Giroud Shines At The Olivier Awards
Nov 21st, 2012 by 'holic
As I suspect one young ‘holic discovered this evening not every game goes according to plan. I’m looking forward to seeing what Wind made of the performance in the drinks later. From a comfortable sofa eighty miles away we appeared to survive an indifferent start before wrapping up a place in the knock-out stages of the Champions League for the thirteenth consecutive year (Were you watching Sheikh Mansour?)
Having said that I didn’t share the general downbeat mood of the Sky Studio at half-time. I felt we had woken from another slow start, and let’s face it it took 15-20 minutes to find our level against the neighbours on Saturday, and with a bit more luck would have turned around a goal or two to the good. In the early stages we looked to be playing in straight lines, nobody showing on the angles to receive the ball, and we were wanting time that opponents determined to press the ball would not allow.
Slowly we took the game to the visitors, sharpened our act, without getting much going our way. On another day Laurent Koscielny’s header would have hit the underside of the bar and bounced in rather than smacked the frame head on. On another day the dangerous Lukas Podolski would have converted at least one of the chances that fell his way. This wasn’t another day. Arsenal continued to improve, survived the one opportunity Montpellier had thanks to a very well timed Wojciech Szczesny save, and went in for the half-time energy feast without reward.
“What can Arsenal do to change things?” Ben Shephard enquired of our Nutty. Nigel suggested bringing on Kieran Gibbs at left-back to go beyond Podolski and provide crosses for Giroud to feast on. The memory of that brought a smile to my lips when the skipper burst beyond Podolski in the fourth minute of the second-half, and crossed for the outstanding Olivier Giroud to knock the ball down into the path of Jack Wilshere, who finished with aplomb.
“One-nil to the Arsenal” echoed around the Grove, and my mind was transported back to the first time we sang it, against Paris St Germain as we headed for a European trophy. This game was never going to end 1-0, and I remained hopeful of landing my punt until we reached the added minutes. Midway through the half we doubled our advantage when Podolski played a one-two on the edge of the box with Giroud and powered home as fierce a volley as you could wish to see.
I was praying for my four to come good, and it may have done had Giroud lifted his best opportunity over the ‘keeper. Sadly he wasn’t to get the goal against his old team his performance thoroughly deserved. Rarely have I seen a player in his role put in such a shift. There was even a moment in the second-half when he popped up at left-back to prevent a dangerous attack from developing. His presence at the back for set pieces is invaluable. It looks like we have ourselves quite a player.
The only real scare came when Santi Cazorla (there’s no point in me telling you how good he was, it goes without saying these days) hobbled off after a series of assaults on his legs and ankles. I’m reasonably sure it was just precautionary. Let’s hope so. Giroud also was withdrawn early, but that was just to enable the crowd to express their appreciation for a quite extraordinary effort from the big man.
Individually we have so many players playing so very well. If collectively we can harness all of the good work that is being done then something important may yet be achieved in the six months that remain. That nagging doubt remains. Prove us wrong boys. We really would love you to.
309 Responses to “Giroud Shines At The Olivier Awards”
Thirst?….no to read…
Typo…..even now to read grhh
3rd……
I don’t drink anyway
Bah, czech commentator of highlights from our match is so terribad its beyond belief ..just few examples “and first chance for Gunners came from Artetas header to crossbar (first wtf moment)”
Montpellier break when Woj went out of goal to snatch it “and great save by Koscielny to prevent Montpellier chance” and afters Poldi goal he went “and Podolski added third in emphatic way after great combination with Giroud” so appalingly bad I am going to write angry e-mail to czech tv ..and this one is pretty much czech equivalent of BBC ..paid from my money for this astonishingly bad research..just unbelievable.
Top report ‘Holic. Luuuurvin’ it.
Kos back to somewhere near his best. Jack getting there and Poldi scoring a goal worth the price of admission alone.
I’ll take that.
A lot of encouraging signs from tonight, although they were not up to much, let’s face it.
Jack, Sagna, Kos, and of course Giroud all excellent performances.
Podolski’s finish was quality striking. He is showing glimpses of the great player he can be (for example the ball into Santi’s path on Saturday) and if he starts firing on all 6 cylinders the way he did when I saw him for Cologne last year we are in for a treat.
Anyway, job done.
Let’s bag some Villans on Saturday.
Top 10 again?
BFG as well zico. Should have mentioned him again. Apart from the ball inside him for their chance not a thing got by the big old galoot all night. Love him to bits.
Just in from the cold. Brrrrrrrr
All over the place in the first half but some lovely moves in the second and a deserved win.
However, just as well we were playing a pretty poor team.
Jack gets better and better. Kos has to stay in the back four and Poldi needs to be in the box more.
However we need to buck up if we draw someone decent in the next round.
Bound to be Farca, isn’t it?
Great report Guv. Good to see.
Fingers firmly crossed up here in N Lincs – uncrossed for the drive home Friday night then crossed again over the weekend before another drive up on Monday morning. I’m telling you, there are times when I wish I wasn’t interested in footy.
Night all.
COYG
Eighty miles away, now I know where you get the time to read, Holic 🙂 Giroud looked unhappy with himself, silly lad! Hoped you would enjoy Woj’s bravery as much as me, and it sounds like you did 🙂 Some nifty tackles and fancy footwork, just a pleasure to watch. Now you mention nagging doubt (glad you did!). The way I see it, we need to work on clearing the ball out of danger more emphatically (no tricky half turns, please!). Cheers all 🙂
Yeah, fair shout H.
Wow. Arssene knows.
BFG. Poldi. Giroud. Santi freaking cazorla.
Jack impressed today. My boy Bac minus one slip was a stud.
Kos looked vood. Even TV5 was on it.
As a wise man said a few dozen drinks back – give this team the chance to gel and it will be something to see.
And Poldis strike. Woof!! RV who?
Well done Gunners!!!
A squad number.
A few decent Arse days – what. Loving the re-emergence of future cap’n Jack, meself
Wenger on Poldi’s goal “It was a superb goal. He has the most powerful shot of anyone at the club. Our goalkeepers dread him!”
abb@295 from previous drinks…Heh…Whatever you say, ma’am.
Hope you do get your change to de-smirk José’s face.
Good shout AL – that boy is the dog’s bollox. Future captain no doubt – hope he breaks the mould. 🙂
DreamWright, Just think of it. Our chance to see him and Arsene together again, priceless 🙂 And Holic will be forced to talk about him, haha! 🙂
Evening bath,
The Xmas offers starting to provide opportunity…
For a few seconds tonight I had a Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban in my trolley for just under £25, until I saw my darling Laphroaig still at £25.
If they had any stock Talisker would have been a couple of quid cheaper. Worth the trip to Sainsbury this week.
Delighted to see Jack score. Here’s to many more where that came from.
A cold bottle of Sam Adams followed by a 14-year old Longrow from Springbank Distillery.
abb@19…Hehehe…:-D
Thanks for the tip. The Benromach is getting low. I’ll go looking at the local Sainsbury this weekend.
The Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or puts the Quinta Ruban in the shade.
Just back. Kids to bed. No regrets. Absolute pleasure. Wind was a gracious a host anyone could ask for.
One wish that I could have had a tipple or 2 at the Tollie, but that will be another trip. Stadium and pitch are magnificent.
So great to just see the supporters, see the colors, see the players , see the pitch, hear the and sing the songs.
Wish we had scored in the first half since we were sitting at that end.
Glad for Jack to get on the sheet, what a volley by Poldi. My two boys favorite players.
Great evening with the kids.
Loved traveling home and seeing the colors and the badge spread out across London.
Cheers Lars. Pleasure to meet you. Even if it was over a fence.
Look forward to the next time. Drinks on my tab.
Goodnight all. Off to Oxford in the morning. Then to Villa park on Saturday.
Well said ‘holic.
We’ve done what needed to be done. THere was some good performances in there, but I believe there’s still a lot of room for improvement.
Still, two goals, a clean sheet and in the hat for the knockout stages with a game to spare. Anyone who’s not happy with that is just plain loopy.
Will look forward to our on the spot ‘holics reports tomorrow.
Enjoy your evening, all.
Cheers DreamWright! 🙂
NorCal – Glad you and the kids enjoyed the match and experience in general. Here’s to your next trip over. One word if you’re going to Oxford tomorrow. Steer clear of the Turf Tavern; it’s over-priced tourist kitsch.
Night again all; I really mean it this time.
COYG
Just back from The Ems and I reckon, Holic, your last paragraph sums it all up.
We have a lot of very good players who are still learning to play together, and frustration occasionally creeps in as passes go astray because they’re not quite sure who likes to make what sort of runs.
When that all begins to click and our collective and individual defensive errors are straightened out, this could be some team.
In Cazorla and Wilshere we have two absolutely exceptional talents. Arteta’s work rate in backing them up is quite phenominal. You have to wonder how long he can keep that up without injury, so it is vital that help is either recruited or can be trusted in the shape of Coquelin. Or maybe TV as DM if Gibbs is to resume at left back.
The BFG looked a bit weighed down tonight by the centre forward he had in his back pocket. An amazing performance in which he won absolutely everything in the air without ever really jumping off the ground.
The centre forward he dominated so completely was interestingly named Charbonnier, which sounds like some kind of sparkling wine. Sparkle though, was a qualty of which he was utterly devoid.
Unfortunately, I didn’t make The Tollie as I had to get a later train than planned due to a daughter who wasn’t too well.
Sorry to miss you NorCal – hopefully next time.
Hope you and the kids had a good time. You certainly had a couple of quality goals to celebrate, albeit after a pretty poor first half.
Joe – big ups to you sir, for a superb @149 in the previous drinks. 🙂
Holic, we saw the same game. Great write up.
Abb – about what you wrote in the last post. Iker won’t be our biggest problem if we get RM. He’s been absolutely awful this season, especially in the air. Giroud will feast on his horrible wandering off the goal line.
I absolutely love Giroud, his knock downs are such a weapon.
This time last season the Dutchman had 14, which is exactly the amount Giroud and Poldi have together.
Wouldn’t be surprised (and in fact called it on twitter to Catalan and Tabs) if Poldi and Giroud will score more than the Dutchman and the Granny shagger.
40+ from both. I’m sure of it.
I’m also sure Rafa will drive Chelsea into the ground.
Just back.
Hard to believe that 4 years ago I started pointing myself in this direction and tonight I saw my 14th live Arsenal match. Certainly hope it’s not the last. Sorry I missed you at the tollie, Wind and baff. I ended up having to rush home to grab something I forgot and didn’t get to Highbury & Islington until 7:20 so I just went right to the ground.
Re: The match.
Though we were coasting through the first 20 or so minutes but when we woke up and started to click we were always dangerous. Santi Cazorla was absolutely brilliant. You’re right it goes without saying, but like I just said on the arses, this is a player that 10 years from now I’ll be able to crow about to my American friends (who won’t care) that I saw Santi Cazorla play live.
We should’ve scored more than we did (I predicted 6-1) but with the shifts that the likes of Giroud and Wilshere put in, like you said, if this continues the sky’s the limit for this team. I love it.
Nite Oxon! Now to read Snir and Trev. Norcal, told you it was a trip of a life time!
Man it’s so cool to see other people going on the same trips I’ve gone on, seeing their firsts.
We really are a family here at Arsenal. A good family. Nothing like the dysfunctional circus over at Chelsea.
Trev, Good observations by you. Hope your daughter is feeling more like her old self soon. Now to Snir, and James (can’t keep up with all these drinks) 🙁
Sky Germany reporting Huntelaar moving in January, and we are favourites to sign him.
Tricky. He should be cheap as only six months to run. Will be direct competition for Giroud unless we change formation.
Not sure I buy that, although at a good price makes perfect sense.
Just one thing – I actually think that JW had a sloppy game.
Was very wasteful in possession.
Put a shift in, but that’s normal for him. It was his passing which made me cringe a bit.
As for a lot of players playing well – I have been on record saying that this squad is one of the best in the league, and that I think that we’re gonna win the league, so it comes as no surprise to me to see them play well. No stretch of bad form is going to make me doubt this squad’s ability.
Thanks Abb, she’s fine, nothing like last year thank goodness, just a bit of ear and throat trouble.
How reliable are Sky Germany?
That would be an awesome signing. My best friend and I have been clamoring for Huntelaar for about 5 years now. I’d definitely get his shirt.
Lovely arsing jubbly! Still at the Tollie, having an awesome night! Had the good fortune to meet NorCal and Wind, hope you don’t suffer from hangovers tomorrow 😉 For my part,I am now approaching a state of severe drunkenness so I assume I won’t be too active tomorrow!
Anyway, the Holic got the match report very much spot on. We deserved it the end and were by far the greater team this Wednesday has ever seen.
If anyone’s about tomorrow we’ll be at the Tollie from 6 PM tomorrow, come join is for a pint and a laugh!
His early passes were a bit wayward Snir, but improved thereafter.
The thing is, he is positive and always tries to drive us forward, which is good to see as some of our endless knocking it square and backwards drives me nuts.
Lars, will you be there on Saturday? I’m in the market for a good spot to watch Villa and I just found out the Tollie is open on match day so I figure that’s as good a place as any, even if it’s a bit of a journey for me to get to.
Off to bed…
Goodnight everyone.
Excellent news. See you there Lars!
A late finish at work meant that I did not make the Tollie. No pre match pint is definitely not a good omen. Coffee it is then.
The first half started quite slowly I thought with far too many misplaced passes. As we started to pick up the pace we slowly took control and should really have gone into the break with an advantage. Did anyone else spot the BFG twinkle toes as he danced around defenders on the edge of the box? A goal against the Spuds and all of a sudden he is the new Messi???
The second half saw our dominance bear fruit. Great to see Jack on the score sheet. He is definitely regaining match fitness and sharpness. The second was a wonder strike. I am fortunate to have my seat directly in front of where Poldi hit it. It was a goal the moment it left his boot. A great strike. The best bit for me was the way he celebrated. It was as if he really knew the importance and really appreciated what he had done. Early qualification was now assured for another season.
Many many plus points from today. A full 90 minutes for both Jack and Poldi. Kos is back to his best. Shezza has another game under his belt. Giroud just gets better each game and Santi is just Santi. I am very glad he is an Arsenal player. I thonk tonight, the adulation shown towards him finally got through. After a succession of corners where the ground just his name I am sure there was just this little hint of a cheeky grin.
It’s been a good few days. First the spuds. Then the dinking of the chavs last night. What was really funny about that was a spud pal of mine giving it Charlie big ones today about how poor they were. “Just think, that could have been you in Turin” I reminded him, with just the hint of a smile. He did not say much more. Then of course Colonel Sanders sacked RDM and we all chuckled. Then as I leave the Grove to hear that Citeh have blown it for another year. You have to laugh.
Great write up holic. Time to enjoy a couple of chilled tins of 6X that I have saved for such occasions.
Keep the faith.
Ok Snir, Even on a bad day he’s still better than anyone we face in the Premier League (cept Julio Cesar) 🙂
Trev – Agree.
That is the first thing I told scruzgooner when we watched the Chelsea game together.
We had no one to drive us forward. Diaby and Jack do it very well, and add that little bit of tempo from standing pace to quick, incisive pace.
Haha if Mertesacker scored I’d have started going OOOOH PER MERTESAAAAACKER to the seven nation army tune we use for Santi.
Folks, I’m waving my WHITE Flag of surrender. Will read each drink at a leisurely pace and savor the opinions of all you fine posters 🙂
Spot on Trev. All the tricks and flicks, and instant control are still there, Jack just lacks optimum match fitness to get away from his man.
A few early passes went astray, but the kid got better and better. He will be fine.
Careful Steve, Wiltshire beer is for real men 😉
I actually liked Giroud’s assist more than the goal. Extremely hard to lob it over two defenders while going backwards.
Hello abb 😉
He had two assists, Snir 😉
What “nagging doubt” is that then, Holic? I don’t feel it. I don’t hear it and I don’t see it. 🙂
Lovely headline and my new hero deserved every bit of the generous applause he received after 85 minutes or so.
Tonight was never in doubt. Wojciech’s return has added confidence at the back. Don Vito wouldn’t have had the guts or nowse to to make that first half save.
Gibbsy on the bench was a sight for sore eyes and he’ll add venom to our attacking play down the left. We’ll also see less indiscriminately stupid defending and unnecessary free kicks just outside the box down our LHS.
And Gervinho too! Back much earlier than I expected to twist and tease, befuddle and confuse – and that’s only us, mind. Just think what he’ll do to opposing defenses!
Will be interesting to see whether AW wants to go for top place in Athens? I suspect not, which might mean that we get to see the metronomic Icema, Thomas Eisfeld make his CL debut. Diaby and Rosicky back soon and we’ll have an unstoppable full house.
An injury for the Dutch Skunk would provide some amusing entertainment on the sidelines.
Top three. One trophy. OllieG 25 goals. Nagging doubt – is for my Arse is Hanging Out of his Nickers.
Hi Holic, Steve T, BTM and Tabs! 🙂 And Lars too!!! I’m really drinking the hard stuff tonite 🙂
One trophy?
We’re still in for the quadruple as of now!
*is pelted with things*
BtM – “Diaby and Rosicky back soon”
No doubt to be greeted by a squadron of flying pigs over The Ems. 😉
And goodnite to DreamWright. I do believe alcohol dulls one’s reflexes 🙁 BTM LOL about your bit on Gervinho, too funny. Thing is, if AW can sort out where to play him, well watch out! 🙂 James, Yes we are!!!
Trev, rhumour has it that the Brazilian girls have fallen for Diaby, so it’ll be organ stop nipples in row 34 to welcome him back 🙂
BtM,
A mere 15 rows behind me, assuming still in Block 91. Must be worth a trip up there to see. 😉
Now BTM, I reread your report. Montpellier is not Barca or Dortmund. We must concentrate on our passes, no room for error when we face the ‘big guys’. Still have some work to do with our defending. And what Trev said @ 39, spot on. We must press our opponents more often. This isn’t meant to take away from our well earned win tonite! Just always room for improvement 🙂
Thanks Trev – hope your little girl turns a corner soon. My little 3 year old has a troublesome cough and she’s managing to keep everyone awake..!
BTM – as ever a joy. I do hope we go for a win in Athens though. The Greeks have nothing to play for. And top spot means we avoid some good teams. Just think this team needs a little more time together and we could do without meeting Farca till later.
Great result tonight. And remarkable consistency to qualify again. Jack’s timing is a little off but that will come too. And hats off to Giroud. I know I’ve doubted his lack of pace and technique at times, but in recent years we’ve had an abundance of talent with a deficiency of effort – so its refreshing to see his wonderful work ethic all over the field.
Tabs@48: spot on about Jack. He started off tonight playing at a level he hasn’t quite got back to yet. Then he reined it back to where he is, and settled. I think scoring will have one him the world of good, too.
Eandy@5: there is no escape from ill-informed commentators. The one on the stream I was watching kept talking of Ox-lard Chamberlain.
Kos has stopped trying too hard and gets better by the game. He and the BfG were rock solid. Definitely No 1 CB pairing. Good game from Sagna, too. Giroud increasingly looking the part. The chipped assist for Poldi’s thunderbolt was exquisite. We fielded close to our first choice team tonight. To your point ‘Holic if they get time to tell as a team, they could be pretty handy.
Agree with all of that, abb, but my Arsenal induced high is a consequence of the emergence of our team for the first time this season after “Our worst start since the drafting of the Magna Carta” (I think I’m quoting Holic the optimist correctly 🙂 ).
With the return of Gibbsy, this team will only have played about four games together. Just imagine what will happen after Christmas when we’re all grooved in (when we’ll be four points of the lead in the league and still in all four competitions – which you may have noticed no other team in England is).
“rumour has it that the Brazilian girls have fallen for Diaby.” If that is the case BtM I just hope that they are not out of action for the standard “three weeks.” 😉
Just a couple holic. Don’t want to enter un chartered territory.
Huntelaar would be a great addition. Especially as he does not get on with RVP. I am sure he would love nothing more than to become the new Dutch Darling and piss on RVP’s strawberries once and for all.
It appears from the drinks above that we all saw pretty much the same game. I fully agree re the BFG. He is a great addition to our side. Rarely have I seen someone that can read a game like as well. Milk may turn quicker, but when you have the quality he has you can get away with it. We are far stronger and far more organised with him at the helm. Win lose or draw he is always the last one left on the pitch having shown his appreciation to his paying public. That goes a long way and speaks volumes for him as a man.
Oh BTM, whole heartedly agree with you! Hope Her Nelliness is doing mighty fine 🙂
Steve T, How that means a lot to me hear that about Per. On televised games, we are robbed of seeing those special moments. Love him to bits.
I think both Giroud and Huntelaar are a little too similar in some ways. But I would expect a move for a striker now that both Chamahk and Gervinho are off in January and potentially Theo in the summer. So I think we’ll be in the market for pace and technique.
BFG – such an underrated player.
BtM: just realised who your wonderful reports remind me of: Stuart Hall in his pomp, great stuff!
Job done tonight, two important wins inside 4 days should breed a little confidence. Have to say as slow and clumsy as Giroud looks he is becoming mighty effective.
Joe, Per is so composed, agree. Time for me to say goodnite. Gooner Terry, thought of you during the game. I salute you Sir and miss your company. Teddy Bear Hug coming your way 🙂
Thanks for the write-up. I didn’t watch this and it sounds like I didn’t really miss anything thrilling but I have seen the goals and they were excellent, particularly the volley .
Funny thing about Wilkshire’s (copyright, David Pleat) goal is the way he runs to the corner to celebrate, Giroud belatedly runs across to the corner as well as if to say, “What about that knockdown then?” and JW, after celebrating with OX and Sagna, runs past him and blanks him, because I think he was going to congratulate Vermaelen on the cross. 😀
Joe@67: baffles me how anyone can underrate a player who has 85 German caps.
Trev – Hope all will be well with your little one..
BtM i LOVE your optimism sir. Please keep it up.
Im not sold on huntlaarr. Hes been a bust everywhere but schalke.
And i read, no personal knowledge course, that hes an absolute queen in the dressing room. With the chemistry that seems to be developing now why mess with it? Giroud will be the man. Ill see your latest wager BtM of 15 goals for OG and raise you 5: 20 goals. And lord knows how many assists!
This squad is just starting to get dangerous.
Cheers gunners one and all!!!
Wait. Sorry my mistake. BtM you clearly said 25 goals. My fault there.
Ill still raise you 3. 28 goals for OG. Right.
What a nice performance we eased into…credit to the French side for not rolling over too.
As ‘holic said … so many players playing well again…I’m feeling our darkest days for the season are behind us. Bring on the Villa.
Giroud – what can you say….it’s not just about scoring but bringing others in too. This team will gel, still sickened how so many were giving up on them (not here primarily).
Keep the faith. I wouldn’t swap this season for last if you paid me now.
Like you, ‘Holic, I didn’t share much of the gloom as the Sky half time report opined.
Maybe it was me still shaking off the quarter to 4am cobwebs outta my eyes but I genuinely thought we were steadily finding the chinks in our opponent’s armour. Not sure if anyone noticed but on Twitter almost all of my Gooner timeline was filled with groans. I almost burst out a “am I watching a different game?”.
Did anyone else notice how everyone had an extra shimmy last night? Our usual 1 touch passing was supplemented by quite a bit of flair to navigate through the crowds of blue and orange. I quite enjoyed that, to be honest!
Giroud worked his derriere off, very very happy with his performance last night, the first assist for young Jack was top drawer upon 2nd viewing, the contorting of his body to achieve the soft flick on for any on-rushing teammate, WHILST fighting off a persistent centerback.
I share BTM’s shining optimism but probably a couple shades lower, a few issues might need a closer look at during the January window;
eg. the Theo situation annoys me no end – I said at the beginning of this season that he can go if he wants, but sign someone up to replace his pace.
But now, he seems to be hitting a more consistent patch of consistency (yes? yes? bah.) and like HWSNBN before, striking up a nice understanding with Giroud. Then again, perhaps he is just playing for his next paycheck. Keeping Theo would prevent another few months of transitioning, blah blah on the right side.
I believe that Ox will be a good player to come, but last night proved that it’s still early days yet.
Anyway, was glad that my trusty alarm woke me up just in time to tune in to this game and that little pat on our Crest by Jack during his celebration brought a bit of joy (okay a lot) to my being.
Up the Arsenal. And good morning to most of you ‘Holics in about 4 hours’ time.
Just wanted to get something off my chest.
A lot of you have criticized Theo here for his interviews/demands.
While I agree that he isn’t worth 100K, all I can say is, that I have a lot of respect for him, not agitating for a move.
It is well known, that we do not keep a player (apart from Flamini who was more like Gallas at the time. Would get an offer, but not indispensable) in the last season of the contract.
AW has been quoted saying we cannot afford to keep a player in his last season.
That to me, means that a player in his last season of his contract is agitating for a move.
Theo, obviously is not agitating and was allowed to carry on playing for us despite being in his last season of his contract.
I am now certain he will sign. Especially if he keeps up this form.
There will be a lot of us who hope you are right, Snir. Can’t help to be cynical after the past few years.
Perhaps some of us are just trying to ‘protect’ ourselves from disappointment. Theo’s been with us for 8 years. I personally did not even realize that until someone pointed it out to me.
Ideal scenario is that he stays and we benefit from his current run of form, he breaks TH14’s scoring record, we win many many trophies with his lethal touch in front of goal and he goes on to have a testimonial that will feature the likes of DB10, TH14, PV4, GG, RP7 and FL8.
I can only dream.
BTM @ 53
Love your optimism mate,i must get some of those Rose colored glasses you wear.!!
Let’s see what the mood is like in 7 days time after the Villa/Everton games.
AHOMT
Steve-O – I think it’s telling that Theo has been allowed to stay after the past two seasons when we were adamant to sell players going into their last season of their contract.
Something is different in this contract situation as opposed to the others.
Snir, you are quite right. There is something different in this situation as opposed to the others.
Just what the difference is, has yet to be ascertained.
But I definitely hope you are right, my friend. I want you to say “I told you so” come January or in the summer when Theo signs da ting.
I know there’s a few cricket fans on here so I thought I’d let you know how Aus vs S.A 2nd test is going after day 1.
Australia 5/482 (yes I did say day 1!!!) run rate 5.55
Clarke 224* (243 balls)
Hussey 103 (137 balls) bowled steyn 2nd last ball of the day!!!
Warner 119 (112 balls)
At one stage it was 3/55!!! Clarke becomes the first player ever to score 4 doubles in one calendar year (one triple)! Has scored 1265@140.55 this calendar year…… Bradmanesque!!!
Great win last night and what a goal by podolski!!! I’m with btm, at least 1 trophy this year and top 3. Giroud and podolski to score 35+ between them! COYRRR
82 drinks? Have you lot been drinking all night?
What’s in for me at the Olivier awards? Do I get the chance to present one at least? 😉
Nah, you had your fifteen minutes of fame during the Olliempics. And if that’s not enough for your greedy arse, drink your sorrows away at the Ollington.
http://www.francefootball.fr/#!/news/2012/11/21/232926_girard-si-on-peut-aider-arsenal-on-le-fera.html
Montpellier coach says ‘if we can help our Friends from Arsenal, we’ll do it’.
heh Toby 😀
Morning ‘holics…Hope you all had a great night?
Still basking in the afterglow of last nights win…
On the Theo issue, I just really hope he signs.
As much as Huntelaar seems to be efficent striker, I said it before and will say it again, I dont want to see him anywhere near our dressing room.
Right now we have group of players from which noone sports overinflated ego and everyone is working for the team and the last thing I want to see is another macho Dutchskunk corrupting it.
Also I have read this morning in sports news here that AS Roma are preparing the move for TR7 for 5m, bollocks I think but anyone having further info regarding this?
Yeah, I’m not too keen on the Huntelaar idea either, Eandy.
As for the Roma bid, it may be for that:
http://www.bestautophoto.com/images/triumph-tr-7-05.jpg
BOOM! Two properly tasty goals!
Both of them a thing of beauty. Poldi made a bloody difficult shot look easy.
Come On My Team! Bring on the weekend and let’s hope we’re building up a head of steam thanks to our annual annihilation of the Spuds.
Right, a class of undermotivated reprobates beckons. Ginger tea with lemon and honey lined up on the bar for all who want them.
Me too, we could well do with some mould being broken here and there Bath @ 18.
Still a few seasons of sublime stuff from Jack is far, far better than none at all.
(Seem to remember someone from these parts propagating the notion that Future Cap’n Jack might never play again – clearly based on little/no evidence – hmmmmmm!)
To the first champs league knock-out round – and beyond!
Up The Arse!
AL – I remember that. Who was that? There were a lot of people pooping their pants about the thought of him not playing again.
A round of Martell Cordon Bleu for everyone!
The game started at 1:15 AM in Indian time. Was dog tired by day long visits to families and the incessant rounds of conversations and foods and chai and coffee — we Indians don’t think we are not being hospitable enough until the poor guest has given up all his rights to stop being lavished upon — but I made sure I was fully wake and up for it.
I actually thought that the passing was uncharacteristically off from some otherwise excellent passers, but loved the attitude and the drive. I have always maintained that if we can play our brand of football with pace and drive then even on bad days when the intricacies are not all pulled off with as much accuracy as we would like to see we would still be too much for most teams.
Per-Kos are now undoubtedly the finest central defensive pairing in PL! Yes they are. And Arsene may have a tough decision on his hand when Gibbsy is fully fit. I am sure TV5 will understand.
Giroud was technically somewhat below par. But what a fucking shift! I think if we tally up his total goals + assists until now he would be very near the top of the list. A bit more pace, and a bit more fluency on his right leg and a bit more understanding with Santi and Jack — he already has great ones with Theo and Poldi — and he would be one of the most efficient strikers in the league.
And yes, Arteta needs rest. He is human and cannot be expected to do this all throughout the season. I know we Arsenal fans know what an important player he is, and how underrated his contribution to this team is. Let us keep him fit for the full season.
This team can still improve, and improve. Diaby and Rosicky still to come back. Would love to see Rosicky and Santi laying long-rangers on each others’ path! 🙂
Funny stuff:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20442487
I meant *we Indians don’t think we are being hospitable enough..* … that was a *tired* double negative … 🙂
*Nudges the ball forwards, has a look upfield to see who´s making a run….*
A point of ordrer: can one keep on saying how underrated a particular player is – while talking about how much one, and practically everyone else one natters with, rates said player?
Exhibit A. Mertesacker (who as Per had a bllnder) Exhibit B: That Artetetetetaaaaaaa (who gets better and better and betterererer).
Re this lark – I’m as guilty as anyone else of doing it – but intend to scratch such stuff from me own personal Arse lexicon with immediate effect – practically.
(Ahem.)Not sure that Giroud gets all the credit due him. Very underrated
AL @ #97 – Hear, Hear! Well said old bean, a toast for your sauce.
Trev – Great match report, agree entirely and thanks for helping me get back on my feet this morning.
Giroud assist….
Sniffs it!
Ahhhhhhh – i luvvvvv the smell of a Giroud assist in the morning…It smells like…victory
afternoon ‘n’ all
Afternoon All,
Good stuff above SteveT. You didn’t make it to the Tollie though? Better late to the party than not at all my old son! 😉
Snir @80 – Absolutely no difference between Theo’s position and Nasri and the Dutchman. He has not been “allowed” to stay into the last year of his contract. The plain fact is that if a player wishes to see out his contract, move on a free, and pick up a huge amount of wedge in the process, then there is nothing Arsenal, or indeed any Club, can do about it.
The only power that the Club has is to stick the player in with the stiffs and say to him that he won’t play unless he signs up. AW is clearly not willing to go down that route and pragmatic use of Theo’s talents has clearly won the day over what would be a very public scuffle.
He might not be “agitating” for a move, but come on, Theo is a shrewd player of the media, he’s not stupid and he saw in the Summer what damage the Dutchman’s “message to you guys” did.
He wasn’t sold in the Summer because no Club on a par with Arsenal (ie Champs League Football) was prepared to come in with an offer big enough to either (a) tempt Arsenal and (b) pay Theo enough bunce given what he will earn on a free next year.
All the rest is media spin. He may yet stay at Arsenal if none of Utd, City, or Chelsea decide they want him. If his present form continues however, then it is likely that one of those sides will take a punt and he will leave.
I really hope you’re right and in some ways admire the conviction with which you deliver your opinions, but whether you’re ultimately right or wrong, any “certainty” at this stage is nonsensical.
Theo will wait until all the offers are in and pick what he sees as the best one for him. That might yet be Arsenal, but I suspect he may have to lose his form for that to be so.
AL @97 Haha 🙂
And well in for the ton.
Nine Sp*rs fans attacked in Rome -apparantly seriously hurt.
We’ve been there before and we all have Sp*rs fans who are mates when all the piss taking is over.
It’s been said before, but noone should be putting their life at risk by going to a football match.
Hope they’re ok.
Cheers TS.
Hope Theo stays, but Tabs probably has it about right.
You’re very welcome Trev @ #106.
You know my thoughts on Theo, a (significant) shift in position on both sides will be required for a contract to be agreed.
A personal observation/question: In ANY contract negotiation, what is the fundamental thing that all the concerned parties are negotiating over? For sure, it isn’t what position they occupy on the pitch. That’s the reality of modern football and that’s what drives the game.
If by a miracle-of-miracles, a super-talented player or three being hotly pursued by wealthy clubs with promises of fabulous riches makes a public stand and says “I’m rejecting your offer because I want to stay at my current club because at this stage of my career, the development of me as a player is more important than my accumulation of wealth” then maybe, just maybe, FFP will gain a tangible foothold at the level needed.
Until then, I’ll keep my eyes open for that squadron of pigs flying over The Ems.
Well in AL.
And indeed, Trev. More absolutely shocking behaviour from Nazio fans.
Well in ‘BeAnY’ @ #100!
*goes over and celebrates a fine goal with a ‘baller’s hug and kiss*
A-poxy-lips Now.
Shocking. Truly shocking.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2236825/Tottenham-fans-attacked-Ultras-Drunken-Ship-pub-Rome–Comment.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
AL, NED,
If your comments in relation to Per being “underrated” are directed at my post last night, then I should clarify that I am of course referring to the incredible amount of guff spoken by pundits and the media after his arrival last season. I should have made myself more clear in that it’s not my personal opinion. I have always rated him from the moment he arrived at the club and have felt that I have made my opinions on the front very clear. I just feel he never seems to get the credit he deserves from the mainline media – not that I probably should be too concerned by that, but y’know what I mean!
Happy Thanksgiving, Holics! The turkey’s in the oven and he’s not Hawwy Redknapp.
And for those of you who insist that the glass is nearly empty, that the club is in crisis, is not the best it can be and that, in toto, we’re all DOOMED, here’s a wee taste of Virginia and some excellent Gooner advice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRFtWhM4S1k
Enjoy and watch where you’re walking.
Happy Thanksgiving, Merkans. And BtM.
Haha, excellent. Have a good one BtM. Glad to see that haddock is off the menu 😉
I reckon you’ve hit the nail on the head there Tabs @103.
Nice piece of down home culture there BtM, but it’s no’ Jimmy Shand, is it?
What’s wrong with haddock, I might ask?
Not you as well Bath? 🙂
Haddock or Beer? No contest for me 😉
Well said Trev @ 105
Tabs nails the Walcott situation.
The only difference, for me, between this and some of the previous instances where players have run down their contracts is that Theo’s likely replacement is already at the club (Ox). The time Waclott spends on the pitch, productive as it might be, therefore reduces the extent to which AOC will be ready to assume a first team berth next season.
That’s something Arsene needs to balance carefully, and I’m quite sure he will.
Bruges vs Bordeaux tonight. I have memories of catching a wonderful butterfly (one of these, I believe : http://www.visoflora.com/images/inter/med-grand-mars-changeant-apatura-iris-visoflora-19670.jpg ) in the bois de Bruges. But that was the Bruges near Bordeaux, not the Belgian Bruges Bordeaux are playing in tonight.
I used to know Jimmy quite well, Bath as I delivered his papers for about six years. Quiet, gentle, modest man and Auchtermuchty’s first international super star.
And here he is, Bath. The man himself. Just for you and that beautiful daughter of yours. Like me, I’m sure, you feel the hair on the back of your neck immediately become erect on the very first chord of this worldwide mega-hit. May lips have been whistled raw on renditions of this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3hAtxZXNrA
I am not at all sure why my boss is getting ‘very good feedback’, as I don’t think I’m working very much or being particularly great, though through no fault of my own, to be fair.
It’s the Scottish Corner on the drinks!
tabs is on fire on twitter.
For fecks sake, let’s get oot a here afore they get the pipes oot.
Heh @ Ollie TR7.
====
Snir Something is different in this contract situation as opposed to the others
Heh, now where have I heard that before. 😉
Wish I had your optimism, but I see Feo as gone, hope I’m wrong though.
===
Ah, I see Tabs covered it pretty well.
===
Thanks for all the frontline reports fellas.
===
Shamefull stuff in Italy, again. I wonder what Fifa will do about it.
Heh, me.
Tabs,
Spot on re Theo @ 103.
And in the greater scheme of things, we’ve lost much much better players so for me, Theo is overvaluing himself and doesn’t appreciate that the same level of patience, opportunity and understanding won’t exist at other clubs than where he is now.
Liverpool ? – they’re not in the CL and have no money or big plan to get there. Just ask Joe Cole.!
Citeh ? He wouldn’t even make the bench with some of the talent they have at the moment. And for all their money and mercenaries, they’re still shit!
Manu ? I don’t think Fergie would touch Walcott even on a freebie..!
Chelski ? Depends on what manager they have? Heh, or maybe it doesn’t depend on what manager they have! He may as well join the circus.
And after he bides his time and assesses his options, suppose the best one is the contract that’s been on the table all along? What does that say?
isn’t football just great
just bloody great
UP THE ARSE !
BtM Thanks for the post. It fair brought a tear to ma eee. Ah didna ken Jimmy was an Auchtermuchty loon. The link brought my dear old gran to mind, “Can thon chiel nae crack a smile? He’s aye that dour.”
And you are entirely correct about the effect of that first chord.
Epic.
H2H, I’ve had this debate on twitter, but as it didn’t happen in or near the Stadium and not even near match time, I think it’s mostly a police matter rather than a FIFA/UEFA matter.
I don’t trust the Italian police to get it right either, mind.
Am I on twitter? !? Both of me?
I see Clattenburg charges have been dropped by FA.
Not a massive surprise.
I think the Bus Stop campaign against racism was always going to be short-lived.
Am I really reading that Mikel got charged too?
I expect a statement from the SBL soon.
I know Clatts might not be the most popular person amongst the patrons of this establishment, but I’d love to see how Chelski justify their accusation. (cause I can’t see any way that they will have the class to apologise!)
They got their excuses in first last week, when the Met said there was no case to investigate.
Bruce Buck: “If we hadn’t reported what had happened, the press would have made mincemeat of us.”
A very low form of pondlife at the busstop.
…….and Happy Birthday Smudger (one day late)!
Cheers for the kind ones N7, H2H, and Bath.
Ollie @123 – Itankyoo 😉
Chelsea? Don’t even get me started … again!!! Bunch of cunts, torch the place and build some Charity shops to aid those that have suffered and continue to suffer from the vile Oligarchs.
They are a poison, a virus, a plague on all our houses. They must be brought low. Hope Clattenburg sues ’em for all their worth.
I could go on, but luckily I have an appointment with a Swede and some ale at The Tollie. Hurrah!
Toodle-Pip all.
And Cheers Joe.
Gooner Ref – Spot on. Apparently Chelsea’s statement doesn’t even contain a hint of an apology.
What
a
Surprise!
Arsenal shirt deal with Adidas being reported as £22m a year plus add ons. Massive commercial failure if deal is as reported. They haven’t even matched LFC. Ivan out!
Right, definitely off this time!
tabs, mind the other Swede who may be in the Tollie too.
Joe @127…Not so sure about Fergie not touching Theo even on a freebie. More like, he would ESPECIALLY because he’s a freebie.Wouldn’t be surprised if Theo ended up there at all, him being good buddies with RvP & all…Perhaps thats the plan, the end game of all this drama.
Really want him to sign though. I really hope does. We need him.
Two things re the Adidas deal.
Liverpool’s last kit deal with that company was for £12m a season and it ended only last year.
Their current £25m a year kit deal is loaded because the company they are with, Warrior Sports, is based in Boston (Mass not Lincs) and dealing solely with Liverpool in this market.
£22m a year is not at all bad. And we get those loverly three stripes back. Eh, Ollie 😉
Grrrr, Nonny 😉
With Lars & the Swedish Gooners in the Tollie, gonna get me some Pad Siyew! Still writing up my review of yesterday as I’m here, bear with me people 🙂
Evening Holics
Walked down from Finsbury Park Station and hit the Tollie on the dot of 7pm, secured my beer and advanced to the Holic rendezvous on the patio.Sadly did not encounter anyone other than Snowey, on my way out. Wind, look forward to making your acquaintance on another occasion.
As for the game, I thought the first half was dire. We were nervous and our passing game failed to live up to it’s name. Practically everyone was guilty of giving the ball away, quite dreadful. Had we be up against better opposition we might not have left the pitch all square at half-time. Kos effort against the bar was just about the only incident of note, in what was a very disappointing first 45mins.
Where was the Ox suppose to be playing? He kept drifting inside most of the time, leaving Sagna to run the right flank without any assistance. Something must have been said during the interval as he spent most of the second half out on the touch-line. He is not a winger and Walcott’s absence made me think that should he go, a similar replacement is needed.
A different Arsenal emerged for the second half and we were treated to some lovely touches from Santi, hard graft and excellent team play from Giroud, with two fine assists, plus the two goals. I was delighted for Jack, a well deserved reward after such a long layoff. Poldi’s volley was worth the trip and the very late night and there might have been more for him but for a late block.
I thoroughly enjoyed my evening in Block 102, just a pity I needed to dive off on the dot of 21.30 to catch the last train back to West Norfolk. Hope Gibbs and Theo are fit for the weekend, when 3 points at Villa should be on the cards.
As always COYRs
Met tabs! 😀 He got me a pint as well 🙂
Sparta Prague playing Lyon 1:1 so far ..would be quite lovely if they have beaten them:P
You’re probably right Andy’s, but it involves violence and raciism all the things that Fifa are famous for making T-shirts with crappy slogans about.
===
Enjoy the Tollie lads.
Back in the Tollie, Wind? Oh dear. Good luck with SuperSwe! 😉
Come on Sparta!
Ended 1:1…just enough for Sparta to progress out of the group though hehe, so good result 🙂
1-0 Jussié!
Yeaaagh!
Delicious Pad Siyew (I appreciate you so much or that recommendation Steve-o :’) ) now being washed down with a Pint of Stella 🙂 (I think!)
True Storey here as well 🙂 Great night (Y)
The Swedish Gooners are pretty damn cool 🙂
You’ve moved from Cider to Stella now?
Jaysus, there’s quite a gathering for a non-match day!
Is it just because it’s full of Swedes?
Bonny, as you may know, Warrior is a division of New Balance, the sporting goods manufacturer based in Boston, which is also the home town of Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group. It is highly probable that New Balance’s owner Jim Davis and FSG’s co-founders John Henry and Tom Werner all know each other well.
– Bonny
+ Nonny
2-0 away in Real Belgium! 😉
‘Bonny’, heh 😀
More regulars in The Tollie than for a Champions League night, FACT. !!!
Just cant get enough of Poldis goal from last night, watching it over and over again and with each replay I just look in awe on how brilliant that lob was from Giroud and what a technique Poldi showed to slot that one home. With Cazorlas strike against West Ham surely our most beautiful goal this season.
heh, true, Trev. How bizarre!
Or than against Fulham on a regular 3pm ko.
Evening barkeep, and assorted luminaries.
Good result. Tad boring for me, I’m afraid(Although Podolski’s goal illuminated the stadium).Montpellier a no show in terms of intent. I am content however to bask in the reflected glory of yet another last 16 qualification.
Now, I may know as much about football as a retarded sloth who has spent his entire life in a treetop in South America,scanning the skies for Harpy Eagles,but, just the same,would it be too much of a siesmic shift to return to 442 with OG and Feo up top and any perm from Flipper,Arsh Ox and Poldi as wingers? I’m probably wrong of course — no doubt the wisest drinkers will put me in my place.
Lovely summary as ever Mr ‘Holic — take a bow.
As the weather is so fine in these parts, I’ll take a crisp NZ sauvignan blanc please, and some sun screen if you have it
Just checked arsenal.com.
Diaby 3 to 4 weeks away. FACT.
Yeah Steve and TR7 back on Monday! yay!
That infamous Bermuda Triangle, Steve T. It’s wide.
Finally managed to drag myself away from the Tollie, Lars, tabs & True Storey were just such great company in addition to Liz, Stefan and all of the Swedish Gooners, enjoyed helping out Lars and his team with their pub quiz & the AMAZING Thai Food at the Tollie, 2nd excellent night in a row 😀 Might have to do a write-up of today as well, and I’m only in the match section of yesterday’s write-up! 😆
Back to full training Eandy. He was already back training with the team last Monday.
heh Wind, that Thai food seems to have bowled you over!
Hurricane meets Wolfgang Smallballs?
Too late to advise Never go out in a strong wind wearing only Speedos …..life will never be the same.
At least Lars is there to pay the bail.
heh Dr Z!
Failkillah – What a fucking miss…
It was quite spectacular, ‘holic.
Shame about the no clean sheet tonight, I was getting to like them.
But a very good few days for Arsenal and Bordeaux.
Bonus: Marseille lost at home tonight.
Actually, even better: Marseille are out!
Just home from a tour of Oxford, Stratford on Avon and Warwick castle. Very nice day but now I am upset for missing a second night at the Tollie. I missed a Swede Wind, true story. I wish I coulda Taken a Bow son at the Tollie.
Next trip, no family. Haha.
Cheers everyone.
Delia,
I will agree that we started poorly and the first half was not our best. But I thought we improved throughout the half. Poldi pulled one wide, Kos hit the crossbar, we were playing better as the half came to a close. Jack and Ox both looked rusty. Alex looked to try to hard and would have done better keeping it simple.
Sagna and Ox both skinned the left back towards the end on the half.
Second half was better and the finishing improved. Giroud, Arteta and Kos were aggressive throughout.
Montpellier were content to shoot from distance and hope for a break that never came. Their fans were excellent throughout. Belhanda is a nifty player.
Please don’t bring Henry back for a third go. The second had a couple of nice moments but he was well off the pace and a third spell runs the risk of me wishing we had Gervinho or Chamakh around instead of Henry, which is not a nice feeling to potentially have 🙁
Henry is a Legend and left the club as a hero! Bringing him back once was quality and I loved every minute. Bringing him back a second time might see him tarnish his reputation, by not playing to his former ability, which of course is impossible anyway. Having said all that though, he is the man, and personally I’d quite like to see him back.
His return does raise questions of our other reserve strikers though. Its a bit of a smack in the face for chamakh. Are they so bad that we need a 30 something year old to step in?
Re Henry.
If memory serves, we all had pretty much the same reservations this time last year.
Re Huntelaar.
Difficult, I’m in two minds (a touch of the Andy Gorams) about that. There’s no doubt that he can score, he’s a poacher in the mould of Horseface van Nistelrot and him being from the Lowlands would mean a lot more interest in Arsenal over here, but, (and it’s a big Andre Santos but(t)) I’m not so sure if he could fit into our system, unless AW is willing to switch us to a 4-4-2 with him and OG spearheading it, which probably wouldn’t go down too well with Feo and Poldi. Not to mention what would happen if he was asked to sit on the bench for a while, he’s not exactly famous for not being a cunt when it comes to agreeing with managerial decisions.
Plus, he wouldn’t be able to play for us in the CL this season.
Happy thanksgiving holics. I know not everyone celebrates the american holiday that celebrates eating too much and general sloth. But its the family amd friends and blowing off work part that is key. Bit the holiday spirit has a hold of me. As well as the jamesons. Ye gods!
So holics wherever you are – peace!
Is Wind still typing out his drink?? LOL
And you’re welcome Wind. I’m quite the food fanatic and very happy to recommend what I found yummy anywhere in the world.
The big tender pieces of chicken in that Pad Siyew do you quite well, eh, Wind?
can’t get to arsin’ well sleep
wide-a-bloody-wake and talk of big tender pieces of chicken isn’t helping
and is frankly irresponsible steve-o
never bandy poultry
never
HAHA cba. My bad. How about some deep fried pork then? (lunch time for me)
‘holic told us on Saturday that the Clattenberg thing was a complete smokescreen to distract from the fact that Mikel stormed into the referee’s room after the Utd/Cuntski game and threatened to break Clattenberg’s legs becuase of the bookings.
And he had that from a very reliable source as well.
We pondered then exactly what would happen, as no one including the FA has the real cojones to show Cuntski up for what they are. Just like their fans now; mouthy, bullying cunts, who never want it when the numbers are against them.
Fucking hate them with a passion.
Cheers Esso. That’s why Mikel got charged then.
Well played Cuntski, well played. What a bunch of shameless cunts.
Quietest of mornings?
From last set of drinks:
Ollie @ 175, he spotted me & NorCal from the beer garden 😀
@ 197, although I may have interjected a bit much during match time, I hope I did a good job 🙂
Eandy @ 176, I’m certain you’ll make it my friend, and hopefully, if you’re lucky, you’ll meet some great Holics at the Tollie as well 😉
cba @ 179, 😆
abb @ 199, hey abb! Thanks, I would have, but my phone was no longer to receive a radio signal soon after I posted that drink due to very low battery = no Internet = no Drinks 🙁
@ 187Ollie
And the source was Fred, mate. As you know – impeccable information.
Yeah, I guessed it Esso 🙂
Hey all, on Thursday it felt like someone had gone 12 rounds with my throat but I did my best, would have posted this at the semi-usual time of 2:30am to 3:30am this morning but this Blasted Blackberry died and refused to revive quickly, losing me yet ANOTHER draft and I fell asleep waiting for it to reboot on the charger. Enjoy and sorry for the horrendous wait x_x *goes to backdrink from the beginning of the Match Review* 😀
My Thoughts On Arsenal Vs Montpellier.
Wednesday started out with me waking up late haha, sadly not a rarity as it happens more than ever (I honestly put my head down on my pillow on Thursday morning to rest my eyes for 10 minutes @ 7:34am, at the time I started writing this up I was on a 343 at 8:45am which coincidentally is when I’m supposed to be in Registration at College X_X)
Stumbled out of the house, Nike Arsenal 2011-2012 Away Shirt with Henry 12 & PL Badges was underneath the suit, shirt + tie (I have to wear a suit to College along with all my peers since we have a mad Welshman who implemented that idea last January for a Head of Sixth Form), Matchday Arsenal Earphones were retrieved from the 2012-2013 Arsenal Membership Pack, So Paddy Got Up took pride of place in my schoolbag 🙂 The Nintendo DS was already secure in my Suit Blazer’s Inner Left Pocket, hat in left Jacket Pocket & Gloves in right & I remembered my ID (passport) when I reached for my Membership Card 😀
Another amazing feat of fitness, the 250m-300m or so run to the bus stop is made, I exert myself for another burst of speed as I hear it before I see it, make it to the 2nd bus stop on the road. Only for it to drive by without stopping, completely full. :/ So I walk back to the previous bus stop and I’m waiting for another bus when I get a Sagna moment of defiance ala NLD Feb 2012 and I realise, I’m feeling sweaty after that run, I’m sick as a dog after catching a cold on Saturday or Sunday as well & I could use a hot shower + I really want to brush my teeth, might as well as I’ve missed Assembly and have plenty of time to get to Period 2 Chemistry which starts at 10:05am. So with the “Fuck This” Train of Thought, I go home from the bus stop, de-suit myself and the hot shower really does help my swollen & sore throat 🙂 I traipse downstairs (in the Arsenal Towel of Course!) and ask my Dad to book me an Emergency Appointment @ my GP for any Doctor as I feared I might have Laryngitis (excessive use of the vocal chords? On Saturday, Yes Of Course. Excessive Alcohol Consumption? Only had 3 pints on Saturday but more than what I was used to weekly so sure. Excessive Smoking? Snowy & Kevin shrouded me in their 2nd hand Smoke in the Beer Garden so compared to me who dodges it like the plague (if you do Biology like me, when you know what someone’s lungs look like and how the space that their blood can flow through in their arteries and veins is lessening and how the harmful substances in the smoke can damage their alveoli and reduce the efficiency of gaseous exchange at the most in-depth level… Oh sorry this isn’t a anti-smoker rally, do carry on you lot… 8) ) it might have been detrimental to receive such a high concentration of it but I enjoyed our conversation on Saturday so much that I couldn’t bring myself to excuse myself to the bar, and when it got cold enough we all went inside anyway.) And so with that self-assessment of the causes of Laryngitis (thanks Wikipedia! 😛 ) I thought my fears might have been confirmed, I was re-suiting up and my dad shouts up to me that the receptionist told me to come right now asap for the Emergency Appointment, I pick up the pace and add the Nike Arsenal 2011-2012 Away Colours Trackjacket to my Bag from my wardrobe (for extra warmth! 😀 ) and go downstairs to retrieve my delicious pasta (you should know the ingredients by now 😉 ) that my Dad persuaded me not to take when I left the house the 1st time as I needed hot food and there’s no microwave at college (shocking right? 😛 )
As I exit the house, the 2nd feat of fitness begins as I make the run to my GP (which is closer to Camberwell than Peckham and about 10 minutes away) in 4-5 minutes, probably thought to myself that all this Gym Work in some of my free periods is really paying off, and I haven’t done much Cardio recently! Checked in at Reception & had to wait for about 1hr 20 mins to be seen as there was a (wait for it) queue for Emergency Appointments (pretty much 1st come 1st served after 1st wait -_-) After my name was called over the tannoy (surname incorrectly 😡 ), I explained to the Doctor that I shouted myself hoarse at the Football on Saturday, alcohol consumption & 2nd hand smoke may have also contributed towards my suspected Laryngitis along with me catching a cold, she swiftly concluded that I didn’t have it through examination of my throat + my ears and listening to my chest movements as I breathed in and out through the Stethoscope, she gave me a prescription for Penicillin to alleviate & reduce the swelling of my throat. Thanked the GP, left the room and the next person was called in over the tannoy, but then I realised that I’d need a sick note of some sort from the GP to prove that my absence was a medical one (my college’s really anal about absences from registration & lessons) and so I went back to wait outside her room to slip in the moment between the person after me leaving & her calling the next person over the intercom, executed that excellently and got the note whilst she was on the phone.
Left the GP and went down to Camberwell Green from there to pick up my prescription, I was certain I’d need it for later in the day if I was to converse with any of the Holics + NorCal and his kids. I got it and after a period debating whether to Lemsip or not to Lemsip (I didn’t get it), I decided to kill an hour at Camberwell Library as it was 11:20am and I wanted to catch my form tutor/chemistry teacher as he finished teaching at the end of Period 4 (12:05pm to 12:55pm) + I had no more lessons for the day but Camberwell Library was closed for the day. Instead, I resolved to go to Newington Library that’s closer to Elephant & Castle + I could get a 148 from there straight to College in about 20 minutes. Got into the library, watched an hour’s worth of Anime on one of their computers, left and got on the 148 that was coming down the road but as it was nearing Westminster (St Thomas’ Hospital) it turned before Lower Marsh and diverted itself via Waterloo, then Holborn, then Trafalgar Square, then Piccadilly Circus and finally Hyde Park to rejoin the route at Marble Arch. It took about 40 minutes to get to Piccadilly Circus and so I ate some of my delicious pasta with the plastic fork I’d bought from home, somehow the fork was left with 4 points by the time I opened the plastic bag my lunch was in and so I made a valiant effort to eat it before the last point broke off and I’d gone from a carnivore’s fork with pointy ends to a herbivore’s one with flat ends :/. Left it on the bus, put away the container and got off at Piccadilly. Luckily saw a 38 going to Victoria coming my way and so I got on that.
Reached Victoria at the time Period 5 was starting (1:40pm to 2:25pm) and figuring that the teacher I wanted to see would be teaching a lesson I decided to see if any of my schoolmates were at the Gym we go to near our college in their free periods but most of them assuming I wasn’t in for the day with me missing Assembly & Period 2 went to the Gym at Periods 3+4 instead and were currently in Pimlico Library. Still went to the gym, met another friend who was going there at the same time and had one of the best workouts I’d had in a very long time, crunches and knee pull-ups on the parallel bars frame, used the leg press, abdominal chest press, arm raise machine, sit-up frame & various others along with the free weights & dumbbells all whilst I got to control the stereo in the weights room and play my music for once 🙂
Finished there and went back to College with the same friend for football after the day had ended, got smashed in my the other teams due to a overall lack of fitness, passing & finish ability and communication (not me obviously, I scored a hat-trick 8) ) I stopped counting at 26-10 to them, and as I went for a ball that ricocheted off the wall I took a grevious blow as I controlled it with you guessed it, my balls :'( I managed to stay upright long enough to pass the ball back to our team’s keeper and then proceeded to keel over in pain & agony. Thoughts of Pain & various expletives aside, the prominent thought on my mind was that I’d pay monthly or annually if I could be assure I’d never be hit in that area again, EVER. As I reverted to the fetal position and checked my phone, an unknown number came up on my phone’s screen. It wasn’t the eBay people or the suspected cold caller number and so I figured it could only be… NorCal himself 🙂
I did my best to communicate as well as I could with me being in the fetal position on the sidelines of the sports hall with the game going on around me and he told me he was waiting in the queue to pick up the tickets and asked where we should meet, I said the Tollie in about an hour and did my best to direct him from the Box Office (I assumed he was at Box Office nearest the North Bank & Arsenal Station, turns out that he was at one nearer to the East Stand :P) to the Tollie. After the conversation ended, that collision of balls ended my football for the day and I decided to head on towards the Tollie. Slipped the Trackjacket back on and the blazer over that with my jacket, hat, Arsenal Scarf and went to St James’s Park Station to top up £1 for the Journey home post game with another friend and then went to lift a plastic fork from Pret for my pasta (I wasn’t eating it with my hands) and proceeded to go towards the Emirates slowly but surely. As we discussed the best way to Holloway, he said that a 29 would take me to Holloway Road Station or Holloway Nags Head & a random lady chipped in with general buses that we could get to the Finsbury Park/Holloway Area, I’m used to going the Queensland Road way from Highbury & Islington Station from my pre-Tollie days and so I didn’t know a bus that I could get to go near the Tollington & Hornsey Road/Tollington Road. I thanked her and got an 11 going towards Trafalgar Square on its way to its end Destination Liverpool Street Station and interchanged for the 29 going to Wood Green, barely making it as the 11/29 bus stop are separate from each other. Apart from the usual banter, he was like “She was weird.” And my response was “Haven’t you heard of ‘Compassion’ before?” Typical B*rca fan, ugh. My mate got off at T*ttenham Court Road and I continued on towards Camden, heard a loud noise as the bus passed Camden Town Station and I saw plenty of Police ‘Bully’ Vans and so I assumed the ‘yobish’ Montpellier fans were exiting the station as plenty of people were recording but the source of the noise was Gooners at an extremely rowdy pub, I was quite shocked since I didn’t assume that Camden had just a strong Arsenal following since most times I’d been to go to a friend’s house, I don’t see many people wearing the Red & White 😛
Got off the 29 at Holloway Nags Head (looking at TfL Live Bus Departures now I see that it goes all the way to Hornsey Road so I got off 2 Bus Stops early in fear of going off on a tangent elsewhere) and walked up Seven Sisters Road to Hornsey Road and turned right onto it, walked down it a bit and was once again be met with the sight of the Tollington Arms, and this time a Man, a Boy and a Girl standing near the Entrance 🙂 I immediately assumed that I had my American people & fellow match-goers and after crossing the road sauntered up to NorCal until I got the “..Wind?” I responded with the ‘Surprise!’ Jazz Hands and handshakes were exchanged with him and his older teenage kids Emma & Jack 🙂 (I have to apologise to you and your kids at this point NorCal :(, I was supposed to be your Native in terms of North London and the Emirates and I feel like I let you down by not calling you the day before or e-mailing you and arranging a time to meet up, I’m sorry you all had to wait standing up for me for so long with you all not even being able to get into the Tollie and rest your legs with a seat due to your kids being 15 & 14 due to my irresponsibility, it made me feel pretty crappy in hindsight 😐 I hope that it didn’t impact on your pilgrimage to the Home of Football too much).
I had to run inside the Tollie to quickly charge my phone since the radio signal turned off around T*ttenham Court Road due to Low Battery but not before me & NorCal were spotted by Lars from the left Beer Garden and after a brief chat I left those two to it. Was waved in without having to show Membership Card or ID for once (maybe I’m becoming a regular haha) and after getting to 30% I returned outside where Lars and NorCal were having a chat and I joined them in conversing until NorCal informed us that his kids wanted somewhere to sit down and so I took them to McDonald’s on the Seven Sisters Road (the kids were surprised at how it looked since the ones in America can be dirty and how contemporary it looked I think [I told them the McDonald’s of my childhood passed away a long time ago], many a query was made by me and Jack & Emma (with NorCal assisting) indulged me by answering my long-standing questions about many American things (Street names, what American kids when they get back from school [they’re both high schoolers! 😀 ], Celsius to Fahrenheit and how hot it gets there, the decline of American Cartoons, how superior American Candy is to British Sweets in general [I could run a racket at College with the right amount of American Skittles, the demand is already here 😛 ], how their friends reacted when they found out that they were going to Europe, what sports they liked and followed, MLS & its position in the American Sports Hierarchy [quite near to the Ground according to Jack 😛 ], why ‘Soccer’ should be Football and their Football should be HandEgg, how they have a highway network instead of a railway network, how their highway network is named, how streets in cities like New York are named [North to South & East to West], their thoughts on our double decker buses, how only cities like New York and a few others are similar to London in terms of infrastructure if not population, [I joked that no-one really knows how many people are in London ]) as we walked to McDonald’s and sat down. The kids got some French Fries & Sodas ;), bless them they were so polite, well done NorCal for raising them so well mate 🙂 I also got to talk to NorCal about him being a doctor and what kind of doctor he is (anaesthetists ftw) and what it entails on the way to McDonald’s. I remarked at one point on the way there as Jack & Emma walked ahead that NorCal had the order & number of kids I wanted (Boy/Girl/Boy) and how you can have a strong bond with your sons and treat your daughter like a Princess 🙂 as we were talking about our families and he mentioned he had another younger son in addition to his older two who wouldn’t be coming to the game, he’d also mentioned this in our e-mail conversations but I may have forgotten 😛 I also got the scoop on Ivana hehe 😛 (*winks to NorCal*). NorCal got out the tickets inside and I studied where we would be sitting exactly and compared Membership Cards with him and the kids (His had Dr on it, so cool! Was the first time I saw Junior Gunner cards as well 🙂 ) He showed me his a picture of his youngest, 5 year old Gavin I think on his iPhone, a right little Podolski lookalike, so cute, along with some other pictures of all the kids taking various pictures around the stadium & general area 🙂 He was at home with his mum on the night, in bed before kick-off most likely. We got ready to leave and made the walk back to the Tollie, I went in to tell Lars that I’d see him after the game and to look for Delia in her Red Beret & the other Holics (no Luck 🙁 ) although I did see Akhil and shake his hand and I saw Alex aka Frugal Bugle from the Arses again 🙂 with some people, from then I left the Tollie and we went on towards the Emirates.
Programmes bought, (1 for me, 2 for NorCal) we entered the stadium at Turnstile R for the Clock End Lower and while we were waiting for Emma to use the bathroom I think right outside Block 28 a older Gooner rudely barged past and through us whilst moaning and in the process dropped his Arsenal pin, it was definitely a Karma moment as mine and NorCal’s eyes met but after letting him go a short way I felt compelled to pick it up and run it to him at Block 29, (such a nice guy aren’t I 😛 ) I asked Jack to hold my Gloves and Programme as I popped into the Male Toilets and got them off him as Emma came out and we entered the Block. Even having been to see the Arsenal at the Emirates 5 times before, I was in the same state of awe as NorCal and his kids when we came out of the tunnel section to where the seats were as we took it all in, my 1st Champion League game, their first Arsenal game 🙂 I snapped a picture of the scene as NorCal did, we found Row 6 and Seats 388-391 (Me/NorCal/Jack/Emma) and watched the players warm up as the Champions League music played and the circular symbol came out over the centre circle held up by people, it was majestic 😀 The players came out to standing applause and we cheered their names as the stadium announcer read out our lads’ names 🙂 Was interesting to hear the Montpellier players’ names being said in French as we said ‘Who?!’ 😛 The game kicked-off towards us in the Clock End, the Clock End start giving it the chants (NorCal joins in to my delight [don’t think the kids did, probably shy 😛 ], his tone adjusting and assimilating by the end of the game with a unique American overtone 🙂 ) Apart from the Koscielny header that crashed against the Crossbar and the Poldi chance that suggested that he was knocking fiercely on the door, it was a pretty poor 1st half by the standard set by the previous game against Sp*rs, let alone the standard that Arsenal, by far the greatest he world has ever seen should hold itself too. The passing just wasn’t good enough, as poor as I’d seen in 6 visits to the Emirates, so many hospital balls that could have got people injured going for them and so many short balls that weren’t quick enough and thus were intercepted. We let them come onto us, I was bricking it a bit when Belhanda was on the ball approaching our goal as he’s a dangerous player and we were inviting them onto us as well hence the multitude of long range efforts from their players. We got to see Santi, Jack & Mikel on corner duty at the right corner flag so close to us, I got a shot of Santi & one of Jack as I think Emma may have regarding Santi 🙂 We entered Half-Time at 0-0, we all stood and applauded but I could hear the sounds of discontent in the Clock End Upper :/ I was pointing out all the places I’d sat at the Emirates to NorCal and his kids and all the banners (WHL ’71 & ’04, Anfield ’89, Old Trafford ’02, Is Yours Gold?, Class is Permanent etc) before and during the game. I’d taken my Jacket and Trackjacket off and wrapped them around my waist by the arms so the ‘Henry 12′ could be shown for all to see :’) I wanted to put my hat on in addition to my gloves (scarf was already on) as it was getting colder at Half-Time (cold ears haha) but I couldn’t find it 😕 Checked all my pockets, in my bag, down the row where NorCal, Jack & Emma were, underneath our seats, at the entrance to Block 29, in the toilets closest to Block 28 but it didn’t appear :(, nobody could recall whether I had it on when we left McDonald’s or not. I made light of it, saying I was going to get a hat like Emma’s (this season’s Arsenal Hat with the Blue Trim to replace it) 🙂
The 2nd Half kicked off, the lads kicking toward the North Bank, and the same ‘hospital balls’ were still being made, far too short on far too many occasion. But then a sustained spell of play. And then a Vermaelen cross. And then a Giroud flick-on with the head. And then the deftest of touches by Wilshere to loft it over the keeper. And the stadium went wild 😀 I was too busy celebrating but I saw that Jack went wild celebrating, and too understandable considering that it had been almost 2 years since he’d scored for the Arsenal, heard that he went to hug the physio after, touching stuff. I joked with NorCal that his kids scored that goal, Jack with the Wilshere 10 Shirt and Emma with the Giroud 12 Shirt 😆 1-0 to the Arsenal, 1-0 to the Arsenal goes around the stadium, but although Arsenal are better the game returned to the previous state with thankfully less mistakes from our lads. Wilshere was immense, all over the place disrupting Montpellier’s rhythm, Arteta was like a DM Destroyer, interception and blocking tackles, even when he was facing a counter-attack, Cazorla was the wizard he is across the midfield, spraying passes that travelled parallel with the by-line, beating his man, strong spirit. Was good to see the Ox take on his man and beat him via pace or skinning him, Sagna did it via the latter on one occasion I think 🙂 More sustained play, Podolski to Giroud initiating the 1-2, the latter who plays a lofted ball into Poldi’s stride (it wasn’t happening in the 1st half from anybody) and its one of the best volleys for a goal I’ve seen in recent times, had a real emphatic feel about it as well 😀 More jumping and cheering and patting on NorCal’s back, 2-0 to the Arsenal! Arshavin, Ramsey & Gervinho have been warming up and Ramsey came on soon after for the Ox presumably to play RW, we stood and applauded for all both of them 🙂 We began to exert our authority on the game more, Arteta and Cazorla both had good efforts on goal, it was a bit of a shame that our goals were scored in the opposite end from where we were as its quite difficult to make out what’s happening at the other end in the Lower Tier and I would have liked NorCal and Jack and Emma to know how instantaneous the feeling of joy is when the lads put one in the opposing net closest to you, the anticipational slow rise which is the building of Potential Energy and then the expenditure of it all in a big burst since they had to stand to get a good look at the other end but we could be grateful that goals were scored at all and that they were high quality as well 🙂 Coquelin on for Cazorla, Jack becomes the most offensive midfielder in the CAM position (I do this on Fifa on occasion when I want to play out the game) and Arteta moves into the CM position with Coquelin as DM or both Coquelin & Arteta play Left and Right DM. Soon after its Gervinho on for Giroud, we were all willing him to score but the keeper denied him that joy many a time. At this stage of the game around 87:45, the Montpellier fans start going crazy like PSG are losing or something, its quite a sight to behold 😮 The away section resembles a mosh pit of some sort, and the next time they start it up, some of the Clock End Lower and sections of the West Stand join them in their excitement, what a laugh that was! 3 added minutes, but the Arsenal are in control and its Full-Time! The mad dancing jumping energetic celebration begins afresh for the Clock End/West Stand and as we laugh and wind down the stadium announcer announced that both Schalke and Arsenal are through to the last-16, get in! 😀 More Gooners than usual remained after the Full-Time whistle, most likely people wanting to know whether we had progressed or not and the other results, Dortmund were winning 0-3 at HT and extend that to 1-4 at FT, Man Cit€h have pulled one back from their HT position of 0-1 I think to save a point but its not enough to ‘save’ them from going out 😆 We exit through Block 29 as the Block 28 stairs are quite congested and walk back towards Block 28 so Jack can go to the Toilets. As he’s inside I ask NorCal and Emma one more question, “What’s the proper pronunciation of ‘Nike’?” Their answer has me staggering and steadying myself against the wall as they laugh, its a shock but deep down I always knew the truth 😛
Jack came out and we exited the stadium all smiles and began our walk to Holloway Road Station, I asked about their plans for the rest of the week regarding Villa away and how they were going to avoid Gavin exposing them undercover in the home support as he was likely to be very excited when he finds out that his favourite player scored on the night 😛 We got to the station only to find out that it was closed for the night, threw both me and NorCal for a loop, he suggested going back to Arsenal Station but that would have been quite long to walk around the stadium and the early leavers would be at the front of the queue anyway and so they decided to keep on going towards Caledonian Road station as that would allow them an easier link-up to the District Line and where they were staying in Fulham. I said my goodbyes with a handshake and a 🙂 to each of them and I turned right towards Seven Sisters Rd/Holloway Nags Head back towards the McDonald’s. (NorCal, I should have thanked you profusely at that point but my thoughts were on the ever so slight hope that I might be able to retrieve a certain something…)After about a 5-7 minute run and a wrong turn into a mall area with no obvious exit, I made it to the McDonald’s where my hat remained on the table we were seated at *Phew!* When Jack & Emma went to throw away their rubbish away and wash their hands I presume, I must have put it on the table & got up whilst still talking with NorCal and forgotten it as the kids came back!
Hat retrieved, (tell the kids NorCal, they can breathe a sigh of relief 😉 I returned to the Tollie. Met the Doorman who vouched for my age on Saturday and was able to show him my passport as ID, vindicating his belief in me to his fellow doormen :D, he said I had a smart passport photo and with a ‘Thanks mate :)” I entered the Tollie and found Lars in the same Beer Garden as before the 2nd time round with Snowy this time 😀 Lars also introduced me to a friend of his called Martin as well 🙂 I ribbed Snowy for a bit about my sore throat with Lars egging me on before Snowy had to go, we departed with a hug and Lars got me a pint of a delicious Czech or Polish beer, the name escapes me at this time (do you remember Lars?) but it reminded me of my 1st Strongbow, a thing of beauty :’) especially as ‘that’ wallet was involved 8) We were joined by more people Lars knew, another Swedish Gooner called Elizabeth and a guy called Ed as the four of us and Mario, another guy who appeared at the same time as Ed & Liz had a very nice broad conversation until Martin had to leave, we shook hands and the conversation broke off into more separate ones, Lars gave me some wisdom from his University days & useful advice, a Professor said to him & maybe his lecture class “You’ll only remember 5% of everything I ever teach you” and that broadened my horizons about what University should be used for by the student, you go there to learn more to further your Knowledge but you should also be Learning how to Learn More in the Future when you get a job so you can further yourself, that’s what I think it was, maybe it was the stronger than usual beer 😛 but everything Lars said in relation to that made sense 😀 This illness seems to be affecting my memory haha 😆 Saw Arteta’s perfect Lego Hair & Wilshere’s Mini speeding off, a old square van pulled up and “There’s only One Arsene Wenger!” And “Spend Some Fucking Money” went up jokingly 😛 Also saw Ryan from Saturday and went over to say Hi 🙂
Around 10:30pm I decided that I needed to be getting home and let Lars know I was gonna head off, I told Ed my Twitter Handle and he followed me and I agreed to follow Liz by getting her Twitter from Ed’s following list as he followed her as well 🙂 Handshake and hug with Lars, handshakes with everyone else, I left the Beer Garden, only to return. Lars looked at me with confusion as I requested… To see… The Wallet 8) He laughed as he brought it out, small in stature it was, but the power that emanated from it was only visible to a trained Holic such as myself (*o*) as I held it in my hands. I touched it to my forehead and bid farewell as Lars laughed and Ed queried “Wha…?” 😀
Ran out of the Tollie, saw a 29 going to Trafalgar Square rounding the corner to the bus stop, it didn’t stop and I didn’t make it in time but I knocked in hope and I saw him make out the words “You’re an Arsenal Fan”, I assumed that meant he wasn’t going to let me on and turned to go the bus stop when he opened the door and let me on, asking for the result and other results, I gladly obliged (Arsenal & Schalke both through, Man City out) and then went upstairs. Got off at the wrong Camden Station (the rail one not the tube one) but he let me and others back on kindly, thanks him when we got to the right bus top and ran into the station, down the stairs to the Southbound Northern Line, got on the train that pulled up but it took forever (3 mins) to leave and it was going via Charing Cross to Kennington instead of via Bank to Morden, the Bank side passing through Elephant & Castle. After all of that waiting I decided to get off for the via Bank train and got on it when it came, my flipping Blackberry had died at that point so I played DS (Pokemon White) to ease the time along until I got to Elephant & Castle, took the 153 or so stairs as both lifts were upstairs, no 343 as I exited Elephant & Castle Station so I went to check I wasn’t in the negative on my Oyster Card, and waited for the bus that took about 10 minutes to come 😡 Got on it, got off near home and ran home, saw a fox in the distance and decided to chase it 😆 but I lost to so continued running home. Keys, in lock, enter door. “Where were you?” Says my Dad. “Oh, you know, Paddington, Porchester Library doesn’t close until 10pm” (on some days) is my response. Upstairs, place age by my 2nd oldest sister’s room, and have a great talk with her about my night and the generosity shown to me over the last few days and how my Twitter has improved and my normal real life as well (Y) My mum is suspicious of my whereabouts but I ignore her inquest and after finishing the talk with my sister I go to bed, de-suit, and go to bed, content 🙂
And that was that.
I’d like to thank NorCal for inviting me to see the game with him initially and then bringing your kids along to make for a more enjoyable experience for us all, effectively making me part of your family for the evening, they’re absolutely terrific and I hope Wilshere can show you more of what he’s capable of doing at Villa Park as he leads us to a win on Saturday. A home game and a away game on the spin is inspired, Lars and the Swedish Gooners will be there, do try to meet up with each other again if possible eh?
I’d also like to thank Clive for his initial offer as well, all the people I met on Saturday remembered me like a old friend, wouldn’t have been possible without your generosity 🙂
And lastly Holic again, for being a conduit 😉
Ha, something to read.
Sorry Wind, even in my newly retired lifestyle, life is too short for that post. Can you provide an “Executive Summary”?
Montpellier players’ names being said in French
Heh. Never heard names translated 😉
Czech beer maybe, Wind?
Staropramen?
I am now not at all surprised that your Blackberry dies on a regular basis.
Mammoth effort, Wind. I must admit I skipped some bits though (maybe part of the McDonald’s) :$
Chips the ball over the defenders to the right side of the box.
Sparky terminated with immediate effect.
Runs round defenders to do “an up and under” (ref Eddie Waring) and squares ball towards penalty spot.
Grabs a cheeky lurky one?
And as the ball nestles in the back of the net, heads over to the BBC website to confirm what Baff said at 199.
Well in Oxon.
And we can air the twitch song again soon.
Great skills too baff.
Story is that it might be RdM rather than Twitchy. Suspect it’s Twitchy.
NEw shirt deal with Emirates. Stadium naming rights also extended to 2028.
Looks like we’re going to renew our Emirates sponsorship deal. It had better be for significant sums because they had us on the cheap and even bragged about it just after Gazidis took over. We should really have told them to go and do one.
Beaten to it.
Gazidis is a lazy cunt. “Do you want to renew?” “Yes, we do” “Great, saves me having to leave the office and look for new sponsors. Never mind the money we can always sell players if it’s not a decent sum”.
heh Nonny.
Good deal on the surface but if you take into account the pitiful deal we’ve had with them up to now, they are still massively underspent on sponsoring us.
Addition to post 207
“Oh you won’t have to sell any players, Ivan. Promise. Here’s £30m a season.”
“Fucking hell, I was on a massive bonus even BEFORE this!” (starts singing this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoxQ4Ul_DME )
😉
Actually that may not be such a great deal if it also includes stadium naming rights until 2028
It does include naming rights. Crap deal.
Regardin mention of czech beer – Staropramen is most yucky of them all, personally dislike it the most..too sour for my taste. Bernard and Pilsner Urquell is where it is from “bigger” names 😛 Didnt have time yet to read your whole post Wind, its too epic and I dont have much time at work now:P
Regarding new Emirates deal…30m a season not bad, however as it includes naming rights for the stadium..well…they could have thrown in 10m per year more O.o
That looks an impressive sum until you think about it. Even with the proposed Adidas deal to come we are still lagging behind on United’s current deals.
Nike pay United £23m a year for kit at the moment, which already beats the expected £22m Adidas deal we’re supposedly going to do, and they are said to be close to clinching a mind boggling ONE BILLION POUND deal with Nike next year.
United get £45m a season for shirt sponsorship alone. They rake in about £10m from their training kit sponsor to add to that.
We get £30m and it inlcudes match kit, training kit and stadium rights. That’s really weak in comparison.
But then comparing to United and City is wrong anyway because we’re not competing with them on the pitch. If you compare the deals to Spurs, Liverpool, Newcastle and so on it is better.
Glass half full post 😉
You’re probably spot on with the Star for Wind’s beer, Ollie.
Christ that was a long read, Wind.
By the by, it’s Nigh key. 😉
And well in, lurkyMcLurky Oxon.
You might as well put me out of my misery now Steve-o 😛
Afternoon All,
Bit of a boilk going on here I have to say. Those Swedes can half knock it back. Nothing like a gallon of Wifebeater to have you skipping home in the rain. Thank God we decided, in a rare moment of clarity, to call it a day when The Tollie kicked us out.
Great to meet you Wind. Hope you don’t mind but I think I’ll leave your monster post for this evening when my head stops hurting.
Lars, thank you for your hospitality. Say Hi to all the guys for me, Robert, Tobias, Stefan, Filip and many others whose names for the moment elude me. All cracking company and all proper Arsenal. Top top night.
Even got myself an invite to go to Villa Park as an honorary member of The Swedish Massive. Now there’s an offer I can’t turn down. Can’t wait.
Now where’s my Swedish Dictionary? 🙂
Quick lunchtime announcements.
Adam Jones has won the dvd, congratulations Adam.
Nonny, consider the deal is £20m a year for the kit and £50m for the naming rights extension. Looks about right for a team without silverware in seven years.
TaBSson, the honorary Swede, not a turnip, have a great day at the Villa with your adopted countrymen 😉 They do like a half or two, don’t they!
Wind. Next time you go to a game I will take a day off in order to read your account 😉 Brilliant stuff.
Mark Hughes, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…
Epic post Wind, impresive that you can knock all that out on a phone.
Some advice for you mate, if you’re worried about your health, I’d avoid McDonalds, that can’t be any better then the second hand smoke you fear, plus if you want to know how to pronounce Nike then you’d be better served asking a Greek. 😉
Hughes aahhrrrttt, FACT. !!!!! 🙁
Yappyapp in, rumour ! 🙁
More crap to listen to.
Cheers Holic, not sure how the liver is going to cope with an all dayer with those Boys, but I’m looking forward to the challenge! 🙂
Sorry Wind, no time to read that at the moment. 😉
The Sparky dismissal is even more laughable when you consider that he left Fulham not so long ago stating;
“As a young, ambitious manager I wish to move on to further my experiences”.
Ofcourse we all know he had his beadys on the Villa job, but they blanked him and he ended up at QPR.
His “experiences” now include not getting the Villa job, barely avoiding relegation in his first season, making the second worst start to a PL campaign ever and getting the old Spanish Archer (but I’m sure he’s experienced that before. 😉 )
Can we look forward to Redknaap’s Rangers? Queens Park Twitchers?
Or will RdM sneak in and steal it from under his nose, leaving The Sun fuming. 😉
Hope everyone shook Hughes’ hand on the way out! 😉
I was going to post an epic drink, but then realised that there were no words left as Wind used them all in #192.
Can somone send me a synopsis, as I only have thirty years left to live? 😛
So how is NIKE pronounced? 😀 just wondering.
Nike (Greek: Νίκη, “Victory”, pronounced [nǐːkɛː])
So now you know.
Nike is pronounced child labour
Allegedly….
hehehe, i wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth non other than Wind himself 😀 but thanks H2H and Dr. Z.
Heh Zico.
All in all, I think we can safely say it’s been a pretty damned good week hey Arsefans?
In sum:-
1. Clean sheet and 2 goals in the CL
2. Giroud continuing to do a top job
3. Wilshere’s dinked, outside-of-the-boot finish
4. Chelsea still the basket case of the league and getting funnier all the time
5. Hughes out on his ear
6. Almost forgot – Chelsea getting schooled
7. Oh yeh, and Mikelinfalseracistallegationgate
Can anyone make my list up to a round 10?
zico@227.
A brief synopsis of the Windy epic.
Wind sets off for school, misses bus, remembers he has a bad sore throat, decides to go to doctor’s instead of school, persuades himself he’s come down with bronchitis.
Goes to Doctor’s. Doctor tells him it’s just a cold/sore throat is almost certainly non-fatal and provides him with sicknote for school.
Wind scours most of London for the library in which his mates have holed up so that he can watch something on the computers.
Catches up with mates and plays five-a-side, gets kicked in ‘nads, and takes call from NorCal in mid-writhe.
Packs in the five-a-side and heads for the Tollie. Meets NorCal and children, goes to McDonalds.
Watches football match. Lots of singing. Impressed that NorCal joins in with chants and that he tunes his accent to (almost) match the surrounding crowd. Discovers he has mislaid Arsenal hat.
Says goodbye to family NorCal. (Delightful kids BTW.)
Goes back to McDonalds and retrieves hat. Breathes several sighs of relief.
Goes back to Tollie and falls in with Lars, TMSnowy and others. Agonises about impression he has made on NorCal and family and thinks of many things he should/could have done/said differently.
Leaves Tollie and goes home. Doesn’t tell parents where he’s been, presumably because he’s about to tell younger sister and can rely on her to pass on the info next time they fall out.
Although this seems rather long for a summary, believ you me, it’s a lot shorter than the original. If only I could comprehend and precis documents at work as efficiently.
Wind@192. Thanks for and congratulations on your latest epic. Please don’t be offended by anything I’ve written above, I _really_ do appreciate exposure to your enthusiasm for all things Arsenal. I’m insanely jealous of your good luck in securing invitations to two matches this week. If I wasn’t stuck here in N Lincs I would have tried to invite myself along last night. Hey ho.
@234 –
8. Citeh out of the CL
9. New Emirates deal
10. Redknapp still a cunt.
Oxon: that sums it all up. Well played 🙂
Nonny: and he’s still got a twitch.
Thanks for the summary Oxon. I don’t feel that I’ve missed out on the sequel to the Odyssey now 🙂
Hi all, very very tired today but had a great night out – TS, Wind and tabs, cheers!
Standing at the Bar last night, I got asked for ID. Was just congratulating myself on my new teenage look and then realised Wind was standing behind me.
Oh well.
*waves at Lars*
Lars!!!! How’s yer head mate? 😉
Top night.
haha, tabs. Swedish AND a teenager, quite a change.
tabs, my head is actually fine – I always make sure I take some rehydration tablets before I go to sleep. Works every time, no headache at all the next day! Unspeakably tired though, won’t have any beer at all tonight. Got to rest for tomorrow!
Rehydration tablets, Lars? Not copious quantities of water and sugar? How do tablets rehydrate you?
Interested in any method of avoiding a blinding headache 🙂
http://www.football365.com/profile365/8266413/Let-s-Hear-From-The-Imaginary-Card…
heh
Baff,
Rehydration tablet is Scottish for
Just one more drink……
My guess baff: take the rehydration tablets with vast quantities of water.
heh
(and they’re probably sugary)
Baff, they’re called Resorb (think you can get them in England too) an it’s basically salt, some sugar and minerals. Dissolve in a glass of water and drink!
Scottish remedy on the west coast is Barr’s Irn Bru and a fry up. You see the hunched wee men queuing up at the corner shops for a bottle of Irn Bru in Glesca every Sunday morning.
It works too – it’s physiological pH amd osmolarity, plenty sugar and caffeine and is often the only thing that will stay down 🙂
@243 Heh Ollie.
Very wise Lars, if only I’d done the same!
Right, I’m off to source some pickled Herring for tea 😉
Yep the key thing is the glass of water and the sugar. Much like Irn Bru. Berrocca is very similar but adds lots of vitamin B complex which high alcohol intake on a regular basis depletes.
Are you guys happy with the new sponsorship deal? I know its a massive over the pittance we were getting earlier but Im a little disappointed that we didnt get different deals for the training kits.
One of the things about United is that they have got different deals for travel, communication, training kits etc.
I wish we could have managed to squeeze more from everyone.
Water?
Wimps. 8)
Heh @ dr z.
Surely you’ll add a few drops to a fine malt?
Sajit – The good thing about the deal is that it’s only five years on the shirts, so we can hopefully start winning proper trophies instead of fake ones and be more attractive to sponsors by then.
Wind,
No apologies needed for anything. As I said you were a most gracious guide and friend throughout. Real pleasure meeting you. My kids got a real kick out of reading your post and you making them “famous” on the blog. I look forward to the next time we get together. Glad you found your hat. 😉
Oxon@235,
Laughed out loud.
Maybe Madonna can help me on my accent. 😉
You can make almost any kid polite with enough electricity.
On the face of it the new commercial deal is this: a £90 million deal covering 15 years of stadium naming rights to 2021 and eight years of shirt sponsorship is being replaced by a £150 million deal cover 15 years of stadium naming rights and five years of shirt sponsorship.
Thirty million quid a year for five years is not to be sneezed at, but, if I am reading this right, the payment for the stadium naming rights part of the deal is being front-loaded in the first five years along with the shirt rights, so there will be no revenue from stadium naming between 2019 and 2028 (not that the old deal wasn’t front loaded to help pay for the stadium; and Gazidis made it clear at the announcement of the deal that he sees the stadium naming rights as being off diminishing value that far out). Also the training kit is included in the deal, so that rules out a secondary training kit deal of the sort worth £10 million a year to ManU.
Blending the shirt and naming rights makes it more difficult to compare it to other deals struck recently. Man City’s 10-year £400 million one with Ethihad is the only real comparable. Depending on when Citeh gets paid what, that is probably about 80% better than our deal on a present value calculation, but Citeh’s is clearly a sweetheart deal between its owner and its owner’s airline to get ground FFP.
For shirt deals alone, Barca is getting £24 million a year for its Qatar Airways shirt sponsorship (2013-?), Man U is said to be getting £45 million a year for its seven-year (2014-2021) Chevrolet deal (though their is something of the nose-holding variety to that, and it may yet unravel), and Liverpool gets £20 million a season for its Standard Chartered deal (2009-2013).
Overall, it is in the ball park of decent deals, given we don’t have the marketing brand clout of Barca or Man U but Gazidis and Co haven’t knocked it out of the park, as the Americans would say. It means an annual 40% boost to commercial revenues, which have been growing by less than 10% a year for the past few years, while the likes of ManU, Barca, Real Madrid an Bayern have been filling their boots. To my mind the most encouraging point is that the club is at last getting its commercial game going, even if it is still playing catch-up. Next test will be the kit deal, on which Gazidis played a straight bat but was sufficiently praising of Nike to suggest that we were switching to Adidas.
Next question is how well the additional commercial resources will be invested in the football side. Gazidis said we’ll will get some of money for the new deal early, i.e., this year. A few bob there to throw at Theo, perhaps.
Aaaaaaaaargh, I hate adidas 😉
Hahahahahaha http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Lu4638HBxWs
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/travel-advisory-for-boxing-day-v-west-ham
I was thinking I might not go, that might just clinched it. Last time I had to cancel half the travel (thankfully the other half was on points). This time I don’t even have enough points for a single, so not too willing on gambling another €200 for an uncertain schedule.
Wind…..maybe change your moniker to LongWind?
Fun post though…glad you had another day to remember.
“Arsenal : cash from shirt deal Wenger’s to spend.”
Only one of them, mind. That’s £39.99 (more then we paid for Chamakh. ;))
Haha. Right, now we have loads of dosh it’s time to stop fucking about and give Theo his deal, sign Sagna up to a new one as well and start talking to anyone else worth keeping with less than two years to go.
H2H@265: 🙂
Nonny@266: There is already enough cash in hand for new Theo and Sagna contracts (though if the expectation is that all the new cash flows to existing players that won’t do us much good long term). What the new deal does allow is some confidence we can strengthen the squad each season without everyone believing we have to sell first to do so.
Friday post-work pubbage. Love it to bits.
Cheers for the summary and analysis of the deal Ned. Like Nonny, I can’t say I’m very impressed with Ivan and his team. Deal appears to be par at best?
NorCal – I’m sorry I missed you. Next time Sir.
Eandy – 🙂 🙂
Nice summary above Oxon 🙂
H2H 🙂
How many pinters for the preview then, ‘holic? 😉 Or will it wait until tomorrow given the late kick-off?
Later this evening Ollie. On two now so four or five is my guess 😉 Friday night is noodle night!
The sponsorship is all just numbers on a bit if paper – I will sit up and take notice if and how/when we spend it.
🙂 @ 265
Zico knows. We had money already.
Evening holics 😀
Just off an evening with the lads. Nursing a beer now while catching up on the drinks.
Oxon, great summary on Long Wind’s post.
‘Holic, you’ve got mail 🙂
Cheers Steve-o, will get to it when I get home. Still replenishing the dangerously low Guinness tank here…
ooooh, tanking up on the black stuff eh? Wind’s next drink at the Tollie should be a Guinness 😛
Fill ‘er up , eh Holic.
NorCal, very happy to read that your youngsters have had fun at the Ems.
Now to wean them off the evil Golden Arches.
Steve O,
We never eat at McShitholes. They really just wanted to sit down somewhere. They only had some fries and a drink. Coulda gone somewhere else but not a lot of seating near the Tollie for minors. We had a great time and looking forward to tomorrow night!
Dammnit Wind, he didn’t include those details!
Happy to hear that you guys don’t go to the evil clown’s. Pity about the Tollie’s age policy but hey I think that only happens on match days.
I’m jealous because my next trip to London is probably a year away (or slightly longer, depending on my employment).
But, enjoy, NorCal!
I am sure many of the holics in this bar will not like what is written here:
http://lordhillwood.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/the-f-word.html
Interesting read, do not agree with some parts, but overall it makes sense. Enjoy your read if you haven’t already.
NED – if you say so – I BELIEVE an’ all.
A moore (Tommy – not Bobby) – pro-active board. The promised land genuinely just around the corner. At last. Already. Again – hallelujah!!!
(And wot Zico said @ 273.)
To the Holy Sacrement – and beyond!
Deal looks good, but not spectacular.
Proof of the pudding, however, will be how it actually impacts our spending. I couldn’t give a monkeys if we sign a £100m shirt deal if it doesn’t result in either better players coming in or ticket prices going down.
Oh, and as Nonny says: give Bac and Theo the money they’re after and let’s crack on.
Pardon – That’s More not les
And another thing
I stopped not even half-way through, lurky. Not just because of the content, but because it’s written in a totally shit format that doesn’t make you want to read on.
It might just help with the wages rather than be spent on flash new players.
I can’t see ticket prices going down, it’s (sadly) unrealistic.
Steve-o,
Looks like the Frimer likes the evil clown.
😉
@Tyrone_AFC: Saw @Frimpong26AFC in Mcdonalds. #Deeeeench http://t.co/983cyyx7
Nandos, McDonald’s, another one that will not have a career at Arsenal, I fear, NorCal.
(I’m guessing Santos prefers the local chippy)
Ollie,
Santos is like my father, each meal is the best he ever had.
heh!
I’m with Ollie on the LordHillWood blog.
I don’t really see the point of spending my free time reading reading opinions that I am pretty sure I’m going to disagree strongly with, which are expressed in pretentious language by someone who doesn’t actually know the language wee enough to pull it off – go and look up what the indefinite article is Mr LordHillWood!
If the whole thing is hilariously ironic, then I put my hand up now and admit to having missed the point.
COYG
Mind you, at least Mr LordHillWood appears to be able to manage fewer than two typos per ten lines. D’oh.
That should have been “…doesn’t know the language well enough…” in my rant above.
For the record, I spotted and corrected four more typos in this meta-rant before submitting.
Sigh…
Lumps the ball upfield in the vague direction of a fellow drinker
sips on drink, collects ball from Oxon and redirects it towards the centre of the pitch
(I think you’ve articulated my thoughts at 294, Oxon)
Unable to stop after reaching lumbering velocity, collects Ollie’s pass and pushes it, very slowly, to the opposite wing.
Would those be your thoughts on my inability to type Ollie?
heh Oxon. I meant 293, of course!
*passes ball back*
Typical! Never a bloody lurker about when you need one.
(Oh yes, only one “reading” in my 293.)
It comes to something when the slow-motion tippy-tappy for the triple ton is the most exciting thing happening here on the eve of a match.
Where is everyone?
COYG
Well in Lurky, back in form it seems 😛
Per usual Assist Ollie *tips hat*
Sorry, where are my manners?
Thanks for the assists Ollie.
heh, cheers, I think that’s the easises goal you’ll ever score, Oxon.
But then, some people miss open goals, while you didn’t fail.
No Tollie tonight, Wind? 😉
LO @283 Interesting read. Highly plausible explanation for where we are now. Thanks for posting the link. Now we have to sort out that lack of commercial income, no point bemoaning past failures. Sort it out now.
Maybe today is the start.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Now can I have a Laphroaig? 😉
Yeah – Im with Bath.
I thought that was a most interesting read Lurky so thanks for the link and maybe the reason why some find it a little smelly is because it addresses some serious home truths…!
Holic – “Friday night is noodle night”.
Used to be canoodle night. Oh yes it did. 😉
St Etienne top of the League, even for one night.