Once More Unto The Breach, For The Fifteenth Year Running
Sep 17th, 2012 by 'holic
The suspended Arsene Wenger has been talking up Steve Bould in advance of the opening game in our fifteenth consecutive Champions League campaign. The boss isn’t the only absentee, however, so a few words in praise of Vito Mannone are in order as well. All Arsene can do is lay the foundations and rely on his groundworkers to get the job done in Montpellier.
The eighteen man squad is provoking as much comment about who isn’t in it, as who is. The loss of Wojciech Szczesny gives our goalkeeping resources a bit of a threadbare look, and the fact that Andrey Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh have not needed their passports has also attracted interest. The latter was hardly likely to get a look in with Olivier Giroud returning to the club with whom he won Ligue 1 last season. Arshavin finds himself without a portfolio because of the immediate impact made by Lukas Podolski.
There is talk of a number of changes being made against a side who have struggled to recapture their form of last season. I am not sure they will be as wholesale as some are suggesting. We don’t go to City until Sunday so there is good recovery time available before then. At the back one could make a case for Laurent Koscielny coming in to face players he will be familiar with. The boss may decide to stick with the four behind whom Mannone has already kept blank sheets at Stoke and Liverpool.
Although Abou Diaby has travelled I would be surprised if he wasn’t kept wrapped up on the bench, so crucial will his personal battle with Yaya Toure be at the weekend. Aaron Ramsey impressed in his cameo on Saturday, but again the player he would most likely replace, Francis Coquelin, knows well some of tomorrow nights opponents having spent a season on loan at Lorient in 2010/11.
Up front this may be the opportunity to recall Giroud in familiar surroundings. He is well used to hitting the target in the Stade de la Mosson and must be chomping at the bit to silence those who are surely being far too premature with talk of him experiencing a drought after just two Premier League starts.
The French champions are discovering how hard it is to retain a title, losing to Lorient, Marseille, and Stade de Reims in their opening five fixtures. Their only win thus far coming at joint-bottom Sochaux. Coach RenΓ© Girard views his sides prospects realistically.
“We have to be aware of the difficulties we have had, but it’s not by crying but by working that we’ll get out of trouble. Many people are wondering how many goals we’re going to concede, but events on the pitch will tell.”
Am I alone in wondering if the game is being made to look a lot easier on paper than it will actually be? That they won their national championship last season was no fluke. They are missing Giroud’s goals, it is true, but with home advantage they may be encouraged to produce the sort of performance that made them so formidable just a few short months ago.
I will have to punt the ‘holic pound on the away win in the belief that a side defending well from front to back, and inspired by the developing relationship between Mikel Arteta, Santi Cazorla, and Podolski, will be able to maintain the current purple patch. The scoreline could be anything, but I am attracted to 1-3. I’ll even have a punt on Giroud to score if he is in the starting line-up, so I’ll be checking Twitter for the starting eleven an hour before kick-off.
Let’s hope our optimism isn’t misplaced for the sake of those already sampling the French hospitality, and the others who depart tomorrow. Have a great evening you travelling Gooners. I’m very jealous. It will be Sky Sports 2 for me.
And good luck Stevie Bould.
311 Responses to “Once More Unto The Breach, For The Fifteenth Year Running”
Vito’s got Standard in his heart.
He’ll be good.
Let’s sopranos the french boys.
Boom!
Oh… Well done SSY π³
Trev, last post on previous: heh, good puns!
You’re never dry.
Cheers, ‘holic.
Montpellier have really struggled so far this season, but apart from Giroud, they’ve lost nobody (Utaka is injured though).
Pretty sure they will put up a good fight and it will indeed, be a lot harder than ‘people’ say.
It’s their one and most probably only season in the Champions league after all, and they’ll want to shine.
can’t wait for this one, ‘holic. nicely preambled, i am thinking it’s going to be a tough one. 2-0 to us would do me happily, though i hope you get your punt into the water for a good row.
This is looking like victimisation Ollie.
Arteta and Cazorla starting for sure.
I see Walcott or Gervais for Ox, he looked tired at the end of the last game. Koscielny for Mert, maybe Santos for Gibbs.
Haven’t seen any of Montpelier this season, but they had some dangerous fast players last year in Belhanda and Cabella.
I would love Giroud to score.
This Mirallas fella is a decent signing for Everton. Not surprised that Arsene wanted him this summer.
“Am I alone in wondering if the game is being made to look a lot easier on paper than it will actually be?”
You are not. Pretty much was said last year as well about Marseille, so I am expectiong more of the same. And like Ollie says, they’ll be very much up for it and will have nothing to lose so they’ll probably just go for it and work their socks off.
We’re on the roll and the away win at the beginning of the campaign will be massive.
0 – 1 or 1- 4…. Montpellier will decide which one, not us.
Probably our toughest game in the group stages. I will be happy with a draw.
I was so tempted to travel to this one. Hopefully another european trip later in the campaign. Enjoy you travelling Gunners.
So. Let me get this right oh mystic ‘Holic. You are predicting us to score 15 tomorrow?
It’s in your title after all.
I sink zer will be a lot of French resistance.
I will say zis only wance ! π
Good moaning, Trovv! I was jost pissing boo ootsidd your coffee…
I am eggspitting a bottle tomorrow nit ! π
Lots of shits must goo in the nut of the fronch kipper!
Oh dear π
Lits hoop we huff a winderfool riforoo !
@18 – π
Your optimism does you credit Holic. I am more cautious and will be delighted with a classic 1-0 to the Arsenal, preferably scored by Olivier Giroud. Ideal opportunity for him to break his duck for the Arsenal. I wish all travelling Gooners a safe trip. I am green with envy. Really fancied this one. COYRs.
(in the background we can hear Ollie say “oh no, it’s the idiots who think they can speak French!”)
I ll be confident and go with 2-0 for Arsenal, Santi and OG on the scoresheet or OG with the brace but I dont think its going to be an easy match, actually might prove more trickier than expected, but still..on our current form I cant see us losing this one..
Holic, it will be a bit harder but we should be too much for them. I’d also go with a clean sheet as they’re struggling for goals, added to it by Utaka’s injury.
I say it’ll be 2-0 or 3-0.
Lars @ previous post – AW is suspended for telling Skomina (the ref for the home game against AC Milan) how much of a cunt he is.
Holic and company, Evening. Our first real test. I’m optimistic though. Holic, you raise some interesting questions re the lineup. Think Kos, Coq and Giroud, will get the nod, for the reasons you stated. Expect a cameo from Santos. Have a good one, everybody.
Five nil. Easy peasy.
Some interesting thoughts Holic. I must say that the thought of playing Vito in goal does not massively inspire me. He has done okay so far this season when been called upon but I do not remember him being massively tested. I am sure that I am not the only one who winces when you see balls played into the box? Like many on here I would have liked an experienced back up keeper brought in. I just hope that it does not come back to bite us.
The rest is a bit up on the air for me. I think there may well be a few changes. I am sure that Bouldy will marshal those in his command effectively whatever team he is told is playing.
I think if you underestimate any team in the Champions League then you do so at your peril. We need to the thorough and professional in all that we do to ensure the 3 points.
Onwards and upwards. Keep the faith.
Must admit that after the last two showings I’m pretty confident about tomorrow, if the team keeps it shape and maintains it’s defend as a team ethos then I see no problem with Vito deputising inbetween the sticks, afterall, he is still unbeaten this season.
I don’t think it is imperative that we beat Montpellier.
What is imperative is that we don’t lose.
You don’t want to be behind the 8 Ball after the first game.
So i will be quite happy with a point.
I am supremely confident we can will all our home games,so a win away from home in any of the 3 games will be a bonus.
In the past we have only sporadically showed our true form away from home in the CL,so it will be interesting to see what influence the new boys have in this fixture.
I don’t think AW will be silly enough to make too many changes,you only have to look at the arrogance with which Fergie treated Utd’s group opponents last season,to know what can happen if you take the opposition too lightly.
So i am expecting a tight game with very few goals.
I am also confident young Vito will be okay in goal,he is a much more mature keeper now,and like other players before him who have gone out on loan,he has come back a better player than when he left.
In fact i would have kept him in goal for the Southampton game just to let the Gobby Pole know he has a real challenger for the position.
Cheers
The sweeper.
Thirty was such a nice number for me but thinking about it it was also the start of a slippery slope that has gathered pace as the years have gone by … Now to read the new post ..
π
Thierry is still at it. wonder goal from a corner
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiNW5Ctu66c&feature=player_embedded#!
Clive you bum you stole my thirty π
H2H,
mate,i was only kidding about the 5yrs,my brain is no better than yours at our time of life.!!
As to the actual cost to get in,that all went over my head.
The Old Fella handed over the silver coin,i just enjoyed the day.
Holic, I had completely forgotten that Arsene is suspended from an incident from last year. Mr. Bould will do well in Arsene’s absence. Thank you for the entertaining write-up.
Thanks Clive sir, I used to get money from my mum for the game and squezed it so tight on the way to Highbury that it almost evaporated, sometimes I got too hand it over at the turnstile, sometimes I didn’t. The Arsenal still got their hands on it because any coin that was over was duly spent at Mr Kelsey’s.
I believe we have an age difference as my first game as a young lad was in the 70’s, any fuzzy memory on my part would be due to other factors. π
A strong gust blows the doors of the bars open, gaining strength as it breaches further in. Trev places his half pint down on the table for fortification. A certain Catalan stops mid-prescription. A True Storey is paused halfway through its telling, even Dr Feelgood stops addressing the various board members of the Happy Train. GoonerTerry drops his finest Californian in surprise, GoonerTown is speechless. scruzgooner & lurky oliva cease their lurking techniques comparison, Lonestar, CoR, bt8b & an unfamiliar North Californian of some sort talk in hushed tones in a corner. Eandy & arsabeatbarca stop their spirited conversation in surprise as FunGunner rubs her eyes to make sure she is seeing correctly. Snir takes a look up from Twitter & smirks with a knowing grin. TaBS stops dancing on the tables with a smile & a “Grasshopper…” under his breath. Steve T in shock starts talking about narrowness, BathGooner says “I may need a shower.” With a smile to Ollie, H2H & BtM he advances towards the bar and after a curt nod & greeting to the sight for sore eyes Sweeper sitting with a glass of OJ on the Bar, he says to the Barman: “I’ll have a Lemona-, no, make that a Pint of Strongbow. On Lars’ Tab of course.” Wind has returned from his month & a week long back-drinking expedition, extremely thirsty but more wise for the experience π
We myt play a goaless as the players wont wanna exert 2much on themselves. I wont complain…i wuld love 3points plus a giroud brace tho. COME ON YOU ‘HOLICS.
Wecome back cool breeze, we were afraid you’d drowned on an excess of back drinking. π
Haha thanks H2H, it was close & when I had to scale the 1.1k+ drinks peaks (transfer deadline day & I think Champions League Group Stage Draw) I felt like admitting defeat but I persevered on my journey to read nearly all of the drinks if not all since I became a ‘Holic & I succeeded π
A very late ‘Good Evening’ Sweeper.
The summer Wind, came blowin’ in – from across the sea ……
Does this mean that I will be able to save 2 hours of back-drinking each day, by just reading the “Wind’s Digest” version instead ? π
Cheers Wind.
You must have a very Sturdy Constitution to survive such a quest.
I’d buy you a drink but fear one more may destroy such hard work!
And guess who sighs his lullabies – through nights that never end,
My fickle friend, the summer Wind.
Two things I have to say.
I’ve heard a lot of people say that the influence is Bould is overstated as we haven’t been truly tested. True, but the influence is massive, absolutely massive. One only has to look at the average positions we take up after losing the ball to see that we are defending a lot deeper than in previous seasons, which is certainly something a bit more old-fashioned as opposed to the pressing high up the pitch with a high line.
Second, Gary Neville is slowly becoming my favorite person to listen to, in the whole of football (bar AW). I find myself waiting for MNF just to listen to his analysis on the weekend’s fixtures…
Have a look here – https://hotfile.com/dl/172578062/ac94c78/Pre_Match_-_EPL_-_Everton_v._Newcastle_-_17-09-12.avi.html
Yep, agreed Snir, I think !
Can’t be certain that it’s down to Bouldy, but we retain our shape much better now, are quicker to press the opposition, and opposition midfielders no longer have the freedom of the pitch in front of our back four.
It is very obvious how much more communication is going on in our back four, and the Big F*cking German is constantly organising.
I feel really sorry for Koscielny who showed a great attitude in extending his contract and, despite being our best defender last season, finds himself out of the starting line-up.
Competition is what our squad has lacked though and, at that level, it’s what we need.
Trev @ 41/43, you mean sort you, singing songs I wouldn’t know the lyrics to because of my youth :p
NorCal @ 42, haha make it an apple juice or something π
On the matter of back-drinking, if I was away for a month/5 weeks & Holic’s posts average about 300 drinks or so & he churns about 18 a month from his bonce, back-drinking 5.400 is do-able for me, just took time evidently, but summarising that many drinks just seemed illogical to me (Snir said over Twitter during my Back-drinking that reading every drink is illogical :lol:) since the subject matter would of been forgotten to the majority so I decided not to, I think I’ll do a midday drink on all the topics I missed and can remember from the drinks, there were some pearlers I’ll tell you that! π
Wind, I know them in spite of my youth. π
Look it up, Frank Sinatra, The Summer Wind – great song.
French hospitality? The travelling Gooners must take full advantage, including but not limited to this:
http://www.ot-montpellier.fr/_objets/imgbk/annuaire/l-ambassador-extrait-1266593824-4162.jpg
Trev – Not only do we retain our shape a lot better, but our starting positions without the ball are a lot deeper than usual, which forces the opposition to rely on crosses, and we have CBs who are excellent in the air, along with a very commanding GK in Woj (despite that error at the weekend, he is excellent coming for crosses).
Trev and Snir,
I have to also say that our wings are tracking back and defending better. Poldi, AOC and Arteta are tracking guys all over, even deep in the corners. Our BFG also reads the game well and organizes coverage better. He is not the most fleet of foot so he sits and watches the game in front of him. He is a free safety( to steal from American football). Kos and Verm both track and tackle hard like a strong safety,to continue the analogy. I would also say that Gibbs is playing with more confidence and it shows in his game and his leadership.
Even Cazorla is not afraid to track back and win the ball,and that is something we don’t always have in that position, I’m looking at you Cesc and Na$ri.
Not sure about the scoreline but my day-old-sushi tells me we should be fine. 2-0 for the cannon-bearers. I too will also be surprised if Diaby starts but will be expecting to see Theo start.
I can’t wait to hear the CL anthem though. Gives me goose-bumps!
Young Hurricane: “GoonerTerry drops his finest Californian in surprise, GoonerTown is speechless?”…. really? I can’t ever see me dropping my spliff for anything and the day GoonerTown is speechless is the day Sajit stops being Bi-polar ..
π
Most of the important things in this earth exists in twos GoonerTerry π
“It [Giroudβs return] doesnβt really mean much to me. I saw that he scored six goals at the weekend. Oh, it wasnβt him? He must have scored at least two or three, no?” –Montpellierβs president, Louis Nicollin
—
Hopefully this fires him up
GT, surely you must drop a finished spliff for another piece of chronic though? π
I knew you were in the corner somewhere Sajit – wassup mate. Just teasing you mate..
π
CoR: I always carefully “place” my spliff on the window sill if I ever have to put it down..
π
GT,
That’s why it spilled. Wind blew it off the windowsill!
Sajit, I also came across this little message for Giroud from his former teammate at Montpellier:
“For him, it would be great to shine in front of his former fans. But I already told him that, unfortunately, he would not score tomorrow,” Yanga-Mbiwa said.
Sooo, a brace for Giroud the Wanderer then? 8)
Get in there Ollie and silence the critics!
Champions League football for the 15th year running, and it’s not something somebody gave us out of the kindness of their heart. Since 1997 this is where we finished in the table: 3, 1, 2, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 4, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3. I have a feeling we can improve on that average this year.
It’s so much fun listening to a journo who looks objectively at the squad we’ve got and analyzes our credentials fairly.
Steve Stammers, on Fans’ Forum with Tom Watt.
http://media.arsenal.com/assets/_files/audio//sep_12/gun__1347913213_Fans_Forum_Podcast_170912.mp3
NorCal: Heh and with that smile on my face I go off to squeeze in besides Mrs GT – hope she doesn’t wake up cause I am knackered .. See you reprobates after the game tomorrow then…
π
Stupid work filters. I so wish I could watch all the videos/links Snir posts on here. By the time I get back home, I would have completely forgotten
..and I like Gary Neville as a pundit. There, I said it
Morning all.
What’s all this “Montpellier our first real test” stuff? Have things got so bad up in Souseland that a trip to Anfield (with a team in crisis that doesn’t know where the next goal is coming from since some Dutch bloke left) is a gimme? I think not!
No idea what the score will be, but I’ll take an Arsenal win by any margin.
COYG ICDDR
I’m really hoping that Giroud scores against his ex-club tonight. But if he doesn’t, I’m singing this song until the City game:
To the tune of Hero by Nickelback
I am so glad, that we made signings
I am so glad, they hit the ground running
Whoa, but Giroud, yes, Giroud canβt score yet
And they say that a Giroud could save us
I’m not gonna stand here and wait
I’ll hold on to the wings of Podolski
Watch as we all fly away
If he does score, we need to be singing this song to the tune of The Roof is on Fire by Rock Master Scott and the Dynamic Three:
Giroud, Giroud,
Giroud is on fire!
We donβt need no Dutchman
Let the mother****** burn!
Time to head for South Belgium shortly.
Well, Gare de Lyon first.
Have a good one Ollie.
I heard Belgium is magical…
Morning one and all.
I agree re the influence of Stevie Bould but it does leave you to ask the question, why on earth were his skills not utilised earlier? He has been at the club for years now. Surely someone should have got him working with the first team some seasons back, despite his role with the reserves? We defend far better as a unit now that we have done for many a year.
I agree re GN on Sky. Never thought I would say it either.
Steve – I’ve thought about that for quite a while now.
After hours of thinking, I can say that in my opinion, AW really respected Pat Rice’s abilities.
Let’s not forget (it’s so easily forgotten, especially last season when everyone was clamoring for a defensive coach), that Pat Rice was a defender himself and he knows a thing or two about defending.
I assume that AW had full belief in Pat Rice’s methods.
I believe he has the same belief in Bouldie now.
Ah, the return of the CL and not a spud in sight to stink the place up! The right teams are in their rightful places so come on you reds, and a brace from the OG tonight please.
UTA!
Twinings lemon and ginger teas all round (come on you lot, it’s good for your digestion).
The board probably figured that Pat Rice had spent enough years at the club so he could decide when he wanted to call time on his career…
I also think the coaching objectives were just simply different before.
Our focus was primarily on attack and intricate approach play and coaches at all levels seemed to have the same mandate to coach the same thing. If you think about it, even Steve Bould’s youth teams were leaky at the back (just like the first team) as they too focused on developing attacking attributes and skills.
Now that we have different players we’ve consciously changed to a more compact, defensive style of play so we can counter with pace and power.
I noticed that we did start getting solid on set plays, our old Achilles heel, from last season. Despite conceding 49 goals, whenever we gave up a free-kick last season I didn’t automatically shit my pants…
CG….a few pints of real ale followed by a Ruby Murray sorts my digestion out no problems π
SNIR / Steve T……also agree about Neville G……he comes across as impartial and (for a footballer) reasonably eloquent.
No doubt Montpellier will be up for tonight’s game…we need to quell their fire and then take over the game. Methinks a narrow win for the boys in red & white.
Clive / H2H, my fuzzled brain recalls paying 4s6d through the turnstiles in the late 50s / early 60s. Used to walk along to the turnstiles about 2.45 pm (always and only 3pm kick off Saturday’s on a weekend game) with a queue rarely more than 10 people and squeeze through….they appeared to work haphazardly – we all knew why. Reading your comments it really seems like I really am the old git in the bar π
Fifteen years, eh ‘Holic? Would it be fair to say that this time, it’s personal?
South Belgium, eh Ollie? On you way home young man? π
*your* π³
Steve T, Snir
From what I can observe, Stevie B is a very different kind of ‘animal’ to Pat Rice and that is said with the utmost respect for both.
I have a feeling that in Stevie B, we also have our natural successor to Arsene as and when he decides to move on. Just a feeling…
Of course, with Bouldie’s new elevated status in life and The Arsenal, it’s unlikely that I’ll be bumping into him again outside my local Waitrose. Ah well, you can’t have everything.
In Bouldie, I trust.
Am I too late? Have I missed last orders?
I’ve had a real penchant for cider, lately. Any Bulmers or Strongbow floating about, I’ll have some of that.
I’ve also developed quite the taste for clean-sheets. One of those too, please.
Uplympian
less of the ‘ Old Git ‘
I prefer us to be referred to as ‘ Elder Statesmen ‘
I am going to test your memory again,
Do you remember a game in the early sixties,might have been 62/63.
It was against Bolton at Highbury.
They were a very good side in those days,and had a top class goalkeeper in Eddie Hopkinson.Not sure if big Jack McClelland was still in goal for us or not.
All i remember is it was an absolute thriller.
I think Hoppy saved a penalty late on,and i think big Al Skirton,and that useless Scottish lump Ian Ure [ sorry Zico ] were among our scorers.it was either 5-4 to us or 4-3.
For some reason that game has stuck in my memory.
Probably because the whole stadium seemed to shake when Big Al went thundering down the right wing.!!
Cheers
The Sweeper
we will surely win….
Clive
Ian Ure wasn’t that useless surely – didn’t he and Terry Neill partner up on that football quiz show on tv in the 70’s (?) which, as I recall, the Arse used to win regularly?
Look at what the WIND dragged in, awsome post man. I knew it was u soon as the bar door swang right open n saw no one come in.
Noosa Gooner
that was probably the only thing he was good at.
I rank him alongside Jeff Blockley as 2 of the most incompetent central defenders of the 60’s/70’s that ever wore the shirt.
Quizzball. We were unbeatable π
Have a great night with all of those other Gooners in southern Belgique, Ollie.
Going back to our previous defensive woes, surely there was a place for both of them?
The defensive improvement for me is also down to our shape. I was critical of Song last season and got a certain amount of stick for those views. I just felt with Song that he had a tendency to go walkabout. That often left gaps that others exploited. I agree that poldi on the left has been a massive bonus. Not only is he a true international class forward but his work ethic and commitment are both fantastic. We play a lot more as a unit now and I think that can only be good for the future.
Ahhhh Quizball. There was a football quiz prog. Answer one, two, three or four questions in a row (varying difficulties) to score a goal. Get one wrong and possession passes over.
As I recall the mghty Arsenal were actually capable of scoring early and then going for route 4 (i.e. four easy questions) to waste time and defend the lead. If they were behind late on, they used to go for route 1 (i.e. 1 very hard question).
Who was the original host? Was it David Vine? I recall he was replaced by the odious Stuart Hall whose main contribution was to scream “Oooooh, tactics!?” whenever a team went for anything other than route 4 – you can’t expect someone connected with a football team actually to know anything, can you? He managed to kill the programme stone dead after only one or two series.
Can anyone remember who made up the team? Four man teams, I think. I can remember Terry Neill and Ian Manure/Urine plus two others, I think one was the manager – Mee at the time? – but can’t remember who the fourth was.
Sigh…
COYG ICDDR
We are Goonners ready to take our win!
Clive / Noosa. Have to agree, he wasn’t called Ian Urinal for nothing. He was as much use as a 1 legged man in arse kicking contest. Shipping him off to Manure was one of the rare “success” in transfers to them. However, they did eventually get their revenge with Mikael Sylvestre π
Can’t recall the game with Bolton but I do have “fond” memories of Alan Skirton. He was a large lump who played on the wing – probably a poor mans Niklas Bendtner but without the ego. He was one of our mega signings of that era….Β£5000 fom Bath City I think.
I’ve checked the game result you mention on a web site – the score was actually 4-3 with “skirts” getting a brace. The keeper was Ian Mckechnie who hailed from north of the border…nuff said.
Clive, Elder Statesmen of this Parish seems the right description π
Oxon…Ian Urinal may have had the correct tag as a footballer, but I think he had a good education – maybe even uni – and was good at quiz ball. When we won it, we went out and got pissed celebrating – it was the only thing The Arse had won during our early years of support – we were miles away from winning anything footballistically π
Noosa….presume you are living in Noosa or thereabouts. If so, you lucky man. Stayed in Noosaville during a trip to Oz 2 yrs ago …it was our favourite spot. A really beautiful area.
And it’s Olivier Giroud.. put through by Steve Bould, would you believe it?…
Very good Uncle.
You up and running again, Jamm? Good stuff.
Fancy-pants flick with the outside of the boot to his onrushing team-mate…
Uplympian
Having been born in the City Of London Maternity Hospital which originally stood in Hanley Road Islington N4,i think i can call myself an Elder Statesman of the Parish.
81 @ Kenyan connection it is good to see someone from where I am.
88. @Uplympian what? You mean even back in the days The Arsenal had lean periods? π
I am still on a high from Saturday’s game and going with that confidence into today’s game I am gunning for a 2-0 win.
Uply,
We’re in Noosaville, about a five minute walk from the river or a ten minute drive to the ocean beaches or National Park. It is beautiful and a lot different to Kilburn which is where I’m originally from – the beer’s a bit colder too.
No more Brian Woolnough on Sunday Supplement. Died of bowel cancer today. Not my favourite journalist by any means, but he was good at getting people going on the Supplement.
Re: Snir @60. Good link even though i was only able to listen to the first half of the 80 minute show.
Afternoon all.
A bit of trouble in paradise. There’s a break in the cable outside my gaff, which means I can only get an anologue signal here in the bar, the incoming signal is not strong enough to be able to put a digital box on it, meaning I can only see the game in my private area behind. But tonight is going to be busy in the bar so I’ll have to go into full media lock down just before the game, record it and watch it as live later. Which will be pretty difficult as there will be punters in who will want to watch the Ajax Dortmod game.
It’s a hard knock life. π
Pops up with a defence splitting through ball…
The Sweeper…lived behind the CoL Maternity hospital for many years. Myself along with the Guvnor born at St Mary’s (Whittington).
First Lady…things were so lean, even a fox would pass us by π
Noosa….stayed at the Sun Motel in Noosaville. Nice people running it. Is there a big Woolies supermarket around the corner?
Cheers H2H, a goal made and finished in Islington π
Bad news about the cable break, just have to console yourself with bevi
or 3.
H2H,
Your “private area behind” is of no interest to me. Whatsoever. π
http://www.storiesofhollowayroad.com/born-and-bred
For you old Whittingtonians and neighbours.
Cheers Uply, well in.
Heh Trev, the moment I clicked on the submit button I knew that one would be jumped on.
Thankfully it was you and not Wolfie. π
Cheers Andy Goram.
H2H Wolfie’s still salivating over ” it’s a hard knock life” π
Heh.
Great preview Holic.
I am with you in that I would be surprised if Diaby starts tonight. Arsene may yet surprise us with his inclusion, but I would have thought that it is still too early in his recovery for him to be playing 2 games in a week, and like you, would prefer him to be kept in reserve for City at the weekend.
If Diaby doesn’t play, it will be interesting to see if Arsene continues to show his displeasure in regard to Coquelin making public his unreasonable desire to play, by again pitching him straight into the first team. That should teach him not to say anything in public ever ever ever again. This is the sort of hardline disciplinary measure that I have come to expect from Arsene, and one can only hope that this sort of no nonsense approach has taught Coquelin a lesson.
If however Arsene decides that Coquelin has been punished enough, I too would turn to the more forward looking Ramsey, who must have considered himself a little unlucky to have not made the 11 on Saturday. He has looked very good in all his substitute appearances thus far and clearly he would have played but for Coquelin’s punishment. It’s a tricky situation for Aaron. If he doesn’t start tonight, does he go public in his desire to play? And if he does, is he prepared to risk the full wrath of Arsene, who may very well react to such an outrage by pitching him straight in at City? Interesting times.
As for the rest, I don’t see too many changes. Maybe Kos, and at a push Giroud for the Ox.
Happy with any kind of win tonight, and as Clive says, even a draw wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.
Wind – welcome back, and congratulations on your backdrink Grasshopper! π
Snir – Awesome vid you posted in the last set of drinks, cheers mate.
Great memories today from the “Elder Statesmen of the Parish”. Clive, we were born in the same maternity Hospital.
Did someone mention Quizball?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkYidVVOHos
Nice site Mr Goram, brought back memories.
Hehs at Up, Trev, and H2H. π
tabs@108: chalk up another vote here for “rest Diaby for Sunday”. After thinking about it for a while I don’t think we’ll see much change at all from Saturday except for Mannone. I think we might even see the exact same ten outfield players start, with the same three players being subbed on for the same three players as on Saturday.
Tabs,
I would imagine the only reason that Ramsey didn’t make the starting 11 on Saturday, was that he hadn’t complained in the press beforehand, about not playing enough.
There are lessons to be learned there.
Mannone for Woj and Giroud for the Ox. Only changes from Saturday. I am of one mind about this.
TaBs and Lars in the house, those two words together conjure up thoughts of a giant wallet, I wonder why?
Heh @ Andy Goram
I am back to blogging, it’s true. Have a look around when you have a free moment. I could try and pretend to be classy and resist asking for the occasional shout out, but that would not be true to the dark scoundrel within me.
Cannot WAIT for the game now, and will be enjoying it with champagne…
A close friend of mine has just been rescued, alive and well, after being lost on a Swiss mountain since Saturday morning. Just had to share that with the bar because the sense of relief I’m feeling is indescribable.
Happy days!!!
Great news, Camberwell G. I love the fact these things can be shared on this board.
Good news Camberwell, worth celebrating.
Heh! @ pun-tastic Trev @ #102.
H2H – Try sticking the rough end of your cable into a different box? π³
Good news indeed Cam’
TS, oo-er.
Camberwell, Good news! Enjoy the champagne. π
Morning All,
Game day. Love it. Got my Arsenal Training jersey on under my scrubs. Won’t get to see the game live but will be able to sneak peaks online.
Let’s make some french women scream and some French men cry.
I’ll stick with my OG brace, this time I hope Olivier is on the pitch for it!
Let’s go boys, get the CL started off right!
Great news Camberwell.
Lars,
Certainly tricky. As Holic says, Kos could do with a game, but do you disturb a back four that is functioning well?
It will be interesting to see how Arsene plays it.
Trev,
Lessons indeed. π
Of course we can only speculate. Others have a hotline to Arsene and deal only in facts. π
One of these Andy Goram cunts is very definitely ITK. Trust him π
Just had some afternoon kip, now for some dinner and then off to the pub and that’s my Tuesday afternoon/night sorted! Won’t be very heavy at all on the beer though (in fact I might not drink beer at all), have a meeting tomorrow at 9 that requires my head to be as clear as possible. Don’t people check the Arsenal fixture list before planning these things???
Happy to hear about you mate being safe, Camberwell!
H2H@114: heh!
tabs: must admit to temporarily forgetting about Kos, he’s definitely a candidate for being subbed on early-ish if we’re two or three goals up. Don’t think he’ll start unless any of BFG/Verm has a knock. I think Arsene wants the back four to be as undisturbed as possible at the moment to create an understanding which makes rotation easier later on.
Kenyan @ 81, thanks mate I’d been reading yours & NorCal’s drinks with interest as I back-drunk as they started appearing frequently enough compared to the regulars that I’ve known for the last year on here, good opiniated stuff π
Tabs @ 108, thanks mate, good to be back, I’ve actually missed you lot over the last month believe it or not :p That’s why I put so much effort into my prose @ 37 instead of a Trev-like pun haha(everyone give it a read if you missed it, I thought it was rather good myself 8) )
Camberwell @ 116, excellent news that I’m very happy to hear, I’m sure the game will be as bubbly as the Champagne you’re celebrating with (sorry I missed you out in the aforementioned prose as a regular, don’t remember seeing your name much in the bar over the last few weeks I’ve been away & my mind was scrambled thanks to tiredness and drinking through 3 posts in a row in giddyness when I realised how close I was to catching up :D)
Oh, and I did also forget to welcome young Wind back from the longest back-drink in history π
TS @118 – π
I tried that once. My router didn’t know if it was coming or going ! π
Nice preview, ‘Holic, and great point about not risking Abou Diaby with Man City coming up – hope Arsene only brings him on in the second half to give him some game time.
But when referees in games sanctioned by the FFF Michel Platini are often as important for Arsenal as the team line-up, I think the question needing to be asked before Arsenal’s UEFA games is whether there has been any contact between FFF Platini/UEFA monkeys and the referee beforehand. I know that we usually have to worry more about the referees in the knock-out stages, but a few unnecessary cards tonight could have serious knock-on effects. Remember that tonight’s referee, Carlos Velasco Carballo, was the disastrous referee for the Poland-Greece Euro 2012 opener. I’d really like to know why he is still refereeing for UEFA, just like I’d really like to know why FFF Platini’s friend Blatter made Massimo Busacca head of the FIFA refereeing department a few months after he ludicrously carded and sent off a former Arsenal striker in Barcelona?
Cheers for the congrats all, for his birthday he’s going to get a GPS transponder and a MASSIVE kick up the arse.
And speaking of which…UTA!
Very sad news about Brian Woolnough.
Not always pro-Arsenal in his comments but generally fair (and a supporter of the Wenger project).
I thought he did a great job chairing Sunday Supplement and transformed it from the pedestrian programme dominated by an ageing Jimmy Hill who at least had the idea for it (along with ‘Good Old Arsenal…’, to his credit).
A young man. Sad news.
I’ll toast his memory with a glass of Fix and toast Holic’s prediction of a famous victory for the Gunners tonight to send Wooly off across the River Styx.
Ya mas.
Devastated by news that due to changes in TV rights, I won’t be able to see a CL game here in Indonesia from my current cable network.
Does anyone here know a working live stream for the Montpellier game, or where I can find one? Google had me at countless ‘fake’ sites already.
Many thanks in advance. Three nil to the Arsenal!
You can always try;
http://www.thefirstrow.eu/
Used to work really well when it was Firstrowsports. Good luck.
Just a word on Theo.
Wenger said that his playing time would depend on his contract situation.
For once Im totally with Arsene on this. I think he (and us) want to avoid another Flamini situation where the player played for a fat contract and finally left for the biggest payday.
So unless Walcott signs he is going to rot on the bench. Its perfectly fine by me.
I would love for him to sign for us. But if he thinks he can find a better club and a better developer of talent than Arsene — good luck to him.
Not a single fuck will be given.
Derrick
Try this one. I have alwayd found it reliable:
http://www.hqfutbol.eu/
Thanks bathgooner, will definitely give it a try. Cheers
And another glass for H2H, appreciate it.
Thanks Lars @ 126 π Children will listen wide-eyed when the epic tale is told and re-told down the generations π
Epic tale or long-Winded read? π
Speaking of backdrinking, did some catching up yesterday and I only just came across TABS’ piece about Hillsborough (posted under ‘Holic’s ‘It’s Charidee’ post). What a brilliant post, TABS, both heartrending and making one’s blood boil, and it makes a mockery of the Thatcher government’s contemptuous caricature of football supporters.
The even more chilling thing about this revelation of police and establishment conspiracy on a giant and longterm scale is the inevitable observation that if they were prepared to make up and doctor statements in such a high profile event, the culture was there to do it willy-nilly to fit up whomsoever they wished for anything they wanted to.
Dixon of Dock Green will be rolling in his grave.
@wind, how could i not notice a literature elite that shows up after a stint in the cold, i want a piece about that by the way…BTM and Zicoinexile have been showing off in your absence.
As for Norcal, he’s a special kind of doctor i hear…;)
I usually look for streams on wiziwig.tv, and also usually find good ones. I can really recommend bloodzeed sopcast streams when he is airing, the quality is supreme and signal strenght likewise. But other sopcasts are usually also pretty okay as long as they are above 1k kbps.
As for tonights starting line up, I can see same midfield trio starting like against southampton with Abou going in in second half for Coq and Aaron for Santi to give him a breather before City. Depends on how the match is going to unfold of course but I would really love to see Santi getting some rest to prevent his overplayment.
Kenyan,
I’m special, all right.
And I have never had my credentials scrutinized as much as here in this bar. ;).
It’s amazing what kind of degree you can get with a few correspondant courses and some extra “fees”, if you catch my drift.
The Scene : D L Ltd – Operations Room
Doctor Feelgood and Professor Storey are chatting, as animated as they have been in a long time. Β Feelgood is in ebullient spirits. Β Everywhere he looks there are visible signs of contentment. Β Surplus bubble-wrap suits discarded in a corner, sold out signs across the ticket office windows, the Happy Train is in full pelt, piggy-backing on the tracks of the Eurostar, toward France.
Dr Feelgood : “So Edwin, bums on every seat. Β Just like old times….”
Edwin : “Sure is Dr F. Β I have had to turn the punters away. Β We are as full as a Scandinavian wallet, there’s not a blot on the landscape – all as it should be on a European night.”
Feelgood : Brazil is not in Europe, Edwin, keep up….”
Edwin : “Eh?”
Feelgood : “Well where do YOU think Mount Pele is?Β
to be continued……
π
I see people are struggling for streams?
Thefirstrow.eu is the same as firstrowsports.eu
Lshunter.tv
Rojadirecta.me
Sopcast channel 132927 is bloodzeed, who broadcasts every game that is playing on Sky. HD too.
These should always work, if not let me know, I’ll find something for you.
Vito, jenks, BFG, TV, Gibbs, Diaby, Cazorla, Arteta, Podolski, Giroud, Gervinho
2-1 to the Arsenal tonight folks
Ahh Wind, What a guilty pleasure, reading your ‘take’ ( I swear I gasped at one point !). Giggling now, well done.
Cuppa tea please barman. I’ll be watching with a box of kleenex by my side. Come on Arsenal!!!!!
Wind and GoonerTerry
Goonertown speechless?
Here’s to freedom of Speech!
And long may it last gents! π
Why does the dot com list Montpellier as only having 2 substitutes?
Shirley, they have more players than that…..right? Shirley?
Bit of both H2H @ 138;)
Kenyan @ 141, ‘elite’? π³ You make me blush my good sir, I may have got an A* at English Literature but the elites in this bar are Master TaBS, Zico, BtM, GoonerTerry, Delia, Trev if I’m not mistaken, Esso on occasion & the Maestro behind the bar as far as I’m concerned, I take my cue from them & others π
abb @ 149, glad you liked it, I was hoping you would π
Goonertown @ 151, π
No Ox and no Coq, but with that selection Arsene is going balls out for the win.
Looking at the lineup, it looks like AW is rewarding the players with the start to the season. Hope we make a strong start and can make some early subs to rest a few before Sunday. Arteta, Cazorla and Gibbs could use a shortish day.
Nice and easy lads, nice and easy. π
Norcal 143…’extra fees’…looks like business good at the quackery eh?
Wind 153…we have em’ all dont we?
Nice one Wind @ 125, have definitely been less able to join in the drinks since the start of this season so I end up hanging onto everyone’s coat tails in a desperate attempt to keep up!
Still, life should let up a bit soon and work will calm down a bit so hope to be back in the company of all you fine holics asap.
Come.
On.
You.
Reds.
Giroud first goal 13/2. On it.
Rightio, almost time for kick off, enjoy the game, back again tomorrow.
Media lockdown in 5. 4. 3. 2………………………………
You wait an effin’ fortnight for a mighty Arse match-up then 2 come along more or less at once – YeeHaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
CoMOnURedS!/purples! etc.
Ok, before the match kicks-off I’ll summarise the best from my 5 weeks of back-drinking that I can remember.
I’ll start with all of Holic’s Posts, everyone a delight to read, even the one or two where he was more passionate (take that how you may) than usual π I feel this is the best Arsenal blog not just because of the open forum for reasonable debate & banter, but because of the history that gets imparted to all too young to have visited Highbury or gone to games due to living around the world. Some say its the world’s treasure (history, although that could apply to the former home of the Arsenal :’)) so its important its passed on, and you do a excellent job good sir π
Next is some individual posts, Zico’s about the matchday in general, Esso’s about supporting the Arsenal & TaBS about Hillsborough, amazing in each and every way, they all had such a profound effect on me that I’ve remembered them for 5 weeks to now at the longest time period, you guys are truly talented.
Lars, I was sorry to hear about your cousin who has cancer and the way you found out about it, best wishes from me.
The Sweeper, I was so happy to see you in the drinks again, almost abandoned the back-drinking out of fear that you’d go before I’d catch up π
abb, please don’t almost stop frequenting this here establishment, you’re one of the most valued people here, proof that there’s still good in this world π Almost abandoned the drinks in the same way as directly above to try and convince you to change your mind , glad you did and what a gift of the two stones for the inscription π
Trev, lovely words mate, don’t think they could be any more fitting, you did us all proud π
RvP leaving? Dead to me in effect, I don’t care about him and what he does as I do for Cesc to a degree, I appreciate his goals but I can’t synthesise the joy they used to bring me. Just feel hollow about the whole situation.
Song leaving? A ‘Meh.’ that reverberates across the mountain, not a loss but a gain, couldn’t even do it for me on Fifa against my B*rca supporting mate, good luck trying to make the bench ‘Keita.’
That’s about it, enjoy the game everyone π
Come on, ref! Pooh.
Thank you Wind.:)
Our lads starting to get hold of the game..shame about the yellow for Abou ..need to be careful now for whole match.
Hi Eandy. Oh dear…penalty.
WHAT???
well, that sucks.
on what planet is this a penalty? O.o meh ..cooly done ..time to kick up your engines lads!
and hi abb π still plenty of time to turn this around boys!:)
Oh, I’m not worried. Poldi!
BEAUTIFUL!
lovely interplay between poldi and OG!
Goldi Poldi!
Just made it in time. Merts called it – Podolski is “reliable”, he will get a goal a game.
great assist from og…
Gervino scores!
Bliss!
GERVINHOOOO!!!
GERVS!!! 2-1 le arse!!
Come on you GORGEOUS REDS!
Hey Fun and scruz. Come on everyone, join in!!!
Jinky Jenkinson and Gerv The Swerv!!!!
I love the way we hit back and hit back soon after we go behind.
Hey Arthur!
hey abb! (waves across the room)
how are ya, abb and all? loving this game, even coming from behind (down wolfie!).
my stream has gone wonky, though.
Corporal Jinky Jenkinson. Nice. Wise-cracking first world war sapper.
I’m in love. Again.
Sorry about that scruz…we’ll keep you informed!
Toby just clocked in, good to have you here mate.
jenks putting in some *wicked* crosses. corner to us.
cheers, abb, it’s basically back.
hi, toby!
Hey Fun, just saw your wave π
@ 71 Cannons of Rhetoric
Lot of truth in that
Hi ya arsabeatbarca did you miss me at all?
Diaby is absolutely amazing. How can he still have it after being away for so long? I don’t get it. He is a fucking wonderful footballer. That doesn’t mean he will have a great career or that it will all work out for him, but what a talent.
Oh Arthur, I have an eye for talent. That’s a Yes!
And cheers ABB and Scruz! My life is so hectic at the moment I hardly have time to read the drinks, but I wouldn’t want to miss a CL game in the bar for the world (well, except for being in a… you know… proper bar) but I’ve got an early morn tomorrow. Hope you’re all fine. Well, I guess we all are us being 2-1 up. One more, preferably from OG (that’s Giroud, not Own Goal) and I’ll be completely satisfied.
Nice assist from Giroouuuud on the first…and is it just me, or is Podolski one of the most honest players out there? He doesn’t claim penalties, even legitimate ones, and stops playing when he thinks an uncalled foul has injured someone.
toby, curses even further on dan smith, then.
Kenyan @ 157, we do indeed π
Not a problem abb @ 164 π
wow, didn’t even notice the won ton ton!
Well in scruz, are you Gervinho in disguise? π
lol, i have the forhead for it ts…
nice save, don vito!
Tabsed it 8)
Sure was. Stand tall Vito! Hi TS.
Vito looking sharp, confident.
bodies flying everywhere! this ref is calling an epl style game, not a ucl…
about time mapou got his yellow.
I just got to love Mikel and his workrate!
diaby is in beast mode tonight.
Well done Scruz! And glad I got my name in on the goal without doing much. Is that analog with me running over and celebrating wildly with you, getting caught on by the cameras?
And yes, curses even further on that little ********
Mikel collecting some bruises for his troubles, love his tackles.
santi, what a pass, gervs almost in. i mean, what.a.pass!
Beautiful effort by Giroud!
we’re running break after break…
OGs link up play is just superb, you cant wish the goal for the guy more now.
I’ll sacrifice my gall bladder AND my appendix, for Giroud to score in 2nd half.
medio tiempo, what a great game were playing. i can’t listen at work, wondering what TA has to say about it all…still think we’re a selling team, tony?
Well in Scruz π
We bossed that, after a shaky start.
Mannone, Giroud, Podolski, Gibbs, Cazorla all playing with bags of confidence.
Giroud’s time will come.
Very satisfying so far.
Mapou yanga-mbiwa looks to be the only man standing between us and the next goal.
Gerv has really come to life. Bet walcott will come in for giroud, he is not enjoying himself.
cheers, wind. and ts, completely agreed. after the penno we stepped up the speed. man, we have been playing fast football.
seriously, except for tv’s mistake, jenks has been the only liability, and then only once or twice. made up for it with the assist, and with a couple of other brilliant crosses. once he settles down, he’s going to be killer as a first or second rb…
even with giroud in, our movement around the pitch is outstanding.
Correction, the first ‘G’ should have been Gervinho π³
2nd half, come on lads.
Finally found a working link, thanks Snir. Come on you Gooners. A goal for Oli would be perfect, but as long as we get 3 points I will be delighted. Poldi is as clinical as we all expected, and Gerv so far has been LANS. Good stuff.
Vermaelen’s played too many games and it’s a bit unsettling that he wasn’t rested and Koscielny wouldn’t be given a start against a team in a league where, I believe, he had a hundred percent successful tackle rate the last year he played there. Or was that just a drunken fact we choose to believe?
big mistake by diaby, just hoof it out, lad.
Heh at Feelgood above. π
jenks playing some excellent defense atm.
looks like montpellier has sped their own game up a notch. they’re certainly bossing it right now.
soak in the pressure lads…10 more mins ..they will run out of steam..then hit them on the break and finish the job off π
Nervy moments!
wheew!
Oh snap. Second half not too good for the heart. Come on lads, calm the **** down.
oooh, ach, off the bar, with don vito beaten….though lower and he might not have been. wow.
that’s it, diaby, hoof it out.
Again. Diaby. Amazing.
what a run by diaby! very nearly for santi.
Giroud and Gervinho looking a bit powder-puffy in the challenge.
Fantastic run from Diaby.
Great run Diaby, thought for a second the rebound fell for Oli. Chance from the corner again. Sure hope Oli G gets his rub of the green tonight…
And he learned his lesson too!
Beautiful by Abou
Keep it together, boys.
After saying all those nice things about Diaby though, I have to say our midfield needs to start taking control of the game again when we are without the ball. We are playing well with it, but some more assertiveness when not in possession would be great.
Guessing we’ll see Walcott soon if the game continues like this. Probably Ramsey as well. If we go for a third it’s probably Kos as a defensive mid.
toby, agreed, our midfield is losing possession too easily. theo and aaron on the sidelines, as predicted, well in.
poldi has dropped out of the game as well. let’s see some more, lululu…
Don Vito wasn’t beaten by Cabella’s shot – he had it covered if the ball had had been on target.
I will really like to look at the rate of headers OG won in this match ..hes doing great job in that regard.
bstrum, that’s why i caveated…
bstrum, agree, he got his tips on it.
oh dear scruz…chuckles.
Yes, Giroud’s doing well on all the stuff that don’t get written up about in the papers. And Don Vito can catch with both hands…
Is anyone taking charge for Arsenal?
FG, that really is the only question worth answering now. We can score, we can defend. We’ve seen that. But I would dearly love to see someone just taking charge of all this talent and marshall this game and see it out. I feel we are slowly slipping. We are good enough to have the chance to get through it anyway, but we might not, and someone to actually lead the team would be great just about now.
After being under the cosh for the entire game (one way traffic by the sound of it) Man C actually scores away in Madrid.
Oh well.
Toby – yes. That’s certainly what it sounds like.
If they can close it out, it will be a big step forward.
Well caveated, Scruz…Will bold subs be made or is Bould only willing to bring on Ramsay? Lots of players looking tired…
Come on Tommy V, Arteta, Merts…
Coquelin and Ramsey maybe?
One more captain on the pitch now! Let’s see how it works out.
bravo giraud, well played. everything but the goal.
giroud. argh.
Perfect substitution. Real Madrid scores just half a minute after Aaron touches the pitch. Well done Bouldy!
1-1 RM City now
Ramsey is the type who grabs a game by the scruff of the neck.
Vito!
phew
wooch. lucky that went straight to don vito.
In slow motion, was a really good save, great reflexes.
A bit of luck, maybe, but Don Vito, apologies for having given up on you last year. Ramsey’s infusing some badly needed energy in spots, Walcott’s pace might scare them a bit too, and I think bringing on Koscielny would tighten things up in the back.
This has been our first real test. Glad the lads are getting this experience. Citeh will make us work. Real hard. Every inch of the way.
Some subs would really infuse some more energy now.
our speed of play has reduced something serious. if montpellier had half-decent finishers, we’d be in trouble.
Hate to say this at the moment, but well done City. 2-1 up away to Madrid now. They might not be as good, yet, but they sure have some of that mental strength. And a keeper that might even rival The Mighty Mannone.
Well done Vito.
Mighty Mannone, like that π
Come on Arsenal, hold on!!!
Phew.
Well done Mannone.
full time, nice win!!
cheers, everyone. back to the grind.
Ok you all can open your eyes and just breathe…
Phew, wish there had been some squad rotation but at least there’s five days to recuperate for Citiy. And is Toby the first ever to put the words “mighty” and “Mannone” together?
Gritty win, but good to build on, Montpellier went all out attack, stepped up their game and fair play to them, maybe deserved the equaliser but as said, there are no easy away games in CL..and that has been proven again, well done lads!
Very late away from work tonight and started watching a stream for the last 20 mins or so. (BTW Thanks for the firstrow recommendation; worked really well.)
The match reminded me of watching the Arse on the box or listening on the radio years ago. Wave after wave of opposition attacks getting very very little change out of the Arsenal defence. I saw one error from a Montpellier player who you’d expect to beat Mannone from close in; on the other hand he didn’t have much time and it’s probably reasonable to poke the ball towards the goal and hope that the keeper will miss it.
I don’t know about all the modern young Gooners here, but that match brought back many happy memories. The season still looks really good to this drinker. Mine’s a single malt please barman.
COYG ICDDR
AC Milan is so bad this year that even Flamini is playing (and missing)…
For the last 20 minutes my stream died, and my net was too slow to decently watch from another link. Listened to commentary from Player, and am delighted we got three points, albeit with great suffering 2nd half. Room for improvement until the game at Etihad, meanwhile the ManCunts went down 3-2 dramatically at the Bernabeu. We should be happy at the end of the day, I suppose.
Special mention for Vito for another solid performance. He has a real chance now to stake his claim further. I just hope this spurs on Wosjech instead of damaging his confidence, and ultimately his performance.
3.40 AM now, COYG. Looking forward to watch the full game in Player when it comes out.
I sure am. And quite proud of it. I can’t stand the man, personally, but I do enjoy his overall look and he has done well for a few games now so I am very open to change my opinion if he keeps this up. I am the one with sin so I should throw the first stone of reconciliation. Well done Mighty Mannone.
Good win. 2-1 away to the french champions should be hard work. It was, but we got through it. good use of the squad, several nice individual performances, and when everything works we look great as a team both attacking and defending. The only way to strengthen that in times of nervousness is, well, actually experiencing it. That we did today and we can only get stronger from it. Good first half, shaky second, but you won’t hear me complain one bit. Cheers lads. Still unbeaten.
A lot of tired looking players in the second half, lacking a big bit the sharpness.
Giroud, unfortunately considering he didn’t play at the weekend apart from the last ten minutes, and Gervinho looked content to stroll through the second half.
Our movement dropped right off leading players to hold the ball too long and over-complicate things.
Still, 3 points away from home. Thank you very much.
Ooooh goody. Manciti lost 3-2. The bad news is that they lost to Maureen’s team. Here’s hoping there’s another disappointment for the Oily Mancs at the weekend.
COYG ICDDR
Well, well, welll?
the “Town pound” did it again!
Well done, town.
Is this the holy grail of winning despite playing badly?
3 points? Feels like 6.
Three points away to the French champions; would have taken that before the game. Under the cosh for the second half, nervous making but not in that pants-wetting way that has been the case in recent seasons. And a good bounce back from the early penalty. A hat tip to Mannone: quietly flows the Don.
Very valuable three points. And rather fortunate!
That second half performance was most likely one of the worst I have seen from any otherwise settled and organized Arsenal side in a long time. I think they tried to control the pace of the game by slowing it down a bit and then planning on counter attacks, but the midfield performance was unbelievably devoid of precision and guile to make that happen.
Also didn’t understand the lack of substitutions. Diaby was looking tired and on a yellow and easily could have received another one. Santi was looking tired and before Sunday could have done with a bit more rest. We should not be so conservative in using our bench strength. We could have used Santos’s abilities on the ball by playing him in front of Gibbs, or use Theo/Ox on the right as substitutions early on.
Now two home wins in the next two CL games and we are almost through to the knock-out round and any point in the Schalke away game would set us up nicely for winning the group as then we would most likely need two points in the remaining two matches to top the group.
Missed between 75 mins & 85 mins or so, firstrowsports failed me at half-time, sportlemon went off the boil soon after π
Arsenal Player beckons, but well happy for the 3 points! π
get in? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXB9fVINbh0
Well done Beeb…
https://skitch.com/drostan/ewe3i/www.bbc.co.uk
Hope the papers tomorrow acknowledge Giroud’s crucial assist to Podolski, because the man doesn’t look happy – he looked anguished when missing an almost impossible chance in the first half, and he looked almost bereaved when his ex-teammates came by to hug him after the game…
bah too early!! *sets it up by Giroudesque lay off between centre backs*
and TOO LATE! >:(
Heh, well in bstrum.
Need to get to bed. Had a glass too many tonight and need to be up in a little while. Cheers for the company!
Well in bstrum π
Feck the papers, I’m certain they’ll call Citβ¬h’s handling by madrid a valiant performance or some crap and so they can’t be trusted to bring up an accurate assessment of Giroud’s performance this game :p
bstrum @ 300 — for the second goal too the pass to Jenk from the center was from Giroud. Think he is putting too much expectations on himself, should simply ignore the media prattle and concentrate on building up a bit more pace.
Nite Toby. bstrum, yes he looked so sad, glad his former teammates were there for him. He just has to hang tough.
Evening Holics
I needed to resort to the bottle in the second half. What ever did they put in our half-time tea? It was a complete turn around in the second half, having been so comfortable in the first. I even thought Diaby gave away a penalty in the second half and a second yellow card. We were so lucky to hold fast in the final third, we were over-run in mid-field and had Montpellier put any of their many chances away ,we would not have left the South of France with 3 points.
Personally, I would have put Kos on as a holding MF ,after an hour, in place of Diaby for starters. Boy, were we lucky but that’s how it goes sometimes, may our luck continue at Middle Eastlands. Relief all round, poor old Arsene must have suffered in the stand. I full expect to have the father and mother of hangovers in the morning!
As always COYRs
Good read Delia, cheers.
A goal from Giroud against City and all his anguish will disappear in a second. That’s football, I guess. We won and we can always look forward to the next game, where anything can happen. Ask Dennis God or Thierry, cast in bronze but still capable of producing truly golden moments….
Have a good night all, much to cheer about.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
FG
Thank you.
It was a half and then a half, put it that way π