Stale Bunn Is Toasted
Apr 14th, 2013 by 'holic
It is the stage of the season where the points are far more important than the performance. That is just as well. This victory was highly amusing for a number of reasons, but Norwich came close to doing what other sides with limited ability and ambition have sometimes achieved at the Grove since we moved just down the road.
For the thick end of an hour this game was all about Norwich shutting up shop and us playing crab football ahead of them. From side to side we moved the ball, seemingly with a lack of urgency. The considered opinion around the halfway line was that we were missing the directness of Tomas Rosicky. Injured he was and it is pointless reflecting on his absence.
Midway through the opening half it looked as though our patience would be rewarded, but Olivier Giroud’s flick missed the target. Shortly afterwards Gervinho got clear but having been forced wide he was unable to give us the lead we craved.
The second half was barely ten minutes old when the visitors won a dubious free-kick. What happened next was not open to doubt or interpretation. Turner escaped the infamous zonal marking to head home a cross from former Stirling Albion loanee Robert Snodgrass. Arsenal were facing an unacceptable reverse.
Now karma can be quite the beast, As the match had progressed so Mark Bunn, in the Norwich goal, had taken longer and longer over his clearances and goal-kicks. At one point he even turned to the Arsenal supporters behind his goal and engaged in what one might generously term as banter. It would be returned, and how.
The equaliser arrived when the referee’s assistant did the job of his boss, and a penalty was awarded for Giroud being hauled to earth. Mikel Arteta put us level with just seven minutes remaining. We had momentum. In all honesty it was not a surprise when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain crossed for Giroud to add a second just a couple of minutes later, and a similar gap elapsed before Lukas Podolski lashed home a third.
Now I don’t pretend that we were worth a 3-1 win, but equally I don’t believe that Norwich were worth more than the nothing that they took home. We have played better and come a cropper this season. Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. The big game is now the home match with Everton on Tuesday evening. We are up to third place in the table after today’s result, and Everton would like to achieve something similar.
Not that long ago I don’t mind admitting I doubted our chances of snatching that top four berth, but now it is ours to lose. There will be twists yet to come, I have no doubt, but credit to this team for lifting themselves in recent weeks. The last couple of wins have been nervous affairs, but we are displaying great determination. Let’s hope we can maintain it in the closing weeks.
Oh, and can I just add, having narrowly failed to land the ‘holic pound yesterday, come on Angel Cabrera. This could yet be a very profitable weekend.
221 Responses to “Stale Bunn Is Toasted”
The keen-eyed will spot Ollie and I in the photo…
Got to the pub before it opened?
First drink
Or second
Avoided the Millwall fans on the way back, ‘holic.
NBN 273 previous : spot on!
Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn either.
And tomorrow is another day.
Let’s hope that Tuesday is another winning day. π
And I can spot us indeed, I’m already standing in that pic
Post 4 was supposed to come with a question mark, free of charge…
Yip, spotted – with faces as vague as my powers of recollection after about 9pm…..
Great laugh as ever yesterday Holic and Holics – finally managed to get that photograph of Wolfgang on the table….might make it’s way on to Twitter later…. π
Haha zico. Can’t remember what time you left but tabs goodbyes were the longest ever. I think he eventually left a good hour after first saying bye…
he got a couple more pints of water in the process
What a win!
And a drink or two in the rain wasn’t half bad either!
I can confidently call myself keen-eyed, then π
I agree that We deserved the win, and replays confirm that we should have had a penalty for the push on Theo. From where I was sat I also thought it was a corner before the penalty, it defintely touched Snoodgrass so the only question is if it was over the line before it did.
Fourth place now firmly in our own hands, so let’s keep collecting the points on Tuesday. It won’t be an easy game by any means, Everton have been playing really well lately so it’ll take a good performance from us but if we stay focused I am quite confident that we can get the points. The away game against them was, for me anyway, one of the most entertaining games of the season and this one should also be a good one with two teams going for it.
Warm (if a tad windy) and mostly sunny weater forecast for today, so maybe winter is finally over?
Good post on yesterday’s drinks Lars, I would have been incapable of it! π
Heh! Little and Large!
Ollie, tabs definitely did the longest leaving in history! “Right, I’m leaving”, he said and stayed for an hour more π
I left at about 10, and had a refreshing walk back to the hotel with a stop at the kebab shop by the Twelve Pins. And despite all the beer I drank yesterday there is not a hint of a *boilk* today!
And pleased to see that people enjoyed my post-match drink, I must admit I don’t really remeber writing it π
Yes I think we left at about 10.
I stopped for a 1/4 pounder with cheese myself. Felt so lazy I didn’t even walk to H&I and took the ‘2 buses’ option instead
*boilk* is moderate here
Pontus, I owe you a score, you naughty little overpayer, you.
Morning all, after tea, bath, and now coffee I am still a little fuzzy.
Got back to Paddington before the ‘Wall thanks Ollie.
Oi, Esso, I saw that π
With 10 minutes to go the impending BBQ was going to be a glum affair. That all changed almost in an instant.
Then the Stormers beat the Sharks in the big egg-chase and all was well with the world.
And the steaks were pretty good too.
Just a glass of Pinotage thank you landlord.
Cheers ‘holic!
If you want a laugh, Arseblog has gone all gastronomic this morning. π
I well remember Mad Jens protesting at awful time-weasting by Kirkland of Wigan who took about a minute to take goal kicks etc. The rule makers aid and abet this by letting goalies choose which side to take kicks. After Wigan’s 1-0 lead move into a 2-1 reverse with only a few minutes left Kirkland discovered a new sense of urgency. But Jens decided when a ball went out for a goal kick he would milk it for all he was worth and kept chucking the ball deliberately at the fence until the inevitable yellow card came. Good old Jens!
Great result. All articles I have read are saying it was a controversial penalty. The only controversy was the fact the had to wait for his Lino to call it. No mention of how Norwich received a free kick for a player tripping over his feet. Lets win our next two and put the pressure on the Spuds to chase us down. Go u Gunners
Who envisaged a 3-1 win with 5 mins remaining then? Being in the stands yesterday and how we won reminded me of late late victories against Wolves and Newcastle in recent years. Good to see a linesman making a decision for once! And sorry but there was not clear daylight (remember that phrase) between Walcott and the Norwich left-back on the third goal so it was not an obvious off-side, if at all.
But lets be frank, we got lucky yesterday! That performance reminded me of the Blackburn match in that we took the opposition far too lightly. For 85mins their keeper was not over-worked in the slightest and one or two attacking players went missing – Carzola the prime example. When he starts becoming consistent match after match we might have a world class player in him.
And please Wenger, what is your obsession with flogging Jack like a dead horse??? The boy was clearly unfit and to be honest, we only began to marginally improve once he went off. Why gamble on him when the team has been doing so well without of late? Oh and please bring Per back for Tues day as Kozzer and Tommy are hopeless at defending set-plays as a pair – re Norwich’s goal
Oh it was lovely to see the Norwich keeper getting the bird when sprinting to collect the ball at 2-1 – lovely stuff. The time-wasting clown got all he derserved. Atmosphere inside the ground from 1-1 was super!
Boz and bald.
I am honoured.
And jealous π
Oh well done you Arsenal boys – an atmosphere for all of 7 minutes! Awful support for 83 minutes though we won’t mention that. Moaning, whining, arrogant nancies who obviously felt you should just turn up and be awarded a 4-0 win against a bunch of plonkers from Norwich (who tactically outplayed you for virtually the whole game incidentally).
The penalty was lucky – it wouldn’t have been given at the other end – and without it you would have lost. That’s football, but please don’t claim it was anything other than luck – all this tosh about resilience and endeavour – you were bloody useless and didn’t have a clue how to break us down.
By the way, we were so “outplayed” and undeserving that the BBC website had us at 51% possession.
You also have very short memories – Arsenal were the champions of time wasting just a few short years ago under a certain Mr Graham (when you used to win stuff)
Champions League? Yes, you’ll qualify – but don’t be under any illusions, you don’t have a hope of winning that or the league any time soon.
Mainly because we’ll beat you at least once again next season, whien you prima donnas turn up expecting a walkover.
Oh look, not a troll
Play with your toys nicely, or I will put them away…
Apologies sgnfc and Guv’nor.
I don’t consider sgnfc a troll because of the cogent and inoffensive way he/she expresses themself. After my extended discussion with H2H yesterday about troll-repulsion, I feared someone might – in my opinion wrongly – flag sgnfc, and hoped by means of mina@29 to pre-empt that.
I apologise for any offence caused, and won’t do it again.
Well I’ve had worse days out. π
Great report ‘H. How you manage to get such top-notch stuff out after a day in The Tollie remains one of the enduring mysteries of life.
Great to see everybody yesterday, top top day.
So for the second week running, the boys kept our nerves jangling. We didn’t play well to be fair. Jack looked some way short of the required fitness levels, Gervinho was anonymous (save for his poor control when in on goal), and OG looks badly in need of a rest.
But who cares? π
We won! 4 down, six to go. The manner of the victory was such that it leaves us all walking on air until … tuesday. It’s why we all go to football innit. A victory against a bunch of classless ubercocks when all looked lost. What can be better than that? The Beer tasted very sweet afterwards. Perhaps too sweet. π
Aaron Ramsey was, for my money, the star of the show (again). Great to see him sticking it to his critics. Fantastic impetus provided by our subs. A word too for the much criticised Fabianski. A great save from him at 2-1 when he had had very little to do all game. An equaliser at that point would certainly have spoiled the party.
Not surprised to hear that various pundits have been bleating. Just the kind of result to have all the LWC’s and their sympathisers coughing up their feathers. Expecting rational comment from Crooks is like expecting him not to look like Mr Blobby. It just ain’t gonna happen. My text messages last night were testament to the fact that Mr Crooks was not the only LWC that was finding our victory difficult to take. I love the sound of bleating Spuds. It was a penalty, you mugs. Deal with it.
On to Everton then. Bring the Bfg back. Norwich were too poor for any rational analysis of the Captain’s performance, but their goal was another collective failure on our part, and Per gives us a calm that is often lacking when he’s not playing.
Further forward I’d retain Theo and Poldi for Gerve and Jack. If Rosicky is fit, I’d bring him back with Santi wide left and Poldi central, which would give Giroud a breather.
The chicken is gasping. Time to put the fucker out of it’s misery!
Time for a backdrink whilst the bacon sizzles. Ain’t life sweet. π
Afternoon all,
Nice succinct write-up Holic.
Exactly why I waited last night to see how I felt about the carrot crunchers this morning. No need to dwell on the anti-football that the Stoke impersonators in yellow and green foisted on us yesterday.
Incidentally, Grunt Holt could do with munching on a few carrots instead of – take your pick from any of Arseblog’s suggestions this morning.
But then, in drops “sgncfc” (sg presumably stands for ‘stupid git’) and claims tactical superiority in a match Norwich tried desperately hard not to get involved in.
I’ve always had a bit of respect for Norwich since they were promoted, but after yesterday’s game, and the frankly bonkers reaction of ex-Spud Hughton – another deserving of praise until yesterday – I would be quite happy to see them go down, were it not for the possibility that Stoke may yet beat them to it.
As poor a refereeing performance as I have seen in some time, was partially redeemed by a keen eyed referee’s assistant. An act which has led to as stupid a media frenzy as I can remember, since the mis-directed anti Arsenal hounding after Thierry Henry’s international hand ball against whoever.
For the hard of thinking, there are plenty of dictionaries that will explain the meaning of the word “assistant”, after reading which, you may collectively like to “do one”.
After the Norwich fatties spent most of the afternoon lumping – pun strictly intended – balls at Holt, bundling our rather more svelte athletes to the ground and generally wasting time, it was hilarious to see their time thief-in-chief, whatsisface Bunn, doing Usain Bolt impressions to take goal kicks, in an attempt to get the ball back in play as they tried to make up the one, oops two goal deficit.
On a serious note. With the introduction of goal line technology, there is another, quite different rule change I would like to see introduced.
It cannot be beyond the wit of man to decide which team has been guilty of time wasting in a game. Yesterday, Norwich did that quite cynically for most of the afternoon, and particularly after scoring their goal.
On suddenly finding themselves 2-1 down at the end of normal time, they were then awarded no fewer than 6 of their wasted minutes back, to try to get the equaliser.
Could it not be left to the time robbed victims – i.e. us – to “decide” whether the “added” time should be added on or not ?
That might even stop some of it.
Well, that was tedious for bit. In the first half we looked so slow and ponderous, I was wondering if this was a training game featuring Arsenal Seniors FC. Some of the passing seemed to be in slow motion, and the running, well the less said about that, the better.
Jack was poor. No, he was dire, dreadful, and difficult to watch. He lost the ball, misplaced passes, and didn’t chase down like he ought to. The end result was that we sorely missed Mozart’s drive. Indeed, I would venture to say that had Tomas been fit, we would surely have been leading at the break.
When their goal came, I thought to myself, “Here we go: it’s going to be another one of those huff and puff games.” And for a long time there, it looked like it would be exactly that. Poldi came on and looked very rusty, Theo should have had a penalty, but the cowardly ref didn’t give it, perhaps setting the stage for what followed.
Now, I am no referee, but when a player is prevented from going for the ball by an opposing player grabbing his jersey and hauling him to the ground, I believe that constitutes a foul. That the ref was standing 6 yards away and staring at the offence and refused to lift his whistle to his mouth smacks of extreme cowardice at best. The assistant, however, had no such hang-ups and duly signalled that a foul had been committed. The hysterical reaction from Tony Gale in the commentary box was pure comedy gold. He spent the next five minutes raging that if the ref didn’t give it, the assistant shouldn’t have. Well, Mr. Gale, I do believe that it is the assistant’s duty to call the centre ref’s attention to incidents he may have missed, and in any event, the ref can still overrule him. I have seen assistant refs flag for fouls and refs wave play on. It was a foul, it was a penalty, and if the ref needed someone else to do his job for him so he could avoid the heat, he’s in the wrong profession.
Mikel stepped up and bashed home the penalty, and from that point on, there was only going to be one winner (though we must thank Flappy for a brilliant save with his foot when we almost conspired to throw away a hard-earned lead). Poldi’s low curler to finish things off was a thing of beauty, made even better by Gale’s bleating that Theo was offside when he got the ball in the build-up. (He was, but I challenge you to find any Gooner who gives two shits and a mouse fart about it.)
In the end, Bunn’s time wasting counted for naught, as did Grant Holt, the fat fucker. As a fat man myself, I can say without fear or favour that Mr. Holt brought us all into disrepute yesterday with his odious antics. At one point he was flagged offside, and still lumbered 25 yards to kick the ball away from Flappy. That the ref failed to book him for his repeated delays of the game was another black mark, but then, Mr. Oliver’s copy book was so blotted by the end of the game, it would have required white ink to be written in.
We can be glad that despite everything, in the end we got the 3 points which put us firmly in the driving seat for Champions League football next season, and if we were perhaps saving energy for the visit of the Toffees on Tuesday, I expect to see a much more energetic display.
Finally, a word for our Aaron. He’s had a tough time of it over the last few years, getting shawcrossed by Tony Penis’ thug of a defender, coming back and then losing his mentor in the Welsh national team, and then going through a run of form which was not so much horrible as dwelling in horrible’s dank cave. He has come back very strong, and it is fair to say he was MOTM yesterday. He has a great engine, works hard, doesn’t fuss over where he plays, and gives his all. I’m surprised no one has mentioned that his stint as a winger appears to have helped him become our emergency right back, allowing us to chuck on an extra forward and lose absolutely nothing defensively. I hope he continues to progress and that he doesn’t fuss too much over his lack of goals at the moment. I recall him being able to take surprisingly powerful and accurate shots with his left leg, despite being predominantly right-footed, and I’m sure we’ll be seeing his very best soon.
Bring on the Toffees! They might be sticky, but we can surely chew them up.
A pint of the black stuff if you please Guv’nor. The one brewed in Nigeria, not that aberration you lot imbibe. π
Thanks for your consistently well-written pieces ‘Holic.
Gervinho is such a sensitive being that perhaps we should only play him away until he’s stopped being affected by the home fans disapproval.
For the Everton game I’d like to see the Ox taking the Rosicky role (assuming he’s still out), and leave Jack to recover a bit longer.
Sorry, forgot to say how nice it was of everyone to come and say “hello” over the Tollie railings yesterday.
Ollie, Holic, Lars, Tabs all risked losing their seats inside to shake hands over the railings, and especially, zico.
That was quite a risk to take for a chap of your age ! π
MrBure – congrats on an even longer post than mine. π
One small thing: the referee was actually Mr Jones. Otherwise agree – he was utter crap.
Dr Z @9 – Oh dear, oh very dear! π
Ollie/Lars – Haha, a very long goodbye indeed. I do find it difficult to leave that place! π
Nice to see sgncfc taking defeat so well. Not bitter, oh no, not bitter at all. I think he needs to get in his combine harvester and breathe in that lovely smell of manure. It might clear his head a bit.
What Trev said @33, hook, line and sinker!
@ sgncfc, if that penalty hadn’t been given in our box, there would have been outrage about how the “little guys” can never hope to get those calls against the bigger teams. And as for the BBC crediting you with 51% possession, I am doing my best not to fall out of my chair with laughter here. You guys would be lucky to have had 15% possession with all your ball lumping.
Now, what you said about the support is partly true, in that we could use a better atmosphere at the ground. Perhaps we could offer free pies to the fans, but the danger is that if Grant Holt heard, he’d buy all the tickets and then we’d really have no atmosphere.
Tabs @38. π
Sgncfc – of the 51% ??? Possession, 99% of that was spent with the ball awarded to your throw ins and goal kicks, while you wasted so much effing time taking them.
Afternoon Trev, I can confirm that your daughter does indeed play her cards very close to her chest. I asked her at least twice for the final score, but was met with a polite refusal on both occasions. And who can blame her? If you are imbued with genius, why give it away for free? π
I would be grateful if you would let me know her forecast for Everton on tuesday in sufficient time for me to make a significant investment with the bookies. π
Nice post MrBure.
Tabs @ 42, thank you most kindly sir. I do wonder where the BBC stattos get their numbers from. ‘Arry’s arse, perhaps?
Haha, probably! π
Hi everyone. Holic, such a funny game yesterday… looking forward to Everton. Two sides playing to win. Our pace will pick up. Kinda hard to dance when your partner is not in the mood π
Mr Bure knows too.
Afternoon All
Grunt Holt (thanks Trev): Feared by premiere league groundsmen up and down the country.
I hope we get the repairs done in time to welcome The Toffees.
Holic, Ollie – So, were yous two hob-nobbing with the other stars in Block 32 yesterday?
Marvellous three points. The fact that Norwich will feel hard done by yesterday, only serves to make them even better. There was more than enough controversy in decisions for and against on both sides to even things out so any meeja frenzy is just a load of ol’ bollix as far as I’m concerned. The best team won and deserved to do so. After last year’s 3-3 draw when I was sitting right next to ‘The Norfolk Stokies’, I think lady karma has done her stuff.
UTA!
Hi Nursie.
That 51% possession stat is nonsense anyway, the BBC website was screwy yesterday when the game ended, the latest scores still had us losing 1-0!
*ears buzzing*
Survived the fanfare thingy, now to catch up, but before I do;
Ha Ha @ the Stoke mongs, keep up the bad work.
Pardon the android, but i must say something in response to the delusional sgncfc. It’s one thing to see the world through ncfc colored glasses, but please don’t suggest that the foul on giroud was anything other than a penalty is just pathetic. It was a penalty, and anyone could see that it was. Also to suggest that the call wouldn’t have gone against us at the other end is the height of delusion. Clearly this troll is ignorant of the number of penalties given for and against us especially over the last few seasons. I believe it was 2 seasons ago when we weren’t awarded a single penalty in our favor at home. That is a shocking level of incomptence displayed by epl officials, not that we rightly deserve a penalty quota, but i did watch each of those home games, and we were hard done in the least.
As for the possession stat, seriously just piss off. Espn had it at 68/32
Funny how utd haven’t given away a penalty this season. !! Sums it all up
van Skunkie scores on a PK and runs over to jump into the arms of the Purple Proboscis to exchange fleas. Dreadful; almost as awful as Stoke are.
And Holt is indeed an abject disgrace to football with his deliberate runs into the keeper and that special “go out of your way to run in front of an opponent retrieving the ball for a throw in” move, FFS. He’d look better in black and white prison gear, or more apropos, in red and white striped Potters’ kit.
Gunnersaurus’ kit would fit him perfectly if he ever joined The Arsenal.
I know …… Pffffft. π
Ollie@5. Thank you. I have always taken you for a gentleman of sound judgement. The pundits’ main line of argument is that shirt tugging goes on all the time so why give a penalty this time. Which is also bollox.
Afternoon all. Good to see the head count is full. No MIAs reported!
I have come to the conclusion that the three pints is only sweetened by the MoTD whining, so bring it on… π
In other news. Spring has well and truly sprung itself over here. 25 c and sun sun sun. All weekend in the garden raking and creosoting. The BBQ is primed and ready for another season.
Now I deserve a beer…. π
Have one on me Cat’ G’….. as a matter of fact let’s all have one. I was up at stupid o clock (well for me anyway) to get ready for that concert do, plus first proper day of something resembling sunshine, so had to put some tables and chairs out too, phew, it’s almost like working. π
Excellent reports from the boss and our on the spot ‘holics, good stuff. Tabs I’m interested about your extra time idea, seems a logical conclusion and step to take, therefor meaning it will, alas, never happen. I was wondering yesterday what the add on may have been if we had still be behind?? Don’t think there’s such a thing as “Wenger Time”.
One of my favourite moments of the game happened after Feo chased a long ball, he ran like the clappers, but couldn’t reach it before it went out for a goal kick, their goalie, moving faster then he had done all game, raced to get the ball, but Feo, first checking if the ref was watching, gave it a sly punt down the line, HA HA, left me in stitches and their keeper fuming, a Hot Cross Bunn if you will. π
Oxon, I see no reason why you should apologies. you say;
I donβt consider sgnfc a troll because of the cogent and inoffensive way he/she expresses themself.
Yet he opens with;
Moaning, whining, arrogant nancies……
Not exactly a compliment now, is it? π
As for the rest of his post, I’m not sure if cogent is the best way to describe it either.
Arsenal were the champions of time wasting just a few short years ago under a certain Mr Graham..
A few short years ago Naaridge were a second tier team, GG’s reign ended almost two decades ago. 18 yeads a short space of time, what are you, a Timelord, are you Dr Who!?
The penalty was lucky β it wouldnβt have been given at the other end
You’re pretty right about that, because to get a penalty you actualy have to try and get into your opponants box.
…..Norwich (who tactically outplayed you for virtually the whole game incidentally).
Really? Ten men behind the ball and hoofing it forward to the fat guy is a tactic? Does Pulis know you stole his playbook?
As for the 51%, that was probably the amount of space Holt was taking up on the pitch.
Always nice discussing footy with other supporters, see ya next time.
Citeh have dumped the Chavs out of the FA Cup. Demba Ba scored another peach, but it wasn’t enough this time. And guess what the discussion on twitter is about? The fact that Kompany grabbed himself a fistful of Torres’ shirt in the box and no foul was called.
H2H @57 – I think the extra time idea was Trev mate, not me. And ta for the moniker “Right Honourable” tag in the last set of drinks. π
Whilst I am the founder (and so far only) Member of The Speedoes and Beer Party, I fear Parliament remains a distant dream π
Heh at Hot Cross Bun π
As for our visitor from Naarwich, I couldn’t agree with you more. The bloke was clearly a moron and should be treated as such.
BTW, about this whole possession percentage on BBC ‘sports’ website, those are often wrong and do not match with any of the other statistics anywhere. Either a different criteria is used or whatever calculation/software they use is just broken.
For the Norwich fan sprouting nonsense in here — and I generally don’t wish this on teams — but I hope your brand of football next season is replaced by a more enterprising and attractive team like say Brighton. And if your team does stay up I hope you will learn from the changes happening around you and realize that even on a very small budget you can create a team that attempts to play the game. It is a spectacle after all.
Glad City won. As offensive as they are, their cuntery quotient is still not as high as Chavski who are in a class of their own in that particular area.
Pardew and Pulis losing. A good day.
Aah, nice one Tabs.
Trev, I beg your pardon, it was your idea, a gem sir.
T
Arsenal should purchase Draxler.
Ooh look, a new name.
No offence intended.
It’s his most sensible post ever though, Oxon π
A good day indeed, tabs.
Shame Lyon won, hopefully Marseille lose tonight though :p
Heh Ollie, he’s trying to confuse us by not being a prat.
The Ox should be binned and replaced by the finished article. I’m sick of potential, they said the same about Rooney and Owen and they’ve regressed with age. The Ox’s goal tally has been miserly and his displays in the final third sloppy. If Gervinho and The Ox swapped shirts the English media would hail The Ox as world class Time for a wholesale clear out, starting with the Manager.
Well that’s Aguero out of the Spuds game on Sunday then.
H2H@68, seems the strain was too much.
://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHvqR4NCAAACEB-.jpg:large
Haha. Another LWC not taking it too well as reality dawns. Bitterness seeps out of every pore.
Inarticulate rage has never been better showcased π
Heh Oxon π
God the mongtards are out in force – first sgnfc defeats science by posting trash with webbed fingers and now Victor repeats the trick.
tabs, @ 72 – you really don’t do technology, do you? π
heh z’.
Try that one again please tabs.
Your derelict thinking reflects the same muddled outlook as Wenger’s Arsenal.
I think tabs’ link should have been http://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHvqR4NCAAACEB-.jpg[1]. I particularly love the reference to ceilings, probably a combination of a typo and over-aggressive predictive text (interpretive text in this case), but still rather fun.
[1] I do (try to) do technology.
Just copy tabs’ link in to your browser without the “://” at the start and works just fine π
Their website is called the fightingcock. π
tabs @ 72, I’m laughing my arse off here. We shat in their lasagne, did we? Not surprising that the fact that it was a valid penalty sailed right over his head as he must have been rolling around on the ground foaming at the mouth as he typed that.
Remember everyone, don’t feed the troll.
OHHHH WHEN THE WHEELS COME FALLING OOOOFFFF….
Haha sorry about that all. Well played Oxon.
A brilliant Saturday was today followed by a very relaxed and rejuvenating Sunday. A stroll through Finsbury Park in the almost summer-like weather was followed by a trek down to Spitalfields for two lunch-time pints with Martin while watching a bit of footie. A bit later me and Anna also walked past St Paul’s for no particular reason, and crowd barriers were already being put up for Wednesday and there were police vehicles aplenty. It’s safe to say that the Met are preparing for a very busy day.
Trev, that’s an interesting idea there about the team in the lead getting to choose wether to play the added time. But even better would be if the refs just followed the rules that are already in place and booked the time wasters instead. Bunn didn’t even try to hide his time-wasting antics, he could and perhaps should have been booked as early as twenty minutes into in the first half.
And on a completely unrelated note, did anyone see Di Canio’s totally over the top celebrations at St James Park? He was quite obviously trying to win some points with the Sunderland supporters but to me it only looked rather pathetic.
ttg: I remember that Lehman yellow, and the thing is that he wanted a yellow. That way he got suspended, but the game he was suspended for was the Carling Cup final which he wouldn’t have played in anyway! I remember that he also did a smilar thing v ManU The same season (the one that Henry won us with that stoppage-time header) and taunted van der Saar who had tried to waste time by pretending to be injured. VdS wasn’t very happy about that…
And heh! a the raging spud that tabs linked to! Saw it yesterday too, pure comedy gold!
Since when did Piers Morgan start calling himself Victor?
Okay ..I decided to check out that thread (could not resist heh:P) and there is soooo much hate, wow. Anyways..time to Bale out from that part of the internet and wash down the taste by yummy czech lager:P
Good stuff Lars.
Yeah, I saw it, must say it didn’t really bother me that much………… it was pretty tame compared to what he used to do in Italy. π―
I couldn’t resist the temptation to go and check up the source of tabs’ image. I eventually found the offending item, posted at 4:58pm by someone going by the name of 1882.
The same site (www.thefightingcock.co.uk) also has a thread amusingly named “Come here to laugh at Gooners”, with 3300+ posts and 81500+ views. In my eagerness to do my research thoroughly, I must admit that that I account for several of those views, but I have to say there was more swearing at (or about) Gooners, and crying into beer in evidence than there was laughing, but maybe I should have gone back more than a couple of weeks.
I’m off to have a very hot shower now, I feel dirty, dirty, dirty.
Ho ho ho what a great sulk from the LWCs. They are already giving up on CL so weak are their characters. We have got the best second half form in the Premier League a sign of fitness and morale. Having said that I hate our ceiling. Wanted to repaint it for years. Must get the wife up the ladder.
My son-in – law is an LWC and they are blaming injuries, bad luck,referees,fixture congestion ,the collapse of the Greek economy ,PMT and would I’m sure be blaming the way we infected their Lasagne had he been possessed of the descriptive powers of our correspondent. Truth is its in their DNA and we have yet to shat(?) in that yet. Not even sure it’s biologically possible. Sounds messy even if it is.
COYG this week is huge.
Urgh! I need a shower after visiting that link. LOOOOOOOL!!!
A shower?
I need a hanky to wipe away the tears of laughter.
That place makes Le Groan look well reasoned and balaned. I wonder if that’s where the schizo is from. They really don’t do joy do they?
Tabs / Oxon,
Thanks for that link – but how the hell did you come across it Tabs ?
Ok, we hate each other’s teams. That’s a given. But the manner in which that piece describes it falls somewhere between laughable, sad and incomprehensible.
It does, however, explain Tabs’ experience at the crumbling dump a few weeks ago, where fathers accompanying their children were throwing full cans of beer at the Gooners queuing to get in.
Or, the father and his friend I saw in our local park, just last week, saying at the top of their voices, in the cafe on a Sunday morning with old, middle aged, young and his own roughly eight year old daughter all around them, “ow, fuuuckin’ ‘ell”, with the sheer strain of sitting down.
Oh, forgot to add, needlessly, that they were both wearing Sp*rs shirts.
They are different, aren’t they ……… ?
H2H, the schizo is a Spud. Has to be.
There can’t be anyone, even at Le Groan, who is as relentlessly and illogically anti-Arsenal as he / they are.
We shat in their Lasagne
we shat in their Lasagne
we’re The Arsenal and
we will always shat on Tottnum….
It’s the only logical/rational explanation Trev.
A spy from thefightingcock, an undercover, swashbuckling, Long John Silver loving LWC.
Trev @ 92, having visited that site, I think I now know where the bulk of them on Le Groan come from.
Dear Marseille ‘keeper. Please stop making saves.
Finally watched the last 20 minutes. Promote the assistant referee and feck off mr, jones!! Poldi get in ya beauty!!
3 + added time left, looks like those jammy marseillais will manage a draw.
Bollix
I’ll still assist.
Rolling!!
Well in H2H
Cheers Ollie, you assist master you. π
One of my easiest, H2H π
Evening all. Nice write up holic.
It was a strange old day. Unfortunately timings meant that even a brief trip to the Tollie railings was not possible. Hopefully I will be able to make up for that on Tuesday.
I always enjoy it when I get to take one of the kids to a game. My little lad had a ball and now understands even more about the emotion of being a football supporter. Unfortunately after todayβs escapades he also knows a tad more about being on the injury list. A minor tweak of the LCL meant an abrupt end to his sporting day. The physio he saw today said he will be back playing in no time. I smiled and said βthree weeks?β He insisted that he would be back playing a lot sooner than that. He clearly did not get it.
There is not a lot more that I can add to what has been said both yesterday and today. We all know that the first 70/80 minutes were not acceptable. I have no idea why people are moaning about the penalty. If the ref had given it then it would not have warranted further mention. It was funny seeing fat boy Bunn beating the ground in a petty tantrum. It was even funnier to see the same reaction when Poldi sweetly stroked home the third.
3 points is 3 points. Fat boys sent packing. I do not blame them for trying to scrape a point in anyway they can. I do blame the weak officials for not stamping down on it from the start. Football fans pay money to watch football, not fat twats waste time.
Hopefully the bitter Carrot Cruncher above has put another ten bob in the meter and is now able to log back on and check his facts.
Nice to see multi name, full of hot air boy is back. It must be boring when your team has a weekend off.
Checked out the spud link. Hilarious. I will forward on to some spud buddies who insist that that sort of things just does not exist. They are just so hard done by. I just hope that the rumours in todayβs press are true and that Bale does have a buyout clause if they do not qualify for the Champs Lge. Just to see them fret is worth it on its own.
I will hopefully catch up with a few of the faces on Tuesday. Another must win etc etc. Will Tabs still be on the water????
Keep the faith.
I don’t want to rain on your parade, but when did coming 4th be tantamount to winning a Trophy.
Trev – The link was on Twitter. I can assure you that The Fighting Cock is not one of my regular haunts! π
Heh Steve, nice post. Wishing your lad a speedy recovery. Hoping to be in the Tollie on tuesday, but not sure at mo. If I do make it, I will certainly not be on the water! π
Of my performance yesterday, I think it’s safe to say, in the words of David Coleman that I “went too early” π
Holic’s man Cabrera giving him a very good run for his money in The Masters.
Did Perry Groves really say what I just read on DailyStar’s website? I don’t want to believe he did.
The Star is a piece of poo.
Hi Cent π Hey holics. Steve T, hoping your little tyke is feeling better, real soon. Always enjoy the roving match reports from Lars and our own celebrities π Mr Sweeper and Delia, miss your company, hope all is well. Must confess, simply stoked for Tuesday π Nite everyone.
Cent,
IF Arsenal fail to win anything, he MIGHT think about moving on.
And he might not – and we might win something. And IF a “journo” asked Perry Groves IF he MIGHT think about it, what do you think he could possibly answer ?
Sleep well Cent, and don’t waste your time worrying about such lazy tosh.
Never believe anything in the Express or Star. Desmond papers that never get anything right.
Thanks for the re-assuring words friends.
Abb, that game on Tuesday can’ come fast enough. Goodnight all.
Been having a look around the web, just read about the fear of the threat of nuclear war, two days of football houliganism and about how Margeret Thatcher is dividing public opinion in the U.K.
Early 80’s de ja vu or what?
I’m going to bed and hope to wake up in 2013
Fine review maestro.
Dalmore 15yo all round.
O2 BAG
How much did u put on Miguel holic?
I know for a fact that in the coming season, Wenger will appoint Wilshere as Captain in a vain bid to appease him before he heads off to pastures new. This exercise in futility has been borne out in Wenger’s previous appointees where a threat of a walk out has been temporarily pacified with the Captains Armband.
Ooooohhhhh. That putt. Hit the cross bar.
Holic-
Did you predict Angel to win 2-1? Ha!
Results matter indeed, the performance left me a nervous wreck for 90 minutes. I just kept thinking that we fought all the way back from seven points back and turned in a clunker of a performance. Better be ready Tuesday for sure. Theo will start, Jack not so certain. He didn’t play ninety but was at least a yard off the pace, perhaps youthful legs will rebound.
Win our next two games and the pressure will be on Chelsea and Tottenham. One cock-up and it’s on us again. C’mon boys, see the final hurdles and get through them in a sprint.
Bold pick, ‘Holic, regarding Angel…and he almost came good. Now what does that reming me of?… Oh, right.
Come on you, Reds!
BMBD
Good come back win!
Like N7, I somehow knew we would win it. Even with 5 mins to go, we just needed one opportunity for a way back in. We fucking grabbed it
Oh and that spud link for s amusing in more ways than one
Cheers tabs and oxon
Hi y’all.
How’ve you been?
Hope all’s well.
A lot has happened in my life since the last time I was in the bar.
I got accepted to University of North Carolina (Michael Jordan’s university). I start their sports management program in the fall.
Just another step before taking Ivan’s position π
As for Saturday, boy, that was fun.
The 2-1 celebration reminded me of how I celebrated the 2-1 against Everton in 10-11, scored by Kos (when Mason allowed a Saha 15 yard offside goal).
Man, that was fun.
We will be 3rd.
Everton 4th (please?????)
Stoke to go down (pretty please?!?!?)
Thanks for the messages. I will pass them on to the little man.
Many Congrats on becoming a Tar Heel Snir. I was fortunate enough to visit some years back as a cousin of mine studied there. Lovng your predictions/wish list.
Better than three weeks? Son of Steve is a tough little soldier π
So close for another ‘holic pound.
And Victor? Victor? Is it our old ‘friend’ from the days of the arses?
Short back and sides, please.
Just remember that was Vincent though, D’oh!
Liking your predictions Snir. And congrats on the next phase of your career plan.
Was it a penalty? Of course it was. Giroud nearly had his shirt pulled off. Possibly the ref couldn’t see from where he was positioned, slightly to the wrong side but the linesman – sorry referee’s assistant – had a clear if some what distant view and he had the balls to give it not just shrug his shoulders and let the incident pass.
Theo also should have had a penalty.
Were we a bit lucky? Yes. Do I care? No!
Ramsey? Excellent! Now starting to get the rewards for his hard work and tenacity. Things have not been easy for him.
Wilshere? Poor and probably needs a bit more time off. He’ll be back.
As for the team who play their home games just down the road from where I live, I think they have regressed a bit under Hughton who has made some poor signings.
Bring on Everton and another three points, it is all up to us now.
norfolk, I just couldn’t believe the ‘6 of one, half of a dozen of the other’ of Hansen & co on MotD after having seen the replays.
Well, to be fair I could, because they are useless and biased…
I am seriously amazed (well, again, not) of the words ‘controversial’ being bandied around all across the media when the only reality is that the linesman should be praised and lauded for spotting it and, you know, actually doing his job well on that one.
Let’s not forget the dive for the Norwich free-kick leading to the goal, which got completely glossed over…..
Fuck the meedja, we are the Arsenal.
Actually, wouldn’t it be time for a new post from our favourtie ‘Meedja Tosspot’ ? π
Heh just reread that rant from Spurs fan from yesterday, there is just so much hate and vitriol in it that I would not be surprised if he actually was closet Arsenal fan, but being surrounded by LWCs trying to make himself look good by being ridiculously over-the-top rhetoric against it.
Bit like when someone is gay but is unable to accept that fact so is really vocal against them. Just a thought during slow monday:P Bring on tomorrow:)
Snir, congrats mate.
Congratulations, Snir. Empire awaits!! π
Congrats Snir. Hope your predictions come true too! π
Afternoon All,
Hearty congratulations Snir on your placement.
Good to see Lonestar back in the drinks.
And I see Brazilian was in the drinks on Saturday, ruffling a few feathers! π Hope you’re well mate.
Completely agree with what Ollie and Norfolk have had to say about the penalty on Saturday. Even by the low standards of the media, their outrage at why it was given is baffling.
Remember us poor commoners when you are that wealthy sports executive, Snir π
Greetings
Thank you abb for enquiring after my welfare. I’ve been bogged down for last 3 weeks with the new kitchen and a sick Cocker Spaniel which I “lost” in the middle of the chaos going on around me.
I was there on Saturday and it was a question of relief rather than euphoria when we grabbed the 3 points in a far from impressive display.
Tomorrow night is going to be a completely different ball game and we need some inspiration from somewhere to see us through unscathed!
Jack needs some game time in the under 21s before the Man U game and Theo needs a run out tomorrow in place of the erratic one. Let’s hope TR7 is available but I fear not. Sadly I won’t be there as I had accepted an invitation to a party in Norwich before the game was rearranged. However I have secured a refund on my ticket and I will be armed with my mini radio and will keep in touch with the score!
See you all on the 28th.
As always COYRs
Great stuff, Snir.
Congrats.
I’m banking on being his No.2 ‘Holic! π
H2H @113 – Heh π
Amy Lawrence linked to this piece on Twitter from a Millwall fan. Sounds a rather more cogent explanation of what went on on Saturday than anything we might get to read in The Daily Mail et al.
http://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1ca34o/reports_of_a_30man_fight_in_the_stands_during_the/c9elwq1
Sorry to hear about your dog Delia.
I know you were all wondering :
the horse is fine.
http://www.football365.com/news/21554/8641624/Police-Horse-Fine-After-Being-Punched-By-Toon-Fan
I don’t think tabs will last long in the Daily Mail staff π
Care of the always excellent MediaWatch, an absolutely superb rant from East Fife Manager Billy Brown. His bit starts about a minute and a half in.
Never have I seen someone so desperate to punch someone.
One to keep an eye on in the future I think! π
http://www.stenhousemuirfc.com/video/
Thanks for the link, tabs.
Ollie – Haha, you’re right there! I’d be fired after my first snarl π
Not Harry’s Fault
When challenged, tabloid journalists will usually deny the old line that they love Harry Redknapp. Treat him as any other manager, etc and so on.
However, it’s difficult to take that view seriously when he’s still being described as ‘Harry Houdini’, as Paul Hassall writes in The Daily Mirror this morning.
No matter that Harry has had 20 games and a very expensive transfer window to improve their results. Actually, to be absolutely fair he has improved their results, but not that much – he has 20 points from 20 league games. That record, if extrapolated over the season, would still leave them in the bottom three.
But clearly, this is all the fault of the players. After the defeat to Everton, Redknapp said, as if he was talking about another team:
“If you look at QPR’s record over the last two years they have probably had more players sent off than anyone else in history. That’s a lack of discipline.”
And whose job is it to instil this discipline, Harry? Poor simple old Mediawatch might have thought that was…ooooh, the manager’s job? Still, you’ve only had six months to get the ‘Don’t get sent off, you lummocks’ message through.
They might be an ill-disciplined rabble, but at least they’re talented, right?
“You say talented players, but I don’t know. Are they that talented? I don’t know, really,” said Redknapp at the weekend, geeing his squad up for the challenge ahead.
“I hear all the time that, if they get relegated, they will want to go because they won’t want to play in the Championship, but if they played better they would not be in the Championship, so that’s a load of cobblers.
“They won’t go. How are you going to get rid of them? That’s your biggest problem. They all have contracts. I wish you were right, and you could say (the players would leave), but it ain’t going to happen here. Who is going to pay them what they are earning here? It is going to be very hard to shift them.”
Of course, here’s what Harry said in March about Chris Samba and Loic Remy: “You won’t have any problem (selling them). If the worst came to the worst you could sell Samba or Remy. They were two buys you make where there wasn’t much of a downside to them.”
That sound you can hear is a man washing his hands in west London.
Haha, they really hate him don’t they!
And quite right too! π
Hey, Good news Snir. Well done !
If, as Arsenal Chief Exec, you have a lucrative position for a new Head Physio, I absolutely guarantee to have our injured players fit in 2 1/2 weeks.
Re media tosspottiness:
You also see players holding and pulling opponents down at set pieces week after week, and getting away it.
I don’t remember any outcry in the media when Koscielny was suddenly sent off, after eight minutes, for doing exactly the same thing against Man Citeh.
Eandy,
I completely agree with you about that Fighting Cock idiot being in denial about being an Arsenal fan – and being generally in denial about being gay, darling.
That’s people in general, not the Fighting Cock. π
‘Media tosspottiness’, good find, Trev!
While I accept the point that Holic makes, in that Norwich got no more from the game than they deserved, I can’t help but feel we were very fortunate.
Some of the changes were of course imposed on the manager and disrupted the flow of our performances of late. But some too I feel were by choice. Is it really down to hamstring niggles that TR7 didnβt start on Saturday but is somehow fit to play tomorrow? I donβt think so. So I expect to see changes with Monreal / Per / TR7 / Theo & Poldi all available to start. I feel the team that Wenger played against Norwich was carefully selected to make sure we retained some freshness for tomorrows game, which given the way the season has developed, is arguably, our biggest game of the season! The result has enormous ramifications for both clubs and while history might well be on our side against the toffees in recent years, Moyes will field a team that will fight for every ball and test our defence in the process!
This will be a real test but if we manage to overcome it, then we will have put one foot through the door of CL football I feel.
‘sup.
Well done Snir, good luck with your next step to sports management world domination. π
Fine links @ various above, was actually good to hear from someone who was there (Milwall fan Wembley) and if his account is true then there needs to be an inquiry as to why the stewards didn’t do their jobs.
—
The fallout over our penalty Saturday is pretty amazing, time and time again you hear the same pundits, who are now claiming “6 of one…..”, have been crying for something to be done about the shirt pulling for quite a while now. Pathetic.
On last night’s MotD, Lawro was bemoaning the fact that the linesman got an offside wrong (Newcastle’s disallowed strike), claiming that if he wasn’t 100% sure then he shouldn’t make the call, because most of the time it would be the wrong call. Well, the linesman in our game was 100% sure he saw a foul, he called the foul and was correct, but what does he get.? “Oh he was too far away’, ‘if the ref didn’t see it then it wasn’t a penalty” or the kidney stone cherry on the tramp vomit icing of the poo cake, “He had no business making that call”. Fuckers.
I Know that probably every fan probably feels that their team gets the worst of it, but sometimes you can’t help but feel they are anti us. If L’poo win two games in a row then they are suddenly a threat, Sp*rs are the be all and end all of everything, yet not a mention of the best record over the last 8 games in the PL, 21pts out of 24 is title winning form, to come back from 1-0 down in the 84th minute and win 3-1 is a fucking briliant result, if it was one of the other cunts I just mentioned there would of been a jizz feest in the studio, but o no, all we get was Norwich was hard done by. Tossrags.
End of Monday rant, aaaaaaah, now time for a drinky.:)
Cheers Ollie.
It seems that while Robin van Persie has been taking a break from scoring goals for ManUre, he has not been wasting his time.
Oh no, he has, instead, been mastering the art of supreme irony.
Quoted from the Daily Express today, following his Fergie hugging celebration at the weekend:
“I wanted to celebrate it with everyone – with the players, with the staff, all the players involved even on the bench – because they have been great with me.”
“Even when it was sometimes a little bit harder they still believed in me and helped me. So that’s why I wanted to join them.”
Some of us guys, Robin, yes that’s us guys, remember when things were a bloody hell of a lot harder, and another club believed in you and helped you for seven years – but you didn’t want to join them.
Hypocrisy or Stupidity ?
You guys decide – yes, you guys.
Nice one Joe.
I, for one, hope that the Toffies come and give it a go, if they do we have a better chance at playing the game that suits us. We are much better against teams who come to play rather then teams who play negative.
Good post H2H
Trev, I have decided some time ago that he really is a fucking cunty cunt, and that quote just reinforces my opinion.
‘Whatever happens, I’ll always be a Gooner’.
No Robin, the word you were looking for was ‘Tosser’.
Nice rant H2H.
Joe,
Yes it was fortunate in some ways but I’m choosing to see it like this.
Norwich got a goal from a free kick, given for a “trip” that was actually a dive a yard past Kieron Gibbs ( zero media criticism, btw). So we were unlucky to go a goal down, despite the poor defending of the free kick.
AW then sent on three substitutes who smashed Norwich in six minutes.
Job done. Three points. Thank you very much. Next please.
And, as you rightly say, a nice fresh, pacy team to take on the Toffees.
That could still be a sticky one. π
I echo everything you say H2H, spot on.
I also like the way I haven’t seen one single comment about the Norwich player either a) diving or b) tripping himself up for the free kick that led to the first goal. Not one. Single. Word.
The media have spent the whole time slating the ref for the pen decision and calling Norwich ‘unlucky’. Please. That ref just didn’t have the balls to give the pen, or perhaps as is more likely, was just happy to let it go.
One thing that almost everyone in the media misses these days is simple: refs are shit. You’re almost guaranteed to see a plainly wrong decision in any game you watch, any day.
Oh and H2H, have you seen the dross written on weareabunchofwankers365.com about Arsenal?
Something like 1,000 words basically titled “how can I blabber on about an Arsenal win and still make it into something negative?”
That was a massive win and who really gives two fucks about an incorrect offside call? Did I say refs were shit? Oh yeh, and so are the media.
I saw that Camberwell, I was mostly unimpressed.
An incorrect offside call when the score was already 2-1 with many extra minutes added because of Norwich’s time wasting.
Personally, I saw that third goal as ‘poetic justice’ π
Trev @146 – Haha, just trying to imagine if Snir got Ivan’s job, and on his first day in charge announced that he was appointing all the ‘Holics to all the important roles. Carnage! π
Good rant H2H π
H2H/CG — To a non-English Arsenal supporter how would you explain what to me is a very obvious anti-Arsenal bias in the English media? I have always found it puzzling — even when some in the media I actually have read trying to justify how that is not anti-Arsenal but ‘fair’ criticisms — and simply looking at the way the club is run and the club behaves in the wider community the not-so-well-hidden venom is absolutely mystifying. Is it simply the fact that much of the so-called football media is predominated by ex-Pool/LWC etc.? Or is their a deeper reason rooted in English football’s history?
An old gentleman I once met in Maine — a life-long Arsenal supporter — told me that this may have to do with how in the early days of football in UK when it enjoyed primarily a blue-collar follower base Arsenal (especially of H.C. era) was seen as more of a rich man’s club.
There is very early Anthony Burgess novel — forgot the name, set immediately after the war — where there is a description of a train full of Birmingham fans reveling in their return trip to midlands about how they have given it to the hate-worthy Arsenal. The way this was described and the manner in which the event was chosen it had occurred to me that that was indeed the footballing zeitgeist of that time.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/rosicky-returns-fabianski-major-doubt-
Tricky question: Steve T, does that make you more confident or less confident? π
Delia, sorry to hear about your dog.
Snir, congrats!
Snir,
Congratulations on your acceptance to UNC ( it was NorCal’s university too- who is this Jordan fellow? I did my residency there). Great place. Awesome college town. Enjoy your time. It goes quickly.
Also, I bet with Trev, me and some of the other “doctors” on your medical staff at Arsenal we could get players on the field in 2 weeks.
( yes Trev we are that good! π
Drinks on me. I was able to switch my schedule around so that I will be free to watch tomorrows game. Oh yeah!!
RIGHT.
Back from Switzerland. Not a penny to my name anymore, had a few all-nighters, got stuck in the remains of an avalanche in Oberalppass on 2000 meters height next to a four meter high wall of snow, just hoping we wouldn’t get a reprise etc. Also – saw a lot of really lovely architecture. I urge you all to look into Peter Zumthor. Therme Vals, his thermal spring bath house in Vals is just fantastic, especially how it uses light to divide spaces. Ah.
Anyway, just saw the highlights from the game, will watch the whole thing later. Looks like a great win in the end. Then – back-drinking a weeks worth of drinks.
Wish me luck!
So who would go in goal if Fab is injured.
Sir Chesny wasn’t even on the bench on Saturday – a very strange one. On that basis, it will probably be Mannone, but that would seem very odd if Szczesny is fit.
Trev @ 165: It would be Szczesny, he is present in Arsenal practice pictures. IMHO, he was always going to play the Everton match. π
My team would be: Szcz, Monreal-Kos-Per-Jenk, Arteta-Ramsey-TR7, Santi-Giroud-Theo . Poldi an early substitution if not leading handsomely.
Trev,
I’m interested that a kick to the ribs would keep him out. Gridiron football players often play with bruised and even cracked ribs. Do we as a club sometimes coddle the players too much? Monkey boy did his ankle and is supposedly out only 2 weeks. An arsenal player would be out a minimum of 3. Most likely 6.
That being said, if healthy then I think szczy goes back in. I feel better with him on the crosses and Everton likes to attack down the flanks.
If Snir takes over, it’s Tabs for Press Officer.
Holic for Club Historian – no contest.
An almighty fight between zico, Ollie and Lars for Club Level Bar Manager.
Steve T – General Manager, Mission Statement …. Ok, you know. π
Snowy – Director Arsenal Travel.
Bobby/julian/victor/whatever – After Match Janitor and Director of Football on his days off.
I’ll just do the website editing/sub-editing, Trev, they’re in dire need of someone.
Trev,
That would mean victor, bobby, Julian…. Would have to quit his job as director of all things at spuds?!
Ollie. If we ask a half fit flappy to deal with balls whipped in by Baines for Fellaini then yes, I’m terrified. In fact I am terrified if he is fit.
Trev. AW said that re rotates the keepers on the bench so that effectively they don’t get splinters. I don’t get it either. I would always want my second choice ready just in case.
When do I start????
π
Dr F
I can’t comment on the historical roots of the anti-Arsenal agenda, but I do remember a time (about a decade ago) when some journalists were “running out of superlatives” after another devastating attacking performance.
That said, I think most of us can agree that the vast majority of the English media are the most blatant bunch of jingoists who can’t wait to stick the boot into foreigners, and deep down they really resent the fact that a Frenchman is the one who revolutionised the modern game in England.
Also, look at how they react to diving and foul play. Butter wouldn’t melt in that cunt Rooney’s mouth as far as they’re concerned, but as soon as Eduardo takes one dive, they’re on a mission to hound him out of the country!
Looking at the MOTD pundits, Lawro and Hansen are anti-Arsenal for two reasons: 1989 still rankles – they simply can’t take it; they’re a pair of dinosaurs who belong in a subterranean prehistoric stratum of rock.
Cam’
Victor/bobby/Stanley etc could be her own Beautiful South song.
Thanks CG. You are very right about the jingoism and dare I say xenophobia part: even about the superlatives in the early Arsene-era there still were the very prominent comments about lack of English players and how Arsenal wining actually negates the growth of English football. I remember those very well. But interestingly now that we have a core of English players (and two of the most talented in Jack and Ox) Arsenal doesn’t get as much of a credit.
Faustus @160,
Good question. My twopenny-worth.
You’re right, an antipathy to Arsenal is far more deep-rooted than a few LWCs etc in the media.
Hornby wrote that the Millwall song “No-one likes us, we don’t care” was far better suited to Arsenal than Millwall, and as in most things Arsenal-related, I think he was right. The antipathy runs very deep, and whilst the fantastic football that the Wenger era has served up has gone a long way way to prevent its worst excesses, it still bubbles nicely under the surface, and doesn’t need much to bring it gushing out into the open.
Reasons?
– We were the first Southern Club to challenge the absolute hegemony of the Northern Clubs situated in the Industrial heartlands – the area where the game first caught the Public’s imagination.
– When that challenge then turned into domination in the thirties the bile knew no bounds. Herbert Chapman introduced a new way of playing and we were seen as a counter-attacking team. (‘Holic will be able to expand on this, given that he was there :wink:). We were therefore described by the Northern Reporters of the day as defensive and more importantly “lucky”, a tag that stuck.
– Your friend was quite right to point to the backgrounds of our owners as another reason for the antagonism. Not only were we seen as “Southern Softies”, but we were also owned by people perceived as being born with a Silver spoon in their mouths, a departure from all the self-made Butchers, Bakers and Candlestick makers up north, and a cardinal sin in a Sport that was, and to a large extent remains, the Working Man’s game.
– Our worst period (the sixties) coincided with a period when the game took on a kind of glamorous sheen, albeit only a surface deep one, with the advent of Television, George Best, England winning the World Cup etc. The Northern reporters still hated us, whilst their southern counterparts, largely drawn from the old East End were generally West Ham supporters, if they hadn’t been seduced by what was on offer at White Hart Lane. As a Club, I would also say that we were slow to embrace the new televisual age and cotton on to the new commercial opportunities (an echo of the present day perhaps?). As such we were perceived and described as an anachronistic throwback to a different age.
– We won the Double in ’71 with a side that in the jaundiced eyes of the media couldn’t hold a candle to their Tottenham darlings of ’61. Nonsense of course, but they couldn’t forgive us our success, so it had to be denigrated. We became “functional” and “boring”, another label that stuck, and it was repeated ad infinitum in the George Graham era ( with perhaps some justification in the last 3 years of his reign).
– Fast forward to the present day, and the Media know that they cannot really attack our football for the old historic reasons of luck or tedium. The antagonism has to find an outlet in other ways. It therefore finds its voice in either implicit xenophobia (whiny frenchman!) or that old favourite of southern softies (they don’t like it up ’em!)
I have to say that I was always deeply uncomfortable with the whole “Arsenal are my second team thing” which became fashionable at the height of Wengerball. Partly because I didn’t believe it, (it’s my experience ,certainly in this country, that if you don’t support Arsenal, you hate Arsenal), and partly because I have no interest in being anyone’s second team ( if you’re not a supporter, then what do I care what you think?).
Arsenal are at their best with their backs against the wall, loved by the faithful and hated by the rest.
And that’s the way I like it. π
I left out the major reason.
Arsenal sell papers in a way that no other London Club can rival. An anti-Arsenal story, no matter how spurious, will always sell.
Trev @168 Haha. What a team! π
Welcome back Toby.
tabs @ 175: Thank you. That was as brilliant a comprehensive analysis as I could have hoped for.
I would request to you and holic to keep your comments posted as a main thread one of these days so that at any point of time in future we can refer to and refer others to this historical analysis. Please.
Thanks for the kind words Faustus. Much appreciated.
I’ll leave the bar duties to zico, I’m happy to just pay for it all with that massive wallet of mine π
Good stuff about the media, tabs.
lars, i think snir might have other ideas for the wallet. heck i bet you could fund bobby/victor/roberto/stanley’s schizophrenic desire to have five world-class players brought in with that wallet π
Cheers Lars
Scruz – Heh π Good luck with getting Lars’ wallet out of the Bar with that staff!
tabs, as an relative outsider (read “american who loves arsenal”), the anti-arsenal bias is astounding to hear and read. i’m used to anti-laker bias (nba), and anti-yankee bias (mlb), but it’s been long-standing and is nearly a joke now (i.e., “anyone but the lakers” is ABTL, a well-known acronym for anyone who hates the lakers and wants them to fail).
however, the constant, and i mean *constant* anti-arsenal announcing of games on fox (and espn, though i hate stevie mcmanamanaman and ian darke more for their ineptitude, rather than just their bias) has gotten worse over the 10 years i’ve been following arsenal via cable. and not just because we went from champagne footy to wengerball iv, either. even back then it was pretty bad, and i often wondered if they were watching the same game as i was. even my wife, who then used to sit for a bit with me and watch, used to ask me if they hated arsenal.
at this point it’s rare to find a pundit who will speak well of arsenal (bobby mcmahon, occasionally that ex-newcastle git, or the odd one or the other of the fox crew), and even more rarely to listen to a game and hear either the primary announcer or the “color man”…perhaps especially the color man…say anything remotely complimentary about arsenal’s game or players. as a result, i just keep the sound off, which sucks because i really want to hear the singing and the crowd support.
let’s just say i am quite glad fox is losing the premier league broadcast rights next season, and i hope hope hope they bring in less biased announcers on espn.
tabs, lars wallet doesn’t need to leave the bar…the players and their agents will just sign there, then have a pint or five to celebrate.
so long as the quackery key isn’t given out, i think we’ll be golden.
oh, and trev for officially mahoosive punster, that’s gotta be a new position π
# 175 : Tabs — I knew the media hated us, but that was some comprehensive explanation as to why — brilliant stuff!
Tabs,
You could have saved yourself some time and just said :
” cause they are jealous”. π
The Independent’s report today on the match spent most of it whining about the penalty. Even a column by one of their writers where he praised AVB for taking the Europa League seriously, though it didn’t mention us, felt like a dig at us with the line ‘football should be about winning trophies’. Zzzzzzzzzz………..
Thanks Matt.
Scruz – Good luck with the new Broadcaster, but I wouldn’t hold your breath for a more pro-Arsenal stance, and heh @185 π
NorCal – Haha, quite right π
No ban for Aguero apparently – looks like the FA’s stupid system for retrospective punishments has an upside for once!
http://www.francefootball.fr/#!/news/2013/04/15/181227_le-cne-ne-peut-pas-juger-barton.html
heh.
Charlie, I believe that was the least surprising ‘news’ of the days, in view of the many precedents.
Barely registered.
I’m betting he’ll have a stinker against the Spuds just to piss us off now.
Akpom on target for the U-21s. I think we have a nice crop of youngsters this year.
The aguero thing just confirms the spuds beliefs that they suck.
Well make that 2 for Akpom.
tabs 175 great post!
Charlie, I’ve gone increasingly pissed off with the Independent’s Arsenal reporting.
I really only read it because I have to pick a paper in the lounge on the way back that is neither the Daily Mail or the Times, and there is no other choice.
Limbering up for the assist, Ollie?
Give …….
passes the ball
Ping. For lonestar’ s new baby.
Well in NorCal
And another master assist. π
I had to slow down H2H’s scoring spree, I think it was going to his head. π
I think your build-up play made it easy, NorCal.
Not that it is very busy around here at the moment.
Right, I should consider eating before preparing for tomorrow again.
Thanks fellas.
Tabs – Just one thing.
I know by “Arsenal are my second team” you meant for neutrals or others, but I have to plead guilty here, and admit Arsenal are my second team, not my first.
Nevertheless, I can guarantee you that I feel the same pain/delight during The Arsenal’s matches.
Snir – I certainly don’t think of you as an “Arsenal are my second team” kind of guy !!!! π Your passion is there for all to see.
That you also have a team in your own Country, and which retains your familial affections, is absolutely fair enough.
I was referring to the “I’m a Liverpool fan, but if Liverpool can’t win, I hope Arsenal do well cos I like the football they play” type.
Tabs,
Excellent piece on the media tosspottery (another one Ollie!).
The best analysis of it I could imagine and worthy of a main post, in my opinion, because it is a mystery to a lot of people here, never mind abroad.
As you say, the overt levels of hatred for Arsenal just make every victory that much sweeter.
And that, I think, has a lot to do with the fact that, despite whatever shortcomings the club may have, they still do things with class.
And the haters know it too.
Just found out what’s happened in Boston. Jesus.
Absolutely horrific.
Cheers Trev.
Good grief. Boston is on Sky Sports News. Looks terrible.
ugh, in boston. terrible, terrible day.
scruz @ 210: I live in Boston. Have friends in the Back Bay area who were watching near the finish line. Wife is calling them up. Really apprehensive. π
Trev, I like tosspottery too π
Fingers crossed, Doctor Faustus.
Terrible things there.
Absolutely in shock with the Boston marathon. Have several friends who were running and even the wife of one of my partners. Thoughts are with everyone.
crap, dr. f. prayers and good thoughts to you two, and to your friends.
i have a friend i am trying to contact who runs it every year. π
you too, norcal.
Tabs
A great piece with a very comprehensive history. When I first started supporting Arsenal my dad told me that you either loved Arsenal or you hate them. He was right although at the height of our success under Wenger we got all the guff about how people loved the football we play. but our success made the LWcs and United for a time so filled with jealousy that a lot of the bile returned. I sense a clear anti-Arsenal media bias but I don’t give a stuff.Would any other club have such a pathetic daily rant allowed about them as Adrian Durham spews out each night? I’ve grown up with it and my Dad and Grandad had to endure it too(my grandad supported us in Woolwich!)
Let’s upset everyone even more tomorrow by doing Everton. Hopefully TR7 will return and Gervinho will be dropped. Those around me believe Ox was the game changer on Saturday and would like to see him in his place. I think it will be Theo.
COYG
Excellent post @ 175 tabs.
Still travelling so not sure extent of terrorism in Boston but disturbing news….
How many more of those ip’s are you going to use zico π >>>>>>>>
Too early to draw conclusions to who did it, but since explosive devices are confirmed, I can safely say that whichever individual or group did that sort of shit deserves to be hanged and quartered.
Terrible news about Boston. To all the people affected; stay strong.
No one I know in Boston were injured. Thoughts are with those that were.