Missed Nothing, But Happily Stoned
Aug 24th, 2012 by 'holic
It would appear I owe you all an apology. A few days away should not have meant this was a blog-free zone for five days, but I had reckoned without the scarcity of provision of a 3G service in the far west of England. Strangely I had no signal in the hotel, but the odd spot out on the golf course in the middle of nowhere actually worked. Very strange.
It has taken me much of today to catch up. I suppose the primary news will be the non-arrival of Nuri Sahin on loan from Real Madrid. The alarm bells on that one started ringing a couple of weeks back when it was reported that Real Madrid would not accept a permanent deal clause for next summer. Talk of a Β£5 million loan fee for twelve months also didn’t quite ring true, and indeed the combination of those two things has probably bombed the deal far more effectively than Liverpool’s interest in the player.
That has prompted more speculation about a potential replacement for the departed Song. As you know speculation isn’t my thing, so I will just let the words of Arsene assure me that we are hopefully not finished with our summer dealings.
“We have a very strong squad but if one or two opportunities arise we will take it. We are still in the market in some positions.”
I also left home on Tuesday before seeing the U-21’s comeback from a goal and a man down against Bolton on Monday night. I have watched the highlights today,Β and I’m looking forward to seeing the next game against Blackburn on Saturday. If you are in the vicinity of London and looking for something to do in the afternoon then pop down to the Grove to watch that. The lads are getting great experience of playing at the new home of football, and you could get to see one or two faces that will feature in this season’s League Cup competition.
Competition Time
I am humbled by the generosity of one of the ‘holic regulars in the drinks, and we are all indebted to arsabeatbarca for the gift of a double stone on the new North Bank Terrace feature at the Arsenal stadium. In the words of the nurse herself,
“Please accept this stone as a token of my appreciation of the Goonerholic Bar and all its wonderful inhabitants”.
All that remains is for us to come up with an inscription that will provide a feature for ‘holics past present and future to look for when visiting the Grove. That is where you come in. We have three lines of fourteen characters available on the stone and you are invited to submit your ideas to ‘competition@goonerholic.com’ for considerstion by the judging panel of arsabeatbarca and myself. There is no limit to the number of entries you can make, so get creative.
Entries close next Thursday, 30th August, at midnight UK time, and we will announce the winner the following week, so get to it, ‘holics. I will send the winner a copy of the new Arsenal Handbook when it is released.
Thanks again nurse, that is a very special gift to all here.
102 Responses to “Missed Nothing, But Happily Stoned”
First?
Second then?
Well in NCA
And wow, what a gift from abb to the ‘holicommunity!
Champions League!
BMBD.
I even read the whole post too, ‘Holic.
( why does my phone want to call you ‘holocaust?)
Thanks for the new post. And even though I don’t know nurse ABB it is a awesome gesture.
Now let’s beat the rugby team from hells cauldron and move forward!
How nice to hear no speculation. Good luck to those travelling to the dump on sunday
nurse, thank you. what a beautiful gift.
we are arrrrsenallll!
Wow, what an excellent gift, that Nurse ABB. Extremely generous for us louts and boozers. I hope to get there one day to see it and take a picture.
Well done NorCal. Let the lurking begin anew.
BMBD.
And just to reiterate some of the post from the last drinks,
What makes our club and our supporters so great is that it is so open and is such an imbracing community. We all live in separate places in the world but come together as a collective that is welcoming and supportive of one another. It is not just football. ‘
‘ holic thanks for providing a forum for that to be shown.
I know sappy but true
Proud to be a Gooner
Wow, who’d have thought it – the nurse wants to get us all stoned ! π
Sincere thanks Abb, that is a fantastic gift.
The HT rolls on!
Nurse Abb is one very special gooner, making the world a much, much better place to live in by her presence amongst us….Thanks Nurse
Evening everyone, and thank you. Holic, no need to make any sort of apology. But your cheery disposition was missed (even Danish, I suspect was scratching his head) as well as your funny one liners. As for Arsenal and Arsene, they have made three exciting additions to the squad, all very promising. If AW manages another signing or two, beautiful. But we have our Jack back soon (fingers crossed) TR and Sagna. Loads to lookforward too. Feel very blessed.
What is it you say about apologies, ‘h? Your friends don’t need it and the rest can get stuffed (or something) π
abb – you sticking around is a beautiful gift in itself. Your generous spirit will be cast in stone for all & sundry to see for the foreseeable future.
Good stuff Β΄holic, an oasis of sanity in the desert of transfer madness.
And to our beloved Nurse ABB, what a briliant gesture, unfortunatly IΒ΄m off on Sunday for a few weeks in the sun in a region of the world where internet is still pretty much in its infancy, but out of respect IΒ΄ll give it my best go tomorrow.
14, What Nonny said.
abb, here’s something for you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFwhCLYO_-M
and something for norcal, and everyone, on fandom:
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/feature/_/id/1140474/bennett:-are-you-a-real-football-fan?-&cc=5901
featuring gooners worldwide!
iollie, i think you should submit @11 to ‘holic for the competition!
Hi Scruz…didn’t stop off at Santa Cruz on our way up highway 1. After the Big Sur stayed at Monterrey ( had a good day at Pebble Beach and Carmel).On our way to San Francisco, stopped off a lovely small town called Half Moon Bay before driving over the Golden Gate bridge – still a fantastic experience and then staying in Marin County. It was just a short hop on the ferry next to San Quentin across the bay to the city centre.
Just before the Big Sur, stopped at the bay where all the elephant seals bask on the beach – it was like seeing 100 Fat Sams lying there. ’twas a fantastic trip ..loved California.
Scruz – Don’t get me wrong here, I’m an International Gooner as well, but I will always feel inferior to the English fans simply because they were born into it.
I don’t expect my love for the club to be the same love as a family that has supported the club for 5 generations, and was there when Chapman changed the face of this club.
It’s the same thing for me, when I find myself feeling superior to a Maccabi Tel-Aviv fan that wasn’t educated from birth to support Maccabi.
See, my first 3 words in Hebrew, were Light, Dad, and then Maccabi. It will always be a part of my life. Arsenal is a part of my life by chance, and while I live and die by the cannon, I will never put myself on the same standards as people like TS, Tabs, Steve, Trev, H2H, Holic, Glennw, et al.
I envy them, no doubt about it, but we are not the same. They are (and will always be) one level above us.
That’s not to say we don’t love the club or anything like that. It just means that the love is more profound (I didn’t want to use the word stronger).
In any case, these people know how much I envy them, and respect them. My future son/daughter will be on the same level as he/she will be brought up to support Arsenal (and Maccabi, of course) from his/her very first day.
Well said Snir. I feel we can still be ardent supporters and contribute. But I concede we are not the equal to a generational Gooner. I accept that and I also feel we as a club accept that. We have to have the largest numbet of worldwide supporters. I know manure would say they do but may of their worldwide support couldn’t name more than 4 players.
Unfortunately, I was not born anywhere near the N5, but I will continue to enjoy my team and support them in a positive and devoted manner.
Abb : What a wonderful lady you are! That was a very nice gesture and we appreciate your presence as one of the few roses among the thorns.
Lars: Sorry to hear about your cousin in the previous bar. Things like these really put life into perspective. All the best to you and your family Sir.
snir, definitely. i grew up with the los angeles lakers as my basketball team (i grew up in los angeles). it’s different than with football, though pretty close; “plastics” wasn’t our term (we called them “shitheads” :), but the idea was the same.
i am completely with you, on both the respect and the envy of holic, and all the rest who talk about the times they’ve been to THOF, to the sharing at the tollie, to all the meets and greets with the players and all the rest. i know we’re not the same. i’m always humbled, when i read posts from zico, or trev or tabs, about their gameday experience, that i even have a small place at the ‘holic bar, far away though i be.
their love for the club is far more personal, if profound or stronger don’t work, because they’ve been bathed in the sweat of fellow supporters as the north bank surged towards the field as one after a goal, and they’ve bled (or bandaged the wounded, or ran like hell) during what is represented in the US as the “hooliganism” that took place in the 70s and 80s. that provides a living, breathing love that someone like me can’t touch, even though i’ll support arsenal, through good or bad, until i die.
i know that even were i to move to holloway road and go to every game for the next 50 years, even that wouldn’t bring my love of arsenal as deep as someone who has 5 generations of family having invested their blood, sweat, and tears into the club. but, one day i’ll get to the grove to watch a game, and maybe i’ll be lucky enough to meet some of the fine people from this bar. at that point my love will become something ever so slightly more personal, an additional alloy to my passion…and that’ll bring me a deep, abiding joy.
uply, it’s a beautiful drive, that. when i first moved to the cruz i lived in an apartment with a deck we used to sit on every night and drink our evening drinks, listening to the fat sams down on the wharf from 2 miles away. great memories of that. hmb and el granada (just north of that) are two of my favorite stopping points for beers on hwy 1…
Off to work, but not before I say thanks again and good nite. Some lovely entries above about our love for the Club. Enjoyed them.
ABB, a wonderful act of generosity. I toast your health and all the regulars.
I hope your golf was satisfying, Holic and not too damp.
Slainte
Happily stoned. A good way to be. And arsabeatbarca that’s super cool. π
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8E_zMLCRNg&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Everyone hung over?
Snir.
Growing up in the 70’s/80’s in Holloway and going regulary to the Arsenal I was wary of anyone who didn’t hail from Highbury, Holloway, Canonbury, Finsbury Park, The Angel, Archway, Hackney, Camden or Kilburn. Even fans from Wood Green were a bit iffy because that was a little too close to Shite Fart Lane for comfort. Football was a tribal thing, a source of local pride. At the time it had its good points, but also (which is well documented) its bad points. Those days are long gone.
The First Division and all the teams that graced it are nothing but a distant memory, no longer does the English highest division and its teams belong to the locals, it’s now a global game with a global market.
I departed the shores of my birth in the mid/late 80’s, for the first few years of my exile I had to rely on phone calls home and second hand newspapers to obtain any news possible about my beloved team, but nowadays with international satelite/cable TV and the ever improving internet I can follow the club of my birthplace, just as you and many of the overseas gooners do.
To think yourself lesser then any fan born in London is doing yourself a great disservice, although I’ve never met you in the flesh, I can say without a doubt that you are one of the most dedicated gooners I have ever come across, you live and breath Arsenal, your dedication to our club is admirable, you’ve travelled half way across the world to see your heroes and frankly you spend so much time bringing us transfer info etc from all around the globe I can’t believe you still can find time to study and go to school.
I could also say the same about Lars, Ollie and many others from foriegn shores that come regulary to London, but there are also those who can’t make it, friends (I have also never met) from across Europe, The States, the Carribean, South America, Africa and Japan/Asia that love our club just as much as I or any other local born fan.
I am a gooner and you my friends are also gooners, never forget that and be proud.
A generous gift, ABB. We’ll do our best to make the inscription worthy of you.
Fantastic gift nurse abb. *raises glass*
Scruz @ 24 You put into words exactly what was in my mind. Cheers mate. I too want to travel to the grove one day and hopefully it will be soon now that I’ve got a new job
Thanks ‘holic once again for a fantastic forum, which I’m sure all the regulars here are indebted to
Now, for the orc cunts… Come on Arsenal!!
Holic – The drinks here demonstrate why I sup here every day I can, the variety of reasons world-wide which cause us to support the club we do (I blame Brylcream for linking me from my favourite cricketer to the football club he played for in the 50s), as well as a way of letting off steam when things are not going as well as we hope, which was lacking until now (what’s this – technology has brought a benefit?)
Lars my heart goes out to you – to your family and friends – have courage and I hope things turn out well all round
Nurse Abb demonstrates yet another aspect of the ‘holic gooner community
Having visited the Grove once on a match day, I was going to repeat what other overseas visitors have said about the feeling – but maybe instead can one of you local drinkers post a few short vids of the different aspects of a visit during a match which are strong in my mind,
– walking towards the ground
– crossing the bridge in company
– the buzz of expectation all round outside and inside
– when we score
– when we win
Having never been to the Tollie, I havent included that aspect, and anyway far be it from me to encourage people to drink (OH)
Here’s to a Sunday of Remy, Martell, Hennessy, Courvoisier, Hine, Otard, Meekow, Camus……….(30+ principle makers and hundreds of smaller ones), not forgetting Grand Marnier and pineau
–
cheers, harsha! i will be cheering you on from here when you go π
cg, great idea!
Great post Holic and thank you ABB!!!! I’ll try to come up with something both witty and full of innuendo as soon as I can 8)
Lovely drinks by Snir and H2H.
Here’s to undying support and a lifetime of dedication to the Arsenal!
*Drinks deeply from the tears of vanquished enemies and belches fire*
Btw, funny thing happened to me yesterday.
I happened to come across a signed Ljungberg away shirt from the 2003-2004 season and bought it. Then as soon as I checked the news, I saw Ljungberg announced his retirement.
Should I buy a signed Squillaci shirt as well? π
First of all: abb, what a fantastic gift!
Again, thanks all for the kind words yesterday. After the initial shock had worn off the evening turned into one of soul-searching and the realization of how many good things there are in my life and that maybe I don’t appreciate them enough at times. And one of the many good things is this bar and all it has brought into my life lately. Thank you all.
Anywhichway, it’s a sunny day here today and I intend to enjoy it to the fullest. The Arsenal Sweden AGM is held in a couple of hours and I am to become a board member again and after that I am quite sure there will be a couple of pints downed in the company of mates. Not too bad for a Saturday, eh?
Drinks of your choices on my tab, everyone!
Cheers Lars Hill-Wood!
Some lovely post above.
CoR: Squillaci is harmless. You could buy a Van Persie shirt π
Morning all.
Lars. My thoughts are with you and your family. Sometimes perhaps we all lose touch a bit with the real world. Here’s keeping everything crossed for the best.
ABB. Thank you . It is that kind of gesture that sets Gooners apart from the rest and shows what a fine establishment this is. My normal walk too and from the ground will take me passed the steps. It will always put a smile on my face.
Snir. I agree with others above. You have taken this club to your heart and in no way does that make you inferior to someone who lives 2 minutes away. Football is a global game. There are many who attend on a regular basis that could learn a lot about supporting our team from the likes of you and those that travel thousands of miles just to get to a game.
So to all Gooners near and far, drinks all round.
Lars, thoughts and prayers from Fife.
Nurse abb, wow. Nice one. From a fellow Stoner.
For some reason I can’t enter the last bar (too many comments maybe?) so I’m not sure what happened but please accept my condolences Lars.
Ollie, I’ll keep an eye out for a RVW one. Maybe if I sign it myself it’ll do the trick?
Morning All
ABB – That’s an exceptionally magnanimous gesture of which you should be feeling rightly proud I will try to do it justice and send a few lines in to the competition address but others here are better qualified and equipped.
Snir @ #21 – You’re very kind but I do not consider myself even in the same league as others here and away from this bar whose knowledge, passion and dedication to The Arse pales mine into insignificance. I include you in that group. I was very lucky to be born into the ways of Arsenal. It was easy for me to follow in my father’s footsteps as well as being born and bred in N.London (well Middx actually). The best thing I can do is pass my love for our club onto my children.
Heh! Dr.z and nurse abb are ‘fellow stoners’. Who knew? π
heh
And so it seems Sahin has moved from ‘zombie’ to ‘dead’.
Heh Ollie…. he has become a Liverfool π
Just to add my pennies worth, to Snir & all worldwide goonerholics, I was born locally – it was natural to be gooner being raised in Islington – but I do not consider myself a better fan than anyone else. A gooner is a gooner….end of! All of you contributing on this site show fantastic dedication and I am proud to be associated with you supporting our great club.
First of all thanks abb!! Thats wonderful thing to do and I will (even with my limited English skills) try to come up with something witty and funny to send in – and I will include apostrophes too ..as I usually dont do it since I cant be arsed to do so on czech keyboard π
As for the topic of being born in to gooner family or not…only thing I can say is that especially this place over the course of last year and a bit made me feel really like the part of the fandom.
I am not following The Arsenal for that long compared to other regulars in this bar, but it all became much more passionate and special for me once I came visiting here to share the joys and sorrows following of our great Club ultimately brings. As Uply said a gooner is a gooner, no matter from where, how old or what..its all about the pride, passion and love for the game and the Club that brings us all together making our lives bit happier:)
Morning Holic, if you have a mo would you mind popping the FFL email over to me please?
Cheers, BMBD and bring on the knuckle-draggers!
I live in Belfast and started supporting the arsenal around 1977 when I was 6 years old. Sammy nelsons niece was in my class in primary school plus rice, Jennings, Brady, st…….on and that was it. In my p4 school photograph I have my arsenal scarf on as the teachers couldn’t get it off me. I have travelled over for many games and my favourite was Home against Chelsea in December 2007. William Gallas scored and I had him backed at 33-1 to score first. If I remember that game, eboue also wrecked a certain racist chav. 2-0 tomorrow with giroud to score, I think he will be the surprise package of the season.
“Even fans from Wood Green were a bit iffy because that was a little too close to Shite Fart Lane for comfort.”
Tee Hee H2H! Some of us had a hard time at school in Wood Green surrounded by Sperz fans π Didn’t make me wrong though, did it?
Three things:
i) Thank you abb; a wonderful gesture. I’d love to propose an inscription, and would like one that doesn’t stand out too much from those around it, and requires some thought and possibly Goonerholic inside knowledge to understand fully. Does anyone know what sort of things are on neighbouring stones?
ii) Lars; like CoR above, I missed out on the later drinks at the previous bar and cannot now access them. I understand sympathy and good wishes are appropriate, please accept mine.
iii) And finally, Snir@21. You are the last person I would have expected to feel “inferior” to anyone, for any reason. Please cease and desist at once. It doesn’t suit you and it’s completely inappropriate.
As the son of a 1930’s Jewish immigrant, I have no massive family tradition to lead me into Goonerdom. Whilst that might make my love for the club less than that felt by those with such a pedigree, I’ll be damned if I’m going to feel inferior, and I would certainly never admit it. In point of fact I support Arsenal because my big brother did, and no younger brother will need any explanation of what a powerful incentive that is! He chose to support Arsenal because our mum did the pools, and the first coupon he saw was for a week when we had a home game so were top of the list. As he said later, if Arsenal had been playing away, he might have chosen Burnley or (shudder) Blackburn or even worse. If it had been a Cup weekend, we might have grown up as Accrington or Aldershot supporters. On such coincidences…
In fact, we Johnny come latelies could argue a greater love for the Arsenal since we actively chose to support Arsenal (many for better reasons then mine) rather than simply following in a family tradition. I believe that Handel (a naturalised Brit having emigrated from Germany) once rounded on someone who called him a foreigner, with “Sir, you are English by accident of birth. I am English by Act of Parliament!” Not a true parallel but relevant, I think.
Rather than getting involved in a pissing contest (Sorry, is there a clean alternative?) let us just accept that we all come to this club and this bar from different backgrounds, and bring different qualities. Hell, some even bring their wallets!
COYG ICDDR
…and from the Beeb, two new Gooner babies. Congratulations Mo Farah.
More power to you Bodrum, flying the flag behind enemy lines. π
Camberwell, I have sent the invite to your yahoo.co.uk address twice now. Check your spam filter? Forward an alternative address?
Afternoon all. Great post βholic. And abb β what a truly wonderful gift from a truly wonderful Gooner. Your presence in this fine establishment is really all the gift we need young lady, but what a lovely gesture all the same. Thank you.
Lars β very sorry to hear your news. Take care mate.
Cognac β not sure you want your enjoyment of the Arsenal ruined by video evidence of the βholics π Fortunately someone did make a rather evocative short film a couple of years ago, so fortunately you donβt need to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8oGGm13qWo
Gooners of all shapes, sizes, ages, nationalities and backgrounds, in a spectacular stadium we can still stuff to the gunwhales even on cold drizzly Wednesday evening in February. Lovely stuff.
Excelent vid Snowman.
For the record I am a South London Gooner as everyone knows (me and the likes of Camberwell who hasn’t hidden his origin)
In fact my local club is Crystal Palace who will always be dear to my heart.
As everyone is aware Arsenal were born in South London before they moved to the North, but to me Arsenal has always been more a way of life than just support for your local club.
My best friend used to live next door to an ex-Arsenal player (Kevin Campbell), my cousin used to play for Arsenal Juniors and one of my neighbours used to play for Arsenal Ladies.
In the early 90’s our best player at Crystal Palaceat the time was transferred to Arsenal (Ian Wright) and that generation of Arsenal players under the management of George Graham were golden, some of which went on to play for England and Arsene Wenger.
At one point Crystal Palace had then Arsenal Academy youngster Ca$hley on loan before he became…well ca$hley.
I’ve lived all across London throughout my life but my love for Crystal Palace and Arsenal has never changed.
I must admit, I have lived and worked in north London and a north londoners affection for Arsenal is unconditional and slightly more deep rooted than other gooners. But they never for a second acted as though they were inferior to me.
At games (at the grove) which I often attend on my own is always a joyous affair. I am never ‘on my own’ and I meet gooners who have traveled from all across the world and who come from every walk of life, race colour and creed. I have hugged/been hugged by numerous gooners who I have never met before during matches where we have clinched that all important winning goal or have come back from a place where we thought the game would never turn around.
(I will never forget when Arsenal came from two goals down to to beat Bolton and go top of the league. A game which had been postponed due to torrential snow. I and the gooner behind me went from disputing viewing from our seats to hugging like long lost brothers, as the fight back which we inputted as a club that week until the final whistle that night came from within all of us as a force).
But as I say Arsenal has become a way of life and now being a ‘Holic’ has supplemented that lifestyle.
No matter where you are from in the world, you cannot tell a gooner he/she is not a gooner, as he/she will not hesitate to tell you otherwise (and some).
The Neanderthals tomorrow!
We’ll all be watching together as one.
So to all Gooners worldwide I say Victoria, concordia, creset
Sorry I meant *superior to me* above.
Slightly lagging from last night
The countryside, eh? Cah!
Lovely idea and very generous, abb!
And best wishes for your cousin, Lars.
Snowy – what can I say – thats a perfect response to an outlandish request – thanks – I could play that video over and over – in fact I will
Just watched Swansea- Hammers for 2 reasons – the strong Swans representation in my FFL, and to see how Fat Sam was doing – a double pleasure
If Arsene wants to demonstrate how to play for each other, cover a defender going forward, and score goals when the occasion arises, then the Swans are impressive, and Laudrup has only to tweek the side in some small ways to be impressive all round this season
On the other hand, I give Sam 3 weeks at most before he is fired for total incompetence
The Sun and Daily Mail newspapers have printed the following quotes from Arsene Wenger today.
Hopefully this should help put closure on the whole Sahin Saga:
From the Sun:
βIf we wanted to sign Sahin, we would have done it.
βSahin is a quality player but he is not a purely defensive midfielder. We have Jack Wilshere coming back and he is a similar type of player.
βIf someone top-top class turns up, completely defensive, then we will consider it.β
From the Daily Mail:
“I see Sahin more in the attacking department – not in a deep midfield role. And of course, Sahin wants to play. He wants to join a club where he will play [every week]. We have nine midfielders and they all need a chance to play,”
Keep the faith Gooners!
For the record Judas has just scored for the Manc Cunts
Good luck to the bastards!
Fucking Judas.
He’s been gone a while now. Can we concentrate on praising ours rather than pointless abuse for someone who no longer is.
Gone but not forgotten mate
WBA equalise vs LWC’s in added time. π π
Interesting article on ArsenalArsenal ref’d by Blogs today on Prem League pitch sizes.
Looks like it could be bad news for the Munsters π
Keep up the good work AVB. Loving that result.
I have a funny feeling that we’re going to get bullied a bit tomorrow (no shit Sherlock) and the boss will spend next week running around buying in some extra size. Which would be fine by me – we could do with an enforcer or two.
Cannot believe anyone can be too upset re Sahin. With the dust settled, Β£5m and full wages to help develop someone else’s player for a season, and with no buy out clause, is utter madness. The lad is quality, but I’m 100% fine with missing out on that deal, so long as we add at least one defensive midfielder this week. I know not everyone thinks we need it, but I’d rather not take the chance.
snowy@56, that’s wonderful. loved the snow falling and the beautiful green of the pitch, among others. thanks.
https://twitter.com/FelixAFC/status/239390930313031680/photo/1
Something to lighten up the mood π
Hey Trev, I read that article but still dubious that the game will be so different from usual. In fact Delap hardly plays for them anymore and I can’t remember the last time I saw a long throw from Stoke from either him or Shotton.
I think it’ll just be another hard game at the Brittania where we have to run around a lot, keep the ball moving and make sure Huth doesn’t knock Szczesny over at corners π
I’m really excited to see what our boys can do though! This fixture is getting up there with the LWCs and the Mancunts in terms of anticipation for me. Maybe I’m just too bloodthirsty π
I see Eisfeld got once more on the scoresheet, against Blackburn for the Under-21`s this time. I think this is his 5th goal in 7 matches played overall. Mighty prospect? How should I put it? π
Cin-Cin
So sure what I was trying to say there…must be the vodka!
Anyway, how shit is Sp*rs? Hahaha!
AVB Restructuring plan seems to be “Ship out all good players and play all shite players” hahaha
@70: N7, disagree about getting bullied by them lot. We’ve been able to hold our own recently, and I remember times when we were the more aggressive team. The problem was always, we had smurfs and they had tall giants, lol.
Our players are taller and stronger, with the exception of Santi, we also signed more physical players. We’ll be alright for the physical battle.
Whether we create enough is another story I figure….
taller and stronger than before*
CoR
I reckon it will be a good test. Poldi and OG give us some extra size, as does the return of Diaby and the BFG, but it’s not just about size – it’s also about aggression.
Fingers crossed you’re right.
COYG
Chelsea cheats!
This has been stuck at 79 for hours = where is everybody?
Gosh goonerholic, had my heart skip on the ‘getting stoned’ part, in all honesty (and on behalf of all those who shared the moment) my head screamed pass it mate! And Ohh nurse, u have outdone yourself:)
‘Be glad there’s one place in the world where everybody know’s your name, and they’re always glad you came. You want to go where people know, people are all the same. You want to go where everyone knows your name.’ This except is from the lyrics from ‘Cheers’. You know, I once thought the Goonerholic Bar and its cast of wonderful people would make a great movie, and it would. But now I see it as a very long running play, with all the Holics taking the stage just being themselves! And from what I read today, no one would flub their lines…cheers to everyone of you!!!
Evening all,
Schmidt – I can confirm that the U21s look like a really decent team. Miquel, Eisfeld, Mead(e), Aneke, Sanchez-Watt, Akpom all look like prospects.
It’s the first team that bothers me at the moment.
Everton looks to be playing well and beginning the season how they finished last. Newcastle appears the same. They will be hard pressed to improve on last years success. Chelski has hit the ground running. Hate those bastards.
And secret agent AVB is doing a fine job of lowering the standards of yet another PL team. Maybe he could move to old trapford when old red nose is finished.
Let’s punk the potters at hell hole tomorrow and start the season rolling!
ABB, u missed an ‘r’ in excerpt…am someone who would know…God bless the poet too. Cheers
Lol @ I-storey
That Eisfeld reminds me of a younger Fabregas.
Not as innovative, but reads the game like a player beyond his years.
GT@80: Something strange does seem to be happening here today – the hour-and-a-quarter gap between drinks 67 and 68 seems more than a tad unusual while games are being played. D’you suppose the landlord was pissed because of the unkind comments about the former employee? Me neither, to be honest.
N7
I’m with you on that notion
abb@82: There are those who believe that all the world’s a stage and all the men and women merely players. (Bloody Shakepseare, all he did was string together a whole load of tired old quotes… and he’s hailed as a genius. Sheesh.)
I see those fucking chavs have hit the ground running with our discovery (hazard).
Don’t know how Wenger finds them all. Will be interesting to see who he brings in next week.
No doubt the spineless spies will be following our business team up the ass.
Do your thing AW. We wait patiently.
OG @87
Do you mean Fucking Judas?
You can say his name you know π
TS and son – hope you had a great first trip to The Arsenal together.
Snowy @56 – excellent video, thanks for that.
If it adds to the atmosphere of the video at all, in the train home after matches, I often sit next to the “Getchyer Gooner” guy who is in the film, just outside the Arsenal Station.
While I no longer like the publication, I often chat to him, and he is a good genuine Gooner, who toddles off at Potters Bar.
Those cold, dark nights can be pretty uncomfortable at times, but there is a special atmosphere to them that I really enjoy.
Can’t beat watching the snow coming down and wondering if there will still be any trains running by the time you get back to Finsbury Park.
CoR – the pitch won’t change Stoke’s tactics, but it will make it harder for them to close us down and physically intimidate the players with their band of giants.
ABB @ 82
Thank you for being a friend
travel down the road and back again
Your heart is true you’re a pal and a comforter
Well if you threw a party, invited everyone you knew
You would see the greatest gift would be from me
and the card attached would say ‘thank you for being a friend’
Going out to all of the golden girls in the bar tonight. π
Hello Kenya Connection! Hope all is well there. Someday, I hope to go to the Masai Mara, would be a dream come true. And the Emirates, of course (smiling).
Oh Goonertown, Yes another excellent one, could hear the melody, as I read the words. Good job, mate!
Stoke City Football Blub AKA – The Towels.
Rock on!
Oxon @ 89, What would the Bard have made of our Arsenal, plenty of drama for him to work with all the different themes (betrayal, tomfoolery, love, passion…and beer!).
GT @91 –
While I am pretty disgusted by RvP’s behaviour, it seems to me that he did to us, pretty much what Sol Campbell did to the Spuds.
I also remember thinking at the time that the LWC’s handling of the situation was pretty pathetic, waving Judas posters around and spending all of their energy on abusing him, rather than supporting their own.
They, being LWC’s, had not realised that, due to our own coach being damaged and away for repair at the time, Arsenal had actually borrowed Tottenham’s coach to travel into White Hart Lane.
Being the aforementioned LWC’s, they proceeded, out of hatred for Sol, to stone their own coach !!!
Let’s not behave like LWC’s.
Van Persie has gone.
No amount of hate and bile is going to bring him back.
Ignore him. That will probably unnerve him more than the expected abuse would.
We have a new team that needs our support to gain the confidence to make a push for the title.
Don’t bother with van Persie. He doesn’t care what we do anyway.
Oh go on then, lurkers….
Btw, 3 x 14 characters – tough.
Cheers zico !
Yes it is. π
Nice century Trev >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Wahoo, Trev! Zico, your assist was very SKILLFUL!