There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards
Feb 17th, 2012 by 'holic
My favourite Ian Dury track, and I love a lot of his stuff, so that is quite an accolade. In fact, I think I will share it with you.
I wonder which ‘clever bastard’ first expressed the need of a fallen traveller to get back on his means of conveyance at the earliest opportunity. That is the situation that Arsenal face as they make the long journey to Sunderland for the second successive weekend. The manner of the beating in Milan on Wednesday has added to the importance of this latest fixture. The FA Cup is now the only realistic prospect of silverware this season, but the boss is now treading the same experimental path that faced Einstein, and could frighten people in similar fashion.
He has to decide whether to rest key players for the battle for fourth place in the League, or put his strongest available eleven on the vegetable patch that classes for a pitch at the Stadium of Light, knowing full well that dicky surfaces have done for his central defensive partnership in the last two matches. Frightened ‘shit-less’ indeed.
I’m no Premier League manager, for sure, but I would not risk our only chance of a trophy when if anybody does need a rest they can take it in the dead second rubber with Milan. Frankly, with the number of games we are likely to face in the remaining twelve weeks I would pick the strongest team for every match. There is a growing feeling that this could be a significant summer for the club and it is time for this well-rewarded group of players to cast aside any thoughts other than working their nuts off for their colleagues,ย their manager, their supporters, and most of all themselves.
Last season we fell off the proverbial bicycle at roughly this time, and when we remounted we failed to fix the buckled wheel and bent handlebars. It is time to show that the lessons of that dreadful run-in have been learned. Sunderland must be overcome, and preferably without a replay in the week when we are due to feature in the most significant North London derby since we won the League title at the swamp, for the second time, in 2004. This next week has assumed an importance that didn’t seem likely at the end of 2011, and could have a significant bearing on the future of the club we all love. You know what I mean by that even if you and I may not agree that it is right.
The ‘holic pound is guided by the belief that we will go with our strongest available starting eleven. For me that means a pairing of Vermaelen and Djourou in the middle of the back four, and requires Song and Arteta to apply themselves to protecting that soft centre a damned sight better than they did in the week. On the flanks I would switch the Ox to the right and start Gervinho onย the left. I’m not in full accord with the Theo detractors this week, but this is a game in which he might be most useful coming on after an hour to run at tired defenders.
I’m betting that this group of players, although not as technically gifted as those who crashed so spectacularly a year ago, will have a bit more backbone. It may be a bumpy ride again, but Gunners Gaming are offering 28/1 against a 3-2 away win, and I can really visualise that happening. I’m on it.
I have no doubt those making the journey to the Stadium of Bumps and Bare Patches will give the side unconditional support for ninety minutes. I can only hope that those watching by other means do the same. This side has the opportunity to recover from the bitter blow that was Milan. They will need all our backing to achieve that.
Have a great weekend, ‘holics.
230 Responses to “There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards”
Lucky breeders…….
So close!
Cheers ‘holic!
I will not share foreboding as I did with tabs before the Meelan game, but I really have no idea what will happen.
3-2, Chamakh hat-trick?
That will do.
Great opening, Steve T.
Evening chaps, and any lurking chapesses. I may be sleeping early tonight. (hic)
I could be a driver in an articulated lorry.
I could be a poet, I wouldn’t need to worry.
I could be the teacher in a classroom full of scholars.
I could be the sergeant in a squadron full of wallers.
What a waste, what a waste.
My fav Ian Dury song.
Now to read the post.
Good evening sir. I shall require multiple pints of plain from the bar tonight.
Poxy spell check.
Lucky bleeders even…. My big opening and it falls flat on its face.
I think I have drunk them all, AJ ๐
I’m doing my best to visualize it ‘holic. So far the bumps and bare patches are the only thing I can visualize but I will be working full-time between now and kickoff to visualize that 3-2, or (dare he say it) a larger margin of victory. Come on Arsenal!!!
2morrow is hugh for us now!,,lets hope the players feel the same.id take a replay right now,we dont have many games left and the first 11 (minus walcott)should be able to play all our matches between now and may.a game a week isint much really,im praying for a replay,how sad is that!!!
There’s the horse boys…..now get back on it.
Sneaky, squeaky, lucky plucky one nil to the Arsenal will do nicely.
See yous on the train….. 8)
(Shit, the Roxette tracking device has just been activated……)
Plaistow Patricia was more appropriate for this shower… the first line anyway ๐
๐
Naughty Ricey
Agree with every preview word, Holic. Play our strongest team, but what would that be at this moment? I have to say I would perhaps start with RvP on the bench and bring him on at around 60 mins when the Sunderland defenders will hopefully be a little bit tired – but then again that leaves the question of who the fuck to stick up there instead to make the defenders tire… But maybe, just maybe, starting Gervinho and Oxlade on the wings with Theo down the middle could be an idea. It would be interesting to see Theo in that role, I actually think he could do it rather well. I could, of course, be massively wrong as well but give Gerv and Ox orders to swap wings with each other from time to time, tell Theo to always stand on the shoulder of the last defender so that he can run on to short passes from the wingers as well as get on the end of low crosses because he is quick enough on the first few steps to get away from most players in those situations.
But whoever we put out there, let’s at least hope they give it a proper go.
Heh at Ricey !
Heh Ricey, pulling strokes and taking liberties ๐
Agree 100% with your thoughts Holic. Putting out a 2nd string side and losing accomplishes nothing and further damages confidence.
A win hopefully would put us in better heart for the Tiny Totts… you never know we might even go on and win a trophy.
Its also a game we can win, Sunderland are very average, they offered minimal goal threat last week so are definitely beatable..
As you say fixture congestion won’t be a problem from now on, the Milan game is a dead rubber so he can rest key players for that.
I love you Arsenal, I do.
Strongest 11 no question. On the fence about Gibbs, do we play him into fitness in this one or play Le Coq at left-back?
Rosicky to start for me still, Ramsey to come on later…
… From the deserts in Sudan
To the San Siro in Meelan….
What ‘Holic said with izico @ #11 for the score…. provided we re-group.
It will take a little time for TV5 & JD20 to forge a partnership. O’Neill, the sneaky b’stard, will be doing EVERYTHING to unsettle us. A true test of our ‘mental strength’ if ever there was one.
As it’s still #FFF: Barbed cats penis!
Come on you mighty reds!
PS Holic:
…..There is a growing feeling that this could be a significant summer for the club and it is time for this well-rewarded group of players to cast aside any thoughts other than working their nuts off for their colleagues, their manager, their supporters, and most of all themselves….
Very true but does it also mean we may be facing a Punxsatawney summer? Just askin’….
Holic, In the Milan game, the camera panned to TH briefly while he was urging the lads on, fists upwards, shouting encouragement. God, I’m gonna him, all over again.
Oh dear, I’m going to miss him, is what my heart is trying to say…
TS@20
From Milan to Sunderland,
Ev’ry woman, ev’ry man…
Song for Bendy
Hit me up in row Z Nick, hit me, hit me!
Nice post Holic , (you’re my) Inspiration .
And so it’s Back to Blighty for The Arsenal .
Will we be Crippled with Nerves ? Will we have Delusions of Grandeur ?
Dont Ask me .
Will the Ox get to the Byline Brown ? Will it be a Bed o’ Roses ?
Don’t Ask me .
Will we be England’s Glory ? Will we be The Passing Show ? Or will Sunderland be the Rough Kids and make us look like Blockheads ?
Who’s to know ?
Lose ? and I won’t like them Apples , forever cast as the Inbetweenies .
Since wednesday its all got Very Personal , with our acclaimed manager abused as Spasticus Autisticus .Well the abusers are Uncoolohol . It ain’t Cool .
I believe ! Trust (is a Must) . Give The Call Up to The Right People , and we’ll be Riding the Outskirts of Fantasy .
Let’s make sure come tomorrow night , We have Reasons to be Cheerful , a Red Letter Day for this team .
Game On .
I’m off before Clever Trevor turns up . I’m off to the Funky Disco . DJ , Hit Me with Your Rhythm Stick !
I heard Bendtner looks like Batman now with his new face-mask. I wonder if we should call him the Dane Knight?
Finally Dr Spin’s record collection turns up……
Just fuckin win boys or I am with Ricey and his Plaistow Patricia.
Lose and we can all say “what a waste.”
Time to man up.
Bring it on.
We have no God given right to win any game and I have not felt confident of beating any PL team in a long time. However, we are 4th (don’t ask me how given the way we are playing) and still in the FA Cup. I’m not confident but we must have something to be above the teams below us. I’ll keep supporting the club
Hey holics, I have a footballing question.
What’s the deal with deciding who are the opponents for a testimonial match? I just read that Graham Rix and Pat Jennings played the LWCs in their testimonial match (both games Arsenal lost, btw).
Does the retiring player or the club choose who they play against? Is it just something to do with the fixture list that determines who is available?
Had a love affair wiv Nina
In the back of my Cortina
A seasoned up hyena
Could not’ve been more obscener
She took me to the cleaners
And other misdemeanours
Till I got right up between her
Rum and her ribena
Sorry ‘holic
Your favourite’s not a patch on mine ๐
But mine’s probably less relevant, I’ll give you that.
Sleep well.
Just ask Joyce and Vicki,
About Martin, the thick irish brickie,
His pitch is a bit sticky,
The tie is a bit tricky,
but we WILL do very well.
RIP Mr Dury
UTA
To all the Dury lyricists:
“Very clever fellas”
Extra hehs @ #24
Thnaks for doing it properly Ned @ #23
As for Martin “Get Behind The Ball” O’Neill
“He loves a bit of Wembley up his kyber pass”
Remember when Djourou and Vermaelen played solid together ????
Aaaaaah Danish! Sizzling mate! ๐
To be fair, DJ & TV as our preferred CB pairing for 1H last season. Things move on….
*was*
& *Khyber* ๐ณ
As far as I’m concerned, Djourou playing well is an urban myth ๐
TV and JD played together in Udinese.
Gibbs is not in the squad.
Lansbury tweeted a pic of him chilling at his house.
None of us are so different, hit me hard hit me quick, I will go to my second game at the emirates in a week
Here is someone more mas at Piers Morgan than us: http://mrjimmycorkhill.blogspot.com/2012/02/open-letter-to-piers-morgan.html
* more mad at..
Roll on Saturday
Good article Holic. A difficult game, does not matter win or lose but need a fighting performance from the team.
Dhruv, the thing is if we put in a fighting performance, more often than not, we win
Problem with Arsene’s teams over recent years is that, they don’t bloody fight at times
Nice one ‘holic and others
I am in despair over our team this year – mind you its all happened before over 50 years
The sole crumb of comfort is that no side has leapt out of sight , not even Citeh, and each time we have been done, we have come back with a vengeance
I also like the idea of Ox on the right and Gervinho on the left, because , unlike Theo , they are good running at defences with the ball
On the subject of songs , can I propose ‘Wasted Youth’ by Meatloaf for Theo
To finish on a positive – who do I want to play in the next round – I don’t care, getting past SunderNeill was the only barrier to Wembley
Clever Trevor!
Now I see Tabs beat me to it, but This is What We Find.
Off for breakfast of Omo and Curry Powder Sandwich, Half a Pound of Uncut Pork.
That’ll make the neighbours talk! ๐
Just found another gentleman’s kippers in the grill !
Is Clive from Harold Hill ?
What with all that Do-It-Yourself dexterity . . .
Great poetry by zico@32 ๐
Must confess to knowing very little abut Ian Dury, but I do know that I can not understand where the notion of “TV and Kos can’t play together” comes from. They have hardly ever played together in central defense, so how can anybody claim with any authority that it is not a working partnership?
Wind@38: funny thing is, though, that for a rather long time last season, we were unbeaten in the league with Djourou in central defense. He was really good for about 75% of the season but then he got injured and hasn’t reached the same heights since. Arsene got a hell of a lot of stick for not playing Djourou (who, let’s remember, had just come back from a year-long injury) more often and I’ll bet you those who are most vocal in bemoaning Djourou’s new contract are, with maybe a few exceptions, the exact same people who complained about him not playing enough last season.
One thing about the game tonight that maybe we haven’t considered enough is that Sunderland can not really be as negative as last Saturday. They can not play for a 0-0 like last time, because that would of course mean a replay and as much as we don’t want that, I don’t think they will be too keen on it either. That will make this game a tad more open, I think, and if our boys have decided to turn up for the game that will mean that we get a few more chances to score.
CoR@30: as far as I know, there are no rules regarding who the testimonial is against, but I believe that the standard procedure is that the player in question tells the club who he wants the game to be against and then the clubs involved look for a date where it works out for all parties. If they can’t agree on a date then they’ll just have to find another team to play against.
(Interesting tidbit about testimonials, by the way: Premier League rules specify that a player that has played at least ten seasons for a club has the right to a testimonial – if he wants one the club must set it up.)
All these Ian Dury references go “WHOOOSH” over my head… ๐
*heads off to YouTube in a vain attempt at learning at least a little about Dury*
Wolfie’s up for a bit of Billericay Dickie . . .
nice one zico @32,
Personally, I thought the last thing we needed this weekend was more IanDuries . ?
Just found another gentlemanโs kippers in the grill !
Laughin’
Ah, so “Sex & Drugs & Rock’n’Roll” and “Hit Me With Your Rythm Stick” was Ian Dury? I am starting to feel embarrassed by my own ignorance here…
Arsenal are a wounded animal at the moment, seeking shelter to lick there wounds and contenplate the enormous job that lay before them.
Under O`neil all teams seem transformed and re-invented, just a week ago it was a scruffy bitty game of football, well what can you expect playing on what is suppose to pass for a premiership football pitch.
O`neil is under no illusion how badly the gunners want to bounce back and I am sure he is not looking forward to this game. A rare tiraid from AW is to have woken the team from its slumber of mid week humiliation.
I agree that the best foot forwrd for all the remaining games of the season. I am sure we can also agree that AW pride would not want this to be his worst season at Arsenal ever if we also finish outside the top 4.
The clubs budget runs and depends on us being in the CL so all or nothing. Come to think of it I would trade the FA cup for 4th position because without CL players will want to leave and top quality players wouldnt want to come.
Thers is also a chance of having your cake and eating it however that hasnt been the case for a few years and expectations have dropped. I know we are not title contenders or european destroyers but we are still the Arsenal.
Arsenal til I die !!!!!!!!!
Holic I am delighted everything went well and hope for a speedy recovery. God bless you and your family.
And next weekend, Lars, we will be playing the ‘Blockheads’
Not much to disagree with there ’71 – except where does this notion come from that if we qualify for CL that all these ‘top players’ will be arriving.
AW has never picked stars off the top shelf anyway and we have qualified for the last 15 years.
George Graham’s ideology was to always buy players who would be moving up to join the Artsenal – e.g. Dixon, Winterburn, Bould etc. and they did quite well for us !
I don’t expect to see a galaxy of top stars arriving whether we qualify or not.
I’ll ask again ๐
Holics – Important.
Who’s planning on going to Anfield, Milan at home and Newcastle at home?
Trev@57
Wishfull thinking maybe of arriving players, but if we finish outside the top 4 and dumped out of the cups. Surely a re-think will be needed if the players here now are the ones to win us future glory.
At this moment I dont know
Snir,
next game for me is probably Villa, next month, sorry
Tabs, clever @25 ๐
Not me Snir! …… Just to be polite and answer you ๐
Just watching the Meedja
“Arsenal last chance saloon” “Last chance to win anything”.
Hang on…. what about Chelsea? What about ManUre and Man Citeh? They all have just one chance to win anything (discounting European losers’ Cup). How come they aren’t all in the last chance saloon?
Especially Chelsea – we’re above them FFS.
Lazy shite journalism
@50: Thanks for the response Lars, I thought I was in a music studio there for a second because I kept seeing only lyrics coming out in the drink ๐
So, even if you’re not close to retirement you can have one then? That’s interesting that is. RVP can have one next 2 years then!
I like Stevenage’s new kit by the way…
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4137815/Stevenage-v-Spurs-Jon-Ashton-ready-to-put-his-body-on-the-line.html
Catalan, don’t read the press man, you’ll just raise your blood pressure. All I read are blogs are the occasional article posted in here that’s not shite.
Catalan, technically they are right.
Chelsea are still in the competition that we just took a tonking in ๐
Heh Catalan – re The Quackery Ultimatum yetserday. Good stuff.
Unfortunately, when I eventually returned from the slopes yesterday evening – Les Angles is 1 1/4 hours from here – the local network was down, so hadn’t seen yesterday’s drinks ’til just now.
Good work too on your FFF listing ๐
Will give some thought to TQU ๐
Enjoyed our meeting very much, btw.
Dr Z, ‘technically’ we’re still in it too ๐
But yeah, fuck the meedja. And Eurosport in particular (made the mistake or reading the buffoons on my iPod)
Yeah, you’re right Ollie.
Chamakh is going to score 4 to take the tie to extra time and then Park will score the winning penalty in the shoot out.
Glass is overflowing here….. ๐
A black cat just came in the house and very hungry he was. The good news for the superstitious among you is that this happens every morning at my house. I just thought to mention it in case it proves cathartic. I could even put the black cat back out if anybody thinks it would help. ๐
Re: Lars and “Heads off to youtube”: Well, that may be a bit over the top. The traditional phrase being hats off in English. But you make your point very strongly. ๐
Holic, hope the management continues to make good progress.
I agree fully that we have to play our strongest team (both mentally and physically) today.
If Gibbs isn’t in the squad, will it be Miquel or Sagna at LB?
I would keep Feo on the bench and give him the last quarter to prove that he has something to offer this club.
COYRs.
8ball: well, I couldn’t just sit here and not understand what everyone else was going on about, could I? ๐
Lars @ 50, I cannot refute your knowledge ๐
I’ll have some of what you’re having, zico ๐
Heh, Ollie,
raided the CMC before I left, pull up a chair….
Birmingham 1-0 up against Chelsea. I think the Brummies are singing “You’re no Mourinho” to AVB, lol
Heh! Top class banter fellas, thoroughly brightened up this rainy afternoon ๐
Lars – shame on you for being so if orang in the ways of ID & The Bs ๐
Cheers all.
* ignorant * heh! Serves me right for being so cheeky to Lars ๐ณ
Ryo Miyaichi is starting against Milwall. I’m hoping he tames the lions and has a good game today.
Snir, I decided to copy you and watch Fever Pitch. It was second time watching it and I have to say, still not a big fan of the movie. I love the book so much but I felt like the movie portrayal just made him out to look emotionally stunted and pathetic with a kind of romance theme in the background that annoyed me. Enjoyed watching the Highbury scenes though.
The bar is awfully quiet today, is everyone making their way up Norf?
Ryo scored!!!!!
Zico – good point re Chelski
Ollie – better point re us!!!
Looking forwrd to Chamakh running amok! ๐
Good stuff, Ryo. Apparently a good one too.
And a replay for Chelski….
Good afternoon Gents & Gentiles….heh
Well the good thing is that Chel$ki looks shite and I can’t see them finishing above us…Daniel Sturridge is their only player I covet…even Mata looks shit (0;
I disagree only slightly with ’71: My feeling is that O’Neil will not want a replay unless he wants the money that a replay at the Emirates would provide. He would have looked at our performance in Milan and said I think that we can catch them on the break…but he also knows that if we can muster our usual response after a drubbing then he has little chance if we decide to play…so the pressure ought to be on him methinks…
Holic , best wishes for today , and hope Mrs H gets her release papers .
Afternoon All ,
So Gibbsy ain’t playin’ ? Don’t understand that unless he’s injured (again!)
Flipper and The Ox in an all animal flank attack . RVP has to play , toothless without him . Hope Le Coq gets an opportunity to stiffen the midfield . He’s been unlucky not to have had more opportunities to play imo .
Miyaichi scores !!! Go on Ryo .
I’m on Dr Z’s ‘orse – 1-0 to the Arse . TV5 to step up and start atoning for wednesday .
dkgooner @31 – Magnificent . The man was a poet extraordinaire . RIP Ian Dury , you clever bastard .
GT @41 – Agreed with the article , nice link . Unfortunately I think Penis Morgan welcomes and revels in that sort of criticism . Can’t wait til he’s banged up .
Trev @47 and @48 – heh ๐
The Ryo goal was incredible Catalan. He muscled their rightback off the ball, opened his body up and put it in the right corner from just outside the box….
Ryoooooooooooooooo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI4QoxAeOvU&feature=youtu.be
Great goal indeed . Cheers Ollie .
Thanks for the clip Ollie. Bolton fans have to be liking Arsenal more and more. Wilshere saves their season one year, Miyaichi looking to do the same this year?
Tabs, TS, Trev, Ollie, Steve, Snowy, and the other regulars at the Ems.
Are you planning on going to Anfield, Milan at home or Newcastle at home?
I don’t wanna be at the Tollie by myself!! ๐
http://www.101greatgoals.com/gvideos/ryo-miyaichi-v-milwall-1-0/
Snir , won’t be at Milan or Anfield . Might be at Newcastle but unlikely .
No, no and no for me, I’m afraid, Snir.
CoR. That is a sexy yogurt commercial. What was that clip at the end? ๐
Today, I will mostly be playing Nurse ‘holic…
Gets crunched from behind by Shawcross . Gives him a withering look and gesticulates that he is a brain dead ape . Gets to his feet , and jogs into the box , awaiting the free kick …
That’s the spirit ‘Holic . Mrs H back home ?
No chance for Anfield away or Newcastle home Snir, chance for Milan is the same percent as the chance of us going through to the Quarter-Finals. I’d love to be there to say I’ve been to see the Arsenal in all competitions this season but my financial situation is not looking good :'(
And Bang
Snir,
No, Maybe & Maybe. Will let you know when I know. Might trade Meelan for Bar Codes or vice versa (likely to do one or the other).
Incidentally, if I was going to be on my own, then The Tollie would be a fine place to be.
Recommend you pay a visit to the AST bar too where you will always find top man Glenn W and his crew. ๐
Tabs, How do you convey that someone is a brain dead ape through gesticulation. Nice goal by Nurse Wolfie, BTW. ๐
Brill goal by young Ryo. Ta for the clip Ollie.
Emerges triumphant from the penalty area scrum . Rushes to the crowd behind the goal , and celebrates Sammy Nelson stylee …
Gives Wind a celebratory squeeze for the glorious assist , calls Shawcross a neanderthal c*nt , and lights up a cigarello .
8Ball – Cheers and no idea ๐
Good goal, Wolfie.
Right, off to the pub. Hopefully I’ll leave the pub in a better mood than on wednesday night!
Good finish Wolfie.
Yes, management is back and being waited on hand and foot.
Team at Sunderland…
Fabianski Sagna Djourou Vermaelen Coquelin Song Arteta O-Chamberlain Ramsey Gervinho VPersie
Arsene must have read my front three last night. Only negative for me is Fabianski, but I think he has been promised cup games so he is ready for Poland this summer.
Well in Nurse Wolfie ๐
Come on Ox Coz RVP and Gervinho!!
Fabulous goal by Ryo – but let’s not get carried away. Having said that the possible future looks pretty good to me with the young talent coming through. The problem seems to be bridging the gap between now and when these young players truly become of age, that is the task now facing AW and his squad of players battered and bruised as they are both physically and mentally. The physical is just a matter of time and the correct treatment, the mental much more difficult. As the old adage goes your mind can do wonderful things for you or terrible things to you – if you let it.
Fall off a horse, get back on it, and this afternoon provides a wonderful opportunity for us to remount and tame the beast. There is no reason why we shouldn’t win this game and reignite our season and I believe that our team must be straining at the leash to put their boots on and get back out on a football pitch to prove that Milan was just an aberration the like of which we’ll never again see from an Arsenal side.
“Cry Havoc and let slip the dogs of war.”
Cheers Ollie , Holic .
Holic , great news .
Thanks for the team . Would have liked to have seen Coq in midfield but hey ho .
As regards Fabianski , if that promise was made , it shouldn’t have been .
Right off to the juicer .
Good luck everyone .
COME ON THE ARSENAL !!!!
Cheers Wind ๐
BREAKING TEAM NEWS [BBC}: Robin van Persie, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gervinho start for Arsenal, with Francis Coquelin coming in for Kieran Gibbs. Wojciech Szczesny is out with Manuel Almunia in between the posts.
Manu between the post…yum
GoonerTerry – That’s impossible.
Manuel Almunia is not on our 25 list.
Almunia?
Facking BBC:
BREAKING TEAM NEWS: Robin van Persie, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gervinho start for Arsenal, with Francis Coquelin coming in for Kieran Gibbs. Wojciech Szczesny is out with Lukasz Fabianski in between the posts.
No panic then eh?
I’m thinking Ox will play on the right and Gervinho on the left and not the other way around.
Ox struggled against Bardsley so it’d be good to give Gervinho a go at Bardsley.
The Equaliser starts between the sticks. ๐
Up the Gunners.
greatest hat on a plonker NB52
I agree with tabs. Would like to see le coq in the midfield.
What’s the story with Gibbs?
Injured?
Glad to learn that AW is not resting RvP today. That would have been a promise too far….and confirms that we have NO reliable back-up.
Gibbs is clearly not capable of 2 games in 3 days or was completely shredded mentally by his San Siro experience. Any sign of young Miquel? He didn’t let us down when called upon.
I hope that DJ has his concentration switched on and Flappy is determined to prove that he has the quality to play for a top team. Surely the midfield three cannot play as poorly again (cf Tim Stillman’s eyewitness analysis) and we have two wingers who will support their fullbacks.
At least we are getting practice on turnip fields.
Don’t drink all the whisky on the drugs trolly, nurse ‘Holic.
My eldest and youngest took a tube and bus to emirates stadium at 8am this morning to catch a 5 1/2 hour coach to Sunderland today.
Whatever the result I hope the players play their hearts out and sweat blood for the cause
And it’ Aaaarrrrsssseeeeennnnaaaalllll!
Arsenal FC!…
BMBD b*tches! BMBD.
Le Coq off – Hamstrung!!!
I wanna see who thinks this isn’t a curse by now.
It’s a curse.
Chances of winning just dropped significantly
CG – lets concentrate on the attack and score more then them
Oh no Rambo
Sunderland boots flying everywhere..
Oh FFS!!! Every time someone falls over they look injured
There are kicking us to pieces..
Flappy, JD and squidgy??????
Barton down the hatches.
Where’s Gibbs? They said he was fit on arsenal.com.
Steward Robson is a wanker – he’s so anti-Arsenal. Sack the fucker!!
Good shot Gervy
how was that not a pen?
well if that wasn’t a penalty on RvP then I know nothing about football!
Varmaelen at fault for that..fuck
squill og?
Dear oh dear oh dear
We are the unluckiest team in the world with injuries.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team play with its 4th and 5th CBs and its 3rd LB.
Come on Arsenal! Score one goal at least and take it back to the emirates
We need to move the ball faster. Haven’t played them last week, you’d think the players would remember the pace of the closing down they need to contend with
Sunderland can barely get a touch on the ball. Our problem is that we got no penetration whatsoever.
I think that’s why Song is playing so advanced because out of the midfield three his passing abilities are the best.
typical Arsenal. few seconds left of the half we bulid an attack the ref waited for for us to finish the attack , what do we do? we pass the ball backward. Very slow. I have to say Sunderland have run themselves to the ground. it will interesting to see wether they will be able to do that for 90 minutes. I expect a reaction from us in 2nd half
Penetration is what is needed NOW! No more useless passes in our own half, for god’s sake. AW get off that damm bench and urge our boys on!!!
We’re gonna have to really pick it up if we want anything out of this one lads. Less poncing around at the back and quicker on the ball in the final third. Oh, and a bit of high pressing without the ball would be, you know, quite nice.
Did anyone think that was a penalty? We’ve seen them given…
pass, pass, pass, uselss passes. why we don’t try long balls long ranges shots, anything different. Sunderland have scored lots of goals from long range shots since Oneil took over . the secret to their recent success is to shoot on site, Oneil’s tactics i guess
pathetic really. how is Maclean allowed to walk passed with so much ease?
have you noticed how every player needs two touches…it’s that fucking pitch….all match long we’ve had teammates signalling for early passes but everyone needs to control the ball first…no one touch football….plus Sunderland have been Stokelike with their tacking in this half.
We’ll get a goal back, I still think we will ….hope…fuck I’m tired of watching us struggle…come on gunners!
Oh fuck me.
Milan away was just strange, but watching this is actually painful. With the odd exception here and there, we are attacking one by one all the bloody time. It’s the easiest thing in the world to defend against. Yes, it’s a crap pitch but we knew that long before the game so why play as if it was perfectly flat and smooth? Why not, when we are 1-0 down, put Vermaelen up top alongside Robin, go with a 3-3-4 and float long balls? We have to try something different, we played there just a week ago and knew exactly what to expect. In many ways this is a worse game than on Wednesday, in my eyes.
absolute piss
that’s fucking cruel….we are cursed
I agree Lars.
One dimensional all over the pitch.
I’ve just realized Arteta is Denilson with better defensive workrate.
If in our most important game of the season our DM has to play as the most advanced midfielder because he’s the only one who knows how to pass a through ball it says a lot.
All we know how to do is pass sideways.
very light weight no fght no presence, absolute crap.
We look so lost.
I am so disappointed…
and tired…
off to watch the Bundesliga (and Dortmund).
BMBD.
lost . thats the word
were the mackems chanting “Thierry Henry…has gone back home” ? Vaguely funny and a testament to our current bench…
we are playing a short corner on the 89th minute ha ha ha ha, comical.
a clear out in the summer would be nice
Well, at least we can’t complain about fixture congestion anymore…
aaaarrrggghhhhhhhhhh
The Liverpool transformation begins.
You can’t tell me you believe we’re gonna clinch 4th now with everyone’s confidence shot to pieces, can you?
Plus, it’s February, no matter what the confidence is like, there has to be a meltdown.
Thank G*d for small blessings, eh Lars.
Welll, er, um… let’s see… what exactly is there left to play for?
(keep calm, carry on)…
BMBD
This is an opportunity for us to show mental strength.
Out of the 2 cups in 3 days. I can understand that.
6 goal in 2 matches. I can understand that.
But, 0 goals scored, almost 0 chances created in 2 matches. Is this Arsenal?
Sorry AW but, for me you cannot train OUR team to have any sort of attack apart from the slow build up
When there is a block defence, and a team that plays well in terms of closing us down, then an attack that cannot look up and pass over the top has NO chance at all
Its another non-season for me, I’m afraid
But I wont give up
COYR
Worst refereeing display in ages.
Sunderland players fouling continuously, we should have had a penalty.
Djourou booked for nothing much they get away with nearly everything.
We were quite poor – no inventiveness and too many square and backwards passes.
We must just keep going – can’t give up.
We didn’t create one opportunity in the final third. Not one.
The only chance we had in the game came from a break between RvP and Gervinho.
That’s embarrassing.
You’re right Snir and I think it is a sign of the lack of confidence that players pass backwards and sideways so much.
What is the point of bringing on Theo and then not setting up to provide him with opportunities?
Stagnant comes to mind.
Someone needs to take my place as cheerleader. No energy left and my heart is in bits and pieces.
I’m off for a drink – Tullamore Dew I think to kill the pain.
That was poor. Their second goal was comical, Keystone Kops stuff. The Ox had a poor game, tried to dribble out of cul de sacs rather than pass and kept losing the ball…but the whole team was losing the ball, so he fits right in. Did Theo play? And I guess our back 4 v Spurs is Bac, DJ, TV, and Gibbs. Yennaris and Miquel on the bench. Frightening.
Is anyone ready for the Usmanov option yet?
Qouted from the Guardian 12 Jun 2011
Usmanov also said that there would need to be a switch in emphasis if he is to end up on the board. He told the News of the World: “If the role of a board member is to oversee a trophyless period while making significant personal profits and asking fans to pay inflation-busting ticket price increases then, no, I would not want to be on the board…..
“…..The Premier League is one of the most competitive in the world and whilst we have consistently challenged for honours, the club needs to develop talent and buy top-class players. This requires greater investment which, I believe, has been lacking thus far.
“What, however, is not clear is whether the board shares this view. For too long they have seemed happy to sanction second, third and fourth as being acceptable, whilst at the same time they are planning to sell their shares.”
I know, I know he’s fat, he’s a successful businessman not a saint, lives in Hampstead and bought his shares of David Dein.
I think the clubs disastrous summer transfer policy cannot be allowed to be repeated this season end. Something has to change at the club. And if it is to be the manager then it also has to be the board. If they stay they ALL have to accept we need a new direction. We cannot expect to keep doing the same things and expecting different results.
Big big fucking sigh.
Worst refereeing???? Please, don’t start going down that route. Both JD and Bacs could have seen red.
Snir is right. We created nothing. Absolutely nothing. Why, because we have never come close to replacing the quality we have lost. Unbelievably simple really.
Blaming others is both massive sour grapes and totally wrong. Blinkers off, head out of the sand and enjoy a dose of reality.
Well, it’s officially dark ages for the football club. Time for people to just lower their expectations and deal with whatever happens this season
It could get messy on Sunday!
In other news today, Ryo`s got his first goal for Bolton in a 2-0 win away from home. Here goes Coyle:
โHe has more than just one strength. He has many attributes. He has pace, he has two great feet. He has football intelligence for such a young man and he’s driven to be the best he can beโ.
โHe has a great temperament and I could be here all day waxing lyrical about him.
โI’m not doing that on the back of a good performance today, I’ve said that since he came to the club.
@ lurky,
hear hear….unbelievable.
In the last two games it looks like we have been finally shown up for what we are this season.
Fourth spot is only relevant as a carrot dangler to keep RvP, our only world class player. I still think we will need to find Citeh wages mind and a significant investment in the squad.
I’m not sure we’ve got the board or the manager to oversee what needs to be done. I’m just not sure anymore. I never thought I would ever write that.
Sigh.
@ Steve T,
always been on your page pal. Just sad it is being laid so bare to everyone else in the world.
puffed cheeked sigh.
This is what happens when you replace players like cesc and nasri with arteta and benayoun, while hoping for young players like ramsey and an overplayed wilshere to help fill their boots.
With the players we signed in summer I had thought that we would try to play a different game this season. More direct, fast counter attacks, less tippy-tappy… But no. We are still trying to play as if we have a team of players who can make a difference in any game. The likes of cesc, nasri, adebayor… Nevermind the invincibles.
If we did not win a single trophy playing a technically pleasing sort of football with the players we had in the past 6 seasons, what makes AW think we can win with the same playstyle played by a comparably worse group of players? Really it is not surprising to see us passing the ball sideways and back as if we have 3 denilsons in midfield. RVP kept our season alive singlehandedly, but our game pattern is being found out badly by now.
Hurts to see us playing this badly and not getting results, but it is probably right to say it has been coming.
OK.
AW has said countless times that he’ll leave if he feels he’s not doing the job properly.
He also said that the last summer was his worst.
If we fail to reach 4th, the past summer will look like heaven compared to this summer.
AW will leave, meaning RvP will leave because he won’t wanna sign for a team that isn’t challenging and AW, the only hope of convincing him for one last chance of rebuilding, will leave.
We’ll have a clearout of all the dead wood (Squillaci et al) but will replace them with Class C players (we never buy Class A, we always buy Class B, but Yossi started the trend of Class C) who won’t be enough to bring us back to the top.
We’ll stay in mid-table mediocrity with another manager and mediocre players until our young’uns get us out of it, which will take some time as right now they’re just raw potential, not the finished article.
Sunderland wouldn’t have got their second if AA had been on the pitch. No way he would have chased back the way the Ox did after losing possession in their third!
What is most worrying about that defeat is it means we have gone more than 180 minutes now without scoring. We are not creating enough chances. We are not showing enough movement up front, getting around the back of the back four or getting a grip on midfield. Another way we are missing Mertesacker is those 20m-30m passes he plays directly forward out of defence through the first bank of midfielders so we get to start the attacks in between the lines, not in front of the first of them.
Can’t blame the effort today. As it happened on Friday I chanced to see a replay of the Milan game. On second viewing, the effort there wasn’t as lacking as the critics have been saying. But then and today, we were (i) defensively sloppy; first goal today was started by TV5 giving Djourou a 50/50 back pass; and (ii) unable to get a grip on play. That, I fear, is a question of quality. Short passing ball retention requires quick passing to pull opponents out of position, especially opponents sitting deep. We are just not good enough to do that at the moment. We can’t find incisive passes through the middle and aren’t making it happen on the wings, either.
And, as always happens, when you are off-form, we aren’t catching any breaks, whether with injuries or penalty calls.
Three years I have been saying it. Three years ago we needed just a couple of quality signings and to keep the players we had. Three years later and look where we are. Progress? Sadly, not in my opinion.
Strange but, the moment Le Coq was off injured, our game begun to suffer.
In modern football, exspecially in 4-3-3, fast running fullback with great workrate is a must. Add to that our CB pairing with no guts, our midfielders with no creativity, our jogging wings, and you have today’s Arsenal.
I can’t beleive that we had problems getting the ball out of our half. This is disgrace for our manager, and for the first time in my life, I feel that he has to find another chalenge. This ain’t working anymore. Every game, no matter the opponent, the same approach, same formation, same fecking passing sideways and backwards. We need some fresh ideas, change of tactics, and why not- change the medics.
Disappointed, obviously, but not surprised.
We’re simply not good enough, for most of the time. We’ll get the odd victory of course, but we are just in a period of awful luck, that results in a constantly changing starting 11, so there’s no cohesion to our team work. Expecting a bunch of ‘quite good’ players to play with the flair that a team sprinkled with world class players managed is an ask too much.
The wind of change looms.
Onwards we go, we have no choice.
Chins up, we are still The Arsenal.
@ Derrick,
good shout. we’ve been asking boys to do mens work for too long.
SG@184: the problem with waiting for the young ‘uns to get us out of mid-table mediocrity is that the best of them will be plucked off by clubs higher in the table and deeper pockets. It is one thing to be self-sustaining financially and successful; then you can have the fourth biggest wage bill in the Prem. It is quite another to be self-sustaining on mid-table revenue.
Steve – Check your inbox.
My mind is now fully in looking to the future mode… A future without wenger
About the only thing I’m interested in is who our next manager will be. Poor van persie. He’ll go somewhere, hopefully not in the pl, and get the success his talent warrants.
Any other pl manager who displays the kind of neglect towards their squad that we have seen would be fired ages ago. I know arry’s constant unrealistic nattering about buying this and that player is a bit comical, but at least there is a will to sign, and sadly that’s reflected in the amount of points they’ve got, versus the amount we’ve got.
And playing fabianski!!??!???!!???!??! In such a critical tie against determined well organized opposition??? In a competition that now represented our only chance for silverware? Sorry but now we actually need to start considering the unthinkable, like we are being set up to fail by our management.
Forgot to add, really felt for the Ox, end of game look was as if it was HIS fault, due to the O.G..
Hope someone lifts his chin. Saw the S’land players actually doing that to him, a whisper in the ear, respect for that.
18 FFS.
NBN – I didn’t say it’s gonna be a good thing and that it has no problems.
I just said that that’s what’s gonna happen.
I mean, do you really see the board giving out a blank check to the next manager? I don’t.
So we won’t sign quality (who won’t wanna come anyways cause we pay shit wages), so it has to be the young’uns who will get us out of mid-table mediocrity.
Ned & Snir, this all comes back to the Q of whether AW is not spending money we have, for whatever reason, or not spending money because the board won’t sanction it.
And I don’t think we’ll ever know the answer.
Wenger with his dry predictable tactics once again, ffs at least try RVP and Chamakh up front. Both Ramsey and Arteta are supposed to be attacking fโฆ.ing MF yet are unable to play a fโฆing throughball. JD and Squillaci are the 2 worst defenders in the prem wtf are they doing playing for us?
Changes are needed from top to bottom why the fโฆ did our shareholders sell out to Stan and not usmanov? Weโve been going downhill ever since and this American cunt doesnโt seem to give a flying fโฆ.
I wonโt blame wenger for not buying players because I donโt know the situation with regards to funds but I will blame him for the lack of coaching, team selection, formation and tactics. The guy clearly hasnโt got a clue anymore the games moved on and heโs been unable to move with it.
If OโNeil can turn around a club like Sunderland from where they were, then imagine what heโd do with the resources at Arsenal. We need someone with fresh ideas, preferably a manager who understands defending. At this moment in time I would even take Capello, in fact I think someone with a no nonsense attitude is exactly what this team needs at the moment.
lurky@187: spot on about the full-backs. Two attacking full-backs are sine qua non with 4-3-3. You need them to push the defending wide midfielders back, so breaking down the pressing on you when you have the ball, to even up the numbers when you are attacking and to free up the wingers to break inside when the full backs overlap and get behind the defence. Otherwise the attack will always be out numbered in the box. Those full backs also need to be good crossers. Sagna has developed into an OK crosser but hasn’t been good since his return from injury. Gibbs may be a good crosser (better than Clichy, certainly, but not as good as Cashley). It is hard to tell as we don’t see much of him. Santos looks a better bet in that regard. Jenkinson’s crossing also holds promise.
Darkins@196: Capello certainly knows how to win quality silverware.
MtS – โI would like to bid for the major stars, but the Arsenal boardโs wage structure will not allow it. We urgently need a pick-up in the League because we are down in thirteenth place. Thatโs virtually unheard of in my time as manager at Highbury.โ
George Graham in 1995.
Granted, we weren’t as rich as we are now, but the wage structure has been in place for years now, and it is now beginning to become a major obstacle.
Get in
Many reasons not to be cheerfull part 12
Agreed Mark, fair play to the Sunderland players for that at the end of the game.
My take on O’Neill is that he can make good teams very good, rather than very good teams great. Of course, that may be the coaching we’ll need next season…
Well in, MtS.
Snir @ 199, which brings us back to the Neighbours situation.
Not said out of *envy*.
Just an observation that if they can do ‘it’, then why can’t we.
I mean, they can’t ALL be greedy cunts, can they?
Completely agree with Steve T, after the Invincibles era we had a young and talented squad that is surely good enough to make us proud. We were just a couple signings short, namely cb and gk, of having a very solid team that can punch it out against the very beast teams and still win beautifully.
Granted, oil money did came to the Prem and made a huge difference, stripping us of players like Ashley, Toure, Ade, Nasri and Clichy. But those sales alone are enough to buy half a team of very good players. Players that win you football games, not just talents that can hopefully make it in 4-5 years.
Wenger should realise by now that you need a mix of experience and youth to balance a team’s long term and short term goals. In the past 7 years we had superb young players with almost no older experience to help lead the team. Cesc being our captain is testament to this. Now, AW has tried to augment what is left of our once talented side with the sort of experience we badly needed in the past. Unfortunately, what is left proved to be not much at all.
From our supposed team in transition following the invincibles, this is what we are left with; denilson, vela and bendtner out on loan, a depressed looking song, poor diaby, walcock, ramsey, poor ol rosicky, and rvp for not much longer i fear. Surely something has gone wrong along the way. 7 yearsin and we are still looking like a team in transition. Where is our sustainable long term planning? Surely sustqinable would mean keeping your best players and selling nonperformers, not vice versa?
Sigh.
This all feels very familiar.
Back-end of the season, one half of the squad a million miles out of form and favour, the other half over-played and knackered, vital matches to come and the suspicion that some of the lads are already looking forward to playing their football elsewhere next term.
Have a nasty feeling that this summer will look much like last – a protracted struggle to keep a couple of players than eats time and energy, some squad renewal undertaken but a lot of dead wood left over. Can you buy/sell ten players in one summer?
Not going to go crackers over today’s result. It was another gut punch among many, but I find it hard to make a serious assessment of where we stand on a pitch like that, in a cup game three days after a champs league game, where we spend the best part of an hour with the Albatross on the pitch and score two own goals. None of those things are excuses, I just think they make it hard to come to serious conclusions as to where we stand.
Anyway, I think there’s a lot we need to sort out, I suspect we’re in for a rocky few months and if that’s the case then fucking bring it on. I watched the spoiled Chav cunts whistle their team off this afternoon and it’s convinced me more than ever that it’s not a good look.
I am, however, going to go sit in a darkened room for a couple of hours and repeatedly punch the wall.
@snir 194 – sorry but I can’t match your comment ‘we pay shit wages’ with the reports that our wage bill is the 4th largest in the Premier League. Part of our problem is paying players too much when they haven’t earned it in my opinion.
MtS – I’ve said it before.
Most of their players are on contracts signed a long time ago.
The next contract for Modric (if any), Bale, VdV (was signed on a low contract because he was a RM reject and just wanted out) et al will be huge, especially in this climate where Gary Cahill earns 100K.
Plus, Adebayor is being funded by City (only 70K of his 225K wages are paid by Spurs) and he’s been arguably their second best player.
They won’t be able to sustain it without consistent CL, but on the other hand, now that they will have CL, it’ll be easier for them to sign quality and stay in the CL consistently.
Fin – We pay shit wages in terms of the quality players.
Our maximum weekly wage is 90K which was raised to 115K when we offered that to Nasri.
That is peanuts for the top players.
Our wage bill is 4 because our reserve earn top money despite not deserving it.
For instance Bendtner’s on 52K when I’m sure Demba Ba is not even close to that.
so at the end of the season wenger will have presided over as long a period of failure, as he did of success.
SG@199: again, spot on. It is the wage structure, not the transfer fees, that are key. Time and time again, one hears of top players not being signed because of better deals offered elsewhere (Mata comes to mind), or not being retained for the same reason (insert list of usual money-grubbers here). Because agents make their money from taking a cut of players’ income, there is also a systemic bias to maximizing wages in any deal.
The board needs to re-examine the club’s pay structure. As we are the fourth highest payers in the EPL, it is not the size of the pot but how it is distributed that needs closest scrutiny. The policy of putting young players on well-paid long-term contracts in order to retain them was not illogical but has turned out to have had unintended consequences, including the difficulties of moving on those that don’t work out as hoped. That is one obvious aspect to address.
Paying RvP whatever it takes to keep him might prove to be money well spent, especially if we aren’t in the CL next season. It will be an important declaration of intent.
@North 203 you could have said the same thing about harry before going to the scum but the fact is we have some great coaches in England, who are just not given the chance at big clubs. I would also throw moyes in the hat, these guys are not just great coaches but also great team motivators and man managers. Until some of these guys are given the chance you just don’t know how they would perform so u can’t just write them off like that. The fact is we’re not going to win anything again with wenger that’s a fact, so why not give one a chance.
Dave@212: if that is an end to our seven years of famine after seven years of feast, does that mean another seven years of feast kicks off next season?
HARK! –
Welcome my friends,
to the show that ne’er ends.
We’re so glad you could attend.
Come inside.
Come inside.
I see swarms of buzzards and carrion crow. Best to keep heads down and speak little.
(keep calm and carry on)
bmbd
Just saw bendtner’s comments on today’s game on twitter. Funny really. The lad scored 45 arsenal goals from 79 starts and almost as many subs. And yet AW believed in chamakh more than he did bendtner at the back end of last season. Bendtner scored 22 premier league goals for arsenal. I doubt the combined tally of our current strikers, barring van persie, comes close to matching that. Cant be arsed to look up how many goals walcott and chamakh scored in total. And i dont even remember the last time any of our remaining strikers scored.
Again when it seems our squad is fully lacking in confidence, surely bendtner would still have kept his confidence. And maybe score who knows? I dont even know if this is ironic or sarcastic anymore. No choice but to keep going. If our next game at home doesn’t ‘spur’ our players, nothing else will. Up arsenal…
NBN – While I do understand the reasons behind paying the young’uns nicely, I would do it differently.
The good thing about young players in a top team is that nobody is guaranteed to make it and just being in and around the top class players is enough to keep ’em grinding and trying to make it, as it is everybody’s wish to challenge for trophies in their career, whether you’re brought up by a challenger or bought by a challenger after establishing your career elsewhere.
Instead of paying the young’uns well in order to keep ’em, I would make sure the club is filled with top class players, paid handsomely and winning trophies to keep the young’uns with the ambition of playing for a top club and then once they prove themselves, pay them handsomely as well.
SG@210: if City is shelling out ยฃ155,000 a week — that is ยฃ8 million a year — for Ade to play for one of its two closest rivals (and I don’t question your numbers; am just gobsmacked by them) — then this game has truly gone financially nuts.
SG@218: you speak wisely.
NBN – Do you really think that 8million bothers them?
The average wage at City is about 150K.
That means 3,750,000 for the 25 players (not to mention the U21s) a week.
Not to mention the staff (Platt, Vieira, Mancini etc.).
You get where this is going.
They have more money than they can ever spend. Ever. It’s scary.
Darkins@214: some interesting stats on nationality of managers in top European leagues on Zonal Marking at http://bit.ly/xzmCBA.
Premiership is the exception of having so many non-nationals.
Hard to think of a lot of English/British managers who have been successes with top clubs overseas. Some, to be sure. But not many.
SG@221: one reason billionaires stay billionaires is that they don’t throw their money away for ever.
NBN – The oil rich people are different.
Unless you’ll find a different source, they’ll keep being rich.
They will never go bust.
And the FFP is obviously not gonna work.
How do any of us know – really – what our players earn? Unless there has been some Scouser-style pay slip robberies?
It’s not that hard to figure out.
There are figures going around.
The Delloite Money League collects that as well.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sorry excuses played badly and deserved to lose the game!
Players represent our club and they have let us down again!
NBN – I think British managers not going abroad is mainly because theyโre not given a chance with the big teams at home. If your barca president looking for a new manager your looking at managers from the big 4-5 teams. Barca fans wouldnโt be happy with Moyes or OโNeil they would be asking who the fuck are they. Whenever the barca or madrid job comes itโs always Wengers name being bandied about, not because heโs a better coach! itโs because heโs more high profile. I would love a British manager to take over but unfortunately with the numpties running the club at the minute I can’t see that happening. I would also take any half decent european manger as long as he doesn’t talk about mental strengh all the time.
This is the end
My only friend the end
Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
I’ll never look into your eyes, again
Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need, of some stranger’s hand
In a…desperate land.
The Doors – says it all for me right now.