“On Me Head Son” Santi Lights Up The Mad Stad
Dec 18th, 2012 by 'holic
As Christmas parties go that was one of the better ones. The journey by rail to Reading listening to some favourite music in bright sunlight created a feelgood factor. Five and a half hours in the Slug & Lettuce with a variety of tinctures and platters of finger food maintained the mood. “TAXI”. It was time to head for the only football ground I know where you can buy draught Guinness. “It’s because we have rugby here, and they are the sponsors”, I’m told by a barman clad in a red Arsenal badged shirt, as are all his colleagues.
From the off both sides were at it, but only Arsenal would maintain the pressure as Reading allowed the midfield trio the time and space in which to weave the wondrous patterns we see all too rarely these days. We could have gone behind when Hunt, not the tallest of attackers, out-sprung the static zonal markers ahead of him and glanced the ball onto the roof of the net. Arsenal, unfettered by any meaningful pressure, responded with the opening goal. Kieran Gibbs was given the freedom of the left flank, crossed with rare precision, and Lukas Podolski burst between two defenders and finished with some style.
Already in fine voice, the travelling Gooners pumped up the volume. To our right there was but silence. The two Spanish midfielders took control of the game with Jack Wilshere stifling most of Reading’s efforts to relieve the pressure. The second goal may have surprised many, given it was the diminutive Cazorla who popped up in the centre-forward’s role to net with a diving header. The beaming smile as he celebrated with his team-mates lit up the highlights on Arsenal Player in the early hours of this morning.
He went on to complete a true hat-trick either side of half-time with two very different swings of his left foot. His movement into the danger areas set an example his colleagues ahead started to embrace as the match wore on. Yet Arsenal wouldn’t be Arsenal without a little carelessness creeping into a stroll in the park. Le Fondre and Kebe plundered unlikely consolation goals and the home support sprung into life for a few minutes. Humorous exchanges followed which added to the evenings enjoyment.
They were silenced again ten minutes from time when Theo Walcott sparked a mass evacuation of three sides of the stadium with a smart left-footed finish. His inclusion as the leader of the attack warrants mention. If he is genuine about his reason for not ‘signing da ting’ then Arsene Wenger may be playing a very smart hand. A few games just before the opening of the transfer window enable Le Boss to call his bluff. We will see soon enough if money, or positional preference, is at the root of his stand-off. There is no doubt he caught the eye on the ball last night, but watching his movement when others were in possession told a different tale. He is not alone in that. It is something the front line has struggled with for much of the season.
There remained a tortuous queue and bus journey back to Reading Station where the pub had closed early. Thankfully the train home was complete with a well-stocked buffet car, and the solo final leg of the party trip was negotiated with some fortifying sustenance. I was left to reflect on two hugely enjoyable trips to the Mad Stad this season in which nineteen goals were scored. Clearly we are unlikely to be making the same journey next season, which is a shame.
We can only hope the confidence boost the boys will have got from this result enables us to kick on and string a few results together.
Cheers ‘holics.
485 Responses to ““On Me Head Son” Santi Lights Up The Mad Stad”
And in.
Now to read
Morning all.
Just what the multiple doctors and various quacks in this place ordered.
The berks from Berks got f*cked on the telly yet again, splendid!
Best song of the night courtesy of Little Dutch/WST: βHow shit must you be, Chamakh scored twoβ.
A win at Wigan and a Sperz draw and weβre back above the scum. Happier days.
UTA.
*boilk*
It is an absolute pleasure to be able to read about the Arsenal in a morning without wanting to poke my eyes out with wooden tent pegs.
Even the weather is better today. Nice blog as usual, lets hope happy days are here again for a bit, very festive, c’mon Arsenal! Cazorla’s face after his header priceless entertainment.
Same old TABS, always cheating. π
Great stuff ‘H. Cheers mate.
Season’s greetings to you too ‘H.
That’s some post considering that you must have a bit of a *boilk* on this morning?
Hair of the dog?
Heh Ette π
I can’t forgive you for wearing the lions, though
We drink our own p*ss, we drink our own p*****ss, Piss Drinking Yellows, We drink our own p*ss.
Safe flight Bawston.
Hehe, sorry Boston. I hope you have a smooth flight back across the pond. Love to all your ladies.
Nice summary Holic – from the apparent duration of re-fuelling, it’s no wonder that you have a sore head this morning Guv’nor.
Sounds like a great day out, Holic!
“the static zonal markers”
I can’t understand why we are using almost all players for zonal, why not a combination? Let two or three players man-mark their strongest headers instead of allowing every opponent a clear run-up and at the other end, why is every Arsenal player just standing there truying to jump straight up for the ball? Why don’t we start a few players a bit further back so they can run in towards the ball?
Still, overall a very good performance and perhaps most importantly, the smile was back on Santi’s face. That may, in the long run, very well be the most important thing last night.
Thanks all.
Had an interesting discussion about Santi last night, Lars. Good to see that smile because he must be questioning whether he made the right move, possibly his last, in the summer.
Relegation zone? π
First!
I still don’t know whether I’m taller or smaller than Santi.
But I have scored very many headers in my ‘career’. π
And what Scoops said.
Thankfully the train home was complete with a well-stocked buffet car, and the solo final leg of the party trip was negotiated with some fortifying sustenance
Oh, so you ended up in Bristol? π
(There is not enough time to ear or drink between Reading and ReadinSwindon, shurely π
Great review Holic, glad to know you had a great day yesterday/early morning today π
And Ollie I did have my priorities straight, watching the game/listening to the sitcom 75/25 with a switch for 5 seconds every 10-15 seconds! Wrap your red mane around that π
A squad number?
Reading a finely told tale of victory and happy trains – most enjoyable ‘h – ta.
Aaaah! What a difference a half-decent win makes. To keeping it up (I know, and i can only apologise).
Onwaaaaaaaaaaaaards…
Psed – i blame Trev.
Plenty of time for a Guinness and chaser, Ollie π
AL
Great point re: happy trains.
It’s back out of the sidings and due a quick spit and polish.
There’s a brisk trade for tickets to Wigan.
Cheeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrssssssssssssss.
I take it we all had Santi as captain in Fantasy League?
Just the 46 points this week π
Nice review, ‘holic. Once again you and other away gooners made us all proud. Good to know someone who had the full view of the pitch shares my sentiments on Theo.
Heh, I had completely forgotten about the fantasy team and when I logged on now I realised that Bell End FC currently have two players who don’t even play in the Premier League anymore and then a bunch of injured twats as well π
A splendid read, Holic and a nicely balanced report. I watched the game on a dodgy stream in a Subway sandwich bar in some tumble down town in South Carolina (sadly there was nothing to equal the Chip Inn Fish Bar in the vicinity). Here’s how the game looked from there. Possibly slightly less balanced.
Arsenal entertained me royally during my recent visit to Reading. Having given the Royals a four-goal start (just for fun) a youthful Gunners eleven then proceeded to drive a gilded carriage powered by seven great hearts of velvet red through the ranks of regal guardsmen attempting to defend John Madejskiβs porcelain throne.
That was a fantastic night, graced in particular by the excellence of Arsene Wenger, (King of Clubs), magical βfind of the centuryβ, Thomas Eisfeld who really took the biscuit as the Biscuitmen were reduced to crumbs more quickly than you can say Huntley and Palmers..
My expectations were high that Arsenal would repeat the dose tonight and I wasnβt disappointed. Reading were never really in this game. Arsenal were superb and controlled proceedings from beginning to end with every player putting in a great shift.
But for some excellent stops by their keeper Federici, Reading would have been on the receiving end of, at least, a snowman. As it was, Arsenal cruised to a comfortable five away goals at a ground where many have been extremely uncomfortable. Arsenal reduced Readings home fans to commoners and to that unfathomable practice of booooooing their own team when the going got tough. Is that downright stoopid or what?
They didnβt however go quite as far as singing βYou donβt know what youβre doingβ at their manager, so theyβre still a couple of class points above so many at The Emirates.
Prince Poldi started the rout with a beautifully timed left foot drive from a Gibbs cross in the first quarter of an hour. Then the Prince turned kingpin provider for the first (and third) goals of that little knave Cazorlaβs crown-trick. And what a jewel Santiβs first was! Two more diamonds followed, confirming that Santi’s worth a kingβs ransom, as Arsenal sped to 4-0. Game over. Except that it wasnβt, Theo added a bonus fifth having spurned several great chances earlier.
So Arsenal move to fifth, a very comfortable two points off the third place they will occupy when the clock strikes twelve on Auld Yearβs Night. An amazing start to the season given the:
– Arrival of 3 players who have never played in England.
– Absence for months of our two first choice keepers
– Absence of our two first choice full backs
– Absence of two of the best MFs in Europe
– Departure of the skunk.
– Fact that our full first team hasnβt even played yet.
A dressing room that’s fully committed (as opposed to “lost” – whatever that means). Top three. One trophy. OllieG 20 goals.
Arsenal bloody Arsenal
The journey by rail………created a feelgood factor.
Well, D’uh! π
Congratulations on a wonderful outing ‘Holic.
Reading were really poor last night but it takes some real skill to knock the ball around with such precision as did Arsenal for most part of the match. A skill I honestly (and evidently, erroneously) feared was lacking in this squad.
I was however annoyed with myself that at 4 – 0 up I still was not convinced that the game was over for the hosts.
Here’s hoping that the boys instill more courage into my poor soul.
The Mad Stad sounds like quite an enjoyable venue certainly for one of those soulless concrete constructions. The Guinness may help of course. π
Dr z, heh π
I was unable to watch the game due to unavoidable circumstances, any chance anyone can help with a link to watch online or download?Where is Snir when you need him?
Lars. Are the supporters of Bell End FC looking for a more capable manager?? π
Excellent write up holic. Can’t really add much to that. We clearly saw the same game. Perspective is realising that it was against probably the worst team in the league. But 5 goals, 3 points and a massive confidence boost I will take every day of the week.
BtM. I am impressed if you think we have 2 first choice keepers. Forever the optimist.
Whilst pottering at home this morning I had Sky Sports News on. They do their usual festive round up of club shops. My attention is then drawn to a reporter in the Spuds shop. The pathetic attempt at humour takes over whistling chortling at the tat on offer. “What about a present for the wife” the reporter enquires. He is then introduced to the Tottenham range of bras. Having lagged I then looked more closely. It’s then that I see the realism on display. Closer examination reveal a bra with very poor support and no cups. Good old Spuds.
π
Holic. By some misguided reasoning I had stripped Santi of Far Outlyerz captaincy two weeks previous. That 23 points lost is probably the downfall of our entire season. π
Having laughed…….. not lagged.
Boom! Boom! @ Steve T
Heh! @ Dr.z, transport executive on a mission.
Lars @28,
Think you’ll find that’s our squad you were looking at. π
Boom boom, Steve T. π
Well, great minds TS, how spooky is that …. Hit submit to see the exact same comment already there. π
Steve T,
that will be the Tottenham Hotspur Over the Shoulder Bolder Holder.
8ball@35: oh no, I am safe in my position as manager since I am also the owner!
Great win last night. At last Wenger got Carzola further up the pitch and near to the penalty area – I have been screaming for this since the season began. It has taken AW too long to see this.
But give Wenger credit, he knows how to manage the media agenda and influence it. He is on the border-line at Arsenal, he knows it, we know it. So what does he do, offer up some more promises about the future (Orange should take him to the cleaners over he use of the ‘future is bright’ usage); this time it is building a team of Englishness atthe core. The foreign lot ran out on him, so for his next trick, try a bunch from the home counties.
Take my advice Wenger, start with the here and now (this season), continue (from last night), getting this squad to reach its potential and come 3rd in the league! The future can wait with your English boys, because, unless you sort the here and now out, the clamour for you to be booted out will reach levels that even you can’t talk your way out of.
Last night, the team gave an inkling of what it is capable of (that includes awful defending); I thought Gary Nevielle did an excellent assessment of Arsenal pre-match. Forget who he played for, he summed us up to a tee.
Almost word for word from Myles Palmer today. Thank you David.
You are right about the Neville assessment last night, though.
http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/another-gary-neville-master-class-arsenals-attacking-options-past-present/
Good stuuf ‘holic, must of been a great night out.
The first 45 yesterday was a joy to watch and by far our best half of the season, the second was good too, just summed up how we’ve been this term. The briliant and the ridiculous all rolled into one. But, I’m not going to nit pick, we asked for a responce and we got one. Here’s hoping we can carry on in the same vein at Wigan on Saturday.
Haha, someone else reads that anti-Wenger propaganda site (it is funny to read, especially at work).
I could make it as a journo with what many may deem to be a rehash of views from elsewhere. I took his views as they dovetail neatly with my thoughts about getting this season right first and foremost.
I do think Wenger should apologise for stating losing to Bradford is not embarrassing though – what he said was just that.
45 ‘H.
Bloody hell, that was briliant by GNev, he puts other pundits to shame. I don’t get him (on tv) over here, but I’ll have to keep my out for links.
Clearly Neville read my preview.
The jury is out on the midfield. Individually Mikel Arteta, Jack Wilshere, and Santi Cazorla have produced moments of magic this season. Collectively there is a question mark about them
π
As was my link to Orange’s 1996 slogan (Barry Davies has a lot to answer for). What do people think about Theo up-front? I can’t see it working away from home as he is not strong enough with his back to goal – and with his 1-on-1’s he is still not TH14 and doubtless never will be close. But fair play, overall he did ok last night
I know Reading are bottom, but with him upfront, their defence had to play 10 yards nearer to their goal, that meant they could not press us on the ball like other teams do, hence we were able to play our brand of socccer better. What Theo may lack holding the ball up, he might be compensated (at home especially) with teams not being to press the ball and stifle us.
I think I could cut it as an analyst with the above. Let’s admit it, with AG bannished to TalkSport after him and Keys ‘Smashed It’ football on tv is crying out for a top analyst. The best co-commentor is for me now one S.Robson, but his Arsenal comments are starting to annoy me. He trotts out the same rhetoric each time any station gives him air-time.
I suspect if he plays at Wigan you will see the home side will most definitely be able to press us in the way Reading singularly failed to do.
As I said, the jury is still out, but Theo needs to make himself available more often. Santi with his incursions into the box showed him the way last night.
Oh and the thoughts on Santi playing further forward were my own! π I disagree, if I may, I think you will find that whenver he plays up top, he will ensure teams can’t press us to the extent they currently do, simply because if the defence drops off, the midfield has to go with them, otherwise the gap will be huge between both lines. With no real pace from elswhere, teams can force us to play in confined areas, rather than spreading the play in a direct fashion. Enough of my ramblings, time for a work meeting, I shall be back later (probably not by popular demand, but then again, those who critise AW tend to be given a beating)
49 No doubt Guv’.
David.
He (TW) did better then I thought he would yesterday, but I’ll have to see more before making a conclusion. I must admit though, he did look stronger then he has done in previous seasons and as a whole we looked better as a team with him there, but that may also be due to other factors.
However, until he done “sign da ting” I’ll be pretty non plused about the whole situation.
http://www.football365.com/mediawatch/8341145/Mediawatch
Special for tabs, as it mentions his mate Ollie Holt π
We do indeed, Steve and you must have been impressed by our Number One’s authority on high crosses on the rare occasions he was called into action last night π Keep walking on the sunny side.
Arsenal will start Walcott, Giroud and Prince Poldi at Wigan on Saturday. Walcott needs to show his prowess there and the guts to resist his usual default back pass to Sagna. Steve’s much sought after width needs to come from all four of Theo, Poldi, Gibbsy and Sagna (If Jenkinson doesn’t replace him at Wigan – distinct possibility).
Still driving south. Beatles blasting the way. Did I ever tell you about the time I saw them live in Blackpool in 1963? No? Well it was a sunny Sunday……….zzzzzzz
BTM, top quality review of the game (as always), i absolutely loved the bit about the level some of our fans descend to when things don’t go our way.
I don’t think for one minute that Walcott’s skills, contribution, application in defensive duties and pressing merit an increase in salary to 90k.
What I think doesn’t matter a toss, of-course. The market that prevails in England, Spain, Italy and France judges that he is and that’s all that matters to Theo and his minders – just as it did to Cole, Flamini, Hleb, Ade, Na$ti, Song and Skunk before him. So Arsenal have a choice. Pay at market or follow the experience gleaned previously.
The key learning for me has been the difficulty of replacing any of the above at a reasonable price with a player anywhere close to par. 15M for Theo, if it could be gleaned, would seem to me to be a pretty good return frankly. And some would argue that with Ox and Gnabry in the wings he wouldn’t really be missed.
But that has been the conventional wisdom for many. I would happily see Arsenal pay 15M for a player of Alex Songs talents – even if that player actually was Alex. We miss him.
So what to do?
– Continue to build the financial base by increasing the brand’s voltage (yes, even in Indonesia, Steve)
– Capitalize on the excellent deal just concluded with Emitates and the shirt deal that we’ll hear about shortly.
– Signal a new intent by paying at market (albeit above OUR market) for Walcott. In parallel, secure Gibbs, Eisfeld, Ox, Wojcieck on aligned extensions.
– And of course, that will set things up nicely for the coming clearances and new signings in January and the summer.
Shit, getting very hot in the car. Driving on the sunny side, always on the sunny side isn’t always easy but it beats the hell out of the alternative. See you here on Saturday Holics.
Thanks, Cent, but I think few will agree for you on the basis that “Us fans pay over the top to watch Arsenal and so we have the right to express our point of view”
And that’s fair enough I suppose
I’ll just never to be able to reconcile any fan’s demand for success with a cavalier “I’ll boo and I’ll criticize as I wish” irrespective of the confidence sapping impact it has visibly on the players and even a seasoned, tough skinned professional like AW.
I’ve no appetite to reopen the debate on this it’s been done, like everything else, a thousand times here. I will forever be in the camp that encourages encouragement, collectivity and a highly positive attitude to all things in life. It’s worked wonderfully well for me thus far.
Wouldn’t be BtM otherwise. Top man π
Top up that mans’ half full glass.
Evening
I loved how the team flowed last night, the transition from front to back was the best I have seen for a while from Arsenal. The midfield were out standing.
I was pleased and impressed with Theo up front, he didnt get the balls he was looking for as often as he wanted but he hung on the shoulder of the last defender very well. I hope he signs his new contract and stays but who knows.
The team looked really good and dangerous which is a massive plus going into the weekend game with Wigan. I hope AW stays with that same line up as they deserve another crack in the same set up, as I enjoyed watching the link up play as it was outstanding as well.
It wouldnt be Arsenal without the odd defensive fou par, but i dont want to mention anything slightly negative from a performance that really put a smile back on my face.
The its only Reading gang can go fourth and multiply as you can only beat the team infront of you and that we did in style.
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRSSS
iBtM
Spot on @60.
We’re all entitled to our opinions. Of course we are.
But numerous players, past and present, are on record as stating that booing and similar are entirely unhelpful to the team as they look to do their job out on the pitch.
Either we assume they’re lying (including the former players – not sure what their agenda would be), or it’s clear that when you boo your own team you’re effectively engaging in a selfish act that may deliver you some sort of catharsis, but will only make things worse for the team.
Criticism is important. And there’s some great stuff written on here at times coming from that angle. But there’s a time, a place and a means of expressing it. Calling our players cnuts achieves nothing. Slating everything Wenger does/calling him mad achieves nothing – it just makes you come across like a mad bastard who spends too much time on the internet. These aren’t legit criticisms, they’re the temper tantrums of spoiled fans who aren’t getting what they want and can’t process it any other way but to hurl abuse.
There is plenty of stuff to dig the club out over – terrible communication with the fans, appalling expectation management, the odd duff signing, too many players out of position, tactical inflexibility and so on. It’s just a matter of how you go about doing it.
I’ve said it on here before, but my view is that I will publicly criticize Arsenal FC, Wenger and the players as I would a member of my own family – with a bit of caution and restraint.
Nice 2010 Ravenswood Zinfandel for that man’s glass. π
I donβt think for one minute that Walcottβs skills, contribution, application in defensive duties and pressing merit an increase in salary to 90k.
Can’t recall if I mentioned this before or not, but Patrick Barclay was on Sunday Supplement and said that if Wenger regarded Walcott as a squad player, Β£75k a week was the top end. If he is regarded as vital to Arsenal, his reported wish for Β£100k a week was not unreasonable, given the marketplace.
Which sums it up nicely for me.
Barclay didn’t think Theo is worth the money “but that’s the going rate”.
I won’t say what he and John Cross said about Gervinho though π
Good call N7 @64.
We don’t live in a repressive police state and Arsenal FC is not above criticism. Appropriately phrased and directed criticism is an important form of feedback but booing the team or players during a match and simply abusing the players or the manager in any forum are counterproductive and totally out of order.
So Lars,
If you are manager and owner, then that makes you Chelski?
Nice stuff BtM @29. Thought you were a little harsh on Arsenal fans though. There will always be a “black scarf” brigade at every Club. As a big Club we will perhaps have more than most. That is natural and unlikely to change.
And @59, if you think Arsenal will get Β£15mill for Theo in Jan, 6 months before he is out of contract, I would be grateful if you would immediately forward a consignment of whatever friendly ‘erb is all the rage in South Carolina. It is clearly sheeet hot!! π
In all seriousness, we would be lucky to get half that, even presupposing that Theo would be willing to move in Jan and spurn the riches which would undoubtedly come his way in the Summer.
As for the game, little to add to what ‘Holic, BtM and everybody else has had to say. Seems like for once, we all pretty much saw the same game.
– Poldi had his best game in an Arsenal shirt. Thought he was at his dynamic best last night. Rarely wasted a ball, got on the front foot and always found space. He has, justifiably, been called out a number of times this season for going missing. That criticism has been entirely deserved, but it is worth remembering that it is rare for too many (especially forwards) to hit the ground running. Even the best (Henry, Bergkamp) can suffer. I don’t seek to compare Poldi to those two stellar talents, but merely suggest that the German’s best is hopefully still to come. I thought he was second only to the magical Santi in the MoM stakes last night.
– Theo as centre-forward? Not convinced. Think his goal might be colouring a few appraisals of his overall performance last night. On the plus side his inclusion does make the opposition sit deeper allowing more space in the congested central midfield, and he took his goal very well. TV doesn’t really allow for a view of movement off the ball, but ‘Holic’s birdseye appraisal that his movement could have been better certainly confirmed my initial tentative appraisal. No more than a B, maybe B+, from me. Still think that the better sides will find ways to render him all but invisible in that role, but would love to be proved wrong. My judgement may be coloured. I will admit that once again his post match interview raised my hackles. Maybe it’s the smug smile.
– Others worthy of a mention. Ox, though at times a little careless, had his best game of the season by some distance. Jack was terrific. He’s still not quite where he was pre-injury, but he’s getting there. He also provided the comic moment of the night, when a kick in the nadgers appeared to get him, how shall I say, a little … ahem … excited. Little Jack is obviously a fan of the pleasure/pain experience. Either that or Mr Lewin really does have a magic sponge.
– Gibbsy had had a great game until his “Clichy moment”. The team’s reaction to that setback showed just how brittle confidence is, and it was an uncomfortable 10 minutes between their second and our fifth. Only a succession of positive results will cure that fragility.
Onto Wigan then. Hope springs eternal. Come on Arsenal.
N7 @64 Spot on.
Oh Wolfy π
Great report ‘holic. Cheers for that.
π
Agree 100% on Feo, TaBs, including the interview – the eyes said it: tapped up already and gorn.
Would need to perform at least as well in that position over the next 6 games to convince me in that position and that Β£90k + per week would be well spent.
I fear so Bath.
Ollie @56 Heh π
I can’t disagree with what MW had to say about Mr Holt.
There was plenty of good football last night to give us all hope. Yes, Reading were very accommodating giving our midfield acres of room to play Wengerball and with Theo keeping both centre backs busy, Santi found the space and took 3 good chances.I found myself on my feet applauding Poldi, who had his best game of the season IMO.
Why do we let ourselves down by switching off and letting the opposition back into the game? This has been a constant problem all season. I can cope with games like last night when we put 5 passed Reading BUT there are plenty of teams in the PL who would not be so generous.
Let’s continue on this upward curve and put Wigan in their place.
As always COYRs
Looks like we missed Messi. He signed a new contract. So close. π
Good evening, all.
BTM, positivity is definitely the way forward to living a fulfilled life on this planet of ours.
N7 knows.
Bath knows too.
Tabs, that bad pass from Gibbs was certainly the true definition of a ‘Clichy moment’ hopefully he will cut out such mistakes and become a better player than Clichy will ever be.
Heh @ NorCal 77
and good question Delia @ 76 – but not sure that it’s just this season, we’ve not had a rock solid defence for a long, long time.
NorCal@68: oh no, I hadn’t thought of that! Maybe I should sack myself as manager then?
Lars,
Never need to sack yourself, but should always have someone about to take the blame. And lots of disposable cash to pay multiple coaches at any given time. How many managers are still getting paid by Chelski?
AVB, Dimatteo and Rafa could all be receiving paychecks unless he paid lump sums. What a joke.
True NorCal – I need a fall guy. Maybe I should just sack a player or two to show that I am a man of action?
Heh π
Evening all,
Lots of happy tidings above to echo, and I’m with Tabs on Theo’s performance, except to stick at a ‘B’, not a ‘B+’ for me.
Great to see real energy, pace and drive back in the side and, given another half dozen games, that midfield could be something special.
Time to get my hard hat on now though, as I’m expecting a bit of grief for the next couple of lines.
I seem to be in a fairly small minority but I’m just not convinced by Kieron Gibbs. He did get in a good block last night and the cross for Podolski’s goal was a good one too.
Generally though, he doesn’t seem to have recovered anything like last season’s pre-injury form. He rarely or never seems to stop a cross coming in from his wing, his own crossing, when he doesn’t cut inside onto his seemingly unusable right foot, is really poor, and he has a lesser version of Clichy’s tendency to lose concentration.
That is not actually a dig at last night’s sloppy pass, but he does tend to be the one member of the back four to break our offside trap. At times he has been exposed by a lack of support, but often his positional play leaves a bit to be desired.
Have to say I was a big fan, but this season it has got on my nerves for a while now, and a poor team got past him way too easily way too many times last night.
Sorry for the negative comment on a generally very happy day. Maybe it’s tiredness. Or hormones. They excuse anything, don’t they ?
NorCal 77, they took action as they saw we were sniffing around π
tabs 75, I thought you’d like it indeed!
I rather agree with you, Trev.
But then I’m tired too π
Cheers Ollie.
He’s still young, and learning, Trev. Poldi not Gibbs kept the boy onside for goal number 2 last night btw. I think he’ll get there.
Trev, I think Gibbs has generally played quite well this season but I agree he didn’t have his best game defensively last night. He sometimes tends to get drawn towards the ball too much and forgets to look over his shoulder and mark his man. Having said that, he also made a few really good interceptions last night so it wasn’t a disaster by any means but also far from his best game.
Are you guys too jaded to even use the proper terminology?
You are JADED. Not just tired. π
The entire team looks better when we have some pace in the lineup. Gerv has pace but he uses it only over 5-10 yards. AOC and Theo pulled reading all over the field with their pace. Poldi hustled all over the pitch as well and all of our midfielders looked to get in the box. AOC on a different night could have scored a brace and Theo should have had 2 at least. Need to improve on our concentration for the full 90 but it is hard when you are up 4-0.
Top observation there, NorCal. The most satisfying thing last night (after the 5 goals) was the pace of our attacks and the ball movement, especially on the break. Quite like old times.
Yes I realised that was Poldi Bath, but against Swansea he was 2-3 yards behind the other three several times, playing everyone onside.
Before last season’s injury he was looking very good but has been poor, by comparison, most of this season.
Share your hope that he will get there.
Sadly, Trev, it’s not exactly like Santos is putting too much pressure on him for the pecking order.
Baff,
Yes. Last night when a cross came in, we had 3 guys looking to get into the box. We used width to get those crosses in and then continued running into the box. Jack had a couple of great touches to get those balls out wide.
On Santi’s second goal, AOC was right there. Santi actually had a more difficult shot then he did because Santi was facing away from goal. I was glad to see even when it didn’t result in a goal, everyone was looking to get into good positions.
It looked like Arteta was fine last night because Reading never got into a good shape in our half and therefore never pushed him off the ball.
Gibbs’ pass was a very poor decision on his part. Needs to keep his wits about him in our defensive third. Any team can score those goals.
I do think he made major strides defensively last season and he’s on a plateau atm but he will get there, I am sure. He’s a good’un.
I may be old but I’ve got the pace and drive to get there
Runs like a turtle towards the box…..
Don’t wait on me, I’ll get there π
Crosses the ball…
bang
Ba’s joint explodes π
Son of a bitch, I am slow.
@ 98,
That’s what I tell Ivana. π
My back was to goal and I had to hit it with my bad foot – but at least we were both there for Lars’ cross!
Well in baff!
Larsbaff, winning combo!
It’s the Norse connection, mate.
Well in Bath.
I think I just crossed midfield.
Well in, bath.
Nice cross, Lars.
Norcal, heh.
Am i the only one who thinks Poldi’s pace is underrated?
California’s answer to Frank Lampard? Eh, NorCal?
Cent @109, he does have a burst of speed and showed it a fair amount last night but he’s no MO11, RP7 or TH14. Anelka-esque for pace – not bad at all.
Heh,
Ample Andrew doesn’t sound near as catchy as Fat Frank.
I’ll just claim I am past my prime. π
Demba Bath !!!
Well in Son !!! π
heh @Trev113
Re: 45. Why did Gary Neville never have such a good haircut during his playing days? Not sure we can get definite data on this one, mind you.
trev, i was thinking rather dembath, bah.
well in bath, i’m sure norcal or i could help wrap ba’s exploded joint (we use only the best rice paper up here in northern cali).
norcal, it’s a good thing ivana likes ampleness.
carry on.
Dani Alves and Andre Santos as our fullbacks.
8-5 every week…
…or 5-8 π
You’re a cruel man, Holic.
5-8 pies, perhaps.
Trev’s got a hard(hat)-on for Gibbsy’s lack of positional nouse?
Fair dos.
rhyming, now? eek.
If that was directed at me scruz, nouse rhymes with mouse, as opposed to ooze.
Sorry to disappoint. As you were…
Evening everyone. Holic, With you 100% on Theo, the ball is in his court now. Will watch the game again tonite, because my memory of his participation is a bit sketchy other than his failed attempt in the first half and his goal in the second. Very telling Arsene has given in to his demands…the squeaky wheel and all that π I can only recall one or 2 games this season he has busted a gut, but hey, that’s just me. Arsene has been savvy enough to silence his critics on that front. He then went further to appease critics and fans alike, when he announced Gervinho would be given a break after his spell with the Ivory Coast. How convenient for him. Futbal is a cruel sport. Every team has their sacrificial lamb π Recently Tim Stillman wrote, and I paraphrase here, “If there was a better player than Jack Wiltshere, I’d play him.” Whew. That was a slap in my face π but a wake up call for someone like me who has a vested interest in the development of our players. π
it were, ts, i thought it was like news, not mouse. that’s how it is here in amerika…
i am so disappointed. π
Hearing Sol Campbell talk about Arsenal as “WE” really warms the heart.
Sunzu?
No I did not sneeze.
Leeds v. Bradford in the League Cup final? Sounds like it would be a spectacle well worth watching.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20756146
M62 derby, bt8b.
Apparently the M62 is also part of the EU’s Shannon-St Petersburg M20 route. Who knew? Who cares, come to that?
heh Ned
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/vermaelen-the-team-had-a-lot-to-prove
No, no, Thomas: the team HAS a lot to prove.
@34 – Firstlady – Are you implying that you don’t need me ALL the time ;)?
here you go luv.
http://www.soccershouts.com/forum/topic/16918-reading-vs-arsenal-week-17-17122012/
In relation to 8ball’s post about the COCup, when is the draw for the semi-final? (I.e. what day will Villa be drawn against Bradford?)
Agree 100% with Ollie@130.
Holic – I thought Theo’s movement was good. It opened up a lot of space for Ox, Santi, and Poldi.
As for Poldi, what a different player he is with Gibbs on his wing. It’s remarkable really.
Reading are extremely poor, but just like Gary Neville said, if we bring people into the box and make those runs into “Arsenal space” then we will be dangerous (His pre-match and post- match is available on the link I posted in my previous comment).
I very much like the way we play away from home, and we can most certainly punish teams with our counters.
As for going forward, well, let’s take it one game at a time and enjoy the Christmas period because we really do have a chance to go on a run.
Lars, I’d expect the draw to be tonight after Thugs vs Bus Stop
Blimey, Snir’s back!
How you doing Ollie? All’s good?
Tell him Ollie @130.
Snir is back, Snir is back, Hello, Hello. π
Back after four A’s in my four courses.
Gazidis, I’m coming for your job! π
Yeah, all right, Snir.
You too? Exams done then?
Ah I see : Congratulations on the results!
Thank you Ollie.
I take it you made sure all’s well in the bar.
No extra scraps while I was away :)?
Don’t mean to sound like a misery guts but did we beat Reading because they were spectacularly bad, or because we played pretty well, or a combination of both?
This is not a rhetorical question, I only managed to listen to half the game on 5Live and I’m genuinely interested to know if we really earned the 3 points or were they handed to us on a plate?
Camberwell – It was a combination of both.
This is how Reading play.
They didn’t threaten us at all. In fact, both goals conceded came from our mistakes.
We had our most shots on goal, and on target of the season. It was both due to their defending but also to the amount of men we had in the box.
Once again, we had Cazorla roaming all over the pitch, including playing alongside Arteta, which let Jacky go forward.
While it would be dangerous to play that way against the big teams (an engine room of Arteta and Cazorla is extremely lightweight), it worked wonders against W.B.A and against Reading.
We are finally playing well against the lesser teams (away from home).
All we need now, is to make sure that Jacky plays as close to the box as possible when we play at home because his ability to go through people creates many chances.
Ox was very inventive as well, and I see an understanding developing between him, Jacky and Santi.
We’re looking better.
Not like we should, but better.
Glad to hear it. There’s no reason why Jack and Cazorla in midfield shouldn’t wreak havoc against the best defences.
Camberwell, in addition to what Snir said I would also like to point out that while Reading were poor it was also down to us taking full advantage of that. We could and perhaps even should have had a few more goals.
It wasn’t a perfect game by any means but a massive step in the right direction. Wigan on Saturday will tell us a bit more about how massive and if the progress was only temporary.
Tito Vilanova is apparently stepping down from Barca after suffering a brain tumour relapse.
Blimey. Poor bloke – he seems like a decent sort.
Afternoon peeps.
Cam’, what Lars said, although the first 45 mins was the best I’ve seen from us this term.
What H2H said.
What Ollie, H2H and Lars said.
What Ollie, H2H, Lars and Dr Z said.
In a quasi French, Dutch, Sweedish, Scotish, London accent. π
What did they say? Is it a quiz?
Hey, I thought CL draw was today? Not given a mention in Benita Springs Gazette this morning.
I believe it’s tomorrow BtM.
Snir, welcome back and congrats on exam results.
Trev, interesting points re Gibbs. He is certainly better going forward than he is defensively. He clearly isn’t where we want him to be yet, but like Bath, I remain confident that he will get there. That will of course depend in large part on whether he can enjoy a consistent run, free of injury, something that has eluded him up to now.
As regards an assessment of his season to date, it’s my view that you are being a little harsh. I think there’s been a marked improvement from last season. His absence coincided with our most abject performances this season (Bradford aside). Norwich away, Swansea and Schalke at home were all missed by him.
Whilst I would love to see Andre the Elephant shipped out at the first available opportunity and a replacement back up brought in, to buy better than Gibbs (Baines?) would cost a lot of money, and it’s my view that the mythical “war chest” is better deployed in other areas.
Yep.
CL draw 20 Dec.
End of the world 21 Dec.
Last Saturday for Xmas shopping 22 Dec.
A busy few days.
Morning fellow grotto dwellers. Feeling a bit Xmassy (Ollie!) so am posting this Pravda link:
http://www.arsenal.com/membership/membership-christmas-2012
It’s full of Santi Cazors plus other elves like Andrei the Reindeerkat and Lil Jack Frost Wilshere, bless ’em.
Yule no doubt be glad to see a Festive Diaby and Djourou in there too. Good to know they’re both still alive.
10 sleeps until The Toon (and other carols)!
It’s a shame there’s no Spam on Boxing Day.
scruz @ #124
Heh! No need to apologise for your kountry. I’m semi-bilingual so may have a slight advantage π
Anybody read anything on why Sagna and Vermaelen had a bust up at the end of the game on Monday?
https://twitter.com/GoonerGimli/status/281174321014132738/photo/1
What Andy Goram says.
BtM: it’s the LC (aka COC) draw today π
TS @ 156.
Bi = two and semi = half, means you speak one language. π
Yes, tabs, and I read it over twitter yesterday: Sagna was very angry at being pushed (or told something) by a Reading player.
TV just told him to calm down.
So Sagna and TV didn’t have a bust up in fact (disappointedly for the meedja).
My nominee for today’s Demba Ba-Humbug Award goes to Mr.Camberwell for his post @ #141 for no other reason than using the phrase misery guts.
I’m confident, however, that before the day is out far a far more worthy candidate will emerge.
Don’t worry Camberwell, life is rarely fair.
May I offer you a Xmas infusion by way of compensation for an unprovoked attack? π
My nominee for today’s Sherlock Holmes award goes to the inimitable and hugely likeable Mr.Holloway for his post at #160.
That one, knid sir, will take some beating π
Mr.Ollie knows at #161. Meedja Tosspots all placed firmly back in their cages.
What I said.
Heh! at The Swede.
Ah, cheers Ollie.
Reports that Huntelaar has extended at Schalke. Excellent news if true. Really, really didn’t want him.
Too old, too cunty, and a style of playing which has never sat easy with the way AW sees the game.
Boxing Day game definitely off. Odd to call that off when other games in London are going ahead.
Cheers Mr Storey.
169 Nonny.
Fuck, now I’ll have to spend time with the fam’. π
Rick from the Youg Ones was right, ASLEF is an anagram for “total and complete bastard.”
Nonny, the only other PL teams to play at home in London that day are Fulham and QPR who both have grounds that hold around 20.000 people so they aren’t as dependent on the tube working as we are.
There good thing about the game being postponed is that the team will get a bit of a rest and can do some proper training for a few more days, the bad thing is that it will create some congestion in January instead. But then again, maybe we’ll have some new players by then? (well, one can hope and dream, right?)
Bath @111, yeah, he has really got a massive burst of pace.
‘holic, Alves has come out and said there’s no truth in the story linking him to us. Talking about Barcelona players, anyone else seen the story about David Villa and us.
Ollie knows @130.
Snir, congrats on your results, mate.
N7, well said, Tito really seems a decent and humble bloke.
T.S. Nice post @155.
So, Boxing Day game is definitely off and TalkSh*te’s own Mr Misery Guts, Andy Jacobs, is complaining that this is very unfair as it gives an advantage to Arsenal, with longer to recover before the Newcastle game.
Well, Mr Jacobs, it may have escaped your notice, but Chel$ki have been playing with an unfair advantage for several years.
If your players are tired then use your financially doped squad to freshen things up.
If your financially doped squad is not good enough to do that, it is nobody’s fault but your (the club’s) own.
In that case, Mr Abramovich should do what Mr Abramovich always does, and sack the manager.
Just sayin’ …………
Same as last year though, Nonny.
+ extra date available due to COC-kup π
Hey TS @155,
Christmas puns ? You’d be crackers to get involved.
I’d wrap it up now if I were you, or yule be sorry.
Shame the opportunity presents itsself now ‘cos I have to go and collect my daughter from school. π
Christmas puns and Trev won’t be present?
Yule log on again later though, right?
H2H – there’ sno man I’d rather battle it out with.
Daughter is a little off colour though – last night she swallowed one of the balls off the Christmas tree and now she’s got tinsellitis. π
Heh, look after her Trev, that’s what a good naviDad does.
*I’m trilingual TS π
Ps I hope her condition is stable.
You are indeed a cunning linguist H2H. π
@ #169 – I’d much rather go cold turkey than eat Spam on Boxing Day. *throws the gauntlet down in front of Trev*
Hehs! @ H2H
Lars @ #172 – Great thinking. A rested and (whisper it) strengthened squad with at least a dozen new players to sit on Fat Spam in the new year. Bring it on!
Ollie – Newcastle at home. With a charged hipflask for The Barman π
@ #181 Sorry, there’s no room in this inn.
TaBS @ 153 – encouraging signs of beginning to walk toward the sunny side, old chap. Must have been the effect rubbing off from that shake of my urine soaked hand last time we met? Recycled Scotch tends to have an enlivening effect I’m told.
With you on Huntelaar – the further he stays from Arsenal, the happier I’ll be. Second rate Dutch skunk, older, slower, less talented.
New deals for five players confirmed and announced.
Gibbs, Wilshere, Ramsey, Jenkinson, AOC all signed up for four or five more years.
Shit – cancellation of Hammers game on Boxing Day! My 3rd place promise did not comprehend ASLEF’s action. What can I say?…….
– Arrival of 3 players who have never played in England.
– Absence for months of our two first choice keepers
– Absence of our two first choice full backs
…………………………
…………………………
– West Ham game (sure fire home win) K.O.’d on Boxing Day
Absolutely with BtM & tabs re: Huntelaar (with a silent ‘c’?). We can do much better.
However, if we’re going to have a shopping spree, then I think he’d be a decent replacement for Chamakh and/or Park.
My god, we’re already going all OCD re: new buys and the TW hasn’t even opened up.
Great news on the dotcom, Jenks,Gibbs,Ramsey,Jack and The Ox have all been signed up to long term contracts. In other news, Theo walcott still can’t find his pen.
@ #186
I trust you will join me in dancing on the ceiling at that news? That’s one helluva decent early Xmas pressie.
It also tells us everyhting we need to know about Mr.Walcott. I hope we get top dollar for him and that we don’t sell him to a PL club but the latter is wishful thinking in the extreme.
Cent, it’s a direct message to TW’s agents. He’s gone my friend.
Heh BtM, is that what it was! π
Never left the Sunny Side Sir. π Have just found some of the decisions made in the last 6 months difficult to defend.
18-12-2012 Theo walcott says /discussing/agreeing/signing a new contract takes time.
18-12-2012 Arsenal announce that five young players have all signed new long term contracts. Arsene Wenger says he sees the five of them as the “future core spine of The Arsenal team”.
Anyone else thinking what i’m thinking?
Oh, i see T.S. Articulated his thoughts faster than i did mine, great minds and all that, mate.
Cent, if you’re thinking it’s high time to have a driny then yes, I’m with you all the way. π
Line them up for all the good folk in the bar please squire.
That the club have spent all their time on doing these deals and that the story about the club doing nothing with Walcott since August are true? Yeah, maybe
Don’t like the Boxing Day postponement. January is full of more difficult matches.
Morning all.
Looks up for Ollie……….
Don’t hear Chavs moaning that it’s unfair when we’ve played away in Europe on a Wednesday night and then play away against a rested side on the Saturday.
Jacobs is still droning on about it on TalkSh*te. Pathetic.
Scores when he wants …..
Takes the card and leaves.
Dinks it…
…wide
Ooooooh Trev – beware the wrath of Ollie and Steve T…
Nasty Trev!
That was a Hunter or a Bremner , right?
Come on Dirty Leeds.
AL finds the width that Steve T has been craving?
Well in Trev, but look forward to a letter from the dubious goals commite.
Unlucky Rev.
Attention Trev:
Your goal has been rescinded and awarded to Messrs. Bremner & Hunter.
Your punishment is to drink a yard of ale in one sitting.
The Dubious Goal Committee would just like to point out that it has nothing to do whatsoever with The Dubious Goal Committe.
The case of Dr.T remains under review.
H2H you just succeded in making me think more, took me a good minute+ to realise you may have meant to write ‘drink’ and mistakenly wrote ‘driny’.
π
Heh @208.
Sorry about that Cent, take an extra driny… eeer, I mean drinky on me.
TS @ 205 that sounds decidedly sordid.
Well played sir!
AL – It sure did.
Heh, unmasked .
Another four yellows and I get Christmas off.
Or I could just give Dr Z a Glasgae kiss. π
Great news about the contract renewals, even though expected, but it really shows with goodwill on both sides these things really take no time!
About the proposed new signings: how about Villa’s Benteke as a striker? Someone with some PL experience, and evident quality. Maybe a better deal than KJH with his humongous chip on the shoulder. Lewandowski would be a very good signing as well.
I also think we still need a more traditional DM, there are matches where we would be better served by more physicality in the midfield and Arteta’s creativity upfront. I have no obvious candidates, Capoute?
Heh! @ H2H
De-frocked even π
Trev, the hunter, bites your legs.
For anyone whatβs interested, hereβs our gal Amy L. playing away on a.n.other podcast: As most here know, sheβs a decent journo (neigh, nooooo β thatβs not yet a poxy moron – noooo β Arteta ye not), and a dyed in the Woolwich Gooner too; who spends a fair amount of her time around our club and those what runs it.
Here she straps her gloves up tight and comes out swinging, full-force; properly punching her weight!
Ding! Ding! (All a board thing/ish, mostly/ish β apparently…) Anyway pretty interesting stuff, I reckon β whatever your Arse angle.
Psed β this podcast may contain scousers β theyβre NUTZ β no ?!?!?! (Actually, they seem mostly alrightish – really.)
Pseded β Amyβs bitβs near the beginning.
Psededed β think it was recorded post-Bratfored, pre-Reading β though not entirly shure…
http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2012/12/citytalk-a-villains-tale/ β¦
I’ve decided Stewart Robson is Pedro from Le-Grove.
must say i am impressed by trev, ts, and h2h…three wise men if there ever were.
loving the new 5-spot we can lay down as our core, and am guessing now that theo is gone…or he’ll suddenly have a change of heart, wanting to be part of that group. 19, 20, 20, 21, and 23, eh? me likey.
dr. faustus, lewandowski would have the advantage of knowing some of the players, though from what i have seen is a bit more like giroud than we might need. i’d like to see someone who can run a bit, get behind like theo, but has ideas/control/movement off the ball (besides getting behind) like giroud. does benteke fit that?
AL
she straps her gloves up tight and comes out swinging
Is that a euphemism?
A fine pair of posts.
West Ham game postponed – good news for me as I wouldn’t have been able to make and now I will. However, a US Gooner I know has booked his trip over especially to catch his first game – he’s obviously gutted.
Driverless trains can’t come too soon – they work a treat on the DLR.
Blimey there’s a de-frocked fellow loose (ewwww!) in the bar!!! Nurse! Nurse! Nuuuuurse!!! No? Oh sod it i’ll have a drink then. And one for all the early thirsty crowd what’s around.
Cheers!
After a fashion TS
btw, snir, congrats on making the a-list.
and pedro is articulate compared to old stew.
al, love amy. kant, indeed.
Scruz, Lewandowski is quicker than Giroud, less physically dominant but a bit more agile. Giroud’s off the ball movements and hold-up and link play are much better but I think Lewandowski is a more clinical finisher.
Admittedly I haven’t seen anything of Benteke before this season, but what I had seen this season I think his game is rather well suited to ours. He reminds me a little bit of young Adebayor (yes, he was a superb player for us before he became a trouble).
H2H, Thanks for the drink, mate. Barman, i will have a bottle of Guiness pls serve a round to everybody in the bar, let’s all toast to a brighter future with five of the best young British talents who just commited their future to The Arse.
Dr Faustus knows.
I absolutely love Jack Wilshere.
Just wanted to let you all know.
Have a good evening.
/Toby
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2250197/Gary-Neville-scenes-Sky-Sports-Monday-Night-Football.html
I’m having a hard time with myself.
I love Neville the pundit, after hating Neville the player…!
When is the postponed Spammers game likely to be played?
This could influence, quite significantly, the quality of Roxette’s christmas present. π
Just watched the Neville-clip you linked ‘Holic. Fucking masterclass. It’s almost as I want to get my sin… eh screaming voice out and say “Wenger, Wenger, sign him up!”
I wouldn’t though.
Would I?
well, dr. faustus, either one would be a nice addition, then.
i looked up a bit of benteke…sounds good, but limberger says no sale at the end… (and not to trust the fail, either) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2249017/Christian-Benteke–good-Aston-Villa-striker.html also, i am concerned that he’s a bit flavor of the month, owing to his results against ‘pool.
as for lewandowski, another bit from the fail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2242478/Robert-Lewandowski-Manchester-United-played-down.html looks like klopp is also saying (in a big way) no sale.
keeping my fingers crossed that someone of that quality will be brought in, though.
Snir,
Neville is the jewel in Sky’s crown at the moment – quite exceptional in a massive sea of mediocrity and downright buffoons.
Murdoch must have just got lucky with their recruitment when you think of all the other arseholes they have working for them
Am i the only one who’s read the David Villa to Arsenal stories?
Holic – That Neville clip. When was that? It wasn’t at Half time or pre-match because I watched both. He did not show Vieira and Cesc but only Ox and Santi from this season.
Was this post-match? If so, I should stay and watch until it ends!! π
Never mind.
Found it.
It was pre-match.
Looking forward to more diving from santi…
Ahem..diving header that is…not that he’s not any good in the other ‘popular football sense of the word’
Well hello folks
Extremely cunted at work π
Re: Neville. Agree with everyone, I can’t believe I loathed him so much as a player
zico @ #233
From Pravda:
However, the Club can confirm that this rearranged fixture will be played on either Wednesday, January 23 (kick off 7.45pm) or Saturday, January 26 (kick off 3pm). The date of the fixture will be determined by the results in the FA Cup third round, which is being played on the weekend of Saturday, January 5 and Sunday, January 6.
Heh @Kenyan, been a while you posted, hope you’re good.
TS 183: excellent! Looking forward to catching up with you.
Trev: RED CARD!
Ollie is THE Dubious Goals Committee. We all knew…
Evening chums.
Amnesty on yellow cards. Unlucky Trev.
Can’t have anybody suspended over Christmas. Need all the regulars to be here, just in case the grand’holics lock me up…
Locked in a room with Holic & Trev? The mind boggles…
That could be an entertaining pun-ishment.
Heh! In one.
Heh π
http://hereisthecity.com/2012/12/19/mn-arsenal-fans-hijack-gareth-bale-twitter-qa/
Superb π
Briliant link Tabs, Spurs fans outnumbered by gooners, wow, what a shock. π
For those coverting Benteke. In the immortal words of Tony Soprano, fargit abboudit. Why would Villa sell their only player who can kick a ball?
I said before that I was torn about KJH, the only real reason I would have liked to see him at Arsenal was because there would of been more coverage here in the Lowlands, other then that, MEH.
There are plenty of decent strikers all over Europe that would jump at the chance of joining us, Demba Ba may refrain from jumping due to his dodgy knees and I think we should steer clear of him for that very reason.
Here in the Lowlands a striker named Bony is doing the business for Vitesse Arnhem, 15 goals already in the Ere Divisie, is he good enough for the PL? I honestly couldnΒ΄t say, but IΒ΄m just trying to point out that our net should be wider then the usual suspects offered up by The Sun and their ilk.
π @ the q and a.
Cheers scruz – miles back.
250-251? How superb? :s
The ultimate Daily Mail mediawhore didn’t make it to the selection this time, and he’s the only one I saw on my timeline when I had a gander earlier.
H2H, sometimes I am worried about the bits of brain we share: just as I read ‘would jump at the chance’, I had the same next joke you put about Ba in mind π
http://www.football365.com/f365-says/8342536/F365-Says
Another decent piece I think.
Ollie – Haha, gave it my best shot, just didn’t make the cut π
Heh Ollie.
Didn’t have your special hat on I suspect. π
Clearly, H2H π
Evening all.
Love the Bale Twitter link.
Really really really fuming at the tube drivers. They have ruined my family trip to the game through their selfishness.
KJH. Clearly in the minority but for 6 million I would take him in an instant.
Good news on the contracts. Theo, sign of fuck off in January.
Me too, Steve T.
Did a lot of ‘arranging’ around family matters as I had a ticket for my daughter. These jokers want triple time for working AND a day off in lieu anyway. Cupid stunts !
Trev. I hate them. Selfish, militant wankers. As a club we should put a ban on all tube drivers from.attending the Grove.
H2H @ 252 — Villa has been in recent years one of the most selling-est clubs in PL, so I don’t see why Benteke would be an exception if the right price is offered.
I agree that there are many decent strikers in Europe who would jump at the opportunity of playing for Arsenal, but I am not sure the very top tier — which also includes the little matter of experience — we can afford/attract any longer. We even had problems prying Marco Reus away who is still very young and yet to prove himself fully (a great player in the making, I think). You would give the example of Cazorla and Podolski, they are both very good players, but I think if we are looking for a striker in Jan it will have to be someone who is confident and accomplished enough to be able to hit the ground running. That is why PL experience may come in handy, and that is why I think some are suggesting Benteke.
Our net is very wide — we even catch sprightly young fish from the lakes of CostaRican rainforest — indeed, but one wonders whether sometimes the easiest options — your daily Haddock at the fishmonger’s — are really the most nutritious…
A haddock for me Dr F – and a bonus double for TaBS.
Colin Wanker. “I’ve no.complaints. The officials were superb tonight.” Now no one would have expected any of that out of his potty mouth.
Haddock BTM? Sunny side up????
BUGGERING ARSEHOLING BOLLOCKS!!!
Of course Aston Villa were drawn against Bradford so there will be no Arsenal-Aston Villa game on the 23rd of February. There is no way Bradford can win that over two legs.
BtM Haha π
Bollocks indeed Lars. No chance of exchanging?
Professor @ 242 thanks for the update.
Roxette’s semi precious stone can now go back to the pawn shop.
You lot still at it?
There is only one Dr F. π
Lars @ 267
Here’s an idea – all the money you were going to spend on beer on 23rd Feb, just go crazy on Jan 13th instead!
(I’ll help – I can think of a media harlot who may be prepared to assist too) π
You got that one right Dr Z! π
Doc Faus @263.
Marco Reus plays for a club that have been the Bundesliga champions over the last two years, which also happens to be his home club, why would he leave? If you think we are a bigger pull then that, then think again.
Benteke has just joined Villa and he’s not for sale, even if he was there’s no guarentee that he would work with us (that goes for all strikers from anywhere)
We talk about proven PL strikers, but what has he proved? He is a two minute wonder at best.
Remember Papiss Cisse last season? What has he done this year?
Pobranjayak (or whatever) Siggardson (ditto) and the list goes on, don’t even get me started on the likes of Andy Carroll. 35mill down the drain. Even Torres who was a sensation in his first few seasons aint worth a quarter of what was paid for him.
There’s only a couple of world class goal getters in the PL and we sold one of them last year to one of our rivals.
When you refer to our net being wide enough to catch a Costa Rican then I assume your talking about Joel Campbell!?
Sorry mate, but if you’re using him as proof of strength of our ability to find new talent then I’m afraid I have to answer with a sad shake of my head and a haughty snort of derision. So far he’s been about as usefull as an ashtray on a motorbike and I can’t see that changing in the forseeable future (hope I’m wrong though)
tabs, no chance of changing the plans – it was the only weekend we could find that worked out for both me and my brother and had a potential home game. Still, all is not lost because regardless of the game being played or not it’ll be really good to have an extended weekend in London with my brother and his two boys.
zico, I had already budgeted for a large quantity of beer to be had on Jan 13th so the February events have no bearing in that one π
Lars.
23/02/13. Leyton Orient at home to Crawley. There’s your game. Go give the O’s a cheer if you want to catch a game.
For Steve T and Trev;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUSzB8MJNes
I’m sure you’ve seen it before, but it seems pretty apt at this moment in time.
If memory serves me correctly, I believe Steve T posted that song last season π Yes, I’m a smart ass π
I think you may be right about that Nursie, almost exactly a year ago….
Strange eh? π
Ah @ 274
The Lars wallet had already budgeted…….well, D’uh! (again).
I’ll work up a thirst π
That’ll be a job done in lightning speed Z’.
Today’s announcement of long term contract agreements for Jack Wilshere and The Famous Four is infinitely more significant than a draw after 90 minutes on Drabford Ice Rink. Arsene Wenger, King of Clubs, King of My Heart, has done it again! 100M+ of talent secured long term for 18M. Increase the man’s pay rate, give him a bonus, send him to Indonesia for two days to sign up the entire Indonesian nation (A quick heh for you and Ben, Steve π )
Where, oh where, then are Vinyl and the razor bladed virgin suicide merchants (give me some Air), the Black Scrarved ring wraiths in their second hand plimsoles and every other fine fellow who comes in here to pour rat vomit all over the bar whenever Arsenal dares (How very dare you!) to drop a point in a well contested and highly entertaining cup or league game?
Just sayin’………
Third on Auld Year’s Night – even taking into account ASLEF’s poorly intentioned attack on my prediction. Another haddock and twice recycled Scotch for all, barman – starting with my very fine friend and young sunny-side walker, Mr TaBS.
H2H. Nursie. I did post it a year ago but well worth airing at anytime, especially now. As I board the Central Line tomorrow morning I may well give them all a loud rendition so that Bob Crow and his buddies are left in no doubt as to my feelings.
Cheers H2H for reminding me.
Bonita Springs is f*cking lovely a this time of year. Haven’t found the local Gooner hot-spot yet, but stand alert, I’ll keep you posted before we give Wigan a good Wiggin’
Cheers H2H. Steve, I laughed the first time I saw it. But we all feel bad for you and Lars π
Steve, It’s long past your bed time…….oh, I get it….you’re hoping for a ball from wide right so that you can pop in a sclaff at 300?
Fantastic BtM. Benny T and his big sister making the journey to Wigan on Friday evening so that they will be fresh to sing their heart out for the boys in the North West the following day. You would be proud of him.
Dribbles at speed down the right hoping to get sufficiently wide to give some measure of satisfaction for that craved by Ben’s dad…..
Up in row Z of the stand. Is this wide enough I wonder? Has to be……belts it as hard as he can toward the end of the Central Line
An Epic Epping Moment coming uo
Where is that gleaming head. Has Steve fallen asleep? Flick of a haddock’s tail……get in
I must say that the news of the new contracts was a welcome start to the Christmas period. The big news of course is Jack. He has the talent and the ability to do for us what Gerrard had done for the Scousers. I just hope that when he is made captain that he lifts a few more trophies.
The one anomaly remains Theo. With all 5 signing I really do feel that it is put up or shut up time for Theo. Personally I would love him to stay. I genuinely believe that his best years are ahead of him. I am not sure how I would take it If he walked away for nothing and starred elsewhere. Time to sit down, find the compromise and get it signed. If that does not work by Jan 1st then thereβs the door. With so many committed to the cause having one rouge in the pack may not be good for the dressing room.
Oops forgot that 300 doesn’t come after 289 even in Fa. Never was very good at sums. Meanwhile Steve’s nodded off……..is there anybody out there in pink, Floyd?
Hold that run son. Hold it. Stay on side. Wait for the wide wide wide wide man to commit the full back and draw the centre back, thus creating the space…….
It’s time for Arsenal to put their money where their mouth is Steve and accept that “our” market rate isn’t the real market rate. With you there.
You been on the Juice BtM???? The Stortford Flyer has had a cheeky snifter at half time???????
Makes a *dummy run.
*I’m a natural.
Right out by the Chip Inn Fish Bar on Holloway Road now …is that wide enough? Tony says “eloo Meester Steve” and is still charging 5.80 for his cod and chips advertised at 4.90.
Lets get going….take a Bow son along the line…
Oranges only at half time.
Glancing header at the near post, a la Gilzean π
Get in, Steve
Markets fluctuate as I am sure you will concur. My fear is how much would we have to spend to replace him? Letβs just get it done. It also lays down the gauntlet to the others. Then some astute business in January and Indonesia is back on again.
Giliie!
Well in Guv’.
Lurked to perfection.
Fashionably late. You can’t teach that………
π
By passes Stratford and arrives Leyt on the scene ….
Didn’t even know that Gilzean was on the field and there he was, leaping like a young salmon to nod a ball crossed all the way from Holloway Road into the bottom left.
Just for you, and you know how much it hurt me to name him, BtM π
BtM. He’s done you for 90p???? Surely the writ is in the post????
Blimey well in ‘H…..one for the Theydon Bois to celebrate.
Holidays are bloody wonderful. This is a wonderful spot you’ve created, barman. I know you know that it is VERY much bigger than the blogosphere and has more legs than a centipede to run for more years than you can imagine.
I must say holic. Wash your mouth out with soap and water. You should be ashamed of that one…..
Had you seen him, aged 10 as I did, Gillie and his kangaroo skinned boots would have been part of your very fabric, Holic. He played for a great team then though…
Essex puns Uplympian? That is so Wr’Ongar you…
What I could NEVER understand was why Arsenal took Ure instead of Gillie. Alan went for the princely sum of 62,500 if I recall correctly. Bought a lot of potatoes in the day.
Great in the bar tonight.
Anyone got 10p for the jukebox?????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AE1ct5yEuVY
Still remember Gilzean battering poor Bob Wilson late 60’s, early 70’s.
Now politically incorrect saying followed subsequent fouls on any goalkeeper for years.
“Lucky it weren’t Gilzean, he’d have raped you pal…”
Spuds for a Spud BtM???????
Aaah, the original. TUUUUNE!
OK, Her Nellieness getting bent out of shape because of my inappropriate allocation of time (apparently)….see you all back here ramorra.
G’night big man…
Poor BtM. This one is especially for you and your situation.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYYTLJ8YHi4
314..holic….I was taking the central line whilst the others took the wide line, which created the space for you to ghost through π
Unfortunately the small neighbours down the road got the better of the 1960s Dundee ballers. The only satisfaction was Ian Urinal finally ending up at Old Toilet π
Heh Steve.
Night BtM.
Nite BTM, Have fun π
GILZEAN ???!!!
Lucky for you Holic you’d already called an amnesty on cards.
Gilzean scoring in here ?
A straight red plus three extra games on video review otherwise.
I’m off to find an Arsenal bar. π
Aw, Steve, dont give me shit, give me this……
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVor2Xm8qg0
I haven’t seen Apocalypse for at least a month but I don’t think the choppers flew in to that song. I think it was Paint It Balck but I could be wrong. Six decades play havoc on the brain.
Clive would know. What say ye, Sweeper?
Of-course the lyrics of that particular song have been updated in Clive’s World “I see a black car and I want it painted red, No Percy any more Santi scores instead…….”
I saw Gimme Shelter in a movie theatre (sorry, I’ve become a yank) when I was a “traveller” and 18/19 on Champs Elysee in Paris. That opening riff takes me right back there. There was no decade like the sixties, was there, Clive? We know – the rest were nursing tits at the time.
Ooooh, a storm is threatening, my very life today,
It’s red, it’s very heartening, it’s played the Arsenal way…….
Re: “Real market rates” and “Arsenal market rates” I’m not sure if it’s completely pertinent but Gazidis did his training in the world of non-market salaries of the early years of MLS when player salaries were basically dictated by a centralized authority at the league level. The whole objective was to keep player salaries down so is he likely to be the first to argue for breaking Arsenal’s salary structure?
BTM
The 60’s ???
Oh the memories,all of them golden,i swear my ‘ baby maker ‘ never went below half mast for the entire decade.!!!!
It really was the most wonderful time,and the music,oh the music,
never seen or heard the like since,and never ever will.
My Black car is now half red.
January will be a big turning point if Le Boss ventures into transfer territory.
As usual,we have nae clue as to his preferences.
Two very good ones would help,three would be an absolute bonus.
I have an eminently likeable Scot living opposite me,who has just bought a Baby Beagle,4 wks old,he has called it ‘ Supermac’.
No prizes for guessing not only which Iconic Club he follows,but also the fact that he is old school as well,although not quite as old as you and I.
Did i ever tell you about the time i saw the Stones in an impromptu concert at a Beach club in Jamaica.??
No ?? Oh well.
Cheers
The Sweeper
Stingy Roberto.
http://files.sharenator.com/voyeur_fail-s750x600-61874.jpg
Cent 143….,am good mate, went under for a bit. Didnt think anyone would notice. Back Just in time to ask ‘crisis? What crisis?’ we r 5th!
RS. I’ve been as testy as the next Arsenal fan with recent poor results and performances. We had about 8 inches of snow last week but nothing since. At any rate, Merry Xmas whatever your name happens to be by the time Christmas rolls around. π
Wow, ‘holic with the goal!
Yes Lars, that is utter shit, esp. as it will be moved to a weekday then, so another one I’ll miss.
Good morning, all.
Kenyan, good to know you’re good. In Arsene’s words ‘if been slaughtered by all is the media’s definition of crisis then we are in super crisis’ .
Heh @Clive,
And while Jamaica gets a mention, a “Hello” and very best Christmas wishes to GoonerTerry.
Hope things are not too bad mate. I did send that second email some time ago now. Hope it was helpful.
Take care Terry – to you and the family.
And from here too Tel.
A weather/news update: Sun to shine out of The Arse…
Like the rain this morning the rumour that Zambian lad Sunzu is to sign for us is pretty persistent.
Apologies – usually steer clear of tranny stuff but this boy has been seen in London, he looks decent, he sounds like an Arsene type of signing and apparently he’s a big physical presence in centre-mid (and CB), summat we’re most in need of at the mo IMHO!!!! (especially since Song swanned orf and Diaby died like one, again, poor boy). Still – what the eff do I know – do excuse the needless and unnecessary speculation, normal service to be resumed…
Has Bevin been sent out on loan by the way???
Psed – Champs league draw soon, bring it on. (Somethink the supporters of the bankrolled billionaire clubs of either blue hue can’t say this morning – HaHa!)
URRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREeeeeeeeEEEEEDDDDDDSSSSSS!
Psed β Oops pardon…
Champs league draw soon, bring it on – don’t really care who we get. (Somethink the supporters of the bankrolled billionaire clubs of either blue hue canβt say this morning β HaHa!)
URRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREeeeeeeeEEEEEDDDDDDSSSSSS!
Reverend Lester:
Preach to me brother. Marvellous stuff, luuRRRRvvvEEEE iiiiTTTTTTT!
WTF? ‘Holic is a closet Sperz admirer? *goes for lie-down and medication*
Clive
Please spill the beans on that Stones concert, sounds great.
Funnily enough, our next home game is now The Toon so you and you’re neighbour can renew friendly rivalries.
8 ball @ 331 – that is really well imagined, very funny.
Morning TS
re Supermac reference,i meant to confer that my neighbour was a Gooner.!!
I thought the Iconic Club reference might have tipped the wink that of course the Mac in question also played for us.
Re the Stones concert,it is a long and enjoyable story,too long to post here with the CL draw imminent.
I will save for an Interlull special.
Cheers
The Sweeper.
OK, so Bayern Munich it is…
Munick it is
Poldi to put ’em to the sword.
Psed mank utd got Madrid…
Tough draw. But then it was always going to be.
At least it isn’t Barca.
I am utterly shocked.
The draw is EXACTLY the same as the rehearsal draw!!
http://redlondon.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/champs-league-rehearsal-draw.jpg?w=590
Snir. I was just about to post that. Anyone else thinking about conspiracy theories????? That is just too bizarre.
The odds of that are so small.
I must say, I think it stinks.
The odds are small but it happens
Germany sounds good. Very tough draw though, Bayern are probably the second best team in Europe at the moment.
Heh, really Snir?
Conspiracy theories make no sense in this case – who exactly does this draw benefit? Schalke?
Sooo they rigged it so that the 4 smaller/least fancied clubs got drawn against one another – I’m furious. They simply haven’t got the hang of this corruption lark at EUFA. They need get someone in from FIFA to sort that shit out #IWantAnswers.
I’m sure someone marked the balls so that McManaman will choose the right ones according to what that bald dude picked.
I refuse to believe that the draws magically yielded the same results.
π
Rotten to the core. You will be telling me that Platini does not want goal line technology next?????
Oops – “to” too
heh Steve T
And by the way – Badstuber is done for the season and Boateng is suspended for the game at the Ems.
Hard draw for both teams.
Snir – why? It’s not magic, it’s just a low probability. What in this draw suggests it’s fixed anyway?
Charlie – There is low, and there is extremely (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) low.
To have the same exact outcome in both draws in every game is so low it’s ridiculous.
If it’s not zero, then it is possible. And I have no idea what the actual odds are (though I daresay someone online will try to calculate it). It’s not like Real and Barcelona (or indeed all the ‘big’ sides) have been given easy draws.
Charlie – I’m not even looking at the draws, and I don’t care if it’s easy or not. I’m just amazed that it has happened.
I’ll probably calculate the odds once I’ve got some time on my hands.
As for the draw. It’s hard but I think we can go through. Since it’s in February I don’t wanna say what the odds are to each team because so much can change ’till then.
So who’s up for the 1st Home Leg then? π
Judging by the draw (and the events in the group stage) this may be one of the worst ever years for English clubs in the Champions League. Our allocation will almost certainly be cut down from four to three in the coming seasons. Top 4 will no longer suffice. Ouch.
Good spot Snir.
I guess these things can happen, but you’re correct that the odds are enormous.
That said, if it was fixed it would be pretty daft to publicise the results of the rehearsal draw as they did.
It’s a pretty horrific draw for us, but then there weren’t many soft options given where we finished in the group.
Bayern are about a dozen points clear in the Bundesliga, will have a winter break and further chances to rest players when the league resumes. Going to be really tough to beat.
Hey Snir
re Badstuber and Boateng,i think we need about half the Munich team to be injured,to have any chance against them.
We will need to improve out of sight between now and then to even have a sniff.!!
The only hope we had was to draw Malaga or PSG,that at least would have been a 50/50 proposition.
Congrats on your exam results by the way.
Cheers
The Sweeper
‘Our allocation will almost certainly be cut down from four to three in the coming seasons. Top 4 will no longer suffice. Ouch.’
No it will not, it would take a number of years of English clubs doing really badly in Europe for the Premier League to fall from the highest ranked league (which it currently is) to the fourth highest. The gap between the Premier League and Serie A in terms of coefficient is huge at the moment. I wish people would stop panicking that there’ll only be three CL places soon, it’s a long way from happening.
Sorry, I meant the PL is currently second highest ranked. Still, this shows the current rankings:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_club_coefficient#Current_ranking
But this is UEFA we’re talking about
Heh Steve T – i reckon that would be crossing a line meself.
I’ll get me whistle and flag
Don’t really get the logic there. You think UEFA would take away a CL place from the Premier League out of spite or something?
UEFA have recently been coming up with some pretty radical proposals for CL, Europa and Euro Championships and are always looking to chop and change, so a little tweak to the qualification criteria doesn’t seem beyond them.
The proposals usually involve having more teams in competitions, so even if they decided on a revamp, unlikely they’d take places away. Four places in the CL is safe for a long time yet.
Bayern? I will have them.
There is about as much chance as all 8 ties being identical as the rehearsal as there is of us getting a result against Bayern.
Just saying like.
π
So it could happen then…
Looking forward to it already. (Was hoping for PSG and a trip to gay Paris meself – still there’s always the next round.)
Snir, first and foremost I seriously doubt that that is a genuine photo (or if it is, it is probably from the real draw). I don’t know about UEFA, but the normal procedure for rehearsals is that you don’t use the actual names that will be in the real draw – most often you’d use placeholder names like “Team 1”, “Team 2” etc.
Secondly, even if it is genuine, “improbable” does not equal “impossible”. The odds of winning the jackpot at Euromillions (google it if you’ve never heard of it) are far, far – we are, I would guess, talking orders of magnitude here – worse than having a repeat draw from 16 teams where you immediately remove half of the possible permutations by saying “these eight shall begin at home and can not face each other” and then say “this team can not play that team or that one and that team can not play this and that team” – but every now and then someone still wins it.
Like others have said, I can’t see what anyone (apart from perhaps those who bet on which teams shall be draw against each other) could stand to gain from rigging a draw like this. Sure, Barca got a relatively easy draw but any possible draw they could have got would still have had them as humongous favourites – especially now that they have more or less won La Liga already and can afford to rest players no matter who they play in the league before these games.
Lars @ 378
Agree with a lot of that, but just to note: I saw a news report on the rehearsal draw earlier this morning (pre the real draw) and it was definitely the same. I don’t think the photo is faked.
I calculate the odds against the same draw for this round coming out twice, ignoring the rules on teams from same groups or nations, as 40,320-1. So not very likely, if it happened even though the rules on groups and nations will lessen the odds a bit.
@380
Exactly the same odds as Abou Diaby starting 5 consecutive games for us.
Coincidence? I think not. I smell a conspiracy.
Afternoon All,
Tough tough draw, but it was never likely to be easy was it. Poldi to grab the winner in Munich. Oompah, oompah stick it up your jumper.
Rigged draw? Come off it. Who benefits? Didn’t realise Schalke had Uefa in their pocket. Yes the odds are microscopically small, but so are the odds on winning the lottery, and someone wins that most weeks.
BtM @281 Haha, I’ll drink to that Sir (even if it is twice recycled!) π
Excellent build-up play and a fine bit of poaching from the Guv’nor. Not sure about the named goalscorer though. Read that “Looking for Gilzean” book a couple of years ago, and the man apparently had the choice of both North London Clubs. One can only think he was seriously pissed when he opted for the white sixteenth of North London. Poor man!
Clive @334 “my baby-maker never went below half-mast” Haha, poetry π
8Ball @331 – Excellent! π
AL – Is Sunzu a real player or is he from the same Academy as Bevin?
Well said Trev, wishing you all the very best GT.
Ah I see Lars got their first with the lottery analogy.
Great minds … fools … π
Needless to say, I agree with Lars.
Odds at the Bookies on an identical draw this morning? 5000-1. A nice little earner certainly, but not impossible.
‘Ello mates.
Champions League draw and an early presser. Looks like the Wigan preview will be tonight thus freeing up the evening of the last day of the year at work for consumption of copious amounts of tasty beverages π
Tabs – from what i hear (mostly from the voices in my head) he and Bevin were probably first scouted by our lot in the same youth tournament at about the same time a few years back – small world haa!
Psed – His first name is Stoppila – great handle for an essentially defensive midfielder come centre-back.
Pseded – i notice that the mere mention of tranny action conjures up transfer guru – Snir. Spoooooky.
Am I the only one to be confused by the presence of Charlie and his uncle?
Heh, nice one at 384, ‘holic π
Sunzu should definitely help the Gooners perfect the art of war.
There appears to be a domestic family fight above between Charlie and Uncle Charlie. π―
A trip to Munich is recommended to you Gooners have never been there. Beer, and blonde buxom barmaids, it’ll be like a home game for all Happy Trainers!
A tough draw – but Munich will be as disgruntled about meeting us, as we are to be getting them. Well maybe not quite as much…..
*who* have never been there
will see, we will wait and maybe when I wake up some day I have this Arsenal club.
Hopefully, Mr Usmanov, that’s the day you die π
Aberdeen and Norwich put out very reasonable Bayern teams in the past by putting in gutsy performances home and away.
The critical thing is to have a good performance and result in our home game and it’s vital that we do not lose. Then in Munich we must get the result needed after the first leg.
Lose our home game, as we did against Schalke and we’re fucked. Draw it and then surprise them with a top performance in Munich and we can do this.
COYRs
I too was chilled by that comment Ollie @391. He ain’t going away but his coronary arteries cannot be good.
Kiev vs Girondins in the Waffa cup.
Ollie π
AL – Blimey, he’s real!!! Anyone who fancies watching a, let’s be honest, pretty dull vid choc-a-bloc full of defensive clearances, well then here it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6V8PJG4sPw
If we sign Stopper Stopilla, then it looks like Snir will have to wait a wee while longer for his favourite, Capoue, to arrive.
Baff, the last time I saw Bayern Munich, they lost to Hearts.
I remember a long night in the Grassmarket with Rox dragging me home about 4am.
#thosewerethedays
Important to keep a clean sheet in London Bath, methinks.
Usmanov ain’t gonna make old bones.
Dinks the ball out to the right wing. π
Diving header, Santi style π
Dons his hot pants, downs his Stein, slaps his thighs and hoofs the ball forward …
Should have had Santi take it himself! π Well in Tabs π
Darn it! Bent down to do me boots up and MISSED it…
Well in tabster.
heh, what a finish tabs
Heh, cheers all. Going for the assist. I am clearly at my best when hoofing it forward rather than anything measured. Touch of the John Hawley’s about me. Might grow a ‘tache.
Afternoon all.
Apologies β usually steer clear of tranny stuff…
Yeah AL, we got Wolfie for that.
(Was hoping for PSG and a trip to gay Paris meself ……)
Ditto. π
===
Chaz v Uncy Chaz.
I think you’ll find that the nephew is correct, the PL won’t lose a CL place for the foreseeable future and any change in format will only make it bigger leading to more rather then less places.
Platini’ll fix it.
I doubt it, Lars put it perfectly, just because it’s improbable doesn’t make it impossible. The odds are long, but they’re there, so it could (and has) happened.
384 ‘holic
Last day at work tomorrow?
What are you, a Mayan? π
Well in Tabs.
Well in tabs. Always better to be lucky than good π
zico @396. Never knew that Bayern had plumbed such depths! π
Things got worse for them Baff, it seems to me.
Like, last May? π
Aye, on that occasion they not only let themselves down, they let down the legions of decent humanity.
LWC’s v OL, Ollie will be calling it scum v scum π
Hope they don’t cross streams, or the Mayans may get a delayed result.
Lyon obviously bitterly disappointed.
Dr.z – Munchen is a fine town if you like that sort of thing π
Professor @ 211,
What I like is the Purity Laws.
Being such a stern presbyterian π
Heh! The Rev AL and his holiness, Dr.z. Enough to put the fear of god into anyone.
Hmmm…Bayern, definitely one of the hardest possible opponents but who knows, maybe lads will pull off (and I believe they will) two magnificent display and will knock them out, if not, there is no shame in going out with Bavarian beast.
H2H – Bony, that thought crossed my mind too, I saw a lot of him when he was playing for Sparta Prague before his transfer to Vitesse, in first year he was totally hopeless, but improved really quickly and seems to be doing good job in your league too. However, I dont think he is Arsenal material, he is strong on the ball, has a good positional sense in the box but technically, he is miles away from Giroud for example, at least from what I remember.
I really hope that we make it through to the last 8, but drawing AC Milan last season was a blessing in disguise. We wouldn’t have been in this draw today had we progressed to the latter stages last season.
My ‘nephew’ @ #374 and H2H @ #405
Even if the PL does keep its 4 qualification slots, we ourselves must start finishing top of our group and/or start reaching the QFs, else we will drop out of the ‘Pot 1’ of the group stage draw into Pot 2 or 3. Just ask Man City how important that is.
Indeed and heh, ‘holic 410
Heh, AL is Revving up for Christmas @various.
I believe the odds against winning the lottery are in excess of 14,000,000 / 1 and, as someone said, it’s won nearly every week.
Or maybe it’s fixed nearly every week ….. ?
Btw, although I am officially – well, zico thinks so – the Worst ITK Ever, I am going to say right now that I think Theo Walcott will stay.
I am probably in a minority of one, and the assertion is based on nothing other than a hunch and the lad’s body language in his interview with Jack after the Reading game, but I think he will.
As this is probably his most important contract it is not surprising that his parasites, sorry, agents would try a little brinkmanship with his wage demands.
Every other Gooner I have spoken to thinks he will leave but none of them can see him getting a central striking role, or any kind of guaranteed start at another Champions League club.
If you accept that is the case, then why is it a given that he should be paid Β£100,000+ per week ?
Don’t expect anyone to agree, but there it is.
Trv when 5 million suckers buy tickets with 7 million different permutations the odds on someone winning drop to 2-1.
Bath, that’s why I’ve always been crap at maths.
And a sucker. π
Ah. Looks like its” Guten Morgen” today then. I thought we would get one of the Germans.
Cheers all. Last full day of humanity deserves a bottle of the good stuff,
Coors lite for everyone! π
To be honest even if our status as a pot 1 team in the group stage draw is pretty safe for a few years yet if (and this is the big ‘if’ of course) we keep qualifying for the CL group stage, though more progress this year would help shore that up a bit certainly. We’re still comfortably in the top eight somewhat for the time being:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_club_coefficient#UEFA_Team_Ranking
Eandy, I’m not necassarily saying that Bony would work, just highlighting the fact that there are more players out there then the usually suspects that lazy journos brandy about every time a window is close.
Bony is doing ok in the Ere Divisie, but then again Alfonzo Alves and John Dal Thomason were also top strikers in the Ere Divisie, so that pretty much counts for sweet FA.
Uncle Charlie.
I think you’re being a bit pessamistic sir. Man U failed to get out of their group last year but were still in Pot 1. In previous years Man City and S**rs, teams making their debuets in the CL, were as high as Pot 3, higher then former winners and Bundesliga champs Dortmond who were in Pot 4. Why? well simply because of the previous records of us, IOU, the Chavs and to a lesser extent even L’poo. Let’s also not forget our consecutive qualifying record that is simply amazing. Believe it or not, we are still one of the biggest clubs in Europe, we maybe at this moment be going through a rough patch, but I think too many tend to lose sight of exactly what we have achieved over the last few decades. You can bet your bottom dollar that Pot 1 teams (from todays draw) would of been hoping to avoid us as well as Real.
The UEFA coefficient rankings change quickly, as illustrated by Inter Milan dropping from 1st to 9th in just 2 years, and PSG rising 24 places so far this season. They make the FIFA world rankings look quite static!
Flights booked for me and the missus for the Munich away leg!
Platini`s hatred of the English game has appeared again me thinks.
The thought of another English team winning the CL was too much for him to take. The quicker they get rid of the poisious dewarf the better.
Platini`s xmas list
1. The English FA to no longer exist.
2. Any English team to have won the CL to be wipped from the history books.
3. French teams can only face easy teams and get a bye if they come up against a team like Barca ect.
4. To grow taller.
5. To make it less transparent how much he hates England.
6. And finally a re-run of Agincourt but they have tanks.
Lars,
Sounds like a great time. Beer gardens and Arsenal football. Enjoy.
Nice one Lars.
When is the away game in Munich? Have they determined which day it is on?
I wouldn’t mind them wiping Man Utd, Liverpool and Chelsea’s victories in Europe out of the history books to be honest.
And I don’t believe Inter were ever first in the UEFA club coefficient, they might have been seeded first two years ago as they were the holders. And PSG may have risen 24 places, but it’s a lot easier to rise from 48th to 24th than it is to break into the top eight so quickly. PSG are still ranked a fair way below Liverpool for instance.
The two legs are:
Tuesday 19th February – Arsenal v Bayern Munich
Wednesday 13th March – Bayern Munich v Arsenal
Thanks Charlie.
Derailed in pub. I may be gone some time.
Story of my life ‘h. π
Trev. You are in a minority of two. I think hr will stay as well. It may come down to the wire but I do think a comprise will be reached somewhere along the line.
You get my drift. That’s what happens when you try to type on the tube.
π
Well, whatever the day, it is still a many pints-preview then, ‘holic!
Good stuff, Lars. Will get around booking soon. Munich seems to be a bit of a pain to get to.
Need to be sure the days off work are secure too. Was always 100% certain with the previous team/boss, but while it’s been OK so far, it all feels a lot less certain now.
heh Steve T. You need a wider screen π
Darts night away match.
See y’all in the next bar.
I need non wider fingers Ollie.
haha.
And good luck H2H
Fush and chups, or Chinese? The big question.
I would go for the fush…… Not sure what a fush is but it sounds tasty. Especially with chups.
π
so you’re saying your typing is going to be narrow, steve t.? i thought you were always pumping for width! π
‘holic, the former, especially as the mult vonnegut goes so well with the guinnii.
Indian, surely?;)
No Scruz. What I am saying is my typing went to rats due to the incredible width of my little stumpy fingers. And a dodgy train.
Bruvva H2H @ 405 – you know it be the truth.
Lars and Mrs. Lars – well played – and may your pilgrimage to foreign shores be fruitful – amen!
So many ‘meteor hitting a stadium’ opportunities have been missed. Perhaps Real vs ManU will produce the goods at last?
Heh @ O @ 449
long odds sadly
steve t., well, at least you know with the wide fingers you’ll get your t’s crossed ok…you might get your goal that way. dodgy train or happy train, either one.
bath, as long odds as the practice run vs. real ball run courtesy of uefa earlier?
Rev AL: Hallelujah brother.
Re: 400. At least it wasn’t Wolfie finishing in such an ostentatious public style. π
Sorry all. Over an hour yet. On pint seven. Haven’t watched the presser yet. Off there now.
Up the Arse!
Re: 432. The 8 ball pieces of eight will be wagered on:
Arsenal 2 Bayern Munich 1
Bayern Munich 2 Arsenal 1
Arsenal win on penalties. Hallelujah brother!!
500, anyone, while there appears to be plenty of time?
Many a drink may be drunk between now and ‘holic finishing watching the presser I would wager.
Maybe the preview can wait until tomorrow then, ‘holic π
Good luck anyway.
Doubt it will reach 500, bt8, unless someone plays silly.
Greetings holics.
Back from my self-imposed 3 week (minus one day) ban from all sports media. It was going to be two weeks, but work intervenes in the most annoying ways sometimes. Also was in Mexico for 8 days, on the beach, so that wasn’t all suffering am happy to say. Sun, surf, sex, tequila … mostly tequila, actually. Much of the trip is a pleasant blur.
Lovely returning from vacay to see Arsenal moving up the table. Lots of interesting news lately. And tomorrow there is football. And Guiness.
And this is my own little effort to help cross the 500 line!
Ah … no sunburn either. And managed to avoid Montezuma’s revenge, so that’s great. Go to Mexico a lot myself. Great people. Lovely country. Beaches and water are amazing – on the Carribean side at least.
And I’m also skipping out on a partnership meeting at present. Not missing much I have to say.
So, lookit that, a mere 37 to go!
Hello and welcome back, Homer!
Evening Holics the Xmas drinks are flowing so is Wisniowka Holic knows few things about this very special delight! π
So Bayern it is Robben and Ribbery await, stern test I say none of which we shall falter! Apologies English is not my mother tongue!
I’m still enjoying the win against Reading even though they were a complete piece of than long one you loose inside a bowl …shyte!
The game against West Ham on boxing day is off due to Tube strikes what a bunch of hansons they are come on…
A drink for the boss this time around he certainly deserves it! Boss this one is on Lars card BTW!
Thanks Ollie!
So much backdrinking I’d need to do. Have done a little, but couldn’t possilbly cover it all.
Looking forward to tomorrow’s match. Have seen no live football at all. Well, there was a reply of a Celtic match in the airport. In Spanish. My Spanish is a step above tourist level … like a baby step!
I’m sensing relative peace and goodwill [toward men?] in the bar. I hope that’s been a recurring theme. And by no means do I intend that holiday puns should be started back up. Nope, not at all.
(But that woud be like icing on the fruitcake.)
Lars – here is the rehearsal draw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uisidQxyo6Q
As for the Euromillions. What are the chances of two lotteries coming up with the same exact numbers??
Trev – I agree re Theo. I remember hearing AW say he can’t keep a player in his last year and that’s why he sold the Dutchman, but Theo stayed, which I think signals genuine will to stay, because its not like we were short on offers for him.
I am always convinced he will stay…
Now where have I heard that one again?
Personally guys, I think you are kidding yourselves on – I think TW is gone,gone,gone.
Snir, I haven’t bothered to do the calculations myself (and I’m not sure I can even remember how to do it to be honest, it’s more than 15 years since I last studied such stuff…) but I read somewhere that the likelihood of the draw repeating itself is actully as high as one in about 6000 which is of course quite unlikely but very very far from impossible.
Also, if they really wanted to rig the draw, wouldn’t they put out a completely different draw for the rehearsal?
There are of course no guarantees, but I just can’t see any reason to rig a draw like this except for betting syndicates being involved – but if that is the case then football has got far bigger problems than a draw being rigged because that would mean that the betting syndicates have got their fingers in jars they should never ever get close to.
Zico – you know AW has to say that π
Disregard anything AW says to English media
If it’s to French media then it’s genuine.
Good evening, all.
Welcome back, Homer.
Snir and Trev, both of you’re seriously begining to make me think Walcott will stay, i’m tired of changing my mind about him so i guess i will just be indifferent to his contract situation till it’s resolved.
Ollie, you reckon we can still get 500 at this pace?
Straw? Meet clutching hand……
Hi everyone. Welcome back Homer. π Would you believe I became very ill from swimming in a pool in Acapulco?! When I do the backstroke, I take in a lot of water, which apparently was full of bacteria π They almost didn’t let me board my plane π As for the Theo debate, he really seems to get on with his mates, so fingers crossed. Yes I want him to stay, just wish he would apply himself more π As a side note, in the tunnel before the Manchester Derby, Samir shyly greeted Robin. Bonds formed during their stay at Arsenal. Rather poignant.
Is Sydneyred lurking about? Was wondering if the sun came up on the 21st. I’m on call tomorrow and was hoping the world ended early so I don’t have to work all day and night just to have it all go tits up at midnight.
Anyone know what time the Mayans predicted?
What did the lesbian say to the horse?
Or was it a skunk? π
Homer. Glad to hear about the excellent teaquila. But I hope the sun, surf and sex weren’t totally imagined then. π
BACK!
Mad, bad and dangerous to know!
For the record, things all went according to plan and, as luck would have it, the preparations for the 100th birthday party meant that we had the chance to sample some of her favourite tipples, mainly single malts!
I want to thank all of you for your good wishes and for your kind words. In truth I used more than a few of them when writing my little eulogy.
Obviously, the Gooners were not far from my mind at any point, although back-drinking would be nigh on impossible now, so I hope that whatever I am about to say is taking in the spirit of its writing and not judged on its undoubtedly repetitive nature.
So, missed the best part of the first half, all but the last 10 minutes, but have since caught up via the wonder of torrents. Cannot possibly even think about saying anything awful about any part of the club after that response.
OK, maybe a couple of little asides (of course!) but let’s get them out of the way first…
– Reading are absolutely the worst defence in the EPL and they showed us that in spades
– I have already said on a couple of occasions that there is a certain set-up designed to frustrate us and when teams play that way we tend to struggle all over the park. Reading clearly did not do their homework in this regard and gave us the freedom to pass the ball around on the edge of their area. This was clearly going to end in tears…and it surely did!
– Gervinho was conspicuous in his absence. Please don’t let him anywhere near the centre forward position again. Equally Ramsey at right wing has to be another no-no. The difference in the balance and directness of a team set up in their actual positions was obvious, too obvious, and has been a big part of why Wenger has had so much trouble getting results this season. I know the squad is thin and weak in areas, I know that he cannot get on the pitch and kick the ball himself, but I also know that there are new-born babies living in igloos without any access to television that can see that Gervinho and Ramsey are NOT the solution, but the problem when played in those positions.
– Our defence should be put up against a wall and shot for the amount of stinky-stuff they let slip into the underwear of many if not all Gooners everywhere!
OK, that out of the way, I would like to take this opportunity to make friends with Tim π
They say that you can only beat what is put in front of you and we did…with aplomb! That was the ONLY response that was required after the disgrace of Bradford and to see it delivered with a little bit of a swagger, a decent amount of team spirit and not a little pace was simply thrilling, I am sure that all, even Geoff ;), will agree with that!
I am going to throw an idea out there…
I think that the main reason that Reading were unable to press us higher up the pitch, apart from a general lack of talent and commitment in most areas of the pitch, was the fear of the pace of Theo up front.
A couple of quick breaks were clearly all they needed to realise that covering him was going to be paramount if they were going to keep the score at anything like reasonable levels. Is this our solution for the exit of The Rotter? Too early to say, but the smile back on Santi’s face tells me that he enjoyed getting that extra yard of time on the ball and that is something that the fear of The Rotter certainly bought us in more than a few games last season. Thoughts of the two of them combining with Cesc…Shivers down the spine stuff, but dreams are all they are now. Shame.
I thought that Jack was looking even more like his old self, although he still seems to have trouble letting go of the ball quickly enough at times. Surely a few more games is all he needs to show he is back to something like the form we saw before the injury and thank Dennis for that.
The Ox looked like he was actually enjoying the opportunity of playing on the wing for once and what a difference that made.
IPod was prone to disappearing again, but when is he not. At least the contribution he made when involved was as direct and damaging to the opposition as we saw earlier on in the season. Again, thank Dennis for that. His ability to make something out of nothing from the flank is as important as any other role in the side and it was a genuine pleasure to see things starting to click for him again.
Arteta was, well, Arteta at his best. Mopping up, starting attacks, quick thinking, quick feet, all energy. No complaints there and I take back a lot of what I recently said about him. Very much the “silent partner” in midfield, but doing the job he has been asked to do like the consummate pro that he is.
Sczc looks more confident with each passing game and that, as much as the attacking end of things, will surely prove to be as important an improvement as any in the side. Found himself in No Mans Land a couple of times, but nothing like we have seen at times before and long may his development continue apace.
Gibbs still doesn’t look like the attacking threat that he did at the beginning of the season and I worry that he is so terrified of the next injury that he is actually playing within himself. Dare I say “handbrake”? Obviously I dare! All of that said, I think that he played really well in terms of the defensive part of his game, one awful pass aside, and that is to be commended and enjoyed.
TV5 looked oddly relaxed when we were under a bit of pressure at 4-2 and yet looked like a total maniac when we were coasting. At one point, I think at 3-0, he was to be found marauding up the pitch until Theo ended up tracking back when the move broke down. Worrying stuff there.
Per is still prone to the odd lapse of concentration but all in all I think that we are really starting to see the world class centre back in him more and more. Really positive stuff there.
Obviously I already mentioned Santi, but it would be criminal not to take the opportunity to say how entirely wonderful he was. Rarely waiting to find an opponent, he seems to have decided that if the front line won’t move for him, he will just pass the ball into the dangerous areas, making full use of the spaces and channels that are there to be exploited and, well, to hell with the rest of them if they don’t quite “get it” yet. He appeared to be almost training the attacking half of the team from the first whistle and showing them where the net is whilst he was about it.
If we are to succeed in any way this season we are going to need to see that kind of inspiration from him a lot more often. I hope that AW took note of what was working to make that happen and that he sets the team up to offer Santi that kind of role much more as the season goes on.
All in all a great performance, a great scoreline and a great chance to build on this at Wigan on Saturday.
Oh, and the Spuds must be cacking it, which is always good, seeing us right up their holes again…If you pardon the graphic expression there!
Long way to go before we can say that things are fixed or even better as there will be tougher games than Reading to contend with over the next few weeks and I would rather not knee-jerk in favour of the team after trying so hard not to do so when things have not been so good (although I am aware that I have not always succeeded in that area), but things are certainly going in the right direction if we can put a decent enough run together from now until January and then see what Wenger decides to do in the market. I still strongly believe that we need at least 3 players of top quality, but I don’t think anybody would argue that we must snag at least 2.
Well, hope that there isn’t too much controversial stuff there and hope I didn’t spend too much time arguing with myself and, well, glad to be back.
COME ON YOU GOOONERSSSS!
NorCal,
It’s bound to be just after my alarm goes off.
And I’ll be having a good dream too, I’ll bet.
Something involving blondes and guinness…..
Norcal. I’ve heard tell the Mayans did most of their predicting right after finishing off a bottle or two of tequila.
Snir, that’s an interesting point you make there.
I go also go back and forth on teh TW staying v go issue.
I still have to wonder – as many have done – is there a better quality option on the market/available for what TW is worth .. which is what, 10-12 million? And who knows the EPL game; and who knows AW’s style; and is familiar with his teammates; and isn’t another Na$ri in the making?
I think the odds are long on that.
And I still have faith in Feo. For what he’s done to Spurs alone, he’s earned it in my book. Hes young still and not even at his prime. We’d be mad not to pay him. Heck, structure the deal somehow based on performance – if he bangs in 35 goals this year, pay him a king’s ransom. If he twaddles-in 13 goals this year, pay him A LOT less. (twaddles? yeah … not sure where that came from.)
Re: Abb. Rumor has it Nasri and RVP are shacked up together in Manchester which is why they had to greet eachother so circumspectly in front of the TV cameras. π
Whoa that sounds ugly ABB.
And 8-Ball, that @ 476 was funny! Choking on coffee funny.
Near as I can tell it was all real. ‘cept for that part with the midgets, snow shoes, and the fly swatter. Then again … right, right. Not going there.
Now Fellas π Come on, you darn well know what I mean π And yeas it was touching, very π
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Welcome back TW and Homer. A few drinks on the bar for each of you. Different reasons for your absences but a hardy welcome back.
Zico, I am sure it will be midnight. I am sure the gods want me to suffer maximally before I reach the Elysian Fields.