Fish And Chips On The Menu
Oct 3rd, 2012 by 'holic
After all the talk at the weekend of the difference between watching on a small screen and actually being in the stadium, I spent large parts of this game imagining being in my seat. At half-time I was sensing the reaction of some. I wondered if Steve Bould was being urged to get his cheque book out, or if the neighbour was offering my deputy a tasty tincture. Luckily at home the half-time break gives me the opportunity to grab another Guinness and reflect on what has just happened.
It was a mixed bag of an opening half, that is for sure. A bright start as we played keepball without actually getting in behind the visitors too often. The pattern of the weekend being emulated as the full-backs gave us attacking width and variety. Everything seemed just a little bit too deliberate, too cautious, and in truth too slow. Gradually the visitors grew in belief and fashioned the odd breakaway of their own.
Santi Cazorla, closely marked all night, came close to giving us the lead with a free kick from the left, but we could well have gone a goal down when Machado missed spectacularly from point blank range. A lack of concentration was evident at times as passes were regularly misdirected. That nervousness seemed to have evaporated when Gervinho took advantage of some great work by Kieran Gibbs to score from the edge of the area.
With just three minutes to half-time that should have made the energy drinks and fruit taste all the sweeter. It should. Lone striker Mitroglou got between two daydreaming central defenders and glanced a cross from the unchallenged Greco into the far corner. Thomas Vermaelen claimed in his post match interview that Bouldie had not shouted during the interval. Why do I doubt this?
In all fairness, whatever was said in the changing room had the desired effect. Arsenal started the second-half with more purpose than we had witnessed in the opening forty-five minutes. Gervinho in particular was showing a degree of directness that clearly troubled the Greeks. Cazorla may have been a beneficiary but hurried his finish when the Ivorian teed him up. Koscielny couldn’t quite get over a decent cross and cleared the bar as I let out a muffled scream from the comfort of the sofa. I imagined a crowd around me starting to encourage the team to better things.
The ‘better things’ arrived when Gervinho opened up the left flank again and set up Lukas Podolski. The German’s one and only attempt of the night found a route through two pairs of legs, and now surely we were in a position to close the match out? Olympiacos hadn’t read the script and were attacking in greater numbers at every opportunity. Defensively we looked sharper, although Vito Mannone still made my poor old ticker palpitate a couple of times.
The arrival of Olivier Giroud gave us an outlet. He demonstrated his value as a target man, and if it wasn’t for the fact that the only luck he is getting at the moment is bad luck, he would surely have scored. I may be mistaken but I thought the commentator said his goal-bound effort was deflected by seabass. I know it was raining heavily, but even with Giroud’s fortune at the moment I’m sure a shoal of tasty salt water treats would not have blocked his effort.
As the fourth of three added minutes was played out the scoreline was given a flattering hue. Giroud won an aerial duel and fed Aaron Ramsey who finished with the deftest of chips. 3-1 was harsh on spirited visitors, but has set up our two meetings with Schalke nicely. The top two places in the group may well be decided by the double header with the Germans, so news that Montpellier had got an equaliser in the other fixture also raised a smile.
At the end of the night we saw Arsene deep in conversation with Roy Hodgson, not for the first time. I suspect the England manager was keen to catch up with Theo Walcott’s situation. I hope he missed the contribution of two young English full-backs who are starting to look the part. The last thing we need is them being taken away every few weeks and exposed to injury in meaningless internationals.
351 Responses to “Fish And Chips On The Menu”
First!
Beer me!
Wait I’m at work.
Tea me!
And here I am from left field claiming a spirited second!
Nice one Holic.
Evening Gents. Heh nice to see you back Geoff.
Good report as usual, Holic. Agree about Giroud not getting anything going his way in terms of finishing, but he’s still getting into positions and he wins headers etc and if he keeps doing that then the goals will come.
And that long and extensive post will be my contribution for tonight, I need to be off to bed sharpish.
excellent, ‘holic. the writhing and twisting that precedes pillow chomping is surely aerobic. definite need for another guinness.
i thought the first half was all about your previous blog’s title, deja vu (or deja vous, i called it in a fit of pique). nowhere enough directness, and tv5 was all over the place.
the second half? well in, lads. i think the final scoreline is a little harsh on the greeks, but with all their falling about they have nothing to complain about. i really liked what gervinho brought to our game today, except for nearly his last touch, the setup for poldi was all his hard work. santi was outstanding, the number of times he held the ball while three and four greeks were hectoring his achilles’s went on without cease. and again, our fullbacks, brilliant up and back.
cheers, and here’s to a full game like the second half against wet spam this week end.
And loved the seabass comment. Laughed out loud. Everyone here at work looked at me like I have lost the plot.
Can anyone get me an appointment at the Quackery? I’m coming home Wolfie!
Much better result than performance, but can’t complain, halfway to qualification, whilst City still have it all to do.
I thought the stand out performers again were the two full backs. Both Gibbs and Jenks again managed to combine defensive solidity with a willingness to get forward and use the ball meaningfully.
The same could not be said of our two centre halves who for the second game running displayed all the nervousness around each other of two adolescents looking for their first dance. Vermaelen gave the ball away with a depressing regularity in the first half whilst Kos was arguably lucky to have stayed on the pitch. How much of this nervousness can be put down to the fact that Don Vito stands behind them with all the assurance of a man wearing shorts at a cocktail party is difficult to gauge, but it can’t help. All three looked improved in the second half, though whether this was simply because the Greeks lacked the creative nous to get at ’em is a possibility.There were still moments in the last twenty minutes when the defending appeared anything but calm, measured, or organised. That organisation is not helped ,it has to be said, by the Captain’s cavalier willingness to embark on glory or bust dashes upfield when the team is leading 2-1.
Let’s hope that the Bfg is suffering from nothing more than a sore eyebrow such was the workout that it undoubtedly got when he learned he wasn’t playing on saturday. Hurry back Per. Nor can Sir Ches’s return come too soon. Yes he will make mistakes, but at least he radiates authority. Mannone, at this stage of his career, doesn’t. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
In the midfield, Cazorla struggled initially, but finally began to look more like his usual self in the last half hour, when the gaps began to appear and he was able to display his usual mastery of possession and space. Coquelin struggled, failed to retain the ball, and looked lost in the slightly more advanced role than the holding role he is used to. For me, he is at this stage, a replacement for Arteta in the holding role and nothing more. Arteta struggled manfully to hold it all together, and once again had a fine game.
Up front Gervinho had a pretty good game I thought. He ran the channels, scored a good goal (although I thought the Greek keeper might have done better), and even on a couple of occasions got his head up long enough to find a teammate, one of which should have resulted in a goal when Santi failed to find the target from 10 yards. That said, there were times when the ball failed to stick and when possession was needlessly squandered down the usual blind alleys and the jury remains firmly out as to whether he can carry off the central role in the long term.
Poldi scored a great second goal, which is what he can give you. Just as well, because for huge parts of tonight he was anonymous, and for those moments when he did surface, his touch looked heavy and laboured.
On the other flank the Ox mixed moments of danger with a failure to keep possession. A good 25 mins in the second half left his contribution just about in the plus column, but I’m not sure either he or Arsene will have been especially pleased with his night’s efforts.
There were good cameos from all three subs, though they all came on at a time when the Greeks were pushing forward and there was more space to exploit, so it is difficult to compare their contributions with those that went off in any meaningful way.
Theo got past his full back twice and nearly set up Giroud, whilst the Frenchman was able to set up Aaron for a great finish with a wonderful example of his aerial strength.
So then 3 points, but more will required at the Boleyn at the weekend for a similarly happy outcome.
Appreciate the report Holic. Am in the back of beyond with no radio, no tv, no wifi and no 3G. Dodgy 2G connection. Fear this ‘thank you note’ may die in the womb. Sounds like we need a bit more drilling of that defence (or return of a BFG) and a strategy to deal with Santi being marked out of the game. Why didn’t OG get more time then?
No malt here either. Must remedy that tomorrow morning! Not even W&fuckin M!
Holic, Still watching the match. Yes sir, quite agree with you, whatever Steve ‘said’ worked. My take on Vito is this. Against Chelsea, some folks suggested that our defence was nervous because of him. Well, tonite in the first half, it was the reverse. Vito probably felt all alone at times. Now, right before the season started, I said this. “Holic, in a name Gervinho” π Sorry, can’t help it. Just this once. Sounds like you enjoyed the game (you probably needed this win, more then most of us). Take care and thanks for letting us hang out. It was wonderful.
Nice review,’Holic,just the way i felt it panned out,watching on T.V. There is no denying that Santi is absolute class but he needs to start getting those shots on target.
As much as i don’t want England to give Jenko a call-up,i cant pretend that i won’t enjoy watching our second choice rightback picked consistently for England ahead of the best Sp*rs rightback of all time (as voted for by their fans).
At Half time the Neighbour was sorting out young Samri’s packed lunch for thursday.
Big Dom and his mate, who had our tickets, on the other hand were pictured on the telly not wearing coats.
And thanks for the detailed report tabs – you really give the ‘on the ground’ feel. Love the shorts at a cocktail party analogy – I can just feel the jitters. On the drive up here the brief report on the first half on a woozy 5live signal in the car was not encouraging. You pretty much add the colour to that sketchy image. The BFG and a bit of Mf enforcement need to return sharp ish. Nice to have both for the neo-Botlon mob at Wet Spam. I expect a kick fest from the Walrus brigade.
Hope the abstinence is going well. Cheers mate.
Nice report, holic. Wonderful result for us and some good performances to latch onto in the game, even though we had shaky stretches.
Another massive ha ha re “seabass” from me.
Perhaps SB is taking after AW and staying calm in the dressing room at half time?
Good night and sweet Arsenal-related dreams, everyone.
Heh Bath, cheers mate.
Abstinence still going, although in the interests of accuracy, I do have to confess to nicking one of Ollie’s on saturday!
“a shoal of tasty salt water treats”
Killer stuff!
Nice review,Tabs,i actually smiled sheepishly at the part where you were hoping our BFG was suffering from “a sore eyebrow”,i think Coquelin played better than you give him credit for.
Cheers Cent. I felt Coquelin did get better after a pretty rotten first half, but I don’t think he’s suited to the role he was given tonight.
Evening / Night all,
Back from The Emirates now, a nervy affair in truth and, to some extent, another game of two halves.
Holic, Tabs, have skimmed your comprehensive write ups, apologies if I am repeating your own work.
Jenks and Gibbs both excellent again. Our central defensive pair were awful and, with Mr Jitters in goal, reduced the stadium to panic stations every tine the opposition got the ball in our half.
From memory, that was about four times in the first half, and they could have scored each time.
Having said in his programme notes the same mistakes must not keep being repeated, Vermaelen continued to foul through the back of his opponents and the game was about three minutes old when the first free kick was conceded from just about the same position as Chavski’s at the weekend.
Two attackers were left unmarked at the far post but, fortunately, the free kick was overhit.
I thought this team was now more mature but it seems they still demonstrate the utmost reluctance to learn anything.
The second half was a lot more purposeful and has been well described above.
Giroud was terrific when he came on and so unlucky, twice, not to break his duck. Some will not have seen the warm-up tonight where OG smahed a shot into the top corner from about 20 yards. He can hit ’em alright and, lime many others, I’m sure he just needs one goal to get going.
He may have missed a few so far but I don’t think they have been quire as easy as some have said.
He has, though, been in the right place many times considering the short total amount of time he has spent on the pitch. Another assist for him for Ramsey tonight too.
Arteta worked like the proverbial Trojan to defeat the Greeks tonight, and Walcott was very effective when he came on too.
He could provide a lot of ammunition for Ollie Giroud from a wide position, and he could also cut in to shoot in goal. Let’s hope he sees sense and signs that new deal, rather than going to sit in some other top our bench.
Abb – thanks for the mention in previous drinks. A bit tired for Greek puns tonight – may have a little think tomorrow lunchtime. π
Tabs, were you there tonight ? I didn’t have time to get to The Tollie.
P.S. agree that Gervinho was very good tonight.
Tabs,yea,he did raise his game after the break,i thought him and Arteta were switching positions throughout the game and he played more towards the right while Arteta played more towards the left.
Good report Maestro,
Continually amazes me how you come up with the ‘ Headline ‘ for each copy you file.
Interesting comment by AW before the game,when he said that the players ‘ were still down ‘ after the defeat by Chelsea.
I think that showed in their tentative start against the Greeks.
My dear old Dad always said that Football was about ‘Momentum’,
and how the result of your previous game,invades your next one.
Mentally and physically, we expended an enormous amount of energy on saturday.
If we had got even a point form the encounter,the mood of the players would have been markedly different tonight.
But the loss was still there in their minds,and the Greeks after a tentative start themselves,quickly sensed that we were below par.
Dear old Vinny Jones once said that he knew within 10 mins of the start of a game,whether the opposition were ‘ up for it ‘or not.
Well with a bit more composure by the opposition tonight,we could have been punished before we got a foothold in the game.
Having said that,things did improve in the 2nd half,but again i make the point i have made before,Poldi is not the same player without Giroud alongside him.
They had built up a great rapport in the pre season and that showed in the first few games.
Indeed it was Giroud’s running off the ball that created Poldi’s opening goal at Anfield,and whilst he scored against Southampton he hasn’t had that same spark since his running mate was benched.
So a win was gained without ever looking as fluent as we can.
Ball retention was Sunday league standard at times,and with big Andy Carrol waiting for us down the East End on saturday,it could be a very tough evening for our defense.
We will need to be a lot sharper for that encounter.
Tabs,
Good to see you back,enjoyed your thoughts on the Chelsea game from the previous drinks,and your affirmation of my thoughts on Per.
I certainly don’t remember McLintock/Simpson,Adams/Bould,or
Campbell/Toure ever being rotated.
Glad you enjoyed the Guiness Chaser,
Only thing you didn’t mention was whether you have managed to stay off the Gaspers.??
Cheers
The Sweeper.
Trev, You are the undisputed King of Puns. @ 20 Means so much to me that you understood Gervinho’s contribution. Not sure what more he has to do, to get some credit. Worrisome for me.
Trev, great stuff from the coalface. I wasn’t there tonight. Agreed with pretty much everything you said.
Clive, make your old Dad right about momentum. That particular saying seems to have held particular resonance for Arsenal in recent years, as it does usually take an inordinate amount of time to recover from a reverse.
As mentioned above, I have managed thus far to stay off the gaspers, though there was one aberration on saturday. I’d love to blame Ollie, (he is after all a bad influence π ), but I’m afraid I have to take entire responsibility.
Welcome back tabs.
Still off the smokes…???
Be honest now…!!
One on saturday Joe when the beer was flowing!
Heh,
I knew it…!
Thats called personality….! π
Tabs, what, no tabs ? Well done mate.
I welcome any stats on the game. Take your time. Tomorrow is fine π
Think the congratulations are a bit premature Trev! π
Abb – here’s the only stat I care about tonight:
Arsenal. P 2 Pts 6
Man City P 2. Pts 1
π
Hey Trev, Hear you bro π
Speaking of brothers…LoneStar, You’ve been on my mind for sometime. Hope all is ok (realize you’re busy, just miss your take on things). Gooner Terry, thoughts are with you as well. Looking forward to hearing from both of you.
The real writers are those who bare all….
Those who pare down to nothing………
and thats what you do here……every day……!
I was impressed by Gervinho’s performance in the second half. The defence looked scared of him.
Basketball’s version of “diving” is called “flopping” (over here at least) although it is only practiced by defensive players unlike in football. Up to now flopping has been perfectly legal but now it appears the NBA is going to crack down on it. At least to have a rule against it, that is. If they ever to try enforce the rule it should make for some good arguments.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/nba-unveils-flopping-policy-220400780–nba.html
Greetings from sunny New Zealand where the game was played at a not so bothersome 7.45 am. Premier league matches usually kick off at a dedication testing 3am.
Anyway, I thought I’d add my tuppence worth.
Gervinho……….keeps scoring,which is of course most welcome. To me though he looks anything but a striker. Tricky, maybe,but, I would venture,currently riding a wave of good fortune in front of goal.
Dont get me wrong, I’m not complaining — not yet anyway. Its just that after losing Van Quisling to the Red Scum I was rather hoping that Mr Wenger had a cunning plan up his sleeve. If Mr G at centre forward is that plan, I’m not sure it’s going to fly. Surely Giroud needs the game time,but,of course, what do I,a humble punter know?
Gratefull for the three points though — onwards and upwards!
Arteta was great I felt (as usual) but poor old Merty cant get a game!
Still tinkering with the system I suppose, but why in these past few years do we always seem to be one player short of greatness?
Anyway Barkeep, I’ll take a large Keep The Faith with a COYR’s chaser please. May I also say that despite the enormous amounts consumed on these premises, your clientelle keep a very sober view of the world. Most Impressive
TABS@8
I am with you regarding the full backs. Again, a player like Gibbs who, when all else were calling for his head whilst Wenger was remaining calm and all-knowing, is showing a great deal of the potential that the boss clearly saw in him.
As for Jenkinson, well, what can be said except that Sagna is quite simply NOT going to return from injury and find a warm flank waiting for him. He may even find a cold bench the rate that the lanky gooner is improving.
In truth, I genuinely worried for his entire career after “that game” against he new home of the Rotter from Rotterdam, but he has not only seemed to put it behind him but has used it as some kind of motivation to actually die on the pitch in an Arsenal shirt! What commitment! Just love watching him play. Ok, not the perfect full-back as yet, although I feel those calling for him to be moved to the centre of defence are completely missing the point and what he brings in terms of the balance between defence and attack as well as the quality he is gradually showing in his ability to cross the ball.
I also agree regarding Podolski. I think that a lot of what we were seeing at first was adrenaline-fuelled and his legs are already starting to pay the price a little. Gervinho is doing great things in the centre as opposed to out on the left, but I cannot help wondering if the reason for that is his usual inability to pick out a pass once he does get into a good position down the flank. Surely if he can improve (or continue to improve, I happily concede) on that part of his game, then that would give Wenger the chance to rest Podolski a little more often and also offer Giroud some obviusly needed games.
In defence of Olivier, he appears to have all of the qualities required to make a great premier league striker and, regardless of all the stupid punditry flying about the place at the moment, any real fan of the game will probably agree that it is time that he needs and not a tad of an improvement on the luck side of things too!
Santi getting pulled all over the show by physical defenders and midfielders is going to be something that, with all the “help” we get from the boys in black, we will simply have to get used to. Being the tiny thing that he is, he is always going to get marked by some ogre or another and so a repeating pattern will most likely emerge. That said, if Wenger actually gets Giroud on the field a little more, we should see a bit more space and a few more 2nd balls falling his way which will undoubtedly help his cause.
Anyway, I actually thought that we genuinely deserved the points tonight, as we deserved three against Citeh and at least 1 against Cheslee Rovers.
At least justice was done on this occasion…
And so, here’s to justice, washed down with a 2001 Marques de Riscal Gran Reserva (I kid you not!) that I would love to invite all to share with me π
Holic’, thanks again for your hard work and please supply a large number of thimbles to all that remain in the bar at this unBergkamply hour!
Cheers Failage,
A more congenial group of die hard gooners are hard to find.
I’ll agree with you on kick off times. They do sometimes test the fortitude.
Also Scruz can instruct you on how to perform the perfect silent scream in case you have sleeping loved ones lounging nearby.
Cheers Wrightkamp
Trev@19
You hit the worrying nail right on the head there regarding Vermaelan. Is it just me, or is the captaincy actually increasing the average number of blood rushes to the head that he is showing? Pressure? Desire to lead? A case of downright pride before an opponent falls? Maybe a mixture of the above.
The selection problem appears to be not one of which of our three world class central defenders we should choose from, but more one of who will actually put in a world class performance alongside Per.
Worrying stuff indeed.
I still have a glass and a half left in the bottle and I am quite willing to pass the half glass over to you! Enjoy!
NorCal – Call me Thierry! HAHAHA!
cheers chaps, scruffy win but that’ll do.Funny season,Mannone eyeing up first choice while Merts is by far our best cb.Gervinho averaging goal a game.All a bit odd but I like this team,seem to have an honesty about them that’s been lacking for a while.On we trudge against the odds.
The Sweeper @ 22
“I certainly donβt remember McLintock/Simpson,Adams/Bould,or
Campbell/Toure ever being rotated.”
Well said sir.
Another thimble please Holic’!
Welcome Chaps. Hey NorCal. Steve Bould clarified that Mert was ill, maybe one of the viruses making the rounds. When asked about Gervinho this is what he said. (to paraphrase) “Number one, he’s scoring goals. His link play is gradually improving. He has set Santi up quite a few times, in the last couple of games. He is a danger with his pace and movement.” I would like to add, that Gibbs was outstanding. Jenks right behind him.
Here’s one more toast for Gee-rou among the drinks. Fantastic 14-odd industrious mins. He’ll come good…
Giroud was magnificent when he came on. He’s gonna start scoring and I can’t wait……just to see that smirk smile from Arsene. I love Arsene’s smirk smile.
-from
+on
I’m gonna go have fish ‘n chips π
“a shoal of tasty salt water treats”. ‘Holic you sound more like Humph by the day, and I mean that as a compliment.
Tabs, stay off the smokes. Iron will. Mental strength.
Great drink by Thierry Wrightkamp @38 who certainly seems to have the pedigree too. π
Great drinks by the usual suspects including Tabs, Trev and The Sweeper. And one slightly more unusual suspect, Impressive Failage, whose great name I have nevertheless noticed before. π
We got the luck (and thus the 3 points) that we missed out on in the last two league games.
I Can’t remember the last time I saw a player improve as exponentially as Jenkinson has. If only we had a proper centre forward to get on the end of those crosses. π
tabs@8: “Nor can Sir Chesβs return come too soon. Yes he will make mistakes, but at least he radiates authority. Mannone, at this stage of his career, doesnβt. I donβt see that changing anytime soon.”
Could not agree more. The “mysterious” (in the sense that Arsene has not really said what it is about) injury to Woj is a real worry. Don Vito seems like a nice bloke, but I’m sorry – I can’t see him ever becoming good enough for us.
Most other stuff has already been said by many, so not much point in me repeating it. Not the best of games overall, but three point nonetheless and we are halfway to securing first place in the group. For points v Schalke secures progression, six points secures first place in the group. Well, maybe not in theory but in practice I’m quite sure it does.
We will need to do better on Saturday, but the win will hopefully have restored a bit of self-belief in the team.
I hear Ramsey scored: anyone famous died yet?
good result but a very patchy performance against a less than decent opposition.
sloppy play in the first half by many in the team. i am really beginning to like jenkinson’s performances this season. fingers crossed he can stay injury free and continue improving.
we were out muscled in the center of midfield which would have pleased walrus face no end. but i thought we pressed hard in the second half whenever we lost the ball to win it back again. of course against better opposition it never works that way. like we found out against chelsea.
team needs to cut out the errors and surely the way we play means we always carve out chances.
Saturday will be interesting. I hope the BFG comes back. he has a big calming influence on his defenders, goalie and Arteta or Santi in front of him.
Wow
12 losses in 12 for Olympiakos
Can you believe Ramsey scored?
Gervinho the new goal scorer of the team?
Tabs I thought Coqelin did his talking on the pitch last night.
Kos and TV continued to misunderstand one another.
Overall a well needed victory.
I predicted 3-0 so 3-1 was close and a much needed confidence boost
Cheers 8ball,
Yep, I thought Impressive Failage was, well, impressive too.
Supporting from New Zealand, wow !
I presume you are a Cockerney relocated, sir ?
Good stuff anyway.
GoonerTerry – hope things are not too bad mate …..
Morning,all.
Failage,i pray Bergkamp rewards your dedication.
Thierry Wrightkamp @ 38 i agree with all you said bar Podolski been tired,i think he’s just the kind who works hard quietly all game only to get one chance and finish the opposition with devastating effect,he doesnt seem to take speculative shots,he only shoots when he feels sure he will hit the target.
Abb,here is a few stats on our French hunk,he now has 3assists and 1 goal in 4 starts for us,his 3 assists make him our assist King in all competitions.
Tabs,more power to your elbow in your quest to stay off the smokes,i admire your mental strength.
Zico,Jenko’s improvement baffles me,i expected him to improve but so far he has exceeded my expectations of him,long may that continue.
Ollie,i seriously hope no one dies,i don’t want anything knocking his new found confidence.
Holic, if you are about, Sarah has inboxed you on Facebook re tales of being an Arsenal fan. I don’t do Facebook so have only the faintest idea of what that means!
Still trying to see the goals on 2G. This stone age location sucks!
Zico,
We have got a proper centre forward.!!
But he spends most of his time warming the fucking bench.!!
By the By for your info,
I am having afternoon tea with Mrs Dale tomorrow,and i am hoping to get her sloshed on the Cooking Sherry and ‘ persuade’ her to reveal the hiding place of the unexpurgated version of her Diaries.
The afternoon has all the portents to be a very exciting one.
I will keep you posted
Cheers
The Sweeper.
An early exit from work, a quick dash to the station and a train heading North to Finsbury Park is caught. A quick trip around the shop leaves me in no doubt why certain items have not sold and are now in the sale at bargain basement prices. I then take the short walk to the Tollie for a few swift scoops pre match. I immediately bump in to BtM. Pleasantries exchanged we make our way to the bar. We are then joined by TS before heading back to the garden area. There I am privileged to be introduced to Mrs BtM. It takes a nano second to realise that Her Nelliness is definitely both the beauty and the brains of the operation. Snowy then joins us and all talk of the up coming potential football feast takes place before the short dash to The Grove takes place.
Greeted by the team news I was disappointed to hear that Giroud was on the bench. I was even more disappointed to discover that Big Per had been struck down with a virus. I sincerely hope that the Lemsip kicks in before the weekend.
I must say that I saw the game pretty much as everyone else seems to have. We appeared sluggish and second best for most of the first half. Too many sloppy passes and there seemed a distinct lack of urgency. The opening Gerv strike owed as much to his hard work as it did hid talent. The Greek equaliser was no more than they deserved but was a poor goal to give away for me. I accept it was a cross of some quality but you can not have one striker getting in between 2 centre backs like that.
In the second half we seemed to move up a gear. We looked sharper and the passing had more purpose. Poldiβs goal helped settle the nerves but I was particularly pleased to see Ramsey get on the score sheet. I thought the way he took his goal from a great knock down will do his confidence no end of good.
As stated above by many, 3-1 probably flattered us. But 2 wins out of 2 is not to be sniffed at. 4 points against Shalke should be enough to have seen us qualify with games to go.
Time now for the boys to reflect on that performance. We know that we can play a lot better and we know we will be tested at the weekend. Time to say thank you for the win and ensure that we are a tad more polished on Saturday.
Keep the faith.
Sweeper,
my sarcastic smilie @ 53 wasn’t sufficient, or has your irony radar gone down? π
Mrs Dale did like a sherry back in the day I believe – a young version of her has been rumoured to be visible in some of the Feelgood Tapes…..
Looks like one of our full-backs has been called up for England already….
Ollie,
England will probably give Jenks a couple of years experience so that Stuart Pearce can then have him for the Under 21’s. π
I assume it is Jenks ‘cos Johnson is bloody awful.
Anyone seen Garth Crooks’ “team of the week” yet? Judging by a sprinkling of the names it looks a bit more like “convicted racists of the week” if you ask me. π
Oh, it’s not. π
Yes it looks like Arsenal have 3 of the 25 players in the England squad, and what’s more none of them is likely to play 90 minutes so injuries are less a concern. But Shawcross must be in there to break someone’s leg when all else fails, so far have England fallen. π
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/oct/04/rio-ferdinand-england-ryan-shawcross
Villas-Boas seems intent on sending mixed messages and confusing his players to the maximum extent possible. No wonder Chelsea rose so far so fast after they fired him. Almost as quickly as Tottenham rose after hiring his predecessor, as a matter of fact.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/oct/03/andre-villas-boas-europa-league
Afternoon Holics
Block 10, row 5 was not the ideal location last night. I had been warned in advance by Gooner Gary that his seat was open to the elements and thus went prepared, which was just as well. It’s a long time since I watched a match at the Ems from behind the goal in the lower tier and I have to say my view of our efforts in the first half, in the Clock End, was lost in a forest of legs. I did however have a perfect view of yet another centre-back lash-up which lead to the Greek’s goal,an excellent header well out of reach of the diving Mannone.
Talking of our current keeper, why oh why does he pump the ball up field when we are not playing Giroud up front? Possession is immediately given back to our opponents. Oh for those long throw-outs from Mad Jens. Please Arsene start the Frenchman on Saturday, he looked sharp when he eventually made a late appearance and was very unlucky not to score.
I was so pleased that Rambo took his chance, a deft flick over the keeper. A long ball from Mannone, headed on from Giroud giving him his opportunity to run past the defender and put the shot away.
Gibbs was again superb and must have impressed the England manager, as I see he has been called into the squad for the World Cup Qualifiers.
Cpl Jenks had another good game after a nervous start and Arteta was well Arteta. Let’s hope Mert recovers for Saturday, we need his steady influence at the back. Perhaps London Colney needs fumigating, we can’t afford to have our best players falling victim to a “virus”.
We didn’t play well but we did score 3 goals and picked up 3 points, which is really what it’s all about, so can’t complain. It turned out to be a very early morning when I got home but I’m glad I made the effort .
As always COYRs
Still feel we could have killed the game early if we had started ramsey in the midfield trio. He offers a more attacking threat. Gives it his all every game. Arteta and coq sat deep thus inviting the opposition to drive at us more than we did at them.
Giroud doesnt score goals but he sure as hell makes ’em, good enough for me
Gerv is on fire, but that in no way makes him a better finisher than poldi (sorry ABB):…and Cent can prove that for me
Failage and Henry great posts.
I thought Gervihno did well and got my motm and it looks like most people who voted on the .com agree. I wasnt much impressed by Chamberlain but I guess he needs the experience to unearth the diamond in the rough in him.
Glad to see handsome man (Giroud) contribute even though he was only on for afew mins.
Onwards and upwards!COYR
69: you’ve raised a horror prospect: whether they play or not, they’ll have to train with/against Shawcross….
Afternoon ‘holics.
It was around 4 o clock this morning by the time I got to view last nights game, well worth the wait in the end, but boy did we make hard work of it. At the time of writing I haven’t yet read any reports (not even the above, sorry guv) so apologies if I repeat what’s already been said.
I thought we started off brightly enough, held pocession well, but not unlike other occasions we failed to really create anything of note. The Greeks sat back and ab Zorba-d (Β© ‘holic) the pressure and the longer the half went on the more they got back into the game. It was almost against the run of play when Gerv, who was having one of his more productive games, put is in front with a nice shot from outside the box just before half time.
I remember thinking that the 43rd minute was a great time to put one in, it’s always good to go in for the half time oranges (or whatever it is these days) with a lead and then they popped up and got the goal that they had been threatening to make (with the help of TV and Vito) earlier in the half. It was a very good whipped in cross, but how TV and Kos, who was lucky to still be on the pitch, let the guy get the header off while they were standing either side of him, was pretty much schoolboy stuff. Ah well, 1-1 at HT.
We came out for the second half with much more gumption and basically controled the game, the centre halves tightened up and we weren’t under any real pressure, Poldi got the goal we deserved and although I was on tenderhooks we saw out the game well, Ramsey’s cool finish putting a bit of gloss on the scoreline., He was assisted by Giroud who I thought did very well in his short cameo, I still think we look a more balanced side with him up top and I’d really like us to go with him, Poldi and Gerv (based on yesterdays performance) upfront against Fat Sam’s Wet Spam (Speakeasy) this weekend.
The full backs were once again on their game, an excellent performance from Gibbs and a reliable, accomplished one from Jenks who is improving at a rapid pace and does not look overawed at all in the CL. The whole team were pretty good, although Vito scared the shit outta me on a few occasions but was no way at fault for their goal, as I earlier stated I thought that was on the CB’s who were the weakest link yesterday. They were better in the second half, but I still thought TV was too far up the pitch on certain occasions, I was screaming at the tv for him to get back where he belonged, strangly he couldn’t hear me, but luckily we weren’t punished for it.
All in all, a great result and two wins outta two leaves us sitting pretty at the top of the group so that can’t be bad. I do think that Schalke will be a tougher opponent, but we’ll worry about them when the time comes. Four points out of the next possible twelve should see us through to the next round and barring a compete nightmare we’ll be in the knockout stages before you know it.
Rightio, now to catch up and read a few reports to see if others share my view or if this was a rant after drinking too much and staying up too late.
A breakfast BM for me and a drink for whoever needs one, please squire.
It is true Vito didn’t look as assured as he needs to but he didn’t let in any goals he shouldn’t have either. So I don’t see why there’s so much criticism of him in particular on an occasion when the Olympiakos goalkeeper was so much worse by comparison. If he had stopped Podolski’s shot like he should have we easily could have had a 1-1 result or worse.
Some top drinking from the usual suspects, old and new.
Don Vito is in the Almunia league for me, decent enough Premier League keeper, better than many think – he has played for Italy U21s – but not the top keeper that silverware winning sides tend to have. It looks as if Woj will be out for some weeks with his foot injury. So for now we have to go with — and get behind — what we’ve got. And that is Don Vito. The alternative is Martinez. I know great things are expected of him from the coaching staff, but it is probably better that he is sitting on the bench at this point absorbing league football than being pitched in.
Amen 8ball! Haven’t read the drinks ‘properly’ yet, cept yours. Vito is OUR keeper till Woj comes back, fact. Lets just get behind him 100% while he is out there. He needs to improve on his positioning (he’s aware, no doubt). Overall, he put in a solid performance π
Heh NBN ! Oh life is funny…
Hello To FirstLady and Kenyan. FirstLady, Giroud is easy on the eyes (would love to send him a Teddy Bear!). Kenyan mate, how’s it going? I am not saying Gervais is better than Poldi. It’s not a contest, their teammates. Just feel he has markedly improved since last season. Want him to feel our gooner love!
Cent, Giroud one goal and three assists so far. One can only imagine what his numbers might be, if he played more!!! Delia and Steve, as usual, you both deliver charming accounts of your Arsenal adventures. Cheers to you both.
Finally finished watching the (recorded) match in its entirety.
Gibbs is my man of the match. He has been very good since the beginning of the season but yesterday’s performance was really world class. Assured and solid in defense — our best defender on the day — and powerful, inventive and technically strong in attacks. Jenk and Arteta did well as well, Jenk’s progress in last one year continues to amaze.
Gervinho’s first goal was very accomplished, and his second half performance was impressive. Coquelin and Ox had too many missed passes — Coq was good in tackles but needs to improve on the passing accuracy — whereas TV5’s first half performance was one of the poorest I have seen him play. He tightened up in the second half.
Giroud and Theo both did well coming on. Theo is showing more confidence and just a bit more ability in beating a defender in one-on-one situations.
In the weekend we know what we are going to face, a revved up team set up to impose physically and using long-ball/set-pieces. We should definitely start with Giroud up front. Not sure about the wings especially given the mid-week exertions, but won’t be surprised if Theo gets a start on the right.
On the middle of the pitch with Coq temporarily injured it would probably be Arteta-Ramsey-Santi.
Defense remains more or less same, but if Per recovers from illness he should get a chance. Ideally speaking ahead of TV5 in current form but that is unlikely and it would be Kos dropping to the bench.
However, against oppositions that sit deep and not leave channels open to counter-attack, I think finding a place for Santos in the team can help. With the ball he is really inventive, clever and accomplished and we can use that creativity. I know it is not going to happen, but I won’t mind him starting either as the left winger in front of Gibbs or in the midfield.
Hey all, I find myself away from the bar more & more lately, hopefully a sign that I’m putting in more work in my quest to get into Uni π
Enjoyed the game & the evening a lot yesterday, watched the latest Resident Evil Film with my older brother after succeeding in getting Fifa 13 for me (and my little brother) 8), missed the 1st 8 mins of the game as there was traffic all the way around the roundabout at Elephant & Castle but walked/ran home with the aforementioned older brother to get home within reasonable time for my dad’s birthday, happily enjoyed with the family after the match π
All 3 of our goals were something, even Poldi’s as the power on the shot had to be up there to force the ball throughout the keeper’s legs, Gervinho is our top scorer (never thought I’d say that) so far and added another good strike, and Ramsey’s was the best of the lot (*o*) Just delicious. That Koscielny tackle wasn’t like him, I feel like if we were away it might of been a red π
Onwards to Upton Park away, always have had a soft spot for the Hammers since I saw my 1st game of football that I can remember going to there in ’09 with a good mate that supports them, but I still hope that Ollie G starts and gets a brace of goals and assists π
Come on Arsenal.
behind the 8 ball but gunning for glory@51
Why thank you kind sir! Real wine all finished now but I am pleased to offer whatever virtual tipple you may fancy!
cent@60 Thank you and I hope you are right regarding Podolski.
Although I think that his first couple of performances were far from “Germanic” he has certainly slipped into something a little more comfortable and you may well be right that he is simply less noticable rather than flagging. Let’s hope so anyway as he is clearly a quality player and one that the rest of Europe could well end up kicking themselves that they missed out on…and at such a bargain price too!
arsabeatbarca@81
I think that you have nailed Giroud there (if you pardon the expression!). 1 goal and 3 ASSISTS.
Given more playing time, the goals will surely come but, and as we have seen before, replying entirely on one player to score all the goals can have drastic consequences when a big fat cheque with their name arrives in the post.
That said, it appears that going a year without a truly creative central midfielder in the absence of Cesc has had an unexpectedly nice effect i.e. more players in the team have found their assisting boots than ever before.
Yes, Song has gone after a season of more assists than clean tackles, but was anybody seriously thinking that he was going to be such a prolific provider in future seasons? I certainly hope not.
I think that The Rotter leaving could well have a similar effect, but let’s just hope it doesn’t take a year! The lack of a single focal point for the attack is bringing about a change in the thinking in the attacking third. The signs are good. Podolski and, in particular, Gervinho chipping in with more than their expected fair share, Walcott, should he sign his contract, will surely find that this “new” rotating system can be of great benefit to him as Gervinho quite obviously is. The midfield finding the net again is a bonus not to be sniffed at too.
And then there is Giroud who, once he gets himself into the swing of things, will undoubtedly make life easier for all around him, as he has already shown that he is capable of with those aforementioned assists, as well as knocking a few into the onion bag himself along the way.
One last point worth mentioning is how much more difficult this all this should make the job of defending teams. Not being able to predict the whens and wheres quite as clearly as they have done in the past is much more likely to cause a bit of confusion and that cannot be a bad thing.
All in all this is, for me. the most interesting and exciting team and squad we have had in a few seasons and, whilst I am not breaking out any 25 year old anything quite yet, I am certainly cleaning the glasses!
M’Vila, 22, has been selected for the French U-21 squad (since he didn’t make the A squad….)
I have a request also: can the person who nicked Santi’s shooting boots give them back to him? Thank you.
Now that I’ve caught up I see that most saw the same game as I.
Were you all drunk too? π
H2H
Drinks were supposed to have been supplied yesterday, but someone came up short, which wasn’t me by the way!
(work dat out Holics)!
Just a revelation here
I think Theo and Giroud will form one of the most potent assist and goal scoring partnerships in the league at some point.
“member ah tole U”
Wind you also a resident of the Southwark, London’s finest borough? Any tips on decent pubs for games (with minimal ManU fans per square foot)?
Hey Fellas. H2H, I had a pleasant buzz last evening (no handling of sharp implements allowed) π Thierry ‘more players have found their assiting boots then ever before’, love that, plus we have more mates scoring then last year. Ollie, Santi is trying maybe too hard ? And you were very naughty @ 55 (big grin). Wind, Studies come first, with Arsenal a close second. Agree about Kos (maybe a rain sodden pitch is to blame). Speaking of blame…Theo. He was productive when he came on around the 70th minute. My overriding concern is that he has not signed on the dotted line. What is going on in his mind (a townhouse in Liverpool or a condo in Manchester?). This could very well be ‘our year’, but in order to achieve greatness, we need our players to be commited 100% of the time.
Evening all: Seems like everything is in order here .. Hugs & Kisses to the Nurse and any other lovelies I may have missed ..
π
Afternoon nicotine condemners,
Impressive Report Failage, and big commitment to the cause given the hour. Hats off.
Usual good stuff from SteveT, Delia, H2H, Faustus.
Thierry @various – Good stuff, and agree with you on the full backs. I’m not sure that Jenks is quite yet at the stage where Sagna will have to wait to regain his place, but nevertheless his rate of improvement is astonishing, and if it continues Bac will have a fight on his hands. Great to have a proper Gooner in the side.
Lars @54 – Yep, Mannone gives me the collywobbles. He’s going to get a stern examination under the high ball on saturday. Andy Carroll will be as close to him as if he were a short skirted geordie lass juggling a can of Newky Brown and a Doner kebab. It is a test where I fear for him. Hope he proves me wrong.
Sweeper @62 π
Ned @77 I endorse your call to arms re support for Mannone, we can’t do anything else, but can’t share your belief in his abilities. I don’t think he’s anywhere near as good as Almunia, and I never rated Manuel! I obviously hope I am proved massively wrong.
Wind – A soft spot for the Hammers? Banish those thoughts Grasshopper. East London barbarians owned by a pair of self-aggrandising crooks and managed by the fattest vulgarian in Sport. Allardyce should have “bad for football” tattoed on his ample forehead skin flaps. He must be brought low!
Of Course Camberwell @ 92, for all 18 years of my life! Best borough in London, Islington a close 2nd for the Mighty Arsenal being situated there 8)
But I was hoping you’d know mate, I’m still pretty new to pubs and the like! π
abb @ 93, wholeheartedly agreed Nurse π
TaBS @ 95, I hear your sagely advice and I heed it, Arsenal before all others, but I think some of you lot’s hate for ‘The Walrus’ is quite personal haha (Forehead Flaps give me strength :’) π Didn’t know about Gold & Sullivan though, anyone care to elaborate slightly?
Hey GoonerTerry π
Oh you bunch of lurkers *rolls eyes*
Trev et al: The funeral was on Monday and I must say it was a wonderful production. Mrs GT and her sibling did well with the selection of songs and my Daughters brought the house down with a lovely rendition of “If I had the wings of a Dove” – one of their grandfathers favourite songs … the house is a lot happier these days. Tomorrow [Friday] they are talking his ashes to sprinkle it off Lime Quay with a few family and a number of his sailing buddies from the Yacht Club.
Good evening,all.
Wind,goodluck in your academic endavours,as the mother of the bar rightly said,your academics should be the most important thing in your life at the moment.
Thierry Wrightkamp,i hope i’m right too.
H2H,i can’t speak others but i certainly wasn’t drunk so if you agree with my thoughts then we saw it the same way.
Tabs,i think Vito is quite a good shot stopper just that he’s hopeless at set pieces and claiming high balls. I love the way you described Fat Sam.
Top corner!
I see I’m a bit late for an assist, but just on time to congratulate Lars!
Good to hear it was beautiful, GT.
Nice write up mate. Cheers for that.
Well in,lars.
Well in, Lars. Almost tempted to buy you a celebratory drink, but only almost…
1-0 to Cunts , bollocks.
Bulbheaded cunt with the assist.
Tabs@95: ‘decent Premier League keeper’ is hardly a ringing endorsement, but, I still think, a fair description. Is it me, or are there fewer top, top keepers in the Prem than of old?
Evening chums,
Visiting old friends tonight, virtually. Hope you are all well.
Ned –
Sorry but I don’t think Mannone is a “decent Premier League keeper”.
Neither do Hull, apparantly.
There is a reason why he was No 3 to Almunia’s No 1, and we saw it right at the end of the match last night.
Don’t know if you were there, or if it made the TV screens, but a ball was lofted high into the area near the corner of the 6 yard box.
Don Vito, with only a team mate anywhere near, did a bizarre jump in a kind of ‘half dismount from a not very high horse’ position, dropped the ball as he attempted to catch it at about waist height, and gathered it up at the second attempt.
God help him under a Big Fat Sam aerial bombardment on Saturday.
Or even, God help us !
Now, if someone could just pin this on the dressing room wall, and hopefully he will go and make me eat my words.
Ah, Evening Major !
Evening GoonerT – glad things are sounding a bit brighter.
I have found the perfect thing to watch on Sky Sports, when the Tottenham Hotspur Thursday Night Channel Five Invitation League is on ……… It’s Charlotte Jackson. Fifty minutes to go – marvellous. π
Thanks Cent @ 99, and lovely assist for Lars’ ‘Cent’, well in π
Said jump and fumble was the cause of major ticker tremors last night Trev, and what I alluded to in the piece.
Heh Sparta Prague beating Athletic Bilbao 3-1, me riding horses today instead of work (teambuildings O.o) and drunk from high income of finest czech lager in form of Svijany, more of this kind of Thursdays please π
2-0 to the cunts in nearly-Spurs-shirts-though-still-known-as-barcodes
A jump and fumble, Holic. Ooh I say ! π
Good evening,’Holic.
Trev i saw that not so good moment of Don Vito’s handling on T.V. If he does anything like that on saturday Kevin Nolan will respond with his chicken dance celebration.
Abb,i just read on Arseblog’s by the numbers column that Gervinho’s five goals so far this season came from exactly the only five shots he’s had on target from a total of 16 in all competitions.
Ah, more stats.
So will Abb be pleased that 11 out of 16 Gervinho shots have been ‘off target’ ? π
Evening all
@ 75 Holloway2Holland
Having seen the game on Aplayer now, I pretty much saw it as you did, but with the gloss that bt8bbgfg put on your Mannone comments.
On Giroud, I am sure he will get chances in due course and it may be better to ease him in. In the short/medium term he is having the playing time he would have expected when he joined, ie when we hoped/expected the Greedy Badger to stick around. Gerve and Poldi are both doing well so there’s no pressing need to start him and he can develop and adapt under less pressure.
@ 86Thierry Wrightkamp
Great comments. Absolutely agree – this is a very exciting time.
***
Arsenal Ladies have slaughtered Barcelona and are through to the next round, for those who are interested.
Wind @ 117,you are welcome,mate. I saw what you did there.
@118 –
How do we know that the top scorer of the French Champions would have been expecting 10 minutes as a sub at the end of every game ?
@ 120 Trev
I don’t claim to be psychic, but as Giroud was new to the league and the country, with the English league’s top scorer and a world class player in his position, I think he would have expected an adaptation period and then the chance to fight for the place. Perhaps hoped for more.
I love Di Natale. I harboured a secret wish since the qualifiers last season that AW would get him in as experienced backup.
Trev,i guess we have to wait and hear what she thinks. I think there are diffrent perspectives to it,Optimists will say he is so good that he just has to get it on target to score,pessimists will say he’s missing more than he’s scoring so he’s not good,realists-like me- say a striker who scores 1 out of every 3 shots he takes is a decent striker but there is always room for improvement.
@ Cent
Out of interest, do you have the stats for other PL strikers for comparison? I’d love to see how all our guys are doing.
Cent @ 119, π
FunG,i will need time to dig that up but the one i know off the top is that Sunderland’s Stephen Fletcher scored five goals from his first five shots in the PL this season,that is 5 shots,5 on target,5 goals.
@ Cent
Thanks a lot – would really appreciate it, but only if you have the time.
Cent @123 –
Exactly. The figures can mean whatever you want them too. π
Too = to iPad. π
Reminds me of an old bit in my line of work:
Non-economist numbers neophyte asks the economist/numbers expert, “So doctor, what do the numbers say?”
Economist/numbers expert, glancing warily to his left and right, leans in close, peering over his tiny specs and says in low voice, “Well now, what do you want them to say?”
I love that one. THough I’m usually the neophyte working with numbers experts.
Yep, nothing like a little patent lawyer humor to just KILL a party.
I know my way out!
Wind @96 – Probably best if I don’t repeat here what’s out there on Gold and Sullivan, but it is out there, so if you are anxious to learn more, suggest you google them. I don’t think you’ll need to do too much reading to get the general drift.
Well in Lars, and a tip of the hat to Ollie in the glory position.
Ollie @105 “bulb-headed cunt” Haha, excellent π
Ned @106 – Agree with you Ned, goalkeepers do appear more fallible now, but I think that has more to do with facing a lighter ball that dips, swerves, and pretty much takes a bow on its way towards them, so I have a certain sympathy.
As regards Mannone, we’ll have to agree to differ. I realise you didn’t exactly give a ringing endorsement, but I’m afraid that at this stage I wouldn’t put Mannone on the same level as Almunia. For all his faults Almunia played over 100 times for us and whilst never top drawer, had his moments. I think its far too early to put Mannone at the same level.
Off hand I forget how many times he played for us before this season but it was certainly less than 10. He is capable of the stellar, witness his debut against Fulham, but his subsequent appearances got progressively worse whereby he gifted soft goals and culminated in a dreadful performance at yes West Ham in which his schoolboy errors gifted them a point.
He then wasn’t seen again until that disastrous cameo in the Champs league last season, and everybody thought that was that.
This season he has been praised because he hadn’t, at least to last saturday, made a major whopper , which strikes me as setting the bar particularly low. Against Stoke he was given nothing to do, against Liverpool I thought he had a number of iffy moments despite the clean sheet. At City and Montpelier I thought he was competent, nothing more, although i thought he was at fault for City’s goal. He was awful on saturday and iffy last night. I think he’s got a long way to go before he reaches your description of “decent premier league keeper”.
Agree with Trev I’m afraid.
Z @ 64
My apologies my friend.
I didn’t pick up on the ‘ Smiley ‘ I’m afraid.
Mind you without my glasses they are all just a blur to me.
But that still doesn’t excuse my tardiness in not ‘ getting ‘ your drift.
I have to admit also that the lovely ‘ C ‘ was trying to inveigle her way into my affections whilst i was reading the posts,so i was being distracted in the nicest possible way.
By the By,i have been given a bottle of GLENDRONACH Original, aged 12 yrs,Highland sgl malt Scotch whisky.
On the back of the bottle amongst the guff about Appearance,Nose and Palate,it says Finish:Long,full and firm,slightly nutty.
Which as ‘ C’ commented, Just about sums me up.!!
As i will give this bottle away,i would appreciate your/Holic’s input re quality of contents of said bottle, and whether i should give it to Friend or Foe.
Cheers
The Sweeper.
Tabs
re Vito,
Being brutally frank,he wouldn’t have made our squad at the Golders Green Ramblers.!!
Even the Edgware Eagles whose achilles heel was their lack of a quality keeper,would have thought long and hard about him.!!
Cheers
The Sweeper.
FunG,no problem.
Trev,agreed.
Homer,i get your drift,your 131 forced a smile out of me.
Goodnight,all.
Thank you TaBS π
Evening Clive,
There are bigger experts than me in this Bar, but I’m pretty sure you should only part with your bottle to a friend.
Heh at Mannone. Let’s hope he proves us all wrong. Can’t see it though.
Cheers Holic.
Thought I might have gone too far with my earlier description π
Feel free if you want to remove it.
Quick Hi to all of you. Gooner Terry what a beautiful and touching tribute to him. Thanks for the stats. Seems we commited more fouls then them, but it didn’t look that way to me! Goodnite holics and take care.
Top man Tel.
Raising a glass to you and yours.
Will the virtual booing of Mannone never stop??
Fullbacks looked great last night and so did Gerv-I wish some would take it easy on him. I get that he runs himself into trouble at times but he is always a threat.
Worried about the Verm, quite honestly….gave away two unnecessary free kicks v. Chelsea (which resulted in goals) , made a few bad passes last night and I personally felt his dashes up the field were a bit risky given the scoreline and the time left in the game….although they were fun to watch I grant you.
I bet Roy was asking if he could play Jenks the full ninety minutes x 2 for England the next time the international break comes around.
Every position is subject to constant competition, and Gedo your pointing out Vermaelen’s recent errors is certainly not undue just as others pointing out Mannone’s recent errors is not undue. But my point is that dwelling on his errors at this point is counterproductive and divisive when he is our only choice number one keeper. When Szczesny and/or Fabianski are available I say let the competition rage but right now what are our choices other than to get right behind the man??
Never even heard of this club, who have more point than Sp*rs in their Europa League group. Turns out they’re from Slovenia, wherever that is. π
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NK_Maribor
Big club??
Fucking hate the Hammers.
They gave Ferdinand, Lampard and Terry to the world.
And when will they stop going on about the ’66 World Cup???
The bubbles are quite lovely though π
So far, so good for Arsenal in the group stages.
Group stage games bore me now though.
I’d much rather watch COC or FA cup fixtures if I need a fix of hi-octane, no-holds-barred football.
I even heard rumours that they may be expanding the number of teams again? Or was that the Euros? Damn you alcohol for pillaging my recall ability…
Tabs, let’s just agree that the sooner Woj is fit again the better.
Homer@130. π
Rather like the auditor’s disclaimer, “All figures right except where wrong.”
Clive: I thought nothing got through that GG Ramblers’ defence alive. You barely needed a keeper.
Here is a ramble down memory lane for you:
http://images.francisfrith.com/c10/450/27/G271015.jpg
Here is a random set of Gervinho stats: only one of his five goals this season has come in the second half, and none in the last 15 mins of a game (though he has only lasted 90 mins in four games, to be fair). Three of his goals were scored in the last quarter hour of the first half.
Think that speaks for itself — though I’ve no idea what it says.
Re: Trev @108. I trust Vito will make you eat your words, at least I hope so, but if not I’m sure he will send out a cosa nostra hit team to take care of you tout de suite. π
Don Vito has played 16 games for Arsenal, six this season; 10 total in the Premier League, four this season. Ominously, he has never been on the winning side against West Ham; a draw and a loss.
TABS@95
“Great to have a proper Gooner in the side.”
I like the way he said it!
And that appears to be an important part of what is happening…
JW10, Frimpong, Jenks and maybe we could even thrown Chesney’s name into that hat these days. He is more Gooner than The Rotter EVER was!
@ 133 and 137
You could always give it to a mad Scottish Doctor.
I meant, bathgooner, honest…..
Morning Clive.
Good advice from the z man. I have never tried Glendronach as it is a speyside malt, not my first choice.
The man from bath indeed has a more refined palette than I and would possibly be a better source of info on said tincture…
I like Speyside. But not at this time in the morning.
Found this on the interwebs.
Seems like they actually may be a plan to double the number of teams in the group stages to 64 teams in the future…
[…]But UEFA might be contemplating a more radical solution to their Europa League problem β simply pronounce it dead and bury it.
In the last few days a possible proposal that would see the Champions League group stage double in size to 64 teams has bubbled to the surface. On first blush it may seem like the competition is being watered down.
But there are a number of advantages.
1. First of all more games to sell to broadcasters under the Champions League brand = more revenue
2. The β64-teamβ format only increases the number of rounds by one (two games).
3. The number of entries from each country can be increased thus mitigating the risk of βlosing outβ on Champions League.
4. A renaissance in domestic cup competitions if the winners are granted a Champions League spot.
5. Teams from smaller countries have greater access to the Champions League bounty. […]
http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbymcmahon/2012/04/09/uefa-expanding-champions-league-why-it-makes-sense/
If this happens, I’m not sure if I would even bother watching group stage fixtures anymore…
tabs@132: Almunia is and always was – except maybe for his last season with us as a player – a better keeper than Mannone currently is. I will of course back Don Vito and support him for as long as he plays, but we need Woj back sharpish.
CoR@145: you’re thinking of the Euros, but I wouldn’t rule out Platini trying to expand the CL too at some point.
Oh f**k, as I was writing my post @155, CoR posted his@154 confirming my fears…
And why did I suddenly feel the need to write “f**k” instead of “fuck”? π
Behind the 8 ball @143 very well said.
Fungunner it is always interesting to hear how the Arsenal ladies are performing.
Abbs I already have a girl crush on you, you have this cheerful dimenour about you that is so endearing π
8ball, Firstlady –
The discussion about Mannone doesn’t mean that I don’t support him when I am in the stadium every week.
It is a discussion because to some of us he seems somewhat short of the standards we would expect of an Arsenal keeper.
During a match, I am behind him.
The reason that some of these comments become such long drawn out issues in this bar is, I think, because some folk will simply not allow you to disagree.
Not you personally, of course. π
Morning all.
Not sure about more refined palate, Holic @152. Just a preference for smooth flavours of barley and peat over raw rocket fuel.
Clive @ 133, definitely a friend. I haven’t tasted that cratur myself but it’s a B-list Speyside. I don’t know how much peat they use in the process but it should be a smooth swallow.
@157: Lars, self-censorship is not always bad. Often saves relationships and jobs π
Trev, I disagree.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19814806
Although a bit exaggerated (I never had King’s Cross as such a nice area overall……) this is quite depressing.
Great hat-trick there, Lars, quite amusing. And oh dear at UEFA plans. Someone kill Platini first, please.
I have a soft spot for West Ham. I used to live just behind the stadium many, many years ago but never felt the need to support them. However what annoys me these days about West Ham fans is that they keep going on about “THE West way ” something never used to hear before. I don’t know if it exist. Arsenal use the “WAY” thing and understandably so as there is a certain way we play football, in Wenger’s Era at least. Sometimes we are a bit guilty of using the Way thing too much.
This week end it will be no other WAY other than HOOOOOf to Andy Caroll’s WAY. For this reason I would like to see Mert Start. In the last 2 games we conceeded 3 goals from high balls into the box. No coincidence. Last year he did not use his height to his advantage, this year he is more aggressive in the air. i hope he starts.
Am I back on the job then?
Trev, he doesnt fill me with much confidence either but I dont see how beating on and on about how poor he is is helping matters. At the moment we dont have a choice as far as other keeper options are concerned. Until the other two who are better than him are available I will get behind him and hold my breathe anytime he is about to make a clanger!
I cant get the image of him running from one end of the post to the other and looking all jittery moments before a freekick against chelsea in the latter stages of the game (luckily it hit the wall so we didnt get to find out how he would have handled it).
Morning Bath
B Grade you say,so give to a friend who i can live without,rather than one i can’t.!!
Rather like the bottle of wine from your cellar,that you won’t miss if you take it to a Dinner Party.
Morning Holic,trust you rec my email.??
NBN@146,the picture has me guessing,
Is it GG High Street from the 60’s??
If not,you will have to enlighten me.
Z,trust you to put your hand up,regardless of the quality.!!
CoR@161: true, that! π
Ned @146, Agreed π
Lars @155 – As usual, I couldn’t agree more.
Trev @159 – Very well said.
8Ball, FirstLady, no-one’s “booing” Mannone virtually or otherwise. People are merely expressing an honest appraisal of where they consider him to be right now. By expressing that opinion, it doesn’t “help” or harm the situation either way. Mannone may either drop a clanger or turn in a world class performance on Saturday and there will be many reasons behind his performance. I can say with utter certainty however that anything written on these pages, good bad or indifferent, won’t be one of them!
Thierry @150 Heartening indeed. Presumably Gibbs is an Arsenal fan too?
Clive, it’s not Macallan or THE Glenlivet so not a certain keeper. Personally, I would drink it myself, as I have never tasted it before but the wine analogy is pretty apt if you are not a malt drinker.
On the Don Vitoria discussion, he’s a young man and still developing. He doesn’t have the sange froid /psychopathy/ inner self belief of Szcz but he will do the best he can, which, to be frank, is a lot better than I could do and probably also better than most of his critics could do. He’s all we’ve got, he’s ours, let’s love him a little!
Mannone gives me the willies…….
Thus, I’m off to see a psychiatrist 8)
Friday evening levity anyone? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvXTmKqBBgY
I’m off to the Fatboy Slim now innit π
Bath for goalie! π
From Arseblog News:
βSzczesny is two to three weeks away from practising normally. It takes five or six weeks to heal,β Wenger told journalists in his weekly press conference.
So no Woj until early November at best then π
Blimey! π
Anyone know a speculative return date for Fabianski?
Bath @160, heh. π
Tabs @170, equally well said.
Btw, bath is already pencilled in at CF, and unless he is a lot quicker than he looks, is unlikely to manage GK at the same time. π
@177, they can return him any time they like. Oh no, here we go again. π
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19842795
Bus Stop full of Scum. Nothing new.
A pitiful case of a man getting the willies.
*Files under Smallballs*
Clive @ 168
Roxette said the same thing π
Hey iBath @ 172 Drinking backwards. Your’s was delicious. This is such a tough crowd π
FirstLady, That’s the way to tell em. Just make sure you have an oxygen tank, on standby! Just kidding (rolling my eyes). He’ll do just fine (all extremities crossed).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19847790
This is as funny as Funguscunt and the missing injury time.
‘I lied, did I?’ Eh, yes you cunt, and it wouldn’t be the first time, would it?
I have a soft spot for West Ham
Me too……………..
I sit on it.
======
Afternoon all.
Glad to hear all is well Tel and that your family is coming to grips with your loss, best wishes to you and yours.
======
As for the Mannone debat, he’s a decent enough shot stopper, but, I can honestly say he makes me shit my pants every time a ball comes into the box, that doesn’t mean I don’t support him, it just means that I am in need of a large stack of fresh undergarments on matchdays.
I’m on the TaBs, Trev side of this discussion and see nothing wrong with critising players, managers, tactics, performances or decisions. It’s not like were just spitting bile or standing on the terraces booing, we’re not the cocksmokers from Le Groan ffs.
I personaly thought it was a mistake not to pursue a back up goalie option during the last window as I felt that Fabby wasn’t up to scratch. Now were stuck with a keeper that AW had already admited he was prepared to let go, I feel that this is a bad situation to be in, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to go running around in a Fat & Orange T-shirt screaming Wanger Out. On the contrary, I’ll support AW and Vito to the hilt and I wish the latter nothing but the best.
I’m just afraid his best may not be good enough.
Oh, I’ve got a ‘girl crush’. Jusy my luck your across the Atlantic π Just kidding fellas, so don’t get any ideas. FirstLady, nice one.
* applauds H2H *
*also applauds H2H* and buys him a BM.
Whichever way you look at it, we have three young keepers, none of them are the finished article and two of them in my opinion are of a standard that should see them playing for a non CL club.
Given that we could not foresee the injury to Woj, should a club with so much money at stake, really not have an experienced keeper in the first team squad?
Someone that would not give me the willies?
“Milks the applause and downs the BM* π
Cheers gents.
Trev @178 – Yep, that would appear to rule out Bath sadly. We can’t do without his goal poaching abilities. From memory, I think Holic was the custodian in the “Behind the Arse” team. I think it might be time to turn to those safe pair of hands again! π
Ollie @179 – Haha spot on. That lot just never cease to amaze. I hope they charge him. Hopefully it means we won’t have to look at him in an England shirt again.
I also have a girl crush.
About time Roxette lost some weight…..
Firstlady @167,
My final utterance on the Mannone issue.
If you were referring to me @167 as “beating on and on” about him, I have checked back through all 188 drinks, and I included one half sentence about him @19, and highlighted the catch / drop incident in response to another post.
I am sorry if you find that excessive.
This is the second post I have made justifying myself as a result. For everyone’s sake, it will be the last.
Dr Z – Presumably we didn’t have experienced back up because “we could NOT foresee the injury to Woj? π
Heh @192 π
Heh Zico.
Tabs @191. π
Zico – agree, and heh! π
How many willies have you got now ? π
Trev, Im not sure it’s just to justify your justification.
Just saying………… π
Got feed up with pressing F5 and swings in an assist………….
Poacher’s goal.
Comes out of nowhere and punishes a snoozing defence!
Happy Friday y’all…
GIROUD !!!!!!!!!
Nice one H2H. You gave up on F5-ing just before I did!
My last word on Mannone is never trust a man who looks like he could hoover up your charlie in one clean sweep π
Aah crap have I just jinxed the big guy with my lurky tactics?
If he misses his next sitter I take full responsibility.
Bollocks !
Brilliant lurking CG !
I really needed zat !
My stats are steel sheet ! π
Good lurking Camberwell π
The glory position is yours Trev, and somewhat apt given what you wrote π
Hope Giroud starts tomorrow. Apart from the fact he is clearly due a goal, I think his defensive nous will be required at set-pieces at the other end.
Hope Per’s eyebrow is rested and recovered too.
*fed up, d’oh
Well lurked Cam’
Giroud’s getting closer and closer, unlucky Trev.
Heh TaBs, he does indeed look like he could light a ciggie in the rain.
@203
And never trust a man who keeps his charlie up your hoover π
Hehs chaps π
Clive@168: It is, but in 1955. Must have been taken from just outside the Tube station.
Tabs@177: Woj listed for a 20th Oct return, same as Diaby and Rosicky. Fabianski as “no return date”, by which I assume is meant they don’t know when he will return, rather than he is not returning at all. The return date is return to training. Keepers can probably go into the game squad more quickly than outfield players.
Cheers for that Ned.
If you haven’t read the ‘Giroud’ piece over on Arseblog News yet, do put 5 minutes aside. Blogs in great, mad form. π
Thanks all, I am indeed here all afternoon…
…until the time comes to board a train (outrageous, I actually have to utilise public transport till my motor gets back on the road) to sunny Essex and a fully relaxing weekend of dog-walking, newspaper-reading and being pampered.
Zico@192: You’re in for a sitting on, then….
CG@200: Well in. One from the old days.
We could switch the goalkeeping argument to trying to decide how many of the world’s ten best keepers are playing in the Premiership. I have only two, perhaps three if Lloris is counted as playing.
yeah, good shout, Trev. Read that yesterday. Gigglesome.
@ 194
Poorly worded post on my part.
It all goes back to Steve T’s famous “be the best we can be”. 3 young keepers, 2 not good enough, and yet there is money to spend. I can’t fathom why we haven’t, since Jens went, signed a decent expereinced keeper.
Final word on Mannone from me is that he looks like a giant version of Captain Black (from Captain Scarlet). A bad ‘un. π
An apt comparison indeed Dr Z, given that Captain Black was no stranger to clangers! π
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHy10323B70
Zico, I wonder how many experienced keepers there are that are good enough and are prepared to sign for a club that has a potentially world class keep in the making. It isn’t the most compelling of job ads: join Arsenal and see the world from the bench with an ever diminishing chance of playing.
Ned,
Three names off the top of my head – Friedel, Given, Gordon over the last season or two.
Also, I don’t think we would pitch any advert to new potential employee on the basis of “come and sit on our bench”. With respect, I think your argument is simplistic.
Experienced pros have got sufficient ambition to think that if they get the move, “all I need is a chance” and I will get to play.
I would probably say heh @ 219 but I am at the mercy of kill-joy network administrators, who frown on YouTube and its’ viewers π
Double Nelson.
8) 8)
The GK is indeed a wierd position, no keeper worth his salt wants to play second fiddle. I love Woj to bits, but he’s nowhere near world class, yes he has potential, but in goal keeping terms he’s literaly a toddler so he still has a long way to go to prove himself.
My worry with Woj is he has noone to really learn from and virtually no serious competition, if he can stand, he plays. I think a keeper needs consistancy to thrive, but competition is also healthy. Look at IOU, (but not for too long or you’ll end up blowing chunks) SAF pits Lindewhatshisface and De Gaya against each other to bring out the best in both. Now I’m not saying that that is the ideal situation, but surely it’s a shit load better then being stuck with your third choice who wasn’t really in the managers plans?
Tricky I have to say. I can see merit in both Ned’s and Dr Z’s views.
When these discussions were flying around in the summer, the only two names that I could come up with (which admittedly was based on only parochial knowledge) were Craig Gordon and Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Craig Gordon was released by Sunderland and as yet, hasn’t found another Club which would at least appear to suggest that his injury woes are not over and that they might finish his career in the top flight.
Jaaskelainen is getting a game every week at West Ham, which at this stage of his career was probably more appealing than the prospect of sitting on Arsenal’s bench even had we been interested .
Robert Green and Julio Cesar have of course moved to QPR. I’ve never rated Green. Cesar I know less about, but one imagines he had suffered an alarming drop in form to make a switch from Inter to QPR even a possibility. One would also think he would not have come cheap on the wages front.
On the other hand, I would give Dr Z Friedel. Great bloke to have around the Club and an excellent keeper. I don’t know enough about Lloris, but again he might have been a good addition.
I know Fabianski has his knockers (heh!), but I think he’s better than many give him credit for, hence my question earlier. It’s often forgotten that Fabianski was just beginning to look the part in the early part of the 10-11 season before injury intervened.
Arsene is on record as saying that he is the most natural keeper at the Club, but that he does have confidence issues. In that respect it was interesting to note that his one really good run of form came off the back of a confidence-giving penalty save in the Champions League.
Oh I don’t know! π
H2H knows.
Hello All,
Nice back drinking this AM.
Many if not all were calling for a keeper to be signed before the season started. And that was before the injury to Szczceny. Now with his injury we are scrambling again to fill a position that could have been improved upon with the window open. Like those above I will support Vito as long as he is between the sticks but I will also express some frustration in saying this was not that unforseeable.
tabs, this goes way beyond the last season though – Gordon would have bit your hand off for a move to Arsenal as he got to the end of his contract and before he had his injury problems.
Given, at the time he was available hadn’t shown the evidence of recent decline.
An experienced keeper is needed for the reasons H2H mentioned above, and has been true since Jens left in a strop.
Now get the drugs out – its past four on a Friday! π
zico: Given is shit.
And Gordon? I know he’s SCottish but he’s even worse….. :O
tabs 225: every word of it!
AW on the subject of converting wide men into central strikers:
“I did it with Thierry Henry, I did it now with Gervinho and I think I will do it as well with [Theo] Walcott.”
Theo to stay? This season I’ve gone off him faster than you can say “sign the goddamned contract”, was deeply unimpressed with his no-show against the chavs but I can’t shake the nagging sense of curiosity as to what he’d be like after 5 games in the Henry role.
Politispeak Camberwell. He’s trying to call Feo’s bullshit.
That makes sense H2H, and I agree in as much as Woj does lack competition, (certainly for as long as Fabianski lacks fitness and confidence).
On the other hand, wouldn’t comparisons to ManUre only be valid if Lindeswhatsisface and De Gaya were both out injured? Not sure who their No 3 is to be honest.
On my third hand, I agree with those who say the present situation should have been foreseen. I’m not sure when Fabianski picked up his latest injury or what the initial prognosis was. I seem to remember him playing in the pre season friendlies, but I’m pretty sure he got injured before the window closed.
Ollie,
Gordon, prior to his injury problems, was one of the best goalkeepers I have seen in my lifetime. And I saw a lot of him.
Not infallible, but given his age destined for great things.
Given has declined in recent times. But I wasn’t talking about this season – I was responding to recent seasons and why given (sic) what is at stake (i.e. Champions League money and the extent that we depend on it) it seems to me to be negligent to continue with the policy we have with regard to keepers.
Furthermore, I think that Woj will not become all that he hope he will unless he has someone to push him – and I think we all agree that neither Flappy nor Captain Black will do that…..
Thought for the day: when the window closes on your goalkeeper’s fingers, you need to find another one.
I know there are specific rules allowing you to get an extra emergency loan goalkeeper: in what condition do these kick-in? I’d have thought your first two goalkeepers on long-ish term injury is enough?
Wasn’t that how Almunia wound up at West Ham last season for a month or so?
zico: must have been a long long time ago, I remember Gordon being good for about a season or so…. And surely that was even before Jens left.
I think a fit Fabianski could have done the job. However, I’ve come to see a fit Fabianski as likely as a fit Diaby.
Heh Ollie cheers. Agree with you on Given.
Dr Z, I don’t disagree that Goalkeeper has been a major worry since 08-09. (I thought Almunia didn’t do a lot wrong in 07-08 which of itself might suggest that he lacked competition after Jens left).
However, I do think that your @228 clearly sets out why Given (shit and in decline) and Gordon (banjaxed) should not have been bought.
You are of course right in the most important topic of the day …
Drugs … pipes … tuck in π
Good point Ollie. He can rot on the bench then, the twat.
Drinks all ’round. Where’s Lars?
Good afternoon all
Re: Goalkeepers – I believe our GK situation is the weakest link in the squad right now.
Many of us in this bar have wanted to see us sign an experienced (i.e. mature in years and abilities) back-up for our current No.1 who, whilst he is very good with excellent potential is probably not quite as good as he thinks he is (at the moment). He also seems to be going through a period where he is injury prone. That’s where a really decent back-up comes into play. I like Mannone. I think he has managed OK, all things considered. However, like Fabianski, I don’t think he is good enough to be relied upon for a long spell in the first team.
The reality of the situation is that we’re relying on a third-choice keeper to get us through crucial games in the domestic and champions leagues. For a club with the resources of Arsenal that really isn’t good enough and smacks a little of our full-back situation last year. That’s not being negative, it’s just a matter of fact.
Having now seen Mannone ‘live’, I have to say that his confidence does not seem to be growing. His distribution on Wednesday night made Woj’s look exemplary. Again, not being negative just a statement of fact. We were jittery at the back at times too. Certainly not all Vito’s fault but there definitely seems to be a communication issue between him and Kos – that is just a very personal observation.
I do hope that we have ‘goalkeeper’ as joint no.1 must buy pressie on our Xmas shopping list.
UTA!
You’re right that Vito is indeed our 3rd choice TaBs, but would you really feel better with Flappy? I don’t think I would. The point I was trying to make was that at Manure there are two keepers pushing each other for the number one spot, the competition that we lack.
A Friday afternoon round for the bar on me, the weekend starts here.
H2H, please add my applause to your #185. Loved your soft spot comment for WHUFC too.
Dr.z – Gordon was great. What happened to him???
tabs – Similar question re: Jussi. What do you think happened to him? For a couple of seasons at Notlob he was superb.
Ollie – Wasn’t Given at the top of our shopping list pre the emergence of Woj? But I agree, post Citeh he’s another good keeper whose form seems to have dropped off a cliff. Didn’t he disclocate his shoulder playing against us at The Ems???
Cheers TS.
I still think Jussi is a pretty decent keeper, but I hope he proves me wrong this Saturday.
Did someone say drugs?
I may not yet have a “position” at the Quackery (speak Wolfie, speak)
But if it’s just drugs you seek….pick a color!
Red, NCA, always π
When it comes to narcotics I’m colour blind. π
H2H, absolutely take on board your point about competition and totally agree with it.
As regards your question, yes I would feel much better with Fabianski. In that, I realise I’m probably in the minority and that he’s not everybody’s cup of cha, but I honestly think he’s a much better keeper than Mannone.
TS – Good stuff @242 and as regards Jussi, I would agree with H2H that he is probably still a pretty good keeper and inasmuch as his powers have waned would simply put it down to Father Time (he’s 37).
NorCal – I’ll have one red one and one white one please, and a purple one for luck π
Regarding your position in the Quackery, from memory I was the only one who cast a vote ( never let it be said that indifference and laziness does not rule the roost in the quackery!).
You might remember I voted for the position of “receptacle”.
In the absence of any other input I am therefore pleased to be able to offer you the position of “receptacle”.
Perks are that you get all the left over and discarded drugs.
renovatin my house
anyone who says you can’t beat the contented feeling you have after a good days hard work – is a double you anchor
but silver lining and all that – i still have some feeling in me left arm and the top of me head is not completely torn to shreds
anyhoo
howdy ‘hol
UP THE ARSE
(that hurts too)
It’s Friday, it’s five o clock, it’s Crackerjack! Little did I know crackerjack was code for time to get in the pub and neck Guinness furiously when I was a lad. π
@239 – ah, so we only should look at keepers who won’t get injured?
@249 – yeah, Fabianski wouldn’t make a ricketts in a big CL game like Mannone did…..oh! π
I like this new argumentative me…..who want’s a fight?
Crackerjack kicks off at 4 in Caledonia – it’s the whole latitude/daylight thing…. π
i’m way ahead of you ‘hol
i’m oxter deep in my second arthur as we speak
with number three just settling
Well, I must admit that I never experiment drugs.
Full scale research is my bag.
Interesting drinking about the keepers. Thought Woj looked great about half last season, so-so about 1/4, and scared the pants off me the other 1/4. Don Vito has stepped up in this odd time, let’s support the lad. Played a darn good keeper in my day but now over 40, I’m probably not what AW has in mind – am more of a “discard” that a “keeper.”
I’ve got a feeling about this next one, 4-1, Giroud with a hattrick. You heard it here first.
Cheers all.
I wonder when the magical pair of tickets for QPR will pop-up….
Might have to split, we’ll see.
Will never have the chance to be online at the right time next month, so I am becoming a TX fan. Mind you, experiencing the lower tier more often isn’t bad. I should have kept a list and aimed for sitting in every North Bank/Clock End block at least once.
Well, and block 32 in the West Stand, of course – as well as a couple of Club Level and Boxes outings, but that doesn’t count π
Wolfgang gives some people the willies……
Interesting drinking about the keepers.
Heh, this place has spawned great phrases.
I concur with everyone who thinks that Gervinho has been harshly criticized by many this season. It seems like we always have to find a scapegoat and it happens to be the Ivorian this year; last year it was Ramsey by the way.
Gervinho was indubitably our best player during pre-season and I think he’s been good since the season started. I agree that he can be frustrating, particularly with his end product but he works tirelessly every time I’ve seen him in an Arsenal shirt. Thus, I appreciate his efforts as we’ve seen so many players just go through the motions in recent seasons. Furthermore, he’s our top scorer and most in form forward at the moment.
I was impressed with his game against Olympiakos as he looked more composed in the final third than I’ve ever seen him and in the past few games, he’s made final passes that Santi should have scored or at least put on target.
Rant over.
are you wearing a fur trimmed car coat with a big seventies microphone in your hand with players shaking hands in the background – some supping pints of milk
Homer,
You should never experiment with drugs. Take them seriously. Or put another way, take them, seriously. 8)
@254
Put your gloves on Dr Z π
In answer to your 2 questions …
@239 No. Can’t help them getting injured here, but there’s no point buying them when they’re already perma/semi crocked. Gordon played 88 times for Sunderland in 5 seasons – hardly a great return for Β£9m.
@249 Certainly never said he was faultless, merely that he was better than Mannone (which admittedly isn’t setting the bar particularly high)
π
Cba @various π π
Dr F @263 I concur! π
Oh no – tabs is going Statto on me – Ned, help!
For the record I have greater than the average number of legs π
Is that because you keep collecting willies? π
CORRECTION
DUE to narcotics I’m colourblind. π
Have to sign off gents. Beer O clock in full effect here.
Laters.
Heh – I don t collect them per se – Mannone for example gives me them, but I dont accept…..
legwise – if you’ve one going begging Z
i’ve got an opening for a new right one
mine at the minute looks like a butchers shop – with added plasterboard dust – stemmed the flow – so can’t complain
And I will be the best damn receptacle you have ever had. I have a big mouth and cylindrical body and I’m used to taking shit.
All I ask is that you discard all syringes with their caps off and toss them like a dart at my……soft spot for west ham.
Cheers everyone, the next rounds on me in celebration of my new position under Wolfie!
Or should I be on top?
Fish supper or chinese? Why is life so complicated?
crossing a main road with a sheet of marine ply is just a magnet for abuse – apparently
some people !
sheesh !
.
gurgles arthur
Now then Dr Z , far be it from me to embark on a philosophical treatise as to whether the “willies” can be offered and declined as you seem to suggest, but I would have thought that the “willies”, though very much a transitory experience, are something that cannot be declined , but rather are something that cannot be refused, and should thus be taken with a firm hand and embraced?
Accept your inner willie!
Cba @270 It appears you are deficient in the leg division to the tune of one. Your left leg, I like. I like your left leg. A lovely leg . That’s what I said when I saw you come in. I said, “A lovely leg “. I’ve got nothing against your left leg. The trouble is – neither have you π
*chuckles*
Welcome to the team NorCal π
Re: ‘holic @272. I say take a cue from your headline and ditch the Chinese. That is, if you’re asking. π
thank you takeacookson
TABS@171
Good shout that man…
I KNEW I was missing somebody!
π
Hello holics, been extremely busy getting used to at the new job. Lot of learning to do but looks like something I am very much interested in!!
Just back drinking a bit, I kind of slightly differ from the ‘no competition in the goalkeeping position and hence Woj can’t become a great goalie’ view
I think for Szcz or for any goalkeeper, what matters most his own motivation to concede less goals, concentrate for 90 mins etc. I think it is a position where you need to play a lot of games as number 1. I know he has to have a healthy amount of fear of being dropped but that should not be the overriding factor
I don’t remember Casillas ever having been dropped from the real team, even when he was young or Buffon for that matter
Szcz has a long way to go, but that doesn’t necessarily depend on Brad Friedel being at Arsenal IMO
Cheers
I was actually chuckling at cba, but TaBS wonderful piece of plagiarism was timed to perfection. The interweb, what an invention π
Holic’
Why is it whenever I think of Crackerjack, I always think of Runaround too?! Were they one behind the other on the idiots lantern in those days?!
“Runaround…………..”
“………….”
“………….”
“NOW!”
HAHAHA!
Runaround sounds like a more recent creation than I would have had the pleasure of viewing. Basically from 1973 my Friday nights were pub nights π
@ 274
Dr Z? No, Dr Feelgood. The Z is silent, as in fox π
Crackerjack was presented by Michael Aspel when I was watching it. Did he go from news reading to Crackerjack or the other way around? A pretty weird progression whichever way around it was!
Never took to Runaround much as I always thought Mike Reid was an enormous cunt, even as a kid π
For your Crackerjack pencil and pen (and without looking at Wiki) who presented both shows?
Harsha – Evening, and good points.
Good evening gents, from the delightful Peebles Hydro. In the door, 30 seconds after arriving and the most irritating arse in my med school year latches onto me like a fucking limpet. I will have to distract myself with the good view until sunset and then loads of malt. Fancy an Islay evening tonight.
Heh @285 π
tabs – news to CJ
Not a patch on Eamon Andrews.
inclement weather – still use the line – wear an eamon andrews
what ?
a heavy sweater
Bath, cheers.
As I said that’s a pretty weird career path. Perhaps he giggled when relaying news of a death or something, and was sent to repent at his leisure in Childrens TV ?
Eamon Andrews before my time. He was already carrying around his red book when I first got to know of him.
heh @ cba @ 290
cba π
I think EA looked more suited to handing out cabbages than reading from a large red book.
bathgooner slides in on an opponent in the home 6 yard box, takes the ball cleanly, turns and curls it elegantly down the flank. Runs for centre circle.
Stands in centre circle, taps foot, lights up a Corona, offers it cheekily to tabs. π
Directs a Jenks-esque back heel leading bathgooner perfectly ….
Heh Bath @294.
Does a Mannone and noses it forward.
All noses.
And Bang!
Mannone nose!
Thank you 8Ball for the fine assist and excellent play from Bath in the build up.
… and MOTD will call that an excellent team goal finished off by a finisher with a finisher’s nose.
Nice schimozzle tabs.
Haha, that was worth a tug on the corona!
Tabs,
The goal and the Tabs?
Greedy but I like it.
not so clever now
nope
ended a fit of coughing cos i forgot to put my mask back on
with a vomit
.
there’s a pint and a half i’ll never see again !
.
although i can still see it
dribbling down my back drain
(and that’s not prison slang)
Fancy tonight is going to involve a fair amount of malt and a half Corona or two.
Evening all. *bends knees*
A knife, a fork, a bottle and a cork
That’s the way we spell New York…………….
Hopefully not ending in the manner of cba – but it’s a possibility if the right wrong crowd turn up. (much like the Tollie :))
Evening Esso,
A snake’s belt slips
Cos he has no hips
And a boy’s best friend
Is his mother…..
apologies for vomit talk ‘hols and ‘hol
i’ve not only let myself down
i’ve let my team mates and the manager down
‘
*slopes off to naughty step*
‘
*goes back for – now – lookin flat jar*
‘
oy fuckin arthur vey
My first ever away game, apart from SHL, was at the not so ‘appy ‘ammers. Stood on one of the sides on a stool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32PlpPu5750
Heh Baff.
Business as usual
starts with the sound
of another damn funeral
march through the town
One less for St. Nicholas
there’s nothing as vile
Or as sad or ridiculous
as the coffin of a child
Don’t stand on stools, tabs…..
Dr. Feelgood, that is advice i can live with.
Tabs – take me hat off to ya. Talk about starting it the hard way.
Tabs @312
Were there horses at the game?
I try to tell my kids to watch for those kinds of things.
Zico @ 314
Evening maestro, good advice there, it’s hell cleaning your shoes especially when they have fancy soles.
strange choice of tune
indeed
why the tune !
much as i love hair translants – i coulda managed to drag myself through an arsenal game without massaging
‘
pay no heed to all above
she had radio two in the background on her bloody puter
.
takeabowson
now there was ten minutes well spent
it was status quo if you’re interested
Esso @313,
brings a tear to my romantic old eye, mate. Nicely worked.
Better than sitting on said stool, I guess.
What a memory jerker TaBS. South Bank that day. The Mile End in their heyday. Still remember it none too fondly.
“There’s only one way out…”
Ah, Dr Z I see now that you were quicker with the advice.
I was caught looking for Tabs’ insurance card before offering advice. π
A major problem here in the States
Anyway, time to watch the presser and prepare the preview.
Different times, thankfully.
There speaks a voice of experience. Fucking scary place that was.
Dr Z @314 Sage advice but unavoidable at Upton Park.
Esso – Evening Sir. Lovely lyrics. Not as bad as it sounds as I was only about 8. I remember a visit a few years later when Stewart Robson made his debut and we won 1-0 being a lot more hairy!! π
NorCal – No horses as far as I remember though West Ham did have a fair few donkeys playing alongside the imperious Bobby Moore. π
cba Excellent π
But give ’em their due (which is fucking hard, but I have got some east end murdering scum mates believe it or not), they rated us well above the so called Tottenham massive.
Gotta say I got mates (well some are more just acquaintances these days, but maybe still in touch via email etc) from all London clubs except one. Cuntski! Funny that innit.
TABS@286
“Never took to Runaround much as I always thought Mike Reid was an enormous cunt, even as a kid”
What he said!
Holic’
“Runaround was produced by Southern Television for ITV between 2 September 1975 and 7 September 1981.”
Looks like you escaped that fate just in time!
Evening
Heh Holic. Very vague memories at this end I have to say. I would have sworn that game took place in the heart of winter and that we were riding high. Just looked it up and it was the last but one game of the season and the title had already gone north.
All I really remember is being on the side (was it all terracing then?) level with the penalty area at the end the goals were scored.
I remember cheering when my old favourite Ray Kennedy got the first, and the old man telling me to keep schtum. π
TABS@286 (again)
Did you know Mike Reid when he was a kid then?!
jalfrezi beckons
toodle oo
and as dave allen said
may your god go with you
‘
cheers fellas and ‘hol
a diamond collection as always
Evening Ollie.
Thierry Heh π !
Cheers cba.
I hope We release the Giroud tomorrow. We need his height attacking and defending. Without Diaby we are relatively short as a team. The OG gives us a presence in both boxes and on set pieces.
He and Per ( if he is fit) are musts for me against the long ball walrus coo coo cachooo
‘walrus coo coo cachooo’
I’m imaging someone standing on the big fat cunt’s windpipe as he breathes his last.
Mega!
Home from work, tired as hell and then I come into this bar and do some back-drinking and a few proper laughs has revitalised me. Quality stuff from the lot of you!
Pints of old Arthur’s finest brew for everyone.
Just looking at that headline makes me wish there were a chip shop around the corner. But I guess I should look on the positive side. With as much wind about as there is today, there would be newspapers blowing all over the place from the discarded wrappers …
NorCal. That’s quality drinking @336. π
Need to see Theo putting those crosses in to Giroud when they come on tmw.
Have a good feeling about those two.
NorCal
Agree completely regards Giroud and also hope, believe it or not, to see Walcott and Ramsey given starts too.
I think that Walcott looked hungry when he came on the other night. Ok, only a cameo, but he seemed to have that burning desire back, something sorely missed in him. He may not be the smartest or even the tidiest player, but when he gets the bit between his teeth he can frighten the living daylights out of any defence in the world, let alone McCartney!
Ramsey, as has been commented upon here by people far smarter than I, seems to have already seen the potential of running in behind Giroud and, whilst the Frenchman not scoring is a slight worry, I would rather he provided three goals in a 3-0 win than scored 1 in a 2-1 loss.
If you catch my drift!
Team for me:
Manonne
Jenks – Per – Vermaelan – Gibbs
Arteta – Ramsey – Carzorla
Podolski – Giroud – Walcott
I know that this leaves the current top scorer on the bench, but I also think that he is more likely in the middle of a purple patch than laying any real claims to a permanent centre forward role and so not the end of the world if he gets a break.
Of course, something totally different in the front three berths would not be in the least bit surprising.
Goonertown
Are you reading over my shoulder whilst I am typing?!??! HAHAHA!
Cheers 8ball,
I hope AW plays Giroud. I know against Stoke he used Diaby’s height on throws and set pieces. I hope he uses Giroud in a similar fashion tomorrow. Wet Spam will be looking to score off set pieces knowing our track record (3 given up in last 2 games). They also like to ” draw” penalties to get those set pieces and have actually scored off of 4 this season. We need the height and some aggression to win those high balls. I think OG gives us that. Per is tall but he is not as aggressive at winning headers. Kos is better than TV in the air too. And TV has given up too many rash challenges in last few games. That being said it will probably be TV and Per and OG off the bench.
Giroud should start and play the whole match whatever else …
Zico@221: regardless of how we pitched it, the reality was we would have been looking for a seasoned back-up for a rising star who was still top-draw when he did get a chance to play. Few and far between.
Not sure about Given or Gordon. One clearly long on the downward arc of his career; the other on a trajectory never high enough regardless of where he was on it, except perhaps at the very start. Friedel, I agree, would have been a terrific acquisition. I have always rated him highly, and even more so now he is keeping Lloris out up the road. Same might have happened to Woj.
~@235, H2H@243: Woj and Fab are both competing to be Poland’s No 1 as well as Arsenal’s. Doesn’t that generate a competition of its own?
~@266: Shove your slide rule where he can’t move the cursor. Usually shuts them up.
Tabs@225: hope the splinters aren’t too painful. Jasskelainen supports my point. He went where he was most likely to start. Julio Cesar, would have made my list of top 10 keepers a season or two back, but he is in the twilight of his career and so has slipped down the pecking order. Again, he’ll play at QPR; not likely to with us.
~274: Pete and Dudelicious.
Ollie@229. π Didn’t Given get a trial at Arsenal early in his career? And was rejected. Talkling of what might have beens, shame we didn’t secure Cech when we first looked at him as a youngster. Couldn’t get a work permit sorted out. Timing of transition from him to Woj would have been perfect.
~@238 π
Tabs@249: Fab is a much better keeper than Don Vito. We are agreed on that.
~@300: Well in. On the nose.
Homer@257: π
NorCal@271: Wolfie will let you work your way up.
BG@289: everything was better in black and white.
TW
Oh yeah. Heh. I also mentioned this yesterday too (promise).
I agree. Theo and Giroud could be the new Theo and RVP. Theo delivered decent crosses to Giroud which only left him to convert. There appeared to be an understanding between the two on Wednesday that if worked upon, whether it’s in training or by staying behind after training, if done right, could work to the Arsenals advantage.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
giroud!
oh dear, wrong tab.
WHY DO WE KEEP STOPPIG FOR COMPLETELY BULLSHIT INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL?
Who actully wants / asks for / or imposes this rubbish?