My Old Man Never Did Say Be A LWC Fan
Nov 13th, 2012 by 'holic
“How many of the present “tenants” of the terraces at the two stadia are fully conscious of the roots of the intense rivalry which has developed between the clubs? Why were supporters in the early 1920s so incensed, so fanatical as to indulge in street fights, the more belligerent armed with iron bars and knives?
Only the most senior supporters – indeed they would now be septuagenarians – can have clear recollections of the two historical factors which kindled the flame of intense rivalry between the Arsenal and Tottenham camps.”
So somewhat erroneously wrote Rex Pardoe in his 1972 book, The Battle Of London. The tales of that enmity have been passed from grandfather, to father, to son. We know full well that the new neighbours noses were well and truly put out of joint by our move to Highbury in 1913, and our election into the First Division notionally at their expense six years later. It still makes me chuckle now when the descendants of the original swamp-dwellers get all fired up about those events.
In the days before the fixtures, both home and away, became ticket only affairs just over thirty years ago there would be large numbers of visiting supporters in attendance. The atmosphere at the derby matches was entirely different to today. Often exhilherating, sometimes threatening, the two tribes exchanged a never-ending barrage of songs until one side got the upper hand and the others were left to slink away dreading the Monday morning wind-ups in the workplace, or at school.
Nowadays the away side are limited to around three thousand seats at both venues and kept relatively subdued by the barrage of pre-match ‘entertainment’ that has signalled the end of the building of atmosphere by opposing choirs. Most set the tone with a pre-match pint or two before taking up their position five minutes before kick-off. Momentum needs to build, both on and off the pitch.
Both sides go into the first meeting of the season this Saturday with their respective managers under fire. The pressure on whichever of them loses the fixture, assuming an unsatisfactory draw is avoided which could hurt both clubs, will increase considerably. The similarities between the plight both face are there for all to see. Both have lost their best players and as they attempt to blend in replacements have suffered inconsistency which threatens to deny both a place at Europe’s top table next season. Too much focus on beating the neighbours over the course of the season could let the likes of Everton overhaul both, unseen.
Preparation is not ideal with pointless international friendlies this week. That Spain, and therefore Santi Cazorla, are making a tortuous journey to South America in this particular week is frustrating in the extreme, but expect more of the same as the Rio World Cup comes ever closer. The day will arrive, and I hope I am around to see it, when the clubs wrest power from the corrupt organisations currently forcing them to make their handsomely-rewarded employees available for a version of football that is becoming less and less popular. That’s an argument for another day.
On Saturday the recent increase in criticism of the club should be put to one side for a couple of significant hours. The eleven who take the field with the cannon on their chest should get our best vocal support as clearly they need it. It is time to make to make the Grove the sort of intimidating venue it has been on just a handful of occasions thus far. Last season the crowd did their bit as we came from two down to hammer home five unanswered goals in response.
Get behind the team with everything you have at the weekend. Do your bit and you will then earn the right to criticise should that not evoke the correct response on the pitch. The days for expressing concerns over a bigger picture are in the future. This weekend is all about our fathers and grandfathers getting the bragging rights over the Marshmen in another place.
We are THE Arsenal, and we ARE the best.
388 Responses to “My Old Man Never Did Say Be A LWC Fan”
Waahey!
A Beecham’s for the manflu please barman.
The similarities between the plight both face are there for all to see
Except that they is lilywhite c***s. 😛
Indeed…
10 am Saturday Dr Z?
Evening Vinny 😉
Great writeup as ever ‘holic. Just don’t need anymore slow starts from the Arsenal.Early kickoffs do seem to make us dozy.
You at the game?The Grove will be rocking.
Never miss it mate, never.
Ah Goonerholic,
you know how to rub salt into the wounds.
Roxette has put in place a travel embargo on account of her old man reaching a significant milestone, and I shall be expected to be present and sober come the evening.
Now reconcile that with a 12:45 kick off.
1 out of 2 ain’t bad, I reckon. 8)
Nooooooooooooooooooo 🙁
5pm flight? 😉
Still,
The arrival of the sheikhs for someone else’s birthday celebration is looking much more promising. 😉
Heh,
I can make my own way to the divorce courts, thanks 🙂
Good man.
Thought you were coming this week to meet Esso’s Hibee 😉
Great rallying cry, Holic.
Here’s tae us!
Top o’ the shop ‘h.
Heh,
not this time.
Evening gents.
Winding down from another fraught night.
The peat is strong tonight 😉
From the last drink in the last drinks…
So many excellent comments above…I still don’t really know how I feel about things other than frustrated.
I wondered aloud, just to address our issues, how many of our first choice eleven are legitimately ‘Top 3′ class. I know that’s very subjective but I think it allows us to concentrate or either where we need to be patient, need to spend or need to try a different route. I’m grading the positions as yes/probably/potentially (not yet)/no. Would these players make it into the first 11 at City, United, Chelsea? This only looks at our first eleven of course:
GK – Sczs – potentially – *in 18-36 months. I don’t see him as a top 3 keeper today
LB – Gibbs – probably – if fitness allows him to play he is one of the best in the league
CD – Koscielny – probably – based on last season yes, this season to be determined. I’d lean toward yes.
CD – Mertresacker – yes – I think he’s one of the best in the league
RB – Sagna – yes – *fitness concern, but genuinely world class
CM – Arteta – probably – he shouldn’t be your most important player but is good at what he does but won’t be getting better with age
CM – Wilshere – yes – assuming a full return to proven levels
CM – Cazorla – yes – he’d earn a place in any of the top 3 sides and be a star
LM – Podolski – no – based on what I’ve see so far, jury still out
RM – Walcott – potentially – I still think the best is to come, a recent change of heart from me
CF – Giroud – undecided, but probably not good enough for a top 3 team. I’d love to be wrong.
So we have
4 yes – good enough for a top 3 team
3 probably – good enough to be close to a starting spot, not an automatic choice
2 potentially – not today, not in 2012, perhaps later
1 no – not a top 3 starter
1 undecided – Chances are Giroud is not top 3 standard but I’d be thrilled to be proven wrong
At present then we probably have 5-7 players good enough and 2 or 3 that might get there. One of whom may be leaving in six weeks. I’m also probably grading Arteta highly as he is so key for us, but better further up the field.
A (very) debatable first 11 for each side in order.
GK – Hart, Cech, De Gea, SCZS
LB – Cole, GIBBS, Evra, Clichy
RB – SAGNA, Kolarov, Ivanovic, Rafael,
CD – Vidic, Kompany, MERTRESACKER, Terry,
CD – Ferdinand, Luiz, KOSCIELNY, Lescott
CM – Toure, Mikel, ARTETA, Carrick,
CM – WILSHERE, Ramires, Cleverley, Barry,
CM – Oscar, CAZORLA, Augero, Kagawa
LM -Rooney, Hazard, Balotelli, PODOLSKI
RM – Mata, Valencia, WALCOTT, Nasri
CF – RvP, Tevez, GIROUD, Torres
I’d love to see what you think of my nonsensical ramblings. Having written this I only see us having one of the top 2 players in a position at 4 spots and I’m rating Gibbs highly.
Tim, you are rambling nonsensically……..
Oh, and Tim, 😉
Oh just love the atmoshere you describe there (back then) Holic. Surely the Spurs Fans feel the same way. Terrific rivalry for both sides to enjoy. But we need this one so very badly. Just know our Fans will throw their support 100% behind our Lads. And if someone could drop a few Mexican Jumping Beans down Brad Friedel’s shorts, why I wouldn’t snitch 🙂
Ah well Holic, it’s time for an Islay heavyweight.
I’m on a 1990 Ledaig from Gordon & McPhail myself – it’s medicinal of course.
The tales we could all tell, abb, but some of the nonsense is romanticised too much. Best left where it belongs.
I see you are indulging in liquid porn again bath 😉
Heh – it’s not porn – it’s the real thing – and not coke either 🙂
Hey Tim, Was studying your list. Kos way better than Luiz 🙂
Porn?
Coke?
The Sat Nav is still working, then….
Lovely stuff Holic.
Hope all turns out well at home: see you Saturday.
Apologies, left Tim’s details in after transferring his last post on the previous drinks.
…and it’s porn! 😀
Rousing stuff, Holic. Let’s Hope and pray that The Arsenal turn up!
Thanks Trev. Assuming all is expected to end well as they hadn’t even sorted a chest x-ray by the time we left.
Usually a good sign.
…or incompetence, almost on a par with mine…
Wow – Holic is Tim.
Who knew?
I love the Clash.
I too is Tim 😉
Noooo Tim is Tim.
I made the mistake of transferring one of his posts and the autofill kept his details in.
He is young, and gifted, and all the things I wish I was 😉
Ah’m no a Tim, Ah’m a Gooner.
Good stuff ‘holic.
I can’t remember ever reading a match preview from you a good 4 days before the event.
Excited are we? 😉
Hey, I’m confused. Anyway watched Wimbledon V York in the FA Cup game yesterday. Enjoyed the cozy atmosphere so much so, that I pretended York was Arsenal because they were wearing the old fashioned red and white! After the 2 hour match, they all celebrated with hugs and slaps on the back, managers with real heartfelt handshakes. Kinda nice to see that. Just not on Saturday!
OK, I’m Spartacus, then.
Early start – I’m outta here.
Laters, interlullers….
Good Post Alcoholic,sorry Goonerholic.!!
Although i would venture to suggest that the Arse and their supporters need to win this one far more than the Spuds.
Only because the bar is set so much higher for the Arse by their followers based on past achievements.
The Spuds fans only aspire to being in the CL by finishing in the top 4,although it didn’t help them last year,which i must say i thought palpably unfair.
But the Arse aspire to greater glories like the Championship Title and actually winning the CL rather than just being grateful to be in it at all.
I will be interested to see what tactical formation the Spuds play on Saturday.
At City they played with one striker,and only got beat by a very late goal,will AVB be more adventurous after viewing the video of the abject defending against Fulham.??
It should be a fascinating game as always,let’s hope for the Arse followers it doesn’t end up being thoroughly miserable Sunday.
If they get beat,the odds on them finishing outside the top 6 will shorten dramatically.
AHOMT
Tim/Holic or whatever the f@#! your name is :), you know this is my kind of debate right?
I would put Raheem steerling above all of the players you mentioned.
But seriously, the only alterations would be:
GL: SHEZ, De Gea
CM:ARTETA, Mikel, Carrick
CM:CAZORLA, Oscar, Aguero, Kagawa,
Nite Zico 🙂
Well said your holicness.
These sentiments are shared by your “faithful” and should be disseminated to all Gooners of whatever creed.
WE ARE THE ARSENAL and WE ARE THE BEST
Thanks for bringing my post over ‘holic ….I appreciate that.
After my ramble I came to the conclusion that we are a top 3 team in midfield, perhaps so at the back, but not as a forward three or in goal at present. So…we’re not quite top 3 yet.
Moreover…we are FAR nearer being a top 3 team than we’ve shown so far this season and I maintain we’re still a rung above the spuds, Everton, etc etc. Now it’s time to get out there and prove it between now and Christmas.
I do like Sczs, don’t get me wrong but he’s not a top 3 keeper yet. In fact I’m not certain he should be a first choice just yet. He really didn’t serve an apprenticeship under a great keeper and its a hugely important role at our club – one that I wish was in better hands.
Conversely, I’ve not see a premier league top 4 with so many average defenses in years and years. Remarkable but by improving just the smallest amount we are very near to having the best back 5 in the league. We’re not great – nor is anyone else.
Now to read ‘holics post!
LurkyOliva, (previous drinks) That’s good to know 🙂 Ollie, Amazing story. Hope those meds are kicking in by now. Holic, wishing you and yours the best. Goodnite every one.
I hope Bould catering doesn’t set up a marquee on the six yard box-last time some bulgarian tourist lolloped in and took advantage of an unattended spread.
Tim @ 42
more like top 13 on current form mate.!!
AHOMT
Anus Homosap Tottenhamsteros – it’s getting late – haven’t you got a home to go and set light to?
While I will definitely be getting 100% behind the team on Saturday, no matter what, I do think we are entitled to expect a massively improved and more intense performance than we have often been treated to of late.
One or two posters in the bar have recently mentioned the word ‘responsibility’, something which has been sadly lacking from too many recent performances, both on a collective and an individual basis.
Following the dire efforts at Norwich where we lost 0-1, Arsene Wenger wrote in his program notes, amongst other things –
“We didn’t come out with complete focus ……. giving a sloppy goal away …… It was a lesson that, if you are not completely ready in a Premier League game, you have no chance …. We made it easy for them ….. It’s now four league games in a row we have been 1-0 down.”
I have always been, and remain, a big fan of Arsene Wenger, but actually felt quite insulted by those remarks. Is there honestly one single player in the Arsenal squad who is unaware of the truthfulness of those words, or who needs to be reminded of the need to avoid all of those issues.
So who takes responsibility ?
Surely, it starts with the captain. Let’s see what he had to say in the same programme.
“it bore similarity to our defeat against Chelsea. It wasn’t as if we were under pressure in either game, but still we lost – they were both unnecessary defeats ……….. There were several errors …. Our shape wasn’t good enough ”
The captain, in the same notes on Klaas Jan Huntelaar –
“we were team mates at Ajax ….. I know exactly what he can do ….. He would score goals out of nothing”
Why then Thomas, did you run off him leaving him to score, unmarked, in the middle of our area?
Who is responsible for the condition of Andre Santos ?
So bad was it that he had to be replaced at left back by the captain, whose positional discipline in the games he has played there, has been little better than the hopelessly out of sorts man he replaced.
Against Schalke, away, in case anyone has forgotten, Vermaelen again played at left back, again repeatedly leaving Farfan in yards of space, rarely preventing crosses coming into our box and, finally, having left his marker while running into a centre back position yet again, took a desparate lunge at the resulting winger’s shot and rifled it into the roof of his own net.
So how did the captain evaluate his performance in his programme notes at the weekend, against Fulham ?
“I played at left back and thought it went quite well”.
Maybe he also feels our perpetually sideways and backwards passing midfield is doing quite well too.
Does he think – and the manager, that our gaolkeeper is doing quite well. Surely any professional goalkeeper is entitled to make the odd good save, but on Saturday at ‘that’ corner, Mannone ran off his line to push Berbatov in the back as the kick was about to be taken, only to then retreat and stand flat footed as Berbatov headed home effortlessly and unchallenged from 4 yards out !!!!!!
In my opinion he should also have done much better with Fulham’s second goal too.
The arguments about who is responsible for the state of our squad – the goalkeeper situation – the retention of our perma-crocks – the loss of too many of our best players – continue to rage because nobody takes responsibility for it.
Our directors constructively blame the manager by repeatedly claiming that money is always there if he wants it, while his best players are sold out from under him.
We all know what the onfield problems are. What we want is for someone, anyone, to do something about it, other than write in the programme notes that it has happened FOUR GAMES IN A ROW.
We all know and accept that we cannot compete financially with Man City or Chelsea.
We should be able to compete with anyone for intent and concentration, if these players do really want to win something. Those qualities would not cost one extra penny.
Will someone please captain the ship properly, before the whole thing sinks without trace.
Goodnight.
Night all.
[…] can’t speak on this match as well as, say, Goonerholic or arseblog can. I have only just begun hating them with true vitriol and I cannot possibly hope to […]
Secures a half century as cheeky as our sending off of Sp*rs will be on the weekend.
I’d love to change the state of things, but to be perfectly honest have no clue what to do, other than to quote Steve T saying we need more depth, and many others saying we need to maintain our defensive focus …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzrUqAtUcpU
I do say Chelsea should be docked points for a frivolous complaint.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20319926
Surely this merits a brief comment from our Jamaican correspondents?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20320492
This comes with a financial nerds health warning, but Bloomberg has a really interesting read about how the Glazers tried to hide the true dodgy state of Man U’s finances from investors when they sold its shares to the public earlier this year, and gives details of the money the Glazers have extracted from the club. A sobering read for the advocates of sugar daddy ownership.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-14/manchester-united-resisted-sec-on-ipo-risk-for-investors.html
Holic and Trev, great stuff from you both.
Tour de force Trev @47.
Nailed it.
100% with you there.
Excellent stuff holic.
Excellent stuff Trev. The lack of leadership had been eviden for some time now and has been a thorn for me for years. Over the years I think a massive amount of complacency has crept in. It is only know that people are taking their head out of the sand. A good read Trev.
Trev – “Our directors constructively blame the manager by repeatedly claiming that money is always there if he wants it, while his best players are sold out from under him.”
I really don’t believe that for a moment. The big money sales we’ve had have been players who wanted to go anyway, either for money or to win stuff. It’s not like any of them were mad keen to stay and he was forced to take big offers to balance the books.
I would not expect Arsene Wenger to stay in a job where he’s being forced to do things like that by his board. I would say Wenger is a pragmatist. He knows the players don’t want to stay, he knows the board won’t pay them the kind of wages to help persuade them and he agrees with and formed the wage structure anyway, so instead of trying to keep players who want to go, they are sold for big fees. Wenger also plays a bit of the blame game by making statements such as “You can’t tell people you’re a big club when you sell your best players”, when he knows full well that they are going anyway and he agrees with the logic of selling. He deflects blame onto the board, protecting himself.
His responsibility is to fight harder to keep them in my view, but that would require a shift in club policy, certainly when it comes to wages.
Trev: a fantastic post, well researched and articulately conveyed (newsnight audition?).
The ship is sinking and too many people with authority are shuffling the deckchairs.
Many arsenal fans I speak to want change, they realise we need change, they’re fed up bein spoon fed the same rhetoric.
Only one man is responsible for tactics, team selection and motivation. I watched Brian clough’s Forest conquer Europe in the late 70’s and the man was untouchable. The same man many years later lost the plot and forest went down (incidentally with the fans still chanting his name).
Of course we’re not going down but the similarities in a once great managers public demise are there for all to see.
Thanks for another great post ‘Holic and I just to talk about a fantastic innovation made after discussions between the Melbourne Victory supporter groups and the club. It has been agreed that the 30 minutes prior to kick off no longer has stadium announcements and music and it is dedicated to the fans to make the noise.
It has made the noise in the stadium much louder and follows through to the game. This is something that could easily be implemented at a club the size of Arsenal and would encourage better support for the team.
I can say from watching on tele in Australia it something you notice is missing at most Arsenal games especially since we moved to Ashburton Grove. When the crowd is loud you notice the players tempo and desire increase.
Let’s hear some noise against the LWC’s this weekend . I know our house will be loud with myself and a couple of mates and my son and his mates who we have introduced to the game and are now true Arsenal lads.
Come on you Gunners
Additionally, he has always said he doesn’t want to buy big name players, so I do believe the board would back him but the will is not there anyway.
Interesting read Trev – ta.
And in other news – The Double-Dealing Glazers – Sugardaddy owners?. Really??? Blimey, they’re doing a pretty good job of keeping that quiet, as cunningly disguised as corporate parasites they set about extracting as much dosh out of debt-drenched MankU as they can get away with. Still, our Stan has been pretty complimentary re their model of running the thing – so they can’t be all bad.
well geoff, and many fans i speak to are laughing at arsenal fans who are crying and complaining about finishing 3rd and 4th and being in europes; top16 while in the middle of repaying the biggest transition in our history…..
wait to hear what the fans in the continent of various other clubs have to say about the idiots who moan at wenger …they say arsenal fans are stupid…”theyve got wenger, perhaps the best in the world in spotting talent and making money for them and theyre crying over titles, when the club;s priority is to repay their new stadium?, whats wrong with them?”
you use words such as “the ship is sinking” …mate you aint got a clue what “sinking” means …..
from positions 1 and 2 in our golden period we know get 3rd and 4th ..we only finish behind the clubs that can outspend us 3 and 4 times for any player in any position.
not too bad heh ? if you consider these past 7 years as bad then i cant wait to hear you talking about the years arsenal would win nothing for 10 and 15 and even 17 years and finnish anywhere between pos 5th-15th
and for gods sake..the paralleles with clough couldnt be worse….please dont express your personal fears and weakness and present it as a real danger that arsenal faces…its only in your mind…
you are weak geoff….way to weak to support THE ARSENAL.
Make your point without the belittling of others please fella. Thanks.
It is sad and agonizing to have shit sometimes, when too much chilly must have been consumed from a Chinese restaurant last night. But that in no way stops a living being from having one of the best things that can bring immeasurable relief to man -shit.
C’mon ARSES, we’re holics and are ready to have the shit come this weekend. Heads-up!
who is fed up geoff? who do you represent exactly ? lol … you think you represent me as an arsenal fan ?
you think you speak for all of us ?
how many of you are there who want to get rid of wenger? 20 of you? wow big deal…tell usmanov to up the tempo in the propoganda office…. 😉
mr goonerholic no offence , but when so called “fans” belittle the influence and work of the last 16 years i get a bit angry.
they remind me of them wives who complain that the ring they got is only 20 carat and not 22….
Good stuff Trev.
Hunter13.
I can’t find anything in Geoff’s post claiming that he is speaking for all fans.
He mentions people he has talked to, he doesn’t mention talking to you and I know he hasn’t talked to me, so I don’t see anything to get worked up about.
I may not agree with all his opinions, but I can see where he´s coming from, we may not necassarily be a “sinking ship” but I do think we are looking pretty rudderless lately which leads me to question the manager. That doesn’t mean I want him out, nor does it mean that I’m rolling out the welcome mat for Ustinov.
Something is wrong at our club and sometimes the hard questions have to be asked, AW has performed miracles for us, no doubt, but unfortunatly past glories can mean very little in todays world and people will mostly (and I’m not claiming to speak for everyone) judge you for what you’re doing today. Harsh, but true.
Tim.
I like the idea of what you’ve done, it’s a good way to compare our team on paper. But as the old cliche goes, football isn’t played on paper.
If you look at a few of the Manure title winning teams man for man and compare them to the teams they finnished above you’d most often think – how the fuck did that happen?
It’s always important to have fine players in key positions, but football is not an individual sport and you’ll stand or fall as a team. I hate to admit it, but that’s what Fergiscum does best, he makes teams that are stronger then the sum of it’s parts.
‘Holic – Excellent read. Best to Management’s mum.
Zico – You must be partial to a bit of “tenants”, no?
Brendan, I remember walking down the Gardens in Melbourne and hearing the chanting from the Victory fans (stadiums not that far), it was asbolutely amazing, I was truly impressed.
“I may not agree with all his opinions, but I can see where he´s coming from,”
well here;s the thing…i cant see where all this fear and complaining and moaning comes from.
maybe it comes from people who didnt realise what arsenal set out to do back in 2006.
maybe it comes from people who have forgotten that this club has gone for bigger periods with nothing to show for it…and back then there were no sheiks and romans to compete with neither did the club have a 450m stadium as burden.
maybe it comes from people who have lost their faith and logic…
whoever doesnt like whats going on can stay home and not pay a damn thing…why spoil it for the rest of us ?
@ TS – in the words of the great Colonel Sanders
I would not feed it to my dog…..
“whoever doesnt like whats going on can stay home and not pay a damn thing…”
I see the world has turned black and white all of a sudden.
So I’ll have a guinness 😉
Hey tabs – the ideal comeuppance you outlined yesterdee for the money-laundering operation at the real wobbly bridge might arrive sooner than any of us could reasonably hope for if this fellow gets his way…
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danhodges/100189587/if-chelsea-have-slandered-mark-clattenburg-as-a-racist-the-club-should-be-relegated-immediately/
“whoever doesnt like whats going on can stay home and not pay a damn thing…”
Discussion over.
Heh @ Zico.
I really need to hit the F5 before posting more often.
Ollie @71 – does it compare with Bordeaux – I was amazed at the noise of the Girondins at home – and because we were sat beside them , we were allowed to borrow flags to wave – the only thing I didnt understand was the way so many were facing away from the pitch, and holding banners up which prevented the other from seeing the pitch!
I like that article, AL.
its not about black and white ..
but which part of the grey you occupy….
there are two grey areas
1) arsenal is in fact overachieveing considering the grand investments in infrastructure this same decade, plus the distortion of league and wage bills by clubs whose money is not generated by their football activities
2) arsenal should abandon their princiniples of self sustainability, become another city or chelsea or risk being left behind. if that means getting rid of wenger then so be it.
i say something different…since competing with them three right now could destroy our club financially, why not grind it out and wait for the next cycle? why allow doubt to enter my mind about my principles when i know that the sheiks and romans wont be here forever …. ?
the people who complain essentially want arsenal to change their policy … a policy that is prudent and morally correct, they want to throw it away in favour of becoming another whore for the titles.
I too liked that article, Ollster.
It is another thing making me feel better.
In particular, I nodded my head at this bit
I also think Chelsea are a football club totally out of control. Their internal management processes have clearly collapsed. They are being run by a combination of arrogance, self-pity and self-indulgence that starts with the owner, and cascades down.
But I don’t think for a minute that the FA have the stomach for taking on Abramovich and a lawsuit so nowt will happen.
Indeed, zico, indeed.
I also did a double-take when reading Buck’s quote about ‘we felt we had the moral high ground’. If I’d been drinking tea or coffee at the time (or Guinness….)???
holloway, your last paragraph in comment68 gives the right to anyone from whichever background, experienced or not, to doubt and critisise professionals.
can i not doubt the integrity of the one/ones who complain? who are they? what have they done for arsenal? what is their agenda? why are they making/creating a fuss to a club that has as priority to repay its stadium and be self -sufficient? why is the subject of titles even coming into question when the club;s budget per year didnt exceed 15m from ’06 till ’11 ? are they thick ? probably….
usually, the ones complaining and making noise are those who dont understand things….or those who may serve the interests of others…
if you put things down, check were arsenal has come from, what they have chosen to do, and the method they have chosen to do it, i dont think anyone can have any serious complaints….
it is the fact we have come so close even in this restricted set up that makes people lose all sense of perspective.
@ 79
You say it isn’t black and white but have stated that if someone doesn’t like what is going on then they can stay at home. Sounds pretty black and white to me.
I see there being a lot of middle ground – I don’t want Wenger out but I think he has a lot of questions to answer which has nothing to do with balance sheets, FFP, Romans, Arabs and the rest.
Like why is Santos unfit?
Yes zico..i refer to those who think that with the purchase of a ticket they think they have a right to express demands on how things should be run at the club. those who expect “dividents” in the form of kodak momments with trophies cause they have “invested” in a ticket.
are you saying that such an attitude does not exist in our fans ranks?
Age
Said a reporter on Sky Sports News:
“I am old enough to remember when they [AFC Wimbledon] were formed.”
AFC Wimbledon were formed in 2002. Raheem Sterling is old enough to remember when they were formed. Hell, some of Raheem Sterling’s children are probably old enough to remember when they were formed.
Bwahahaha
Well hunter13, I don’t claim to speak for other fans so you would need to ask them. 😉
We tend not to do black and white on this blog – it’s a place full of colour, (with some characters more colourful than others).
In the interests of focusing your attention on who the real enemy is, have a drink on my tab and let me ask you a question:
“What do you think of Tottenham”?
*Altogether now*
Hunter. If you seriously think there is nothing wrong with the club or that improvements don’t need to me made then may I suggest that it is you that is out of touch? Your comments above are honourable and no doubt made with the best of intentions but if you think the club is being well run at present then I would suggest that you are very much in the minority.
There is nothing wrong with having an.opinion and people should not be discouraged from asking tough questions.
I fully respect your views but I would say that they are not shared by those fans I know or the ones that sit close to me.
Don’t forget the width as well zico.
Hunter – Arsenal is NOT a self sustaining club in terms of self-generated revenue, they simply choose to overcharge their fans and get thousands of people, many of whom can’t really afford it but make sacrifices to do so, to fund the club instead of one or two loaded individuals.
There is no moral high ground to take here. You either rely on an owner who is mega rich, or you soak your fans. I’d prefer the rich owner, myself, then you might not get the ground occupied by day trippers and you wouldn’t need the middle tier to be given over to corporates. You’d have “proper” fans and a better atmosphere, probably, if tickets were cheaper.
Are you giving him a wide berth, Steve T? 😉
Sorry Nonny, but I have to take offence to the jibe about daytrippers 😉
steve t ….ok so what is wrong with our club then ?
convince me.
its not about asking tough questions..its about whether these questions are RELEVANT at the period where the club is repaying the biggest transition in its history.
you cant complain to the club about titles when we all know that the priority is to repay that 450 million stadium we built in 2006….
you cant come out demanding we spend like the rest when we know that our spending will be restricted for a good period of 10-15 years due to stadium costs and bank loans.
you cant complain to a bunch of 19-23 yearolds for not owning and dominating a league against drogbas and giggs’ and yaya toures’
you can complain about our captain misskicking like a girl in front of robin and then failing to close down the shot which came from robins weaker foot and went through tommy;s legs….
you can complain about arteta who is 30 years old and needs to show balls in the 94th minute against fulham at home and stick the ball in the net, and fails like a teenager….
in the things that have to do with football i note that many of you prefer to blame the people who aint even on the pitch…….
In other news, I now know why Barton isn’t eligible to play against Bordeaux at the weekend: Marseille had a game postponed against Lyon, so he didn’t serve one of his 9 games then.
@ #86
S-H-*-T!!!
…..and what do you think of S-H*-T???
On saturday a lot of arsenal fans will probably not even know that we’re neighbours and not even know it’s a derby let alone the history between the two clubs.And i agree every body should get behind the players because defeat is unacceptable.
H2H @ #68 – Right on the money as far as I’m concerned.
Rev.Trev – Your sermons are getting longer, however, the quality remains consistent. A half pint of Guinness, on my tab, for you old chap 😉
TOTTENHAM!
Have wished Captain Thomas Vermaelen a happy birthday yet?
As far as I’m concerned, he can open his presents on Saturday lunchtime in front of the travelling LWCs.
Possible assist?
THANK YOU!
@ 91
As do I, as a 6 days a year tripper! 8)
I’ve still got it!
Beautiful finish, TS!
I thought you would too, indeed, zico!
What a wallop of the ball from a poorly assister.
*waits for a feelgood response to #100*
That’s all right!
Although I’ve heard the Americans chant ‘You’re Welcome!’ instead…
WE HATE T*TTENHAM AND WE HATE T*TTENHAM…
“There is no moral high ground to take here. You either rely on an owner who is mega rich, or you soak your fans.”
soaking the fans is part of business isnt it?
isnt football an industry? entertainment industry as well, with clubs acting like the companies, players as the trading commodities and fans as the customers?
zico what do i think of tottenham? lol …not much really..my attention is on the ones who finnish above us and how their massive expenditures for short term success will come back to bite them and arsenal benefits from their departure/collapse.
yes, indeed, when youre in a poker table full of sharks you wait and wait and wait…grind it out ..no point betting all your money when they can blow you out the water. you hold tight, collect and hit when the time is right
we are the best prepared club to take advantage of the next cycle..we would be muppets if we threw it all away just because we cant be patient for a little longer…
Tattenham Corner?
holloway, your last paragraph in comment68 gives the right to anyone from whichever background, experienced or not, to doubt and critisise professionals.
Eeer, yeah.
What difference does backgrond make? Or experience? Are you saying that only proffesional footballers/managers are allowed to criticise?
I have no agenda, nor do I lobby for anothers agenda, I’ve been an Arsenal fan for as long as I can remember. I was on the terraces when we won fuck all in the 70’s and 80’s. I’m not in the Wanger out brigade, but I also don’t subscribe to the view that AKB.
I think that we could be better then we are at the moment and I think that we have been a tad mismanaged on various levels, I also believe that the club hasn’t been completly truthful in their dealings, to us the fans. Ofcourse I don’t expect full disclosure, but being spoon fed the same tired old soundbytes has become a little tedious.
Believe it or not I’m usually quite optimistic when it comes to all things Arsenal, but it just seems that we, to quote a fellow ‘holic, keep banging our heads on the same old doorposts.
I’m not trying to “ruin it for the rest”, whoever the rest may be, so apologies if I have in any way shape or form soured your matchday experience.
Thanks for helping me to continue the song, Ollie. Especially with a sore throat, coughing and spluttering and all.
A couple more verses to go?
@ 107; we actually “ate” em. But they were not too appetising 😉
😆
Hunter.
A few very brief points rather than type for days.
When we moved from Highbury we were told that the cost implications would not affect the transfer budget.
The club continually release figures that show us as one of the wealthiest clubs in the world.
We are continually told there is a large amount available to spend, but despite the obvious deficiencies and the player exodus the money remains in the bank.
I don’t want us to spend money we don’t have. I don’t want us to go the sugar daddy route. All I want is for us to be the best we can be. I just feel we are a long way short of that at present.
@holloway / comment 110.
I should have worded it better. Sure everyone is entitled to an opinion, but which opinion holds value ?
i mean, i also have an opinion on formula1 aerodynamics but i dont consider myself at a level suitable enough to be telling horner and ross braun how to do their jobs. also id be a bit embarassed going outside the offices of minardi and demnad that they beat ferrari and mclaren who are bigger, richer and established institutions.
in arsenal…..people who have never worked a day in football offer opinions on how things should be done and issue ultimatums and demands.
as for the club being truthful…had they come out in 06 telling you all to forget about titles for a good period of 10-15 years i doubt theyd sell tickets for their brand new 60k stadium……
doesnt the fan need to be intelligent enough to make a distinction between diplomatic replies and public relations?
did you need someone from the club to come out and tell you that we arent going for any titles while having to repay our stadium and that if anything came our way in terms of a trophy it would be a welcome bonus?
so again we come to the part of whether the fan who complains understands what the club chose to do back in 06 with the stadium move.
When we moved from Highbury we were told that the cost implications would not affect the transfer budget.
we were told?
is there a quote about that ?
all i remember is a request for time and patience….something that as fans we havent granted…ever since 07-08 ..just two years from our move weve been complaining..
in fact ever since we went trophyless for three whole years ( disaster heh) weve had our fans getting manipulated and mocked by rivals which consequently made the fans turn against the player and managers, our policy..nearly everything.
Just thinking about this width thing. If we put blindfolds on the assistant referees we could increase our width considerably by positioning our wingers in the first row of the stands. One possibility that could come out of this: Vermaelen would launch a high diagonal ball to Poldi in the left side stand, who would nod in to Giroud, who would bullet one past the opposition keeper. We just have to work on Poldi’s long distance heading. He could be a sort of new age Delap.
Hunter. Yes there is. Google it and you will find it.
I have been a season ticket holder for many years. There is no.problem with being patient. But this is our worst start for 30 years. This is arguably as weak a squad that there has been under the AW reign. On the playing side we are arguably getting worse, not better. We are not making progress. We DO have the resources to do something about it but for some reason, have not.
If you disagree and are perfectly happy with things then good luck to you. I for one think we can do better.
Many thanks for the kind words to those who made it through an admittedly longer post than usual.
Good work and hehs to Steve T, H2H, zico, Ollie, TS. 😉
@114 hunter,
“sure everyone is entitled to an opinion, but which opinions hold value ”
Surely that’s a matter of opinion ? 😉
The opinion that is right. FACT.
In terms of title droughts, here is a little table to put it in perspective. It shows all the current clubs in the Premiership and the season in which they last won the league title:
Man City 2011/12
Man Utd 2010/11
Chelsea 2009/10
Arsenal 2003/04
Liverpool 1989/90
Everton 1986/87
Aston Villa 1980/81
Tottenham H 1960/61
Sunderland 1935/36
Newcastle U 1926/27
West Brom 1919/20
Fulham —
Norwich —
QPR —
Reading —
Southampton —
Stoke —
Swansea —
West Ham —
Wigan —
AS far as I remember we moved to the new stadium to be able to mix it up with the best, on and off the field, that was the whole point. Ofcourse the goalposts were moved with the arrival of the oil cash, but that still shouldn’t change the fact that many of us here feel that (once again to quote Steve T) we are not being the best we can be.
None of us are talking about a major overhaul, just that the shortcommings are addressed. We’re not screaming for multimillion pound signings, just that we get decent back up for what we have. Finally I can’t remember anyone here advocating that we go broke in pursuit of the title, but we do expect us to put up a decent challenge and not be all but out of it in November.
I’m afraid we’re going to have to agree to disagree on many points, hunter, nothing wrong with that, as long as in the end we all realise that we all have Arsenal’s best interests at heart.
=====
Well in TS.
Longest title drought, btw, is Preston North End’s. Won the first title in 1888/89. Champions again the following season. Nowt since.
For the record.
If any of the more extreme opinions above were directed at my @47, none of it states or suggests that we should a) sack Arsene Wenger, or, b) adopt a sugar daddy owner.
I am not in favour of either, as regulars will know.
I am not demanding instant trophies / success. I would just like to see every area of the club – including the Black Scarf brigade – facing up to their responsibilities a little better than they have been of late.
It costs no money. It requires no change of personnel.
Merely a realisation of responsibility and a determination to carry it out.
😆 @ Trev 118
H2H @121 – every word.
Right, I’m off to collect my daughter from school and buy her a new coat.
I’ll fetch mine on the way out ….. 😉
Just to echo some of what’s been written above, what would make me a happier Gooner would be if we could have a squad with genuine competition for places, and genuine rotation from the early weeks of the season to keep the regulars fresh, keep the fringe players in form and generally foster a bit of internal competition.
For the last few years it’s felt like we just roll out the 11 best players available game after game until someone gets hurt or fails to sign a contract. I honestly think this is one of the major reasons we see so many injuries.
It would also enable us to mix it up tactically up a bit more.
Of course, this means shifting on squad players who the gaffer doesn’t trust or who have shown no inclination to fight for a place in the team. The usual suspects, in other words.
I honestly don’t think that this is a team that needs superstar signings, your Cavanis or your Falcaos. Obviously, I’d love to see such players in the team (as would any fan of any club), but it’s just not where our money is best spent. What we need is half a dozen good, solid pros who will work their nuts off, challenge for places in the squad and generally toughen up our options a bit, particularly at LB and DM.
One of the key things that has changed since the oil cash arrived in 2004 is that top flight football is now a squad game. You simply can’t get by with a squad of 16 top class players and a few kids. We haven’t adapted to this reality (mainly due to financial considerations) and it’s high time we did if we want to be winning things again, instead of wondering come February why the squad has yet again been stripped bar by injuries.
That’s what I’d change. It wouldn’t even cost us that much if we could shift out the dead wood.
N7. You are spot on in my opinion about the close relationship between our lack rotation (on a regularly scheduled basis) and our recurring injury crises. And the rotation, if the squad is good enough, is not just about avoiding injuries. It’s about making the team’s performances better through real competition for places. Cazorla, Podolski, Arteta are all examples of players who should have been rested more here and there this season.
NBN @ #120 – Nice one (although it doesn’t satisfy the desire to win it again)
Trev @ #118 – Cheers.
Apologies Professor @ 105
I was away putting my less than valuable opinion in the trash.
I see you had plenty of willing assistants, albeit ones not quite so glamorous 😉
Exactly, behind the 8 ball.
It would also help avoid the ludicrous situation where you have a player like Chamakh who has essentially vanished to the margins of the squad and had no real football for the last two years.
If we had a string of injuries to forwards next month, could we actually rely on this player? No-one has any idea. And he’s being paid 60k a week or more.
I know not every player in the squad can be kept on form at the same time, but we need a situation where those who are on form, those who are working hard and up for it, get game time. Much as I hate to praise them, it’s what Utd do. Hernandez dropped out of the mix last season but has found form again and is back in the side and winning them games.
The examples you cite above are good ones – Arteta is clearly shattered, and Coquelin is clearly spoiling for game time. This should be a no-brainer. Maybe not this weekend, but in a game soon.
Ollie/Zee glad you liked that article – but it appears to have disappeared – or am i losing it? (Not the article.)
Good stuff N7.
Too much dead wood in there indeed.
If the manager has cleary lost faith in certain individuals then get rid of them, loan them out, pay them off, just get them off the books to free up a space for someone who we can use.
8ball and N7, Couldn’t agree more. Trev, Zico and Steve T as well. H2H, I hear what you are saying. Now, what’s this talk of us changing our formation against the Tiny Totts. 5 defenders to plug up our leakey defence. Sounds like it could work 🙂
Wierd that AL, it has dissapeared.
I read it and as I said before, let the games begin. If the Chav’s allegations are baseless then they have to brought to task.
I’m also sick to death of this Peter (the) Herbert fellow sticking his nose in where it doesn’t belong. The SBL is highly discriminatory not just against non-blacks but also against non- lawyers. This spreading cancer of nonlawyerism excludes the greater part of humanity and is discrimination in it’s most evil form.. This is totally unacceptable and as a white non-lawyer I bleedin’ well demand they admit me* or I’ll employ them to sue themselves and if they refuse to accept me as a client I will employ them to double sue themselves…….. twice.
*but only if there’s free beer
=====
*removes tongue from cheek and slips into the background.
Indeed it has AL – the Russian Mafia perhaps? 😐
Mighty fine points being made in the debate above. And Heh Ollie re the Sky thingy.
Psed – Am gonna risk putting up t’article again, as can’t think ‘h took it down intentionally – it is after all an article from the terribly well-respected (ahem) organ The Daily Telegraph – and well-worth a read…
Hey tabs – the ideal comeuppance you spake of yesterdee for the money-laundering operation at the bridge might arrive sooner than any of us could reasonably hope for if this fellow gets his way…
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/danhodges/100189587/if-chelsea-have-slandered-mark-clattenburg-as-a-racist-the-club-should-be-relegated-immediately/
Yous guys have shown commendable restraint today, fair play to ye. I would’ve stuck wan of ma heids on the basta 😉
Violence is the last resort of the incompetent.
Apart from Blackpool.
Zee – i never thought of that…
And ‘h – i checked me emails to see if i woz bein’ warned orf by either rusky or ‘holic heavies – nuffink there, so went the “publish and be damned” route one.
Apologies if i had indeed been nobbled intentionally for some reason – (hopefully a pint or two of the black stuff on saturdee will smooth things over).
Hehs @Andy Gorman and Zico
@ #130 and seeking a glamorous assistant….
THAT’S ALRIGHT! (aganin)
*(again)* tsk…
Sometimes I just freak myself out….
Managed to drag myself out to the supermarket as I was in serious need of food supplies. On the way back, for some reason, it suddenly struck me that I still hadn’t received my Membership pack.
And when I checked my letterbox then, what did I find? Yes, you’ve guessed it.
I couldn’t quite believe it, but now, somehow it felt nearly as inevitable as Fulham scoring from that corner on Saturday (though that one was more of a statistical feeling I guess).
Good post ‘holic
This is going to be a big one
NBN@120, that is a great stat. Shows how dominant manure have been, the cunts. The only challengers until now have been us and Cuntski. And now Shitteh
Only challengers with legitimate money has been us
@ 142
You stick to the science and I’ll keep an eye on the glamorous assistants 😉
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20329684
Kerrazy Scots.
Ollie @ 144, it’s a sign – i reckon. An omen to the good. (Maybe you should bring your boots on Saturdee – should you shake your cold o’ course.)
AL. If he’s well enough to go shopping then he’s well enough to make an appearance at the Grove. 😉
Too true H2H – and besides there are some who dwell within the goonerverse who would have you believe that there aint too much of a FUND-A-MENTAL difference ‘tween them two activities anyways.Yardaa, Yardaaa, Yardaaaaa. (See what i did there? Exactly – almost nothing.)
Am sure the O’ll there…
” We Luvvvv You Ollllliiiiieeeee, Cos You’ve Got Red-Hair, We Luuvvvvvv You Ollllllliiiiiiiieeeeee Am Sure You’ll Make It There ” etc.
Why i can almost taste it (the NLD), alreadeeeee!
Pardon – “Am sure the O’ll be there”
Heh.
All we need now is the customery no mark Sp*d bleating to the Red Top Meeja about how the power has shifted…………………
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/football/view/282331/
Ahh there we go, when will those tossers ever learn?
Heh AL.
How many times over the last few years has that balanced shifted.
Perhaps they should wait until the end of the season at least to say them things?
There were 10 Tottnum points in the gap…..
That’s not the Spud way Ollie.
It must be in their contracts that they have to make themselves look daft to the tabloids by spouting that crap.
What other rational explaination could there possibly be?
Every year the same line is carted out and every year the power shifts nowhere.
“We are really close to Arsenal”
Indeed you are Steffan, approx 4 and a half miles between your shithole and our state of the art stadium.
Other then that we’re not even on the same planet.
What’s the difference between Chelsea and Tottenham.
When we are at the Bridge they wheel out some no-mark in his thirties so we can taunt them with “He was here, He was here, He was here when you were shit!”
At the Lane they push out some doddery old cunt in a wheelchair at half-time.
“He was here, he was here, he was here when you were good!”
😆
Netherlands v Germany here on the box.
In all my years here I can’t remember there being so little interest in this fixture, hardly anyone gives a shit.
heh ‘holic.
Indeed, H2H, especially as that Dutch cunt pulled out so can’t pick a big injury.
Big hehs at #157.
They will always be c*nts, even the old doddery ones.
The Dutch starting XI is pretty weak. Dirk Kuyt as CF ffs.
zico @ #147
Edwin reliably informs me that science can be glamorous too. Then again, his idea of glamour is a clip-board with a bit of tinsel on it.
I suspect you’ll have your doubts….
Is Cuntelaar not starting there, H2H? :s
No, really weak team Up front Robben the cripple, Kuyt and Schaken (nah, I never heard of him either)
The rest are Vermeer; Van Rhijn, Heitinga, Vlaar, Martins Indi; De Jong, Afellay and Fanny Fart.
H2H. Sounds like a bunch of painters. 😉
If by painters you mean cunts, then yes they do. 😉
At least Vermeer puts a fibe gloss on things, H2H. 😉
Are you sure that is Schaken and not Schtuurd ?
Re: Ollie @145. I checked with my alter-ego, the expert statistician, and he confirmed that the possibility of Fulham not scoring on that corner on Saturday was exactly 0%.
Bloody iPad – fibe = fine. 🙁
Heh Trev.
I’m schure. 😉
I find the art of typing correctly on the ‘hPad is to drink pints, not halves Trev 😉
Have you been on the half-pints again Trev?
@172 / 3 – are you Andy Gorams in disguise ? 😉
Hah! Crossed drinks. You beat me to it ‘H 🙂
Which one of us are you referring to, Trev?
Typing on this thing is a pain in the Arsenal. And if you get one letter wrong in the middle of a word, you have to delete the whole word. 🙁
Yeah, which one?
Trev, it sounds like you need assistance with your technology.
Cheers all. Hit the Emerald Isle today after an unplanned sleepover in Wales. Can’t complain, Ivana’s vertigo has improved and my mother in laws toothache has gotten better so its smooth sailing from here, right.
I’ve been rubbing all the short people here in Dublin for luck. Off to the wooly west coast tomorrow.
Cheers all.
Am going to try and make the Tollie on Wednesday. Is there somewhere to tie your children while you imbibe inside? 😉
Heh, technophobes of the world unite.
You have nothing to lose but your brains….
NorCal. I read that’s what all those black iron posts are for. 😉
Have fun. 🙂
There’s a very good railway line a stone’s throw away NorCal 😉
TS,
Don’t know about assistance, maybe I just need a good spill chucker. 😉
Hahaha @ #183. The evil Dr.Feelgood emerges once again.
Booooooooo!
Spill chucker?
Let me introduce the one and only And Lester 😉
Is producktive tixt tuurnd of?
NorCal,
Maybe you could tie the kids to SteveT. He’ll probably be standing outside the railings with his. Bring a big bit of rope though 😉
Heh @186. 🙂
Dr.z,
Please transform some of that form you are showing to the boys pulling on the famous R&W jersey on Saturday.
Goodonya 🙂
Transform? I meant transfer. Spill chucker probs, obviously 😉
I tried predictive text TS. It predicted I would get the next three words wrong. 😉
Roxette speaks predictive text.
Has done for years.
And yes, I have put the bins out…..
Driiink for my spill chucker friend AL.
Hah! Good fun in here tonight.
God fan in here. Is this a bar or a church.
I predict zico will say there is no difference. 😉
Jinks past an on-rushing Monkey Boy Bale, smacks Adebayour in the gob and plays a long-diagonal to Eisfeld…..
Ghosts into the area for a rare foray forwards …. Mocking the predictive text. ……
Assists
What’s a church?
And does it have a bar?
Smashes it with his arse …..
Haha, what a finish from the evil Dr.F!
Trev trips over his tPad in the box.
Storey celebrates a goal and an assist in one sitting. it’s been a good day!
Would you Adams and Eve it !!!
Done by a fake Brazilian from Scotland !!! 🙁
Joe Hart really is crap.
Well in zico.
What a goal! Ibra.
I’m referring that to the dubious girls panel. 😉
I see the Arse followers squabbling among themselves again.!!
Must be the nervous tension worrying about the game on Saturday.
My Bookie has got the Spuds odds on to win,says they are a racing certainty.
He was off down to Brighton for a couple of days rest and recreation.
He said the only problem he had,was deciding which of his 4 Rolls Royce’s to make the journey in.!!
I’m off to see if i can cadge a fiver from someone to have a feed.
Times are tough.
AHOMT
TS @195. Bring back the grumblers, I say. 😉
I’ve been running my car for the last few days on grumbler bile, collected from a bucket hooked up to my computer, and now I’m worried I might have to get some real gas…
A Chief Executive is only as good as the men in white coats behind him….. and those in Speedos are kept in front of him, at all times.
If your bookie has 4 Rolls Royces, that means you are not going to win, if you really need someone to work it out for you.
@ #206
Would they be the same men in white coats armed with straight jackets and tranquilizer darts?
@ 207
Have you practiced your fire-drill?
Yooouuuuus rang …. last orders is it? Chucking out time?? Or just – chucking it time??? I’m your man.
Be careful whilst dragging your knuckles toward the exit……and remember that the match is unlikely to end after 37 minutes….
214 was aimed at the sartorially elegant twonk at 207, obv. 😐
“sartorially elegant twonk”
Is that an anagram of feckin tosser ?
It is if your predictive text is fecked
@ 210
re the 4 Rollers,he said he inherited them from his Grandfather who was a Bookie in the 50’s.
His Dad didn’t need them as he had 4 of his own.!!
@212 with the weird moniker.
I do not understand your question
I am not a Fireman.!!
AHOMT
Or a comedian.
@ 215
Not sure if that is a compliment.??
I must Google Twonk to see what it means.
I hope it’s not something rude.
AHOMT
@ 216 and 219
I see the tension is unsettling you,
I truly hope you are not a Dentist,because if you are i would cancel all appointments before the w/end,otherwise you could be knee deep in Lawsuits.!!
Just trying to help.
AHOMT
Oh, my aching sides … Pffft
Speaking of grumblers, here’s a picture
http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/3425/grumbler.jpg
And whatever happened to this man?
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01494/harry_redknapp_1494143c.jpg
What good fun it was seeing him spill his bile every year.
I thought more people would be talking about Ibrahimovic’s 4th goal, a beak nosed twat he may be, but my word it was a spectacular bicycle/scissor kick 😮 Joe Hart’s “clearing” header providing comedy relief also 😆
Oh yeah, Wilshere got stuck in on Ibra when he came on and is looking more and more like his old self, Jenkinson had a good solid debut as well from the bench I think.
AHOMT is the new Cusop. Who knew?
F*CK OFF YOU SP*RS
AHOMT is the old Cusop – and equally illiterate.
Hunter: I do admire your passion in defending your club however I believe I have earned the right to pass an opinion (even if I am wrong) having attended my first match in 1971, (I attended 39 league games that season).
I’ve been at highbury in the mid 70’s when 18000 was the average attendance, arranged my weddings around the football season, have been a season ticket holder for 40 years, travelled across Europe to watch The Arsenal and spent way more than I could afford in following my team.
Just out of interest when did you attend your first match?
I and many others in this bar share this long history and although we may have different opinions we share a love of our club (as I’m sure you do) and we respect each others views.
Four numbers on the lottery. Almost enough to get a ticket for Saturday. 😉
@ 229
Might be for the best,you would only be miserable after the game.!!
LOL
AHOMT
Before it and during as well. Consistency is the name of the game.
Cusop was much more entertaining, in a rug rat sort of way 🙂 This feller not so much 🙁 Wind, wish I could have see that game ! Nite holics 🙂
Fascinatin’ fact – A win on Saturday will not even lift Arsenal into the top five. 🙁
@ 233
fascinating fact,
A loss could see them drop into the bottom half of the table.!!
Perish the Thought.!!
AHOMT
Nurse Abb. Cusop nostalgia seems to have hit hard. Oh, how low have we fallen? 😉
51 Years, 6 Months, 27 Days.
Esso knows.
They will ALWAYS be c*nts.
FIOS. FOYS. COYRRRs!!!
Ibrahimovic’s 4th goal last night reminded me very much of my playing days and my youth. I was never a great header of the ball either.
What’s the first sign you see when you enter the Zoo? Don’t feed the animals.
Morning.
Hi all,
Some interesting and mature exchanges in the bar as usual. Probably one of the very few places on the ‘Net to find it. Wonder what it must be like to watch a match with you guys. Loads of fun, I’m sure. Let’s hope this interlull undoes what the previous one did (hair of the dog and all that) and we get on a winning streak from now on.
On Ibracunts goal, we have an expression for it in this part of the world:
jammy bastard
999 times out of a hundred that ball ends up anywhere other than between the posts.
Ooh arithmetic
out of a thousand 😳
dear geoff,
apologies if my words came out a bit harsh, im just fed up with all the noise and fuss that some ungrateful fans are making when in truth we should be thankful and respectful.
the way i see it arsenal only loses on the big trophies from the teams that can outspend us. the b;ham match was a game were the fans and media added a lot of pressure making our team feel like they had to win that shitty cup in order to prove themselves. a very wrong mind frame to put our young players in.
in the occasions where we have come close i have also noted “incidents” which do not even themselves out over the course of a season. i strongly believe that wenger;s players were/are suffering from bias from refs on the pitch.
lets put it this way…had wenger won the epl title here in this age of tycoons, while repaying our stadium and playing with his youngsters against all odds then the others (united chelsea and city) should have retired and hide in shame. “go home and grow tomatoes” as old pete would say…
ferguson, chelsea and city need to outspend wenger 4 and five times in order to avoid getting embarassed by his younger and less experienced sides.
thats the way i see it…. and frankly thats the only way to see it. anything else disregards the difficulties arsenal faces and the short -cuts the others have taken. both important factors in the success of a team/club..any club.
henry once said that “we arent a big club yet” ..he did not mean our set up or history or success ..he meant the manner in which referees face arsenal..a while later he left the club
hleb, a couple of years ago walzed through 7 liverpool players and got held back by kuyt (i think) in the penalty box and the ref gave nothing. two weeks later another ref kicked us out of europe by awarding a penalty against toure on a babel dive…. hleb left the next season…
robin is at united and has elbowed opponents like three times already plus a two footed sliding challenge on sagna..and he has only received a yellow….. maybe he also knows that at united he will get away with things he wouldnt get away with at arsenal.
these are areas where the manager cant do much. these are areas where the club needs a representative to deal with f.a and media and here is where i think we have failled the most as a club.
we do not do enough to protect our invenstments on the pitch (players) or in the media. wenger needs a powerful figure to take care of all the dirty business behind the scenes and put some mugs at their places. that role was previously occupied by dein.
i guarantee that had a figure like dein been at the club, refs wouldnt be so eager to award newcastle two non existant penalties and then give us a red and then give offensive foul on van persie when clattered by two nexcastle defenders….
same goes for media… there should be a figure chasing all these trolls acting as journalists trying to create problems at arsenal. they form public opinuion with the shit they write on us and then you get misguided and clueless fans turning against the manager , our player and our philosophy
as a club, the people behind wenger dont do much to protect him and his players..they leave him out on the open to deal with nearly everything. this is wrong. and here is where the fans should step in and they dont, and thats the saddest thing for me. fans are there to offer an umbrella of protection against all the cunts who like to knock us down and laugh at arsenal due to their anti-wenger agenda.
sagna and his fist last year …..cesc in milan..thierry in bernabeu….wenger in o.t02….. arshavin goal agnst barca…..ARSENAL..
all they need is our support…
Esso @ 236
Is that how old you are.??
You will probably age another 10 yrs after saturday.!!
AHOMT
‘999 times out of a hundred that ball ends up anywhere other than between the posts.’
But well worth trying for the one time it comes off.
Henry actually meant because we hadn’t won the Champions League or strung together a consistent trophy winning record, season after season, like defending a title the following year.
But if it helps you to think he meant paranoid stuff about the referees and press, carry on.
Blimey, did someone forget to put the rubbish out last night?
Anyway – this is well worth a peek on a sloooooooow day…
http://ow.ly/fjeSf
Great effort, AL
Hunter. You are away on tangents again. AW has had more support and leniency than almost any other manager in football history. You will also find very very few on here that want a change of manager.
Do you mind if I ask if you a question? Do you go to games?
AW has had more support and leniency than almost any other manager in football history.
do 3 epl titles 4 fa cups a champions league final (the only finalist appearance in our history for ecc/ ch.l ) an unbeaten season and an integral role in arsenal’s swithc from highbury to emirates deserve leniency ?
i think they do…and i dont mean 7 years because if we want to be truthful , the fans have been complaining ever since 22 y.o cesc couldnt beat drogba and giggs for the title. just 3 -4 years after the move and switch to youth, arsenal fans thought their complaints were justified….
does it take some superior intellectual power to realise that the time to critisise wenger and his young players would be when the cesc generation hit the 25-26 years of age onwards ? so why did we castigate a whole generation, alienated them and pressured them to the point of them not wanting to play for arsenal any more?
i mean imagine yourself …youre 21 ,22 , foreign in a foreign league, youre in your development, the manager throws you in the deep so you learn quicker and the fans baying to lynch you at every mistake, creating an atmosphere of hostility, terror almost.
then you get the media pulling our leg..we bite…and then you get idiots thinking that not winning a title for 7 years after building a 450m stadium is a good enough reason to protest.
people have no work to feed their families and arsenal fans want to protest because they cant take the mockery the media and rivals taunting reserved for them…its a crazy situation.
arsenal decided to build a stadium. this means that arsenal will be in the shit for a while, this means that arsenal will not be able to attract top players to win things. if some people cant deal with this then they can withdraw a bit and come back when the club is in a position to spend on established winners again or when the youngster we develop reach their peak years.
the first gen got burnt ( senderos cesc clichy nasri robin song etc) the second gen as we can see is comprised of mostly brittish lads and fans of the club…( theo, jack, frim, ramsey, gibbs, jenks, oxlade) . this is the generation that the fans and club must cherrish cause you never know..they could do a barca and leave us all gobsmacked. what will you people say then? that it wasnt worth the wait ? that it wasnt worth the sacrifice? barcelona waited for 40 years for it to click ….
why complain about a situation we always knew would be difficult ? either some didnt realise the difficulties of building stadiums and competing with tycoons or they simply refuse to acknowledge the financial relaities our club has to work in..
either way its embarassing
Let England Shake
There came a point on Wednesday night – somewhere between the third/fourth goals and seventh/eighth flaps – when even Clive Tydesley had to admit that things were not going swimmingly for Joe Hart. It made him uneasy. At one point it almost made him cry.
But of course Hart entirely redeemed himself after the final whistle when he was “man enough” to shake the hand of Zlatan.
Oh Clive.
Haha, Ollie.. Hodgson blamed the pitch for Hart’s clearing HEADER on the overhead kick on his Sky interview.
Heh, did he now? Bravo!
Nonny,
don’t disagree that he was right to try it.
It is far from the greatest goal ever scored.
I mean really.
The mainstream media in this country…..
Agreed zico, compared to this for example O.o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xx4yoRSU0w
216Trev
“sartorially elegant twonk”
Is that an anagram of feckin tosser ?
Almost, it’s an anagram for “A gall loser Tiny Tot wanker” 💡
======
Afternoon all.
I wouldn’t get too wound up about the poster who needs to pull his pants up, I think the landlord knows who he is and he’s just on a fishing expedition. Don’t take the bait.
He seems to have a sense of humour, even though it’s almost invisible to the naked eye, plus he can string two sentences together so that should rule him out from being a Spud.
zico@254: with you all the way on that one, mate. It was a spectacular goal, but even Ibra himself admitted that it had an element of luck to it and when he does that you can be damn sure it really was lucky.
Arsenal are a top four club in more ways than one. We’re fourth in the Premier League table for banning orders, with Chelsea the champions.
In the arrests table for last season, Arsenal supporters finished a miserable joint fifth with less than half the number of arrests gained by runaway champions Manchester United. However, Arsenal fans finished fourth in the table for arrests at their own stadium.
Despite having some extremely vocal and aggressive online fans, no arrests last season were for violent disorder, but 25 were for those involving alcohol.
It is believed a gentleman from Swindon may have been responsible for the vast majority of drink related offences 😉
Nice one at 247 AL. 🙂
heh Nonny.
😆
No idea what the LWC’s ever changing injury situation will be before Saturday’s early kick off, but I have managed a sneak preview of the menu for their pre-match meal.
Starter: Manager’s Hash
Main Course: Stuffed Cockerel with Mashed Spuds
Dessert: Sour grapes.
There will be plenty of whine, but coffee has been scrapped as noone has seen a cup for years.
Heh Trev.
But surely they could serve coffee in one of the many mugs……………..
Hunter. Do I take that as a no then? Or does your superior intellect mean something that I have misinterpreted?
You may just want to take a step back and look at the now rather than have the club rest on its laurels. And just so your superior intellect is not too challenged I have not once called for AW to be replaced. Nor do I ever anticipate the day when I will. But that should not prevent questions from being asked should the need arise.
🙂
massive hehs at both Trev and H2H 😀
Just watched the Swe v Eng highlights, that was some goal by Bignoseavich. It may indeed of been lucky, but he definetly knew what he was doing, you could see him anticipating what Hart would do and he positioned himself accordingly rather then challenge the keeper.
Best goal of all time? Not by a long shot (all puns intrended) but pretty damn tasty none the less.
Holloway, being from Holland you should know that that isn`t even his best goal 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgqsaDnsEq8
Evening all, will need a fitness test tomorrow before making a call on attendance Saturday.
Woke up at four this morning shaking and sweating like Redknapp’s head. Been in bed all day. Not good. Hope it is a 24 hour bug.
In other news, take it easy on AHOMT. He is one of ours, and a good one too.
Must have a bit of the devil in him at the moment 😉
Ibrahsonofabitch has an ego even bigger than his conk. Best goal ever….wot better than shreks 😉
Best wishes guv, wouldn’t want you missing the NLD. I had a feeling you knew who AHOMT was, otherwise you would have deleted him.
The missus has won tickets for the premier of a famous Dutch Illusionit (Hans Klok) so I’m off to the theater. Laterz ‘holics.
AHOMT is AL is my guess, based purely on the moniker.
Thought it might be early on but his persistence dissuaded me ? 😉
Kuru, I can imagine Gervinho pulling that off 🙂 Very nice. Ibra’s goal was OVER THE TOP !!! My favorite ‘all down to luck’ goal was Tim Howards, the one that was carried by the wind, last season 🙂
A “famous” Dutch illusionist ? Gaaarn. 😉
Get well soon ‘H.
If you want a professional opinion, you need to drink it out your system 8)
Sorry H, meant to wish you well too. GOT to be fit for Saturday. I’ll get you a half of Beechams. 😉
Don’t listen to Feelgood, he can’t even do his maths 🙂 (oh Zico, how you made me laugh with 999) . Feel better Holic.
Enjoy, H2H. GWS, ‘holic!
We’ll all be drinking water and orange juice on Saturday at this rate, heh.
I did have a slight suspicion that AHOMT wasn’t a genuine spud – he had a far too large sense of humour to be that 🙂
Holic, get well soon!
Thanks all.
Lentil and bacon soup tasked with being cure-all or final potion.
Borderline at present.
Look Hear if you lot doesn’t beleave I’m a propper Spud I’m gonna zip up and piss ofAAAARRRGGGHHHHHHH. !!!
heh KSOMF.
Good luck with the soup, ‘holic. I had soup on Monday, it helped none.
But then it wasn’t Magic Wiltshire soup.
I may have soup again tonight, undecided yet.
Trev – no. Tho i’ve me theories.
You gotta run it off ‘h. Com’ on, yer team needs yer.
I have feories too, AL.
Hello guys,
I have a statistics project I have to do, and obviously I’ve decided to do it on Arsenal.
Which one do you think I should do?
At the moment, I’m testing 30 random games for each team (Arsenal vs. Spurs) and checking the goals scored/conceded (haven’t decided yet) to check which team scores/concedes more on average over the last 15 seasons.
I know the answer to this test, but I still gotta do the project :).
If you have any other thing I can test that the answer isn’t THAT obvious, you’re welcome to suggest it 😀
I’ve an idea we may be in the same camp Ollie.
Snir – as the transfers go to geezer…something transferish, maybes? (Psed, you don’t have to thank me for that.)
Pick a random season over the last 50.
What’s the chance of Arsenal winning the League, compared to Spu*s?
Ollie – since it’s going to be either a normal distribution or have a sample size of over 30 in order to comply with the Central Limit Theorem.
How would the probability of winning the title be determined? Winning percentage of past seasons? Players’ values? Points won from losing positions (mental strength)?
Heh, I don’t know. It was just a basic approach from me with number of titiles won during the sample period/number of seasons in the sample period, knowing that the Spu*s numerator in that case is zero 🙂
SG @ 286
You could do a statistical whatsit,on games played/goals conceded by Arse keepers going back to Seaman days,through to the Mad German,when the Arse were actually competing and winning things,and then compare it with the games/goals conceded by the incompetent fuckwits who have worn the shirt since.
Then you could tell Wenger what everyone else already knows,that your chances of ever winning anything without a World Class keeper between the posts are absolutely totally FUCKING ZERO.!!
AHOMT
Do I switch the computer off now or wait until 300?
Don’t listen to Feelgood, he can’t even do his maths
You say that, like it’s a bad thing.
I find it very helpful, particularly when Roxette predictably asks
How many have you had? . 8)
If he can’t do the maths, can I ask for more drugs?
From tomorrow on, I seem to have to try and carry on without them drugs.
Cusop, come back please, I miss you.
5 before the century? That’s early for lurky!
twitter is overloaded, heh
Warming up!
Crosses the ball…
*pings ball towards the penalty spot*
And it trickles in. That was som serious paint on that spot.
Sorry lurky.
Thanks Lars.
Well in Ollie – your attempted pass wrongfooted the keeper!
What anticipation Ollie. Nice assist Lars. Dynamic duo or what?
Cheers all. I dedicate this goal to The Wallet!
Ahomt – one word.
Bruce Grobbelaar.
Or maybe two – Fabian Barthez.
Or maybe three – Dida.
Should I keep going to show you that not having a WC keeper does NOT mean no titles?
@ 294
You need to ask?
Fill yer boots, or nostrils, or whatever….. 😉
Here are goals conceded, by season. First column after the date is our Goals Against, second is the title winner’s, third is our final position that season.
2011-12 49 29 3
2010-11 43 37 3
2009-10 41 32 3
2008-09 37 24 4
2007-08 31 22 3
2006-07 35 27 4
2005-06 31 22 4
2004-05 36 15 2
2003-04 26 26 1
2002-03 42 34 2
2001-02 36 36 1
2000-01 38 31 2
1999-00 43 45 2
1998-99 17 37 2
1997-98 33 33 1
1996-97 32 44 3
Snir @ 305
with respect my friend,
those 3 you quoted were top class a lot of the time they played.
I personally would take any of them above the dross that hae been masquerading as keepers a the Arse since the mad German left.
AHOMT
Well in for the 300, Ollie. My @307 was for you and AHOmT.
‘Holic: Feel better soon. Spoonful of sugar beaten into a raw egg in a pint mug, topped up with hot milk and a generous slug of brandy is what will cure you. Sugar, raw egg and hot milk optional.
Mug of hot milk with honey. Overnight cure.
Ned
Last 4 seasons,progressively worse.
How much closer to a trophy would the Arse have been if Wenger had bought a WCK to replace the mad German.??
It’s not rocket science.
It all starts with the quality of the guy between the sticks,with a few exceptions along the way,it always has and always will.
AHOMT
Magner’s on ice. Let’s put Spuds on ice as well.
Kill… kill… kill… kill…
Metaphorically speaking, of course. A Spud’s throat should not exceed our grasp, or what’s a metaphor?
Let’s party like it’s 1978. (Sunderland, Sunderland, Stapleton, Brady look at that, Sunderland.)
“Invincibility lies in the defence, the possibility of victory in the attack”
So…
If that’s the case, what the frick iz Lloris doing at Spurs?
🙂
‘holic hope you’re feeling better soon. A few extra cuppas couldn’t hurt. 🙂
Pre/match excitement/nerves just kicked in!
Ned – there is no random element to that.
I’m picking 1 through 15 seasons and 1 through 38 games and checking the goals conceded/scored and test my hypotheses.
Both Diaby and Gibbs have been officially confirmed as “long term” injuries. Now, how many of us are surprised at that?
Or is it so that in April they can be announced as new signings??????
I’ve seen corpses with more chance of being fit than Diaby has.
Nice stuff ‘holic; hope the bug clears up before Sat am?!
Trev @47,
Well put and precisely what I was intimating a few blogs back! Responsible talk will always be cheap and irrelevant unless it is followed-up by responsible actions!
Hunter @various,
I admire your passion and belief in what our club has been trying to do since leaving Highbury, and I do actually agree with much of what you say. However, what frustrates and demoralises me at the moment is I can honestly say that I don’t enjoy watching much of the way that we play football any longer.
Arsene’s teams, (win, lose or draw) have always been entertainers on the pitch, if nothing else, but this current side and many of the squad of players’, are nothing of that sort and pick and choose when they want to play (usually within matches once adversity strikes) and entertain!
If making the same continuos and elementary mistakes, (whether accidentally or not) that you then have to try and salvage match after match and season after season, is deemed as entertainment, then that’s ones’ very own masochistic opinion! From my point of view, I see it as a dereliction of duty and professionally irresponsible!
It is highly insulting to those “true gooners” of us that are there week-in, week-out and have a primordially nurtured and instilled devotion to this great instituition that gives many their identity and emotional sense of belonging and pride. The current custodians on and off the pitch owe the emotionally devoted a great deal more than they are giving us right now when we all do honestly know, and have seen, that they can clearly do better regardless of who is selected or not to don that glorious shirt and crest! COYBG!
AHOmT: I don’t disagree that a world class keeper is better than one who is not. I’ve said in these drinks before that a top keeper is worth six to 10 points a season, and that makes a big difference at the top of the table. Almunia and Fabianski were decent Premierhip keepers but would not have made many if any lists of world class keepers. Szczesny potentially will with more experience. But there is more to a defence than a keeper alone. So the stats to look at may be clean sheet percentages. I’ll see if the monks at Castle Ned can pull together some numbers, but it may take a bit of time.
Snir, there will usually be outliers in any data set. My hunch would be that the correct thesis is that a top-class keeper is a necessary but not sufficient component of a trophy winning side, and certainly of one picking up silverware over several seasons.
Let’s call it recommended 🙂
Hahaha, I just realised who is hiding behind the AHOMT moniker 🙂
Thanks again,
Have woken this morning sweating up like a Grand National winner, but no convulsions. Off to work, kill or cure. Tea and paracetomol is my friend.
Apparently I still have more chance of playing tomorrow than Diaby.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=j6Lk7pMxynM
Something to get you in the mood for tomorrow.
Good luck, ‘holic.
I’m back at work, but I’m not sure my head is. I had a bit of a ‘wow, wow, should I really be doing this?’ moment when I took the car this morning.
Guess I’m better, it’s just also that at this time the last previous days, I’d just taken my first medicine of the day and had a good kip.
Drug-free day today.
I’m really not match fit, I may be very quiet tomorrow 🙁
@ 325
Me too. Bastard.
Drug-free day?
That’ll be the day…. 😉
Really not sure what I’m doing here. My head is reeling.
DanC,
Cheers, and right back atchyer for your 321.
I’m really feeling like shit 🙁
– So, Larsene, what is the current injury status?
– Well, Ollie has maybe a little chance to be there, we will have a late test on him. The same for the Holic, but zico has no chance for a few more weeks, maybe not until the new year. But Lars will be ok for next week, he will be in the crowd against Montpellier. I have no new on TS, he has been a little bit missing from the bar lately.
– Are you looking to bring anyone in in January?
– We have exciting new talent like Wind, I don’t want to kill his chances of getting tickets. Clive will not coming in, but if he ever makes it to the stadium it will be like a new spectator. We have also next week NorCal coming in to help out for two games.
– How will the supporters handle the pressure on Saturday?
– takeabowson and And Lester will be looking for a little bit the mental strength from Guinness, hopefully not with brandy in them. Trev will have his usual half pint. abb will be using her patients as voodoo dolls and maybe stick needles in their eyes.
– Any other things you would like to say?
– Yes, and I would like you all to join in. [stands up and clears throat] THERE WERE TEN TOTTENHAM POINTS IN THE GAP…
Heh, superb, Lars!
Hope this place aint going to shit as well.
Think I am starting to wake up a bit.
Big hug to Esso. I’ll keep the sloppy kiss for when I am back to full health.
Morning Esso, will see you tomorrow, but may be sipping the breakfast rather than glugging it. Ollie and I will form a leper colony in one corner 😉
Great stuff Lars.
Good luck to the leper colony, keep away from our players mind,but if the chance to hug a spud comes along, go for it!
Heh, quality stuff there Larsene 😀
That, mamie, requires a NBC suit.
Thus negating the effect. I think catching something from the swamps is more dangerous…
Very nice Larsene 😀
What usually happens in the Tollie on the morning of a 12:45 kick-off? 😕 (For someone who will be there for the 1st time on a Matchday)
Zico @ 328
Is that a Bastard in the Generic sense,or a full on 24 carat Bastard.??
Ned @ 322,
I would dispute that El Alamein was EVER a decent Prem keeper.
I also don’t agree about a WCK being worth an extra 6-10 pts a season.
More like 12-15 pts in my opinion.
Not only is it their ability between the sticks but also their organizational skills with their defenders,so the whole defensive unit works as one.
The Arse haven’t had that for the past 5-6 yrs.
Absolute madness.
AHOMT
Dearie me Ollie,that’s what’s wrong with you youngsters today, not willing to give your all for the club;-)
Seriously though, hope you get a game worth getting out of sickbed for!
Tone time again on twitter. Nice.
Oh dear. Arteta a doubt..
AHOmT,
Games played*, Keeper, % of clean sheets kept
1 Lee Harper 100%
9 Vito Mannone 55.6%
38 Alex Manninger 47.4%
325 David Seaman 42.5%
110 Manuel Almunia 39.1%
59 Wojciech Szczesny 37.3%
146 Jens Lehmann 37.0%
30 Lukasz Fabianski 36.7%
12 Richard Wright 25.0%
11 Vince Bartram 18.2%
16 Stuart Taylor 12.5%
(*Premiership league games)
I am missing a small handful of appearances, so if anyone can spot the missing keeper(s), let me know.
Ned, I don’t see Rami Shaaban in that list. He played something like five or six league games and kept at least one clean sheet, including the NLD where Henry scored that goal where he ran almost the whole length of the pitch and then ran almost all the way back to celebrate it.
He’s not been all that in the last game though, Nonny, so maybe a break will do him good.
*tries to look positive*
Doomed, Ollie. Totally, utterly, completely, doomed
AHOMT,
starting to reveal your true self.
Your original postings would suggest that you could not even say the word “generic” never mind spell it.
Interesting that I have never seen you and a well known drinker in the same room 😉
heh zico
Depth Charge
Amongst Robbie Savage’s Daily Mirror column highlights this week is his bafflement at AFC Wimbledon’s beef with MK Dons (‘if they had not been taken over and moved to Milton Keynes, they would have gone out of existence altogether’) but it’s his claims that Arsenal fans will be jealous of Tottenham’s squad depth that elevated Mediawatch’s eyebrows.
He writes: ‘Fans must look at Spurs’ flyers on the wings, Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon, Jermain Defoe’s goals, Mousa Dembele (when fit) and wish they had such depth.’
What you’ve done there, Robbie, is list the names of four Tottenham players. This says absolutely nothing about ‘depth’. What you probably should have done is noted that Spurs’ bench for Sunday’s clash at Manchester City did not include a single winger but did feature the 20-year-old central midfielder Tom Carroll, yet to start a Premier League game.
But that, of course, would have required research.
May I also add that the ‘when fit’ caveat makes the claim even more hilarious if we add all the ‘when fit’ players to a potential Arsenal squad?
Nonny, you forgot to mention that Giroud is a doubt too (and we don’t know if Feo’s arse has healed either)
Chamakh hat-trick?
Ollie: I don’t think Robbie Garbage knows what “squad depth” means. He’s probably just
read itheard the term on the tv and told his ghost writer to use it…I would wager that a half fit holic with the trots is still quicker than santos?
😀
Afternoon boys, girls and sicknotes.
Well, that illusionist show really was something last night, smoke, mirrors, scantily clad ladies disappearing, reappearing, turning into fire and other assorted objects, leaving the public applauding in disbelief at what they were witnessing. The biggest mystery of the evening was how I managed to sit through a three hour show without the comfort of alcoholic refreshment, but one invariably does what one must to support the arts. 😉
=====
Don’t take any chances Ollie, if you’re feeling crap go home mate.
=====
Good stuff Lars’ene.
=====
I also believe you won’t win much without a proper keeper, afteral, a house is only as strong as it’s foundations. Fab and Mannone are barely PL keepers and although Woj shows great potential, it’s nothing more then that. In Keeper terms he is a beginner, I do believe he will improve, but he’s far from world class.
=====
Ollie 353, It defies logic that anyone would ever have cared enough to ask Lily Savage his opinion on anything except for how to wear a girlie hair do. I can understand that he gets his say in the Mirror because that’s basically a rag for illiterates, but how he manages to get paid from tax payers money to spout his nonsense on the box is totally unbelievable and just another rusty nail in the rotting coffin that is the BBC.
We may all have a dislike of Lawro and Hansen and rightly so because they are relics, but at least they won stuff in their careers, even the next to no mark Shearer has a dubious celebrity with all those goals he scored and the fact that he put in an effort while wearing an England shirt. But RS’s only claim to fame is that he was captain of the worst team in PL history. Stick to Dancing with the stars (sniggers at the misuse of the word stars) Twinkle Toes.
Lars, well spotted. It looks like he started three Premiership games, but his clean sheet came, as you point out, in a NLD so I’ll take that as a good omen for this weekend.
Updated list:
Games played*, Keeper, % of clean sheets kept
1 Lee Harper 100%
9 Vito Mannone 55.6%
38 Alex Manninger 47.4%
325 David Seaman 42.5%
110 Manuel Almunia 39.1%
59 Wojciech Szczesny 37.3%
146 Jens Lehmann 37.0%
30 Lukasz Fabianski 36.7%
3 Rami Shaaban 33.3%
12 Richard Wright 25.0%
11 Vince Bartram 18.2%
16 Stuart Taylor 12.5%
(*Premiership league games)
Any other keeper(s) missing?
Larsene Wenger, excellent. 😆
AHOMT becoming clearer. 😉
NBN – wot no Willie Warmuz ? – even in November. 😉
Ned, I remember Lukic playing in the Champions League in his second spell, but didn’t he play at all in the Premier League at all in that spell?
At all, at all?
Why Lawro is a plonker, from the beeb;
In this fixture last season, Arsenal came back from 2-0 down to beat Spurs 5-2.
That win at the end of February was seen as a turning point in their season and what Gunners fans should remember is that, although they are going through a sticky patch now, it is nothing to the way they began the last campaign when Arsene Wenger was getting all sorts of grief.
Arsenal this year after 11 games – 8th with 16points
Arsenal last year after 11 games – 7th with 19points.
Eeerrrr, yeah.
To be fair though, he does redeem himself somewhat later in that piece.
This time, last year, H2H, we were still happy about the signing of Santos 😉
Just what you want to hear if you’re a Villa fan;
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4647131/Christian-Benteke-dreams-of-playing-for-Arsenal.html
Heh Ollie.
The follies of youth. 😉
The not very unexpected outcome of the “Duncan Jenkins” story:
http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2012/11/16/liverpool-confirm-departure-of-communications-director-jen-chang-161103/
So close, yet so far. 🙁
Agreed date with client for meeting in London on 21st November.
Meeting due to finish 4:30 pm.
All ready to start the trawl for tickets (aka begging) and somewhere nice to stay on the corporate card when I get……
Due to unforeseen circumstances, and in particular aggravation from the Unions at our xxxx plant, we are going to have to postpone our meeting on 21st November. Can we get together the week after?
My reply is currently in moderation…….
zico, 🙁
Probably a very wise decision to not reply too quickly.
We don’t see TS much here these days, but he’s a proper tweethore now, FFing the content of his heart, mostly people I don’t know. 😉
I just read that Lars, finally L’pool get one right.
===
Unlucky Z’.
===
Twitter be damned.
Have I offended thee Mon. Ollie?
Tone’s tweets have been fantastic. They have got me through a doomy hectic week at work
Not really TS. I was intrigued.
Tone’s been on great tweeting form this week, Harsha.
Nice one Larsene @ #333.
I do hope to pass a late drinkness test for Wednesday. Obviously I’ll tweet you when I know for sure 😉
Please Please Please just beat the Cnuts i promise i wont moan for a whole week if you do !!
Larsene Wenger? Finally an excuse for Abba To reunite and sing one more Love Song 🙂 Holic and Ollie, please get better as our lads will need your goonerlishous holicishous support 🙂 I too have a hunch who AHOMT is, should be a contest. Clue, everything is bigger there 🙂 ???
Can’t be arsed doing another pre-preview.
Pub wins.
For now 😉
So here is one I prepared earlier
“I was sitting at one of the soul-less UK regional airports the other day, reflecting on how it has come to this.
By “this”, I mean the general lack of anticipation I was feeling for the next Arsenal fixture.
It shouldn’t be like this I told myself – (I notice I have been having these imaginary conversations a lot these days – proof, if it was needed, that I could start an argument in an empty house).
Anyway, I chided myself, you are forgetting the fundamental truth, or at least starting to lose perspective, because whatever angst we may be feeling about our team’s present predicament, on the evolutionary scale of football development and achievement, we are still light-years ahead of the swamp-dwellers who are due to darken our doorstep come Saturday lunchtime.
Old timers tell me tales of how the LWCs were once the big cheese.
How the world has changed since the Totts had their monochromatic moment of fame. Man has walked on the moon, children have been born in test tubes, the continent of Europe has been re-drawn, and the communications revolution has shrunk the planet to the size of a village, with more than its fair share of electronic idiots. Inevitably, from time to time they find their way here.
They come and witter on about power shifts and gaps, bookmakers odds and prematurely ejaculate all over the internet about their latest liberator, another in a long line of tactical geniuses ready to outwit Arsene Wenger. Their latest spokesman is none other than Stephan Freund. A man whose career high at Tottenham was a 9th placed finish tells you all you need to know about that mob’s gap-closing capability. Not that we should expect them to be capable of “doing the math”. Ask them to count to fifty, (rounded down for the lesser primates along the Seven Sisters Road) and they develop a twitch reminiscent of their lately departed court jester.
For deep down they know their place, they know the immutable truth, that they will forever be in our shadow.
And we should never let them forget it either.
For as much as we may not agree on the road we need to take to build our next championship winning side, we can surely agree that we will not need to leave instructions for the generations fifty years hence, on how to operate a DvD. 😉
There.
I’m feeling better already.”
Nice one zico, nice one son, nice one zico, let’s have another one.
Enjoy the pub, you deserve it after that pre-preview.
Really sorry to hear about your cancelled meeting and with it your plans for seeing the Montpellier game. Perhaps Maggie was right after all???
Look forward to a oppty (in the not too distant future) to buy you a real pint.
UTA!
Heh Zico.
Deja vu all over again.
Give that man a drink (or five)
I believe you’re the one who works in a bar, H2H 😉
Having a hard time thinking about football.
Never thought I’d say this a day before the NLD.
May God guard my family and all of Israel from the nonstopping missiles.
Please, please look out for them.
I don’t know what I’d do without them…
Thoughts are with you and your family Snir. Even the NLD pales into insignificance.
Hope they will be safe Snir
I do apologise Holics,
that was decidedly lazy of me.
But I was torn between thinking up some new words and this black and white minstrel before me 😉
I hope to be in guns blazing, foul-mouthed NLD diatribe mode, later this evening!!
I really hope your family will be safe, Snir.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thinking of them Snir.