely disagree with you there zico……as shown by the reaction after half-time. Weird thing to say.
tabs did the ‘liar, liar’ thing briefly, but not on the table
Why do they only listen at half time then Ollie?
They were all fucking sleep walking in that first half. We seem to have to wait on conceding a goal before some of them wake up.
Ollie @83 – precisely. Unless they ban you from standing for a goal…
I find it hard writing this comment on the back of a day of indeed mixed feelings.
I had been prepared to eat humble pie on my pre season rant re the manger and the board falling asleep at the wheel of the good ship Arsenal.
If the manager doesn’t see the need to explain decisions to those who make the effort to attend the games, sing the songs and buy the shirts then who is he answerable too? Having been in the game 30yrs fails in comparison to people who have supported the club for a lot longer (holic and clive….) and so what if AA is the captain of Russia???
These comments more than anything that happened yesterday are my main cause for concern. It’s is not your Arsenal, Arsene. It always is and always will be the The Arsenal and that belongs to the fans.
No one is bigger than the club. Not even you Arsene.
Good point in your first two paras, zico.
Though I am not sure I agree with the theory on players not listening to him. But if you are right, then we are in for a very, very frustrating last few months of this season.
I’m a bit confused here about people suggesting that Wenger feels he doesn’t need to explain himself to the fans.
I was under the impression that he had: cramping calf, fatigue, recent flu, Russian international captain, all that sort of stuff.
It doesn’t mean you have to agree with the sub, or accept his explanation, but it doesn’t seem particularly fair to criticise him for failing to provide one.
It won’t be a popular view on here, I’m sure, but I actually felt that Van Persie’ reaction was slightly out of order. I know it’s probably what he felt inside, god knows most of us felt the same, but he’s the club captain and it’s not his role to publicly question substitutions.
Have a word in private, by all means, but you’ve got to back your gaffer out on the field, otherwise you’ll never be a team; just 11 lads with differing opinions on what to do next.
Finally, re: the booing, part of the problem with this stuff is there’s no way of telling precisely whether people were booing AOC being taken on, Arshavin being put on or a little bit of both. At least one blog I’ve seen this morning makes it clear that at least part of the support were chiefly reacting to the arrival of the Russian, and I’m quite sure he’ll have felt as if they all were.
I would personally flog Arshavin at the earliest available opportunity. His attitude stinks and he’s not worth a spot in the squad. However, I have to question whether any footballer ever played better after being booed onto the pitch by his own support (whatever the intentions of that booing might have been).
Wind @ 62 the peter principle: being promoted to where you rise to the level of incompetence. Theo should not be a starter, utilize him as a sub in the 2nd half. Now to back drink.
Lars @ 56 I too would love to see us finish fourth but the fact is a chance of that requires us to have a near perfect finish to the season and Spuds to slip up big time and I don’t see either of those things happening (shame).
Zico @ 87 I think the pedestrian starts to our matches are indicative of a lack of confidence, and nervous tension. It is the mind set of ‘we must be careful’ rather than, ‘lets beat the crap out of this lot and make them wish they had never come here’. Perhaps AW’s prematch preparation is at fault but whatever else he certainly sorted it at half time.
Still can’t fathom the Ox/AA thing though – if he wanted to rest Ox and prevent possible injury then perhaps it might have been better to have brought on someone else – Miquel or Benny for instance?
Ollie @ 88 Agree 100%. 2nd half performance much improved.
Lars – that should have read third not fourth! Senior moment (again).
Drilled cross into the box, who wants it?
Just bothered to watch the highlights.
Man U are a bunch of jammy bastards. We nearly scored even after Arshavin came on.
Ox was great and Rosicky still impresses me on the highlights.
Although you could argue that if he had confidence in his scoring ability, he could have had a go rather than pass to RvP early in the second half. Still it’s one Robin would have scored 9 times out of 10.
Still gutted, but realising there’s been a lot of over-reaction really.
Come on You Rip-Roaring Reds. Regroup and Revolt.
Heh, totally unexpected goal, I hadn’t refreshed since 93.
Fabulous assist, Wind!
Lars @ 56 I too would love to see us finish fourth but the fact is a chance of that requires us to have a near perfect finish to the season and Spuds to slip up big time and I donโt see either of those things happening (shame).
Norfolk96, are you forgetting that, Spurs aside, we are competing with Cuntski for 4th place and they are not far ahead?
I think that the point of putting Arshavin on rather than Yossi or Miquel was to try and win the game.
It backfired badly, true.
And now I have read your 98, Norfolk, sorry, I really back-drink one by one.
Have your favourite drink, on me.
Ollie great goal obviously brought about by your terrific team spirit. Wind, I keep telling you, you have what it takes to go far lad, timely assist as usual.
N7 Gooner @ 94 re AA. I’m of the opinion this lad is guilty of self flagellation. He appears to be in the grips of a clinical depression and needs treatment ASAP!
Well in Ollie and many thanks nurse abb, you both warm my gentle heart with your kind praise ๐
The more I think of the booing, the more incensed I get.
What sort of cunts boos like that when an attaicking sub is made, in a game that is finely poised at 1-1?
Whatever you think of Arshavin’s current form (and I too wasn’t pleased to see him come on for the Ox?), it’s just a ridiculous thing to do.
I really didn’t get it, still don’t get it.
Thanks Wind. I feel compelled to apologise for some of my language I used yesterday, no excuses and I’m mortified, truly. My support of AW has in no way diminished. He is the genius that brought us Arteta, Per, and Santos. We were on quite a fabulous roll prior to Santos, and then Arteta getting injured. I firmly believe his hands are bound when it comes to financial matters. My hope is that the board will review yesterday’s game and focus on RVP, when we thought he mind have sustained an injury. Now on to face the real world, chores and work. Still, I’m smiling, can’t get that image of Per’s outstretched leg preventing a goal. What a save!
LeG Rash!!!!!
Where You Donโt Just Get My View โ You Can Give Me One Too! Fact!!! In My Opinion!!!!!
So – as the football world looked on – some so-called Arsenal supporters made themselves look like a right bunch of ignorant so-and-soโs when they booed Arsene so-called Wenger for hooking off The Ox, and calling on the AA to go and break down the Mancs defence and rescue a tricky situation.
Regular readers, of my humble musings, will know that I DO NOT/WILL NOT/NEVER criticise our own fans (well, not in every blog anyway).
But the booing we heard last night was not ACCEPTABLE!!!
In fact Iโm not afraid to speak out in much stronger/harsher/tougher terms than that โ Arse fans – and state – hear and now THAT, not only was the booing not ACCEPTABLE โ it was utterly/totally/completely UNACCEPTABLE!!!
AND I make no APOLOGIES for talking/writing/typing in such strong terms. TRIPLE FACT!!!
In fact the whole thing was a global embarrassment that belittled our great club and made pigmies of us all – swallow that one!!!
Now donโt get me wrong – I don’t mind doing a bit of booing of your own team/manager/players etc. with the best of them.
As it happens Iโve been at it on my own in the stadium for the last 2 months. AND the people that were sitting next to me at the start of the season will back me up on that – once they get back from wherever theyโve been for the last 5 or 6 weeks.
OK, so what Iโm saying is that the idiots what booed, booed the wrong fukkinโ substitution in my opinion!!!
I DEMAND to know why the fuk did the so-called manager go and pull-off Dorhju โ in front of a world-wide audience. Disgusting!!! In my Opinion. No need for it. Fact!!!
Heโs a big lad and it takes him at least half a game to get going. Youโve got to think of him (and I DO hope Mr. Le Managerโs looking in!!!) โ as being a bit like an oil tanker โ only much, much, much, much, much, much slower on the turn.
Heโd gone and made all his mistakes in the first-half – fact! He would have had a blinding second-half and would probably have won the whole fukkin’ match for us – TRUSSED ME ON THAT!!!!!
But no – Monsieur le clever-bollox hauls him off and chucks on another unknown kid (who ok, did OK), but did he go on to win us the game in the way Dojhouruo was all set to do??? NO – HE DID NOT! A BIG FAT IN YOU’RE FUKKIN’ FACE FACT!!! Which makes very, very, very, very, very difficult reading – in black and white – I know!!!!!
So I booed DuJuouhu’s substitution throughout the first 20 minutes of the second-half, and was perfectly willing to explain why to anyone who asked why I was doing it. But as I say, the seats nearest me are all empty at the mo (I think theyโre all on holiday or somethink) so no-one asked. But if they had I would have fukkinโ told โem. Fact!
So no – I didnโt boo when The Ox was pulled off. And Iโm speaking as one among many who heavily criticised Le Prof (Le profit more like) when he wasted 15 million of our hard-earned on an unknown youngster.
โThere Arsene so-called Wenger goes againโ – I wrote at the time – โoff on another one of his big ego trips, spending fortunes on ANOTHER FOREIGN YOUNGSTER who might or might not make it before fukkinโ off to Man City etc. for 30 million quid or so โ what a waste of bloody money. Our bloody money! Fact!!!!โ
And alright โ I might have been wrongish, so shoot me! We all make mistakes every now and then โ move on people!!! However, I digest.
I didnโt boo when The Ox was pulled off BECAUSE he WAS HAVING a good game against the league champions and the crowd WERE getting RIGHT BEHIND him.
For me, at that point, BANG! the alarm bells started ringing in my head (or it might have been someone’s phone – I’m not entirely sure).
Fukkinโ hell – this is gonna go to this kidโs fukkinโ head, I remember fukkinโ thinking to my fukkin’ self.
โOY, ARSENE – Pull The fukkinโ Ox off – right fukkinโ NOW!!!!โ
I screamed at the bench (I sit about 20/30 rows back from it) .
And what do you know – WALLOP!, would you believe it, The Ox’s number went up!
In fact so soon did it happen after I called out my instructions that I think some of the booing in my section, at that moment, may have been aimed at me.
BUTT I STAND by WHY I decided to call for that substitution, and am more than happy to go into details here re my reasons:
As regular readers of my insights will know โ Iโve played a bit meself. Sunday morning stuff mostly โ but always in the top 5 or 6 divisions. So I know what itโs like to be young and talented AND to have everyone watching – adore you and want a peace of you.
It happened to my mate Micky once, and it sent him off the rails/right road.
The story goes – we had a massive semi on over 2 legs (fact!!!), in the London and Kent borders lower leagues cup. Mickey banged in the goal that won us the tie, and when we got back to the changing room we got pissed on Pomagne by way of a celebration – and Mickey, of course, drank the most โcos he was the hero of the hour.
But unfortunately he crashed his motor on the way home, swerving to avoid a black bin bag that blew across the A12 which he – in his worse-for-wear state – mistook for a wayward labrador. He broke both legs – missed the final and lost his license for 3 years. Fact! It happens!!!
So the manager yanked The Ox off before it all went to his head, in my opinion.
And to my knowledge there have been no reports of The Ox crashing his car on the way home or braking any bones โ so that people is job done! Itโs good, forward thinking/big pitcher management!
So neither me nor the Frenchman deserved the boos we got for that decision! Full-on Fukkinโ Fact! Take it!!!!
So suckers – if you are gonna boo your own team/manager/managerโs assistantish โ and to my mind thereโs no finer sound in football – pick the right fukkin’ moment next time!!!!! That way youโll save yourselves looking like a right bunch of ignorant ignoramuses (for those that donโt know, theyโre a web-footed, egg-laying mammal with scaly skin and a large snout โ found mostly in the Australian outback) in my opinion โ which is of course fact!!! In my opinion!??!!?
Piece!!!
Blimey don’t ‘e go on above. I for one refuse to read it – fact!
Heh AL! ๐
Aaahhh Dr F
You can continue to hide behind flimsy reasons for your bad mood yesterday – dodgy subs etc, but one look at the Holic League reveals the real reason….
Go the Rollers!!!!
PS Ollie and others in the drive for purity, I have dumped Clichy and only have to get rid of Silva to complete the transformation.
From Vegetarian to vegan, or GT to nurse ABB, as it were….
I’m worried about RVP, I truly am. Firstly yesterday he’s the only player you can rely on to put the ball in the net, and when the next reliable person was taken off, the look of exasperation jolted me back and forth to contract talks and him potentially not signing. I haven’t seen such a frustrated look on his face since he had to come off in last season’s League Cup Final.
I have been looking for something to cheer me up all day. Then I have a quick flick onto the BBC sports pages and there it is. How could we forget? Today is day one of The Crown versus Redknapp.
Awesome.
Looks like LeG Rash is back with a bang! ๐
‘Holic and ‘Holics, Thank you for yet another friendly welcome at the pub yesterday.
I found the apoplexy in the ground unexpected actually as it was so much more aggresssive than any previous grumblings. I’m not sure whether it was the same in other areas but it didn’t seem to be about Arshavin rather the selection of the Ox to come off rather than anyone else at all (and particularly Theo). Sorry if this has been said already – I haven’t yet had a chance to read all the Drinks.
Anyway, here’s to the next game. I find it much more relaxing without the weight of expectation in terms of results so continue to remain upbeat about my beloved team.
Haven’t long ago spoke to relatives who were in Block 3, where a large argument broke out re: booing.
The consensus being that for a grand a year i’ll boo if i want, how else are you meant to let them know that you’re not happy?
And that the booing is more a culmination of all things in the last 3 or so years.
Losing good players, not replacing them.
Being 4 nil up away at Newcastle and capitulating.
6% on season ticket prices.
Losing a cup final to a relegated team, managed by a monkey faced cunt.
Losing by 8 – 2
Tactical naivity
Persisting with players that aren’t good enough
To name a few.
abb @ 106
Maybe this is the solution to our problems.
Arrange a public flogging of Arshavin.
Sell tickets.
Buy new left back with the (doubtless handsome) proceeds.
Everyone’s a winner!
Mr C – you can take solace in the HT league if you wish, but my thoughts were far from that particular side-show yesterday (and still are).
Not even nutmegging the opposition goalkeeper in last night’s 7 a side was able to lift the dark cloud.
As a club, we have inflicted a lot of our difficulties on ourselves, whether by accident or design, I really don’t care.
The self-harming is causing me equal measures of depression and frustration.
I am locking myself in my room with a bottle and some pills.
Do not disturb. (Unless you are Swedish, and female). ๐
Boo at full time if you really really must express your dissatisfaction that way. But booing during the game, when a sub is made at 1-1 in a finely balanced game, a sub that could still make a difference and create a winning goal, especially if he’s got the support of the crowd, is just mindless, totally mindless.
Again I’m not saying I’m happy with the sub or the timing of it, but I don’t know all the people at pitch level know, and I still find absolutely no excuse for some of that crowd reaction when it happened.
heh N7.
N7, I assume the team’s sport psychogist has been working closely with AA but he needs to be on an antidepressant. There are a few with minimal side effects that he may really benefit from. This man is suffering.
Agree Ollie Re: The booing
I guess it was an instantaneous reaction, not only to the substitution but also to the state of the club this season
Agree totally that it was the wrong moment to boo
Afternoon All ,
A bruising day indeed . A very sore hip suggests that at some point I took a tumble . Quite something when your injury crisis starts affecting , not just your players , but the fanbase as well !
Anyway on to all things yesterday . The general consensus in the pub beforehand was that injuries meant that we were exposed down the flanks , that Manchester United would more than likely take advantage , and that we would do well to get a point . Given that that is what then came to pass , I’m not sure why there is now such a collective bout of dummy-spitting .
In the first half we were second-best in everything . Djourou was rightly targeted by United , and his removal from the fray for the far more assured Yennaris , says more about the wisdom of persisting with Djourou in an unfamiliar role for so long , than it does about any half-time tactical astuteness .
Come the second half , and we at last managed to impose ourselves higher up the pitch . RVP missed a sitter , Ramsey blasted high and not so handsome , and The Ox was only inches away with a rasper .
Largely forgotten in the welter of criticism that now greets any defeat was how good our equaliser was . A Bobby Mooresque tackle from the excellent Kos , a lovely ball from Rosicky who worked tirelessly and skilfully for 90 mins , a wonderful first touch and vision from the Ox , and a finish from RVP that was much more in keeping with the season he is having than his earlier miss .
Game on , and then THAT moment . The substitution of The Ox must rank right up there as one of Arsene’s more bizarre decisions . There was no booing where I was , (up in the gods at the Clock End) , though there was much bewildered consternation . The booing appeared to come largely from those sitting immediately behind the technical areas . What shouldn’t be doubted is that it was aimed at the decision itself rather than the arriving Arshavin .
Football is all about momentum , and the decision , together with the reaction to it , killed ours . We shall of course never know if we would have gone on to win , whether The Ox would have defended any better than Arshavin ultimately did , or whether the surge of belief engendered by the part he played in our goal might have lead the Ox to even greater heights . What I do know is that the Ox had featured prominently in nearly all of our brighter moments , and the decision to remove him from the fray was indefensible . Cramping ? Don’t buy it , the kid could have played the last 20 on adrenalin alone .
The booing itself ? You pays your money and takes your choice I suppose . In 42 years of support ( often of far inferior sides to this one ) , I have never felt the need to boo one of our own , especially a man who has done so much for this Club . They have a right to boo , I have a right to call them cunts .
So instead of the last 20 being played out in front of a feverish home support roaring on their team to an unlikely victory , the atmosphere became fractious whilst the team itself became inhibited .
United’s second goal always looked a decisive one , and in truth , we never really threatened to draw level a second time . Arshavin’s performance at Swansea had the look of a valedictory one . His brief appearance yesterday did nothing to assuage that notion and surely a parting of the ways is now better for all concerned .
And so it seems that we are now back to where we were after the defeat at Blackburn . Three months of solid hard work has been forgotten and the latent dissatisfaction which had lain dormant has once again bubbled to the surface and will no doubt be stoked by the poisonous pair at Le Grove and others of similar persuasion .
Except that we’re not where we were after the defeat at Blackburn are we ? We are a not insurmountable 5 points off 4th , whilst we have eminently winnable games in the Cups . We have players to return who will improve our team in a significant way .
F*cking onwards and f*cking Upwards !
Great to see all the regulars yesterday , and great to meet both BTM and Bathgooner for the first time .
Oh and I forgot to mention the end of Tottenham’s challenge before it had even started .
‘Arry Rednapp told me Tottenham were good . I said “liar , f*ckin’ f*ckin’ liar” ! ๐
also to the state of the club this season
That’s what I don’t get at that moment in the game.
I must be dumb.
Splendidly written at 125, tabs!
Heh, the liar routine MUST catch on.
I don’t care what you say @ 125 – I’m not coming out of my room.
Not till the rum is finished, anyway……
Cheers Ollie .
Nice stuff Mr Leg Rash ๐
Dr F , come out , come out , wherever you are …
Evenin tabs, great to f*ckin’ well see you yesterday too! ๐
Regarding our goal yesterday, check my #64 ‘positive point 3’. Couldn’t agree more.
Now, who’s for a nice cup of ‘Rosie(Lee)47’? Just twitch if you want one….
LeG Rash – Very funny. Fact!!!
Heh TS @131! Just been reading the prosecution’s case. I’m no expert, but…. rearrange; fire / smoke / without/ . / rights / bang to.
TaBs. excellent summary.
Dr F. Mind if I join you with the rum? I’m not Swedish or female, but I have some tales of dark eyed senoritas…..
tabs,
Winnable cup ties – do you honestly think the way we are playing, with a reliance on a 4 3 3 system that doesn’t really suit the players we have got (i.e they are not good enough) that AC Milan will not rip us a new arsehole?
We are going to have to find something special in a very short space of time. Return of Jack and the right back will help, but I a, already conerned about the level of expectation that is going to be placed on Wilshere’s return. And we probably still wont have a left back, as Gibbs can’t be relied upon to stay fit.
Sorry, but I am finding it hard to be optimistic about this squad of players – and I don’t detect any ambition on the part of Arsene or the Board to come clean and admit what we all know – many of these players are not good enough.
Dr Feelgood: rum, eh? I bet what you really mean is “until I’ve read all these gentlemens’ magazines that I bought on my last trip to London”…
tabs: great post! And I have to admit that I now find it rather improbable that Sp*rs shall win the league. But when Bale and Defoe broke through I was saying “this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening” to myself – and Defoe made sure it wasn’t!
LeG Rash – very funny as always ๐
Cheers Mr.C
Harold may well be forced to enjoy tossed salad with that cup of Rosie ๐
Thanks for the reminder tabs… ‘bathgooner’ great to meet you for the first time too. Hope the journey back wasn’t too tedious.
A well considered big-pitcher bit @ 125 tabs – well played!
i like wat Ollie’s got to say at 121 too
Up The Arse!
I was at the game yesterday. Where we sit, there was general dis-belief and shouts of ‘no’ and ‘why’ when the Ox’s number came up as i’m sure most people thought it would be Theo coming off. There were a few idiots booing but i think that was directed at the decision rather than the little Russian, at least i hope so. At the end of the day, it was AW’s decision to make the change, not Arshavins’, and you must feel for him (he is a human being at the end of the day) having to stand on the sidelines waiting to come on to a chorus of boos.
There are a few clowns in our area that i believe actually prefer it when things go wrong. They take more interest in jeering our players with sarcastic soundbites than getting behind the team. I’m sure they care about the club but in my opinion its a funny way to go about it. Also, after shelling out over a grand for my ticket and the associated costs its starting to grind me down!
On top of that, at the end of the game i felt the need to make my way directly to the refreshment area where i paid ยฃ4.80 for a pint of Tetleys that looked and tasted like it been sat there since the Leeds game……
Zico @ 134 – we’ll kick their Milanese A-holes nay bother.
i’ll bet yer 5 farthings on that here and now. Shame you weren’t at The Tollie last night, your calming (ahem) influence and sleeves were missed
Evening TS . Sorry hadn’t done all the back-drinking . I see you made the same point re our goal . Great minds etc ๐
Cheers Mr C .
Hey , Lars , I told you to trust me ! ๐ Will admit that the line between victory and defeat up at Eastlands yesterday was a very thin one , which makes their defeat all the more enjoyable . Have to take pleasure where you can find it in these troubling times …
Dr Z @134 – The point I was trying to make , perhaps not very well , was not particularly to advocate a head in the sand optimism , but really just to say , that at this point in time , all is not lost , (far from it) , and now is not the time for the support to become fractured , when there is still a lot to play for .
With you on the 4-3-3 , I am no great fan , but now you come to mention it , no , I don’t think AC will rip us a new one . I think it will be a tight contest which will most likely be decided by who takes their chances .
Cheers AL , any idea what time we left the juicer last night ? It’s all a bit blank . ๐
zico: I absolutely agree that there might be unrealistic expectations on Jack, in any case he will need a couple of games to get going. However, if we get Sagna back that will make a huge difference to our attacking game as well as the defensive stability on the right. Gervinho will most likely be back as well, the final of the ACN is on February 12 and we play Milan three days later so we can have Mr Forehead back even if the Ivory Coast goes all the way.
tabs: I took very much delight in the way they lost that game! It didn’t compensate for us losing, of course, but it made it a little bit more bearable. And it also means we still have a small chance of overtaking them, which is not unimportant at all.
To whoms this may apply – laughing through the bitter tears of a defeat that’s still making you sick to the stomach I would hope.
Me personally I’ve been doing my bit/leading the fight back by standing at the roundabout at The Angel all day and booing every big red bastard bus that goes by – “you don’t know what you’re doing” – I was screaming at each bus as they went by. Until one of the drivers got off and punched me on the nose.
Still I think I got my point across – and I feel much better for it. Apart from me throbbing hooter, obviously.
UREDS (apart from the number 38 which was at The Angel about half-past 3 this afternoon)!
…and if the IC go out in the quarter-finals, then Gervinho will be back well over a week before the Milan first leg.
Lars,
Mathematically speaking only and as things stand, the LWCs have a greater chance of catching The Vulgarians than we do the LWCs.
HOWEVER, we’re Arsenal and they’re the LWCs so….. well you know the rest ๐
Anyway, let’s see if we can get back in the top 4 before worrying about that lot down road. I personally believe if we can do that, the rest will pretty much take care of it itself. Big IF at the moment though…
We, as supporters, can certainly do our bit to help. I think it’s a real test for the team and supporters alike.
Mr Storey, that is True. But the idea is of course that Looting Town at some point, logically, should hit a bad patch of form and maybe even suffer an injury or two like every other team. If that happens and we find our feet again, then we have a small chance of catching them.
And I might add that hoping we get past Sp*rs is because that would almost certainly mean we end up in the top four. I am honestly not that bothered about finishing above them just for the sake of it. We can worry about that if we make the top four.
You know what’s strange?
Despite a lot of African footballers plying their trade in France, there seems to be no trace of the ACN on French television so far, big or small channels.
Shocking. Eurosport used to have it, but tonight they’re going ESPN on us and showing a monday French Cup game.
I’m still bitter about the French Cup TV schedule, previous round they did their ‘regional channels’ shenanigans, but this round, I think only Eurosport showed some games.
Right,
Sorry tabs, you and I are usually on the same page – but look at how many passengers we are carrying in the squad to compete at the top end of the league not just this season but beyond.
The summer could prove to be as agonising as last with Van Persie on the verge of running down his contract, and a major championship rendering the signing of players as difficult as ever, if not more. Even if we finish fourth, presumably we will have to play a qualifier without our best players because they have been involved in Poland and Ukraine?
And Lars, pinning your faith on Gervinho? It’s his first season but come on, he couldn’t hit a cows arse with a banjo…..
I am bowing out until the black cloud disappears….
Room service – more ice for Dr F. ๐
I don’t think we have THAT many passengers, Dr Z, and we certainly got rid of a few.
I think you need a prescription from the MC.
You sound more like ‘doom service’ than ‘room service’ ๐
My Dear Feelgood
As requested, the Leonard Cohen collection on iTunes has been purchased on your behalf (consider it an early birthday present) and is being sent to your ‘Feckin Apple’ as I write this.
Enjoy and may your black clouds be lined with silver.
Yours, Edwin.
Jaysus, Frank Leboeuf is commentating that French Cup game.
Don’t know if I’ll watch it, but I’ll certainly turn the sound off.
zico: I am not pinning my hopes only on Gervinho, but having him is a better option than Arshavin. I mean, starting with him and Oxlade on each wing and then having Theo as an impact sub sounds a lot better to me than having Arshavin as a non-impact sub. And that is a FACT!!! ๐
(basically: Gervinho + Jack + Gervinho = rather significantly improved chances of knocking out Milan, that was the point I was trying to make)
Ollie: here in Sweden, Eurosport are showing Morocco-Tunisia right now. The co-commentator is none other than former Arsenal keeper Rami Shaaban, by the way.
Lars: is Gervinho the new Andy Goram? ๐
tabs @ 142 I think i left about half 10ish. You dear boy, was still possibly still at it – though there were few/maybe no-one else in there bar the ever-charming tollie bar staff who were sweetly putting up with us – from what i can hazily recall
Poppet, thank you. One of two people to provide me with tinctures of the highest quality yesterday. It was an absolute pleasure to see you both again.
TaBS, I bow to your staying power, sir. No wonder you cannot remember what time it all ended. Hope your mysterious bruise is quickly recovered.
Ollie, no football tonight , please. Monday night is music night with Gunner Rob over at JFSR and frankly I need the distraction.
Feeling really odd about yesterday. I was screaming “No, Arsene” when that substitution was made, but sat down once the booing started. It shook me rigid. Then the fellas turning on a well-known lad at the end. I couldn’t believe it. I know we’re all hurting at the moment, but turning on your own in that fashion is not something I am comfortable with.
I’m afraid Arseblog may be on the money with his assessment of yesterday being ‘a watershed moment’. I have said all along Arsene deserves the chance to build another great side as long as we are qualifying for the Champions League. That looks a forlorn hope at the moment. It means in the summer I could well be asking myself the unthinkable. I fear the conclusion I may come to.
Norfolk Dumpling: re: AA
“We all know he doesnโt really want to be here and he even said that he didnโt feel like playing any more after Russia failed to qualify for the Europeans I think it was.”
What a load of shit. 1) He wanted to be here, according to his own words (although I cannot bet how it is after last game), 2) he wants to play but never ever got proper playing time this season, 3) FYI, Russia succesfully qualified for the Europeans 2012.
I cannot get that people keep saying that Wenger prefer Arshavin & Walcott to Ox. While Walcott is a real first-teamer (like Ramsey), Arshavin had a playing time only occasionally. I’m yet to see any player who would keep his form playing once in a three weeks as a sub. Wenger was killing him all the season and finished yesterday.
Half ten, AL?
You boys must have been absolutely plastered.
I take it ‘holics outlasted arsebloggers again?
It has to be said Ollie that the ‘holics are a formidable drinking team. I feel positively blessed to be making the first eleven at the moment, but I am far from being the star man ๐
Actually, starting to recall a supply of decent malts as the evening progressed, and that wonderful man from Bath kick-started it I believe.
I have a bottle of sixty proof Knob Creek to start on tonight. I have to confess it was a top arseur who provided that particular treat.
Actually, although there were clearly moments to forget yesterday, the social aspect of the games seems to be building with the arseurs, ‘holics, Akhil’s mob, and a host of regulars in the battle cruiser chatting and laughing with each other more and more.
Let’s hope nobody steals your sign on the train, ‘holic.
However, I think someone else now deserves the ‘bad influence’ tag ๐
We kicked their erm, arseblogging arse’s on that front Ollie – i think.
‘Holic @ 156 when topman Snowy and myself were chatting last night the phrase (re that substitution) possible ‘tipping point’ got a coupla of mentions i seem to recall. But I don’t think all is lost – yet.
oops, pardon – arses!
Bloody hell – looks like the HT needs some stabilisers right now!
Prof TES – perhaps you could advise if all safety features are working?
I’d hate to ask Dr F right now, especially with his Leonard Cohen session in full swing… ๐
When Ollie is the cheerful one, then we know things are getting weird!
๐
No offence Ollie… ๐
Not just the substitution AL.
The point about going into a game against them with no full-backs is a salient one I think. I know I would shoot myself down with ‘who was available to buy or loan?’ but …
Ollie@154: heh, it would seem he is!
Holic , great to see you , and no worries re the injury , just a bruise . The fact that I can’t remember doing it is of more concern ! ๐
Have to disagree with your contention @159 however . You clearly ARE the star man . Thanks again for your efforts in getting me a ticket . Had a great time , disappointing result notwithstanding .
AL @155 – Thanks for the info ๐ My last salient memory was chewing over the day’s events with yourself and Snowy . Memory loss appears to have coincided with the introduction of the “little drinks” . When will I ever learn ? Speaking purely for myself , Ollie is on the money . “Absolutely plastered ” sums it up very well , today’s raging headache attests to that .
Dr Z , it looks like you need cheering up . Here’s one I prepared earlier ๐
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrLLXIodU60
@N7 Gooner: I agree with most of your points although I’d like to point out that many wanted RvP out and Diaby signed an extension after his most successful season.
As for the injuries I’m very bitterly disappointed. For all the talks of GPS tracking devices, state of the art treatment facilities etc in the last couple of years we’re still topping the injury league.
@i hate barca: In the last 7 years United and Chelski have had on average 30% less injuries than us. United have a freakish season with injuries so far, luckily for them the injuries are sprinkled over all positions and they have more depth (4 strikers!) with a 30M striker and 20M GK on the bench. Still not sure they would keep up at the top with 6 defenders out.
BTW our injuries are not an excuse. It’s merely an observation and it still begs the question of why there hasn’t be any noticeable improvement over the years while Chelski and United consistently have 30+ years-old play many games without injuries. When Vidic gets injured for most of the season it’s an exceptional blow for them. Every season we’ve got 3-4 such blows.
And as much as I’m not trying to excuse despicable behaviors, what we’ve seen around Arsenal is nothing exclusive. One just has to scour United blogs to see how many are dissing their team and their manager even when they win.
This Sunday a 49er player fumbled the ball in overtime in the equivalent of the semi-final game of the season and as a result gave the game to the Giants. Poor guy has to deal with twitter death threats now: http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/Kyle-Williams-Gets-Twitter-Wrath-137872563.html?dr
Lucky Theo only gets the abuse for now…
Zico / Tabs,
Completely with you on the Johan Djourou front. While he’s been ok against relatively poor teams at FB, you don’t want Djourou playing FB against Manu. The only thing that I feel might have might have influenced his (Wengers) thinking is that your taking a risk blooding one new player (Oxo) in a match of this stature let alone two. Playing Yennaris and Oxo in the same wing, against Manu, might be considered one risk too far, especially when they havn’t started together so far this season. Oxo was superb when he ran at players – but alot of his positional play was suspect at times, and thats purely down to inexperience.
As for the substitution of Oxo: At the time I thought it was just incredible that you could take him off and leave Theo on the pitch, who for me, was poor again. And despite the “cramping” and how he was “sick” during the week, bottom line for me is that he was playing well and contributing far more to the cause than Theo was or Arshavin of late. I still think, even in light of AWs explanation, that it was a very poor decision.
As to the 4-4-2 formation – on one level I would agree, that many of the players have been “found out” and we currently do not have the quality to effectively play that formation. But on another level I would fundamentally disagree. 4-3-3 is a more entertaining formation of playing football. Its more adventurous, attack minded and underpins the philosophy that Wenger brings to the club. It more CL than PL. Sure 4-4-2 is easier and would suit the current players better, but I think he’s been trying to develop a team to play 4-3-3 and he has, in all fairness, come very very close to winning with that style of football with little or no resources by comparison to other clubs. The 07/08 team was probably the pinnacle of that effort – and it was by far the best Arsenal team I’ve ever seen never to win anything and much better than many past teams that did win trophies. Like Brazil ’82 or Jimmy White – not much to show at the end, but unforgettable memories all the same. The difficulty with the break up of the last team – is that itโs going to take time to redevelop players into a team system like that again. We can’t just buy talent of that calibre easily – because we can’t compete. That means buying young and buying smart. That will take time. And that backbone is already being put in place and it would seem that its going to be more localised based on appealing to players loyalty and to discourage the possibility of players leaving for petrodollars.
Holic,
I take the point about the “watershed” moment. But I really hope it never comes to that. I want no other manager at the club. I know things have not been easy these past years, but the club has come a long long way nevertheless under Wengers stewardship. What other manager could have provided the level of competitiveness his teams have while overseeing the development of the Emirates. He’s arrogant, stubborn, unreasonable at times and single minded in the extreme. But Iโd still have him over an other manager in the world. And y’know what, I think most other top clubs would gladly have him too!
Joe @ 172, your last paragraph rings too true, that is maybe the only reason that I will stand by Wenger, for what he did on so little, he truly was ‘Le Professor, the Genius’.
Joe – just one correction: the 07/08 team played in a 4-4-2 formation. We didn’t start playing 4-3-3 as the main formation until the 09/10 season.
wind- If we are to make a table on what should happen based on money spent Arsenal will be mid table. I would absolutely love just for once to see what Wenger would do if he has the spending power of City United Chelsea and Liverpool we are not in their league when it comes to spending but we are kicking and fighting,we slip and come back up again. lets hope we don’t let go completely as it is getting really congested and fierce at the top with the money thrown around these days.
wedroppedalittlein2ndhalf , is it we stick too long with non performing players ?
the substitution ox for arshavin is beyond all logic , simply put , an act of an idiot
“What other manager could have provided the level of competitiveness his teams have while overseeing the development of the Emirates.”
Plenty. As someone once said (I forget who).. If you wanted a manager to replace the double double winner that was Arsene Wenger, you’d obviously struggle to find one. If you want a manager who will finish fourth and win nothing there are lots around who should be capable of doing that kind of job.
There’s no denying his past but that is precisely what it is. The past. We need someone else for the next level. Someone younger and with a bit of hunger and fire in the belly.
Joe – great post . Fully agree both with the body your post , and your conclusion at the end .
Cheers ‘R. Will drop you a line tomorrow with the details ๐
Ricey @ 177, that’s a bit unfair, up to last season we were challenging for the league under Wenger in December/January, and our Cup Final fucked up our chances. We were unlucky not to win it the season Eduardo broke his leg, the season Ramsey broke his leg and the 07/08 season, you can’t say that he didn’t try. Arsenal’s luck with injuries at points in the season is just accursed.
Seems AC Milan’s Boateng is out for a month with a thigh injury. His girl friend attributes this to him having too much sex, up to 7-10 times a week. Right. Off to work!
I admire the posters who maintain that the season can be turned around and we’re not in that bad a position.
I suppose anything is possible.
But we’ve only taken 4 points from the last 15 available, and 3 of those were scraped against QPR.
I just can’t see that AW has got it, defensively, anymore. We’re simply disorganised and unshevelled.
And his standing at the club means that no-one has the balls to speak against him. Or so it would seem.
Everyone is uncomfortable with the unthinkable ‘holic. And the logical conclusion.
Without a bit more transparency from the club itself, what other decision can be logically reached though?
Take a few poor decisions and mix in some rotten luck to an already poisoned atmosphere and some behind the scenes politicking. And you have a situation that looks like it could become increasingly toxic.
It might help create a mentality within which not necessarily the best decisions are made.
Even if things get a little worse in the short-term I hope every one involved with the club keeps their heads and so do not get propelled by a swirl of negativity into making the wrong decisions in the medium to long term.
Steady hands on the tiller (easy Wolfie) of The mighty Arse ship are what we need right now. That and a drink or two. Find i’ve recovered from last night having been out supping and doing a bit. Suddenly feel slightly more positive/drunk.
Though I’m a bit worried re Feelgood’s alter – Zico – mind. He’s not responding to any of the usual promptings – hmmmmm!
And ‘holic – I know what you mean about the fall-back full-backs – but as with the top-notch centre-forward cover – it’s a case of who from where? In my humble o.
Up The Reds!
Oops – “ego”
Yesterday may well end up be a defining day. In fact as much as it hurts but the 2 games against ManUre will probably have as much impact on us as a club as anything this season.
I arrived at the ground with only 10 mins to spare. A quick pint and you could already tell that the atmosphere was not one of high expectation. Whilst no one I guess would openly admit to thinking that a point was an acceptable outcome, deep down many would have welcomed it with open arms.
Not much to add about the game really that has not already been said. JD off at half time was a no brainer. An easy call. I thought that Tommy R had a decent game. Showed class and determination. Kos at the back grows game by game. It said something when he is the one making the driving runs from midfield. AOC was a handful and full of energy. The BFG I also thought was decent. We all know that he has little pace so don’t expect him to out sprint a 20 year old kid. But his goal line clearance shows just a small part of what he brings to the table. I thought that Song and Ramsey were poor by their standards. Theo was just Theo. He did buck up in the second half but overall he was poor. Interesting but Sky News have just run a piece on Arshavin, (more about him later). They were comparing stats with several other Arsenal players. I mention this now because one of the stats was for successful crosses. The only player with a worse conversion rate that AA was Theo. His cross completion rate is 12%. 12%???? I was amazed.
The the substitution. Now I for one had no problem with AA coming on. I know he is not number one amongst us. I also know that even after a 90 minute stint that he is the one player that would not need a shower. AA is the most frustrating player I have ever seen in an Arsenal shirt. Behind all of that is a wonderful talent. It is just such a shame that it is so rare that it raises it’s head. Personally I would have taken Ramsey off and stuck AA in behind RVP.
The board goes up and it is AOC to go off. The total horror of all was then met with the cries of derision. Then the boos and then the vitriol. The whole mood changed and with it the game was gone.
What then follows always makes me smile. There is the initial out pouring of abuse. This is normally followed by the holier than thou schoolboy approach. It is like being a kid again. I stood in a ground where to a man no one understood why AOC had been taken off. Everyone vented their anger and frustration in someway or other. Then, by the time we get to the following morning we are all holy again and of course anyone that moans or expresses their displeasure is a total and utter disgrace. It is not just on here by the way, they are everywhere. It is like the schoolboy. “Not me dad, I didn’t say any nasty words dad. It was everyone else dad but not me. I love Arsenal and would always always always always support the team dad.” Well this is reality people. This is the real life emotions and frustrations of life long fans who quite frankly are tinkering on the edge.
I am not going to condone for one second some of the abuse I heard from behind me. I agree with you holic, a lot was over the top. But the initial reaction was both understandable and not unreasonable I would suggest.
What also really frustrates me is that for all those that have never cast a stone in anger and have never ever voiced their displeasure, not one appears to have actually sat back to ask why their was such a reaction. Because for me that is far more important. 55,000 do not react that way without good cause. But few really get to grips with that. The whole ethos of supporting a top team these days has changed. Fans are asked to dig deep every week to fund project Arsenal. Week in week out fans turn up in their droves only to watch the slow decline of their beloved club. I will remind you all. Played 22, lost 8. Then the one chink of light that fans have in a fresh 18 year old that actually does look special is all of a sudden removed. For some it appears that this was the straw that broke the camels back.
I will be quite honest and say that at the moment I am not sure where we go from here. I have no idea if we are actively trying to bring players in. I have no idea why we have made over 30 million from out transfer dealings in the last 5 years and still seem to be unable to address the issues that are so glaring to many of us. I told everyone years ago my views and what I thought needed to be done. That is why it frustrates the hell out of me when I watch my beloved Arsenal as it is now. We can make all the excuses we like but let’s also remember this, that is probably the worst ManUre side I have seen in ages. The squad is not even close to being good enough for an Arsenal squad. I for one do not see any problems in people being allowed to ask the question why. What I do not know is who that question should actually be directed at. I am guessing it wont be Big Stan as he has only manage to make one game this season. What price loyalty anyone??????
Chippy, Zico and Mark the Spark, I agree with a lot you guys say. Many other very good point for the regular crew. Holic, a good write up. I wish our midfield had the same balance to it.
I am up for a few scoops at the Villa game if anyone is about. Be nice to actually get to see a few faces at last.
Onwards and lethargically upwards I guess……
@Mark: With 6 defenders unavailable not so sure which manager would perform so much better. Don’t remember anyone complaining about the defense when we had at least one LB and one RB available.
As for the logical conclusion we should have been out of the top 4 long time ago since we’re 4th-5th wage-spenders in the league and the only team to make profits from transfers every goddam season. In these conditions there’s absolutely no chance we can be competitive at the top while the other top 6 teams have been sinking hundreds of millions in their team during the same period. Not sure what your logical conclusion is but if it’s another manager having to operate withing the same financial constraints, I can predict the outcome and I think you can too.
SteveT: Great report.
Let’s stick with United for a change. In the last 5 seasons they have won 4 titles, 4 FA cups, 2 league cups, a CL and reached 2 finals. This is an unbelievable record even for a massive spending team like them. The current team is on 51 points after 22 games which is either above or level with every leader at this point in the season in the last 5 years. They have 10(!) more points than their treble-winning team and are one point behind the Invincibles. All this despite having been hit by an Arsenal-like plague of injuries early in the season, having to field many new youngsters (granted they paid 20M or so for each one of them) which cost them the CL qualification by a hair.
This is the most successful spell in their history. This is the most successful spell by an english team ever. But the meme for a few years now is that they are in decline. No more than a couple of adverse results are enough for their boards to be invaded by “Ferguson has lost it” doom-mongers and the media to be flooded with “worst Manchester team in a long time” articles.
Make what you want of it, for me the growing disconnect from reality in this domain like in others is just the symptom that plagues all ailing societies throughout ages. I’m 100% behind you when you write “the whole ethos of supporting a top team these days has changed.” but although I don’t dismiss your explanation for it, the causes you mention seem pretty peripheral to me. Had we spent 200M with tickets being half the price they are today the crowd reaction would not have been different in the same circumstances. In no way or form do I dismiss the arguments about the ticket prices, the lack of spending and the precariousness of our current standing . These are very valid points but they are not the primary reason for sections of the crowd to react like that after a substitution when the score is 1-1.
In the spirit of cheering up fed up gooners a bit – i found this knocking about out there in the blogosphere thingy. Apparently it’s an artist’s impression of ‘Arry Yappyapp’s first day in court. It’s worth a look
http://cupwinkcook.net/trout/arry.gif
Been back drinking for the past hour and not even got to half way! So many good positive things but some crap as well…I hardly know which to respond to – the fighter in me wants to punch a few people but I know that is unacceptable so I will just ignore the more egregious ones..and humor my friends who I happen to disagree with:
1. Dr Zee @ 87: Who is a meanie von screeny then? I hope that you’re feeling better now but this post was unusually incoherent coming from you mate! I want to pick you up on your main argument about our 1st half performance. The simple answer of course was that we were being run off the park by a very rampant united. When this happens in a game – and especially when one doesn’t have all out attacking options available – one needs to attempt to contain the opposition to limit the damage. The last thing we should attempt to do is match them for pace and leave ourselves open to their deadly counter attack. I thought we did that well enough – again given that we had to defensive cover on the flanks – until just before half-time… So contrary to your view I felt that our performance of trying to slow the game down was tactical and we nearly pulled it off..
2. N7 @ 94: Agree wholeheartedly and I said as much in yesterday’s drinks. RvP’s reaction while understandable could not have done the morale of the team much good at the time. I felt that it and the reaction of the crowd handed the initiative to united right when we had them under the cosh..
Only about half way through the drinks so far but some really good work from Lars, Norfolk, Chippy and Zico.
Some longer posts still to catch up on and I’m still not sure where to go with my own thoughts.
Apart from this.
The substitution of The Ox has been done to death. We don’t actually know what the reasons for it were.
AOC did not look particularly tired from my seat – on the contrary he was starting to really impose himself on Utd’s defence and looked a real threat.
Whatever AW’s faults are, I do not believe he would deliberatley reduce our chances of winning a game for no reason.
So, we have to go with the ‘illness, fatigue, muscle strain’ explanation.
For me, though, there is only ONE issue with the substitution.
It is crazy for the whole crowd to be so distraught at the idea of bringing off an 18 year old who had just made his first Premier League start.
Until you factor in the quality of the possible replacements.
And there is the reason for the outburst against the manager.
Our one light at the end of the player-selling, price-rising tunnel, was to come off to be replaced by a player – albeit the captain of Russia – who has under-performed for a season and a half.
Our bench made worrying reading yesterday – and yes, I do know we had injuries. But we always have injuries.
Our bench was – Almunia, Squillaci, Park, Arshavin, Benayoun, Miquel and Yennaris.
The two youngsters have done very well whenever they have been called on.
The rest, in the words of captain Frank McLintock, “not acceptable”.
We have no word, ever, from the owners of the club, on just how far they have, and will continue to back the manager, to bring in the quality we need to challenge at the very top again.
The manager is too loyal to break rank and tell us himself, and so is left, as usual, to fight the fires on his own.
For all his faults, he has brought us, RvP, Koscielny (how good is he now ?), Vermaelen, Sagna, Wilshere, Coquelin, Frimpong, Chamberlain, Santos, Jenkinson, Song, Arteta and a tiring Ramsey, Szczesny and others, besides his mistakes.
Not bad on a shoestring. If only he could be given a real chance . . .
*thinks about self-assisting all the way to 200 just for the hell of it. Instead, waves a red card at himself – boos himself off – and goes off down the tunnel to bed, singing “i don’t know what I’m doing” *
Wall pass back to the sleeping Trev …
with GoonerTerry waving his arms frantically on the right wing – could he want to be substituted?
Disgruntled midfielder picks up the loose pass from 8 ball in the centre circle
…no I think he actually wants the ball….
Ignores GT on the right wing and beats 1 impressively
still waving his arms frantically…
Beats another with sublime skills
decides to run into the box
bundles over his own player and shoots!!!
Kicks towards the upper right hand corner of the net
Well played GT!
Wheels away to acknowledge the cheers of the crown…& Erm get out of the way of Impeccable who is trying to kick him in the Arse..
* crowd..
Thanks mate..you’re such a good sport. Sorry about the little push
Trev you can not get red carded for thinking mate – at least not yet!!
GoonerTerry, I know you live in Jamaica. By any chance do you follow schoolboy football there? Manning/Dacosta Cup? Just curious
Well not really although I have been to a couple of games a few years back…I did not go to school here so I have no affiliations…but its big here. What is your interest? Jamaican?
Yes I am Jamaican but living in the US now. I know it’s the most popular football played there. Actually much more prestigious than club football there.
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Arsenal-players-hold-dressing-room-inquest-after-Manchester-United-loss-is-blamed-on-Andrey-Arshavin-article856852.html
I don’t really know if this is good or bad for team morale. Interesting indeed.
one thing wenger had done inadvertently is take the pressure off any new manager filling in his shoes. surely cant get any worse than this . can it?
Impeccable1: Now I understand why you wanted to dribble all the way from the halfway line – you are sooo Jamaican (0;
The boss should move to sell Arshavin now before he takes too much more stick. But I don’t believe that he has been treated fairly. Why continue to play him out of position. We saw how good he can be when he was by himself up front – so why not play him in the hole behind RvP?
DB10* Oh yes it can – every single other club in the EPL has been relegated in the modern era except the Arsenal. It is not the worst it can be so relax and stop over reacting…and btw Wenger isn’t going anywhere until at least his contract is done.
So this evening while I was whistling everybody’s favorite tune of the moment: “spend some fucking money” and thinking about the value of money to our fickle, spendthrift supporters, I decided to look at what a few quid can get you these days…But first I looked at what all the clubs above and just beneath us in the Premiership have spent in millions of Pounds between 2006 – 2011.
1. City 455,670,000
2. Man U 164,300,000
3. Cocks 230,300,000
4. Chelsea 199,500,000
5. Arsenal 85,150,000
______________________
6. Newcastle 63,100,000
7. Liverpool 253,240,000
Then I looked at the cost of some infrastructure projects* around London and settled for the Queensland Road development.
Do you know what the Queensland Road development http://goonerholic.com/?p=1879 of five multi-storey, multi-core, tower blocks on the north side of the Queensland Road and a winding four-storey development to the south side, incorporated is an indoor sports facility which will have to be made available to the local community will cost to build?
160,000,000 Quid
* because if I had that sort of money I would definitely be in property development..anyway
GT to be carded for self-assisted goal ๐
Pain has lessened a bit from Sunday. Now looking forward to beating Villa in the cup
Hopefully we’ll have Thierry back for that
GoonerTerry @ 189
You couldn’t be more wrong.
unusually incoherent ๐
Is that young Hurricane Wind a T shirt winner?
Reward for shameless poaching these last few months, if so…… ๐
GT at 213. When you think we have received 70 million plus from Citeh alone , it explains why the locals might be getting slightly restless.
I am not going to back drink all these long posts.
I am just going to offer congratulations to Wind and get on with my work.
Matt @170
Very good point. Would all those who wanted RVP to be sold as he was “unreliable” please hold up their hands?
No doubt they are also the ones most vehemently frothing about him possibly not resigning.
Well in, Hurricane…….. ๐
Dear Doctor (F)?
I have a stress problem
I retired because I couldnt stand the stress of work, and retirement was supposed to be relaxing (that was a mistake!)
I moved to France because I couldnt stand the stress of NHS, politics, extortion of electric companies, phone companies rubbish television (that was a mistake!)
I live near a golf course to learn golf (that was a mistake)
I live in Cognac because it (the drink) is cheaper here (that was a mistake)
I continue to support the same football club I have always done , which is made better by the drinks here, which (sometimes) relieve the ongoing stress of our wonderful club.
However, this morning I saw again my daughters Xmas present, a cup which says ‘Keep calm and follow Arsenal’.
Should I send the cup back and provoke my daughter
Should I sue the club for false promises
If ever there was a case of misselling which provokes stress!
Oh doctor help meeeeeee!
Cognac,
You’re barking.
Up the wrong tree.
Unless your plea for help was meant for Dr Faustus.
* “Suzanne, takes me down, to the place near the river………”
Ollie re tv coverage of CAN dont complain
I watched ‘highlights’ of a certain match yesterday, where Gervinho replayed his miss which led to RVP scoring for us – this time Drogba was able to score
The ‘holics who think Gervs return is a solution to our scoring drought may have to think again!
Dr F – barking is all Im good for!
Woohoo – I’m won a Thierry Tee Shirt! ‘dances’
I am grunting at anybody who asks me how I am today… (I wasn’t at work tomorrow thankfully).
OK,
The last 48 hours have been difficult. So difficult, that one flamed-haired defender-of- the- faith poster has referred to me as a doomer. Wow, that stung. That man is a bad influence, Iโm telling you. ๐
Here is the way I see it.
THE GOOD:
Still in 2 cups, and in theory, capable of getting into 4th spot and CL qualifier.
Still plenty to look forward to, and the team will get my unconditional support, irrespective of who wears the jersey or whether I think they are actually good enough for where we all want to be. That starts on Sunday when I no doubt will risk getting into a fight with someone down the pub who dislikes Arsenal (pubs, wherever I go, seem to be full of them for some reason).
We have some good players to come back from injury who are better than the players who have been in the recent starting 11.
THE BAD:
Our most effective, and probably only world class player, is being given few incentives (at least on the playing side) to renew his contract. He will be on international duty in the Summer and will therefore not be available (I assume) for the CL qualifier should we get there and assuming he is still at the club.
Whether we like it or not, the competition for players and points has got tougher. The idea that โspending money is not the answer, we need our players backโ misses a number of important points:
1. We always have injuries
2. The players we need, who are coming back, are liable to pick up further niggling injuries on the back of a lengthy lay off
3. Which of our โplayers backโ is going to ease the burden on our goal scorer, and what is the plan B if god forbid, Robin gets an injury? (This is the largest of elephants in the room. When he took a knock on Sunday, how many of you thought, like me, โhere we go again…..โ)?
And if โspending money is not the answerโ, why is spending money the answer when it comes to renewing season tickets/buying match tickets?
The self-sustaining model is about to be seriously tested if Arsenal donโt qualify for the Champions League. How much money can the club expect to generate from the lucrative Corporate wallet if we are playing in the Thursday night follies next season? How many disaffected season ticket holders will vote with their feet? How can you attract further corporate investment when you don’t dine at the top table?
As you will have gathered, I have reservations about the current squad of players at Arsenal being able to sustain a challenge for fourth spot, particularly given the run of form we have now found ourselves in. Maybe we cannot afford to spend some fucking money. I would suggest though, that there is strong argument that states we cannot afford not to.
And for the avoidance of doubt, I can’t help it – Iโm still aboard the Happy Train (I just sometimes take Mondays off. At times like this I must remember to let the more balanced and measured Professor Storey, take the controls).
UTA
Ollie in time travel shock @ 225!
Hurricane in grammar shock…!!
Dr Z, good spot! ๐
heh Dr C
Steve T, Matt, Trev – Great, honest posts. I agree with just about everything that you have written above.
Steve T – you may well be right about this being the worst Manure team in a long time but I was very impressed with their discipline, fast and accurate passing and their ever-threatening counter-attacks on Sunday. I would be thrilled to be as bad as them in terms of approach, organisational ability and sheer bloody-mindedness to grind out results when the pressure is really on. I hate them as a club but I admire their results.
It’s the ‘slow decline’ (per Steve) of our team, albeit with interludes of bright sunshine (e.g. Oct-Dec this season), that I find the hardest thing to bear at ther moment. That and the continual repetition of getting ourselves into decent postions in the league only to fall away when the pressure and the opportuntiy presents itself to really kick-on. The past three league games have been testament to that but there are dozens of examples from the past 5 or 6 seasons.
My hopes for this season have been adjusted from:
1. Win the league and/or CL, early St.Totts day, top team in London (pre-season)
to….
2. Finish above The LWCs, win a cup (poss CL, more likely FA), finish 2nd or 3rd, beat all the big clubs (& the LWCs) when they play us at The Ems (early December)
to….
3. Grab a CL spot, beat The LWCs, Citeh & Chel$ki when they come to The Ems, get thru’ to the next round of the CL (current)
So what are my points?
Do I still think Le Boss is the best manager we have ever had or possibly even ever likley to have? YES
Do I think we need some fundamental changes if we are to really push on? YES
Could those changes include a new manager? YES
Should we do it now? NO F*CKING WAY (that’s what the summer’s for)
Would I prefer the changes to be instigated at board level? YES (a properly funded Arsenal football team would make a world of difference IMO)
How should those changes be instigated? Sorry, I’m not qualified to answer properly. The current two models in the big clubs are either the ‘sugar-daddy’ one or the self-sustaining one. I think we need a middle ground of some description as I don’t believe that either works well in the medium term e.g. if our current majority share-holder were to ever to put his hand in his own pocket and say to Arsene ‘go get yourself two decent players’ – that’s never going to happen BTW.
Just my views of course. The key point being we need some change for the better because the current status-quo is not working.
Final point re: our supporters. On the whole, I believe we have been a very patient bunch, quite rightly when we’ve got such a proud history and such a wealth of talent and experience at the club at all levels. We are not a disgrace or particularly rude or ungrateful as some of the c*nts in the meeja are describing us now. Some spend a ton of cash to follow our team both home and away. If we get p*ssed off with a particularly bad decision at a particulalry emotional moment then so be it, we have a right to show our displeasure. Booing? Not for me, I can never condone that. Having a shout to vent frustration? Name me one supporter with blood in his veins that doesn’t. Arsenal supporters, on the whole, are a great bunch of people. I choose to support our supporters as well as the club.
For those of you still awake, thanks for reading. You’ll find me pootling about in the Happy Train. It seems to be getting a bit empty in here…
zico, I find little to argue with in your post@226, but I think what people really mean (at least I know I do) is “spending money just for the sake of it is not the answer”. Liverpool is a fine example in that regard, where Man City (for all that we dislike their actions) have spent money on a few really, really good players. Clearly, in their case, money has very much helped propel them to the top.
In any case, wether we make the CL or not we can not afford to have another shambles of a summer like the one we had last year. We need to spend and we need to do it wisely. Not an easy task, but if we want to stay near the top we need a very, very good summer regardless of what happens during whatever is left of this season.
Nice one zico @ #226.
Er…. you may no longer think Edwin to be as balanced if you read #230.
At least we’re on the same train. Better than a page, no? ๐
UTA indeed!
Everyone keeps talking up this self sustaining model. I have no problems at all with it in principle. But I have to question those in charge of it. I have no idea what the board’s aims and objectives actually are.
Look at it this way. You need a new car. You find one and spend your budget on a nice, bright, shiny new one. You take it home. But you have spent lots and you now need to watch the pennies for a bit. Now a way of making an instant saving is to not bother taking it for a service. You save hundreds on garage bills and it still runs okay. But after a few years the engine gets tired and it just does not run well. Neglect has meant that routine maintenance is now out of the question. Your car now needs an overhaul. Your car is off the road far longer than it would have been and the costs have now greatly increased. So although you saved money in the short term, long term it ends up costing you a lot more.
If you still need convincing look at this. It’s January. There are 16 games still to play. The latest title odds have us at 450 to 1. Now, if that us not a wake up call to those in charge I don’t know what is.
God, it’s suddenly getting busy in here.
Dust off the plans for expanding the Executive Carriage….
cognacgunner
Please report to The Quackery. As a regular, please go straight to the front of the queue and ask for Messrs. T or C. They have various methods at their disposal to relieve stress. The safer ones are in the CMC, please help yourself if you wish ๐
Lars,
I don’t believe that Arsene Wenger will ever have spent money “just for the sake of it.”
However, his idea of “value” may need to be challenged. At this critical juncture, if we don’t sign someone to start banging in the goals, AND Robin gets injured, we are well and truly fucked. Even a blind man must be able to see that.
And if that means paying slightly more than we would like then so be it. I don’t think that is spending just for the sake of it.
And he is saying we don’t need to spend – we just need our players back? I assume therefore that come the end of the ACN, the original (and not the bodysnatched version) Marouanne Chamakh is the player he is referring to.
Massive gamble. Again.
TS @230
You just posted for me. Awfully decent of you to spare me the time! Many thanks.
Buy yourself a drink as a reward!!
And that previous rant is before I start on “it would be foolish to drop points due to no full backs…..”
I need some happy-pills right now. Was supposed to go home for lunch but now the car won’t start. I very rarely drive to work but for various reasons I drove here this morning which in hindsight I shouldn’t have. The car refuses to start and I am now waiting for a call from a mechanic across the road who promised to come and look at it as soon as possible. That’ll probably set me back a pretty penny, I assume he’ll charge me something like ยฃ100 just to walk across the road, another ยฃ100 to open the bonnet and if he needs to do any work, well that’ll probably be about a million quid or something.
Fucking crap bollocking piece of a shit day this just turned out to be…
(but a little hilarious that I write this just after having read Steve’s post with the car analogy – admit it Steve, you sabotaged my car just to get your point across!)
Patient Cognac
Do come in.
Stress you say? Let’s see now.
Golf? Give it up man. Guaranteed continual frustration.
Crap foreign TV? Don’t watch it – I don’t.
Crap foreigners? Makes a change from crap Brits. Delight in their stupid accents and amuse yourself by laughing at them. I do.
Drink? Clearly you are not drinking enough. Practice harder.
Now, in the short term, there’s a few pipes and some stuff that Snowy left the other day in the CMC. Try those. We also have the Swedish barmaids on call, should you need a massage.
If none of that works you can borrow one of Wolfie’s cricket bats and take it out on our pet dog…..
Next…
Heh @ 239
Good luck with that Lars. Make sure the mechanic don’t go by the name of Redknapp BEFORE he crosses the road. ๐
Ahh… patient Lars.
Please follow patient Cognac through there and keep him company.
Next…
zico@236: no, he will absolutely not have spent just for the sake of it. That is just the counter-argument to anyone who says that we need to spend just because the spending itself would somehow give the team a boost.
Other than that, we are in full agreement. And I think Arsene says that we don’t need to spend because he wants to instill confidence in the players, which I’m not convinced is the right way to go about it any longer. That only works for so long, so maybe he should change the tune to “we’re looking everywhere and hope to find someone” or something like that.
zico@241: good idea, I shall inquire as to his name before allowing him to cross the road!
Dr.C @ #237
Cheers old boy, happy to be of service. The pleasure will be on Lars’ tab.
Now, about that pet dog. I suggest we change it’s name to Rosie47.
Very good idea TS.
It’s a brilliant code. Noone will ever crack it. Oh…
Yours
Wellington68
Steve T @185
As one of the chief holier than thou schoolboys from the other night, I just wanted to say that’s a great post.
I still don’t fully agree re: the crowd reaction (my point of view is that it was possibly understandable but definitely unhelpful in the circumstances), but you make some very good points about the home support and I’ve certainly taken them on board.
I also think you’re spot on re: the issue of who on earth we’re supposed to be asking the difficult questions. Wenger has taken a lot of abuse on the chin so far this season, some of it fair, some of it less so.
I can’t help but think that, given the absolute calamity that was last summer, we might be seeing a little bit more of Gazidis right about now. I know he’s a busy man, but he, or someone at a similar level, should be giving the manager some cover and shouldering at least some of the responsibility for the mess we got ourselves into.
The fact that neither he, nor anyone else at senior/board level has stepped forward to do so speaks volumes to me. I have a suspicion that, if push comes to shove, our manager will walk before he’s sacked, and it wouldn’t entirely surprise me to see it happen this summer.
Presumably, at that point, we might get an insight into what on Earth is actually going on inside this football club.
That’s OK Mr.C
Poppy?? Why not go all the way and call her / him “fluffy” ??! ๐
On this day in 1962 a tiny Gooner was born in Paddington, London.
I am 50 years old today!
My brother in law (a Sp*rs fan) texted me to say now I’m 50 I get 10% at Harvesters. I asked if he get’s the same discount on his season ticket as it’s been 50 years since they won the league……no reply as yet ๐
Happy Birthday Geoff, and nice riposte to your brother! ๐
231, Lars knows.
Now I’ll read the ensuing posts :p
Zico @ 216, Ollie @ 218, Catalan @ 219, thank you one and all.
Catalan, I was in a rush and thus I rushed the post, reducing the level of my grammar at that singular instant, I apologise for the “I’m” and cut it out whilst simultaneously pasting in an “I’ve” ๐
My luck has been amazing, winning Club Level Seats to our Home Game against WBA from BT has been its
zenith. Or has it? ๐
(Just got a pair of Quavers of my mate XD)
Zico @ 226, excellent analytical breakdown sir.
True Storey @ 230, great post.
Steve T @ 233, excellent car analogy.
Happy Birthday Geoff.
50 is a big number – something that the LWCs have difficulty grasping. ๐
Happy Birthday Geoff, have a great one!
Afternoon All ,
Some good reading above .
SteveT @185 – An interesting and as always , well thought-out post . I couldn’t agree more with your analysis of the game itself . I do however have one major quibble . 57,000 Gooners all expressed varying degrees of bewilderment/exasperation at such a muddle-headed substitution . 57,000 Gooners did not boo or abuse . Those that booed or abused were still in a massive minority . There was nothing “schoolboy” about my denial the following day . I do not boo my own nor will I boo my own . That does not stem from a lack of passion . It stems from a recognition that nothing good ever comes from such a febrile atmosphere . In the short term , it was , at the very least , a contributing factor as to why the game was lost on Sunday . In the medium term , and as AL points out @183 , it is not conducive to the right decisions being made for the Club going forward .
Matt @186 , and @187 . – Great stuff , fully in agreement . One small correction though . ManU have not won 4 FA Cups in the last 5 years . In fact , they haven’t won it since 2004 . I fully agree however with your analysis of Manchester Utd . Those that say this is a poor Man Utd side when it is compared to previous incarnations may have a point . That does not mean , however , that they are a poor side . They are a bloody good side ! The table does not lie .
Your last paragraph @187 is bang on the money as far as I am concerned .
Trev @190 – Very sensible stuff . However , I would argue that with 12 players unavailable through either injury or Africa , our bench was pretty good in the circumstances .
Cognac @220 – ๐
Wind @224 – Congratulations you lucky so-and-so . Not bitter at all , me . ๐
Dr Z @226 – Can’t argue with much of that , but in my view Lars hits the nail firmly on the head @231 .
TS @ – Nice post , though I disagree fundamentally with a change of manager , now OR in the summer . In my view , that way madness lies , and if it comes to pass , I believe we will all find out what real mediocrity tastes like , for the first time since 1995 .
Mr C @240 – A big heh ๐
Geoff @250 – A very Happy Birthday to you Sir !
Ah, Geoff, the big five-o! Congrats to you, Sir!
Oh, and congrats to Wind on winning the shirt of course!
tabs – if Lars hit the nail on the head @ 231, (and I’m not saying I disagree) how do we prevent that “we cannot afford to have another shambles of a summer like we did last summer”?
Can’t you just see it developing exactly the same way again?
Paralysis because we are wrangling over a contract with Robin (as per Cesc/Nasri last year). Robin is away on Euro duty so unlikely to want to talk turkey before the tournament is finished (or Holland are eliminated). Then he has to get a holiday. Etc Etc.
Cannot sign any other players because of said tournament getting in the way – players like Podolski, as an example, wanting to play themselves into better negotiating positions, thus potentially taking them out of our league salary wise.
In my opinion, if we don’t make some statement of intent BEFORE the summer then it could be too late. And that might require forcing the issue with Robin’s contract. So we avoid (again in my opinion), what happened when we got rolled over by a player last year (Fabregas) who still was contracted to our club for four years!!
Where does anyone get any confidence that the Management team at Arsenal (and I use that term to be all-encompassing), will handle next summer any better than they did last? What has happened in the recent, or not so recent past, to suggest that we have learned any lessons?
Wenger can only do so much – take 3 or 4 players out of our squad, and the remainder are unlikely to get anywhere near the starting 11 of the 4 teams who are above us just now. He is being asked to do more with less and as I stated yesterday, the bar has been raised.
And that’s a fact!
In my opinion. ๐
Happy Birthday Geoff ๐
Dr Z , I can’t disagree with any of that .
“I don’t know” is the simple answer to the questions that you raise . Without having a position in the echelons of power at the Club , I can’t possibly answer the question of what lessons have been learned .
As regards making a statement of intent this January , who would you suggest ? Who is available ? How many top end transfers have thus far been made ? I can only think of one , and that’s the forward who has gone to Newcastle . I have no idea if he is any good .
We all know the questions . The answers , I would suggest , are rather more difficult . As I have already said , I found very little to disagree with in either your earlier post or @259 .
tabs, you made me read Matt’s post paying attention, and indeed spot on
Oh tabs, bugger, I thought you knew?
Arsene used to know. What does he know now? And what does he know that we don’t know?
And what does he know that the Board knows but the Board does not want us to know?
Feck, I just don’t know.
CG
Zico
Ollie
Tabs
Lars
Wind
Thanks guys, what a wonderful community this is!
Glad to be of assistance Ollie .
Dr Z – heh ๐ – You should know by now that I certainly don’t know anything , other than the answer to “Shall we have another pint ? ” ๐
Oh go on then. 8)
See , who said you didn’t know . Correct response ! ๐
That response is pre-programmed, as you well know ๐
Mr.C
In my defence I would like to plead an inherited female moggie not named by me. In her defence, she has a very small brain but has got to be brighter than Rosie47 who is obvioulsy developing a palate for prison food and communal showers.
What’s that? ‘Guilty’ you say. But she’s a triffic cat.
To my liver’s cost Dr Z ๐
TaBS / Zico – I’m confused.
Is there another possible response??
Thanks Lars @ 258 ๐
Nice shirt ๐
http://gunnertalk.com/
Don’t ask me Catalan, wtf do I know?
Not really Mr C , though to my cost , I have often found myself saying “Nope , it’s time to move on to the little drinks”
aaahhhh… the nasties. or ‘los chupitos’ as they say over here. Apparently.
Happy birthday Geoff! So, you weren’t even born the last time the LWCs won the league? Have a very good day sir!
wind @ #253 – Thank you. Hope it made sense.
tabs @ #256 – Glad you liked the post, yours was good too. No issue with the ‘fundamental disagreement’. I’m not sure in which direction or directions madness lies right now. However, going on current form, I believe we are heading in the direction of mediocrity although I have to believe that the team will turn that around soon.
zico @ #259 – That pretty much sums up how I feel about those issues too. Further, those issues will only be compounded should we not finish top 4 which I still think we are capable of doing. After the summer, I felt sure that we would make a ‘statement of intent signing’ in this TW. At the moment that looks unlikely even if the Hazzard rumours are persisting.
Cheers all
Kept me marff shut re Matt’s posting last night as not sure the lending of my support does anyone too many favours on here just now. But at the time thought it was genuinely thought-provoking with a well-informed, well argued, well supported subtly different angle – in short well, well, well, – what have we got here – a fukkin’ fine post it seems – with a big-pitcher perspective (filled with London Pride please barman!)
And as has been said above re-signings we all know what we need and what we’d like but the reality is who from where? And i’ll chuck in a when as well, well, well!
Upset/disappointment at recent results etc is, of course, a hugely understandable natural reaction. But there’s plenty to play for and there is a half-decent team somewhere in this squad. Recent form has been a bit shit, but we’ll be back and at it to wup the Milanese – Milaneasily – playing AC may be the spark that lights up our season (there’s polenta more where that cheesy nonsense came from – oh yeah)!!!
And in my view – should we finish outside the top-four – once we’ve given our beloved club yet another season of our whole-hearted support – that’s when the inquests should begin in earnest, and answers to overall policy issues should be demanded by the fanbase of the club’s management team.
To do that now is to seek answers to questions based on outcomes we’re not yet sure of, and ultimately that doesn’t make much sense. And it might risk further undermining the team’s/manager’s/club’s efforts this ongoing season if we and they are made to take our collective eye off the football. Triple FacT!
Up The Arse!
Oh and happy bullseye b’day Geoff
And well in re the t-shirt wind
http://www.football365.com/news/21554/7451865/-Arry-Threatened-To-Sue-The-B-s-Off-A-Journo
Bung bung bung, twitch twitch twitch, liar liar
“‘Arry Redknapp told me he’s paid his tax , I said Liar , f*ckin’ f*ckin’ Liar ” !
Good stuff AL “Milaneasily ” heh ๐
Good rallying cry from our captain, I thought:
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2012/01/24/2863653/anybody-who-writes-arsenal-off-is-making-a-mistake-robin-van
tabs 273 : HEH ๐
Indeed TS .
The bollocks that I have read about his supposed “meaning” of his reaction to the substitution defies belief .
Blogs was on the money this morning .
Ollie @ #280 – Great link thanks!
“I ain’t no f*ckin wheeler dealer”
No Harold, you a tax evading c*nt.
Psed – would take that lunatic Tevez on loan for 6 months – especially if he’s not Champs League cup-tied!!?!??!
But for very good reasons, i’m sure (probably financial, and temperaMENTAL to name but two) our club probably wouldn’t touch him with a 6 foot five pole that plays in goal.
And anyway I doubt citeh would let him go to one of their nearest premiership rivals (ahem!). So not an entirely serious suggestion – but more an attempt to get the football rolling in a positiveish direction.
Most of us/all of us on here have said we would like to see players brought in (and, of course, i know we’re not the pros that are well payed to do this stuff etc) but i think it would be interesting to hear what ideas ‘holic’s have re that lark?
Anyone fancy putting the club’s money where our marffs are??!!?!
OK – no doubt I will get pilloried for venturing into Le Groan territory but here are three suggestions.
Podolski, Hazzard and Baines. The big assumption is that all 3 are available if the price is right. With the latter it is also based on the assumption that you are happy to “kill” Kieran Gibbs.
Pay off Almunia’s and Squillaci’s contracts if needs be to make way for the first two.
This is easy.
Pat, enjoy your retirement. ๐
Happy fiftieth, Geoff.
Hope you enjoy a glass or three of your favourite tipple.
I’ll have what Zico’s having please barman – the Ski Hazzard get out of your Baines on the piste post christmas-holiday massive pick me up winter cocktail. Just ice for everyone, no lemon…
If it’s available you’d be off head not to – no?
pardon – off “your” head.
There’s always at least one
Oh and for what it is worth, given the length of time that Santos is due to be out, and Everton’s presumed financial predicament, I would make a bid for Baines today.
The squad is in need of some investment….. FACT!!!!
I think any of the names mentioned above would add a degree of depth and quality but that Argentinian fella needs keeping away from the dressing room for fear of corrupting Little Theo and Young Alex ๐
I’d be happy with one attack focussed individual to help us/Robin out for the rest of the season. Two would be marvellous in which case the second would have to be a defender of some description. Preferably a very shouty one.
I hear my local supermarket is doing a special 2 for 1 deal on midfielders. Third aisle, next to the caviar and canapes. I’ll check-it out this evening.
I propose LANS Corporal Carlos to take care of our Spanish Waiter and Squilly but I’d keep him well away from young Gibbsy.
I think others have suggested deployment at a glue factory for the incredibly unfortunate Mr.Diaby.
Re question posed @ 286 it was with this transfer window in mind – later than that’s just too Milaneasy ( i get a big Pat Jennings on the back from the tabs for a gag and can’t resist repeating it – shame on me).
So Baines today’snotamomenttoosoon in my book.
Put on the accent and make that call Zico. If the boy turns up at the club ready to sign – surely Arsene’s too nice a fellow to tell ‘im to la sod orf.
zico, Moyesy told me to f*ck off! You can have your job back ๐
TS – i can’t help thinking The Theo could do with a little corrupting. If AW ever gets round to dropping him he should join down the Tolliie for a proper team talk – i reckon
Send a boy to do a man’s job…..
Oops – “us”
PS – TS don’t take “no” for an answer from that muppet (for he looks just like one) Moyes
*Plays keepie uppie for 297 consecutive touches then launches one out to wingman AL…… *
*AL misses it and alter ego throws ball back from touchline….*
who steps back to take it on his chest – but he stumbles, falls and let’s the ball hit him on the back of the head, just keeping it in play
Nope, it’s over the line.
Sounds like an OG. ๐
Agreed wholeheartedly re: Baines – I’d have made him our top target at the start of last summer. Not sure about his defensive prowess, but he’d instantly improve three areas we’re very slack in: crosses, corners, FKs.
On the downside, trying to buy a player, any player, off Moyes is usually a nightmare and I suspect we’d be told to start the bidding at circa ยฃ20m, which is roughly what we were quoted for both Jagielka and, before he chucked his toys, Arteta.
Oops, and in – Thanks hugely for the assassassist! Dr. F. Good to see you off the treatment (ahem!) table and back on the pitch!!!
Runs towards Dr. F and his alter ego, arms outstretched, a pint of the black stuff in each hand but gives up exhausted unable to catch the blighters
Good stuff AL ๐
I always had Moyesey down as Skeletor as opposed to a muppet.
But Mick McCarthy is Beaker http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Beaker
… or possibly Sam The American Eagle http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sam_the_Eagle
Munnummanaaah! TS – nice spot. Am athinking there might now be more muppets out there.
There’s not the same quality of physical resemblance as there is with Muppets Moyes and McCarthy – but king kenny and the purple knight would be pretty good casting for Waldorf and the other one – sat there in the box – grumbling away – maybe
Welcome to ma-ma-ma-managers as m-m-m-muppets…
Paul Jewell rrrrrrrrealizes Miss Piggy!!!!!!! Or maybe that should be Sammy “piggy” Lee
Can’t allow a mention of Mick McCarthy without throwing this into the mix:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OQT1psCoAc
N7, I hear what you’re saying but their need for cash we could potentially exploit and manoeuver the price downwards, no?
Also, I think defensively, he has more nous than Gibbs, which you would expect given their relative experience.
Happy Birthday young Geoff, and many more of them
To those who recommended stress relief (OK any Swedish relief ) my thanks go out – cheered me up
Well played AL for 300 though re your @286 – Citeh never let their players go on loan to a rival apart from Adeb who went to a club in the lower divisions as I remember…
Nice one N7. WTF?? ๐
Zico
Well worth a go, I’d say, but only if we genuinely can get him at the right price, which is probably about ยฃ10m if we’re being fair.
He looks a player to me and has Arsenal written all over him. Plus, the arrival of his god-awful barnet would mean he’d also be a fitting replacement for the little Russian, who I’d bang on the first flight to Petersburg to help fund the deal.
Dr Z 287. Hazzard? Are you planning to nickname him ‘The Duke’ ? ๐
Tabs@284: RvP’s interview hit all the talking points so precisely it is hard not to believe that the hand of corporate PR wasn’t behind it.
Blogs also suggested an experiment comparing the attitudes of those who watch a game with commentary/punditry and those who watch it soundless, so to speak. Given so many in this bar seem to see games at the stadium or on dodgy video streams with commentary in languages we don’t know, may be that is why we are relatively level-headed here.
Comedy goal at 300, AL.
Still watching the replays and laughing ๐
who knows exactly what defensive nous Gibbs has or hasn’t got – he’s never been about for long enough for any of us to truly find out.
If it were possible to get the Everton LB for a fairly reasonable price – a bit of desperation and the time of year would mean we’d have to pay over the odds, wouldn’t it, and that’s IF (a big if) Everton are prepared to sell – then surely it’s a no bainser. Or does that half a gag (if i’m lucky) work better if we don’t get ‘im
ta Ollie – there’s a spare coupla half empty pints on the bar that i couldn’t get shot of earlier – feel free to grab one.
ta CG – the other one’s got your name on it – i think
AL @289 – Tevez ? We’ve had that debate before . He’d have to pay us , before I even considered it (if AW consults me that is ๐ ) . As for who we should buy , Lord knows . Hazard looks a player based on my extensive YouTube research , as does Goetze .
Baines ? Good player , but is he worth ยฃ20 mill , which is what Everton will want ? Not on your nelly .
Well in AL @300 .
N7 @307 and Ollie @312 heh ๐
Ned @313 – Maybe so , but I still better reflects Robin’s true feelings on the matter , than any number of ridiculous theories out there in cyberspace . Just my opinion of course .
oops … but i still THINK IT better reflects …
OK – since tabs is drunk again and only reading half of what is written ๐
Podolski, Hazzard and Baines. The big assumption is that all 3 are available if the price is right.
heh ๐
For “big assumption” I suggest you insert “wholly unlikely scenario” .
Now pass me the scotch , and I shall retire quietly to the corner . ๐
http://www.arsenal.com/match-menu/3424577/reserves/fulham-res-v-arsenal-res?tab=preview
Just realised: Sanchez Watt is back and will be banging the goals in soon…..possibly.
Chequebook closed ๐
*….Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude…..*
I think I feel another lesson for Hurricane coming on…. anyone care to contribute to his education?
@ 322
And they say the Scots are tight – but the French? ๐
talking of tight… I can highly recommend the “biit” app for iphone etc… basically free music of whatever group / style you fancy.
Rediscover the old ones…
Hence my post @323
Happy birthday Geoff!
Dear Arsene…. a song for you if you are listening right now!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpQ6OESv24A
If you’re mad get mad.. don’t hold it all inside….
*turns up volume, reaches for bottle, settles in for a proper sound session*
Catalan, thats entertainment. ๐
Tabs@318: Even if the Sun interview was PR dept orchestrated, at least it has done something right for once. I’m sure RvP’s heart is in the right place, too. Everything he does points to him caring a lot.
zico@324: deep pockets but short arms.
Baines would be a decent buy at a reasonable price, which I would imagine would be in the Cahill range. Apparently last season he had the most assists of any defender in the EPL. The way things have gone this season having three left-backs scarcely seems too many.
Or perhaps Pretending?
psed and haven’t Everton just sold thingy majjig – unspellable, their disappointing rusky import for 5 million big ones – so not sure how badly they need the dosh right now
Hmmm a thought occurs – Arshavin, thingy majigg unspellable at Everton, the 20 million pound LB at chelski last year, Shevchen k.o. and Pavlawatsisname at s***s.
They don’t seem to travel too well from that neck of the woods do they – Theo-ries on that particular eastern front?!!??!?
And the way Tevez and his people work tabs, i think there’s every chance you could talk yourself into a piece of the action with a few well placed phone-calls and a bit of half-decent accent work. Bet they don’t know what kranky looks/sounds like – cowboy!
Geoff: a belated happy birthday. A glass raised to you…
AL @ 279, thanks mate.
And well in @ 300, beautiful seamless play ๐
Mad respect for the Captain, read his facebook post from his offical page which is slightly more fleshier/longer than the excerpt from TS’ link @ 382.
Truly a man among men.
Great spot Zico – suitably impressed!
I typed in The Jam into this app and have so far listened to The Jam (obviously), Elvis C, The Beat, The Clash, The Undertones… revisiting my childhood.
All free. T’interweb heh?
Curious thing – Catalan management doesn’t really get English music, EXCEPT The Jam and The Arctic Monkeys. Can’t explain it.
And now… One Step Beyond…..
Got any white socks, Hurricane?
Gosh being a holic these days has become a full time job! Came in an hour ago and in that time there has been around 100 drinks…can’t possibly keep up until you lot go to bed – which is when me and Snir usually come in for a quiet drink…which reminds me:
Harsha @ 214: How can I get carded for self assist when the first time I touched the ball was to bang it into the net? If it was for barging over my own player in the process I would understand…
Wind: Congrats!!
Geoff: Five – O…its all downhill from here believe me (0;
Steve T: @ 185 & 233 wonderful stuff – no arguments from me..
Matt: For various I’m totally in your corner
Dr Zee @ 226: That’s more like you sir!
Lars: )0; Cars are cunts!!
TABs: Yes you speak for me – save me an awful lot of trouble thinking (0;
TS @ 230: …but is it a slow decline or are standards generally on the up & up? Certainly the teams above us (with the possible exception of Chelsea) have improved massively. I don’t subscribe to the feeling that Man U is a shit team. Rather they have now perfected a fully mature system that most of their players can just slot into. And of course success breeds success. But I still think that most teams that plays them beat themselves (rather like us on Sunday)…and they have been reaping the benefits of keeping their mature players (Giggs & Scholes) in the squad to guide the newer generation. That is what we have failed to do consistently over the years…preferring to cash in instead.
GT@336: Don’t disagree that ManU have perfected a production line that has winning teams coming off the conveyor belt season after season, but Fergie is pretty ruthless in getting rid of his knackered warhorses. Giggs and Scholes are the exception.
CG @ 327: Shivers down my spine…
LA @ 286: In the last set of drinks I believe I was clear at stating that I doubt that we will be going into the market this window AND that I supported that decision!! Why?? Well the fucking market is toxic right now…and our targets are not available. Baines BAH…So-so player in a mediocre team..makes him look better than he really is…and who the fuck would get on the end of his crosses anyway?….besides Santos is out legend in waiting…you are going to love that guy…I do already…will / has already brought another dimension to our style at the back and in attack..
* quietly collects his hat, coat & stick (to beat off the rabble)…
GT
The lyrics are pretty apt.. maybe not the title for all! ๐
CG I know….love that song – love that band – love that girl. Used to hang out with my friend Ann-Marie at her stall in Kensington Market and Chrissy Hind, Annie Lennox and a veritable whos-who of 80s rockers used to turn up everyday for a chat….those were the ‘mis-spend’ days..
Evening all.
Looking for inspiration for tomorrow night. The world and his dog is doing basically what we have been doing in the drinks and analysing what’s going on to the n’th degree.
Don’t think we need another wrist-slitting post so open to suggestions. I may have a little paragraph on the Fantasy League and cup competition, but that can’t be a whole blog post.
GT – we’ll have to agree to disagree on Baines. One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.
As for Santos, you are aware that he is out for another 3 months? Or do you expect Gibbs to stay fit – perhaps you are suggesting that we play without a left back till then?
After all, it’s not as if that has caused us any problems lately…..oh.
Have a Banks Beer on me, all the way from the parish of St Michael’s in Barbados ๐
Inspiration?
How about this?
http://www.guinness.com/en-gb/img/beer_photo_draught_pint.jpg
Holic: maybe something about the FA Cup in general and how it seems to have fallen rather dramatically in stature and importance over the last few years and why you want us to go for it (or not) this season?
Ah, zico beat me to it with a much better suggestion ๐
Villa Park – safe standing areas?
Or one of your music pieces, as I’m in the mood…. who was it who passed on recently..?
Etta James. Big shame. Sad Friday and a portent for the weekend to follow.
Evening all,
Is there hope????
Where there’s life bath….. ๐
Dr C @ 335, white socks? ๐ ๐
GT @ 336, a warm thanks ๐
I’ll head off to Wikipedia then… cheers Holic
Is there life, TS?
I know it;s Young Guns territory, but maybe cast your eye over the future…. something to give us hope. And maybe highlight the genius who is responsible for Song, RVP, Kos etc blooming after being doubted…
NB… not in a head in the sand apologetic way of course. I know you wouldn’t…
Is there dope? ๐ฟ
Wind @351
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whSYTSXm8wo
De rigeur, young man…..
Re: AL @300: That’s the kind of goal we can use right now. Do it again at 400 and you will be the new signing we are all anticipating. Incentive enough for you?
http://www.football365.com/mediawatch/7451826/Mediawatch
Some t’riffic quotes in this one again.
Like the Graham ‘3 yellows’ Poll bit too.
Dr Zee you are doing your best to piss me off aren’t you? How can you say those names (Country & Beer) when you have Jamaica & Red Stripe…ooh I may have to hang one on your beak…ops sorry its not FFF yet is it?
Hey Holic: Following on Dr Zee’s idea perhaps you can get behind this for the London Olympics: http://youtu.be/fnifJX_LEQA
To be fair, ‘holic, the weekend was quite splendind until that mad moment.
Talking to a PSG fan earlier today, I realised what happened.
Some of our fans were acting like French people at the Parc des Princes or the Vรฉlodromes.
Totally shameful.
Hello bath, and welcome.
You will not be surprised to hear I had great difficulty getting my back off the mattress this morning after drinking half of that sixty proof Knob Creek last night.
Back on the malt for me tonight.
@ Zico: btw the Baines thing is just me being a provocateur…I know we won’t ever buy him. Wenger has hopes for Santos & Gibbs and we can play young Miquel there. We are saving up for Goatze & Poldolski in the summer …I hope
I’m feeling kind of hyppocritical about calling out the ones who jeered as I was screaming No at the substitution myself. The booing was horrible, but I was more upset at the antics of a few at the whistle picking on our own.
I hope good people don’t get forced out of the club if things take a turn for the worse. Maybe I would feel differently if I was sitting somewhere else where that didn’t happen. As it happens I am sitting in Block 4 for Blackburn so we can free up a pair together for a mate. Will be interesting to see how things are there.
Evening Holic,
That colonial spirit has to be used carefully. Doesn’t have the purity of usquaebach.
The malt will flush out the toxins nicely.
I am back on the detox month until I go skiing with mates on Friday – Sunday was an exception, as was Friday at a wine tasting, Saturday at a Burns supper and tomorrow at another Burns supper.
I’ll be more optimistic when I can drink regularly.
Holics all,
some great posts on here about the current malaise at the Arse,
I haven’t posted myself as my views are well known and i don’t want to go on repeating myself Ad Nauseam.
Happy birthday Geoff,i seem to remember passing 50 some time ago,but it’s all rather vague.
Holic,
re you request for thoughts on your next Post,
In a more light hearted frame of mind,to lift the current gloom and doom,how about a Post dedicated to your first Shag,??
I still have very fond memories of mine,in the Service lift at Woolies at Golders Green,with the delightful Blonde from the Cosmetic Counter.!!
Cheers
The Sweeper.
I have to confess I booed the substitution of AO-C as did most around me. It shocked us. I would have been happy to see the Owl come on for hapless Feo or toiling Rambo or even Rosicky who I thought put in a very good shift, but AO-C was really putting the pressure on Manure and when we scored I felt we could push on and win.
๐
The smile was at Clive, obviously…
Talisker to the rescue, bath. Non-rocket fuel.
Hairdresser tomorrow but hoping management fancies a Burns night on Saturday. Everything crossed here.
Clive, stealing the show again. ๐
The Scene : Feelgood Mansionsย
In the side of the house not undergoing reconstruction, Feelgood is alone in his room, lying on top of a bed, and the room is in pitch darkness. ย On a bedside table, sits an empty glass save for the remnants of some crushed ice, and an empty bottle of Lambs Dark Rum. ย An iPod is attached to a Bose sound system, projecting the lugubrious tones of Leonard Cohen, throughout…..
Feelgood is prostrate, and in a state of mild delirium
Into this dark place ventures Roxette, immediately opening the vertical blinds, her shadow cast on the far wall by the bright sunlight that rushes into the room….and this is what she hears……
“Trains off tracks…..substitutes….prostitutes….sack the board….not good enough…meerkat….seemples….not fair……..Edwin….iTunes…..Oxo…..Chambermaid….mmm, .nice…..room service…..more Rum. ย Sodomy. ย The lash. ย Spend some fucking money…..left back, right? ย Right back …..”
Roxette (shouting) ย : “Oi! Shouldn’t you be at work?”
Feelgood (blearily) : ย “Ugh….what time is it? ย Last thing I remember was Room Service bringing me extra ice…..”
Roxette : “That Room Service was me, numbnuts. ย ย Anyway, it’s gone 9 o’clock – I’m off to audition for “Pirates of Penzance”
Feelgood (gruffly) : “I’ll bet you are. ย Got any dope?”
Roxette : “What did you say?”
Feelgood : “I said, “Petal, how will I cope?”
Roxette ย (suspicious): “Anyway….what brought on the big strop yesterday? ย Did your football team get beat or something? ย You boys, when will you learn, it’s only a game!”
Feelgood : “No, you’re wrong! ย It’s not only a game. ย It’s a metaphor for life. It’s the human condition all wrapped into 90 minutes. ย It’s agony, it’s ecstacy, it’s both cruel and kind and it’s relentless. And its also beautiful, and artful. ย But more than anything else it’s love. ย Pure unadulterated love. ย And love hurts.”
Roxette : “Wow. ย That’s deep. ย Who knew?”
Feelgood : “zico knows.”
Roxette steps out of the room singing “Pour, Oh Pour the Pirate Sherry” and behind her she hears….
“I hate that bastard Gilbert O’Sullivan……”
Holic, I know your taste veers towards the fiery West coast but for me Talisker and Rocket Fuel are pretty synonymous. I’m a Speyside and Eastern Highlands fan myself.
And all this time spent talking about the Sainsbury girl when the Woolies girl was such a rich vein of material waiting to be mined. ๐
Dr F ๐
Clive – you surpass yourself!
Christ, I do believe I’ve honestly forgotten mine. Scary!
1985, I remember that.
Dr F
I do believe that may have been obe of your best yet.
Mr C still isn’t talking to you, though. Unless you’re buying.
About that Baines debate. I watched him closely this year for Everton, he is not the player we are looking for. Too light, headless chicken in defence, too pricey and overrated. Slower Clichy with better cross and freekick. It seems like you are forgeting that Le Coq can play at LB, and as I know he is back for Villa. With young Nico and always growing Le Coq, we have decent options at full back not just for the future, but for the present. Only if Wenger is brave enough to use them.
Doc C. Awesome music taste at 335.
Some great drinks as always. I do not think anyone should be ashamed of their true feelings. Booing, shouting out whatever you did at that substitution is born out of pure emotion and passion. If the change does not bother you then you are a follower rather that a fan. Rightly or wrongly we all know how much supporting this beloved club occupies our lives. It is something that evokes all sorts of feelings and emotions. What I would say is that the vitriol that continued with some and the reaction at the final whistle is totally unacceptable. That goes beyond the passion of the football fan.
Lars, sorry about your car. As I had said earlier, get it serviced and you get lunch. ๐
Holic. Block 4 for Blackburn???? My block my old mucker. What row are you in??? That definitely has to be the day for a meet up if it does not happen before.
Re Baines. I am very much in the camp that he has Arsenal written all over him. He would fit in very well at the Grove.
Row 4 Steve. Ticket X jobby.
Holic. I am in Row 19. I will see you there somewhere. The time change does me no favours with early morning kids stuff. Should be able to make a beer or 3 after though. Be great to actually meet the holic legend. I will drop you an e mail nearer the time.
Steve T,
I shall be at Blackburn too – and would be most happy to buy you a beer.
Mr C – @ 374 yours is on Lars tab. For now. ๐
Look forward to it Zico. It will be nice at long last to put some faces to names.
Correction, make that block 5 ๐
No problem. We can do a horrible pint of whatever the plastic glass crap is now in the concourse prior to kick-off.
…and several pints of something better in the Tollie afterwards. ๐
Block 5? You will be in the stand up singing section then. Or very close to it. Don’t let me down holic. Make sure those vocal chords are well up for it.
I look forward to it.
Zico, any idea where you are sitting??????
A huge thank you to everyone for your kind birthday wishes, I’m really quite touched.
A little too much red wine methinks, goodnight.
I’m up for some Baines action…especially seeing as no left-back has been the bane of our existence…
*I’ll get me coat like*
Btw, I see Dr. Z has been rewatching those old “Premiership Years” dvds with Sean Bean describing football ๐
Carib beer all around so as you lot can feel the taste of the Caribbean and escape the winter cold for but a fleeting moment.
Steve, I’m in the gods at the Clock End.
Will aim to be closer to the action at the Tollie, though. ๐
Bravo Arsenal & Kick Racism Out Of Football
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/the-y-word-kick-racism-out-of-football
bath @ 353 – apparently so on Mars
GT @ #336 – It appears we are on the same page when it comes to our Mnacunian friends. I think we are static in a more competitive league which in my book is the same as going backwards.
Holic @ #342 – Inspiration? Our mad veteran Gooner’s suggestion @ #365 definitely gets my vote. X-rated stories all round? Splendid!
Or…. tales of transfer ‘windows’ past e.g. 60s/70s/80s???? Yes, I know we didn’t have windows in those days. Just holes in walls, right?
@Catalan Gunner/219: Very likely as well that those most annoyed by the sub were the same ones who complained about his transfer price last summer.
@GoonerTerry, AndLester, Ollie and TABS, TS: thank you very much for being in agreement with a post where I inflated United’s cups tally by 300%! ๐
Next round on me. Back in the NW so Manny’s for me tonight.
Anyone for a little kick about?
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13…up on me ‘ed..-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10…on me lef peg…-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-910..fuck it..start again..-1-2-3-4-5-6….
I’ll be your Huckleberry…
CoR lifts the ball onto his head and lets it hang in the air before shouldering it over to GT like a budget Brazilian…
GT apparently studiously eyeing a non-budget Brazilian babe in the stands, bt8bbgfg takes it and sends a great pass back to CoR while simultaneously managing to eye the Brazilian babe. The announcer says well done!!
Scene: Southwark Crown Court
A rather exasperated prosecutor QC Black is attempting to ascertain whether Mr Henry James Redknapp understands the gravity of the charges against him:
QC Black: Your Honour, the Crown does not accept that Mr Redknapp’s dog could have boarded a flight to Monaco, found his way to a bank there in the Principality, and opened an account in his name without the prior knowledge of the defendant!
Harry: ba yer ‘onor dat’s exactly what ‘appen innit? The little blighter – god rest her soul – was always pulling stuff like that.
QC Black: Mr Redknapp!! OK then lets assume that your dog actually had the wherewithal..
Harry: Do wot??
QC Black: ..the intellegence to negotiate the travel arrangements, make arrangements for the trip to the airport, got on the flight, got off in Monaco, found its way to the bank, opened the account…lets say your dog did all that unaided by you and without your prior knowledge..Please Mr. Redknapp tell the court where did your dog get the money from?
Harry: She won it didn’t she?
QC Black: She did what??
Harry: She won it it! She won it fair & square from Milan in a game of poker innit?
(The judge interrupts ate this point)…Mr Redknapp are you asking the court to believe that your dog played poker?
Harry: Yes yer ‘onor and she was very good at it…
QC Black: May it please the court I would like to call into evidence bank documents…Mr Redknapp do you recognize these papers?
Harry: Nah what are they?
QC Black: Copied of bank transfer documentation Mr Redknapp. Do you recognize the signature on the bottom left hand corner of page 3?
Harry: Well yes..it looks like mine..
QC Black: Like yours? Or would you say that it IS YOURS Mr Redknapp?
Harry: Well I can’t tell because Rosie used to sign all me papers innit?
QC Black: Your Honour! This dog Rosie appears to have been the smartest dog the world have ever seen..
At which point the court erupts in laughter…and a group of Totterinham Cockspurs fans started signing “…she’s by far the greatest dog the world have ever seen…”
GT puts down his pen and paper..and runs down the wing taking three defenders with him…
Pausing only to drop his briefs?
Kicking his Briefs to thee side he receives the ball and lays it off first time to Ned..
…who wig and gowns it into the six-yard box…
GT, Brilliant!
GT running on shoots, wig & ball into the far corner..
Not to mention a very courtly assist by NBN. ๐
bt8th out of nowhere scores via a deflection
Well in, bt8b, m’learned friend.
in all this talk that we are missing our 1st and 2nd choice RB and LB we are overlooking a couple of things. Clearly sagna is a big loss but clichy ? injury and error prone. his replacement – santos – has played a handful of games and looks good going forward but tbh looks a poor defender. sagna’s missed replacement is ? jenkinson . really ? ffs.
its one thing moaning about “missing x y and z” but not if they weren’t all that in the first place
Gathering up his wig, briefs & whatnot he turns to greet his brothers in arms…
barca I am brain dead after defending my client in court today – have to take a pass on the missing fullbacks until tomorrow innit?
ihb, had we not reached a pretty strong state of agreement that jenkinson was looking very capable prior to his injury??
bt8ball
eh ? capable ? he is slow and cumbersome. he fills the position and is better than JD there (duh) but do we really think nani wouldn’t have had him on rails also ?
the fact is that a number of our “best 11” aren’t good enough at this level (to 6 of league) and most of the reserves definitely aren’t . we hide behind the total number of injuries when most of those “missing’ would make no real difference.
where’s me facking bat? I am gonna take it to baca…Jenks is slow and cumbersome is he? you better run mate I am coming after you…
I mean it …you better run…
If I may @ I hate barca.
We already have a world class RB out injured and a very capable prospect as his replacement. It is nigh impossible to have 2 world class players for a position like right back, look around the squads of any team and tell me if anyone has such a luxury.
It is just unfortunate that both of them are injured for a medium term.
Any Jenko is anything but slow and cumbersome, in fact he is the very opposite of the two adjectives and that is what is so endearing about him.
And*
A prize of two jelly bellies for anybody who can spot the problem with this headline from the BBC website:
Cardiff into Cardiff Cup final after penalties
I know I spotted that too…they just put it up and pissed off home…some red faces tomorrow..
Slash @ 414…thank you for having the patience…I just wanted to take me bat to the bugger…I think that he was taking the piss anyway…where is he?
@414: There’s no “I” in final?
CoR…Cardiff to Cardiff…geddit?
Hehe, yeah I was just being ridiculous as usual ๐
How funny is this Redknapp saga eh? I’m loving it…
I think we should all get ROSIE 47 on the back of our Arsenal shirts!
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2012/01/25/harry-redknapp-didn-t-tell-his-own-accountant-about-secret-monaco-account-115875-23718856/
slash @ 412
you don’t need 2 world class players (whatever does world class mean anyway ? do you mean international ? or would get in world best squad of say 18 ?) we just need two players who play at top 6 level. jenks has played what 5 , 6 games for us at epl level one of which was disaster at old trafford. and now he is the answer, reason we might not have lost 3 in row ? i think he probably played less than 10 games for charlton for pity sake. do me a favour
IHB
“slow and cumbersome”
Apparently he’s one of the fastest at the club. Inaccuracies in statements kind of weaken your other arguments.
Sagna is an international. Jenkinson is an U21 international.
He’s a good back up to a world class / international player. That’s what you wanted wasn’t it?
Catalan @ 356, thanks for the link, I’ll watch it when I get on a PC ๐
Zico @ 370, beautiful, especially this bit “Feelgood : โNo, youโre wrong! ย Itโs not only a game. ย Itโs a metaphor for life. Itโs the human condition all wrapped into 90 minutes. ย Itโs agony, itโs ecstacy, itโs both cruel and kind and itโs relentless. And its also beautiful, and artful. ย But more than anything else itโs love. ย Pure unadulterated love. ย And love hurts.โ
Roxette : โWow. ย Thatโs deep. ย Who knew?โ
I knew!
God I conked out early last night, high intensity Semi-Final shootout between CPFC and Cardiff was the last thing I watched…
Steve T
Thanks – knowing how important music is to you, I’m chuffed you like my listening selection!
Aaah… cricket! ๐
Holic, Zico, pull up a chair.
GT @ 395, I’m in awe at your skills ๐
Amazing link-up play between CoR, GT, NBN & bt8b, especially for the assist and goal, well in all.
I hate barca @ 409, seriously!? I have been at the Ems on 2 occasions at least in my 1st ‘going to matches’ season where Jenkinson has dominated bombing down the right wing, against Shrewsbury in the Carling Cup 3rd Round with the Ox in the 2nd half, I was on the left of the north bank when you enter it around Block 10/11 or so and against WBA in the league where from my lofty perch of Box 66 (BT’s) I was able to see him deliver every kind of cross into the box in the 2nd half that I could ever wish to see.
That’s Natural Ability there, especially considering he was only playing League One football with Charlton last season or so?
Doc C. I am guessing we are very similar in age. That’s exactly the stuff I grew up to. Was at The Jam’s final gig in Brighton in Dec 1982. Fab night as every Jam gig I ever went to was.
Talking of singing I forgot to mention the best song of the day V the mancs. Picture the scene. Nani starts bombing down the touchline. JD is in reverse. Up goes the shout…..
“Shit Michael Jackson. You’re just a shit Michael Jackson.”
Made me laugh.
And there you go holic. Ideas for a post? How about some of the best and worst of the songs and chants. Got to be some comedy in that???
Feelgood@370: โNo, youโre wrong! Itโs not only a game. Itโs a metaphor for life. … And love hurts.โ
The good doctor nailed on that one!
Steve T@376: so you admit that it WAS you that sabotaged my car to get your point across? ๐
TS@388: agreed, well done Arsenal!
Terry@395: ๐ ๐ ๐
ihatebarca@409: others have already pointed it out but I can’t help it. If you call Jenkinson slow and cumbersome you have either got him mixed up with someone else or you simply haven’t seen him play.
Steve T@426: “Shit Michael Jackson” – that actually was a bit funny ๐
Dr C @ 424 – honours even at Lunch? (And are the Aussies about to resurrect themselves as a Test side?)
Steve T @ 426 ๐
Far too many drinks to catch up with so I won’t.
I just spotted suggestion that zico was coming down to the cup game though?
You can be ‘holic’s bad influence as I plan to stay sober.
On the ‘amusing’ side of things, I see there was a Kenyan athlete interviewed in the match programme, and that confirmed my observation from the previous week and gave me a bit more about Kenya being a Goonercountry.
The ‘amusing’ bit being the timing, how uncanny that this would be at the end of the week when I had Kenyans around and wondered ‘is everybody in Kenya a Gooner?’.
No sorry Ollie – Blackburn.
Anyway, bad influence? Me? Surely not?
Don’t think Jenkinson is either slow or cumbersome but maybe that judgment came from looking at his team photo? ๐
In any case, he broke his spine for our cause so he must’ve been doing something right…
Just dropped my 8 year old son off to school. This was the conversation in the car.
Benny T. Dad, who have arsenal got in the champions league?
Me. AC Milan.
BT. Where is Milan? Is it the capital of Spain?
Me. No, you know where Milan is. What is the capital of Spain?
Now at this point I should explain that the way my kids have learned about European cities is through the medium of football.
Ben sits there thinking. After a few seconds I decide to give him a clue.
Me. Where does Ronaldo play?
He pauses, looks at me as if I am daft and says “midfield.”
Kids. Sometimes just priceless.
Heh twice over Steve T !!! ๐
PS you’ve got a few years on me. As a 14 yr old in 82 I was listening to the tapes in my bedroom!
when one talks about speed in a full back one doesn’t only talk about running forwards. a full back has to be comfortable on the ball and be able to turn and counter wingers that take them on. any athletic 21 year old can bomb forward – a 6ft 1 full back i snot usual for the simple reason that their centre of gravity ifs too tall for a position that frequently involves turning and going backwards (as opposed to tall centre halves who generally face the play). this is where i see jenks as slow and cumbersome . the one time he faced a top class winger he was sent off.
now that was a bad bay at the office all round and he will not often come across teams as good as united. indeed he may make it eventually but my point is that based on 5 matches or so (indeed <20 ever senior games,) it shows things have come to a pretty pass if we are blaming his absence (at least in part) on out losses
Zico
Advantage us now.
Re the Aussies. Yeah, looks that way. Much as I have enjoyed their recent humiliations, I think it’s good for cricket if they’re stronger. And we destroy them. ๐
Morning All
Firstly “Happy Burns Day” to Dr.z, BtM and any other bravehearts that enhance our bar. Can’t help feeling that I’ve missed someone obvious…..
Matt @ #390 – It was a really good post regardless of the error which I didn’t even spot! ๐ณ
Steve T – Great song @ #426 which we didn’t hear in Block 129! Good story at #434 too. We’ll swap a few when we get to share a scoop one of these days.
Lars @ #428 – Yes, a laudible attempt to tackle a controversial issue. Arsenal’s work in the community is just another reason for me to be proud of our great club. ‘Little bit more the success’ on the field wouldn’t go amiss either right now ๐
8ball @ #400 – Great strike are you available on Sunday?
Ah, I see, zico.
I think I’m back in the Clock End upper for Blackburn too.
But then I may be in the North Bank, have to check.
434, heh, lovely story, Steve T ๐
The way the meeja are trying to paint us back into being a club in crisis inc. stories of Arsene swapping jobs with Maureen, Arshavin being ruined by Arsenal, Arsenal being ruined by Arshavin, rifts between RVP and AW, sell the whole squad, keep the whole squad and sack the management….
Dear, oh dear, oh dear. Who writes this sh*t? Lazy journalism in extremis. Shame on me for reading I guess…..
UTA!
Quality convo Steve T @ 434 ๐ ๐
NewsNow OFF!
Ihb ,
Your statement that our missing players would not make a difference ?
Utter , utter tosh !
Arteta ?? Wilshire ?? Gervinho ?? Sagna ??
As for Jenks , no-one has suggested that he is a world-beater , only that he showed much promise as a BACK-UP , to a world class right back .
Jesus .
And I would also add, to 445, that having a player who actually understands how to play the position makes a dramatic amount of difference – even if the player is not a world-beater.
He can still close down players to prevent crosses, and be relied upon to keep a fairly tight defensive line. Given that Jenkinson can also get forward and whip in a mean cross, would offer us quite a lot more than playing a reluctant centre back in that position.
If we could get Sagna to learn how to cross like Jenks, we would indeed have a very very good right back – he’s got pretty much everything else. In my factual opinion. ๐
Such a lot of easy and lazy press bollocks, indeed, TS.
You can be certain that AW doesn’t want to work at Real Madrid where you’re basically a tool in the president’s hands.
There’s a thing people should consider too (I’m still seething when I think of sunday, but I’m thinking of it less and less thankfully).
When AOC got subbed, he didn’t throw a tantrum like some primadonnas do, as seen in many clubs every season.
Some of the crowd threw the tantrum.
I still can’t understand or accept it.
Completely with you Ollie – no excuse , zero tolerance . You either support the team or you don’t . Passion my arse . Those that don’t should do one .
Morning All , got a little wound up and forgot my manners . ๐
Clive – hilarious suggestion ๐ ๐
Dr Z – Another great Feelgood episode . Surprisingly moving ๐
GoonerTerry – enjoyed your courtroom scene . The Defence you offered will probably turn out to be not far from what ‘Arry proffers . ๐
How long is the twitch in court for?
scheduled for a fortnight .
Ollie @ #447 – Can you think of two managers who would be more unsuited to their clubs than AW at Real or Maureen (Dennis forbid) at The Arse? It is quite hilarious when you you think about it. I’m filing Sunday’s memories away in the back of my addled brain marked ‘do not open until the end of the season’. Good question @ #451, doesn’t the length of time depend on the length of proceedings and how the judge is feeling??? I think tabs is far better qualified to answer.
tabs @ #445 & zico @ #446 – Well said, couldn’t agree more. Feisty Fakkin’ Friday has become Well-said Wednesday??? ๐
Now then, who’s first, after Clive, with tales of “first encounters”? ๐
*tumbleweed moment*
tabs@452: …and then, hopefully, a few months in the nick after being convicted ๐
(have to admit, though, that I have no idea if it is even possible that he will be given a prison sentenced)
…and before Ollie notices, remove the d from before the closing parenthesis in my last post…
tabs, our posts crossed. Thanks for clarifying. Is there flexibility on duration in such cases? Just askin’….
GT
Great prosection by QC Black…. not that it should be too hard to prove! ๐
Lars, at the risk of crossing over with tabs again, being found guilty of tax evasion in the UK can carry a custodial sentence. It is possible that “Awwy’s going down”. I have no idea of the guidelines, however.
Lars
I’d imagine there’s certainly the possibility of a prison sentence, just whether that will happen in reality or he’ll “do a deal”.
What? ‘Arry do a deal? Never. ๐
TS @ 453
All I can reveal is Lesley, stacked and a redhead to boot.
I’m sure my part in it has long disappeared from HER memory banks ๐
TS and Catalan, cheers for the answers. I should perhaps clarify that I did know that tax evasion, if serious enough, can get you locked up, what I was really wondering was if the level of his alleged crime is serious enough to warrant it.
Oi, Ca’alan bloke: “I ain’t no “F*ckin’ wheeler dealer”
TS – yes there is a discretion for a case to go on longer than it has been listed for . Somebody though , would get a bollocking .
Sentencing ? Not my area . Max sentence is 7 years . If ‘Arry is found guilty , a custodial sentence is certainly possible . Probable ? Would depend entirely on what view the Judge took as to the extent of his culpability in his “evasion” .
fingers crossed heh?
I’m a Bournemouth lad originally, and I do know that there are an awful lot of business people down there who have been turned over by him in the past, and are looking forward to seeing him get his…..
Hahaha zico @ #460! ๐
OK then Braveheart, all I can say is Carol, clappers, teenage birthday, Vespa, she wanted two, I hung around.
I’m not sure she had much of a memory in the first place ๐
Vespa.
Edwin the Mod. Heh. ๐
Cheers tabs, very helpful.
From what I have heard so far, it sounds like he’s got a real job on his hands to demonstrate that he’s not culpable but I guess that’s why he’s ended up in court?
Took you minutes, took her nowhere… ๐
Heh, Thin White Duke Dr C, I like it.
Minutes sounds generous though ๐
TS 453, answer : no ๐
This one’s for the creator of alter-ego Dr. Z – Dr. F. – re another finer than fine diary entry above
http://youtu.be/soDZBW-1P04
psed – a slightly ugly thought i know – and i apologize for it – but does the singer not bear an unfortunate resemblance to one F. West (sometimes i should just keep it shut – i know). Anyway Dr. F. – a small gesture which may help continue your majestic (ahem!) rise from the sloth of despond. Psst! Shaking off bad influence Dr. Z. for a bit might help too you know – maybe, maybe not – it’s just a thought
psed just heard ‘arry’s been ticked off for trying to unduly influence things in court
The Judge: Mr. Yappyapp you will be charged with contempt if you continue nodding and winking in the direction of the jury. Stop it!
Pardon it wasn’t a diary entry – of course – it was a full on playlet – and mighty fine for it.
Here’s a much better love/lovelorn choon than the cheesy fred west sung stinker above. And i may be mistaken (ahem – not for the first time) but i think there might be some shots of a young Feelgood – or at least someone who looks a bit like him – taking his first few tentative steps towards falling in love with the beautiful game (girls?!!!??)
http://youtu.be/vZAajrxvDs4
Meetings, meetings, meetings.
Anyway, Happy Burns Day all.
Haggis, neeps, tatties, followed by cranachan and lots of malt please.
Anybody want a fight? ๐
Just been to the Barber’s and asked for a ‘Liverpool FC’. My hair is now a mess at the back, there’s nothing on the sides and fuck all up top. For this he charged me ยฃ130 million…..
‘holic @ 473 – Ding, ding – round 1 – come out drinking
Dr Feelgood sends his thanx to all above for their kind words.
AL, unfortunately, I’m behind a very sensitive firewall that won’t allow me to access the youtube links, so I will need to wait till I am free of the Corporate bond (heh) today before I can view.
Now, what were you saying about Feelgood and me splitting up?
Roxette has suggested the very same on numerous occasions…..
Pardon – that’ll be the slough of despond – who could forget!!! Er, me! Though i quite like the sloth of despond (describes me today!) – Will endeavour to use phrase down the boozer etc in an attempt to make it part of the lexicon (erm, or is that a word used to describe ladies with a gentleman’s heart???)
Now you put it like that – Dr. Z – sorry, i take it back. What do i – or Roxette – know. Upwardish and onwardish!
And Zee ‘ere’s another one you can’t access. This one’s in honour of what TG (see what i did there? No – oh OK) did with my handle las’ nite!
Up The reds!
http://youtu.be/xj3kTdx1QBw
TABS @463 & TS@467 – Lester Piggot was sent down for three years for tax evasion, served one and had his OBE stripped as a result, so if ‘Arry is found guilty he could indeed get banged up.
Excellent point HG – though ken dodd and the diddy men didn’t do bird – i don’t think , did they?
Soooo if it’s at the judge’s discretion and the judge turns out to be a goonah!!!?!!?!!!?! hmmmm!!!!
The giveaway might be if in his summing up the judge says something like ” you will be sent down nee relegated from this place and made to stay there till ARSEEEENAAAAL, ARSEEEEENAAAAAL FC – by far the greatest team etc have won the league again – it may be some time, but this’ll make the wait less painful – now take ‘im away!!!!”
http://youtu.be/vUWpovcGjQ0
Like it AL –
I seem to recall that the money involved for Lester was a lot more than ‘Arry’s little scam, in excess of 1M. Unfortunately Lester came to an agrement on how much tax he had to pay and promptly wrote a cheque for it drawn on a bank acount that wasnt disclosed during the enquiry. So he was sent down for that. Not the smartest move and certainly not something that such an astute business man as old twitchy would get tripped up on.
Great tune @479 AL
CoR @ 474: I just had an Arsenal haircut – a bit short on the sides…(0;
Ihatebarca is sitting alone in the bar staring discontidly at the screen of his laptop. No one is taking him on about Jenks being a slouch. He is pissed – the others are ignoring him and are watching a replay of the Man U game…all of a sudden he shouts at the top of his voice:
IHB: See! He’s just standing there!
(GoonerTerry running over to see what all the excitement was about is surprised at what he sees:)
GT: Oh for fuck sake – you are looking at the team photo …
* staring discontentedly…
Heh! AL @ #479 ๐
That mental image of the judge suddenly standing up, arms aloft holding a red and white scarf singing an Arsenal anthem to Twitchy before sendin’ ‘im daahn really made me chuckle. Schadenfreude rules!
Perhaps he’s also doing an Eric Morecambe *Arsenal* cough at strategic points in the defence’s arguments?
Hellas @ #478
For what it’s worth, I think he’ll be found guilty but get a suspended sentence.
Then we can all have a poke at The Neighbours for employing a convicted crim.
It’s easier to predict Arsenal results isn’t it? ๐
AL @471 and Canons @474 ๐
Holic @473 – Heh ๐
Hellas @478 – Lester did indeed go down , but he was monumentally stupid . After an investigation into his tax affairs , he reached an agreement with the Revenue , and then proceeded to write them a cheque from an account which he hadn’t disclosed ! With little natural charm to rely on in the witness-box thereafter , there was only going to be one outcome .
Doddy hadn’t paid a bean in tax for years and stashed all his cash under the floorboards , but escaped a custodial sentence after relying on an “I’m a complete f*ckwit” charm at court .
Not clear cut . ‘Arry has a certain “charm” , whilst deciding to take the Tottenham job demonstrated very clearly that he is a complete f*ckwit . ๐
He may yet escape with a slapped wrist if he can marry the two when it comes to giving his evidence .
Apologies Hellas , hadn’t refreshed in a while – I see you had already told the Piggott story @480
The other question the ‘arry case raises is, why does a manager get 10% of the transfer fee when a player is sold, as Redknapp apparently did when Portsmouth sold Crouch to Villa.
Astonishing conflict of interests Ned .
…to be accurate, 10% of net transfer profit when director of football and 5% when manager.
If I were a betting man, I’d put a pound on the outcome TS mentioned at 486
Tabs@490: absolutely. You can see an argument that a manager deserves a reward for buying a player and then improving him to the point where he can be sold for a higher fee, but equally that is what the manager is paid a salary to do. However, it encourages the business of a football club to be the trading of players and, worse, is a market-distorting incentive to increase the price and volume of transfers above their natural level.
Ollie@492: or they’ll bang up Rosie, and let ‘arry off with a fine.
gooner terry
(Edit, the only person who can chuck insults around here is me. ‘holic. Yellow card, IhB) i set out my case as why jenkinson is slow – he can’t turn – and he come up with a sparkling riposte, i tip my hat sir.
Ned , poor old Rosie has already turned her toes up – presumably as a result of the stress of being involved in a criminal enterprise !
I wonder who has got stuck with paying ‘arry’s legal fees. You just know it isn’t him.
Tabs@496: didn’t know that. All that shuttling back and forth between tax havens takes its toll.
Assist?
Stealth goal. Taxman never knew.
IHB
I’m no referee or saint in here but personal abuse gets a yellow card. I should know ๐ณ
Isn’t there enough conflict within The Gooniverse right now?
Please have a drink on my tab and settle down for some reasoned debate. We’re rather good at there in here.
Well in NBN!
Thanks for the assist, TS. Deftly done. Turns to crowd to receive adulation of accountants.
TH
yep. i agree. all for that. and that’s why i contribute to this site. perhaps gooner terry might like to consider it also i did put up a point for debate and explained why i thought so and got an infantile reply.
Ned @498 – heh ๐ Not to mention dealing with Bank managers , writing cheques , transferring funds to the Chairman’s account . It’s a dog’s life if you ask me !
Great goal, NBN. Sneaked the ball in under the mantle.
TS 501. Yes you should know, ya big coont ๐
tabs/ned
I mentioned earlier about mis-matched managers and clubs.
Well, I happen to think Twitchy and the LWCs are very much a perfect match. Long may it continue. Their fall from grace will, when it comes, be as deep and as fast as their rise through the league table this year.
Tks, Ollie. Buried it like small print.
Tabs@505: ๐
Heh! Ollie, I was waiting for that ๐
*winds neck back in*
In other news, looks like I might completely change domain (well, still within telecommunications).
That’s mostly the option offered, as part of ‘collective’ job offer.
Something quite appealing and challenging somehow, if the company is happy to make me waste current competences and more certainly lose them for itself, then why not?
Should be based in the same location as now, but I may even consider moving to Swindon (or Maidenhead) as it looks like similar teams have some activities based there. Though I guess it sorts of ‘negates’ the plan, but there’s something a bit tempting in the sense that I have virtually no attach to here, and it could save me a fortune in travels. I could also look after ‘holic on the train ;P.
Nothing’s set yet though. At the current time I’d say most suitable option is to remain where I am (new activity would mostly entail same ‘kind’ of job, just in a completely different domain where I have close to zero knowledge at the current time, total waste of resource for the company I think, but fuck’em, the stupid people who take weird decisions don’t care)….
Holic @ 342 I know it’s too late now, but maybe in the near future you could do a light hearted piece on some of the more colorful managers in the CL. Your thoughts on Pep, ‘The Special One’ , etc. Really want to know what you think!
Whatever happens though, I will greatly miss my boss, and the flexibility and trust he offered me.
It may also become harder to be freed for Arsenal away European trips or such at short notice.
I’m pretty sure that I’ll never find as much job satisfaction ever again as I currently have.
I know I’ve moaned a lot, I know I’ve worked silly hours many times, but ultimately it always felt rewarding.
abb, I doubt that what ‘holic thinks of ‘The Special One’ would be suitable for a self-proclaimed ‘family blog’ ๐
Oh Ollie, This sounds very interesting. Please Holic, do tell!
Ollie, On a serious note re @ 511 and 513. Follow your heart. Life is too darn short.
Ta for the kind ones HG, TS and Tabs
TS – very like the idea of counsel etc. slipping in a few sneaky Eric Morecombe Arsenals – when they get up close to the jury
And I didn’t know that piggott story (else i’d forgotten – like oooh! so much these days – something to do with a life spent doing too much yoga, i think) – that’s extraordinary in its stufukkinpidity. C’mon “H” you match that my son!
And now a relevant tale to some of the above that some of the above may already know…Ahem –
Who was the first murderer to ride a derby winner?
That’s right – Lester Piggott’s cell-mate.
I’ll get me nag!
Just catching up on the back-drinks – from about @90 !!!
If i don’t make it all the way through, apologies to anyone who may have taken the time to read or respond to my couple of ‘early’ comments.
TABS @125 – superb post.
I would only say that we ‘are’ where we were against Blackburn.
There is certainly potential to turn it round, but it all depends on the response.
I thought we would respond after Clichy / Gallas / Birmingham in 2008 but we didn’t.
I thought we would respond after Birmingham in C Cup Final last season, but we didn’t.
So it’s fingers crossed for me, and hoping that another season that could be largely salvaged doesn’t go the way of the last two or three.
Also, my point about the weakness of our bench, was that even allowing for any number of injuries, Almunia, Squillaci, Park etc are simply not “Arsenal” players. I cannot see that they have anything to offer at the required level, if we had 50 injuries.
Just bring in some younger players with hunger and potential, as the familiar defeated faces of Almunia, Squillaci, Fabianski and Arshavin depress both the team and the crowd, and make more totally counter-productive booing ever more likely.
Ok more back-drinks ๐
Heh ๐
Ollie –
one always has to have trust when offering another flexibility.
Ask anyone who knows Wolfie ๐
TS @ 508 – nice one ๐
Hey, I’m back-drinking backwards. Is that the same as just drinking normally ?
zico @370 – ๐
Heh…
Ok m’lud, me ol’china, I’ll cop fer it. Howzabout I just pay you out of this account Fluffy53? Should be enough in there…. Oh. Bugger.
Back later – before I get carded for trying to self-assist all the way up to 600 ๐
AL @ 517
You’ve been doing too much yoghurt? That’s code, right? 8)
Not usually hot, is it ? ๐
TS @ 508 – Hmm , at the risk of being shot in here , I’m not sure I agree with that . I , for one , will be rather pleased when ‘Arry leaves Spurs , (presumably either for England or Strangeways) .
For all his faults , and there are many – self-promotion , abdication of responsibility , f*cking lying – ‘Arry is , I think , a pretty good man-manager of footballers . When you ally that with someone who keeps a reasonably tight hold on the purse strings , as I think Levy does , then I think it is easy to understand Spurs’ recent upturn in fortunes .
Like him or loathe him , he has done a very good job there , and the sooner he leaves , and they bring in Spurs legend Clive Allen , the better as far as I am concerned .
Ollie @509 – “I may even consider moving to Swindon …” – Jeez , with you and ‘Holic in the same vicinity , will the Pubs cope ? ๐
AL @517 ๐
Trev @518 – Afternoon Sir , and thanks for the kind words .
As regards “Blackburn” we’ll have to agree to disagree . Whilst any optimism does indeed depend on a response , a response which has been lacking in recent seasons , and for which we shall all have to keep our fingers firmly crossed , I still don’t think we are in anywhere near the state we were in after Blackburn .
Our run from that game to the recent spate of defeats showed a tenacity and a will to dig in . It is within these players to do so again . Indeed , our new found spirit and determination was much lauded , not least on these pages .
None of our recent defeats have left me feeling anywhere near as low as I did after Blackburn , where the basic errors and lack of leadership really did threaten a season of apocalyptic consequence .
As regards the subs , you make a very good point . Perhaps it would be better to try out raw but hungry kids rather than the “same old faces “
“Perhaps it would be better to try out raw but hungry kids rather than the same old faces.”
I would argue that this has already been vindicated at right back 2nd half on Sunday. Sure, they are young, sure they will make mistakes, but they are less likely to get the hostility that the “old faces” will get playing in a position they have proved they are not able to.
Tabs, Many ‘virtual’ drinks back, you alluded to AA briefly and said that you’d elaborate more on that subject at a later time. Well?
@ 509
Some soon to be seen headlines
“Swindon considers introducing Martial Law”
“Publicans in Swindon complain of doubling weekly working hours”
“Scotland runs out of malt whiskey”
“Eurostar shares plummet – company nears administration”
529 drinks?? Too many to catch up on now
I’ll get to it tomorrow
Meanwhile, let me grab an pint and start watching Contagion ๐
Good point Dr Z . Yennaris certainly looked a better bet than an out of position and out of confidence Djourou .
Abb – not sure You’ve got the right poster/drinker .
@125 – I wrote ;-
“Arshavinโs performance at Swansea had the look of a valedictory one . His brief appearance yesterday did nothing to assuage that notion and surely a parting of the ways is now better for all concerned .”
Pretty clear where I stand on him . Not sure I can add to that .
an pint??
Dr Z @530 ๐
Ihatebarca: I apologize unreservedly for causing insult. It was certainly not my intention in any way, shape or form. Of course my bat was purely metaphorical and the only beating I threatened was through debate & argument. When I saw that others had dealt quite adequately with your claims about Jenks, I resorted to my other weapon: humor. It saddened me that you did not like my little story. Now that I know that you do not like teasing I will refrain from doing it in future. Once again I am sorry for causing you any offense.
Heh Mr GT @ 535 you never apologised for threatening me!
See if I care – I’m from Caledonia and hard as nuts.
Now, who else wants a fight? *
* copyright @ 473
Tabs @ 532 Yikes! It was Steve @ 185. Have a real drink on me.
Hey Zico, Hilarious @ 530. You really crack me up sometimes.
Feelgood @ 525 – Check…over and out (of it)
The Scene : Happy Train MkII – Operations Room
Professor Storey, Dr Feelgood, Wolfgang Smallballs and Dr Disorder are sitting at a square table, just big enough to accommodate them. ย Their collective repose is not dis-similar to a card school, except there are no playing cards visible. ย Edwin is tweeting on his iPhone, Wolfgang is deftly plucking at his eyebrows and Dr Disorder, whilst sitting upright, is of course, unconscious. ย Dr Feelgood is staring at aย bundle of tickets in the middle of the table with a mixture of loathing and hostility…….
Feelgood : “Fucking returns? ย Since when did we get returns? It’s the Happy Train. ย Bums on seats – full. ย Always. ย What the fuck is going on?”
Edwin (cynically) ย : “Seems some of our patrons are taking your lead, Dr F and are “sulking in their rooms”…..it’s the same down The Arsenal – I read on Twitter that there are plenty of briefs to be had for the game on Sunday as well….”
Wolfgang (suddenly interested) : “Briefs? Do tell…..”
Edwin : “Well, it’s either (a) the allure of the FA Cup has somewhat diminished, OR (b) last Sunday was indeed a watershed, and people are losing interest and faith generally. ย Ergo, empty seats on the Happy Train.”
Feelgood : “Er goes our profits, more like. Fuck that. ย Radical times call for radical measures, Edwin.”
Dr Disorder suddenly stirs : ย “Measures? ย Jagerbomb, please…..”
Feelgoodย (going on) : “Fetch me Lars’ credit card from the bar.”
Edwin : “Why? ย Do you think they, those that are coming that is, will actually, finally, spend some fucking money?”
Feelgood : “Hell, no. ย I’m going to clone it, buy and sell some stuff, and salt away the profits in a secret DLL account…..”
Edwin : “There’s a name for that you know……..”
Feelgood : “Yeah I know – Rosie 47. ย Facking genius, I say.”
Dr Z – Heh , superb . ๐ ๐
Abb – No worries .
i and a few others have just eaten a large pan of sausages out of the pan with forks – Fagin style
all was missing was the long frock coat and the stench of piss
*lies about one of the above*
Ollie@511: go for it. If you believe you are going to land on your feet, you usually do.
Trev@518: interesting to recall that when AW bought Squallici he ticked all the boxes we were screaming for — experienced central defender, had played at top level in Europe, had won things. Yet we all know what we ended up with. Ditto, in a way, with Arshavin — record signing (i.e. we spent some f***ing money) and had just come off spectacular Euros as captain of Russia. So how did they go from being just what we wanted to just not Arsenal players?
Tabs@527: BBC called ‘arry the most successful English manager in the modern game, and although the English is an important qualifier to keep the bar somewhat low, they might not be far wrong.
Zico@528: both Yennaris and Le Coq are DMs by trade, as, incidentally was another makeshift left back, Flamini. Maybe DMs just make better emergency full-backs than CBs because the shielding skills needed are similar. It is also striking how many wingers end up playing full back, Gibbs and Santos for two. Fergie has played Valencia there on occasion, too.
…and@540: ๐
ABB. You did not have to look too far. It was the next paragraph.
Don’t blame you mind, even I was getting bored by that stage.
NBN and TS, well in for the stealth century to collect the assist, both scorer and assister ๐
Ihb @ 495, It’s a shame when a witty retort prompts abuse, we’re all better than that. Must of been something if ‘holic had to edit it, first time I’ve seen some’at like that happen, not even the likes of Cuntsop could manage it.
GT @ 535, I thought your 483 was hilarious, especially as I’ve been following the Jenkinson debate since its origin on this post from ‘Holic ๐
I mean, what a punchline, you crack me up like an egg in hot water ๐
Zico @ 540, TWO FeelGood Stories in under 24 hours?! You’re on fire Senor ๐
Hey Feelgood, hands off my credit card! It is only to be used for buying drinks!
Ned: interesting observation there about central midfielders being more used to playing like a full-back then central defenders are. I think you are on to something there, and most central midfielders are in general also more used to joining in the attack, perhaps hence both the Coq and Yennaris doing more overlaps than Vermaelen/Djourou.
Re: Tabs @125 I couldn’t have said it half so well myself. They can keep us down for a while but we will keep coming back.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>