Roy Hodgson’s Magic Hat And The Worthless Thirty Percent
Jun 20th, 2012 by 'holic
A night off from the European Championship gives me a chance to reflect on England’s tournament thus far. It cannot have been lost on any Arsenal supporter that an adjustment in expectations by those following the side have been matched by a degree of achievement that many doubted.
Our own third place finish in the Premier League remains an object in astonishment to those who cannot grasp the simple fact that if you garner more points than seventeen other clubs in a thirty-eight game season then you finish above them. Even if we went through two tortuous spells due firstly to not having a squad in place in August, and secondly because we were full-back-less at the turn of the year, we still produced more over the course of nine months than all bar the Manchester clubs.
Similarly England have emerged from the group phase of a tournament as winners, despite some of the stuff going on around the squad going into the tournament. I’m still personally uncomfortable with the Terry/Ferdinand affair, but supporters of Roy Hodgson’s selection would point to the apparent togetherness of the squad as they have won a group in which they were expected to struggle.
For all that I believe Roy may have made a mistake or two in his handling of selection, or more accurately non-selection issues ahead of the Championship, his rotation, motivation, and organisation of a group of players considered technically less gifted than the favourites has been a revelation. England have not enthralled the Euro audience, I cannot deny. As one who watched George Graham’s side grind out pragmatic 1-0 successes against the big-hitters in Europe nearly twenty years ago I have to confess a grudging appreciation of what the national side is now doing.
The Gooner in me wants Roy to now go with Theo and the Ox on the flanks of an audacious 4-3-3 and take Europe by surprise. That isn’t particularly likely though, I have to admit. Given the options of Italy or Spain in the quarter-final England have earned a favourable draw by finishing above France, Ukraine, and Sweden. That ‘bonus’ is somewhat relative however. Italy have proven to be something of a handful so far, with a more adventurous approach than would normally be expected from the creators of efficient defensive football. I think we will see more of the same from England on Sunday with the wide players withdrawn in support of the rearguard.
I have to say I would like to see England progress because I was born in London like the ‘holicdad and grandad. I wouldn’t object to England advancing in a less than aesthetically pleasing fashion because a certain night in Copenhagen remains in the memory. The only difference between my support for my national side and my first love is that if England lose I will not feel it as a personal loss. It will not be a cause of grieving.
In fact if it involves acute embarrassment for one John George Terry then I may well be celebrating as enthusiastically as any opposing supporter.
Thirty Percent Of Nothing Is Nothing
I have to recommend Matt Scott’s latest piece in the Telegraph to you all. Matt made his name digging out the behind the scenes stories and it is no surprise that he has unearthed a tale that has remained hidden not just from the general public, but also those principally affected by it apparently.
I feel no need to enlarge on my distrust of Mr Usmanov, other than to say the many who share that suspicion will probably be comforted by the news. There are those however who argue that someone who owns such a significant chunk of the club should have representation on the board, and I understand their arguments.
At the end of the day though if an individual has a majority shareholding then he is pretty much clear to call the shots, and invite who he feels will add something to join him in running the organisation. Any potentially hostile shareholder can expect to be treated as such. What do you suppose Mr Usmanov might do were the boot on the other foot?
I’m no lover of Arsenal no longer enjoying plurality of ownership. That is a model that is now firmly in the past, sadly. Benign dictatorship would be a pretty good second best though.
You are benign, aren’t you Mr Kroenke?
820 Responses to “Roy Hodgson’s Magic Hat And The Worthless Thirty Percent”
You’ve got no business posting while I’ve not finished my drink, ‘holic! 😉
Wind, see my last post then.
And Dr C too.
From now on I will mostly be Italian.
It’s a thing between me and my bookmaker 😉
Brilliant post Holic.
Bang on the money on both England (and Terry) and Usmanov.
Qualifying.
In fact it is 14 things between me and my bookmaker.
Benign? Any relation to Bevin?
Ach, tabs, damnit!
Gregor Zicorelli, I cannot believe you will not be enthusiastically cheering on the mother country.
😀
Nice article, ‘holic. I’m supporting Spain to win and continue to alleviate the usual dominance by the Germany/Italy axis.
Zicccccccco
…for the Europa League, scruz.
England my second choice but I like supporting a side that have a real chance to win. 😉
Spain, bt8?
*recoils in horror*
Patatas bravas for Ollie please barman.
Complete aside as I am watching the news, but I don’t know what it says about our country that the youngest MP ever is far right.
Take out all the chaff, double dealers, and those disqualified because they are American! I believe that I am in a CL qualification place – Hooray
🙂
That, I can tolerate bt8. Washed down with a glass of Ribera Del Duero.
Sorry Holic
Apart from the zico £5 pound, (count em, £5)
that the turf accountants were offering to turn into £70,
a team that has
Shin Pads in a suit,
Cashley’s Hole,
Wayne Root-Treatment
in it, will get the abuse they roundly deserve.
And to that you can add, the nation that gave us, Clive Tyldesley.
As long 100 of us remain alive etc……. *
Declaration of Arbroath 1320
Order up for Ollie:
http://www.afuegolento.com/img_db/recetas/7930_ppal_7930_ppal_patatas-bravas.jpg
http://www.sourgrapes.ie/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/sancius-ribera-del-duero-roble-2005.jpg
Gracias, bt8.
Now you can stick that Spanish football team up wherever you want……
Germany for me. Anyway, I’ll miss the final, which might be a blessing if any other team wins. Unless it’s the Czechs.
Sneaky Holic, No warning with this one. GT, Eandy, and Wind please look @ my comments on the last post. Now Holic, I share your reservations towards Mr Usmanov. Benign dictatorship sounds very comforting, to me. England it is for me ! Tough battle, both sides having super goalies. Roy should being getting my memo shortly.
Italy and Greece acceptable. Blimey, that makes half the teams. Even if 3 of them are most unlikely to do it.
I think I am being persuaded by the arguments of the countryman of the ‘holicmum.
Remember well going back to see family near Stirling and being forced to walk up to the Bannockburn monument.
“What’s this Dad?”
“Shh, son, you’ll upset your mother.”
“Why Dad?”
“Bannockburn, 1314 son. Last time they beat us…”
Can’t believe ‘Holic threw my last ‘unfinished’ drink away – again!
Note for Gt and Zico there if you can be arsed.
And abb – don’t fret about your wrong-handed guitar. 😉
Now, a new post to read. About time they introduced 10 minutes drinking up time in this establishment. There’s no way I can do copy/paste on this ‘ere iPad thingy.
Milner needs to be dropped, even if you don’t replace him with Walcott. He’s useless.
Apologies for the double post, but does anyone plan on going to the friendly vs. Cologne? I’m a Canadian who will happen to be in Frankfurt August 12th, so the timing is just perfect. Tickets are available for the home support, but I can’t find away supporters ticket information. I’m pretty new to buying Arsenal tickets, so forgive me if I’m sounding like a novice.
Well said that man. I always want England to do well – its the jingoistic BS I can’t deal with when they are doing well..
They are now my “Dark Horses” but really any team that shows up with Arsenal players gets my vote..
🙂
Heh @ 23
It was all over by the end of the first half 😉
In 1603 was the union of the crowns, and in 1707 the union of the parliaments. England has been screwing Scotland on a regular basis ever since……
I still don’t think we deserve Tyledesly. 8)
I must ask Arthur to knock up a Bannockburn clock 😉
NSGooner – Milner should be dropped even if he’s not replaced by anybody.
‘Holic – “you are benign aren’t you Mr Kroenke?’
Don’t think you can get much more benign than Stan Kroenke…….
What about Hastings 1066?
What about Kronenburg 1664 ?
Have to confess to being two-faced. Sucker for a good sing song me, so when Wales, France, or Italy come calling I’m giving it the full Princess Anne…
Those days are passed now
And in the past they must remain
But we can still rise now
And be the nation again
That stood against him
Proud Edward’s army
And sent him homeward
Tae think again
Rousing, truly rousing.
Heh Trev 😀
Trev, how in blazes do you think so fast on your feet ‘fret’, you are king of the puns forever more. NS Gooner, so agree about this Milner chap, clueless he is. Good luck with your tickets. Hey Holic @ 23 Did your mum use the ol catch phrase “Just wait till your father gets home”. Heard it a lot growing up. Mostly my brother’s doing, of course.
Trev: (from the previous drinks)..If you knew the number of goals that I actually pass up just to avoid being accused of being a greedy sod it would blow your mind.. oh that’s not really hard… but you get my drift
😎
Yes indeed nurse. She could be a volatile opponent 😉
Nice work in the last drinks TaBS. Sorry didn’t engage. Expected to work these days. Actually strangely enjoying it. (Looks for surprised smiley face thingy…)
Heh Trev, both @ 32 and the last set of drinks
Re: Ollie @20. It sounds like that puts you into the category of the not easily co-opted then? Patatas alone would have done it for me but in that case a large stein of German beer for the OllieMeister please barman. 😉
oh abb regarding my pic of TR, I meant it in a way that he looks so old compared to his usual looks, not in general. He has almost childish face heh, hard to believe that that guy is in his 30ies when he is shaved:)
Gregor, the meaning of…’Watchful, Vigilent, Alert’. Pretty much fits the bill, methinks. Now lad, tis a compliment (wrings her hands nervously, eyes darting at the ‘send’ button).
Oh bless you Eandy. Shall start shaving my face straight away! Hey, you’re a good kid, no worries. Cheers to Czech beating Portugal on a TR goal!
Cheers Holic , and no worries.
Great stuff between yourself and the Caledonian/Italian in our midst 🙂
Ollie @31 and Trev @32 🙂
Anyone who hasn’t had enough of England, programme on England’s 1990 World Cup on ITV4. Looks promising.
Re Usmanov: sigh
Sorry if this is already known, but Arsenal’s tour of Asia in late July is being shown live on ESPN, starting on the 24th
Thanks for that Mousey baby – no I for one didn’t know that!
NB1 @ 44: The last time we saw you in these parts was the last time we mentioned Usmanov…Is it just me or is that more than just a coincidence?
NB1: Please don’t tell me that’s a sigh as in you are lovestruck with Usmanov!????????!!!!!!!!!!
If so, we have medical personnel who can help you. 😉
Now now, ‘holics. Debate respectfully, if you please.
Thank you.
Mass debating again?
Nice post holic. Nothing like an International Football Tournament to bring the best out of the bitter Sweaties. Fantastic. 😉
I have been quite impressed with England so far. Not sure I agree that we should be playing AOC and Theo together. We did not do that at Arsenal last year??? I ma impressed with the fact that Woy has decided that AOC has a part to play. I doubt many others would have given him his opportunity. The fact that he is brought on with 5 to go when you are only one up against Ukraine speaks volumes for the young man.
England are not a great side but I do think we are getting the most out of what we have. The spirit has been good and there has been a lot of heart and passion. It reminds me of the spell we had last season. Bring on Italy, that’s what I say. Zico, you know deep down you will be cheering on England? You know it makes sense.
The Usmanov situation is a strange one. I can also see both sides. If someone owns a third of such a massive company surely common sense dictates that he should have some say in how things are done. On the other hand it is Usmanov. It is a strange situation and the sooner he sells his shares to someone who actually cares about the club the better.
Not managed to catch up on the last set of drinks. Been a tad busy. Did however notice the planned celebrations of Tabs 31st birthday bash????????????????? I will wear my 71 retro shirt to fit in with the correct era.
Onwards and upwards.
house back home broken into
have to wait hours for bus there
takes hours to get there when i get it
i would quite happily rip burglars heads off and jam them up their rear fuckin ends
and i hope i get the fuckin opportunity
cunts
sorry ‘hol – i’ve a few hours to kill now
and it felt better to write it down
sorry again ‘hol and ‘hols
just read what i wrote
you don’t need to read that shite in the middle of your etcs and what-have-yous
i’m fuckin explodin’ with anger
bye
cba: Let it out mate – no good walking around feeling like that inside. I am sorry to hear about your break-in. Try to get the place back in order ASAP. It will make you feel better. Feel the same as you about thieves in general – hang ’em (by the balls) is my solution..
🙁
http://www.arsenal-land.co.uk/articles/arsenes-fifth-chapter-how-will-it-be-known-part-1_14023.htm?2
For those who have not read this, and three part series of wonderful articles of topics we often get into at the bar. Highly recommended.
Nice post ‘holic. I remember Wembley (and the whole of London) 1978. You cant take that one away from the sweaties.
Steve T @ 50 – Cockney wide boy? 😉
Esso, 1977 mate.
I was there – much to our disappointment, you locked up your wives and daughters 😉
@51: I hope things work out well for you cba. Terrible turn of events but at least (I’m hoping) nobody was hurt…
As for Usmanov, I think his not being able to get on the board is a good thing. Who knows what he’d do with our trade secrets….besides trading them for secrets…
Was that the one when about 60-70 of us got together in the middle of a sea of Scots at the tunnel end and set fire to the Lion rampant?
On a stupidity scale of 1-10 that was about a 16…
!:32 AM Jamaica time. Been watching back episodes of Dexter but now its bed time for me just as the early holics are shlepping in. There’s a pot of piping hot coffee on the bar for those who need it. Night all – se ya’ll later..
Sorry Yes, 77 it was. Not there personally, just remember it all well. Was n’t the annual England V Scotland always on the Whitsun bank holiday weekend?
cba, you anger is fully understood, no need to apologize. I would feel exactly the same.
What?
Since the Lion Rampant is the Royal Standard, how come you weren’t slung into The Tower? Which might have been safer all round 😉
I’m with Zico and Ollie for this one. No way am I supporting a team with C. Terry, Grannyshagger and Cashley in it. Even with Feo and the OX, it’s too much evil in that side
Go Germany! or Italy! or Czechs! or Greece!
I put my support behind England for the first two games.
No Ferdinand, no Lampard, no Crouch and no Rooney was the reason why. No Terry would’ve been great but I take comfort in knowing this is the last major tournament we’ll see him in.
Theo and TheoX bring balance to the force! I want to see them do well against Italy. If they start Theo especially, Italy’s old guard will be run ragged….
Sorry to hear cba 🙁 What Lars said at 62.
Eandy, abb, I’ve read that the Czechs have decided not to shave while they’re still qualified. A team of yetis in the final could be fun.
Esso – Whitsun?
Not for us Pagans 😉
@ 66
The Yetis beat the Sweaties to qualify. Albeit, before they became yetis.
Just sayin.
Sorry cba, missed your justified grumble. The police should allow victims five minutes with a baseball bat in a cell with the burglar. Physical pain different to the psychological torture they inflict, but very cathartic, I’m sure.
Mind you, Zico, Super Furry Animals used to sponsor Cardiff, didn’t they?
Yeti taffies.
Apart from anything from Wayne Coyne, SFA bounding onto the stage dressed up as yetis for an encore was one of the most exhilarating things I’ve ever seen at a gig.
http://www.francefootball.fr/#!/news/2012/06/21/093557_il-y-a-16-ans-les-tcheques-sortaient-le-portugal.html
Dedicated to Eandy
Hahaha yeah Ollie, the pic I posted is from interview with TR where he says that they hope they are going to look like bunch of homeless people when they get home 🙂
and aaah great memories:) I was 9 when this tourney was played but still can remember the euphoria it caused all around the country. Comparable only to our ice hockey victory in Nagano olympics 98.
I would just love to see Tommy lift the European Championship trophy.
Oops, sorry, Ollie kiss of death 🙁
Heheh no worries:) I am realistic in expectations, however should we beat Portugal I am going to start to believe we might fluke all the way to the final. We do have Petr Cech in the end, who is quite experienced in fluking his way to win things:P
Great post, ‘holic.
I agree with pretty much everything. I also mourn the passing of the plural ownership era, but sufficient vestiges of it remain to require certain formal actions by the club.
The rule change is sensible – the minority shareholder could use his access to information to leak it and be a wrecker, cause trouble for the club and blame the board.
SK is the lesser of two evils – at least he is not interfering in the day-to-day running of the football side and at least he has been upfront from the start about his involvement being an investment. He has never pretended to be a lifelong Gooner or attempted to bamboozle fans into thinking he is just dying to pour his own money in. So I respect his honesty. I also find it significant that Fiszman, who had the club’s long-term interests at heart, sold SK his shareholding on his deathbed and persuaded him to buy Lady Nina B-S’s as well.
@ cba
You want Hancock – he’d sort those burglars out.
GoonerTerry, thanks for that link, very good series of articles.
Posted too soon – I’ve got issues with some of what he says in parts two and three. But still thoughtful analysis.
Re-instate The Home Internationals! I really miss ’em. I will never forget that invasion of Wembley in ’77, watched from behing the safety of a CRT. It was The Silver Jubilee, The Sex Pistols were in their prime and the Scots were getting their revenge for 1314, one piece of turf at a time.
Zico, that must be one of your favourite years of your (pre-teenage?) youth? 😉
” “
Thanks for clearing that up Stan.
I see arseblogger has come up with a very compelling case about why you should indeed support the Czechs tonight 🙂
There’s a game for the FA’s 150th between England and Scotland next year, right?
Hahahah thanks for directing me to that article Ollie, had really good laugh here heh.
Heh TS – it was my first visit to London – I was nearing my 17th birthday and full of the exuberance of youth i.e. pissed, who wasn’t? and whilst I did go on to the pitch, I was a bit dismayed at the antics of some of the nutters around me, mainly because it was clear to me how the FA would react to it. Don’t think Sir Alf was too chuffed either…..
More interestingly though, it gave me a taste for London, which was consummated in style once I started travelling to Highbury on a fairly regular basis not long thereafter…… around the same time I gave up alcohol….. 😛
Ollie @ 83 – I think you are right.
Rumour that the game should be played at WHL but Scotland refused since our fans could not really trash a ground already in a state of disrepair……
heh Z
Oh and before anyone thinks I have alzheimers, and reminds me that the England manager in 1977 was Don Revie, I was referring to Sir Alf’s indignation in the media in the aftermath.
I see England have been fined for their attempt at a pitch invasion after Friday?
Plus ca change, and so on…..
Don Revie was the manager Dr Z .
Do you have Alzheimers ?
Who are you?
🙂
Lord Asquith since you ask .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England_football_team#Managers
I guess it depends what side of 1977 then.
Now it’s bizarre, tabs, I think I read that name for the first time yesterday.
SteveT @50
I am slightly perturbed by the number of question marks you saw fit to place in regard to my 31st B’Day. I accept i shaved a couple of years off, but c’mon 😎
First name that came into my head Ollie.
I now accept that either “Don Revie” or “I don’t know” would have been funnier answers.
heh
What about ‘Andy Goram’ ?
Heh 🙂
Lord Asquith,
Top hat and speedos. An image to conjure with….
Defence splitting through ball …
You beauty.
Ignores the fact he was aiming for 99, and immediately takes himself off to have some pubic hairs and a dead rat transplanted onto the top of his bonce .
Heh Dr Z and cheers for the assist 🙂
Assist?
I don’t remember that.
Was Fulop in goal tabs?..might be reason why your pass ended up in the back of the net. Well in nonetheless though!:)
Alums news: AC Milan let Flamini go out of contract. Available on a free.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/1110517/ac-milan-release-mathieu-flamini,-consider-alberto-aquilani-deal?campaign=rss&source=soccernet&cc=5901
You know it’s ‘Fête de la musique’ today so on the site there are bands playing during lunch time.
I can’t but be amazed that, as ever, most bands choose to always play the same sort of sterile boring shit rock’n’roll.
Which got me back to this:
‘Fuck Rock’n’Roll, fuck Robert Palmer!’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8MlGLE2gBc
(and strange as it is, 31 years on, however different, they are still a great live band).
tabs, congrats for the random century.
NBN: I hope Flamini rots in some shit club. A return to Marseille would be just about perfect for him.
It seems incredible to me that people who absolutely slaughter Wenger for having overpaid, mediocre squad fillers should be dribbling a little bit into their cream crackers at the prospect of Matty Fucking Flamini being available on a free.
Where’s that face palm smiley?
FFS…
Indeed, ‘holic, indeed.
Also it looks like Flamini’s operating mode is consistent: run out his contracts while letting his employers believe he might renew.
He is then free to sign for whomever, with a big signing-on fee.
Can’t get more mercenary than that.
Ollie @ 1, wow 😮 That’s Deep…
GT @ 16, ha!
abb @ 21, oranges or tablets?
NS Gooner @ 25, agreed 🙂
Eandy @ 40, never thought I’d see Tomas with a beard!
cba @ 51, unlucky mate.
tabs @ 100, who’da thunk it! 😉
Zico @ 102, 😆
Ollie @ 109, I’m in shock 😮 🙁
Shock at what, Wind? :s
Oh yeah, you’re right, I probably forgot the word ‘cunt’ :O
Agreed Ollie 😉
And that applies to GG also in my personal opinion.
GG has offered ‘a little bit more’ to Arsenal Football Club than Flamoney.
Afternoon all. (I started this yesterday afternoon, jus didn’ge ime o finish it)
I decided not to do a KoD last night (now 2 days ago) because I really wanted England to win, as many others here in the bar have also stated (in so many words), they may be a bunch of cunts, but for the duration of this tournament they’re our cunts. Plus with Ollie cheering on the Ukraine, I didn’t want to tempt fate. 😉
Some interesting views on the GG situation, a man who (imo) will forever divide opinion. I enjoyed Tabs and AL’s contributions and agreed with most that was written, however, for what it’s worth, here’s my two cents;
I was a fan of GG, I crossed paths with him a few times, my impression was that he was a no nonsense man who wouldn’t suffer fools gladly, abrupt and to the point, which some may have concieved as arrogance or even rudeness, me, I think he was just from the old school way of thinking/doing.
When he came in we were a sleeping giant, I was too young to remember us winning the double, although I was lucky enough to have a hatrick of FA Cup Wembley visits under my belt (only one win) we’d had lean years following. He changed us and made us hard to beat, it may of not been the most aesthetically pleasing footy ever witnesed at Highbury, but I can’t remember too many people complaining about it at the time.
I’ll never forget our win against L’pool at Wembley to win the League Cup, that was a party and a half, one nil down two one up, Charlie helped us lift the cup, GG had delivered! Soon after that I began my life of permanant exhile, although I returned to Islington three weeks before the legendary trip to Anfield, there was no way I was going to miss the chance to see my beloved Arsenal win the league for the first time in eighteen years, it went right down to the wire, don’t let those basterds at Sky fool ya, that was by far the most exciting end to a season ever. GG had done what only Bertie Mee had achieved in the previous two decades, he’d steered Arsenal to the top of the pile and for that he will always have a special place in my Arsenal heart.
A few weeks after the triumph I was off again, so to be totally honest, I only had small glimpses of everything Arsenal, let’s not forget this was the pre Sky/mass internet era so not that much info was readily available. Now, I’m not condoning what he did and to say it was normal back then and others were doing it doesn’t make it right either, however, at the time I thought the club could of supported him more and not hung him out to dry in such a scapegoat matter. Personally I thought that he was treated shabily by the board and the whole affair left a stain on the whole club.
My next point may cause a little contraversie, but to those who say he commited treason by joining the LWC’s, I have to say I disagree. It’s not like he walked out on us, we dumped him, there’s a massive difference. He was publicly humiliated and hung out to dry by a club who he had given good service to. Was it a bit petty? Yes, it probably was, it may of been his idea of revenge, an up yours to those he felt betrayed him and I’ll never hold that against him.
In summary, GG legend?
Well, to me he is.
====
Right, now a new post and a good few hundred drinks to catch up on.
Ollie@105: I had no idea that the “Fuck Robert Palmer” incident was filmed so it was very nice to actually see it and not just read about it, but I have to say that Robert Smith’s memory of it (quoted below the clip, taken from the book “Ten Imaginary Years” I think) seems somewhat off – that wasn’t a particularly slow version and it certainly didn’t last 15 minutes.
The best versions of A Forest must have been on the Wish tour. By then it really was 15 minutes most nights depending on how much they ad libbed towards the end.
‘WEAPON OF MATCH DESTRUCTION – REVEALED: £2.65 ROONEY HAIR GEL THAT IS SECRET OF ENGLAND’S EURO SUCCESS’
Got to love the Sun, despite its continuous absence from our skies.
Indeed LArs, I had read the version (in the Ten Imaginary Years book, I think), so when I found out the video was somewhat surprised that it was so much shorter.
I do suspect that drugs were involved 😉
Totally agree about the versions on the Wish Tour! I think the version on the ‘Show’ video while a bit shorter than most (about 11/12 minutes?) is particularly excellent and punchy in its added bits (well also it’s with a better sound than all the bootlegs I got!).
Heh, somehow I had manage to read the whole content of your post except the bit that said ‘Ten Imaginary Years’. Unless telepathy was working. Again.
OK, other people, you can have the floor too.
is Ollarsie your final form?:D
A storm is coming.
Well, it’s upon us now.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18490459
Breakfast anyone?
Ollie, the “Show” version is indeed a particlarly good one. But I’ve got one that’s even better, it’s on a bootleg called “The Laughing Soup Dish” and the sound is quite far from perfect but it is the best version I have ever heard (which is my opinion which of course makes it a FACT!!!).
(And yes, drugs were almost certainly involved back then 🙂 )
Ollie, Holic – Completely agree. Flamini a good player, but nothing more. Past his peak.I thought his primary function whilst here was to suck Fab’s cock, and that particular cruiser has long since sailed.He made his choice, fuck him .
Ollie @105 – Cheers for that. The Forest would certainly make a concerted effort to get into my Desert Island Discs. Fuck Robert Palmer indeed. Not literally obviously. That would be almost as bad as making little sex noises about Usmanov . Almost, but not quite. 😉
H2H @115 Great stuff – interesting to read an alternative view.A good read.My view of the football on offer during George’s reign was that it fell into two distinct periods . 86-92 hard to beat , but also great to watch and a long way from the long ball merchants the Press used to label us with, and the start of 92-93 season to the end, where we remained hard to beat but going forward played solely to the strengths of Ian Wright, ie long ball over the top. The first period was exhilarating , the second, not so much, though the cups, if not the title, kept coming, so GG got away with it.
Why GG changed I have no idea. It is said that he changed tack after the defeat to Benfica in the European Cup, but if true,he continued to play an attacking brand of football for the rest of that season (91-92), and it has always seemed to me an extraordinarily extreme volte-face on the basis of one bad result.
Anyway just my view.Agree with you on the Tottenham bit.He was always a London boy notwithstanding his scottish roots , and at the time the Spurs job was the second biggest in London. There was also no doubt an element of “I’ll show you”, so haven’t really got a problem with that aspect at all.
Ollie and Lars – Cheers for the History Lesson on The Cure 🙂
Too many good drinks to mention from the usual suspects.
Welcome back Wind.
Good luck for tonight Eandy, I can’t fucking stand Portugal, everyting about them makes me heave. If you’re guys do go out I hope you take a few of them with you.
===
I think Roy’s done a good job so far, he’s the first England manager that realises and accepts that we are a bit shit and has cut his cloth accordingly. I wasn’t too happy that Rooney skipped back into the team and he looked rustier than a coffin nail, but he did do what he was picked for and that was score.
Milner maybe a bit crap, but he does offer cover to a particulary week looking Johnson, personally I’d keep Theo under wraps and use him as an impact sub, I’d suggest the Theo that played against Sweden and not the Theo who didn’t touch the ball (hardly) against the Ukraine should be used.
Most dissapointing player for me has been Ashley Young, he looked decent enough at Utd, but totally lost so far at the Euro’s, I’d give him 45 more mins to prove himself and if he doesn’t deliver realease the Ox, who although is still obviously raw and a little naive, is in no way looking overawed by the big occasion and always looks likely to add a spark.
All this talk of Drugs is making me a bit feverish.
Also, whilst were on the subject 😉 , what GG did to Paul Davis was a fuckin’ disgrace.
Now, I’ve done a bit of work for Paul years ago, and a nicer and more mild-mannered man you couldn’t wish to meet. GG crucified him on the basis of one paper interview he gave that said he was unhappy in the reserves (true), and that our style of play had changed for the worst (also true).
George pretty much kept him out the side for two seasons on the back of that, bringing him back pretty much only for Cup Finals. To use Arsene’s vernacular, George pretty much “killed” Paul Davis.
Good GG piece H2H – I’m going to agree with all the best bits of yours and Tabs’ posts from my position of relative ignorance of the inner machinations of the AFC.
*removes several splinters from hind quarters*
On the subject of Theo, I was accused today of seeing through my Goonerholic glasses, but it was by a Sp*rs fan.
Following his match-winning cameo vs Sweden, I said he was ignored by Gerraaaard and the stubbly pieman, even when in open spaces against Ukraine, just as he was after his hat-trick vs Croatia, by the same players and fat Frank.
It seems to be a case of ‘that upstart ain’t nicking no more of our limelight, ehhh, errr like, no what I mean, innit’.
I can’t remember Theo touching the ball once vs Ukraine in 25 minutes on the pitch.
Am I wearing Gooner glasses or does anyone agree ?
Goonerholic glass = Gooner glasses, predictive text, meh!
Trev, check the ‘by the numbers’ articles on the arseblog news site.
I think they’ve got the stats on the number of touches by Feo in those group games.
heh, I was wondering about the Goonerholic glasses: these are there to be filled!
Ollie – checked the numbers. I think that makes me at least half right.
Arseblogger talking about disparate voices on the board. What are they? Does this mean we have multiple parrots on the board and dis parrot disagrees with dat parrot ?
I’m confused. 🙁
Certainly agree Trev that Theo was ignored on 2/3 occasions in the Sweden game by both Gerard and Caroll, when he’d found a great position.
Only time I can remember him being wilfully ignored in the Ukraine game was by The Ox, so don’t think that counts 🙂
Who’s a pretty boy then Trev ?
Have you finally calmed down now Wolfie after that lunatic broadcast the fact that hehad pictures of a shaven Tomas Rosicky ? 😉
You wouldn’t ignore Theo if he’d found a great position, would you Wolfgang ?
I certainly would not ignore Theo Trev. I would clasp him to my heaving chest in the manner that Johnny Weimuller dealt with Maureen O’Hara.
Tomas can do what he wants (though that piece of news seems to have passed me by!). He will always be dreamy to me !
Tomas is third on the podium, behind only Bobby Pires and the great Mark Spitz. He has edged out David Wilkie with something to spare.
Duncan Goodhew does not figure. That would be stupid. 😉
H2H – Thank you for expressing more eloquently and in more detail what I posted in brief yesterday morning. I am with you 100% on everything you have written. Really enjoyed reading your thoughts on George. As an Arsenal fan who lived thru’ the 70s and 80s I get upset to hear people describe George as a see you next Tuesday. I think it’s just as unfair to brand him as that as it is to dismiss Arsene as an intellectual w*nker. For me Arsene is TGMTEL (with Chapman a close second) but George did enough great things at and for The Arse to go down as a flawed (deeply if you will) but great servant of the club. The chapter on him by Amy Lawrence in Blogs’ book is worth a good read too. I’m guessing this debate will rumble on and off for ever in here.
zico @ #85 – Big heh! I am honoured to know someone directly involved in that invasio – I never thought I would say that. Did you get decorated by The St.Andrew’s Army when you returned home? Am delighted that it gave you a taste for London and regular visits to The Arse. Your story falls apart a bit when you mention abstinence, however. 😀
Ollie’Holic – Thanks for the sanity check on ‘Flamoney’ (copywright Ollie). WTF??? It has Squilvestre written all over it.
Eandy – Good luck tonight to your boys and possibly our Tomas(?). Hope you whup the arses of Ronaldo, Meireles, Nani and co.
Trev – As discussed earlier (you torturing b’stard, you) The-Ox were a revelation in terms of attacking threat vs Sweden the other night. It half-filled my ‘Holic glass with (London) Pride 😉
Thanks for all the good luck wishes :), from what I am reading in news here Tomas is not going to start, but might be used as impact sub should things go really bad for us.
I’d rather he not be used and you win. Wrap him up in cotton wool until the semifinal.
Likewise Ollie, the last thing I want to see is some serious damage done to his foot by P*pe and co.
Winners get to the semifinal? That’s starting to get pretty serious!
@ 140
Was I decorated?
No need to put any further gloss on that story, Professor.
As a matt er of fact, your point regarding abstinence is quite correct – I have been known to have the occasional shandy, and a sweet sherry (but only at Xmas).
With regard to tonight’s game, come on the Yeti’s. Hope I didn’t put my Bigfoot in it……
zico. Which team is the Yeti team? I suppose it will be obvious once they come out on the field since they will look something like this:
http://animal.discovery.com/tv/lost-tapes/meet-the-creatures/creature-images/yeti-625×450.jpg
Fuck, Fucking Flamini* – Cunt of the first order who wrecked one of the greatest teams that has as ever been assembled at the ARSENAL. Hope you got what you were looking for you cunt..
* Original greedy cunt 😎
8 ball – see #66 etc
Yours looks more like a sweaty yeti (and maybe even female) 😉
TS @140 – eloquently put too. But why are you posting in your briefs ? 😉
@147 –
The voice of calm speaks again. 😉
Ollie, ‘Holic, GT, Wouldn’t want Flamini back either. He was a proto-Adebayor/Nasri. If he comes back to England, he’d probably end up at somewhere like QPR.
OK I know its not proper football, but I am quite enjoying not having any tension headaches, stomach cramps or violent rages before or after games. Sipping tea and reading the sports blogs sure beats having to resort to voodoo rituals, prayers to dead saints or cutting deals with Be-hell-zee-bob – for example: both my bollocks and a few more body parts already belongs to him thanks to the Arsenal – But today I don’t give a fuck who win or who looses really (OK if you press me: I hope the sun falls out of the sky right on top of Portugal team bus). But that wish is pure cartoon to keep me happy. I mean when Holland went out, I was like: “OK the preening fuckwit Robben got what he deserves, gutted for RvP..whatever” . .. then I just moved on to my second team Germany … I never once considered suicide: not once!! That’s so refreshing for me..
There is a lesson for next season in there somewhere but as soon as I start to think of the Arsenal I start to get that feeling all over again…
🙁
Here’s a song for you GT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gO7uemm6Yo
Hey Trev: You being beastly to me again? 🙁
Thanks Ned: One of the best songs to one of the best sequences in movie history ever – those guys were as bad as some of the lunatics in this bar
😎
Some top drinks again – props to all those concerned.
Zico – guess you were too young to have been one of the regular friendly games between AFC and Glassgow Rangers in the 1950s & 1960s. With the under-development of the European games at that time, a visit form these strange people somewhere from the north dressed in skirts (calm down wolfie) was considered rather exotic at the time. The last of the regular games at Highbury was in 1967 and the visitors included a very red-nosed newcomer who evolved into a rather successful manager later on in his career. The ground was un-segrated in those days and there were large nos of the visitors all around , many of them carrying their match supplies of liquid intake with them and soon became fully imbibed. There were plenty of fights going on – many between themselves – which were fun to watch when the game had its quieter moments. We we’re positioned in our normal place behind the goal clock end half way up by the railings. Suddenly during the second half a large gap amongst the crowd appeared behind the goal at north bank end which spread further and further resulting I’m many of the crowd spilling onto the pitch. It must have been some tremendous fight going on….the bill dashed in and many spectators were being helped away from the scene with blood pouring down their faces. The game was halted and after a few minutes calm was restored and the match sauntered to a satisfactory close ( 3-0 win for the gooners ). After the game we bumped into some mates who were coming out of the north bank who told us what happened. A jock had emptied his bottle of scotch and disposed of it by throwing up in the air and smashing against the roof of the north bank showering glass on those around. More of the Rangers supporters thought that was great fun and followed suit. Mayhem ensued with glass falling everywhere. Quite a few kids were in the crowd and got cuts as well as many adults. After that game no bottles or glasses were allowed in the ground forever after. I believe the return fixture a year later still went ahead but AFC cancelled future friendlies with Rangers for a long period after.
Re: GG – has to be a legend to my generation who endured years of chronic failure from the late 50s until the late 80s apart from a few pleasant interludes. The win at Anfield WS truly magnificent and trumps any faults later in his management career. The spell at LWC could be considered suitable punishment for his past mis-demeanours!
Re: Flim-Flam – he hardly registers in the annals of AFC. Has proved to be from the start of his career all the way through to be the ultra mercenaries and would not like to see him anywhere near the Ems – personally I wouldn’t even touch him with wolfie’s.
Re: Euros – can only support England as my national team even though there are some mega cunts in the team. With low expectations our time will soon be up but if the powers above conspire to give us Chelski’s DNA and we get to the final, I also hope they conspire to give the biggest cunt of them all the same result and he misses it again. In fact it would improve our chances if he wasn’t playing anyway – particularly if it went to a penalty shoot out! Good luck for Eandy – hoping the Czechs make the uber cunt CR7 become the blubbering euro chump of them all.
Apologies to all – I’m typing this on a new iPad thingy and so far cannot get any of the emoting things to show up when I send. Hope to sort it eventually.
I agree GT – Max Klinger took all his fashion ideas from Wolfgang Smallballs, before Wolfie went into his minimalist phase.
Uplympian,
Not much has changed with regard to that particular branch of the ugly sisters – I refer you to Manchester 2008 and the UEFA cup final against Zenit.
At least some of us have since evolved, and learned to recycle our glass 😉
QPR sounds right indeed, NBN
Rangers ’67. A game that will be talked about for as long as there are survivors of the North Bank to tell the tales.
Eandy, you can be sure I am cheering for your boys tonight as well. I take it Plasil is still ok, even if Tomas is knacked?
Zico 157 shouldnt it be Min Clingfilm not Max Klinger with regard to Wolfie?
Heh @ 161
Although, seriously don’t encourage him/her 😉
The only team left with Bordeaux representation indeed I believe, ‘holic.
Well, Carrasso is in the France squad, but as 3rd ‘keeper he’s hardly likely to figure.
@161,
Err Yes .
Good news.
Twitter phuqed.
I saw a huge Arsenal banner in the stands (yeah!).
Hehe Plasil should be okay holic:) will see how the whole thing will turn out ..hope our lads will put in a good shift. By the way have read rumour now here on czech websites that Arsene inquired Tomas about Theo Gebre-Sellasie….might see surprise signing in him? He is quality right back, will see how he will cope against CR today:P
Desperate for the Czechs to win this, but I Am fearful.
I think tonight’s game will be won, lost or drawn in the midfield.However,due to the arcane and frankly bizarre rules of Uefa, the goals are situated at the extremities of the pitch.Not only will the poor old Czechs have to run all the way up to the Portuguese end to try and score a goal, they will also have to sprint all the way back to stop the Portuguese from scoring.
Believe you me, the Portuguese are ruthless and cunning enough to exploit this ridiculous state of affairs.*
Come on the Czechs !
*Plagiarised, for purely egotistical and selfish reasons, almost entirely from the late, and great,Peter Cook .
Peter Cook, TaBS?
LWC in chief?
Shame on you sir 🙁
Hooray, ‘holic 165! 😀
I’m not sure how much I’m supposed to divulge that since it was pointed out to me by some other blogger, but at the same time, it’s in the public domain:
http://euro.tf1.fr/2012/videos/wenger-giroud-a-arsenal-a-90-7376750.html
Just keep it here though (thankfully twitter is fucked)
Uplympian,
I wouldn’t touch him with mine either ! 😉
Ollie – Easier to keep yr link quiet than you might have imagined – it’s not available in the UK.
Czech putting up a good fight, look very lively.
Haha, Oxon, didn’t know.
Well, I’m guessing it might pop up in some form on arseblog news soon 😉
Ollie – Where did the “M’Vila signing 90% done” quotes come from? compared with that, how reliable is Arsenè’s “90% of Giroud is at Arsenal”? Also, do we get to nominate the 10% that will be elsewhere?
Sigh, so many questions…
Oooh, close for the Czechs, come on!
Holic,
Peter Cook’s “support” of Spurs ( he was really a Torquay man, and Tottenham had the same first two letters) was merely one small part of his magnificent capacity to view the whole world as an enormous joke.
I therefore view his support of Spurs as the ultimate act of self-parody.
In the circs I am therefore prepared to forgive him . 😉
Really good showing here for the boys in red. 3 corners, time on the ball, attacking…
No idea where the M’Vila thing came on. Either twitter or some fake-ITK blogger/journalist.
Given we’ve been 2-3% from being able to win the League for a few years (except this one, to be fair) in Arsène’s words though, make of 90% what you will 😉
Pilar, one to watch.
Remember a string of testimonials at the Lane in the seventies when I used to get decent seats and he was always there. So was that Peter Purves and Warren Mitchell.
No time for any of ’em…
Nice one Cech.
Great save P. Cech!
Diving Ronaldo.
The “90%” quote was from Wenger on TF1 apparently, referring to Giroud.
yeah abb, Pilar is huge prospect, will see how he will cope with Magath in Wolfsburg.
Did something happen a couple of minutes ago? The Portguese players seem to have overdosed on silly-agression juice. Two yellow cards in as many minutes – what chance a sending-off real soon?
Hi everyone!
I’m an ITK blogger, Ollie. I recommend the chicken balti pies, myself. The pizza is massively overpriced for a lukewarm slice of germ warfare.
Hello nurse.
Hope all is well.
come on Czech Republic!
Holic @182 Fair enough 🙂
Hey holic, Good company and a lively game. Life is good.
Flowers for Nani? nah.
Hmmm… Nani clipped on the thigh and both ankles, rolls around screaming and clutching his knee.
You know it makes sense…
From henceforth the prima donna shall be known as Nanci…
Maybe I am biased but I have to say so far its good to watch us:) long may it continue!
FunGunner, it’s on the TF1 site, but looks like it was Eurosport.
Well, Eurosport France is part-own by TF1, quite naturally.
I see the stuff is on the Eurosport France website too, but not on Eurosport UK…
Even though the interview is originally in English.
A bit baffling, but I’m sure Eurosport UK&rest of Europe will have it soon too.
If Nani was in the Czech team would he be sporting a Goat..ee
*heads it in to the top corner*
Nearly got the goal with that, hope I’m not self-assisting, surely someone will have posted before I press ‘Submit’.
damn..well in Umplympian!:)
Well in Uplympian.
*wonders what Eandy was heading, since it was clearly not the ball*
TABs to replace Robbie Savage as expert pundit on MOTD – Yay 🙂
Fuck me..scores on his debut..I was just standing there minding my own business when this round thing hit me on my head and bounced into the goal.
well I was sort of expecting some kind of lobbed ball behind the defense Ollie:P
* blows kisses to the cute nurse up in the bleachers – thinking of throwing a hot dog in her direction
😎
Hope it’s the only Czech miss tonite Eandy
I hope so too 🙂 aaand belated hi for abb!:)
Phew. Preening git hits post.
Hey FG, twas close, eh.
Too close, abb, too close for comfort.
Well held on Czechs. Tough opening and end to the half. Would love to see them nick a goal soon.
Eandy, we’ve held them off. First 35 minutes looked very good going forward. Looking good, I’d say.
Good player – but what a Preening Fuckwit. There he is looking up to the heavens, arms outstretched. If there was a God surely he would just reach down and squash the cunt into the turf … now that would be hilarious
🙂
GT, Robbie Savage could be replaced by a Llama without any noticeable decline in informative analysis ! 😉
Well in Uplympian. Unlucky Eandy, hope that’s not an omen !
how reliable this site could be huh? http://www.caughtoffside.com/2012/06/21/arsenal-set-to-make-6-5m-bid-for-czech-republic-full-back-theodor-gebre-selassie/
Nasty, sticky substances emanating from the BBC pundits as they consider the magnificence of the all-conquoring Portuguese team as they go into half team 0-0 ahead of the Czech Republic. Bunch of cants.
Can you imagine if TR was out there, fit as a fiddle…
Eandy: If those words were printed on your roll of toilet paper it would be a more reliable source – hope this answers your question
😎
Pundits on M6 also stinking of spunk when mentioning the preening git, Oxon.
Thought so GT 🙂 thanks hehe.
Well Ollie, I guess they can’t all be wrong. Must be us.
No, no, a thousand times no!
Cristiano has upped the quota of greasy substances in his hair. Ugh!
Eandy: Grebe Selassie looks a real player. The source though, Caught Offiside, has been “caught offside” in its incorrect predictions on quite a few occasions I can remember.
My only comment on the first half is that I was left strangely unmoved by the sight of Ronaldo’s nipples through his sweaty shirt , the cunt.
Hells teeth, what’s going on? Jake, one of the BBC shirts has dared to mention that the Czech subs warming up at half time are providing the most entertainment so far in this match. Sack him! It wouldn’t happen on Sky.
Well yeah he is 8 ball, I have read he has been tracked by Werder Bremen now, which sounds much more likely than Arsenal going for him. Should prolly stop even peeking in to transfer gossip heh.
You do surprise me Wolfie…
Hmmm, I got 111 and 222.
226 Wolfie…surprised your eyes had travelled that far up.
🙂
Thank fuck we don’t have to watch Ronaldo every week now.
He is the essence of preening fucktard.
When he brings out his own range of perfume, that’s what he should call it.
Have I mentioned how much I dislike Jonathan Pearce? (I don’t like him much at all.) He seems to have dragged Martin Keown down to his level.
MK: Ronaldo’s like a disco dancer with his footwork down the touchline.
Yes, Martin. However, I suspect that Portugal fans would rather have someone who’s like, say, a footballer.
Seeing how the camera’s on the preening git all the time, I think the best outcome tonight might be a Czech win on penalties, with Ronaldo missing the last penalty.
I could possibly enjoy replays of his blubbering over and over again.
I could cope with that, Ollie. An alternative scenario sees TR7 coming on as an impact sub for the last ten minutes and “Doing a Theo”(tm)
Martin Keown is also an Oxon Gooner but not THE Oxon Gooner!
Another great save by Cech.
Shoot! Me Now!
@237 heh!
He’s just redeemed himself.
“Always a joy to see those forwards running offside.”
^
|
L——— “He” = “Martin Keown”
D’oh!
Whew!! well I think its time to stop this “we will let them have some ball” stuff and start to play a bit hehe.
Good for you Cech!
I don’t know what the other “Senior Gooners” around here think, but what with all the recent talk about George Graham, this match looks strangely familiar. It’s not pretty and it’s not all that much fun to watch, certainly as a near-neutral (hoping against hope that Leeds UnitedPortugal lose doesn’t really make for partisanship), but it is fairly compulsive.
Remember all those conversations?
“Blimey, how did you lot manage to win that one?”
“We scored more goals than you.”
Damn; I’ve forgotten how to do stike-through. (For Leeds United above)
Marouanne Chamack has based himself on Cristiano Ronaldo…unfortunately he’s never got any further than the hair gel!
This looks more and more dangerous, I hope for the same outcome as Holland vs Denmark or Russia vs Greece, since the game looks pretty much the same now.
245 Senior Gooner having a Senior Moment!
You are right OG but I guess in those days we also had low expectations in reality but of course high hopes in our dreams..which did come true many times.
Oh shit
Shit 🙁
Damm!
Wanker !!!!
I am clearly praying to the wrong God 🙁
BOLLOX BOLLOX BOLLOX.
The International Cuntski score.
And it’s the preening git, just to make it worse.
Fucking commentators spunking all over the place.
Sound off now.
oh fuck off CR :S
Gabre Silasse slightly at fault there, surely? PGit ran a long way without any move to cover him.
This is a man who looks at his reflection in a spoon.
Maybe time for TR in?..last 10-12 mins might be worthy
Is your mate playing, Eandy? I can’t remember his name.
heh abb 257: indeed.
Cech still focused. OG, haven’t seen the replay.
Nope Oxon, Daniel Kolar not playing today, Darida got in instead of him for some reason.
Hey Ollie.
Shame, Eandy. Must indeed be surreal watching him play, as you said a post or two back.
Yeah, well he played against Poland and in Champions League this year against Barca and AC, strange sight indeed hehe
Oh well, cant see us going for equaliser any soon now, maybe some dead ball situation only.
Come on Czecho. I don’t particularly care who wins this game, but I#m dman sure who I want to lose.
Eandy, I’m guessing Tomas is truly not fit to play if they can’t bring him on.
Well if all the cunts are to win their games who will be the semi-final teams?
One last corner, come on Czechs, please
Is Cech allowed to score with his helmet?
Ah well.
My hopes rely mostly on Germany now.
I’m starting to feel glad I won’t be able to watch the final.
Eandy, really sorry. Cech did your (other) team proud. TR sorely missed.
bleh, oh well, have to say that we didnt really create anything in second half, the fact that Ronaldo scored the decider still pisses me off though.
OG, just saw the replay, you’re right.
Sympathies, Eandy. Portugal are Cuntski. I can’t bear them.
Unlucky Eandy, always the bad feeling that the Half-Time Groomer would strike late 🙁
Yeah abb, he did some very good saves and agreed on TR being missed, his calmness on the ball and creativity was really lacking in midfield today. Well, now to support Germany and TheOx then:)
Bad luck Eandy…..drinks are on the house – Lars tab specially set up for you.
Turned sound off…..will not listen to those cretins kissing the preening fucktards arse.
Turned the sound off when preeninggit scored, Uplympian. Turned the telly off when I saw the final whistle must have been blown.
Well that was all a bit meh. Shame for the Czechs. Tsk.
Time for a cheeky back drink to cheer meself up…
*waves at snowy*
Commiserations, Eandy. But without TR it was always going to be tough.
Whats a real shame that this was prolly TRs last big tournament, qualifying for WC is always unsure for us, Euros are different story though. That chap had so much bad luck during his career its unreal. Lets hope he will have few more great seasons in Arsenal shirt 🙂
Thank you TABs for giving us a term we can all use to describe that Preening Fucktard! Notice how there’s no confusion when the term is used? Everyone immediately knows who’s been referred to. Wonderful
🙂
Prospect of Spain v. Portugal, an all olive oil matchup in the semifinal. As a matter of fact, adding Greece and Italy, 4 of the the last 7 are olive oil squads, and 5 if you count France. England and Germany had better watch out!
I also like the term “Prolly” 😎
Good man snowy…
Pains me to say, but I would very clearly support Spain against Portugal.
But anyway I hope the winner comes from the other side of the draw and isn’t England.
If it boills down to a battle of the cunts: Portugal; Greece; England & Spain. Then I want England to win
🙂
But I still think the Germans look a bit special..
With you there GT……the obviously stand out cunts in the England team are with a small “c” when playing for the national team but revert to full blown Cunts when reverting back to their clubs!
My pleasure GT. 🙂
Commiserations Eandy, and I second your hopes re TR7.
Since I’m clearly not as organised as Wind I won’t do a line by line analysis of the drinks 😉 , but great to see the young hurricane and his fine work back in the bar. And as for the rest of ya, ta for the wit, wisdom and general lunacy.
Interesting points made about GG. Of course I appreciate the modest success he brought us, and am thankful for the defensive legacy he left us. However, as regards his post-Arsenal employment I’m afraid I don’t buy the line about him being wronged and therefore giving a justifiable two fingers to the club. If it were any other club, then fine. But it was not just ‘any’ other club.
Everyone is put out when they’re dumped. Dr Spin has assured me that it is quite normal behaviour in such circumstances to speak of burning one’s exe’s clothing or keying their car, whilst sobbing gently into one’s pint, at the boozer, in the company of one’s friends. The point is it’s great to think of all the vengeful nonsense for about 5 minutes, but not actually DO any of it. Because to do it, well that’s just mental.
GG behaved like a mental ex. And one we couldn’t even get a non-molestation order against, keeping him a seemly and appropriate distance from us.
*waves back at Ollie – and also ‘holic, who I hope has now stepped away from the Leonard Cohen back catalogue…*
Guinness anyone?
Top Man Snowy – just remember to charge the drinks to my tab!
Eandy, sorry to see your boys knocked out by the preening fucktards.
I probably won’t be able to visit the bar too much in the coming two days, but if you want my opinion on anything just ask Ollie 😀
Did someone say ‘Guinness’ ?
Thanks top man snowy!
Heh Lars!
Cheers Snowy ..a drop of the black gold is just what the doctor ordered.
Lobs a cross field pass looking for the attacking full back to run onto.
For me, it’s an opportunity to acknowledge players who I admire in the PL and don’t play for Arsenal. Just in the off season, mind. Like Hart, Cech, Parker (this man plays his heart out) and yes Cole (sad to see him slow down just a wee bit) but he’s still got plenty to offer.
He shoots…
…miles wide
Double 🙂 🙂 for 296 and 297
Oh – and 🙂 for 299 too!
Well in nurse abb, and bad luck OG.
Hey, with all those great guys I mentioned @ 300, no wonder I scored!
Thanks Snowy…wish we heard from you more, lad. Cheers!
Yep abb – all great guys. Except for Hart, Cech, Parker and Cole 😉
BTW I think you might need some re-education by Guinness 😀
Abb I would congratulate you for 300 but seriously can’t.
Parker? Jesus wept…..
Well in abb….bad luck Oxon…it’s all about timing
Multiple chuckles. Scotty took a kick in the head last game, what do you guys want, blood!
And the rest of them as snowy pointed out but at least you could argue they will have been decent players at some stage of their career…
George Graham = mental ex . Haha brilliant Snowy . 🙂
‘Scotty’ now? Well beam me up so that I can go and puke in a safe place ;D
And what tabs said at 312 indeed snowy
That’s my lot gents and nurses, g’night all. I think I glimpse Lars’ wallet on the bar, help yourselves to a drink.
Hard luck Eandy. I won’t be able to join you for the all G quarter final tomorrow night, I hope it’s a bit easier on the eye.
N…i…g…h…t…
Cheers abb – I would frequent the bar more often but that bloody Dr Spin has been keeping me far too busy at work…
But well in for defending Mr Parker. Tell no-one but I have a sneaky admiration for him, perhaps only for the fact he continues to tuck his shirt into his shorts a full 5 decades after other professional footballers stopped doing that sort of thing 😉
Medication for Nurse Abb. 😉
Parker may well play with his heart, but that is only because he doesn’t have a brain, or any discernible talent.
Tabs and Ollie – 😉
But just for the record, I don’t want anyone to think GG is my mental ex or anything. Us professional rugby league players generally had clauses in our contracts prohibiting us in perpetuity from forming relationships of that sort with managers of association football teams 😉
Oh Snowy, you are a fan (big smile)!
It is only advisable to tuck one’s shirt in if one is wearing Speedoes.
Tabs…you know the drill. Sinbin, expect company.
Tabs @ 317 – tsk – harsh words. He also plays with a very stylish 1950s haircut that complements his old style shirt tucking perfectly.
I bet Wolfgang loves him 😉
Harsh but fair Nurse Abb 🙂
Wolfgang @ 320 – the speedoes are likely underneath the long shorts. Does that count?
I certainly do not love Mr Parker Snowy. He is no fashionista, he is a pretender !!
Lets go with a screamer from well-nigh 40 yards, partly reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo, partly reminiscent of Ibrahimovich, and partly reminiscent of Schevchenko in his prime. And it’s heading for the top corner …
Wait, did somebody already score at 300? I’ll have to try that one at 400, I guess. 🙁
Well in Nurse. 🙂
Wolfgang @ 325 – 🙂
Exhibit No.1 Snowy.
I dare you not to laugh !!
https://twitter.com/GarethDParker/status/215072393381683202/photo/1/large
Mr Parker is clearly not a Speedo man !!!!
Speedoes should be worn loud,proud, and most definitely on the outside .
I can’t believe I’m the only one in here defending the truth against Parker lovers !
The only Parker Lover should be Lady Penelope .
Rumour has it the man pictured in speedoes is a regular contributor to the drinks. Anybody owning up? 😉
http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/41798_228483563581_8054810_n.jpg
Fuckin’ Hell, it’s a blizzard.
Guinness for top man snowy. (Czechs are in the post). 8)
Red card for the reprobate who is saying the blasphemous things about Snotty Parker!
333?
A-ha!
Lucky I turned back up just now and I can go to bed in peace. With a little luck I can get 444 too. Unlikely with tomorrow’s agenda, mind. Unless there’s a new post .
8Ball , that might be me, but I’m not sure as the eyes have been blanked out 😉
Well in Ollie @333 🙂
WOLFGANG SMALLBALLS CAUGHT LIVE ON CAMERA WEARING SPEEDOES AT THE BEACH
Details to follow …
Cheers zico 😎 And well in Ollie.
8Ball @ 331 – 😉
Wolfgang @ 336 – where oh where were you keeping your Jimmy Choos in that snap? Had you eaten them? Along with all the pies ? 😉
I have missed ‘holic royalty while I have been catching up with episode 3 of Punk Britannia.
It has been a great day for nostalgia.
So snowy, you must be pleased the rugby league season moved to the summer, given the bloody weather?
Snowy @339 , I believe that photo was taken when I was making a rigorous, but ultimately unsuccessful,bid for the coveted crown of Transvestite Sumo Champ.
Unfortunately I met Fred “mine’s a sweet sherry” Evans at his peak, who combined a miner’s strength with catwalk beauty, and he knocked me out with two submissions when he sat on me .
Go swimming in Jimmy Choos ? An elementary mistake. Evening wear only .
🙂
Evening ‘holic. Summer? Isn’t that the season where it’s supposed to be slightly warmer, and with a bit less rain?
I think that only happens in other countries now. Bloody global warming…
What was the question again ?? 😉
I’m enjoying that series Holic . Excellent stuff .
Glad to see you missed me GT. I didn’t miss you. At all.
Hopefully the sunshine and red stripe make you a little less uptight.
Light one for me….
Being the old reactionary I am snowy, I am bitterly disappointed I haven’t had a chance to get the old golf sticks out of the garage from last year yet.
I have decided this will happen next week, before summer doesn’t happen at all.
😉
this bar is nucking *futz*…:)
guiness for all top men, and men who like it on top, and everyone else. a parasol drink for wolfie. thanks, lars.
Not even Wolfie needs a parasol in an English summer, scruz 😉
oh, and eandy, screw the pft. sorry for you that you didn’t get through.
cba, sorry about you getting the shaft (not to be confused with The Shaft), hope you can beat them within an inch of it.
valentine for mr. kronke: be9 tonight…
Episode 3 TaBS. Seriously good stuff. I will probably watch it again tomorrow night…
Cheers all.
oh, ‘holic, i forgot (in ‘little britain’ accent): he’s not a *lady*… 😀
I fuckin’ well am Scruz 🙂
well, one of me is confused.
Eh? My other half will be akip now…
‘Holic….now I’ve given up that 4 letter work ending in “k”……no not that one…work i’m talking about, I thought at last I’ve got time to justify joining the local golf club. Since then we have had the non-stop monsoon season and i’m not a great lover of water golf. Fortunately there is a strict dress code so Wolfie in his speedoes would be escorted off the premises tout suite.
The only consolation is that members get 20% off their bar/food when paid with the pre-loaded card. Local bitter @ £2.30 pint ain’t bad. The odd few days of good weather seem to coincide with visitors now we live in a desirable part of the country. Still it beats work any day.
Sounds good U. Which club?
Good typo on first line – shield read “4 letter word” doh
we’re a man of many halves, andy.
Hey it’s snowy on the longest day of the year. 😉
Why did Ronaldo keep looking for Lampard’s mum during that game tonight ?
The only difference between Lampard and Ronaldo tonight was that Ronaldo was not able to look upwards while kissing Fat Frank’s ring. 😉
GT – beastly to you ? Never. 😉
NB1: When did I say I missed you, you Muppet? I will however take a deep tug of this Californian in your honour… Uptight? Seriously?
Trev: That big bully NB1 is picking on me – pun the fecker on the nose for me won’t ya?
🙂
OK the rest of you lunatics, line up for your medication – Nurse ABB, Top Man Snowy you both come to the front. Nurse Ratched please have the clamps on stand-by just in case..
http://youtu.be/VnUG_8jQGvY
Hey GT, don’t know if you’re still lurking. That movie was something else. Great scene. Nurse Rachet. Now she was uptight…Can’t imagine why anyone would think that of you!
Fully back-drunk now…*boilk*
Eandy, unlucky against Portugal. I was hoping for that team of preensters to go out but alas it was not to be…
Regarding the GG discussion, the cup run of 87, Anfield 89, Cup Winners Cup, winning Division 1 after being wrongfully deducted 2 points for a fight we didn’t start was amazing. But for me, when I think back to George kicking Keown out the club after he asked for a raise of 50 quid while filling his pockets with thousands of pounds of the club’s transfer money, I just feel shocked at his appalling hypocrisy. It’s all well and good to say bungs (or whatever they’re called these days) and hard-nose discipline were the norm back then but the harsh treatment he meted out to certain players while overlooking the bad behaviour of his pet players was ridiculous. Especially as it eventually led to us performing badly on the pitch. For tiny slights to his pride he would punish players at the expense of the team’s performance and I think the bung thing was just an excuse to get rid of a manager who went power-mad in the end. Managing Sp*rs later as well (and helping them win a fucking trophy!) was terrible!!! I know it doesn’t matter in the long run but for me it does.
So many good teams getting shafted at the Euros, I regret not copyrighting my name. Could’ve bought me a new Camaro 🙂
I like Mini Coopers, in primary colors. Talk about adorable…sweet dreams.
Sorry I missed you Nurse ABB – was “reading” a proper news paper believe it or not! Will not be doing that again in a hurry – cumbersome thing to handle…
🙂
I wasn’t that short petal…
Morning all. You know it’s funny. arseblog news has published the news with the quotes from Wenger on Giroud.
And most media outlets, including Sky and, guess who, Eurosport (English version, I checked the news on their app this morning) have stolen it from Arseblog news without saying it.
You might say, but the news is public because it’s on the TF1 end Eurosport France website?
Maybe, but their source is clearly arseblog. I mean, the translated quotes come straight from there.
Nobody in these media outlets bothered checking the original video, so they still say it comes from an interview with ‘French TV station TF1′ (as from the AN article) – I forgive arseblog for that small imprecision 😉
Whereas they could have spotted the Eurosport logo if they have checked their source. And wondered why Arsène would make an interview in English with a French channel who broadcasts only in French (note though that Eurosport, though broadcasting over EUrope in different languages) is owned by TF1
Funnily enough, after a bit I realised than rather than translating I ciould just retranscribe Arsène’s original words as you can hear them behind the dubbing. But I choose, partially, not to, as it would take more effort, and well, Arsène is not native English anyway (not that I am, mind :D). And as blogs told me, he made a slight modification too, which appeared on all those sites.
Just to say :’good morning’, and journalists are lazy, stealing cunts who generally don’t bother checking the original material if it’s foreign, once it’s made it into an English version. In this case, it’s hilarious seeing as the original interview is in English.
I caught the “original” on Arseblog News, Ollie and saw the acknowledgement to The Greatest Translator That Ever Lived 😉
Not to be confused with Wolfgang Smallballs – The Greatest Transexual That Ever Loved 8)
Right on Ollie!
I don’t want to blow my own trumpet but I’m also pretty good at translayting 😉
Ollie – havent noticed this before but sum booger called Nas@ri was in a punch up in the tunnel after a certain match the other day – bodes well for the blues on saturday – my local paper
http://www.charentelibre.fr/2012/06/22/alain-boghossian-rien-a-voir-avec-knysna,1101724.php
mind you they all shook hands … (but did they count fingers afterwards?)
Did I spot a fake Andy Goram?
The real ones capitalise their name.
Did anybody else have trouble accessing this site?
I did. I think my 373 must have taken about an hour to appear!
Good morning all
Well done Ollie with the Giroud scoop, r u looking to become snirs deputy in his absence.
356 ‘Holic – Lyme Regis GC – strangely enough one of the few establishments I’ve visited that doesn’t offer the black gold. Other than that a top place though.
Cheers cognac. I heard there were rumours about Na$ri being a twat, yes.
As I said at the time, I did particularly enjoy Larqué laying into him during the game every other minute.
Morning all:), yeah I had also troubles accessing the site for some time. I have to agree with Arseblogger on the fact that in second half we really were rubbish and also have to admit that Portugese were better, however when I bought my usual sports paper this morning and was greeted by Ronaldos ugly maw over whole site, it left me in utter disgust.
I think that Czechs played to their limits, they were simply not good enough to produce more and are leaving tourney without any feeling of shame I would dare to say. Other news are that this was the last game Baros played in national side, if its for good or not only time will tell (he was not anywhere near the level he used to be but still, cant see any better striker than him for us these days) and also that Tomas is pondering about ending his national team career too.
I really want Germans to completely disintegrate Greeks today, with Lu-lu-lu netting at least twice so I can finally point out to my oblivious friend that “Yes, this is mister Podolski, really great signing for Arsenal” after his question about him before “so…this is that star you were talking about huh?”.
Cheers Up376. Scoop wasn’t mine this time though, I only did the translation.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/rosicky-i-ll-consider-international-future
Tomas pondering indeed, EAndy.
and just confirmed that Gebre-Selassie signed 4 years contract in Bremen:)
@ 381
Dodged a bullet – he’s crap. FACT. In my opinion.
Hehe, I think that Arsene was never interested in him in first place zico, and yup he is crap compared to right backs we have now, but he has good potential in him.
Eandy,
I was basing my FACTUAL opinion on what I saw in this tournament. Maybe he will cost £30M in four years time?
More importantly, has the beard trimming begun? Has the share price of Gillette gone through the roof in the Czech Republic?
And has the barman in the Olympia (in Prague) smiled yet – the last time I saw him, in 2006, his face was a one-man war zone. 8)
Eandy – is this a new career for Gebre Sellasie now he’s given up running in the Olympics. Surely too old for us now.
Hey GT – just ignore NB1 – it’s what you do with attention seekers. Eventually they just give up.
All these ex-pros playing for Wembley in the FA Cup next season, including Martin Keown, Romford Ray and David Seaman, reeks of a publicity stunt. Cup sponsor Budweiser is footing the bills and there is a TV program being made around it. FA says there is nothing wrong with that. But that strikes me as being another example of its two-faced values.
http://bbc.in/KR73qK
http://bbc.in/KR73XE
Ollie@368: what was odd about those AW quotes was AW saying a Giroud signing was 90%, given he normally says nothing about any signing until after the player has, er, signed.
Today, I am mostly pissed off with seeing a preening fuckwit’s face every time I check on a sports/news website.
I see BBC are lazy too:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18545371
I don’t think my ‘work’ has ever been shared so widely on the internet, heh :-).
arseblog is powerful, shame none of the other c**ts credit him when nicking info off his website.
@ Ollie
Ah, now I get it – YOU gave the goonerverse the Giroud story. I assumed you’d got it from Arseblog/Jamie Sanderson, which is where I saw it first. Sorry! May I offer you a bar snack to go with your drink?
Oh…obviously I don’t get it. Or do I?
Solids are for softies Fun 🙂
Congrats Ollie. Now we have our very own ITK chap.
Dr Z @370 – That is my Dream .
By the way, The Internet tells me that today is “No Pants Day”.
I shall therefore be spending today mostly forsaking my Speedoes and shooting the breeze.
No Pants Day.. sponsored by Paddy Power
Lays one on for an oncoming run by …
Solids are for softies…..
Wolfie, you have spent too much time with that coterie of madmen……
I have Dr Z, I have.
Hares after the ball stark bollock naked and backheels it upfield after executing a perfect pirouette .
*controls the ball and sends through pass behind the defense*
Only fitting really on No pants Day
On fire !!!! Cheers Eandy 🙂
On fire
As in
Liar, Liar?
God the close season is so boring……..
Yep, that’s the one Dr Z 🙂
Latest away kit doing the rounds. If true , it will be a worthy addition to my wardrobe.Will lokk great with a pair of gold lame Speedoes. 😎
https://yfrog.com/Himg532/scaled.php?tn=0&server=532&filename=68983194.jpg&xsize=480&ysize=480
I hope thats fake Wolfie since thats just plain fugly 🙁
Wolfgang @398 🙂
And a goal of rare artistry @400. 😉
On Twitter Eandy, so pinch of salt required.
That said, the source did appear to be a pretty good one.
Tabs would agree that it doesn’t get much worse than that kit.
I however like it 😎
Cheers Trev, and one right back at yer for @359 🙂
I haven’t kissed Lampard’s ring either 😎
Agreed Dr Z, and all this pretend football is doing nothing to help.
It’s also annoying that after our first game at home on Aug 18th we don’t have another home game for a month – Sep 15th, due to two away games and a f*cking Interlull, in case we all forget that international football still exists. Meh!
There is an upside to the gap between first and second games at the Grove though, Trev:
I could be “gone” for both and Roxette would hardly notice….. I suppose I will have to come home in between though 😉
Well if Arsene is 90% sure that Giroud will be an Arsenal player next season then we can assume the deal is done, whoever found out first.
Personally, I am hoping that Giroud will be a little bit the exact opposite of Park which, as far as I can see, is kraP, lexicologically speaking.
Sorry ‘Holics, a bit grumpy today. I think another day of rain and grey skies has upset me’ormones.
Work calls.
Huh, just remembered that I do have an account at one certain betting company, so I have put my bets on Germany going through, Spain and tie after 90 in Italy vs England match. Lets see if that nets some money or not heh.
For those who fancy some lunch at the Holic Bar …
https://p.twimg.com/Av_4nbJCMAA5_mV.jpg
That fucking kit is an abomination. Whoever sanctioned that at the club should have their gonads sliced off with cheesewire and left to bleed to death.
I must say I agree with you about that kit Andy Goram 🙂
Hello all.
One question – Who is Uplympian?
A new holic, or an old one with a new moniker?
One thing’s for certain, Snir, he’s older than me! 😛
Hey Zico, Holics.
How’ve y’all been?
Alright Snir.
Queensland Rd Development sold off today – another £26m in our Bin.
Last major Property Development on our portfolio.
Settles back and waits for Snir to tell me what players we will be spending the dough on …
Was just about to write that Tabs 🙂
I really want M’Vila to sign, and after that teasing hint, I’d be shocked if we don’t sign him.
Hey Snir,
Can’t sign M’Vila.
We are only signing strikers.
To compensate for the worst-case scenario of Robin leaving, I reckon, using our current squad of strikers as a benchmark, that we will need about 18 new strikers for next season.
And to prove we have learned from last season, they will all be signed before the Summer Solstice……
When is that again? 👿
Soup of the day please, barman. 🙂
GT, the affection in the way you wrote Muppet tells me all I need to know…..I’m back bitch! Interesting to see you’ve still got Trev hanging out the back of ya. Idiot bwoy.
Who knows I may even try and contact NY Gooner and get him back on here.
Don’t worry holic I’ll play nicely. Promise. Imagine all I did was sigh!
Drinks all round. I think GT’s drinking piña colada’s bless. Trev will be drinking what GT doesn’t finish?
8Ball – Heh 🙂
Snir, yep reckon M’Vila will sign. I was looking for nuggets from the more leftfield side of the transfer rumour Mill.
A reserve keeper perhaps ? Defender ?
If M’Vila is signed soon we would have the rest of the summer to offload deadweight and get ready for the new season. Things look pretty shipshape from here considering the two new boys, Podolski and Giroud, look to have excellent potential to kick our performances up a notch. Summer 2012 looks to be leaving summer 2011 in the dust. (Fingers crossed.) 🙂
Snir – I’m a long time reader and a even longer time gooner. Not a new moniker but I reckon I could do with one….I’ve already noted we have some doctors in the house!! Smiley thingy not working on my iPad thingy so hope fellow drinkers understand I’m not being rude by their absence.
North Bank 1 –
Interesting that your memory is no more use than the rest of your brain(?).
As you’ve forgotten, I was Tabs’ bitch in the winter, not GT’s. Idiot.
*note to ignore as of now*
Fight! Fight! Fight!
The close season just got interesting…..
A cache of my finest drugs to the winner!! 8)
Thinking back to winter, all the best to Clive Waterman if your ever dropping in.
Too right Trev,
Bring back The Sweeper !
Yep , thirded .
Bring back the Sweeper !
Might as well hand ’em over now Dr F . 😎
Right, off for a bit .
A “bit” of what?
Shit, it’s gone Guinness time.
I’m off for a bit too…..
Fourthed
Testosterone rising again? Hit the calm button, ta.
Enjoying the post work Friday Guinness and revelling in a 20/1 second at Ascot just because it was in Arsenal colours and I had a free bet to use up. If the buggars neck was a couple of inches longer I would have been a ton richer. Never mind, a pony for nothing is a result 🙂
Agreed on the sweeper. I will drop him another line and see how things are.
Trev@429: Fifthed. Hope all is well with the Sweeper.
Sixthed for the Sweeper and the Lovely Cecilia, and wishing them an ecstatic sort of happiness wherever they are. 🙂
H2H @ 127, Snowy @ 295, thanks for the warm welcome back the both of you 🙂
Snowy, thanks for the appreciation of my ‘work’, I’m blushing 😳 😉
Wishing the Sweeper all the best wherever he is 🙂
I’m as ill as a dog, so I think I might be the Sleeper for now 😉
Beware Ollie lurking for 444. 😉
Home just on time or nearly.
I wish there had been a couple more posts, it would have been truly amazing. Or if I’d been delayed on the road or something.
I fear we’ve hit a lull.
And so I can score a hollow victory unlike previous xxxs.
bt8b@422…ha! with a whisky to wash it down…
amen to all the best sweeper wishes.
and excellent about queensland road, though i’ll bet that’s not going to add to our transfer coffers. even if it doesn’t, we should still be in for aston martin, the big french guy, and a defender.
read a suggestion on jamie sanderson’s that we might go into the season with chezz, mannone, and martinez, rather than picking up someone with experience. not sure i like that.
o444ie, you coulda waited just a bit…more.
feeling expansive with work, an hour of halfcourt basketeball, and a 15 mile bikeride ahead of me before any number of stone pale ales this evening when most of the ‘holic world is dreaming of m’villans.
speaking of dreaming two for arsenal in mine last night: spent a good quarter hour consoling a young keeper who looked mighty like fabianski that he *is* a good keeper, just not quite arsenal material…and that i thought he’d be great at a club that’s not quite as full of pressure. then i spent a couple of hours having drinks with eduardo, at his flat, which he had decorated in a wild and psychadelic way…what fun!
Hey Scruz,
You sure it was Eduardo’s pad?
Some great colours in the Executive carriage 😉
dr.iF, it was lots of mosaics that flowed from the walls to the floors, plants (heh), and fountains. also that light, trippy sound of chimes made from stone flakes. it *did* seem to be moving a lot, so maybe it was the carriage…it certainly would be a fit, visually. i wonder what *was* in the water eduardo gave me to drink…
Scruz, sounds a little like a cross between Eduardo and George Harrison circa 1969?? 😉
Ollie, Well in at 444. We all know the yellow cards for self-assisting don’t apply except at the centuries. After all, self-assisting does have its good points. 🙂
Podolski not in the team for Germany? Is Low trying to make his bet on the Greeks to win come good, or what? Anything to make the game more competitive, I always say …
Podolski only on the bench.
Is Löw underestimating Greece by rotating his strikers?
I see bt8 beat me to it.
Podolski can stay on the bench till the start of the season as far as I’m concerned.
Same with the Ox and Theo, Kos and anyone else left over there.
Too often do we suffer for someone else’s glory.
Scruz – you were drinking water straight from the DLL tap. Easy mistake to make. Again and again. 😉
bt8b, exactly. except for the facial hair. and the sitar.
i guess we’ll sing lu-lu-lu la-la-later in the game, when he comes on to rescue the underestimated greeks. they’ll smuggle him in in a covered beer stein (greeks beware those bearing gifts, or something).
iz, aballoley. still feeling its effects, wonder how many baskets i’ll make at lunchtime, and whether i’ll still be making them back at work after!
come to think of it, you’re right about lulu, and theox…and anyone else. so that’s greece and italy through, then. glad rvp got out of it, and hopefully tomas isn’t crocked for the start.
Vamos Deutschland!
scruz, if Lululu comes on to rescue the Greeks, I suspect he’ll get slaughtered by the press 😉
Hi NB1: Who you backing today now the Russians have gone home?
Barman: Double up on what he’s having please. Another Colada for me please ..
😎
What a ‘fun’ goal.
So much so, it’s not?!
heh abb 😎
ollie, doh!
Hey Ollie, all you gooners…what went wrong there.
Samaras has decided to have some fun instead of trying to get the ball 🙂
This guy Beglin is a complete knob-jockey.
Samaras should have been sent off for that first challenge on Khedira, shouldn’t he? Anyone agree. I really really want the Germans to win now.
I mean, “Anyone agree?”
Well played the goalie – the Greeks ominously looking like the Blue Fulham Cunts … BFC for short 🙂
The newly capitalised iZico knows.
Get that camera back on that Greek woman!
Who knew Greek women were blonde (as opposed to dark with moustaches)?
This match is becoming entirely too austere. Measures must be taken.
Delusion of grandeur removed Ollie 😉
Heh @ Julian.
sounds like zico is preparing to inject some liquidity.
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGoal! Germany!
Yes!
Lahm starts the slaughter 😛
Fun, Enjoy!
I nearly said that Dr Zee – but it sounds better coming from a drunken Scot 😎
Lahm!!!!!!!!!!! Fantastic
Drunk?
But I can still see!!?
Bloody awful pitch. Perhaps they hired Stoke’s groundskeepers?
No way back for Greece now I suspect.
No jinxing in operation, the contest is too uneven.
Can’t totally hate the Greeks, what with Stavros being a Gooner an’ all… wonder what he’d say to them at half time?
I think I would rather stick needles in my eyes than pay money to watch Greece play football.
Come to think of it, I think I would rather watch Grease.
This will only drive me to more drink.
Don’t tell Rox. 😉
What I like about this game is that there’s not a preening fuckwit in sight 😎
Heh GT.
I wonder what Shaft would say about this German guy, Badstube. Some people are truly bad and don’t have to incorporate it into their name for everyone to know it. 😉
Kebab anyone?
Ollie, I think the Greeks should eat a few kebabs at halftime to get their energy levels up to where they ought to be.
Ollie,
Do they sell kebabs before you’re too hopelessly drunk to realise that they are highly toxic?
Or are we both that way already? 8)
Neuer to score in second half, mainly due to boredom. Enjoy watching Ozil, so light on his feet, about the only one from Real, I really like.
Please no more pictures of Angela Merkel celebrating the Germans pounding the nasty debtors into submission ….
Has anyone ever seen a Greek eat a Kebab? Eh? Think about that! 🙂
All this talk of kebabs, and Lahms to the slaughter… Gyros 2012?
hehs GT & Julian
How annoying.
OMG GReece level!
Fuck me mate
Heh, the blonde Greek lady’s back! 8)
Ollie 484? Hmmm. Not lost your touch yet.
All time best goal. 😀
GT – who’s your mate?
Not greek and blonde by any chance?
That’s GT and Greece, both. 😉
Its up for grabs now… Last time Samaras scored was when he won Wimbledon 🙂
C’mon Greece, pound the fucking Germans into submission now.
GooonerTerry strikes again.
Or is he just calling Wolfie?
Yay!!!!!!!
Goal, ha ha!
Hello chaps and chapettes, I am slightly (and by that I mean quite) drunk right now so premature apologies for any spelling mistakes 🙂
Have to admit to having a soft spot for the Greek team on account of me and the missus going to Crete for a week every year for the past eleven-or-so years (though we will probably not go this year for various reasons) and I remember seeing how incredibly proud they were in 2004 when they won the Euros.
Having said that, I still want the Germans to win this game – and just as I type that, Kedira makes it 2-1!
Facking hell there I was looking for my comment and there it was at # 500! You could have knocked me over wiv a fedda mate..
Here’s Sammy …2-1
2-1. I think the Greek lady needs comfort now, zico.
Lars,
The Greeks are very passionate about their football (apart from their Manager who looks like someone has pissed on his cornflakes) but their brand of football as demonstrated by their international team is criminally dull.
I think they should also donate at least one of their fans to the Happy Train bar-staff. 🙂
Oh, and Terry@495: the Greek don’t eat kebabs, they eat gyros (“γύρος” in Greek) which of course is no too different from a kebab but not exactly the same.
Excellent! Go Germany!
3-1.
Can I say ‘no way back for the Greeks’ now?
Its a riot of goals now..
zico, their footie is indeed incredibly dull and I feel a bit dirty for wanting them to do well. But as I said, I do want ze churmanz to do very, very, vell tonight. And now, zat boy Kloose heads ze ball into ze net for a zree-wan scorelain!
zico 514. Presumably because their manager isn’t Greek? 😉
@ 513
I would certainly like to get Klose to her.
*coat time*
And there should, just for clarification, have been a “:-)” at the end of my post@515.
Lars: I know mate. Grew up in Holloway (Little Greece) with a Greek God Mother so… was just trying to be being funny
😎
Despite the results of the recent election, it does indeed appear the Greeks will be exiting the Euro(s).
Heh Ollie @ 520
But he likes cereal, right?
4-1!!
Terry: oh feck, there was me trying to be Johnny Smartpants and all I did was make a plonker of myself! 🙂
I was just thinking “what a useless cunt that Reus is” heh 🙂
I’m now in a win-win situation for Sunday night.
Italy win, my bet lives.
England win, they get to meet the Germans.
Always a fun evening. 😉
Don’t be silly Lars … 😎
I think my 484 was a bit premature but now fully stands.
As I said, there wasn’t much scope for kiss of death tonight.
Looking forward to seeing Goetze the cunt..
Wilshere is doing fine and, er, Diaby too. Although the question was pushed onto Arsène, he didn’t sound too convincing.
Penalty!
Game on!
(sort of)
Which means Ollie, they are both fit enough to carry and mark out the cones at training 😉
Yeah, we need someone to replace Pat Rice, zico 😉
Greece score – and no Blonde.
Has she bailed out? 🙁
Good that the Greeks converted their penalty. The inflated scoreline was making Merkel uneasy.
At this rate, make sure you don’t get your coats mixed up.
Well that was easy enough eh?
Quite, GT
Or is it just ‘quiet’ now ? :s
Ollie, Will you let that stop you from a cheeky run at 555? Just to “sweeten the pot” I can reveal that the prize will be Zico’s Greek Blonde girl to the lucky winner …
A little back drinking tells me I was a little too enthusiastic about the Greeks’ chances there for a while. Oh well. Reality can be tough sometimes.
passes to Ollie..
I’ve checked back that I got 666 last time there was a 666, so 555 would make me call it a Grand Slam.
Don’ t know if I can be arsed waiting though, and the old bt8 tactic would be a bit too much 😉
Price might be worth it.
The German response after the Samaras equalizer was much more the type of performance I expected from them. I guess the group format naturally contributes to a more inhibited style of play.
Anyone else think they look far more than a match for either England or Italy?
receives the ball back and with the outside of his right boot he passes it back to Ollie who’s fecking about on the wings I see..
If they play to their potential, I think they are by far the best team in this tournament, Julian.
Ollie: I completely agree, especially since Spain just doesn’t have the same air of invincibility they possessed in the last two tournaments.
GT, you are so competitive (chuckles). Germany the team to beat, no doubt. Btw, I’m on valium right now to help me quit smoking (sighing).
They are a real team Ollie – the best we’ve seen so far..
Plays the ball over the defender and laughs in his face…heh 🙂
*nicks some of abb’s valium*
I’d never heard of valium as an help to quit smoking, sounds quite radical to me. Good luck, abb.
abb — I feel your pain. 27 days and counting since the nicotine monkey rode my back. Hang in there, it does get easier.
Boom
* decoy run to open up the space for Ollie..
atta boy Ollie 😎
Ollie and GT. Seldom has such beautiful teamwork been seen. I think I spotted a nicotine decoy in there someplace too. 😉
I’m only amazed that it’s not GT who did the final pass.
Since 545, all his passe have been spot on, I didn’t even need to ‘read’ them.
Seriously, GT, posts at 546, 549 and 553 were all done while blissfully ignoring that your posts preceded them!
Well played, passmaster!
But that valium decoy is what really put the defenders to sleep.
Hey Nurse. The benefits of not smoking are worth all the pain. Trust me..
Thanks Julian. 2 packs a day Ollie call for severe measures. Couldn’t do it during the season, it’s now or never.Got the pun, very good!
Obviously 557 and 558 have seen this sequence halted. 😉
heh bt8 560 😀
ah yeah, 2 packs a day is big. Well I do/have done it on occasions when going out, but it’s generally 2 packs one day and then nothing for two weeks.
Hope you manage to quit!
Hey GT, How right you are! Now for a nap.
I would have had the assist except our little sister wanted to play also 🙂
Well on the way to 666 now. It seems the centuries have lost a little of their luster??
Goodnap, abb
Hey 8ball. Nite lad!
Ollie,
Bad news.
The Blonde left before I could tell her about your victory 😉
I really should stop drinking now – can valium do that AND put me on my train?
Nurse Abb. You can do it!! As a nurse I’m sure you’re aware of the importance of what you are attempting. 🙂
bt8, it’s just that I noticed I got 666 the other day, and by sheer luck I got 111 and 222 this sequence, 333 was mostly luck too, so I thought I might as well look for the Slam.
Anyway, goodnight, all.
zico, damn you!
(and safe journey home if you’re still away)
OK I am off for now. Will be back with the crazy Americans for a late, late drink… Its been a good day of football..
zico, if you drink and take valium, you might get on the *wrong* train.
zico, I don’t think the Who were talking about the breakfast train when they penned “Out of my brain on the 5.15” 😉
Interesting video. Hope if I can get this to work right.
Here’s another try:
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/behind-scenes-york-underwater-night-club-video-194324576.html
I’ll have to watch it again to see how you manage to drink your drinks though.
bt8b, looks like they’re using long, capped straws, or maybe with bitevalves. i, however, am managing to hold off until after my bike ride.
god, we are a society with disposable resources. perhaps we could dispose of those swimsuits the ladies were…uh, sorry.
Hey Homies what’s happening?
Word of caution, don’t take valium and then watch a video of youngins wearing space helmits underwater…very disorienting! Oh dear me. And the music, was kinda of creepy too (LMAO).
Whoops,
A bit premature!
http://t.co/9S5ZCiL8
well, then. let’s hope he has good recovery time.
Premature Speculation Snir? The boy’s got it bad 😎
Morning all.
Rather thirsty this morning. Must’ve been the valium.
No doubt, Dr Z.
Top o’ the morning to you.
Morning chums, it would appear my day is mapped out for me so no early post.
Also if the BBC hour by hour weather forecast is to be believed it is now 3pm as the rain has just resumed 🙁
Oh well, have a good day (on the golf course?) ‘holic.
Grey here but no rain.
Summer hair cut later on.
What do you mean summer is over already? Oh.
Define summer?
I have come to the conclusion that here, we are God’s chosen irrigation channel……
If Arsenal were playing today, nothing could convince me that it wasn’t October.
Still, the pub has a roof 😉
Well, zico, the calendar had ‘Summer’ on wednesday.
So I suppose it was that day.
And that day only.
Fuckin’ hayfever. Been sneezing non stop for the last 3 minutes.
*shuts window*
http://www.football365.com/news/21554/7835668/Clubs-Looking-To-Nick-Bendtner
Good. Malaga are very rich.
H2H, Snowy and TS – clarsenal stuff re GG – ta.
Right – confession time: so enamoured am i by the quality of the footie and that at these Euros that i’ve had to declare and sign me own international amnesty for the rest of this here top o’ the shop tournament.
Not chucking abuse and rolled up sox at the tele whenever j.cunterry appeared on screen was one thing – but finding meself, halfway through the match the other night – hoping the wrong Ronaldo would be fed the ball as much as poss, so that i could witness as much as poss of the Portuguese preener running (not ruining, oh no – not no more) the show, was a big, BIG DEEP BREATH MO for this here football fan.
Immediately after that game – like Ronny-o himself, i assume – i took meself orf for a good, long, hard look in the Mirror – found the sportspages, checked the days/times for all the remaining matches, cleared me diary, stocked the fridge, put me lucky Nikolas “plan B” Bendtner pants on and have sworn to remain here in me comfy chair and soak up every last effin minute of it.
I shall unashamedly be supporting more fine football, please (whoever plays it) and England (even when they don’t)…
Forgive me football gods for i have sinned…normal service will of course be resumed when the other stuff starts next season. Meantime i’ve gawn all international me – and i’m lovin’ it.
And sod it, a little saucy, sordid holiday romance never hurt no-one – did it?????
Engerland, Engerland, Engerlaaaaaaaaaannnnnd (plus spain. plus ronaldo and the germans toooooooo!!!!!!).
Amen
Will a cold shower do for AL or do we have to get the straitjacket out?
I’m really worried about the mental health of the Reverend.
Like many religious leaders in the past, Ollie, he has clearly spent too long wandering in the desert……
Makes a run on the left, great movement without the ball.
Picks it up, feints left dribbles right, blows his nose 😉
Song-esque movements with his feet, goes through two…
Lofts it into the box for Lurky…
BOOM!
How’s that for a lurky century? 🙂
Well in me!
I mean Lars. 😀
To score when Wind and lurky are around takes some special skiis.
Or skills even.
Yep, especially when one clocked off 20 minutes ago and the other barely passed the pre-match fitness test Ollie… 8)
Well in Lars 😉 Very Funny @ 601 😆
Rev AL @ 593, good idea I suppose, I have decided to throw my weight behind England for the remainder of this tournament. And I’m not even English! 🙂
Am I late? Disaster! But that was a great lunch, could not resist it.
Need some practice Wind, with our link-up play:)
Lurky from Lars as always, and I see the next great football pundit in Ollie for sure.
Did I mentioned that I will enjoy seeing Xavi and Biscuets faces later on, when Kos scores a late winner?
Agreed Lurky, I should of held up the play when you were making the 42 minute run to burn off Lunch, we’re just out of practice 😉
Maybe you’ll be the next great football pundit mate!
We’ll have to see…
Out of practice and out of form, for sure. But there is enough time till the season starts, mate. Let the substitutes show their skills in the preseason:)
Our time will come when matters!
Re: Rev AL @593: So glad to hear you are enjoying the international footy. 🙂
Brothers Ollie and Zee – fank you for thine fine forts.
Sadly O – there’ve been far too many cold effin showers round these parts of late for them to do the trick – i fear.
And tied in with that fort, the good Dr., WHAT i wouldn’t give to be awandering about in a blinkin’ desert and soak up a ray or two, right now!!! S’long as there was a decent bar and a pleasant palm-tree surrounded pool there too o’ course.
No gents – i promise yers, it’s the footie, so far – that’s made me slip me moorings and unashamedly set sail over-excitedly for this quality continental soccerball jamboree with such gusto and glee.
And what with yous both being mighty Arsenal men through and through, and thererfore connowassernames of all that is finest on a footie field – i implore yee brothers – put down thy preconceptions and thy pints (ok, just the prethingamees then), and join this largely attack-minded, diving free, dissent light Euro party/congregation/festival of fussball – brothers!!!!! Hallelujah – amen!
Wind – never be afraid to follow thy Joe Hart – young man (except for when he’s playin’ for that lot, obviously).
And 8ball – in my game you have to be prepared to embrace all of Dennis’ children – on ocassions
Up the Euros!
AW quote about Podolski, copied from Arseblog: “Podolski did a great job for the German team, he has superb team work. He plays in a cautious way sometimes, but he’s still scored a very important goal against Denmark for his 100th cap. I am very happy with what I’ve seen from him.”
My question is, once he joins Arsenal, will the “cautious” way he sometimes plays mean he will sometimes “play with the handbrake on” or would that be an entirely different hill of beans?
The Rev’s losing it as per i see, and going a little OTT.
Personally i’d miss the colour the malcontented harrumphing from the sidelines gives the fing. It brings a welcome bit of balance and bite to the proceedings – and nobody does it better and sharper than the boys what’s at it. IMHO!!!!!!
Mind yous i gotta agree with the Rev – it’s been a wee cracker thus far
Here in the states we have the option of watching the game in English or in Spanish but there is no option, so far at least, to watch it in French. Which brings me to request the following: To the first company who offers to telecast the game in French and to give me a free dinner of coq au vin with a bottle of 1997 Mouton Cadet thrown into the bargain, you will have one satisfied customer. Now, who is this Alou Diarra again?
And Lester. I wouldn’t pay any attention to that Rev AL if I were you. An absolute maniac from the sound of him. 😉
Don’t tell the others Rev AL, but I’m in your flock. Generally enjoyed the championship. Would love to see Germany and Spain to make a proper final, but tonight and tomorrow will be interesting, I hope.
England are one good performance and one lucky performance away from the Final.
Lurky @606 – “need some practice Wind”
You’re not that disgusting Flatulence Man bloke are you ?
Bt8ball @615 –
Don’t mention ‘coq au vin’ within earshot of Smallballs – he’ll have you in the back of his Transit before you can say ” mon Dieu”. While we’re on a French theme and all that. 😉
Pints and praise be ‘holic – thems wise words…and the only way forward i fear
8ball – i know watchyer sayin’ bruv – fanks and noted!!!
Kos and Aston Vila vs Fab tonight. This is finally getting interesting.
Is it too late to take me into your fold Reverend ?
Ooh, you are awful ….. 😉
So it’s finally official – it’s on Arseblog – our new goalkeeper is to be Sebastian Frey.
About bloody time too! I was beginning to think it was never going to happen.
If you put the Reverend with Aston Barrett you might be onto something.
Hello you lunatics – and Trev. Line up please. Medication time. Need you all calm for this weekend’s games…
😎
like the the lovely Charlotte my church is a *broad one AND it’s doors are open to *all-comers – inc. your recent convert. So do have a pew trev…
*broad – in this instance meaning lady (slang) AND inclusive – nee welcoming of a diverse group of personages.
*all-comers – in this instance meaning a diverse group of personages
*pew – in this instance i for one am not going there
Amen! And let the games re-commence! (For ’tis nearly that time ent it, and i’m getting right excited already, and i’m FEELING LUCKY, and i’m gonna stick me neck out and predict A WIN!!! YOU HERD IT HEAR FIRST!!!! AND IF the odds are arf decent i may pop down to the boookies (geordie) and pop last Sundees (geordie, too) collection ‘ponst jus’ that outcome.)
Up The Euros (and the bookies)!
oops – that’s “its” that is – and amen to that Ollie, i fink!
There seems a touch of the Russell Brands about Rev AL ?
When do Brazil play ?
Have they got a bye to the semi-final ?
Radio 5 suggesting (unconfirmed – i think) the Na$Le$ has been picked for the french in his favoured position – the bench! (The french bench, if you will.)
And apparently – radio 5’s words – he’s “sulking” and “looking disillusioned”.
Why, hearing that – it’s enough to make a grown man cry tears of unadulterated La-La-La-Laaaahahahahaharfter!!!
Suck it up Sami “The Sub” – Yer!!!
Disclaimer: should either radio 5 be wrong about the sub thing OR should little sami come on and win it for Lezza bleus – then i didn’t mean any of the above, it was the booze wat made me say it
Up The Euros
I’d prefer some adulterated joy !
Gord help us – I don’t think we have enough sedatives in the CMC! Where did Feelgood stash the Californian?
🙁
What this: “Take two twice a day”… but there’s only four left! Ah well it’ll have to do.. gulp, glup, that’s better… think I will go lay down till they take effect..
🙂
CoMon Spain!!! Large ones all round please barman – and a bitter lemon for trev
The chinless cunt on the bench is what I hear indeed AL
Hellos
Wholly off topic, but a quick inquiry for the holicverse… any thoughts/experience with Brazilian Serie A? Happen to find myself in Rio for the past few days, an amazing city that took awhile to get a hang of but now is up there with my favorites. Really hoped to find my way to a match, and as we leave tomorrow the only game in town is tonight’s 6:30pm clash between Vasco da Gama and visiting Cruxeiro. I have no loyalties, but want to develop some, and so was comforted by the fact that Vasco is the North Rio team, and earlier today saw a local in a Van Persie jersey and thanks to the Tour Guide translator I was able to have a little chat about football and he turned out to also be an avid Vasco supporter. The Ipanema/Copa crowd seem to be mostly in the Flamenco camp, so I was happy to hear from the Arsenal guy that Vasco was the team. Such are loyalties born, no?
Probably won’t have a chance to check in again before the match, but would love to hear any stories from other ‘holics about watching live football in Brazil. I’ll add a report about tonight’s match when I can. Brazil is a place where football is omnipresent, and despite my devilish hangover from the samba halls last night, I am getting more and more pumped about seeing a live one tonight. Everyone has an opinion, and from the kids with Neymar haircuts to the guys (and girls) playing volleyball on the beach without hands, not hard to see why this nation runs rampant on the ball. My last live fixture was the 0-0 Arsenal-Chelsea draw in April, so hope the atmosphere lives up to that sort of antagonism, and that I learn a few Portuguese songs.
Barman, Patatas bravas all around and an additional plate for Ollie. 🙂
Cesc in for Spain. Kos in for France. Chinless lesbian cunt out for France. Intribuing.
I am French for this match so all insults aimed in my direction must be in French or I will not respond..
Re: Oneniltous: I haven’t been to a game in Rio but I did live there for a summer, enough to know that the north part of Rio is the poor area where tourists aren’t supposed to go according to the guidebooks. In my book, that would make being a Vasco supporter cooler than one of Wolfgang’s smallballs in an ice fishing hut in Minnesota in February.
heh, cheers BT8
GT, you don’t know what you might be in for.
Not sure who to support tonight.
Well Kos and the referee, I guess.
Am I seeing that Reveillère and Malouda start?
I might support Spain after all.
GUtted that Koscielny has to play.
Hang on Reveillère AND Debuchy start?
Blanc really is a negative cunt.
Allex les Bleus! Or Blancs.
Shot of Nasri looking peeved. Ha.
Hey all, want Kos to score (never should have been second fiddle to Mexes). Nasri playing would make it more interesting (for me). Still say Spain to win. Enjoy Rev Al (smiles) and hi to Lurky (where you been). One Nil, you are one lucky fella (big time )!
@ 631
dans la boîte verte
Noi Brainer
Vive la France.
Oh God, not Tyledesley. How long till he mentions England?
Go Kos! Go Clichy!
At least they’re a reasonably good-looking bunch tonight. Previous quarterfinals have been hugely disappointing in that regard.
Spain looking less than superhuman tonight. Is this typical? I see some Spanish bloke having a nice dive in the box there.
@henrywinter
For a country that has contributed so much to the world of fashion, that #fra strip is a horror.
It’s all white FFS Henry. What the fuck have you been drinking?
@ Oxon
I don’t think Spain are quite the force they were.
I expect that comment will come back to haunt me.
It’s off-white, not Winter white, which is probably why Henry doesn’t like it.
Henry Winter in ‘spouting shite’ shocker? Well I never…
Ollie limbering up for his run to the hextuple-nelson
Bit worried now.
The devil !
Dr Feelgood: Je vais jeter un oeil – grâce
My chant for the weekend.
“Allez les Blancs”
Ah fuck it, hope Kos plays a blinder but ‘come on Spain!’
Note to Mr Tyldesley:
“Try a new commentary style… silence.”
Just a thought
Only if it’s a Sauternes, ‘holic.
Unos
Gah.
Superb defending, heh.
Tries
Lovely little header. Spain up one.
I expected more posts, gah.
Now, abb, if only you’d posted that a few seconds earlier, it would have made a LOT more sense.
A few seconds later too, mind.
Hard luck Ollie. Abb, how could you?
Wish Villa was out there, miss him.
Not like clichy to go walkabout and leave someone unmarked???? Not like him at all.
With you all the way there Steve T
good interception by Kos a moment ago.
gack. shite defending from the french, from the fall to poor positioning by that manc clichy. if spain win i will be 0-3 in predictions for the qf. ugh. maybe i should root fot engerland tomorrow. 🙁
Oh Ollie, sorry. Guess my heart is with Spain.
Him and Debuchy are the only French players I’m OK with on the pitch tonight, FunGunner.
I actually don’t mind Lloris either despite him playing for Lyon.
Oh, and M’Vila, of course 🙂
abb, for once we support the same team, and you still spoilt my fun! 😉
*for
thus with you, steve t and oxon.
Ollie, surely you and abb are as one 38+ times a season?
oxon, neither ollie nor the nurse strike me as kissing and telling…
I can try, surely scruz?
I rather like the France kit, actually. Those pencil stripes make it. And the bar-coding of the squad numbers instead of keeping them as solid blocks of colour is a nice variation and adds interest.
nice by cabaye.
😀 , surely, oxon.
YEah, Ox, ‘in this tournament’ was implicit.
Nice attempt by Cabaye. Iker making back to back saves. Ollie, must make it up to you.
@684, must admit I’m inclining to les Blancs myself. It’s partly a reaction to watching a team play tippy-tappy, cute short passing and no word of criticism from the “commentators”. I keep thinking that if there was a team they were going to applaud for playing like that, I’d rather they had white sleeves to go with their red shirts.
frenchies making it a bit tougher on the spanners. nice down the left by ribery and clichy.
Another curious feature of the pundits’ approach to Spain is the total lack of comment on their cynical ankle-taps.
Of course, Laurent Blanc could completely blow this francophilia by bringing on a certain oily midfielder.
clichy can be horrible.
This is Dull, Dull, Dull……
France are shit, and Spain are boring.
What zico and Ollie said
HELP!! ..Anyone with a link to a reliable stream…please 🙁
Not worth it, GT 😉
Come on, France. Take it to them.
I could fire up the laptop, which has a webcam and point it towards my TV screen if you are really desperate, GT.
Fuck it, I’ll self-assist.
Boom
Half-time.
Well in GT, you are the true scorer of that goal.
Never expected that Ollie..but well done. Red card though..
Yes that link would be great thanks ..
Isn’t this a bit like the Czecho-fucktards game the other evening, except that Spain have scored a little earlier?
Good consolation goal Ollie
Never a straight red GT. After what happened at 666 I think even a yellow would have been harsh
bleah. even when spain break its like watching cold molasses dripping down a frozen plate.
yellow for ollie, that was the most exciting thing in the last 45 minutes. :eyeroll:
All my reliable links are not working today wtf??
When you get over how good they are, Spain aren’t that much fun to watch. Sorry, Spain fans.
I am going to watch the next 45 minutes in the vain hope that Sergio Busquets gets a serious injury.
If I was a bit more accomplished with my voodoo, you just know it would happen. 8)
OK then Yellow. Whatever. I am so frustrated and I am not even watching that game..I need more drugs.. or something ??
😎
Hmmm, I have to find out how to set-up the webcam and how to send you a link, GT.
Is a sense of betrayed entitlement creeping in for the French fans? 😉
Or is that just Ollie’s betrayed entitlement to 666??
I will not get wound up by the commentators in the second half
I will not get wound up by the commentators in the second half
I will not get wound up by the commentators in the second half
I will not get wound up by the commentators in the second half
I will not get wound up by the commentators in the second half
Why a beef with SB, Zico? FG, yeah, predictable. Best midfield in the world, though. GT, hope Ollie can help. Sorry I’m on a delay here, of sorts. Bring on Nasri.
heh Oxon
OK I found a slow stream. Think I will stick with that 🙁
what Oxon said.. 🙂
Right, I’m getting the needles out.
A man needs some entertainment, and it looks like the French ain’t going to help.
Nurse abb, I can’t believe that you even asked that question!
FFS France! Here’s a handy hint…
When you get the ball back with a good tackle, pass it to one of your team mates. Just sayin’
Damn. Couldn’t even maintain a zen-like calm for 10 minutes.
So close.
Ooooo Not far away there
Na$ri and Men€z about to come on.
Ah well, back to supporting Spain then.
Debuchy not REveillère out?
Hope France concede some more goals.
Spain now 11-10 up on chins
heh Oxon!
Well at least if France go out we should hear about Giroud sooner.
If Blanc was a bit bold, he’d bring in Giroud for Benzema.
Maybe in a few minutes?
and a ha-ha from me, too, Oxon.
Kos has been very tidy today.
Was just about to write that FG, Kos is flawless so far.
Someone told me that M’Vila says his passing is his weakness. I beg to differ.
@ Eandy
and playing on the “wrong” side as well. One nervous touch at the start, but since then…excellent.
France playing the old “Rope-A-Dope” tactic…but they need a goal soon or they will be left looking like the Dope..
Not sure I want to see 30 more minutes of that game, but here’s a scenario: Kos with a last minute equaliser.
Game to penalties, Na$ri to miss.
Latest leak from Michael Gove. Philosophy of Football O’Level 2012, question 1.
“Choose between having at least two full backs and two centre-backs for the full season, OR Robin van Persie keeping fit for the whole of next season.
“Candidates may assume that either Lucas Podolski or Olivier Giroud (90%) adapts to the Preimier League, but not both.”
Thoughts, fellow arsefans?
Giroud on!
Finally, Giroud.
OG GO!
High, wide and handsome.
AL – Not used to such an ecstatic reception. Oh, OG = Olivier Giroud.
…for M’Vila.
Weird. I’d have taken that cunt Benzema off.
France to concede a 2nd goal now.
Great goalkeeping from Lloris.
Can I make that pun about him being a “quick” Lloris again?
Watching a coat of paint dry in my living room – 2 mexican waves
Watching Spain v France in my living room – 37 mexican waves, one attempted murder of televison set and severe bleeding behind the eyes….
@ 746 zico
ha ha ha
sadly it takes two to make a decent tussle. In retrospect reckon maybes france turning out in surrender white gave the game away…
still time though for this thing to burst into life… Failing that hope the ref blows up early and brings the brass band back on
Even the French commentators acknowledge it’s been a mostly boring game so far.
Heh, OG – of course i had you in mind too!
hehe Czech commentator on Kos “I have to admit that Koscielny is really brilliant today, the absence of Mexes is pretty much unnoticable, well, when you play centre back for Arsenal, you have to have some ability in the end” 🙂
Genuinely confused by commentary there.
Could have sworn he said “Djourou’s won it”. I thought, “Eh what, he’s Swiss isn’t he”. Took me several seconds to work out it was Giroud.
I forsee much confusion in the coming season if the remaining 10% comes our way.
I refer you all to my 744.
No jinxing, no kiss of death.
Penalty kick by alonso, Goal!
Oh well. Well played Laurent, you can hold your head up high.
Great Goal!
What?
Did something happen?
What was it, a throw-in?
Hey Eandy @ 751, Makes me proud!
If I ever needed any reaffirmation why I hate Spain I got it today. They fall over at every hint of contact. It’s infuriating.
Hey ho. Not much of a game there.
Well, I’ll have to support Spain in the next round too.
WEll Kos played well and our boys aren’t injured. Good.
Did someone say round???
Yep abb, had same feeling, nice to hear some acknowledgement of Kos’ awesomeness.
@ 759 Snir
I think they must spend a good portion of their trainign sessions practising how to cheat and get away with it.
Pretty abject game. Watching Spain is like watching time-lapse photography of ants building a colony. Efficient but not edge-of-your-seat stuff is it?
hahaha GT, spot on description, cracked me up 😀
My god, GT – snap! That is almost exactly the analogy I made to my sister the other day when explaining whey I liked Germany better – I said that watching Spain is like witnessing ants attack a centipede and watching Germany is like seeing wolves take down a bison.
Heh, I like it FunGunner!
My cat got locked in the cupboard the other night and around 2:00 in the morning started meowing & scratching to get out. My first thought: what the fuck is Jamie Carrighar doing in my cupboard?
Starts the move by playing the ball down the touchline
What do winners do? Celebrate. What do losers do? Make snide comments. Personally, I guess I’m making snide comments … but at least my team won. 🙂
GT, What the fuck IS Jamie Carragher doing in your cupboard??
FG I like your analogy better 🙂
8Ball – you may be on to something there – so there!
GT @ 766 — I think over the course of time these Spanish players have realized that they can more predictably pull off victories with this attrition-based-on-possesion style while minimizing the risk of injuries. My analogy is that of a collective of very talented sculptors joining hands to produce primarily functional furniture… almost like the Bauhaus of Football if you may. When they won the Euro four years back there was more evident flair, and more obvious appeal to their football…now it is almost like post-football football. Like reading Alain Robbe-Grilet …
Keeping an eye on Arsenal connections : I thought Koscielny played well, a few good interceptions, calm, good positional sense, a few runs forward, clean passing and some attempted headers. Giroud didn’t get much of a chance, but I think his physicality would be handy in PL. M’villa was inconsistent, I though Diarra has played better in this tournament.
Among ex-Gunners, Cesc was pretty instrumental in many of Spain’s moves , Clichy still hasn’t learnt to be effective with the ball in the opposition final third, Nasri didn’t do much.
Rude not to?
Nearly missed. It’s all void anyway, unless you consider the 666 from two posts ago.
In Faustus we trust.
*hands out vial of blood*
@ 770 GT
ha ha about Jamie Carragher In Your Cupboard (sounds like kids tv show)
and 774 – how spooky that we both saw them as ants!
Spain don’t look convincing yet at the same time never in great trouble and they just keep on winning. France didn’t seem up for much of anything. Kos had a good game, though.
Doctor Faustus: I pretty much agree with everything you wrote. I supported Spain right up to them winning the WC. Now they just bore me to distraction
🙁
Hope Germany can win both their remaining games, I really do.
The only thing worse than Spain winning would be Portugal winning….
furniture analogies and post-football football – he’s hit the woodwork and the balls come out – again!
‘Ere i reckon the spains have developed a game that takes a bunch of tons of skill and control to pull off. no-one else can do it right now – else they would.
It’s up to the oppo to find solutions and take them on. No one has so far in this tournament. Even the crow-ats – what got bundles of praise – mostly sat back and packed their own half and waited – chelski stylee. It nearly worked for them – but the better football team won in the end.
Am looking forward to seeing a team who fancy their chances too taking on these spanish sporting pioneers – it takes two excellent sides/opponents at the top of their game to make a really decent tussle in all sports.
Right now the spanish are simply toooo goooood for most of the teams they come across. Their oppo then employ mostly negative tac-tics and try to stop the reds from playing by killing the game, while barely playing – in an attacking sense – themselves – IMHO!!!! Bring on the germans…
Up The Euros
Philippe Auclair’s verdict on the French performance:
“The punishment for cowardice. Thoroughly deserved.”
Ouch…
well they was wearing white
the colour of surrender and that, that is
Well said, Lester, well said indeed.
Dr. Faustus, Post-football football. I like it although I’m not entirely certain what it means. 😉
I hear what you say AL, but its Spain I believe that has killed most of the games they play in by falling over every time someone gets near them. They are also not averse to to the sneaky little kick/shove/trip themselves to dispossess their opponents. For a team enriched by such great footballers you want to be cheering them and bouncing up & down with excitement instead of pulling out your own eye lashes so you can just “feel” something… surely
;(
@ 782 and 790 GT
My feelings EXACTLY.
Another stellar day for England at the Euros, as they advance to the last 5 with the elimination of France. In tthe last three days they have advanced from the last 8 to the last 7 to the last 6, and finally this crowning achievement ….
AL @ 784 — I think the defensive vulnerability that was always there in this Spanish team but was not exploited because of their excellent possession and somewhat under appreciated relentless pressing game would eventually become their achilles hill, especially with Puyol not around. Because on the attacking side if needed they can always bring out variety — Navas and Pedro for Speed, llorente for physical presence — to trouble opposition even in Villa’s absence.
Even today if Benzema had shown a bit more maturity with his back to goal and if Ribery-Malouda-Cabaye had more of an understanding with each other Spain could have conceded.
I actually think a team like Sacchi’s AC Milan of the late eighties (first great club team I remember, with one of my all time favorite players in Van Basten) or our own invincibles would have defeated this Spanish team. Physical yet creative, dynamic yet controlled, technical and tactical brilliance (more so in case of Milan).
Germany would become that team shortly, but maybe not there yet. They have their one defensive problems and Schweinsteiger is not at influencing the central midfield the way he used to.
However, I won’t be surprised if Portugal can pull one off. Not that I support them but Ronaldo running at the Spanish defense from all angles would cause problems.
Correction: … “they have their own defensive problems” …
Fair play GT. But there’s not a football team out there that doesn’t indulge in the dark arts – not sure why spain should be viewed/judged any differently on that – but i suspect they are by some – and not just on that front, neither. P’raps it comes with being multi-mega-winners, maybe?
And besides, in this tournament – i think they, like just about all of the teams – have really toned that side of things down. It’s part of why the thing’s been so entertaining – on the whole – i reckon.
Maybe i’m missing it all but when i saw snir’s post re that lark @ 759 – i thought it to be a lot of old codswallop – though respectfully i said nowt, so would appreciate it if you kept my view between us.
But i do think it’s interesting that there’s so much antipathy on here, and elsewhere too, towards what is a remarkable team (a sporting phenommaaanommaaaanaaaaaa, if you will), on the brink of achieving stuff no other international football team has managed ( 3 consecutive titles and all that) in a largely unique, largely positive, highly skilled footballing styleeee – so somefink’s clearly going on (apart from me that is)!
Up The Euros!
spain could have conceded/been beaten if the oppo had been different/better/from another era entirely. Sorry Dr. F spurious stuff – all of it. No basis for any kind of serious debate
AL: I don’t hate Spain – But I don’t like them either. Portugal’s Preening Fuckwits I hate but Spain I am just bored with…OK here’s what I will do: If Germany should go out and England should go out also., I will respectfully not boo Spain in consideration of you. Howzat? Best I can offer mate..
🙂
had to go out for an hour or so, just finished watching the game on dvr. france were *awful*. so, which bunts to go for? neither. eeeeeeeeetaaallllleeeeeeeeeeee.
bright french spots: kozzer, ribery. m’vila anonymous, benzema *dire*, as was clichy.
ooooh, came mighty close to a big one…taps it to the penalty spot for…
Screamer. Top corner!
Wonderful ball from the endline Scruz – I couldn’t miss 😎
well in, gt. just love cutting them back from the old endline!
i particularly liked how kozzer had the chel$ki bunt in his pocket. torres got nothing by him.
Hey GT i agree with you, i enjoy watching the germs more meself right now (no-one’s quite worked out how to try to stop ’em yet for starters) – i just appreciate what it is the spans do too, right now. And, as i said, i can’t wait for them to cop a worthy oppo that forces them to reach the heights again. If you wanna boo ’em GT, don’t let me rattling on stop yer. And besides when Engerland play ’em in the final (only kidding football gods, honest) i’ll be right beside you booing ’em too.
Pint of whatever you fancy on the bar for yer big fella!
Bottoms up then AL! Lets see what transpires tomorrow. Italia is a team I used to love but have fallen out of love with… I am still trying to find something to love about England… maybe if they were to stuff Italy…
😎
GT with a screamer! Nice strike matey, fine cut back Scruz – though you may find a fair helping of subtly skilled possession oriented tiki-taka preceeded it – craftily moving the opposition out of position as we made our way up the post keeping hold of the thing the whole time until GT could unleash @ 800
al, indeed. excellent holdup play by all involved. pints all around, to gt, you, dr. faustus, bt8b, and fungunner…
Well in, GT. Not often we have an octocenturian in the bar. 800 drinks all round in your honour.
Cheers GT. I used to be a fan of the Ities too. But what little i see of their club football i don’t particularly enjoy and their national side are usually pretty negative – though apparently the new manager has changed all that – i s’pose we’ll see tomorra.
Psed on the Engerland love thing – Hodgson’s quite cuddly and decent and wise and not ‘Arry Yappyapp. it would be difficult to begrudge him a moment in the sporting sun – i reckon.
Another can’t-take-your-eyes-off-it game of football then. 🙁
Can’t wait to be watching The Arsenal again.
Psed genuine reports of $ami ‘The sub” na$ri having a bust-up with a french journo after the spain game. The report’s in french and from my admittedly limited understanding of the lingo it went something like this –
journo: Oi na$ri you money-grabbing, charmless, chinless, lezza numbnut don’t bother coming off the bench next time if you’re gonna do next to fuck all.
The Lezza: Oh why, oh why, oh why is everwyone so dweadfully beastly to me all the time – it’s not easy being a money grabbing, charmless, chinless, lezza numbnut day and night, night and day, 7 days a week, three hundred and whatever it is days a year – you’re all howwid, howwid – howwid i tell you! *runs orf cwying in the diwection of the fwench dressing room, opens door goes in, door slams shut behind him. Door re-opens na$ri is roughly chucked out and the words “piss off you useless chinless lezza” are distinctly heard, and widely reported to have been spoken by French manager Laurent Blanc. Na$ri runs sobbing loudly and snottily from the stadium*
Hopefully Ollie will be on hand to corroborate all of the above in the morning. G’night
Pure poetry AL. Made my day.
Is it just me, but I can not see what is so special about this M’Villa guy. Nothing, absolutely nothing! Reminds me of one similar player we used to chase as a team 2-3 years ago. Anyone remember Felipe Melo? The exact same player! And I remember then, the people were desperate for him to join. Even Wenger sad that he likes him as a player. Only for the stupid Juve management to save us from spending 25 mil. on another Denilson. Where is Felipe Melo today? Turkey maybe?
I have read to many stories of M’Villa power, passing, tackling ad defensive abilities etc, from very popular blogers and pundits. Maybe they are right, bit I believe what I see with my eyes. Nothing special. Hope I am wrong though.
Cabaye is the player we should look for.
howdy ‘holic and ‘holics
just wanna say thanks – i just read your comments about my unfortunate encounter with burgling cunts
you’re a good bunch
.
nobody was hurt in the break-in at me house
.
nobody involved in the break-in was hurt either
.
yet
glad all is stable at the cba homestead, cba. hope you get to introduce them to your favorite cricket bat before long…just stay out of trouble in the doing so.
cba, i’m glad you survived the break-in and hope you can replace most of what you have lost.
burglars are cunts;
and I see Na$ri showed his class again.
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