Cazorla Brace Seals The Points
Jan 19th, 2014 by 'holic
Thankfully the early morning gloom gave way to a bright start to the day’s festivities in good company. The level of anticipation was evident. The talk was of the midfield riches available to us, and how many players we have capable of playing just behind Olivier Giroud. Fitting then that one of them should prove to be the matchwinner.
The first half was something of a cat and mouse affair. Fulham weathered the early pressure and it is fair to say they came into the game themselves as the minutes ticked away. Mesut Ozil came closest to opening our account in only the fourth minute, but thereafter we were restricted to pot-shots, mainly from Serge Gnabry who was again keen to impress.
At the other end we were grateful again to Wojciech Szczesny who produced fine saves from Sidwell, Dejagah, and Kacaniklic. Szczesny is having an excellent season and thoroughly deserved another clean sheet.
The second-half saw an increase in tempo from us that was to prove decisive. Gnabry was denied by Stekelenburg and Bacary Sagna saw his effort cleared off the line. Just before the hour was up we had the vital first goal when Jack Wilshere fed Santi Cazorla in the box. The pressure relieved, it wasn’t long before the little Spaniard doubled his tally. Hangeland’s attempted clearance from a Nacho Monreal cross landed at Santi’s feet and his drive just evaded the diving Stekelenburg. Arsene rightly praised the goalscorer afterwards.
“He was out for a long time at the start of the season and had some injury problems. After that he had an ankle problem and only recently, since mid-December, has he come back to his level.”
There followed a twenty minute cameo from Lukas Podolski, so close to a third for the home side. The final whistle prompted the inevitable “We are top of the league” chant. That we are owes a great deal to us closing out matches like this one when perhaps not at our best. Not surprisingly Manchester City kept up the pressure by beating Cardiff. Interestingly they are at Tottenham in their next fixture twenty four hours after we visit Southampton. Before that though we have Coventry City in the FA Cup to contemplate.
How good it is to be involved in the three major competitions as the pointed end of the season looms into view.
432 Responses to “Cazorla Brace Seals The Points”
Top!!! 🙂
As always – right on the money H’.
Ahh brevity.
If only I knew how…. 😉
From the previous post –
Just a quick one.
A lot have been knocking Giroud and it got me thinking.
I believe our style of play against the lesser teams that sit deep relies on him as he acts as a pivot/wall for flick ons for the midfield runners to run onto. That is crucial when playing against a low block as was shown against Cardiff at home.
A lot of people mock this stat but I think it’s extremely useful since without Giroud’s Pre-Assist to Jack we wouldn’t have scored the first goal. He drew the centre back with him which cleared enough space for both Jack and Santi to be in good position in the box.
1) Tomas Rosicky – 6 (Aston Villa, Tottenham, Norwich, Hull, Everton, Cardiff)
1) Aaron Ramsey – 6 (Fenerbahce, Dortmund, Marseilles, Cardiff, Man City, Man City)
2) Mesut Ozil – 5 (Sunderland, Dortmund, Man City, West Ham, Aston Villa)
3) Olivier Giroud – 4 (Napoli, West Bromwich Albion, Marseilles, Fulham)
3) Jack Wilshere – 4 (Fenerbahce, Sunderland, Marseilles, Swansea)
3) Kieran Gibbs – 4 (Sunderland, Norwich, Cardiff, West Ham)
4) Santi Cazorla – 2 (Fulham, Norwich)
4) Theo Walcott – 2 (Fulham, West Ham)
5) Mathieu Flamini – 1 (Marseilles)
5) Mikel Arteta – 1 (Liverpool)
5) Bacary Sagna – 1 (Tottenham)
*Goals that were one twos were not counted, as well as ball recoveries from a player being dispossessed like Ramsey’s vs Liverpool when the ball got to Ozil through Giroud being dispossessed. Goals from crosses were counted as long as the cross reached the initial target like Theo’s goal vs Marseilles was a cross that reached him despite the defender’s intervention while Cazorla’s 2nd vs Fulham was cleared towards him as he was not the target of the cross.
You can see Giroud’s involvement. 9 goals, 5 assists, and 3 pre-assists in the Prem.
Back on top!
Some anxious moments, but Szczesny was equal to the task.
Still hoping for reinforcements in the striking department. Lack of movement up front for our creative players to exploit.
Great review, ‘h. Says it all. Also top marks to zico for his late contribution to the previous post.
COYG
Top marks indeed. I shall copy and paste here.
It is still, deathly quiet.
He rises, and leaves the warmth and compelling promise of another 3 hours sleep behind. He has an important engagement. He showers, shaves and quickly wrestles with some cereal. The dog looks up with an arched eyebrow, quickly decides that “this is crazy o’clock”, and with an abrupt snort, promptly goes back to sleep.
The cereal is purely functional, hardly tasted, far less enjoyed. He goes to the drawer, and the scarf, neatly folded, is sprung from captivity and knotted around the neck at just the right angle, protection against the nasty winter elements.
Membership card, check.
Train tickets, check.
Folding beer vouchers, check.
Out the door, he is on the move, back for another helping of Arsenal.
The British countryside flashes by but he doesn’t really pay attention, engrossed (again) in Arsenal Legends : Thierry Henry. His heartstrings are plucked by this clearly sensitive and sentimental footballer, their memories synchronised, however loosely, with the replay of events seen from their respective vantage points. He still cannot get enough of that swivel, swipe and shot past Barthez. By the end, he is wistfully hankering for his younger self – will we ever see his like again?
Kings Cross station – packed with scurrying travellers he is helpless to prevent a refrain of Waterloo Sunset, over and over, in his head. (His Geography was always poor but he knew how to find a great song). Today’s only major decision : Finsbury Park or Holloway Road? Picadilly Line it is, he descends to the tunnels. And then at the pub, he engages in a round of flesh pressing and sinks a primer of stout. He earnestly discusses form, formations and rumoured injuries (none of which amount to anything). So much for having “only a quick pint” – four have gone South before he strides down Hornsey Road in great company and is soon back in the warm embrace of The Clock End.
The first half is a very subdued affair. He wonders why the tempo often disappears in the “lesser” games, as if both crowd and team are waiting on each other to “do something”. Maybe it is because in their heart of hearts, they know that the opponent is hopeless, and it is just a matter of time. That said, Arsenal should still have gone ahead early when a lack of power from Ozil’s right foot allowed a goal line clearance instead of what looked certain to be the opener. At the other end, Szcesney had to be alert when Sidwell launched a shot from distance. With Koscielny in particular in imperious form, though, that was as close as they could get.
At half time, he went downstairs and exposed himself to the larceny of Arsenal catering. He’s still not sure what it is he ate. Worse was to come when it was washed down with some rancid, over-priced lager. Thankfully, when the team came back out, he forgot about his own appetite as the team went about showing more of their own. It took an early scare when the ball was pinging around the Arsenal box to really rouse them, but thereafter it was pretty much all in one direction.
At the final whistle, he reflects on a job well done, and wonders about the perceived lack of depth in the Arsenal squad. This was a victory achieved without Arteta, Rosicky, Ramsey, Walcott and only a brief cameo from Podolski. He, like everyone else, would like another partner for Giroud, but even without one, he suspects this Arsenal vintage will find ways to win. He is now even more convinced that the sought-after partner should not be Berbatov, whose idleness without the ball was there for all to see. And to think there are some who claim Ozil doesn’t work hard enough (another myth).
Back at Brolly central, he has the luxury of lingering long enough to observe the change at the bar from six-deep and bedlam, to a smattering of hardcore Holics and only one or two others. A great day then gets better as Wolfgang Smallballs gives the self-proclaimed Voice of Arsenal, Mr Payton, an absolute roasting. Before that exchange, Tim tells those within earshot that Arsenal should be run better and proclaimed as his example : Norwich City. Go figure.
His day comes to an end at Jury’s inn – he does well to resist both the actual bar AND the minibar and simply lies down and closes his eyes.
Once again, it is still and deathly quiet.
Spot on report Guv’nor. Another efficient team performance keeps up where we belong.
Also Zico’s post paints a perfect picture of the day. Zico you are good on brevity….sinking pints of the black gold 😉
Cheers Holic! Good post and glad to hear all had a good day out. Off out to The Swan; lovely day down here in BN11.
…and Ozil keeps wanting to add to his assist tally. Why don’t you just shoot?!!!. I know he can. This is not a matter of form dipping or him being fatigued. He is just taking the wrong decisions. Clearly he is too much for our opponents. He just has to remind them every minute. This is a team where he has the liberty to start getting the goals.
And talking of pre-assists, we all know Giroud tries these passes a hundred times before he gets them right. We are grateful to have him tho. He has a certain useful intelligence that you don’t see in many strikers IMO. WE STILL NEED A SHADOW STRIKER tho. One that can ghost through defences. I know it’s hard and I won’t complain if we don’t buy.
Another win, another clean sheet. I’m loving this season so far.
Good stuff ‘holic, Snir and Zico.
El Magnifico, I think Özil to shoot more often too.
*Özil should shoot*
Eriksen is a good player. Looks like Sherwood has finally realized that his best position is as a ATM right behind the striker. What worries me, is that he realized that Soldado is shit too.
Can’t see the Swans take something from this game, just to many injuries on the key players. Bony looks class tho, can score from every position. Has many attributes that I would like Arsenal striker to have and if I am sincere I think that he can be more useful to us than Giroud. Much quicker, can guard the ball longer then 2 seconds (which is Giroud standard), has the ability to dribble past opponent and he uses his strength more appropriately.
As much as I love Giroud, he lacks some basic attacking manners. The aspect of his game that bothers me most is that when he receives the ball, he always looks for a flick on or a backway pass instead of turning the defender up on his own, creating a position to shoot or pass forward. Striker of that stature should use his strength to do that more frequently and the reason of him not doing it is lack of confidence, IMHO.
@cent you can see it’s not that he knows he can’t shoot. He just likes to assist others. Its become an obsession for him. His website confirms it too (sort of)
Succinct and to the point.
In a good way. 🙂
great post as always ‘holic,
now looking forward to the chelsea/united game!
here is hoping for a draw but i just don’t see Moyes’ men coming out with anything…they are jst too light weight..
Anyway WE ARE ON TOP OF THE LEAGUE!
and i’ll sit back and listen to my new favorite song everytime we winhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD6AfcoG4o8
Top report ‘H. Easy peasy lemon squeezie. Did enough and no more. Keep doing that and we finish top of the pile and there aint nothing the Oily Mancs can do about it, no matter how many goals they score.
Great report Dr Z. 🙂 Great to see everybody yesterday. And Tim Payton got roasted? Now there’s something I’d pay good money to see 😉
*everytime we win…with the team playing like this, i don’t see us losing any game…and any addition to the team will b really appreciated Mr. Wenger 🙂
Diva I may be, but even I don’t talk about myself in the third person 😉
There’s only three people in his head…..? 😉
Just found another reason to despise Kevin Pietersen.
Contrary to almost everyone I fancy United to take three points today.
Great report boss and a nice write up Zico my friend.
Unlike Aston Vanilla last week I never really got nervous about our performance yesterday, we kept prodding and poking and to me at least the result seemed inevitable and thus it was so.
I like Giroud and think his ability to draw others out of their game and provide impetus for us to attack is very unappreciated in some quarters.
Looking forward to the months of football ahead for the first time in quite a while with actual hope, rare for me 😉
zico – If you’ve just found another reason to despise Pieterson, it simply means you weren’t looking hard enough in the past. For shame!
Top post Holic …. Off topic, these two teams make me want to vomit. Hopefully The Mancs can snag a point
Heh Dr Z 🙂
Just left the Tollie. Hell of a sesh 😉
Now moved on to Shoreditch for Red Cunts vs Blue Cunts. This could get messy 🙂
I’m supposed to go into work this morning for a couple hours but I watched 20 minutes of the Chav – Manc match and have to call in sick.
That’s that. Fucking Mancs. I’ve never know how we managed to lose to this lot.
How are we supposed to react to this?
Loving the demise of ManUre – but cannot stand the Chavs and that posing tosser of a manager – and they do need to drop some points.
Extra terrestial intervention now, please …….
Moyes is an alien.
Careful what you wish for Trev 🙂
Glad you made it back ok yesterday mate. All the best for what transpires this week.
Oh Trev, there was me thinking that the bar had gone all mellow and you go and invoke the old “Meteorite strike” clause.
Cheers for the review, guv, that mixed with all the great on the spot reports from the attending ‘holics make it sound like a great day out.
Personaly, after checking out the drinks yesterday morning, I disabled the computer, switched off the gsm and went into media lock down. I was away the whole day, armed with my other half’s telephone for emergencys and to negate the possibility of getting updates from one of the many apps that appear on my own device on match day or messages from friends eager to share the scoreline.
I arrived home in the late evening, having managed to avoid gaining any knowledge of the encounter, to find the HD Recorder had done it’s duty, so I grabbed a few beers and settled down to watch, as live.
I found the first half to be a pretty teped affair, I’m not sure if we were stuck in a low gear, as the saying goes, I just think that we struggled due to things just not coming off, yes we had the Ozil chance and generaly controlled possession, but if I’m being completly honest, I thought Fulham carved out the better oppertunities. The one were the guy (a long K name) was set clear through the middle had my heart in my mouth, luckily his football boot must of been triangle shaped, because he completly buggered the controll giving Woj the chance to advance and grab it from his three sided foot.
Speaking of our Pole in the goal, if there’s a better keeper in the PL, then I’d be hard done by to name him. that save from Sidwell was top and 10 clean sheets already this season is some achievement.
The second half, although it started with a small scare was more like the Arsenal we know, passes, flicks, touches etc which were going astray in the previous 45 seemed now to be working, it was by no means a spectacular showing, but we got the job done with the minimal of fuss, another three points in the bag, another week on top of the pile.
Lovely jublee.
How in the hell did we lose to these guys? I will never know, don’t know if I need to be happy or mad at this result damn damn damn!! We definitely need some super natural power to slow these fuckers down.
Good stuff H2H. Lovely jublee indeed.
Bit pissed off that the Chavscum won but the Mancs going into meltdown is a decent consolation prize.
Anyway, off to continue the ‘warmdown’ . Have a good one all.
I can’t stand the filthy Chavs either……
But “14 points clear of the mancscum” has such a nice ring to it
…and a straight red for Vidic too. Tut, tut, wouldn’t have happened under Slur Alex.
COYG
Heh @ tabs warming down.
Enjoy sir. 🙂
Pangloss.
Rafael was luckt to stay on the pitch too.
The way he flew in was way worse then Vidic.
Nice job avoiding the score H2H. I’m terrible at that.
An in-form post ‘holic. While I see areas of concern, I remain impressed and encouraged by the whole of our team and their play. Was good to see Santi smile again. I am still glad to hear all the talk being about Man Shitty, the Blues, the racist-bitey-c^nt etc… All the while we sit atop the league. Enjoying these times!
Cheers, Tabs.
Note on Woj: his sorties off his goal line have improved enormously. More then once yesterday he came out to dive at the feet of an onrushing forward but his shape and timing are so much better now. At least one of those occasions would have resulted in a penalty 12 months ago. Much more secure in the air too.
Cheers Arsegonian, it’s a surprisingly difficult thing sometimes, but if I can’t watch live, but do have the opportunity to record the I really want to avoid knowing the score or I just end up fast forwarding most of the game.
Indeed Trev. many will point to the sterling job that the Mertecielny axis are doing in front of him, but I think they also take solace in knowing that he is behind them, in turn giving them the confidence to do their thing. Woj’s all round game has improved, his awareness in the box is of a very high standard.
*record the game
At least one of those occasions DID result in a penalty 5 months ago, Trev. 😉
It seems we lose when I do manage to avoid the score. Last time I did it was away to Napoli. I got home from work all excited to watch. 90 minutes later I was slumped in my chair
Well, don’t do that anymore then!!!!
😉
Now contemplating going to a Steely Dan tribute band in Camden. Love it where the Arsenal takes me. 6 pints of cider in ( I needed the vitamins), this warm down is going rather well. 😉
Btw never has the old ‘Liar Liar’ song been more gustfully sung. Thank you all for joining in 😉
tabs, definitely go to that. any major dude will tell you so :).
another fine post, holic!
H2H — Sure you will enjoy this compilation of Woj’s finer moments this season: http://vimeo.com/84492722 . You may want to watch with the soundtrack turned off though…
Arsegonian — in a post in the previous set of drinks you had lamented about how in previous season not all Arsenal games were live on US TV and this season the numbers had increased. Actually this season you should be able to watch all games of all teams in PL live on NBC Sports Extra Network of channels which should be made available to you if you already subscribe to NBC Sports. Different Providers have arranged for this in different manners in different regions. Here in Boston area (and I think as well everywhere else) Comcast shows the rest of the games as a streaming service under the On-Demand menus, and those games stay there until the next set of matches.
The FA Cup and CL are still being shown by Fox Sports network, and majority of Arsenal’s group games were on Fox Sports 2 which many cable providers do not include in their channel line-up. The alternative, Fox Soccer TV’s online streaming is of very high quality and you can subscribe to the same. Fox Sports would be showing the Coventry match just as Fox showed the Spurs match.
Apologies if you knew about this all…
scruz @ 49: Ha, especially here at the western world… 🙂
heh, faustus. if cba were going he’d bring his big black cow, and get out of there…
Go for it tabs.
Nice vid Doc.
Some worldclass saves there.
Heh, Tabs, we’ll look forward to your next post – about Thursday afternoon 😉
Tabs, if you’re in Camden Town you can probably pick up some fine Columbian 😉
Very good report holic and excellent observations H2H. Ches is a fine young keeper. Yesterday’s game was spoilt very slightly by having some idiots around me. They let some prats in nowadays!
Two observations from this afternoon. As we know Dowd is a highly flawed referee but to judge Vidic a red and Rafael a yellow shows crass and worrying misjudgement. Both could have been reds but Rafael should have gone every day of the week.
On a cheerful note I attended my eldest grandson’s birthday party in Tunbridge Wells. Sixteen 6 year olds and his little brother careering around a hall at a football party which saw a comeback by TTG in the final game where I produced a Ches like performance between the sticks. But I can’t do the splits like him. It was interesting to see eight of the boys were Gooners and two Liverpool and none United or the Chavs! Maybe we are becoming the team of choice again?
Nice, succinct post ‘Holic 🙂
I feel spoilt whenever I complain about ‘having to stream a game’ due to it not being on TV and my student house covering most of the bases with Sky Sports and BT Sport available 😛 You live the good life for too long, you get soft 8)
But on the game… Özil’s chance early at 4 minutes had me in a good mood, with better contact as tabs has alluded to, we’re 1-0 up and cruising. Szczesny’s save from Sidwell’s drive was quite something, although he worried me severly later in the game with his mistake for Bent’s open goal miss (Koscielny was on him in about 2 seconds 😀 ) and him nearly spilling the ball to a Fulham player at the death. I was in disbelief at how the ball defied the will of our players in that triple save/block and would not go in the net during the second half. But Santi did ‘da ting’ for both of his goals, crashing the first one in and driving the second in. As someone mentioned here or on Twitter, the latter was indeed a Theo special 🙂
Gnabry played well, his 3rd start in a row was again well deserved, forced a good save out of Stekelenburg with that left foot of his. Around 48 minutes, Özil did something that probably went unnoticed to most, but resonated with me. A simple move to avoid a Fulham player whilst keeping possession of the ball, but it was majestic in its grace, and it got me thinking that although Mesut may seemingly disappear in a game, he’s constantly formulating tiny moments of magic that go unnoticed by the majority of spectators, and with a player of his class, they have a chance to accumulate into a game changing moment or moments. Its happened many times before in his Arsenal career, and I’m sure it will happen again 🙂
Another 2-0 win, another 3 points, another instance in the season where we remain on top of the pile, regardless of what the pundits and commentators say. Let’s keep up the level of play vs Coventry as well, COYG.
Always a funny sight to see tabs put down Tim Payton, the look on his face as tabs approaches is almost like “Oh crap, here we go again… :(”
I watched Arsenal Legends – Thierry Henry this evening… A man among men.
I reckon Blogs’ words at the end of today’s post are very accurate regarding Özil.
Good stuff, Wind and Ttg.
TaBS, mate, you get maximum ratings for showing up Tim Payton for the clueless egotist he is, yet again.
I aæways feel that those now moaning about Özil just need a moan. If Özil was playing impeccably, they’d find someone else. It’s best just to ignore them.
So next time I come on here and moan about summit, just ignore me.
And only 10 days left to the last 3 days of the transfer window, which is when it’s all going to happen – allegedly.
Or not, as the case may be.
Fucking easy Cent mate 🙂
Always easy to catch out someone whose relationship with ‘ the truth’ is at best distant and at worst non-existent 😉
Pithy and to the point, ‘Holic. Written well within yourself but always in control. Bit like the team yesterday.
Chavs are starting to look worrisome. Mourinho makes them hard to beat. Less likely to drop points than the Middle Eastlanders.
I thought it was a good, solid team performance in which they lost their way a bit the last 15 minutes of the first half. Gnabry again showed promise – went wandering off all over the shop a bit in the first half (saw him defending at left back at one point) so it was good to see him holding his position on the right in the second. It’s going to be interesting to see how he takes this chance he’s been offered. Poldi looked more up for it than the last time we saw him. Santi is back to his best and Jack is also looking strong.
As for Mesut, I think he’s looking frustrated sometimes that there isn’t more movement ahead of him. But he always finds space for his teammates to get the ball to him and he’s good at holding on to it. I thought 2-0 was a fair result. Hangeland came back and steadied the ship for them at the back and they did the usual two defensive lines when we had the ball.
WATOTL – not much to moan about really.
Heh Wind. 🙂
Gave him the brush off immediately after the game cos I was talking with ‘H. Then got approached later on when I was at the bar with the Snowman and Dr Z. Excused myself into yhr garden. Gave the fella 10 mins, but when I got back, he was still there banging on about how crap we are. Snowy and Dr Z eere both very clever in their clear concise and rational put downs. Let’s just say I went for the more confrontational approach. 😉
Trev 🙂
Sweeper Dad always said,
‘ you can never have enough of a good thing, so enjoy it while you can ‘
I like to think he would be rubbing his hands with glee at the plethora of riches we have in midfield this season.
Again they proved the difference against a stubborn Fulham on Saturday.
in a fairly torpid first half,our defensive alertness kept Fulham from springing a surprise on more than one occasion.
With the defence doing it’s job in the first half,and a gee up from the Boss at half time, the midfield pixies delivered the goods in the 2nd.
H has already quoted the Boss in his match report,what Cent pointed out a few blogs ago,that Santi had missed pre season and had some injuries and was only now really back to near full fitness,which explain why he has been less of an influence this season.
Those carping about his drop in form should take note,and the same applies to criticism of Jack,who after a long period of absence is only now according to the Boss,reaching optimum match fitness.
The same applies to Poldi,and I think we all saw what he is capable of in his cameo on Saturday.
With the Ox and Rambo both close to full fitness again,the prospects are frightening for the opposition in any game we play.
For the last word on Ozil,and again to remind the nitpickers,he is on record again this w/end in saying that he knows he can play better,and is not at his peak,as he adjusts to his first full season in the madness of the PL.
I prefer to think of him in ‘cruise control’, pacing himself,and doing just enough against the lesser lights to get the job done,and saving his best for the big crunch games in Feb/March.
So here we are, top of the table with only 3 defeats in 22 games,
having ‘ carried ‘ Jack and Santi for half a season, without Poldi and the Ox since August,Ozil still to go up a level,plus Rambo back shortly,
oh and playing with only one striker.!!
Somehow we have managed to average 2 goals a game overall since the start of the season,despite our supposed deficiencies in attack.
So we come back to our little band of midfield Pixies,mesmerising the opposition with their intricate patterns and little triangles,finding space in even the most congested places to confound and confuse even the most redoubtable of defenders.
An embarrassment of riches indeed,and the frightening thing is we could have this magical midfield for years to come.!!
cheers
The Sweeper.
Top stuff Sweeper.
Great write up Zico
Felt as tho’ as i was there myself
Could smell the beer, hear the crowd….what about the onions?
oh how i miss match day
Still the memories of arsenal v napoli will live on for me and my family
still 40 temps here and bushfires
The Sweeper @ 68 – bang on the money! Perfect summation. Cheers.
Faustus @50 … Thanks I did know but only recently I figured it out. I would also highly recommend Bein TV on comcast. Out here it’s $5 a month. It’s pretty much wall to wall football from Ligue 1, La liga, FA Cup, League Cup, UCL, Europa etc.
Interesting that Clive (#68) talks about “having carried Jack and Santi for half a season” and “Ozil still to go up a level … he knows he can play better, and is not at his peak” and tabs says “Top stuff, Sweeper” and Uplympian says “bang on the money!”.
Yet this is what I have been saying for months and every man and his dog have been having pieces of me. My plaint has always been about their on-field contributions, never their inherent quality. I am well aware how good our midfielders are, just frustrated by their not showing it week after week.
However there is a maturity about our current squad that has enabled us to muddle through anyway, and if the latent talent really does come good (as Santi’s game this weekend promises) then, injuries permitting, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t win at least one trophy this year. That monkey on our backs is getting really irritating.
Öskar
Thanks Clive, means a lot that you are back right now.
Thnks Tabs and Uply,
My pleasure H,email on it’s way to you.
Oskar
i think you will find that the interpretation of your criticisms of Jack/Santi,had no caveat with it that you understood why they were not performing at their peak.
IE: returning from injury,no pre season, etc.
I think you will find Holics more agreeable on the subject if you had done so.
On the Ozil front,i think every man and his dog has had their say on the matter,but again there was no caveat from you in your carping,re his joining a new club,no proper pre season to prepare him for the intensity of the PL,no mid winter break etc.
He’s a human being not a machine.
He is still adjusting to PL life.
His best is yet to come.
Relax,lie back and enjoy.
You’ve had 8 yrs to be unhappy,try a little more understanding.
cheers
The Sweeper.
How irritating that the Chavs won today, and even more irritating that we allowed ManU to beat us, though to be fair, they had Rooney and Van Pursey playing, and they make ManU a big difference…still, highly irritating! And if we don’t manage to beat ManU in the return fixture at the Ems then that endless opera chorus of ‘Arsenal can’t beat the ‘big’ teams’ will start up again…hasn’t really stopped actually…We have to stick it to the Chavs, ManU in the next fixture…ManC I think will be hard to beat, but the other 2…let’s do it!
Clive@68: Not a word to disagree with.
And what the guv’nor said @74.
@Oksar … The only point to you I’ve repeatedly said is focus on the collective not the individual. Your complaints have all been very pointed toward Jack did this , Santi did that. Fact in we are the best TEAM in the league.
Thnks Ned
Trust you and yours are all well.
We are in a good place at the moment,long may it continue.
Spot on, Clive @75.
No player is beyond constructive criticism but our somewhat off-colour stars have all had mitigating circumstances, be it injury or lack of preparation, or both.
And yes, after eight years – had you ever heard that ? – of poor starts, poor finishes and lack of fight and maturity in the team, it is just great to be back where we are.
Positivity has returned to most supporters and the atmosphere in the stadium has greatly improved as a result. There is no real desire amongst the majority of fans to get down on the players, and it is refreshing that their qualities are being recognised more than their mistakes.
Enjoy the ride. Just to be genuinely competing with the financially doped is an achievement in itsself.
Ask the Spuds. 😉
A late hello, Holic.
Take care, mate. 😉
Great post holic and to everyone else in the bar, I hope you also had a good weekend!
@7: Zico, (or tabs I guess) what exactly did Tim Payton say about Norwich being a better run club? I’m genuinely curious…
@73: Öskar, I didn’t have a go at you, but if I did, it would be because you insist on using Gnu to refer to Gnabry 😀
Moaninho beating Moyles leaves me with ambivalent feelings as it means Chelski don’t drop points, but Man U had no chance really with the likes of Welbeck and Hernandez leading the line. As a hardcore ABU, this season is like a dream come true though!
What’s wrong with having a Gnu to go with our Ox, CoR?
I’m a Gnu
I’m a Gnu
The g-nicest work of g-nature in the zoo
I’m a Gnu
How do you do
You really ought to k-now w-ho’s w-ho
I’m a Gnu
Spelt G-N-U
I’m g-not a Camel or a Kangaroo
So let me introduce
I’m g-neither man or moose
Oh g-no g-no g-no I’m a Gnu
I’m a Gnu
I’m a Gnu
A g-nother gnu
I wish I could g-nash my teeth at you
I’m a Gnu
How do you do
You really ought to k-now w-ho’s w-ho
I’m a Gnu
Spelt G-N-U
Call me Bison or Okapi and I’ll sue
G-nor am I the least like that dreadful Hartebeest,
Oh, g-no, g-no, g-no, g-no g-no g-no
G-no g-no g-no, I’m a Gnu”
Öskar
Clive … I have always understood WHY our key players have not been performing to the best of their abilities, but that doesn’t change the fact that they have been allowed to contribute little for longer than I would have thought acceptable. AW has played Jack and Santi together for 90 minutes match after match while TR7 and others have sat out entire games. Resting them might have been more appropriate, imo. There’s nothing like a week or two on the bench to remind players that they’re not indispensable and that they need to up their game.
When Jack returned from injury last season I said at the time that we wouldn’t see him back to his best until well into this season (Pangloss, you can research that one too if you like), but I was expecting something earlier than now. Thankfully he is at last beginning to show flashes of the old Jack, as I have acknowledged in recent drinks.
As for Santi, he was our best player in his first season so there’s no reason why he should have slumped so badly this year. Yes he had an injury in September but he’s been fit again since October, but performing well below par until this last game against Fulham in which he was motm. And about time too.
I agree that Özilla is a special case, but even allowing for his EPL greenness (which never affected Santi btw) he still hasn’t looked like a 45mil player to me. There is so obviously more he could do if he extended himself, but he seems to prefer coasting through games, and I object to ANY player believing that is good enough for Arsenal. I read somewhere that he says he holding himself back for the big late season games when he intends letting himself go. Well I hope that is true.
Öskar
Arseblogger’s rather clever headline to his match report: Santi Shows His Claws
Arsegonian @ 72 — Yes, I get beIN as well. beIN’s first Arsenal game was that lovely 3-1 pre-season victory against Man City. The problem with beIN is that Comcast had subsequently removed GolTV altogether and hence no Bundesliga and no Brazilian League unfortunately for me. Fox has secured the rights to Bundesliga from ’15 though but for these couple of years in between I am going to miss out on the second best European league…
Another avenue of my football viewing is the French channel TV5 which though we subscribe to for different reasons — good news programs, good movies, an opportunity to keep our rudimentary French in shape and maybe even improve — they show a lot of the Ligue 1 matches and almost all international matches involving France.
Peter…sorry but you’re wrong there, that fixture just looks like a potential banana skin, nothing more can be read into it!
Morning all. Great write up Holic. Also great stuff from many above and especially Clive and Zico.
3 points is 3 points although we were a fraction away from my 7 nil prediction. The real bonus with our midfield at the moment is that we now have great strength in depth. The signings of Özil and Flamini have added real quality to what we already had. Couple that with the emergence of Gnabry and the massive steps taken by Ramsey and you can see how we can compensate for the odd injury and dip in form. It’s very refreshing to see.
Coventry on a Friday night???! It’s a bit strange but hey, bring it on.
Have a good day people???
Thnks Steve
Trust the little Gooners are well.
Remiss of me not to complement one of Scotland’s finest on his post above.
Cannons – I simply asked him (Payton), “if the Glazer model was wrong, and the Arsenal model was wrong”, how should tbe club be run, and he said Norwich City.
At first I thought he was winding me up, but he was adamant, Delia could teach a lesson or two to Stan.
So come on, Kroenke, “let’s be having you”. 😛
I must admit, i expected the Voice of Arsenal fans to have a bit more gravitas – he reminded me of the un-popular kid at school, and I’m sure once Wolfie got to him his bottom lip started trembling.
Mind you, so would mine…..
Dr Z 🙂
Norwich City – Delia. ?
Silent Stan to cook the books. ? 😉
Before Uply gets in – it’s a recipe for disaster. 😉
Ok, coat, work, laters. 😉
Zico,
I expect when Wolfie got to him his bottom started trembling – never mind his lip. 😉
Trev – Haha, it was where I threatened to stick my parasol that had his eyes watering 😉
Great read Holic. I was delighted to see the acknowledgement for Szczesny. The lad has been brilliant.
Also great to see Clive posting more regularly. You have been missed.
And to Zico, I only hope you get to see more games. If for no other reason, so others can read your accounts!
Was sorry not to see Tabs in full flow against Payton. I would have paid for ring-side-seats to see that man being put in his place. I’ve always maintained that the only person Tim Payton speaks for is himself. I’m only sorry that Tabs didn’t meet Pedro in his travels as well.
Oh but I have Joe, I have … 😉
All good thanks Clive. I hope you and yours are all well.
The big improvement with Shezza this year has been his decision making. A lot of his mistakes previously have been down to poor decisions. This is something he seems to have improved on massively.
Feng @87:
Which return fixture is a potential banana skin – Chavs, ManU or ManC?
And in.
Clinical finishing, tabs. It’s what this blog has been short of all season so far.
http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/a-graph-showing-arsenal-chelsea-and-man-citys-net-spending-since-sheikh-mansour-moved-into-the-etihad-picture/?
And WATOTL hahaha
Cheers Pangloss 😉
Santi Legend …. http://www.joe.ie/football/football-news/pic-santi-cazorla-and-robert-pires-pose-with-a-sign-that-spurs-fans-wont-like-at-all/
OK – this is overdue.
For saying kind things, thanks to the following (in order):
Trev, Pangloss, Holic, Uplympian, Cent, tabs, DepressedGooner, H2H, sydneyred, Steve T, Clive and Joe.
With particular regard to Joe, be careful what you wish for!
And thanks to everyone else for not saying un-kind things. 😉
@83: Öskar, hehe, fair enough then 🙂
@90: I see! But still, having Delia at the helm and Fryer bitching out Alan Davies on QI doesn’t make them a superior club so I don’t get his point???
To be fair, I would love seeing a drunk Gazidiz or Kroenke replicating this on the Ashburton Grove pitch 🙂
http://youtu.be/Z_8JLkwzpd0
I wouldn’t. Pure embarrassment.
While he’s at it, why not bring on the black cards too?
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25811977
Actual punishment associated with the black cards would be determined of course by the FIFA High Inquisitor.
Seriously though I think the orange cards could be an idea worth trying. The actual effect I suspect would be a sharp reduction in the use of the red card which couldn’t be a bad thing could it?
A level of stability that only Spurs could aspire to.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25809300
Too bad for Betis though, I have a soft spot for them.
Well in for the Century tabs, the finishing position is quite unlike you 😉
And @ 66, sounds like it was a classic 🙂
Zico @ 105, it was indeed another great view into your matchday, please accept my belated kind words 🙂
It will be interesting to see what happens to Manchester United over the next year or so. As a quoted club any drop in their success which is highly linked to their popularity will have a substantial financial effect. Ferguson wouldn’t have been given the amount of time he was if they had possessed a Stock market valuation which they wanted to protect. Having a disaffected fan base is one thing. Having a highly leveraged company with management that is substantially less successful than the previous regime is another. It has always been stated that United are still immensely profitable despite a growing debt burden. And while they hoovered up trophies that was true. But now their fall from grace might be such that there is huge pressure on them to sack Moyes. And if they sack Moyes and appoint someone else they will want a proven winner. Guardiola won’t go but would Mourinho?If not who? Simeone perhaps or maybe Conte . Frankly if they miss the Champions League they won’t be able to sign marquee players and that won’t produce the quick fix that the team need. The stock price which is predicated on the value of their global brand will find that a lot of their fan base are pot hunters and have gone elsewhere . It’s a real problem for the club. I don’t really care that much but at least they are a club that have operated with a decent business model and not relied on the largesse of an oligarch. In fact their owners have effectively bled them of cash and weakened their financial position. It’s why the management of football clubs is so precarious . We have achieved huge stability at Arsenal but the only reason has been Wenger’s incredible ability to keep the club competitive despite at times having virtually no funds to do it. In 2003/4 I think we had a £5 million transfer budget in the summer and bought Lehmann. If memory serves me correctly we didn’t lose a game that season.
Despite our frustrations with Wenger in not spending enough money what an incredible achievement to provide stability in such a volatile business given all the privations he has had imposed on him. I suspect as United go into comparative meltdown ( and that is the Doomsday scenario and almost certainly won’t happen to the extent many might like) we may finally see football recognising exactly what Wenger has achieved
Thank you young Hurricane.
My second favourite past-time at the moment, after I finish reading the few Arsenal blogs that don’t attract the hard-of-thinking, is to tuck into a big slice of Schadenfreude at Man Utd’s expense.
Over at Red Cafe (slice, see what I did there?) there is much gnashing and wailing going on, with all sorts of internecine warfare breaking out and the forming of Moyes Out/Moyes In camps.
What I noticed in particular though was a large number of the posters there appear to be completely confident about Arsenal’s “inevitable” implosion/collapse. Many of them have stated that “Arsenal are already looking jaded and running out of steam….”.
I was wondering whether this view was based on the 5 or 6 minutes that they might get to see on MOTD of an evening or whether it is simply born of a deep-seated yearning in the hope that there might be a way back into the top four, which could already be beyond them.
It’s becoming increasingly clear that no one apart from the more optimistic of us here think that we are going to last the pace, which suits me just fine.
In the interim, you can feast on a banquet of quotes at Red Cafe like “this is what it means to be Arsenal…..”
You fucking wish, mate. 😎
Cheers Wind 😉
Good stuff Ttg. Interesting times ahead for Yanited certainly. I don’t see Moyes surviving to the end of the Season unless they make serious headway (last 4) in the Champions League. Even that might not be enough to save him if they fail to make top 4.
Without Champs League football, it’s a long way back without a benefactor. Sadly I think Yanited’s name is probably enough to continue to attract the seriously wealthy but whether the Glazers would be willing to sell and at what price is another question entirely. I suspect it won’t be long before we start seeing the prevalence of all those yellow and green scarves again.
Dream scenario – RVP – hampered by recurring injuries and playing out his career trying to stave off relegation for Stoke returns to Old Trafford and scores the goal to send United down with a cheeky backheel. 😉
Can but dream!
Dr Z – Heh 🙂
Lots of interesting speculation above about the future of ManYoo.
I think someone has committed to keeping faith with Moose, and I’m fairly confident that they really meant it when they said it. It must have been clear when Funguscum was running down his contract that he was pretty much carrying the squad so I suspect that whoever made the commitment to little David was aware what the implications were.
Now, it all hinges on who that someone was. If it was the Glazers then they will probably keep faith with the current manager until a fair way into next season, or until results start to improve towards the level achieved by his red-nosed predecessor.
If the commitment was given by someone lower down the Glazer empire, then it’s less reliable. In fact, I’d say the best predictor of how long Mo will last at OT would be to watch the senior levels of First Allied Corporation, the Glazer holding company. If someone leaves unexpectedly, then I’d expect the United manager to go shortly afterwards, otherwise look to him to hang onto his job for another year or so.
My 2p worth – probably an overestimate of its value. It’s fun to be handing out this type of speculation for a change, isn’t it?
COYG
Evening all.
TTG.
The value of United stocks has already taken a hit and not just a little one.
I read something about it last week, if memory serves it was round the 15% mark, which is a whopping £300m.
This is after a shaky start, it’s a little over the half way point of the season, yet the market has clearly spoken and investers are running scared. Failure to finish in the top 4 may not mean complete meltdown, but it will be, in the very least, problamatic.
Tee Hee.
Heh, Dr Z, I actually went on that Red Cafe forum and read the thread that had a poll about who they think will win the league. Most of them don’t think we will win it and quite a shocking number of them seem to respect Wenger and wish we win it just for his sake. It’s not like they have much better options mind, having to choose between us or the 2 different oily shades of blue, I almost pity them. Close but no cigar.
Back home in Stockholm since a couple of hours with many happy memories of a weekend filled with fun. A couple of beers with tabs and Snowy on Friday evening was a good warm up for the Saturday. The Saturday was what matchdays tend to be, i.e. very enjoyable and filled with friends and beer. A couple of pints before kickoff, a quick stop for some Chinese takeaway on the way to the stadium, an easy win against a not very good Fulham, back to the Tollie for more beer and more chats about football in particular and life in general. Me and tabs were in there until they more or less threw us out on account of them actually having closed about half an hour earlier! In total it was a great day as it always is.
A few more drinks on Sunday afternoon and a concert up in Camden later in the evening rounded off the weekend in a great way. I was back at the hotel around 11 so it was more or less straight to bed as I had to be up at about 6 to get to the airport.
Ah, the airport. London City Airport has a few advantages over Heathrow. It’s a shorter journey from the hotel and it’s a lot smaller which is really good when arriving there.
But bloody hell, the staff at the security check may quite possibly be the worst bunch of anal wankhammers I have ever encountered. There is no substance known to man that they do not consider to be a liquid which must go into those ridiculous plastic bags. This whole hysteria around the illusion of security at airports is just ridiculous, and it costs us all a lot of money for very little actual use.
Bollocks to that, I say.
Anyway. On a much more positive note I watched the Henry documentary on the flight over. Fantastic stuff, I hope everyone gets the chance to watch it.
I actually think the best thing for Manure is to stick with Moyes, especially if their financial power as I suspect is not what it used to be, because;
1. I can’t think of any top manager they can appoint to replace Moyes if they sack him. Even if any top manager agreed to come he/she would want a large transfer war chest which I don’t think they have at the moment.
2. Moyes been sacked after this season will give them the bad look of an unstable club. You might say Chelsea have been unstable in the managers department for a while but still attract good players, and you would be right, but the truth is Chelsea survived that phase because their was always money available to be spent by their numerous managers and they managed to finish in the top four as well as win a few trophies not least the UCL trophy. If Manure finish outside the top four this season and fail to win the UCL(I couldn’t type that with a straight face) they will be where the Chavs would have been if Bayern didn’t play like Utter twats and allowed them to fluke that UCL trophy, but with way less money and if they sack Moyes then you can throw instability to the equation and get the perfect recipe for a fall from grace to grass.
3. Of course they can still escape relegation by the whiskers and then get a sugar to take over and perform major squad surgeries with his/her cash but I really doubt the Glazers will sell. They seem way too proud/stubborn to do that.
Anyway it turns out one thing looks certain at the moment; I will be too busy celebrating our silverwares to care about what happened to them.
Good to know you had fun, Lars.
Nice one Lars.
Totally agree about City Airport.
I like the fact that it’s compact, check in is without fuss etc.
But I had the same problem going through “security”. I had purchased some perfume for the other half @ Schipol, it was sealed, but because it was purchased over 24 hours earlier (just) it was considered a problem, it had to be packed out and resealed.
They were also overly concerned with my toothpaste, deo and after shave, even though they were also in a sealable plastic bag. That was literaly all I had with me, plus change of underwear and socks, yet it took a good half hour for me to get through that 5 metre stretch of no mans land.
Who would have thought a year ago that we would be speculating about the demise of ManYoo from the top of the table!
It was always going to be on the cards once Fergiscum stepped down, TTG.
Although there weren’t too many that knew he was going to retire so soon….
Just ask Robin van Stapleton.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if ManUre’s finances are somewhat worse than everyone hopes and imagines. To be fair, they have at least generated their own wealth historically and, on that basis, are slightly less annoying than Citeh ot the Chavs.
Last time they raised capital on the New York market, it was only achieved as they were allowed to use the wrong year’s accounts in their prospectus. The fear was that there would be no takers if they were forced to use the ‘normal’ year’s accounts.
Allied to that is something I read some time ago now. What that boiled down to was that they needed to win either the Premier League or the Champions League, in terms of prize money, just to service a year’s loan interest.
That is clearly not going to happen this season, at least in the opinion of everyone except David Moyes, so summer transfer kitty may not be quite as large as Mr Moyes would like.
That is assuming anyone still wants to join them by then anyway – in the Europa League.
If they’re lucky. 😉
Stop with all this rejoicing over ManIOU’s prospects. Back off, please. I like my Schadenfreude cold.
🙂 🙂 🙂
I just read somewhere that Mourinho has won something called an FWA.
I doubt those letters stand for what I think they should though. 😉
Pangloss- I like it piping hot me and followed with a nice serving of humble pie!
As Trevor says they are slightly less annoying than the LWCs, Citeh or the Chavs but their plastic fans from Basingstoke and Totnes are the thing that has always annoyed me. I can scarcely remember a casual conversation about football with a ManYoo fan in the last few years because so few of them really have any deep knowledge of or affinity to the club. There are an awful lot of forty something Liverpool fans too who were just teenage glory hunters.
I don’t think the Utd Board have yet realised the faux pas they made,in allowing Fergie to choose his own successor.
The Club has gone from being managed by a tyrannical
” my way or the highway ” charismatic Head Master who in turn inspired such great awe and fear in equal parts amongst his pupils,that they performed above and beyond their capabilities term after term,year after year,to a nerdy looking maths teacher with no credentials for the top job and who has had a charisma bypass to boot.
He spent the summer running around,desperately trying to sign half of Europe’s top players without success,and ended up with a last ditch signing of Fellaini who was at the bottom of his wish list.
Utd are now finding out that it is not enough to be one of the top clubs in Europe,that alone will not make the top tier playing elite want to sign for the club.
It is also vitally important to have a top tier manager as well.
if i were a top talent at any European club,would i want to sign for a Club with a ‘no name,no trophy,no CV manager.
How many times have we heard down the years how a player said they were convinced to join a particular Club,after a heart to heart with a manager they respected and admired,and couldn’t wait to sign on the dotted line.
That isn’t going to happen at Utd.
Can you imagine Ibrahimovic/Cavani/Costa et al sitting down for a chat with the nerdy Maths teacher and being convinced to sign up.??
All the top clubs in Europe have seriously credentialled managers who have the cojones to deal with the enormous egos of the very best players on the planet,and who can get them to play as a team for the good of the club.
All except one that is.
Does anyone really think that the current squad of Utd pupils are giving 150% to the Maths teacher now the Head Master has gone on a long holiday.??
The stench of decline and decay are in the wind at the Old Toilet,and Fergie’s arrogant last gift to the Club could consign it to the wilderness for years to come.
cheers
The Sweeper
I can’t find the story that I had read about the fall of the IOU stock prices, but this pretty much says the same.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/25779671
Hi Clive,
While I am no fan of Moyes, it does somehow seem a shame that Ferguson doesn’t get to inherit his own leftovers.
He’s a cunning enough old git to know exactly what he has left behind, which is one reason that there is no point in the Surrey hoardes hoping that he will step in to save them until the end of the season.
My second favorite pastime this season (after watching our boys win, of course) is listening to Gunnerblog’s RVP song after each Manure loss.
Re: Sweeper @129. Quite cheery indeed. 🙂
” Who would have thought a year ago that we would be speculating about the demise of ManYoo from the top of the table! ” Ttg #123
————————————————————————–
Not a year ago, but I was surprised by their lack of action in the summer window and posted the following here on 6 Aug, before the season began…
“I wonder if the Man U blogs are as edgy as ours? Without Fergie and Scholes and possibly Rooney I reckon they’re about half the force they were last season and if I was a supporter I’d be getting right on to Moyes and his lack of action.
Unless they sign big their squad will be no better than ours, imo.”
http://goonerholic.com/2013/08/arsenal-find-turkish-delight-a-little-bit-hard-to-swallow/#comments
I was wrong of course, their squad turned out to be worse than ours by some margin.
Öskar
Oskar. Let’s not forget the preposterously good luck Sralex had last season when RVP did not have a season ending injury in October. 😉
It was indeed preposterous, 8ball, no way were Manure that much better than the rest.
As for RvP I hope he’s happy with how his treachery has worked out … especially right now. Er, let me rephrase that. I hope he’s feeling as miserable as such a miserable sod deserves to feel.
He could have been an Arsenal legend, instead he’ll be just a Manure one-season wonderturd. May his anus miserabilis run its full course.
Öskar
Shouldn’t that be RVP “injury” 8ball?
I choose to believe the rumours that say he had a fight with Phil Neville and refuses to play for Moyes.
But then again, I live for conspiracy theories 😀
That should of course have been ‘anus horribilis’ and, yes, I know it’s spelt ‘annus’, I just think anus more appropriate for RvP.
Öskar
Looooooong back drink. But I enjoyed every drop.
Great report ‘H, Zico.
Howdy from Texas. I’m going to miss the Coventry game on Friday while I attend some god aweful conference. Maybe I’ll get lost at Lunch?!
Lonestar,
I don’t suppose you work anywhere near downtown Dallas and can swing by and spring me for the game?
As I flew into Dallas they were announcing a connecting flight to London, don’t think that it didn’t tempt me. 😉
Cheers all
Like this over on Arseblog;
http://arseblog.com/# – The Tactics Column
“As it turned out, Ozil wasn’t able to decide the game with a direct contribution but no matter when others step up: Ozil’s effort lies in the way he makes the whole team play better.”
Twitter really brings the worst out in some people, but it also provides some great laugh out loud moments…..
Giving Jusn Mata to Moyes would be like giving a pair of shoes to a fish…..
Thanks for the link, Esso.
Speaking of laugh out loud moments,
Anyone see Samuel Eto being interviewed by Sky after the game on Sunday? Eto could only respond in French. But fortunately for Sky, Terry was conveniently on hand to “translate”.
Isn’t it great to see footballers develop a penchant for cultivating other skills outside of football? Like the “alleged” example I have on good authority whereby Terry was drinking in a bar, and rather than excuse himself to the privacy of the boys room, he pulled out his cock and pissed in the corner. Pity Sky weren’t around to “translate” that..!
135 – 8ball
Yeh considering RVP enjoyed 1 out of 8 (?) seasons uninjured, Slur Alex was as you say pretty flukey.
I have an injury theory to add to that, and this is it:
An individual’s response to injury is completely psychological. Obviously the injury itself isn’t: if you tear a ligament when you turned your ankle on the turf, then clearly you have a torn ligament. But why is it that some players can come back quicker than others with the same complaint? In some cases the reason must be organic (i.e. some are genetically more injury-resistant – do you ever remember Ronaldo being out for 6 months?), but in others it must be in the mind: how you think the recovery is going, how active you believe you can be, whether you think you can play or not, whether you WANT to play.
This is what I think about RVP. He pushed himself to go the whole season last term as he clearly flourished under Ol’ Purple Nose; he knew he could be a major cog in a title push and this kind of belief can shape your whole mindset.
He wins the title then – shock horror – off goes Chewy McRedface, to be replaced by a poor copy who manages the Scum like a mid-table side. Imagine how this disappointment would affect his mindset: he could easily lose his motivation, his drive to overcome little niggles, whereas under Whiskey McShouter, he did everything he could to stay in the first XI – probably despite the odd niggle, pushing himself to play through the pain.
What I’m saying is a capricious player like him only needs to stop wanting to play (I’d bet he looks down on Moyes), he picks up a small knock, the quack says rest would do it good and that’s all it takes for him to ‘think himself’ onto the treatment table. What I’m not saying is he’s faking it like the reedy kid who wants to be let off rugby practice – I’m suggesting it’s subconscious and dependent on his beliefs.
Just sayin’ like!
Interesting theorey that Porco.
This a snippet from today’s Sun (from the beeb):
Manchester United manager David Moyes and striker Robin van Persie have held talks after the Old Trafford club’s physios said the 30-year-old was fit to play but the forward claimed he needed more time on the sidelines.
Where’s Ollie?
H2H – Ha! Awesome bit of copy-pasting there. If that’s true, see what I mean about beliefs driving mentality?
P.S. My rates for psychoanalysis and therapy are extremely competitive.
Where’s Ollie?
Afternoon all,
Cent@118 – Never ever pity them! 😉
Lars – Glad you made it home ok mate. Liver now resting until you next make it over 🙂
Loving all the comments re the Mancs. If Sunderland can pull off an unlikely result this week then they really will go into meltdown. Perhaps they can yet pick up one of the Totts’ expensive acquisitions on a free this month to help their push for the Europa League.
Dr Z – Heh 🙂
Porco – A job in the Quackery awaits 🙂
Zico @141 – 🙂
PR. Whiskey McShouter? 😉
H2H @145,
Interesting. I heard a while ago that van Persie* was no longer injured but was so distraught at not having his new mentor, Slur Alicks, around that he was refusing to play for David the Moose.
This, of course, is scandalous nonsense and couldn’t possibly be true. Could it ? You guys, could it ?
Well it seems a little more smoke is rising from that particular fireplace, and you know what they say about smoke ……..
* having tired of bothering to find new names for van Pussey / Pursie etc. I find to my delight that ‘van Persie’ does just as good a job.
All it requires is to spit the ‘P’ (matron!) and let the ‘ersie’ die immediately away, becoming almost inaudible as the vocal chords slump.
Do have fun trying ……… 😉
Welcome to The Quackery indeed, Porco.
You may find that we resort less to the psychoanalysis and more to the paddles and electrodes, but as they say around here these days – “Enjoy the ride !”
Should we install you as “Dr P”, I wonder.
Reminds me of my old urologist. 😉
8ball – That was off the top of my head, does it sound drunk, Scottish and angry enough?
Dr T – Cheers, my first application of paddles would be to VP’s bare arse, and electrodes to his nipples.
Heh Trev.
that’s how you pronounce it in Dutch anyway. 😉
How happy was the HFB with our opener against Fulham?
https://vine.co/v/hl6FHWdI0Kl
Porco – cheers indeed.
Loved this one, Chewy McRedface, but this was my favorite: Whiskey McShouter. Classic stuff.
Whiskey McShouter and Rotten van Pigsty goes well together.
H2H, a master stroke by the HFB! But please don’t allow the FA to see that video; if Wilshere got two games for signaling that we’re top of the league, OG might miss the rest of the campaign for that one…..
OMG sp*rs fans
Heh @ master stroke!!
Couldn’t handle Theo’s gentle score update WHILE THEY WERE PELTING HIM WITH THEIR SPARE CHANGE.
Couldn’t handle Wojciech serenading them on the piano-forte.
Couldn’t handle Wojciech’s comment via Facebook during their 6-0 hiding against City, “Wonderful scenes at the Etihad”
And can’t handle little Santi holding a sign that calls I them shit.
Not the thickest-skinned I’d venture to say. Inferiority complex anyone?
Maybe Santi could have been a little more indirect with his sign. Mierda, perhaps?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab7_6KlXCJQ&feature=youtu.be
i love per.
goonerhamster, i also love santi’s excuse about the sign “we couldn’t see the paper”. 🙂
h2h@148, i’ve wondered that now since before christmas!
eandy@158, isn’t that *slur* whiskey mcshouter?
NorCal @ 139 –
Sorry, let’s try that again…
Norcal @ 139 – I do indeed work downtown. A late lunch to watch the boys professionally dispatch Coventry would do this old boy good. I have your email so check your inbox.
Win the next match.
BMBD
Jesus Christ Negredo is a bully of a striker. When I used to watch him in la liga I thought he was “meh” at best.
I dread to think what we could achieve if we had him as our main striker, even if the HFB has done very well this season.
Funny, some were saying that Negredo wasn’t all that not so long ago.
Nice to see Clichy get a run out in the Citeh reserves
I read that BBC piece, H2H and wonder (if it’s true) whether RvP is suffering the deluded belief that AW will make an offer for him in the Jan window?
I do hope so, and that AW doesn’t. Perfect match for our needs of course, if only we could find it in a better person.
Öskar
lonestar, i’ll be in dallas in february for the midweek mancs game. would love to buy you a pint and watch it with you…the conference is at the aloft downtown…i have a perfect gap between 11:30 and 2! holic has my address, should you be interested.
Negredo is a good old fashioned centre forward, NB, he reminds me of Gerd Muller in the ’70s or more recently Christian Vieri.
I could see him playing alongside Poldi or OG and causing mayhem for opposing defences. One AW missed? Apparently there were talks in London this time last year…
Öskar
scruz/lonestar – There was a rumour, possibly hereabouts, that a tube strike was threatened for the week of the Manc game, which might lead to a postponement. You wouldn’t want to end up having to drink together without benefit of a footy match, now would you?
lol, pangloss. we’d need well more than one, in that case.
Now this is what I like to see… it’s about time the Ameri’Holics got together.
Scruz, I have already linked up with NorCal, and we are tentatively planning to watch the Coventry fixture (or, if he decides not to ditch his professional responsibilities, at least grab a pint).
It would be an honor to extend the same hospitatlity to you when you vist our fair city. My office is about five blocks from the Aloft, and there are several pubs/bars nearby where we should be able to slake our thirst… game or not.
‘Holic, would you mind sending Scruz my contact information? Many thanks, sir.
‘Holics around the world, unite…
BMBD
excellent, lonestar. another reason to look forward to the trip!
So, if you can’t make it to the Tollie the next best thing is Texas? 😉
h2h, when in texas, do as texan (gooners) do. right?
i’m still waiting on norcal to figure a time to get down from his northern california environs to maggie mcgarry’s in san francisco, and hoping pik can make it across the bay.
oh, and having hosted snir for a 430 am chelsea game (with guinness, certainly), i can tell you that even though it’s not the tollie, it’s hella fun!
Hey, scruz, Lonestar,
have a great time – but be careful 😉
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c2p2XvByYZk
Otd@134, Fergie’s last squad was arguably his worst, and certainly worst to win the league. Without him to motivate it and, shall we say, cast its aura of invincibility over officials and opponents alike, and that Dutch block to poke in a few crucial goals it would have been an Everton-like mid-to-top-half of the table side. Oh…
Texas is the big, er, hair state, Dr T.
Thanks, Guv’ for all your help.
Dr. T, I wasn’t born in Dallas, but there’s a reason I moved there as soon as possible…
BMBD
Heh. Texas, even.
BMBD
I don’t know if anyone mentioned it but what do you holics think of Andries Jonker picking up the slack in the Academy?
Looks like an impressive appointment that will surely benefit the club in the long-run.
Any thoughts?
CoR: what little I have read about him sounds like a good fit, but I suppose time will tell.
Arsene has, allegedly, been photographed at Heathrow today with a boarding pass in his hand. No info on where he was going, but if the picture really was taken today then I can’t see that being for any other reason than to try to persuade a player to sign. Flying out of Heathrow this morning means he misses the training session and it must take something very special for that to happen. But again, there is no proof that the picture was actually taken today so pinches of salt are in order here.
CoR – from what I have been reading about Jonker I have mixed feeling.
He apparently is not at all rated back home in Holland, which, for being Dutch is kinda worrying and is said that he just followed Van Gaal around.
Some, on the other hand, say that after Van Gaal left Bayern, he was kept there and built a foundations for a behemoth Bayern are now.
Personally I think that he would not be appointed without having full trust of Arséne, considering our focus on youth development.
Do you mean a boarding pass for one of these, Lars ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZAg0lUYHHFc
😉
Make sure you stay with that clip right to the very end – seems to be over a couple of times before it actually is 😉
Heh Trev, love that one! Seen it many times but it is just as funny every time.
“But only fuckin’ gobshites think there’s flights for 50p!”
Sorry – “feckin'”, of course 🙂
so Negredo was acquired for 20M last summer!! where was Le Boss at that time?? was there any talk of getting him?
whose got any team news holics? who is back who is not? time for Rambo to return and bang some in against Southampton…tricky side they are and they are at home!
It’s the best part of a week away, Peter. One game at a time, and that game is against Cov City in the cup on Friday.
COYG
Coventry. Is that the residence of a coven of witches?
Pangloss: I know it is a week away but I like to stress in advance! so you can imagine what I’m thinking about the Bayern match!! lol
I’m not so worried bout the Coventry match..but then again, they are all potential banana skins…do you ever feel completely confident about an Arsenal match? 🙂
Heh, Lars,
“There’s a charge for using plastic,
But how the feck are you s’pposed to pay
If not with feckin’ plastic”
“When the plane had finally landed
We were standing in the aisle,
The steward sent us up the back
Without so much as a smile,
And when we heard the announcement
Our hearts gave a terrible thump,
“If you heven’t pre-paid to use the stairs
You’ll have to feckin’ jump!”
Brill. I. Ant. 🙂
T-Rev in da hiz house. 😎
Once last bit of news from the Old Toilet;
David Moyes has made a pledge to the yanited fans that his team will be in a top European competition next year……….
Even if he has to write the song himself.
🙂
Any takers ?
BOOM!
Lays it off to the onrushing runner while telling Peter that he has never felt completely confident about an Arsenal match – he remembers the League Cup Final against Swindon.
Quick nurse, the screens, I’m referring to myself in the third person again!
Strewth that was late. I hope the DGC will allow me a tabsing.
Well in Lars
Well in Lars.
Sorry Pangloss, tabsing an assist must be classified as a fail. 😉
Bugger. Harsh, but fair I guess.
🙂
Pangloss: let me put it this way…During the West Ham match I ran out of the Tollie when Cole put in the first goal cos I couldn’t look…ran up to the Archway pub on the corner (don’t know the name) and we were 2-1 up after Feo scored…and then LuPo scored that thumper while I was there…guess it’s my lucky pub…still my nerves were shattered…love it 🙂
Get back to the quackery, Trev… 😉
Peter, here’s a trick for you, now everyone:
Win. The. Next. Match.
There, there. All better.
BMBD
Peter, my similar story is equally happy.
A few of years ago I was listening to radio commentary on an Arsenal v Spurs match upstairs at home. Arsenal went 1 up. I wandered downstairs and switched on the radio to hear the crowd celebrating and thought that I had achived the transition between radios quicker than expected. When the cheering died down, I discovered that some Cataln bloke had scored straight from the kickoff and we were now 2 up.
Ah me, T*ttenham, always delivering value.
COYG
If you haven’t already, check out the February issue of the Arsenal magazine. The 07-08 season is revisited in the “Total Recall” feature…the memories are still heartbreaking and rather raw after all these years. A key flaw of that season that the writer highlighted was the very avoidable draws all throughout the campaign even before Eduardo’s injury…we had dropped way too many points through really soft draws even when we were playing well. Altogether 11 draws but just three defeats.
Koscielny in his interview on his friend Giroud: on training sessions apparently they cannot get the ball out of Giroud when he is protecting it except by injuring him (apparently in their time together in Tours Kos had injured Giroud’s ankle in training) and he thinks in terms of abilities in front of the goal Giroud is improving and will get much better.
DF. Too painful. Don’t mention those draws or I’ll punch you in the drawers. 😉
It seems Mata really is going to ManU. Here is a list of why I think it’s not a very good idea for them to buy him:
He’s too ol… ehh… well, he’s not used to the Premi… oh… well, he’s not very good on the ba… umm… I mean… err…
Oh f**k 🙁
Getting Mata will lift ManU and no doubt increase the likelihood of Rooney staying and RvC magically becoming fit again.
8ball @ 210: Yes, too painful. But novelty for its own sake is an anachronism and a past revisited is the only guarantee to progress etc. etc. 🙂
Not that this team needs any such reminders, but I am sure Sagna, Rosicky and Flamini would be reminding everyone of the lessons learnt that season. As long as we maintain this habit of not conceding stupid goals and the entire team stays defensively disciplined and work for each other, I believe the rest would take care of itself as new striker or no new striker the team has more than enough qualities upfront.
Lars @ 211: There you have a perfect demonstration of Arsene’s insightful objections against January Transfer window. Chelsea has already played ManU twice and that move would definitely help them in the title run this season.
Well, here’s my thoughts on the Mata matter. First and foremost I hate Chelsea, city, PSG, Monaco, barca, real and all the other financially juiced teams that don’t play by the same rules. They are going to inevitably ruin football. When you look at the prices of tickets and want to complain to Arsenal, just remember it is these other teams that have created a market that Arsenal are trying to compete with and have to pinch every penny they can get.
What’s that have to do with Mata? Well, Chelsea (and city) have bought so many players at ridiculous sums of money that they now have a 2 deep squad full of £30-40 million players that they can’t even play them all. Maureen has made it clear that Hazard and Oscar are his favored attacking midfielders. So, what does Mata do in a World Cup year? He can’t stay, so he looks around and finds a team where he can make an instant impact and get maximal playing time. That is obviously united. Lucky for him, united suck in the midfield, Chelsea has already played them twice and they sit 12 points beneath Chelsea in the league.
Maureen does not view Moyes or united as a threat this year and probably not for the next 2 or 3 either so selling a superfluous player to them does nothing to threaten Chelsea and might just help united when they play us or Liverpool or city.
Also, by making a tidy profit on a player he never plays he can now look to add a striker.
This is absolutely ridiculous. One of the many reasons I love our club is because we don’t just throw money around. We try our best to develop a team and players. We now have a core of players that we bought as youngsters and have developed into a squad that currently sits top of the league. In our 2 deep we have Szczceny, Gibbs, Jenks, Wilshere, Ramsey, Ox, Walcott, and Gggggnabry all players that we developed from a young age. Who does Chelsea or city have in their squads that they developed?
The financial doping will lead to the demise of Football. They will alienate the common fan and “supporters” will migrate to the flavor of the year. It has already begun and will be very difficult to reverse.
short version: piss off Chelsea and Man City you guys suck and are ruining football
Cheers all
Mata to those twats does mean that they will become better, he is a class act and remember 2 years back he was supposed to have been our player. Signing Matic i think signalled the end for Mata, United need a midfielder and they cant get anyone better than him. Its advantage united and remember they will have those 2 retards back soon. We need to play them still but in a hindsight so does city.
If this does go through it just proves what the whole world knows- mou is despicable.
Ahhh NorCal great if depressing stuff. Worth remembering that Arsenal are probably the best team in the world right not that’s not guilty of large scale financial doping. Depressing, but makes you all the more proud to be a gooner.
I should clarify that I’m not sure of Munich’s financial practices. I know they are super wealthy, and bully the other teams in Bundesliga (i.e. buying Goetze and Lewandowski from Dortmund) but in also know they’ve got some excellent homegrown talent i.e. Lahm, Schwiensteiger.
Can anyone help me out? Where do their riches come from?
It’s their own wealth, G’ linc’.
The Bundesliga have stringent rules about how clubs are run and owned.
No sugar daddy’s in Deutschland.
Well that’s good to hear I guess. I do like Lahm, Schwiensteiger, Kroos. Still can’t stand the likes of robben, ribery, neuer and now Lewandowski and Goetze who fucked over/van persied (technical term) Dortmund.
But I do respect a team that spends their own money, especially in this day and age. Now if only the premier league would adopt the German model.
(never gonna happen)
Worth wondering where Mata will fit in at Old Trafford. They already have an excellent number 10 in Kagawa who they’ve grossly misused, as Moyes insists on managing his team like a midtable club. I assume Mata will play, since they’re supposedly spending upwards of 35 million on him and he’s set up to be their savior. But will they put him where he can be most effective? It would take some rearranging.
They really will have the potential for an excellent attacking squad with Rooney, van persie, Kagawa, januzaj, and maybe Mata as well. But we’ll have to wait to see if Moyes will be able to get the best out of them.
Understandable move from Mata in World Cup year, he needs playtime. Mou is a cunt and this is very well thought out move from him, bolstering yet another team against his rivals.
There is still a hope that Moyes will misuse him (like he did with Kagawa as pointed out above) but it will really give them a lift. Still, to use him to his full potential, they will have to change their team setup completely, focusing less on their wide players.
Still, if we focus on our game, we can be match for any team on our day, so I really would like us to return a favour of beating them in our home fixture.
According to Guillem Balague on Twitter, Juan Mata’s set to become a Manchester United player for 45 million euros or so. So hereforth in this bar, ends any talk of our Santi being sold for the sake of signing another, similar player. Hopefully.
Pangloss @208,
You must have an absolutely e-n-o-r-m-o-u-s house if you had an Arsenal v Spurs match upstairs. Why didn’t you just go up and watch it instead of listening to a commentary ?
Talking of jinxing radio commentaries :
It is a real rarity for me to be forced to stay in bed through illness. The last such occasion – and the first for years before that – was Newcastle United vs Arsenal a couple of seasons ago.
Lying in bed with an Auntie Beechams and the radio on quietly under the duvet, I slid into a contented sleep after twenty minutes with the Gunners an incredible 4-0 to the good.
Some while later I stirred, with a thudding headache, to the sound of crowd noise and a commentator going absolutely bonkers.
No matter, I thought, they must be going for it towards the end of the game and the crowd has got up for it, as St James’ crowds – sorry, Sports Direct crowds – are wont to do.
The rest is known well enough.
Four bloody all – and I have never dozed off, or even dared to look away from a game ever since. 🙁
So ManUre are trying to buy in players, Juan at a time.
As Gilbert and Sullivan said:
“Mata Mata Mata, no it doesn’t really Mata.”
Matic looks much more like the Maureen physical template for a midfield player. Hope Mata enjoys Moyes as much as van Persie* does.
Hear Hear, Trev! 🙂
Normaly I would of brushed all this Mata to Manure stuff under the carpet and thought nothing of it. The reason I now take it seriously is because of how sycophantic Maureen was about the mancs after his side crushed them Sunday. It was sickening, it was almost like he felt sorry for them, making excuses for their ineptitude, it was one of the wierdest things i’ve ever seen in football.
I don’t believe for a second his recent mutterings about Chelsea being his first choice, he wanted the Manure job, just like Abramobitch would of prefered Pep, but the cards fell how they did and they ended up with each other.
I’ve seen the reasons being mooted about why this transfer makes sense for the chavs, but I don’t agree with them, the main two being;
i)FFP……………Really?
F F’in’ FP? HEH, what a laugh!! Like Abromovich gives a rat’s rear end about that. They just purchased a player for 20 plus mill that they let go a few years ago for 3mill, being thrifty doesn’t seem to me to be high ;n their prioritys list.
Yes, it could be a good chunk of 40mil they get back, which is not to be sniffed at, but that money will probably be spunked out on the next high profile overpriced striker that becomes available anyway. Plus that’s just a drop in the ocean when you consider the stupid contracts a lot of their players are on.
ii) Chelsea have played Manure twice and he could help take points off their title rivals…………. again, Really?
What kind of cock eyed thinking is that?
The only way that that makes any kind of sense is if it was a short term loan deal until the end of the season. You may very well argue that the mancs are of little threat to the chavs this term, but I’m presuming, and this is just a wild stab in the dark, that for the 40mil lay out the contract on offer will be longer then a six month one!? What about next season and the one after that?
We all like to have a good laugh at the state of things up at the Old Toilet, but let’s not kid ourselves, they are still a massive club. Now that they are struggling why in the name of all things holy would the chavs want to give them a boost?
When the playground bully who’s been dishing out wedgies and chinese burns for years is on the floor you don’t offer him a hand, you kick the twat in the nuts and gaffle his dinner money.
So, come on Maureen (Dexy’s stylee), for once could you please try to ignore you basic instincts of being an ubertwat and keep Mata for yourself or at least have the decency (a tough ask, I know) to sell him abroad.
H2H,
I disagree, a bit. I think Maureen does not rate Moyes and therefore doesn’t see United as a threat this year OR the next few. Letting him have Mata ( who has played almost none for Chelsea this term) is no sweat off his back. I think he might actually see it as a way if weakening united further. If united spunk down 40 million this month and miss out on CL football and all the ramifications that that entails, then I think they may have shot their wad and will have an even harder time this summer.
I don’t think they fear FFP at all, hence my post of them killing football above. But it does give Maureen the cash to now look for a striker and he sold a player he completely alienated since he arrived.
Evening all,
Apologies. Creative void here. Coventry preview tomorrow night.
Some great drinks above. Thanks.
Creative void? Well, when the most interesting thing that has happened the last few days is discussing if a photo of Arsene at Heathrow was taken today or not I don’t think too many will blame you for not having too much to write about 🙂
NorCal: not too sure Mourinho doesn’t see them as a long-term threat. Don’t forget that he is an extremely short-termist manager, he may very well think that is a problem he can deal with later or even be so arrogant that he thinks Chelsea will be too strong for them anyway next season.
Wind @223,
Guillem Balague on Twitter,
Do me a favour, please.
He said on radio this morning that there was no chance of Mata joining ManUre, and listed a whole string of other clubs who were after him including Napoli and PSG.
Balague said Vieira was a Real Madrid player and everyone knew it just before he was made Arsenal captain.
Doesn’t take a genius to predict Mata to ManUre with all the chatter going on for the last two days.
Balague knows less than zico. 😉
NorCal.
That Maureen rates moyes or not is a moot point. Who’s to say how long he’ll be at the helm? Manure stock is plumeting in value, they may not be a knee jerk reaction club a la the Chavs or the Totts, but I can’t imagine the owners will just sit on their hands while the value of their asset decreases rapidly.
G linc.
Mata’s a class player, he’d improve any team and at a guess i would say he could probably adapt. remember how many of the so called experts said that we didn’t really need a player like Ozil? Total bollox ofcourse, if you get the chance to sign a top notch player then you do it. It will almost always give your club a boost.
===
My point is that letting Mata go there may be a major blunder on the part of the Chavs.
Lars,
Thanks for dismissing all my posts as less interesting than Arsene’s boarding pass. 😉
This Mata deal is very tricky-dicky Maureen…especially with the Diego Costa thing possibly happening later on…seems to be quite clever clogs, pulling the strings on everything…let’s see how it all pans out!!
Norcal,
If the Mata story is true, then I just can’t fathom Mourinho selling Mata to Manu…..just for profit. Absolutely no way, not for a club that has consistently posted losses. They don’t care about money – they just bought Matic back for 20m after offloading him during the summer for peanuts. Neither do I buy the thinking that he no longer sees Manu as a threat. This is the third biggest club in the world. I think we can be pretty certain that Mourinho got something in return though, (apart from strengthening Manu when they play ourselves and citeh). The only thing that would interest him is an option to buy Rooney during the summer. Manu need Rooney to get 4th until then, but by that stage Rooney will be on his last year, and will be unlikely to sign up with the prospect of a Bosman looming if he doesn’t gets the move he wants. From United’s perspective, agreeing a price for Rooney now might be in their interest, especially if they don’t qualify for CL, in which case, Rooneys price will drop even further. So both clubs ultimately get what they want and make the most of their situation. Its the only scenario that makes remote sense. Because normally, Mourinho would take every opportunity to crush Manu and eliminate them as a competitor.
mata to manu? good for them.
it doesn’t address their ageing and porous defense, and considering one of the reasons moaningho doesn’t like mata is his less than stellar desire to chase back and address the defensive side of things i don’t know as it is going to put them into the fast lane to CL footy (or that small tournament played on thursdays).
as eandy points out above, moyes (and slur whiskey before him) have woefully mismanaged kagawa…nothing to stop the same kind of thing happening to mata, should he make the decision to join the cunts.
You’re welcome, Trev 😉
scruz: it certainly doesn’t address the defensive side, but it is a very good starting point for repairing their leaking ship.
lars, that’s a longer project than this season. and i don’t see it (a) repairing van pussy’s injured body/pride/spirit, or (b) convincing rooney to stay into another contract. unlike us getting ozil, the supporting cast just isn’t there, and i wonder that mata can raise mediocre players beyond good. mesut is bringing our excellent players (and play) to brilliance…
As regards AW’s boarding card, arseblog, as always has the full low-down.
http://news.arseblog.com/2014/01/exclusive-we-know-where-wenger-was-going/
scruz: Oh, it is certainly a longer project than the remainder of this season. But Mata in the team and a CL place will make the summer job singificantly easier.
H2H,
I think Maureen is correct in believing Manure will give Moyes another year or 2 more. Hell, signing Mata may just buy him some extra time. Yes Manu is a public company and their share price is reacting to their standings in the league but they won’t panic just yet because their share price is suffering this campaign. They are still a big name in marketing so I believe they will give Moyes time. The concern would only be if they have another complete bust this summer in the transfer market to attrack top players.
Joe,
I really don’t think Maureen looks at the long term. He has no history at staying anywhere for longer than 3-4 years. I doubt he will last any longer than that at Chelsea. As such, I am sure he does view manure as not a threat over that time period, even more so if they miss CL this year. How long did Livetpool take to become relevant again?
I guess my opinion is that Maureen sees united as a team that is rebuilding and it will take them a few more years to become a threat again. He got too dollar for a player he doesn’t like. And mata gets to go to a team where he will walk into the starting lineup and can make an impact in a World Cup year. He would not get that at PSG and maybe not Napoli.
And as regards transfers, we’ll know the whole story on that on Feb 1st. Until then, it’s all a big yawn.
I think this “where’s Wenger” game is a bit hilarious – ultimately pointless but nonetheless hilarious – and apparently he has now been spotted watching Levante v Barca.
Cesc rumours to start in 3, 2, 1… 🙂
NorCal: many good points@242. And to be honest I think sacking Moyes at this point could very well hurt them more than they gain because who could they get at this point? Moyes hasn’t become garbage overnight, he did after all do well at Everton (basically the major difference this season for Martinez is that in Lukaku he has that striker that Moyes could never find, other than that it’s still pretty much the team that Moyes built) and I think he needs time to form his own team and not just deal with a squad that Ferguson ran into the ground in search of that 20th league title.
I think it’s a bit of an urban myth about how well Moyes actualy did, he found stability in mediocrity. He won bugger all in eleven years. Don’t buy into all this Everton is a small club bollox, because they are not, check their history.
Lars, Wenger is actually scouting Neymar. With all the financial finagling that went on bringing Neymar to Barca about to be splashed across the front pages, they have decided to cut their losses and sell him. Cesc has told Neymar to go to Arsenal where he can be a big name star. With the proceeds from the sale, Barca will bring in Mata. All rumors about Mata to Manure are incorrect. In fact, Maureen has been dangling Mata in front of Moyes just to wind him up before he sells to Barca on the last day of the window.
At least this what the voices in my head are telling me.
Mata to Man United? Bad move. It’ll disrupt Chelsea’s fabulous team chemistry. As if they had any. 🙂
NURSE! ecg needs his meds!
Telegraph saying it’s a done deal;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-united/10590820/Juan-Matas-37million-transfer-to-Manchester-United-accepted-by-Chelsea.html
Arsene was spotted at Heathrow earlier today. Why is he there? En route to clinch deals for Draxler, Vucinic or even Mata ??
No his Auntie Mimi in Strasbourg has lumbago.
As for Mata frankly I would prefer him to Oscar, Willian or Hazard. But I’m not a football genius like Mourinho. He would be a good signing for United
OH WHAT A HOWLER BY DE GEA!!!
HA HA Sunderland score!!!
Hah fucking hah, you Mancs!
Sunderland scored 🙂
KUNTZ
lars, i think it’s going to be limited to “mata in the team”. even with him i don’t see them improving enough to get to the cl places…he says with fingers crossed, knocking on wood, making the corna…
Feck,no wonder Managers have heart attacks.
Hahahaha, this is pure comedy from both teams – it’s now 3-3…
just read that telegraph article, h2h, and he was only on £70K/week at chelsea? how the hell did we miss out on him, then?
and it’s off to penalties at old trafford…
I actually want them to go through. Wont mind one more tough game for them and one more for City when they meet in the final. It may be a huge lift for the victor but it will be a great disappointment for the losing side.
scruz.
other sources have previously said he had a raise to just above a ton a week.
fair enough, thanks, h2h…that makes a difference.
sure hope the telegraph are wrong about the move, though.
Fair point Lurky, but I just can’t will them to win – class-less lot with their peadophile chants….
In fact, the thought of RvP in the final made me change my mind.
Come on Don Vito!
dear o dear, not a great first penalty.
I’m with Lurky. And let them win the CoCkup final. That bums out City’s quest for a quadruple. Also have Mancs finish out of the top four and get eliminated in this season’s Champions League. Win in CoCkup will slot them in Europa Cup Spursday nite footie, too!
OK Don Vito!!
Januzaj!
phil jones shoots over!!
aaaaaahahahaha
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
don vito AGAIN!
Agent Mannone.
Hows the little fella inside, Robin?
and the final aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahaaaaaaahahahhahaha
and sunderland meet al-citeh at wembley!
Well chuffed for Mannone, I have to say.
hey, juan, you sure you want to go to *that* side of manchester?
Can Mata play in the back four?
How could any of you justify wanting Manure to win?
Fuck those manc scum, they must suffer!!!!!
That must have been the worst penalty shoot-out I have ever seen, by the way.
The worst penalty shootout I have ever seen seems somehow fitting as a postscript to this game. Great stuff by Don Vito. Delighted for him.
Sbagliato Man U, sbagliato.
It was worth watching to the end, just to see Ferguson’s face.
Smouldering, get it right up ye, ya Govan keelie!
The Man Utd-City scenario was better for us.
But then, United losing at home, against Sunderland, after 120 minutes of pure laughter, after missing 4 penalties, with RvP watching …
Priceless.
United get to the final, win another title and get a big boost. (let’s not forget Citeh were also favourites for the FA Cup against relegation fodder Wigan)
or
Man U players dejected, knocked out at home, fan fallout will be massive (again)
I like this scenario just fine thanks.
Hey H2H, what’s that stick price now? 😉
Stock price! Damn keyboard.
England are well-placed if they come to a penalty shoot out in Brazil aren’t they.?Welbeck and Jones looked very much in the tradition of our spot king kings
Kick kings sorry.! My typing is as bad as their shooting.
Would have been better if Robin had missed one though
5 penalties and they failed on 4.
Oh dear.
How much do they get paid a week?
Skidmarks on their underpants, me thinks.
Heh @ stick price.
I really should be off to bed but I can’t stop laughing 🙂
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Don’t think you can go out of the group stages on penalties, ttg. 😉
Big slices of schadenfreude pie going cheap at the Red Cafe……
Interesting to look at Utd’s pen takers. Mainly the younger lads. He’s not got the dressing room, has he?
Shoots at goal!!!
Assist
Assist?
Second assisst in succession ?
H2H, United win and get a big boost?
I remember people saying the same when Liverpool won this competition couple of years ago. Such a enormous boost that was.
And even if United win and get the big boost. It would mean that City lose from their biggest rival. Add to that a couple of potential injuries for both of them, less focus in games before and after the final etc.
It would have been better for Arsenal, if City faced United in the final.
Oops, later than a Paul Scholes tackle. !
Scores when he wants!
Norcal, thanks for the assist.
Heh @198!
Re AW and his Heathrow spotting, apparently he was scouting Sergi Roberto of Barca in their match against Levante … http://metro.co.uk/2014/01/22/arsenal-eye-barcelona-ace-sergi-roberto-after-arsene-wenger-scouting-mission-4273822/
Öskar
What’s the panic about ManYooHooHoo.
Aren’t they 14 points behind ?
… and here was me hoping it was Falcao he was after … a typical Arsenal player, carried off on a stretcher today.
Öskar
That can’t have been Phil Jones at 298.
If it had been, we’d never have found the ball in time for Cent to score@300.
Quite right, Trev. Manure have a lot of teams to get past to be a threat this season, and all of them will delight in going all out to stop them.
Öskar
Heh @Trev.
Zico@295 .Heh! 🙂
Forgot that ! Good point.
What a blinding array of talent we have coming through
Heh @ 308.
Heh @ Lars
Well in Cent.
I believe mine counts as a genuine “Tabs Position”. 😉
Failed assisst that landed in 301 …….
Cheers, Trev, we await the verdict of the Dubious Goal Committee on your 301.
Cheers, Trev, we await the verdict of the Dubious Goal Committee on your 301…
Lurky, I really couldn’t give a toss who’s in the final and i can’t see how we benifit or not from a game we have nothing to do with.
My point, still, is that I wanted Man U to lose.
I want them to lose for Fergiscum up in the stands.
I want them to lose for all the prawn sandwich eating Hampshirites joining him there.
I want them to lose so the little boy inside of van persie crys like a bitch.
I want them to lose so all their horrid bandwagon jumping plastics feel dejected and down.
But mostly, and I can’t stress this enough, I just wanted them to lose!!
Winning begets winning, them losing begets happy sunshine moments for me.
Oscar, Sergi Roberto is a young attacking midfielder that operates mainly in Ozil/Cazorla/Rosicky/Wilshere/Crawley/insert_random_Arsenal_player preferred position. Doesn’t seem logical at all to me.
What seems logical is that Arsene is looking for a winger/attacker.
Pedro and/or Tello.
Don’t agree about Falcao too as I find him overrated. Just my opinion of course. He had one spectacular season at Atletico. Nothing more nothing less. Remember when we were playing Porto in the CL, he was anonymous for the whole game and then he faked a penalty. Full of trickery in front of the goal but he doesn’t have the speed and stature for the PL, would cost a lot of money and is absolutely out of form for half a season.
Falcao has reportedly done his ACL
Sorry Trev, but we’ve established (the Pangloss ruling) that a missed assist in the Tabs position is a fail.
Damn bureaucratic red tape and such nonsense. 😉
Falcao’s done nothing noteworthy since Rock me Amadeus.
Same here H2H. I wanted them to lose. Personally.
But as I said, it would have been better for Arsenal, if our title rival City play tougher opponent with the full squad and maybe rest couple of big players for the games before and after the final. That may be our potential benefit. Couple of potential injuries too.
So, anyone seen anything funny lately?
Lurky, Man City aren’t going to rest anyone in the final, not if they have any sense anyway. It’s a final on neutral ground against a team with absolutely nothing to lose, resting players would be incredibly stupid.
Bloody hell, look at the time – I really have to be off to bed. Just don’t know how I am going to fall asleep while laughing!
NorCal: Man U stock closed today at $14.98. That is down from $17.54 peak on Dec 6. That is a 14.6% drop, and a fall of $600 million in market value — or 9.8 Matas in the new money.
Personally, I’m too caught up with enjoying what just happened to manure to think of the effects of other things that MIGHT have happened to them.
Keelie, Zico? You must be from Edinburgh.
Lurky,
You might have a point.
According to Geoff, Wenger bid on Pedro last summer, so there is apparent interest. Plays on the wing or as a second striker, buckets of pace and is right footed. He’s a very good player, I just can’t see Barca letting him go in January if they refused during the summer.
Ned,
Thanks for the market report! 😉
After the Wigan victory last year I think City will play a squad full of high priced cunts. Unfortunately that could very well be their second string.
In my opinion, the rebuild for united may take several years. Even longer if they miss the top 4 this year. Lots of aging players to replace and right now the youngsters fail to impress.
Lars, please read again
“our title rival City play tougher opponent with the full squad and maybe rest couple of big players for the games before and after the final”
True story (not to be confused with TS):
While standing in line at a food truck today, another patron noticed my wool cap and asked, “Are you an Arsenal fan?”
“Absolutely. Come on you Gunners.” I replied. I felt it was only neighborly to ask what team he followed. “You’re gonna hate me,” he said sheepishly, “ManU.”
I just laughed and laughed. “Sir Alex didn’t do you all any favors.” I said, once I regained my composure. He agreed, but he consoled himself with the knowledge that Sir Alex had led Manure to “21 European championships.”
I didn’t have the heart to correct an obviously well-meaning, but clearly mistaken/deluded, plastic. So, I merely smiled as I collected my banh mi and walked to the sunny side of the park.
It’s good to be a goonah.
Win the next match.
BMBD
H2H knows. You tell them brother.
Anyone fancy a cheeky bid by us for Mata to match the one the mancs make ??????
He’s a fine player Steve but I couldn’t see where he’d fit in?
Who would he replace? We’re pretty well sorted in midfield I think.
Hahahaha. I give you “David Moyes; how to win a penalty shootout http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/sport/football/World_Cup/article329225.ece
The likes or Tommy R and Micky A aren’t getting any younger. I think he would be a fantastic addition. Plus it would piss old Maureen off beyond belief????
Steve T knows. You can never aquire too many quality players. But the Chel$ki sale of Mata is not, and has never been, about money…
BMBD
acquire, that is.
BMBD
Lonestar, hilarious stuff @332.
Steve T, if we were a small club, like Sp*rs for example, I would we put in a bid that matches the Manure bid if not for anything else at least we will drive the price up and mess with their minds.
*i would suggest*
Steve,
I agree with you entirely – neither Tommy or Mikel are getting any younger. But I think their experience has been so valuable. It seems to me we’ve over relied on youth in the past, but this season, we seem to have that balance of experience and youth. And both of them are playing well too..!
And in relation to Mourinho, I can’t see him ever giving us Mata when he refused to give us Ba…!
No harm in bidding ₤37 million + ₤1 for Mata, right?
BMBD
Joe. Very valid points and I agree entirely. But I have always said evolution, not revolution. The secret for me of building and maintaining a top side is having new players slowly integrated into the team in a smooth transition.
Chelsea may well have to sell Mata. They can’t comply with FFP and they are struggling to comply with the home grown player rules. That is not made any easier by their aging side. If they agree a fee with the mancs I see no harm in us matching it.
Joe @ 329: Pedro is as close to two-footed as you can get, though not exactly at Santi’s level of two-footedness in close space.He has scored some excellent goals with his left foot, a few of them quite the pile drivers from distance. Other than his versatility, his work-rate and attitude would also be a perfect fit for us if that ever happens. I won’t be surprised if within the next year or so Barca sells him especially given the emergence of Neymar and Sanchez, and the ever deepening financial problems Barca is finding themselves in. They still owe Arsenal good money, right? 🙂
Lovely to see Vito making his mark, always a positive character. Maybe in a few years of time — with more experience and maturity, most goalkeepers do not have Szczesny’s rather extraordinary early development genes — he would become a viable candidate for the number two role?
Steve:
Ozil, Caz, Arteta, Thomas, Jack, Rambo, Theo, Gnabry, Flamini, Gelalem and dare I say Diaby…..? And beneath that lads like Ollson, Eisfeld beginning to show form?
Don’t get me wrong, I snap your hand off to get a player like Mata, because as you say, he’s a class player. I just think we’re missing pace on the wings since Theo got injured and I feel that either a winger or striker would make more sense at the moment.
I just hope Wenger had a few rabbits up his sleeve yet..!
Hi Faustus,
I couldn’t agree with you more about Pedro. I’d love to see him at the club because he has all the attributes we’re looking for as you astutely point out. I feel its important to sign someone in this window Doc. Apart from feeding the momentum and adding impetus, I think we need a little pace and versatility up front to provide a different option.
Pedro getting on the end of sweeping cross passes from Santi and Ozil would be a tasty prospect.
Joe @ 347: Fully agree about getting a fast goalscoring winger in this window. Ox and Serge both can play but one is too green and another is coming back from injury so I agree that having more of an experienced option would really give us the impetus (though I think if we preserve our defensive discipline, desire, form and have a bit of luck on our side we probably have enough up front for the league,but that may be just the optimist in me, but I agree to sustain challenges on all three fronts a bit more number and variety upfront would be needed). I just don’t know who that player would be, as you said Pedro would be a great choice but I share your reservations that Barca would at all sell him this January.
Anyway, we will see. I am sure Arsene has some trumps up his sleeve…maybe Arsene will inspire in Bendy that phenomenal form that he had always threatened (of mostly verbally) to show. 🙂
Ned,
A very tasty prospect indeed! I think he’s a very underrated player and like Faustus, I only hope Barca are prepared to sell to reduce their debt.
Faustus,
What I find most remarkable is that we’ve largely sustained a challenge on the league so far with one functional striker.
Both Chelsea and Citeh have a collection of strikers who cost north of 20m each. Aguero, Negredo, Dzeko and Jovetic against say Torres, Ba, William, Eto and Lukaku (who incredibly, was deemed superfluous to requirements!)
Thats what amazes me most, when you look at the panel on paper, when you look at the quality of the strikers Citeh and Chelski have, its remarkable that we’re in contention at all, let alone leading the table.
Yes Pedro would be a tasty prospect …. That is if you can see past the fact that he’s a diving Barca cunt …. Which I can’t 😉
@350 …. Three words …. One Arsene Wenger
Joe @ 350: All due to a great combination of stability, continuity and quality. We may not have the eye-catching collection of ‘star’ strikers but we have a collection of excellent (and thankfully, underrated by many so-called pundits: I am loving it how Monreal’s understated brilliance is going unnoticed by the British press, and how Rosicky at age 33 has the attacking engine and verve that any of our competitors would love to find, and how Rambo in his current form is actually one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Europe ) versatile football players who have learnt the secret of success is to play for each other and then have learnt to actually play for each other.
And then the attitude: a combination of humility, intelligence and quiet confidence. I find it surprising when I see many Arsenal supporters show disapproval for not going all ManCity on weaker oppositions. I actually find that caution and temperance a great sign of self-awareness and maturity, the willingness to see matches off and not burn ourselves out. The hubris of ‘will score one more than you’ attitude has seen us falter badly so many times in recent year this effective, efficient attitude is a great welcome.
The final hurdle is to beat one of our contenders convincingly by playing them the way we want to play, by dictating the tempo, the way we had defeated Liverpool earlier this season and the way we had defeated ManCity pre-season. Once we do that I think you will see this team take the next step and will become a very hard team to play against for anyone.
Just saw the end of Sunderland-Man U. Wow.
Thrilled for Vito. He deserves every ounce of joy and pride tonight.
But it’s worth saying, that game was never won by Sunderland. It was 100% lost by Man U. They never took the initiative (at home, against fucking Sunderland let’s remember), couldn’t find a final ball all game, and still would’ve won except for an absolute travesty by De Gea. Then missing 4 of 5 pens. I’ve often heard that winning a penalty shootout is all about the health/confidence of your entire team. Tonight was exhibit A of that.
Good for Sunderland, but they are gonna get creamed at Wembley in March unless they put forth a much much stronger performance than they did today.
Man U are very very low tonight. Welbeck crying as he left the field summed it up for me. Not that I mind.
As for transfer rumors, it’s fun to speculate of course, especially when you’re top of the league.
But what I’m enjoying is the relative lack of panic amongst the Arsenal faithful compared to recent Januarys. Obviously we do need a player or two, and yes the stakes are high as we find ourselves right in the middle of a title tilt.
But the Ozil transfer, combined with the team’s form over the last 12 months, has restored a ton of confidence in Wenger throughout Goonsterdom. Many folks who last year were clamoring for signings and freaking out over every rumor are this year much more content to wait and see what the old man will do.
That could all change very quickly if we don’t get anyone (a real possibility, to be sure), or if our form takes a dip. For myself though, I’m more than happy to wait and see. I don’t even need to ohm very often. Let’s just win the next one.
Amazing what being top of the league does for you.
Lurky … I was being facetious, suggesting Falcao might be an Arsenal type cos he was carried off on a stretcher not on account of his skills which, I agree, are over-rated.
If Pedro is a possibility I’d be a happy puppy. Happy with practically any class striker right now in fact. The next few months will be a challenge without one.
Öskar
Not being from Oklahoma but seeing as how people from that state are known as “Sooners” (for some reason or other) there seems to be an opportunity out there just waiting to be snapped at for somebody to announce themselves as Sooner Gooner. Just sayin’ although there may be nobody in the entire state who fits the bill. Hmmm.
It’s hard to see how Mata is going to revive Manure’s chances single-handed. It’s not like they’re short of midfielders … Carrick, Cleverley, Fellaini, Fletcher, Giggs, Januzaj, Jones, Kagawa, Nani, Valencia, Young, Zaha etc aren’t complete rubbish. There has to be some other reason why whatever combination Moyes puts out they still fail to gel. Mata will provide extra creativity but he’s not captain material, a leader likely to inspire a team to new heights.
Öskar
Do we have a Moonergooner, 8ball? I rather hope I don’t see one…
Öskar
I’ve seen a sooner Gooner’s on twitter. But then I can’t stand any of them.
Hook ’em Horns.
Oh wait, both my parents went to OU. Shit.
You still aspire to greatness, NorCal, despite your parents’ shortcomings 😉
Hook ’em.
BMBD
hahahahahaaaa
http://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/sir-alex-ferguson-looks-on-from-the-stands-during-the-news-photo/464400307
How about LunarGooner for Arsenal fans on the moon?
Or CroonerGooner for Arsenal fans who sing in lounges?
Or even, BalloonerGooner for Arsenal fans who use hot air balloons?
SchoonerGooner for Arsenal fans who are fishermen?
SpoonerGooner for Wolfie? 🙂
*wakes up*
*pauses*
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
*wipes away tears*
Oh, Utd.
Got to ask, where was billy big bollocks Evra last night when the penalties were being assigned? After Fletcher, their next oldest pen taker on the night was 23 years old (Rafael). So you might expect a senior pro who likes to fall his gums all the time and lead player revolts to step up and take responsibility.
But no – off somewhere sulking. And therein lies Moyes’ problem; the youngsters aren’t good enough and the senior layers don’t want to play for him.
Long may it continue.
Senior players.
Rooney is the only “senior layer” in that squad.
While it is nice to bask in the glow generated by the red faces of ManYoo supporters I do think the inability to bring in a striker of any quality would underline a growing trend to cock up transfer windows.
January is a difficult time to buy hence the need to get it right in the summer.
As we know the summer was a nightmare redeemed by the signings of Flamini and Ozil neither of which appeared to be planned but were a product of Serendipity . Before that I have sat sadly watching several transfer windows pass feeling that we were going into the season / rest of the season with a squad that could be better.
Wenger is a wonderful manager but having led us brilliantly into this position can he really believe that the splendid but limited Giroud can be backed up effectively by TGSTELwho would have left us had Chelsea allowed Ba to go and YaYa Sanogo who is totally unproven and looks like an injury waiting to happen? It’s just not adequate when you look at the resources of our rivals and means that Giroud will have to play almost every game because we don’t have proper backup. Which increases the risk of fatigue and injury.
Fortunately I don’t think he would leave the country to watch a match two days before an FA Cup tie unless something was afoot. But that’s said more in hope than expectation
Lurky: I thought you meant that playing Sunderland would mean City resting players for the final and not in the league and I meant that who they play in the final has no bearing on resting or not. Sorry if I got you wrong.
goonsterham: Good for Sunderland, but they are gonna get creamed at Wembley in March unless they put forth a much much stronger performance than they did today.
…which is exactly what we all said about Man City playing Wigan in the FA Cup final last year so let us not give up hope just yet 🙂
It will be quite interesting to see how ManU react to this. They have no game this weekend on account of having lost to Swansea in the last round which is probably a blessing in disguise for them because that gives them more time to get over last night’s comedy shenanigans. Will they be paralysed by fear or really fired up and looking to redeem themselves v Cardiff? Sometimes things like last night is exactly what a team needs, something so ridiculously shit that you start feeling like you no longer have anything to lose and you don’t feel the pressure anymore so I am certainly not going to go all Villas-Boas on them and start harping on about negative spirals of results. I hope they crumble badly and finish as far down the league as possible, but only time will tell. They are not dead and buried yet and should Rooney and RvP get fit and motivated they are a completely different team, with or without the addition of Mata.
@ 328
I have spent an hour or two there 😉
H2H,
Great stuff @317.
However, I have not personally ratified the “Pangloss Ruling” and I claim my completely accidental – the only qualification as far as I know – 301 as a proper “Tabs”.
Fortunately, I could not give a monkey’s what anyone else says. 😉
More back gniknird later.
Work beckons.
Ttg, just saw your 366,
Sanogo does not look like an injury waiting to happen.
He actually is an injury that has already happened. 😉
Somehow I don’t think there will be any buying this transfer window…Boss is not going to be rushed into anything…but maybe there will be a loan signing? Still, I think he believes the title push is possible with what we have…interesting how whenever Arsenal are mentioned in connection with some player, then that player is subsequently mentioned in connection with some other club…e.g Antoine Greizmann being pursued by Maureen (of course)
A super-accurate penalty from Jones. Miss the net, hit the fan in the gob.
https://vine.co/v/MBJMD2DOwj2
Haha great backdrink all. 🙂
Gotta say that the last couple of minutes of last night’s game and the subsequent penalty shoot out was just about the most hilarious 10 minutes ever in the history of football. At times I couldn’t breathe for laughing.
Had enough of De gea’s mournful look as he throws one into his own net? Here we are, here’s Welbeck tonking one into the stands. Recovered yet? Here’s the wonderkid who doesn’t know where he’s from taking a pen off a two step run up and passing it back to Mannone. Ready for the next one? Here’s Phil Jones’ face collapsing like a Digestive that’s been dunked in a cuppa for rather too long. Can you take any more? Oh go on then, here’s all the Manc fans, fresh from celebrating the lifeline that Sunderland’s last miss had given them like they’d won the Champs League, watching Don Vito save the deciding penalty from their nasty little full back, and all their misplaced ‘it’ll all be fine cos we’re Yanited’ arrogance disappear faster than a Slur Alex legacy. Are you sure you’re ok Sir? Well here’s one final one just to finish you off. David Moyes on the touchline, white with terror and looking like he’s about to self-harm, suddenly realising that he just doesn’t cut it, that his sense of destiny counts for jack shit, and that his end is nigh
Stop it, stop it. No I don’t want to see Welbeck crying. Too much, too much. Hahahahahaha. My stomach hurts.Hahahahaha.
Jealous of that lot? Hahahaha.
Switch it off, switch it off.
I take it you enjoyed the match then tabs?
Rumour has it we are in negotiations with Schalke to sign The Count Drax this window, with his release clause able to be triggered this window.
I really do hate rumours. I prefer facts.
Anyway, his injured so will still need a loan, at the very least.
Cu’mon you reds!
😉
Mannone did a splendid job last night my Holics. Was very proud of him.
His stats this season have actually been better than De Gea’s in every department.
If anybody wants to see proof I can try to dig it for you.
I did Pangloss 😉
Yanited were so so poor, even before the spectacularly funny denouement. Going to take a whole lot more than Mata to put them right. Read on twitter that them buying Mata is akin to buying a top of the range TV when your heating doesn’t work. Make that about right.
Cheers Steve and Trev.
Heh @ tabs, great account of the final ten mins.
I had it on here in the bar where there was an official billiart match going on and the players were giving me wierd looks as I was literaly in tears.
i enjoyed it so much I even braved the horror of watching the Football League Show just to see it again.
Sorry to harp on about this 🙂 but it wasn’t only Patrice “men against boys” Evra who bottled it – “Chicharito” and Valencia also left Januzaj to take responsibility. Not to mention Evans and Smalling. Maybe they thought it would be good for the boy.
Or maybe they couldn’t face the thought of getting hammered in the final.
And thanks to Cent@335 for that wonderful link – you just can’t make these things up – life is much funnier than any comedian.
Except maybe for Tommy Cooper.
Re; Mata,
If they play with Rooney, Carrick/Fletcher and Mata in the middle Valencia and Young on the wings they could be an attacking threat.
They do need to sort out their backline and also their keep who is not as good as our ex-third choice.
Moyes has a lot on his hands. My guess is, either he or Rooney must exit for the front line to work. That isn’t even considering the back line.
Oh and they should return the favour and allow us to take Chicorito on loan. It’s only fair.
😉
H2H Brilliant stuff.
Oh fook, I forgot about Januzai. I guess he starts against youg everytime.
Maureen looking to gazump Pool’s bid for Basle winger Salah…there’s no end to his shenanigans is there? What a plonk!
Tabs and N7, ever thought of professionally commenting on United, Tots and Liverpool games?
I know that I would pay for that.
Oskar, agree re. Falcao and sorry that I missed your point earlier.
Hilarity continues
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BeqJlrrCYAAvpge.jpg
Le prof raises a good point. The sale of Mata to Utd could also have been tactical on the part of the Chavs, as they have already played the Mancs twice already this season. Hmmm? Crafty buggers.
A very short sighted tactic though. G Town.
H2H – Picked up on by Le Prof within 24hrs. Back to the drawing board indeed.
Here’s Phil Jones’ face collapsing like a Digestive that’s been dunked in a cuppa for rather too long…
Poetry. 😀
Is Pochettino trying to copy Maureen?
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/jan/23/southampton-suspend-dani-osvaldo-training-ground-incident
Don’t think he’s quite got the hang of it.
TaBS, great work @373.
dk @380, cheers.
Goonertown @381, I reckon their best attack would be to play Carrick and Fletcher behind Juan Mata who will operate behind a front three of Kagawa, Januzaj and one of Rooney/RvP/Welbeck/Hernandez. Kagawa will have the freedom to cut inside like Cazorla does for us, but knowing Moyes I also reckon he will think those players are too attack-minded and go with Jones, Carrick/Fletcher behind Mata with Valencia and Januzaj on the wings and one of Rooney/RvP/Welbeck/Hernandez upfront, he might even toss Mata to the wings and play Rooney in midfield.
Good thing he is not our problem, eh?
I think we were fed misinformation yesterday. How do you get from a match finishing in Levante last night to London Colney for a presser this morning ( before 10) if you go by scheduled airlines?
Answer is you don’t and one wonders if he was at Levante at all. The ridiculous rumours like Higuain flying to London when he was arriving in Madrid suggest no one knows what’s going on.
Silly season bollocks and today’s announcement suggests that he does feel he can go into the rest of the season with a strike force of Bendtner and Sanogo backing up Giroud. I can’t believe that’s a sensible decision.
Much as we love him I’m not sure Arsene likes this transfer business .
Cent – totally agree. That was my first thought. But yeah they now have options. But as you rightfully point out, that is ropey league/top 4 problems. Been there done that. On to bigger things for us. Like nicking point s off them when they come down to the grove.
Ttg,
I wouldn’t believe a word Wenger says towards the end of the transfer deadline. This is when the activity starts.
Its the best opportunity we’ve had since 2007/8 to win the league and I don’t think its going to be be lost on him the importance of strengthening especially when we’ve the resources to do so. I’d be keeping my powder dry for another week..!
If it bothers you TTG, then I advise you stay away from the rumours, I know I treat them all with the distain they deserve and pay very little creedance to almost all of them. I see brousing through the gossip pages as entertainment more then anything else, the most amusing part, as I have previously mentioned, is the fact that although it happens all day every day and it’s almost always bullshit, there are still so many gullable souls that fall hook line and sinker for all the garbage.
You opionate that AW may not like this transfer business, well I can tell you he’s not the only one, I personally can’t stand it, especialy the January window. It’s all bollox.
We’ve been told from day one of the season that we will not be able to compete with just the HFB as striker, it’s impossible it will never happen, yet here we are in mid January, in the last 16 of the CL (also a very very hard ask) sitting in the 4th round of the FA Cup courtsy of rolling over, with relative ease lest we forget, our neighbours who we were told had done great business in the last transfer window and had built a squad to challenge for the title AND against all possible odds, predictions, laws of physics and to the general disbelief of every waste of shirt couch potato we are sitting top of the league.
Not too shabby for a team with a derth of string options, but I digresss….
Back to this particularly annoying window:
Who is realisticaly available?
Who would come in and automaticaly improve us?
Let’s have a look at a few of those “linked”
i)Diego Costa (fortune)
Doing well in La Liga, but why would Athletico, fighting on numerous fronts, want to sell? More importantly, with this being a WC year and him trying to book a place in his adopted country’s squad, why would he want to jeopardize that by moving?
ii)Jackson Martinez
Scored a few goals for Porto, one of only three teams I could name in the Portuguesse league. Surely he would take time to bed in to a PL team. It’s a major step up.
iii)Ntep.
Please, second division French rubbish, no thanks.
iv) Berbatoss.
Did you see him play against us last week? Apart from one pass he was totally anonymous and looked extreamly disinterested. The only way that would make any sense to me would be a loan period, but with him out of contract in the summr he’d probably be pre occupied about where his next pay check is coming from. Not exactly reknowned as a positive influence on the dressing room either.
v) Mirko Vučinić
Surplus to requirements 30 year old at Juventus. Again would only make sense as a short term loan deal and not at the 8-10mill Juve want for him. He was reportly a whisker away from being an Inter player unti the Old lady started playing silly buggers. Do we really want to go down that road?
vi)Pedro.
Not read anything personally on this one. Reportedly Barca didn’t want to release him in the summer. so I’m not sure why they would change their minds now.
vii)Jools Dracula
Injured at the moment and although definetly one for the future, AW see’s him as a striker, that’s not what he is at the moment. Would still be a major coup though.
There’s probably a lot more, but these are just the ones off the top of my head. Don’t get me wrong, I too think we need reinforcements and dropped a major clanger by not bringing in a striker in the summer, but that’s water under the bridge now.
I’m sure Wenger knows better then any of us what the squad needs, but I can’t see him going out and dropping a wedge on a square peg to fit a round hole.
Sorry about the rant, drinky for those who managed to stick with it ’til the end.
Heh, Tabs. 🙂
I only saw the goals and ten of the worst pelan(t)eez ever taken on Sky Sports News after the game.
My favourite by a million miles was whoever shot high, wide and handsome, smack in the face of a bloke standing in row 21 ! 😆
Can I resist?
Not really.
Self-assist MAGIC!!!
That was Jones, Trev.
Cynic’s link;
https://vine.co/v/MBJMD2DOwj2
Oooh Porco.
That’ll definetly go to the DGC.
Cheers H2H, and agree with you completely that a Manc loss last night was absolutely the best thing for Arsenal, simply because it made everybody so happy. Far more important than speculation on what may or may not have occurred as a result of an all Manc final. God, it was good. Decent Falcao gag too 🙂
Canons@363 – Heh 🙂
Lurky @385 – Cheers. All donations gratefully received 😉
Dr Z – 😉
Cheers Cent.
Heard on a ‘Manc Crisis’ phone in first thing this morning … ” I’m a patient man but I’ve had enough now.”
Haha, 6 months is all it took!!! Love it when the self-regarding, self-entitled and utterly self-absorbed get found out.
Sorry everyone, I thought I’d left that shameful habit behind years ago but…it just felt so RIGHT.
Well you certainly did show great determination to score.
Are you available for transfer this window? 😉
Cheers Trev, that was Jones the buffoon.
Pant-wettingly funny 🙂
@396 – Nice rant H2H 🙂
Pangloss – tut, tut!
Sorry all, a little late. Work called, but I’m better now.
h2h knows @396, and heh @405.
It’s on.
COYG
Porco at 404
You know that’s how you end up with extra kids, right? 😉
Tabs @403,
That’s all true enough, but don’t forget the self-regarding, self-entitled, etc. etc. travel about 400 miles round trip on average every time they go to watch a game. 🙂
Heh! @ NorCal
Heh thats true Trev – didn’t factor that in 🙂
Nice one tabs.
The bigger a club gets the more bandwagon jumpers and plastics it’s likely to attract, I’m sure we got our fair share of Melvins during the Invincible period, just as it was with the Mickeys in the late 70’s/80’s, the founding of Chelski and now at Citeh, a bit of success and out of the woodwork they cometh.
Manure has been mega successful during the dark reign of Sith Lord Fergiscum, in fact for so long that there’s probably a whole generation that know’s nothing but success. Yes, they’ve had a bump or a wobble here and there, but they have yet to sample the pain of dejection nor had their faith put to the test as it were. If United failed, out came the checkbook and all was put well. For although now they complain about the goalposts being moved with the influx of the nouveux minted, they are quick to forget that it was their club that had a major hand in starting all the ridiculous price hikes by splashing 30mil on defenders and teenagers, at a time when less then half that amount was considered stupid money.
These “supporters”, hunters of glory if you will, clamped themselves to a winning team, sharing in their victories, feeling superiour to those of us sad enough to support little teams that didn’t win things season on season, they basked in the warmth of successfull conquests, never forgeting to remind others of how great they were and how shit everyone else was, somehow the achievements of “their” team distracted them from the tedium and sadness of their mundane lives, because no matter how pathetic they truly were, they were Man U fans, winners in heart and soul, masters of the universe, the bees knees……….. and now it’s over!
Heh, okay, maybe a bit melodramatic. 😉
But like tabs said, it’s bloody briliant when these saddos get rumbled.
If they’d been in the slightest bit humble about their domination then maybe, just maybe I might feel the slightest bit of compassion for them, but think about it, have you ever met a manure fan, and I’m not talking about the true supporters who live within smelling distance from Stretford, that wasn’t a slimey, obnoxious, self important knobend?
Yes I’m talking about you Cockney Reds and you you jizzrags from Surrey, Tunbridge Wells, the South Coast, Outer Mongolia, in fact anywhere that’s not Mancland and have no connection to the club other then because they always won stuff. The chickens are truly comming home to roost after years of mismanagement and neglect by he you held most dear and now all you can do is bitch and moan and curse the club you claim to love. Grow a pair you pathetic worms, this is what it means to support a club, you take the good times with the bad, roll with the punches get up and come out swinging, stand up and be counted………
Ach, who am I kiding, you’ll all be wearing light blue shrts in a few seasons time.
Haha another goodie from H2H. Rant-tastic form today mate. Killer punchline too 🙂
Cheers mate, I’ll call today ranThursday.
Thursday is my darts day, but since the start of the year, due to some resolutions to lose a good few kilos, it’s also the only day that I allow myself to take a drinky and if I’m in the mood a quick ciggy (of sorts). For the rest of the week, excluding the 90 or so mins that Arsenal play I’m completly dry. A salad eating, water drinking wreck 😉
So, just a few more hours to go and I can once again (over) induldge. 🙂
H2H – that was epic.
Bravo.
Ah H2H, no wonder you’re chomping at the bit. 🙂
At least with us playing Friday this week, you won’t have to wait too long for your ‘warmdown’. 😉
The only plus point I can find about playing on Friday, tabs.
To tell the truth, I don’t think I’ll be able to catch it live as there’s too many things planned here Friday night.
Ah well, set the HDR and watch it later.
===
Cheers Homer.
===
I hour to go to beer o clocck
*chomp chomp
The sight for sore eyes, fergie looking distraught, welbeck in tears, messi err janujaz head bowed and crying, moyes looking moyes, hell i had the biggest smile ever in my life seeing that. Remember how they laughed at us those despicable so and so, i so wanted to see them suffer and may it long continue.
Mata though if it happens is a great signing for them, suddenly they have a creative midfielder, they have strikers who can feed of his passes and most importantly, mata loves to play and is a team player, so no egos there.
In terms of us can we please buy a striker, this shouldnt be the classic case of near yet so far, lets give it all and in the end if we fail, there should be no regrets. If not anyone i still am ok with berbatov, someone better than no one, please boss.
Latest news is Ramsey and Arteta back on monday, we missed Aaron, welcome back, just the right time our player of the season.
– Did you hear Mata couldn’t sign for United?
– Why?
– All the United pens were bad.
*Applauds H2H’s RanThursday*
Great post H2H, enjoyed it.
There are many United fans in my town and I fully understand what you mean, because some younger ones are really annoying. However, most of the United and Liverpool fans that I know are older and middle aged people and I had sensible debates with many of them. They usually listen, offer their views and most of them respect Arsene.
The problem however is the huge amount of newborn Chelski fans that are mostly aged under 30. I am 35 myself, but Mrs Lurky is much younger, so I know many of them. They are the most ignorant bunch I am sure I’ll ever meet. Nothing is sacred for them and they don’t respect and know anything before Abramovich. And they don’t even bother to learn. For example they don’t even know that A. Cole played for Arsenal before Chelski and they don’t even bother to know that.
What bothers me the most, is that they don’t respect Arsene and his great contribution for the revolution of the PL as we know it. For them he is just an old twat who has lost it long ago, refuses to spend on players, has out of date methods, his teams cannot defend and he will never achieve to win anything in the future.
Add to that their love for Maureen and John Terry and you get the whole picture.
I am pleased that United are at the bottom now. I like it and I find it funny. I’ll be more pleased and truly delighted if Abramovich abandon Chelski and leave the to rot in the second division.
But, the moment that would make me extremely happy, joyful and instinct is to see Arsene finally lifts a trophy. He deserves it.
Lurky,
“Add to that their love for Maureen and John Terry …… ”
That was all you really needed to say. 😉
Interesting points, Lurky. I feel somewhat the same. I was talking football with the office Manc the other day. He’s a $hitty fan, but as far as I can make out he’s supported them since before the oil money arrived, so I guess he’s vaguely acceptable.
Anyhoo, we were saying what fun it was watching Manyoo this year, or rather watching their league position and the attitude of the meeja towards them. I said that it rather spoilt it for me that it wasn’t happening under Slur Alex, and I’d actually rather watch Maureen being humiliated. He said, “No, no. Nothing can beat watching ManIOU getting stuffed”.
He has a point, but I do think I’d rather watch the odious Jose trapped in a collapsing dynasty. I guess he’d probably leg it before that happened, but I can dream, can’t I?
Incidentally, I’m aware that I haven’t mentioned the Tinies in the above rant, but honestly, can any of you see that lot up the raod enjoying a period of sustained success that lasts for longer than a week or two?
COYG
Heh, agree Pangloss, Tinies are so dispensable in the modern day football that I forget to mention them, too.
Agree with you, would rather see Maureen suffer then Moyes. But then again I am not sure between the pair of Evra, Rooney and RvP or Terry, Ramirez and Ashley.
Can they all somehow form some Mega Cunts FC so we can properly hate without bothering to choose who to hate the most?
Indeed Trev, but Maureen, Terry and love in the same sentence without context?
I love RanThursday!
Lurky, totally agree with you on the Chelski fans. A bunch have started invading the pub where I watch Arsenal matches. Young, loud, obnoxious, and piss poor drunks.
MCFC- mega Cunts football club. Is that set of letters already taken?
RanThursday. I like it. I just hope H2H doesn’t exclude me as a true supporter since I have never lived in N5. 😉
Just watched highlights of last night’s game on youTube. God, there were 7 bloody awful penalties there.
Only problem, for me, was that the commentary is in French and I thought that if I really concentrated I might be able to understand it (probably managed about a third of it). This distracted me from really enjoying the show. The great thing about the Arabic commentaries is that I know I won’t be able to understand any of it so I don’t bother to try.
I got the sense of the shoot out though. I imagine it was quite hard to keep a straight face when watching in real time.
Just read that Osvaldo is banned and no longer wanted at So’ton.
Bad behavior, not disciplined and known for punching his team mates. But, there is a fine player in him, capable of scoring bags of goals with the required support from the midfield. He reminds me of Ibra sometimes, and that is as a compliment.
Arsene has some history with rebellious and bad tempered players.
Cheeky loan bid?
Preview time >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>