Ozilliant – The Midfield Is Back
Apr 28th, 2014 by 'holic
As I type people will be struggling to find ways home from the Grove in the wake of a solid performance that yielded three important points. We are now just a home win away, against West Brom next Sunday, from a Champions League qualifier in August. Hopefully the final day at Norwich will not come into the fourth place equation. More, I hope all will get home safely tonight.
The match tonight (if I finish this before midnight!) started as so many have lately. We prize possession above all else in the opening phase, possibly scarred by our experiences at Anfield and Stamford Bridge. Just as it looked as though the visitors might get some sort of a foothold we started to apply more direct pressure, and one man in particular was at the hub of that greater ambition.
Mesut Ozil came close to opening the scoring but his volley was off-target. Were that opportunity to pass the ball into the net then he could be trusted to provide the finish. His distribution and close control tonight were a reminder of why we had to shell out a club record fee to acquire his services. “I’d love to know what Arsenal fans think of him” said Gary Neville afterwards. I think most would take to task those in the media who have rounded on him in his debut season in the Premier League.
Alongside him Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla flourish. When the three are together and on song the Arsenal midfield has a fluidity and purpose that shines through once the groundwork has been laid. We struggle without any one of the energy and drive of Ramsey, the vision and distribution of Ozil, and the dancing feet of Cazorla. Once the early phase had been negotiated tonight they again delivered a masterclass, the like of which we so sorely missed as the title challenge fizzled out in the one-paced and careless approach of spring.
We had the advantage when Santi’s perfectly directed free-kick fell between defenders and the hesitant Krul. The ‘keeper, no stranger to wasting time on occasion, dithered instead of attacking the ball and Laurent Koscielny notched another important goal against the Magpies. The dangerous Lukas Podolski almost doubled the lead but the ball brushed Krul’s thigh and went for a corner. A close range header from the same player was saved. Arsenal were attempting to cut loose.
The second goal arrived as the half was drawing to a close, and saw a scrappy end to a lovely move. Olivier Giroud was twice denied at point blank range by Krul before Ozil got the tap in his performance merited, but his offside position did not. In the assistant referee’s defence he did have the last defender between him and the goal but Krul was further upfield by a step. A tough call and for once one went our way, perhaps. Time remained for Santi to go close with a fierce drive. The half-time cigarette and an orange, I mean dietary supplements, will have tasted better. Times have changed.
Now I was obviously thinking the ‘holic pound was on at this point. I thought we might have to score an own-goal for the Newcastle one I had predicted, but surely we would notch another two? As it panned out, no. We started brightly, chances went begging, and Gouffran might have notched the one for the visitors I had secretly yearned for, but Wojciech Szczesny was not going to be beaten tonight. Midway through the half Rambo and Ozil combined to provide the perfect opportunity for Giroud to head home his 21st goal of the season for the club.
The Frenchman is much-maligned, and possibly suffers from comparison with those that have gone before him leading the line for Arsenal, but what more did the critics expect of him this term? He is not at fault for being the only striker we could depend on for virtually the entirety of the season. He has been run into the ground, and still gives it his best shot even when running on empty. The dealings of the summer may deliver a replacement, rather than someone to merely share the load, but what an option he would provide were that to transpire.
Appreciating that now he needs to have his crucial guns available for the FA Cup Final to come, Arsene withdrew Mesut, Rambo, and Giroud. It afforded them a deserved good hand from a rapidly dwindling crowd as the tube strike took centre stage in peoples thoughts. I say that, but of course there is one other consideration tonight…
For the nineteenth consecutive season St Totteringham’s Day is being celebrated by many, this scribe included. Whatever may have disappointed us about this season, let us not forget that our friends and neighbours were telling us in August how their £109 million pounds worth of new investment in players had created once again the much-fabled powershift in North London. That huge outlay on what proved to be yet more under-achieving pondlife has used up funds that would have been better spent on a new stadium, but they are in a catch-22 situation that we have already successfully negotiated. Stadium or team? They have gambled, and failed spectacularly, on team. Love it.
362 Responses to “Ozilliant – The Midfield Is Back”
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The real first.
I’m avin that.
Happy St. Totteringham’s Day!!
Could have easily been a few more goals. Classy overall performance with a few glimpses of Ozil’s genius.
My MOTM is Santi, in addition to his superb control and orchestration there was a bit of Rosicky about his attitude and the drive forward today. The fluidity and interchanges in the midfield was most pleasing.
Kos’s yellow card was one of the genuinely sillier ones, bordering on the idiotic. Sure Arsene will remind him how potentially problematic that could have been.
Happy St Totteringham’s Day!
What a day it’s been on all fronts for me, summed up by an Arsenal win. Glorious 🙂
Europa League!
Win the Next Match.
Cheers N7, from previous
As a fan of Sagan’s first Cosmos series I must say that I was overjoyed and exited when I heard that brand new series are on their way, because our knowledge of the Universe has changed/enlarged over this last thirty years. And I was not disappointed.
Recommend it to anyone that has not see it yet, if there are any. If there are, you are missing big 🙂
Cosmos is a must see, it puts things in perspective and shows how minor and small, but at the same time, how big and important we all are.
Now off to read the post.
Nice summary ‘Holic. Fully agreed about Giroud, and like you I hope it would be an addition to the squad and not a replacement for Giroud. With less physical workload I think he will have the chance to improve some areas of his game and be more influential.
Monreal and Arteta too had good games, and it was nice to see Poldi working so much better on retention and off the ball movements. He seems really fired up, was desperate for a goal at the end and if only that acute angle attempt towards the end went in…
Great result. I think I shall ask the Management to prepare stuffed Cornish hens for my supper tonight…
Let’s win the next two and see if 79 points are enough for third.
COYG! and safe travels to the faithful. Who knew a tube strike could cause such chaos. London needs Uber. 😉
Firstly the game. After a soporific start the first goal kick- started our performance and we recorded a very easy win . At times our players combined sublimely and it was a delight to see Ozil and Ramsey expanding our horizons so enormously. Koscielny and Arteta were excellent ( not sure I buy the notion that his legs have gone) and Sagna will be greatly missed. Giroud took his goal beautifully but showed that he isn’t the most natural,finisher with his two attempts to finish Arteta’s great ball.
We left as Sanogo entered the arena ( no offence meant) and walked to Finsbury Park where we shoehorned ourselves into an overground train of three carriages. It was extremely dangerous and uncomfortable . As we struggled to get in we were promised another train in half an hour. The Tfl website had apparently suggested the Victoria line was running and prompted more traffic that way. It was not and there wasn’t adequate capacity to deal with the crowds. I am a reasonably fit 63 year old and have stood for hundred of hours in cramped conditions . It was very poor tonight and I share Holic’s concerns that everyone got home ok.
Not long in from the Grove. A nightmare journey and one which no doubt many are still struggling to make.
The evening started well with a small gathering in the Tollie. I think all of us were of the same opinion in that we expected, well hoped at least for a comfortable victory.
At kick off there were loads of empty seats, many I guess deciding that the impending tube problems were just too much. You have to wonder what goes on when so called sensible proper can’t sort out their differences to prevent paralysis of this great city? I would sack everyone involved that for some reason can’t get their heads together and sort it.
The game itself was a pretty much chilled out and relaxed affair. The Geordies were shocking. We moved through the gears with ease. Özil was sublime and just goes to show what adding a touch of class does. I think you are spot on H to highlight Özil, Santi and Rambo. All three were outstanding.
Some fun and games were had later on when Stephen Taylor was warming up. “Even Pardew thinks your shit.” Was the ditty. To his credit Taylor laughed and joked with the crowd. Just the kind of attitude you would want to see if you were a Geordie fan facing six defeats on the bounce.
With 10 minutes to go the realise that St Totts day had arrived was not lost on the crowd. “It’s happened again, it’s happened again. Tottenham Hotspur, it’s happened again” rung out loud and clear.
If Citeh do their job on Saturday then 4th will be secured before we kick off on the Sunday. That would be a nice place to be.
Nice write up H.
Keep the faith.
Lurky @ 6: The Cosmos series by Neil DeGrasse Tyson is indeed very highly recommended. He kept the science intentionally simple and accessible, and the visuals courtesy of the progress in CGI make the ideas really appealing to a wider audience. The very obvious stress on a rational-historical perspective beyond just the facts of science (in the best sense of that word) is also worth noting, and especially relevant here in US where there is an excessive amount of crude ‘politicization’ on otherwise scientific ideas of Evolution, Climate change, safe energy alternatives, gender equality in education etc.
However, in terms of the progress in modern Physics, until now he has stayed mostly on the safer side of the accessible. 🙂
No TV coverage here sadly, so of course we won, and in some style it seems. Why can’t that happen when I’m watching without the 20-30 minutes of de rigeur angst that inevitably closes the game out?
Great to hear Özilla having a good one, although the opposition weren’t up to much apparently. In their best form the midfield trio of Santi, Rambo and Özilla are as good as any in Europe and we’d have genuine hope for the future if they could acquire just a bit more consistency … PLUS a reliable DMF immediately behind them and classy striker upfront to convert their best work.
Oh, and 3-0 as I predicted! 😉
Öskar
Well written ‘Holic, as always.
I am sure that most of the fans are slowly starting to realize what exactly Ozil brings to this team, as for all the teams he played for.
He will never score 25 goals a season, he may even not assist more then 20+. Those who expected that from him, actually never watched him play, either for Real or Werder.
What Ozil brings is stability, positiveness, creativity and reliability among other things. Ozil is able to change the tempo of the game in a moment. He can create something out of nothing. He presence on the pitch works wonders for other players. But the most important thing is that he can be a leader of this Arsenal. He is not there yet, this is his first season, but he will be, I am sure of it.
As for Giroud, I agree. He is a decent option, great worker, and a good striker. His biggest problem is that his game is so based on confidence. That is something he really needs to work on for the next season. He must realize that he doesn’t need to convince anybody of his abilities anymore.
He needs to learn to enjoy playing his football, the way he knows best. You can see that when we are winning, he kind of relaxes and starts to play more naturally and more relaxed. That is the way he should play for all 90 minutes. T
There is absolutely no need for him to be criticized that much as some of the fans do, and there is absolutely no reason we should consider selling him. I believe that a shiny new fast and skillful striking partner will do wonders both for him and Arsenal next year.
The original Cosmos was wonderful, Lurky, for its time, but with Brian Cox’s series only recently broadcast I’m a bit space overloaded currently.
I think it was Sagan who said (words to the effect) … Either there is life elsewhere in the universe, or there isn’t. Either concept is awe-inspiring. I think I’ll wait for evidence of aliens (which have to be somewhere, imo) before generating sufficient interest to watch more.
Öskar
Oskar @ 14, Even though Sagan had spent a lot of his time on the ‘life on another planet’ debate and SETI etc., neither his original Cosmos nor the current one is either attached to or focused on that idea. The new one is really worth your time, believe me.
The current one spends a lot of time in connecting the scientific progress through history, focusing on scientific relationships or even thinkers we are not generally aware of, finding links between ancient myths and histories with the ideas that we know of now etc.
Until now there has been less focus on the fundamental challenges of science today like the attempts at unifying quantum mechanics and gravity, or talking about really esoteric ideas like multiverse etc.
Doctor Faustus, I know what you mean, Cosmos is designed for a wider public, it has to be that way.
But there are some hints, that are itching your imagination, the possibility that we may live in a Black Hole at this very moment, for example. Lacking the required knowledge in English reduces me on speaking about anything like string theory, bosons, neutrinos, quantum gravity etc,
So lets better keep talking football as English is much more easier for me here: shoot ffs, pass him he ball are you blind, get the fyck in, stupid referee is a cunt, never a penalty, Wagner aaachht, COYG.
Lurky@13: great point re: Giroud’s confidence. Never thought of it quite like that before, but his performances bear it out. You could say the same thing about Theo, with the addendum that Theo’s game is also based on his pace. Fingers crossed his current injury won’t have any lasting effect on that.
holic, excellent piece, especially that last paragraph. what a bunch of maroons.
tip of the hat to og, ozil, and jesus. and to santi, koz and bac, and…oh hell, the whole team. very enjoyable to watch, and tonight watch again.
happy st. tott’s, everyone. a case of glenfarclas 12 on the bar, thanks to the wallet of sweden.
Cheers GL. I too share your doubts about that Theo’s injury might effect his pace.
I’ve read somewhere, maybe even Trev mentioned at the bar, that this kind of injuries makes players lose that bit of extra pace, and that players never fully recover, forever.
We will know more next season when we see him playing again, for sure.
Lurky@16: Yes to that . 🙂
Actually I had trained to be a physicist, my academic background was particle physics specializing in QCD (quarks etc.) before I left physics for relatively easier field of computing … In vanity of my youth I used to scoff at popular science shows and books etc. but now as an outsider looking in , and with the good fortune of knowing people from a greater background I appreciate shows like Cosmos so much more.
A book recommendation for you: Max Teggemark’s Mathematical Universe. Recently released and does a good job of talking about the very cutting edge of current state of physics.
Great write up Holic!
Steve T great account from you too! Great night indeed!
Up The Arse
PS OG tough season! But hedelivers and the whole team delievred tongiht!
Ohhhh BTW
SAGNA WHO?!!!!!!!
Sagna was immense tonight as well! Sign da ting!
Recommendation noted, Dr. Faustus. Enjoyed you previous one, Vargas Llosa was a revelation for me, thanks again.
Nicely summarized, ‘Holic. I hope you are celebrating St. Tott’s day in the manor born.
It was nice, for once, to get a break with the offside for Ozil’s goal. It was anyway close. Ozil wasn’t much off being level with Krul when Giroud took his second shot, and you could argue (just about) that Krul controlled the ball by chesting it, which would have put Ozil back onside, rather than deflecting it, which would have left him off.
But it was the third goal that showed what Ozil brings to this team. Two touches in his own half, then an inch-perfect pass to Ramsey. Then gets beyond Ramsey (forget that baloney about Ozil not making runs; he covered half the length of the pitch to take the return), hits the ball first time, whipping in a perfectly weighted and directed cross to meet Giroud’s run. Twelve seconds from Ozil’s first touch to the ball being in the back of the net. Nothing flashy on Ozil’s part in any of it. No step-overs. No dancing feet. Just simple perfection in each of his four touches.
Probably to no one’s very great surprise, Giroud looks twice the player when he gets some support than he does when isolated up front. A complement rather than a replacement next season is the least he deserves.
Great stuff by the mighty Arsenal tonight.
Glad to see us getting results against these kinds of teams.
Safe travels and all the best this week.
Public holiday over here in Nippon so excuse me as I lay about and enjoy St Totterignhams with the lady
Saw this on twitter, interesting read.
My visit to London Colney
http://goonertalk.com/2014/04/27/fabianskis-locker-bendtners-strange-shoes-the-strongest-arsenal-player-my-visit-to-london-colney/
Me: “Who’s the strongest out of the current first team?”
Tim: (After a long pause) “Probably Podolski, he can lift the most. The players aren’t supposed to lift too much in the run up to a match, but some of them have strange traditions. Gallas used to deliberately lift the heaviest weights he could find the day before a match. It’d tire him out, but he’d feel mentally prepared and strong, so Arsene never used to stop him.
“Parlour was definitely our strongest ever, though. He used to lie on his back with a 5kg medicine ball and slam it off the ceiling. Not just touch it. Slam it. Ten times in a row. Nobody else can touch it.”
We all look up at the ceiling. It’s at least 4m high, maybe 5.
Me: “Who works out the most?”
Tim: (Without a second’s hesitation) “Arteta. And Wilshere. He’s in here a lot.”
Me: “And who’s the fittest?”
Tim: “Probably Jenkinson. He can run all day long.”
Lurky — most welcome.
NBN @ 24: Spot on about the simple beauty of Ozil’s game. Effective, incisive, smooth, no wasted movement. I admire players like them — Bergkamp for instance, for all his extraordinary technical abilities actually used to keep his game rather simple, no unnecessary touches or dribbles, elegant, effective simplicity.
I thought Santi played remarkably well today in the way he was popping up all over, pressing, winning possessions, retaining, changing the tempo and very cleverly yielding space to Ozil in situations Ozil would be more lethal. If those two find a way of playing this well with each other consistently, and Rambo to connect it all up with a new DM (no offense meant to Arteta) we really would have one of the most unplayable midfields in Europe.
Randoms interesting stats
Koscielny actually scored on 3 consecutive St. Totteringham’s days. 11/12 vs WBA, 12/13 vs Newcastle, 13/14 vs Newcastle.
Last time Sp*rs finished above Arsenal, Serge Gnabry wasn’t even born.
Lurky knows.
And holy mackerel Dr F.
Particle physics. Yes yes … Not quite the “challenge” one needs eh?
Wow. I struggled mightily in calculus and differential equations damn near killed me.
Like I say: ways listen to the good doctor!
Dr F … the impression I get from the reviews is that the ‘new’ Cosmos is a bit disappointing by comparison with the original, aimed a trifle lower, a bit cartoony and waffly. More of an Imax movie than Sagan’s legacy deserves.
I was fortunate to meet Sagan in the late ’80s and persuaded him to appear in a conference I was producing. The event was in Australia and he shared the stage with Ed Hillary, Arthur C Clarke, Sir Patrick Moore and the Dalai Lama. Although none of them was actually present, all appearing by satellite links, which was the only way you could get Sagan who had a fear of flying.
Anyway I’m sure the new Cosmos has its appeal, but I’ll stick with the Beeb, Prof Brian Cox and his various ‘Wonders’ series.
Öskar
Homer @ 30: 🙂 Needs dedication, patience and most importantly a love of austere living (unless you are a genius you won’t be getting any permanent faculty position before 40 or so in this field nowadays ) to really crack it. Most of my batch mates have switched fields, from Software to management to computational genetics etc.
It was a childhood love, and remains so, maybe more so as an outsider now. Will die without making any contribution to the field but still love to know whatever is happening 🙂
Oskar @ 31: Yes, as I had responded to Lurky earlier the new Cosmos is not the intellectually most stimulating, but I think it is worth watching for a somewhat historical perspective that it brings, very intelligently highlighting relatively lesser known episodes and people and drawing analogies to our times.
To be honest, Physics itself has progressed so much more since Sagan’s days in terms of technicalities and theories, I had hoped that this series would actually try to bring those to the forefront. Rather it is focused in raising awareness and appeal of science and scientific education to a wider public here in US which has become, at least in its public discourse, alarmingly obscurantist in recent years.
Oskar — that conference must have been a great experience. What were the topics of discussion?
Dalai Lama, to his great credit, has really attempted (unlike most religious leaders) to bridge a gap between what Science teaches and how to use that knowledge to behave ethically towards the world and to improve your inner self. Buddhism essentially being built around a theory of mind and how to use meditation to see through the tricks of ‘Identity’, he of course found some great friends in Neurobiology & Psychology etc. “Sleeping, Dreaming, Dying” is a great collection of discussions of their collaborative efforts. Another interesting read for his attempts is “Universe in a single Atom.”
I had a friend from Sri Lanka who grew up not too far away from where Arthur C. Clarke lived. But he actually had never met him in person. 🙂
Hope you get to catch today’s game later in Arsenal player. You will like Ozil-Santi-Rambo playing so smoothly off each other.
Anything designed to educate Americans has to be a good thing, Dr F. Especially something that focuses on the scientific world rather than some virtual reality created by HBO or the Cohen brothers. 😉
Öskar
Oskar @ 35: heh. 🙂 And it is “Coen”, they are not related to grand old Leonard I am afraid. 🙂
Dr F., it’s like Bill Shankly used to say, football is a simple game grown men make complicated.
I LOVE Ozil-Santi-Rambo playing so smoothly off each other, WHEN THEY DO. Unfortunately it’s been a rare experience this season. Hopefully next year will see them gelling more often.
The event I referred to was an IBM ‘recognition event’, where the company’s top achievers from the previous year were rewarded with an exotic location, five star hotel and the best business theatre being produced anywhere in the world at the time. Unfortunately the exotic location was Surfers Paradise in 1991, a stay-at-home event on account of the Gulf War putting a hold on overseas flights.
The subject wasn’t science or space at all. A guy called Robert Swan gave a presentation about his walking trips to the North and South Poles, and in the process talked about people who inspired him … hence the crosses to those people live. Mother Teresa was another one I had forgotten, by the way. No great matters were discussed but much stirring in the audience when each was introduced.
Those were the days when IBM were still the world’s biggest company, money was no object and I had budgets for my shows that F1 teams can only dream about.
Two years earlier we landed Neil Armstrong on stage in a lunar module in Bangkok to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the moon landing. Now that was a bit more scientific. According to Neil they had three computers aboard Apollo II … one managing the guidance systems, and for systems management a 30-kilo 16 bit machine with 36k of rom in woven rope chords, 2k of erasable, a cycle time of about 12 microseconds and a keyboard with 19 keys and three 7-digit registers of info (2 digits for ID and 5 for data, all numbers, no alphanumerics). They also had an identical machine in the lunar module.
You get heaps more computing power in your wristwatch these days!
Öskar
I hope your friend in Sri Lanka wasn’t a young boy, Dr F…
Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers Coen Brothers
Öskar
Another random stat, Lurky: Newcastle is the only English club Kos has scored more than one goal against.
OTG – Yep, those New Zealanders are an extremely erudite folk… 😉
OTD @ 39: 🙂 Sincerest apologies for my pedantic habits.
And yes, my friend grew up in Colombo as a young boy before he left for India once, well, the stirrings started …
Good stories about the IBM extravaganzas …
NBN @ 37: And then there are some grown men who make a living out of talking about those unnecessary complications. 🙂
Good night all from a Spring-ish Boston …
Nite Dr F. Pedantry not a problem, we all have our faults … I used to be conceited, but I’m perfect now. 😉
Yep, Lonestar, I’ve met the occasional erudite New Zealander. But I’m English and a naturalised Aussie and was living and working in Aus during my IBM career. Nothing Kiwi about me, I just live here. And very nice too, although I have a yearning to return to London so I can watch some proper football.
Öskar
OTD – My apologies to the New Zealanders for painting them with a cultural brush meant solely for you.
I will refrain from further puerile cultural barbs with or without emoticon enhancement. Such comments, even while elliciting the stray chuckle, often betray hostility poorly masquerading as joking.
Anyway, good win today. Win the next match.
Good mood in the bar tonight. We musta done sumpin’ good. 😉
We were well and truly behind the 8 ball tonight, 8ball, and gunning for glory. Mission accomplished.
Öskar
Cheers Hoic! “…under-achieving pondlife..”, at The Swamp! Who’d have thunk it?
My only thoughts at the minute is that, shitty oil, need one hell of a game at the ground they have not won at in at least the last 3 matches, next Saturday night.
Add to that, the fact that Shitty have been quite shitty away from home recently, I believe that they may crumble in an important match. Not that it makes a difference to us if (when) we beat west brom the following day. But it sure would make an old man happy. 🙂
Blimey – loving all the Sagan chat, what a bar this is.
I’m no physicist, but I’ve read around the subject a fair bit, and it seems to me that there is nothing in this life so beautiful as the way this Universe of ours fits together and operates. Nothing, bar maybe the occasional Ozil through ball and the knowledge that he plays for Arsenal because of Spurs.
Cosmos gets two thumbs up from me: both the original and the remake. There’s a quote on my kitchen wall from Carl Sagan: “For small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love”. I think that just about sums it all up: life, the Arsenal and everything in between.
COYG
If you bet a Spurs fan £20 in 1995 that we’d finish above em, then did double or quits at the end of every season since, rather than collect, you’d now be owed £5,242,880
@TTG
That’s their new stadium fund gone then.
Thanks Thunder I think I’ve got a few spud mates stupid enough to bet! 😉
Time to build up a trust fund over the next 19 years 😉
Nice write up, thanks H.
Now then… a glass for anyone celebrating??
Goonertown: If you’re going to have any chance of getting that bet paid, make sure you make it with Alan Sugar.
What a paradox – the man who did so much to bring the beauty and vastness of Space to general awareness was afraid of flying.
I haven’t seen the new Cosmos series here in DK, but loved the Brian Cox stuff – probably the only physicist to have a no.1 hit to his credit.
Also saw his namesake in King Lear.
Sugar is only 67 so he should last 19 years, Goonertown. If he doesn’t have a heart attack after one too many brandies in the House of Lords followed by watching his team play.
DK good idea. He’s a sensible man. I don’t see any reason why he would object to paying upfront! 😉
Yes, a great midfield trio last night, but then they were against ‘ull too. I remember commenting on Santi’s work rate during that match and it was evident again yesterday. He may be small but he tackles like a terrier.
Morning Holics
We took our time to get going but in the end made the Barcodes look a very poor team. Loved the 3rd goal which had the sort of build up and finish I appreciate .
Although there were many empty seats, I can understand the reluctance of travelling Gooners to risk missing last trains home. Gooner Kevin and I always walk up to the Ems from KingsX and we collected quite a band of Cambridge/ Kings Lynn Gooners for the walk back to catch our last train. We made it in 40mins with time to secure a cupper for the journey home, eventually walking in the door at 01.15.
How we have missed the drive of Rambo, the silky ball skills and football brain of Ozil and the pace of Walcott. This was another season of what might have been. Let’s put the season to bed on Sunday, then I can go to Carrow Road with Canary Margaret for a good day out with no worries.
COYRs
,
Nice one Maestro.
The Tollie was fun.
The crowd in the ground were fun.
The football was fun.
Half time was fun (Alan, Alan Sunderland!).
St.Totts Day was fun.
You can’t have too much fun.
PS: Ramsey + Ozil + Cazorla all on song. It’s the best looking Arsenal attacking midfield that I’ve seen for a good while.
…and so say all of us! 😆
I learned about physics watching The Big Bang Theory.
Thanks for the write up guv’.
Cheers for the on the spot reports from various ‘holics and thanx to Prof Storey for confirming that that was Alan Sunderland in the crowd last night. The camera panned onto him but the Dutch commentator wasn’t quite sure who it was, I asked in the drinks at the time, but got no reply, so again ta for the confirmation.
H2H Did the commentator actually say that he wasn’t sure?
Something along those lines, G’town.
Kekeke ! 😆
Fine report H. Excellent drinks above.
Love the last paragraph.
Happy St Totteringham’s Day all.
It’s no wonder the SHL pitch is now competing with the Grove sward for the best surface in the Premiership.
Throwing £105 million of shit onto it every fortnight is a hell of a good investment to turn marsh into grass.
🙂
Bath – Classic!! 🙂
There are parents out there who have never known what it is like to see the Totts finish above us. May that continue until they are grand parents.Haven’t heard of anything nasty happening on the travel front. Last night was the first time I’ve left early for several years but it had to be done. I felt the club could have done MUCH better on the information front. And those poor Geordie fans- supporting that shite and then having to get back home. They deserve a medal.
Thunder – I’m having a conversation now with a Chav who didn’t know what it was like to win the title until Jose arrived. I’m just letting him bury himself talking about 3 premiere league titles each and shite!
He’s nearly there! 🙂
Nice one, Holic, and, yes, the last paragraph makes fine reading.
It was my mum’s funeral yesterday, so I’ll take a belated opportunity to wish everyone a Happy St Tott’s.
Big HEH! @bath. 🙂
Having that mob as your local rivals is always good to keep you smiling 😉
Delia – love the travel report @59 – true dedication.
Condolances, Trev.
Very sorry to hear that Trev
Ah – sorry to hear that, Trev.
Condolences, Trev, she must have been a saint to put up with all of those puns. 😉
Out here in California it looks like my own mother is not going to be far behind.
Happy St. Totts a day late all. 🙂
Sorry Trev
Hard luck Trev, I hope you gave your mum a fitting send-off.
So looks like miracles do happen Cech & Terry back in training ha ha 🙂
…..and a Happy St Totteringham’s Day to all! 😀
She was a bit of a Rugby Union fan, Pangloss, so we gave her a sitting fend-off. 😉
Many thanks, all. Too kind, you lot.
bt8ball,
I hope your own mum passes as peacefully as possible when the time comes.
sorry to hear that, trev. my condolences.
and to that upcoming bt8b.
heh @bath.
Delia I love your mates’ names!
trev I’ll bet whatever you served at that for her it was scrummy.
Forever in our shadows will be those tiny totts and so they should be.
Ozil yesterday yet again reiterated what i feel he is- our Dennis Bergkamp of the current generation. He can see a pass no one else can. He has a touch and a vision which the great man would have been proud about.
Yes he can be hassled, yes at times he tires out way too soon but the man is a genius and give him time and space and there is not a defense in this world who can stop him. He needs the outlet to go to and hence we need a strong DM next season so that he can free Ozil as much as possible, then see the magic.
Win against WBA and 4th yet again, a season of so near yet to so far but then win the FA cup and we may all have a reason to cheer.
Real Bayern tonight, penalties anyone/???? i think same will be the case in tomorrow’s game as well.
for the scum: http://youtu.be/YzfwtX2kgOA
Trev, sorry to hear about your mum.
I really hope the Eagles have enough in them to stutter the Scousers on Monday. That will help to be honest. I am not too confident about Shitty at Everton, but it would be so good if we could smack up the Job Seekers in my manner. 🙂
Trev,
My heartfelt condolences on your loss.
Condolences, Trev.
Thinking of you.
scruz @85
great link
Never seen Donald Fagen with a lisp before 🙂
Must be shpeshly for Shpursh.
My sincerest condolences Trev.
scruz @ 85: Great link. Those two remain as delightfully weird as ever. I have always found it kind of funny how Walter Becker could never really play the guitar parts he would write as musically as the axe-men they would hire for the studio recordings. 🙂
Once asked about Kenny G and his likes in the world of ‘mood music’ claiming to be Jazz musicians, they had this joke (just a joke I am repeating, no offense meant, and not to be taken literally):
“In a room you have Hitler, Mussolini and Kenny G. You have a revolver with two bullets left in it. Whom all will you shoot?
Kenny G. Twice. Just to make sure. ”
Sorry. 🙂
Condolences Trev Our thoughts are with you
Sorry to hear about your mum, Trev.
Matthew Syed in The Times:
“Mourinho is a delusional narcissist with paranoid tendencies.”
Nothing to disagree with there.
My condolences Trev!
Condolences for the passing of your mother Trev.
Let’s inject westbrom and is all over less we forgot they gave us a hard fight in their home so is time to operate on them and show them the type of arms we operate with llllllllllleeeeeeeesssssssssttttttttttt ddddddddoooooo iiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttt boysssssssssss
Can anyone explain why Ozil’s goal was supposed to be offside? I thought I understood the offside rule but don’t get what was wrong with his goal.
Condolences Trev!
Sorry to hear about your mum Trev.
Very sorry to hear about your Mum, Trev – it really is a tough loss to take! Be well, and I hope Arsenal brings a smile to you in the next games and the FA Cup!
baff and faustus, it’s a killer version, too. hopefully i get to see them live this summer in a gorgeous venue with great sound.
and he lisped because the shpurs are shit…
heh at faustus, the best of a bad situation.
BadOy
I read the offside claim was against Giroud on the ball to him but haven’t seen it myself so can’t comment intelligently. (Add other Arsene-like gibberish here.) 🙂
Amazing how Cech, Hazard, E’to, and whoever the other one is, I’ve forgotten, are wonderfully back fit n training for tomorrow’s match – from really ‘serious’ injuries – wish we had the same doctors
Trev,
Thinking of you mate, condolences.
From Sagan to Lester the Nightfly, what a bar this is.
Drinks on the bar from me to all you vibrator lovers 😉
BadOy@98
Had HFB squared the ball to Ozil as they both ran through (as he should have done) instead of shooting at the keeper, it would have been a simple tap in and Ozil was onside because he was behind the ball at that point.
However when HFB took his second shot that was deflected by the keeper to Ozil, Ozil was offside as he had advanced beyond the keeper. Only a single Barcode player was between him and the goal line when HFB took his second shot. Although by the time the ball reached Ozil, he had two Barcode defenders in front of him, he is offside when HFB strikes the ball and therefore the goal should have been disallowed.
Clearly offside.
Simples 🙂
However we have had so many wrong calls the other way that this is only a small step towards equity.
Many thanks for all your kind wishes. Not the greatest year so far.
Some end-of-season Arsenal fun wouldn’t go amiss though.
zico, cheers. perfect drink after a naked lunch.
@ Bad0y
For a player to be offside, he must be in the opposing half, must be in front of the ball and there must be fewer than two opposing players (including the goalkeeper) between him and the opposing goal line when the ball is touched or played by a team-mate (Wiki). When Giroud struck the ball the second time, there was only one NU defender between Mesut and the NU goal; Krul was actually behind Ozil which is why he (Ozil) should have been ruled offside.
Sorry to hear about your Mum, Trev.
Ajax manager Frank de Boer will wait until the end of the season to speak to Tottenham Hotspur over a potential move after he confirmed they have made an approach.
———–.
I have long believed Myles Palmer a pseudo-intellectual prat up his own arse but I was sent this link from this evening.
Is this guy for real?
Arsenal News Review
In other news, I’ve been asked to do some scouting for Louis Van Gaal, so I won’t be in London as much as I have been.
Louis has asked all his scouts – there are nine of us – to find alpha male warriors like Bale, Kompany and Ronaldo, big athletes who can dominate games and win the title for Manchester United in 2015.
It’s a big responsibility to find new stars for the Theatre of Dreams but I was flattered to be asked. Wish me luck!
Hopefully that will be his last word on Arsenal. Expect the men in white coats soon
29th April 2014
Aug 15, 2014
Home / Comment
So sorry to hear your news Trev. I’m at the end of a keyboard if anything crops up you want help with.
By the way I chided Palmer for asking Arsenal fans to wish him luck scouting for Manchester United! Egotistical prat
Trev so sorry to hear of the sad loss of your Mum.
sg 82 . Margaret and many of her extended family are Norwich City season ticket holders. Every year at least one of them can’t make the Arsenal game and I am lucky enough to pick up a spare ticket all be it among the home fans. Let’s hope we put up better show than last year!
Real one nil up against Bayern
Should have been red for Dante that was an awful foul on Ronaldo
So… Real Madrid vs Athletico final? 😀
Another for RM and Ramon again with a headerBayern need 4 goals 😉
Ramon=Ramos
I see someone getting sent off in this game…!
Busy here in the bar, so have only got one eye on the CL game.
Did I just see Ronaldo crying?
Anyone a stream for the CL game?
madrid vs MADRID in Lisbon.
Come on Cholo!
Game over ha ha ha ha
That’s a paddlin’ and its only 33 mins gone
Ozil scores that penalty and this is us taking one in the semi-final. This will be a season of ‘what if’ until we win the FA Cup. Then the banners go up and we go out and stomp all over the Prem next season. (I suppose if we did things like score that pen we probably wouldn’t take so many.)
Bayern had no real choice chasing the first-leg then the Skrtel’s, but this is another reminder after Sunday and the Chav c**t reserves, that you can’t just go hung-ho with 8 players bombing on against decent sides with some brains. Easy pickings.
On more important matters, Ozil and Ramsey were sublime yesterday. Giroud continues to prove he is class and like everyone else has temporary form. Another game making you say ‘what if?’ (Odd AOC never gets mentioned in the list of injuries, natural Walcott replacement and basically missed the whole season.)
From Villa onwards this has been a season of highs and lows. I have felt them all passionately. In the end, I am more than happy if we get 4 and a pot with the manager itchy on the transfer trigger finger. City (who I desperately hope win the league) and the Chavski shits still the ones to catch and they will keep pushing on with the dodgy $$$’s. Arsene needs to be quick on the draw now.
UTA
Maybe Arjen will score 5 in second half.
You never know.
delia, i sure hope so. everyone’s saying let’s rest the regulars if we’ve got 4th, and i’d rather have the best team out there (right, steve t?).
real just opened a can of whoopass on bayern in the first half.
el puno, i disagree that we’d be taking one if we’d made it. i think we’d play rm better than bayern has.
ttg, if myles has van gaal calling him to find some “alpha males”, i can only assume the best, and that mancs (no matter who follows a fired van gaal) are toast for longer than we expected when moyes was launched away.
Said it before, will say it again. Guardiolla is the most overrated manager in the world. He had the most balanced team in the world and destroyed it with his stupid experiments and outdated football philosophy that bases on possession. Like watching Barca, clueless and out of ideas, waiting for individual brilliance.
Ancelotti, is the total opposite. He had one of the most unbalanced teams in the world and made them recognizable force that is very hard to beat.
His teams often defend like Mourinho’s but you rarely get the impression that they parked the bus.
Direct and modern football based on speed and power, but also technically great and watchable.
Bayern 71% possession and Madrid 29%….. Hmm reminds me of pool vs chelski! HAHAHAHA!
This is hilarious.
Here’s hoping for a Madrid derby in Lisbon.
Sorry to hear about your mother, Trev. My condolences, Hope all is as well as can be in the circumstances.
Am looking forward to a madrid derby already.
BadOy: John Cleese can explain offside to you:
http://videosift.com/video/John-Cleese-explains-the-offside-rule-in-soccer
five goals in 30 minutes, chaps? mmmm, maybe if they had zidane on the bench….oh. wait.
Thanks Holic, NBN, Delia et al,
much appreciated. It was really the cliched “release” after 6 very tough years. Arsenal and everyone in this bar have often been a great help.
You have to give it to Bayern fans still making a lot of noise!
Trev
If you ever need anything just say the word mate!
Bayern fans leaving 😉
Trev and 8ball – my thoughts are with you both.
Is it a fire drill?
Is it a fire drill? 😛
COYG! Just win the next match. Here’s hoping Atletico show up to do a job tomorrow.
Ha ha what a cheeky one from Ronaldo ha ha ha
Bye Bye Bayern.
Neuer getting the stuffings he deserves!
Smirking at arsenal will get you humbled 🙂
Am happy Real Madrid are in the finals. Still have not forgiven bayern for the useless final a couple yrs ago. At least I know Madrid will beat Chelsea in the final. Yes I said finals becos you and I know that Chelsea will find a way to make it there.
Solid base, athletic players, hard work and swift counters built on pace and technicality.
10 years later, the teams winning across Europe are following Arsene’s model of the inimitable Invincibles.
Be lovely if he would do the same. With Ramsey, Walcott, Ozil, Cazorla we have the technicality. Need that base, the midfield shield and maybe some more dynamism up-front, but we shouldn’t be this far off.
El Puno pet hate: playing with attacking full-backs and having Sagna who cannot do a thing without space for a first-time cross. Been a great, great servant and Prem’s best RB for 5/6 years but no longer offering what we need imho. Parting of the ways may be best for both.
Bayern need a pep talk.
As chubby said, they took a spanking tonight.
Agree on Sagna, El Puno.
In today’s football fullbacks give you width and are used almost like wingers. We can’t do that with Sagna. Not anymore.
We need a RB who knows how to defend and Sagna is superb there and I like him, but we need RB who can beat his marker, who can sometimes drift inside when attacking, who can cross the ball, who can be less predictable, who is faster and who can sometimes use his left leg to make a pass- something Sagna almost never does.
Nice to see Birmingham in the relegation zone in the Championship going into the final weekend, hope they drop to the third tier.
Sadly it is written. An ex Chelsea manager leading Real Madrid and vice versa meeting in the Final. We will be sick to the back teeth of the special one by the end of May but I don’t think Chelsea have the quality to beat Real. On last week’s evidence Atletico have very little quality and I think Chelsea’s notorious luck will see them through. But the chances of Ancelotti switching from Real to a side who couldn’t qualify for Europe are zero.
So Spurs have approached Frank de Boer.
If it’s not a stupid question, why?
Charlie@149
And beyond! Graceless twats.
Hmm…..if de Boer were to take residence at Shite Fart Lane, would he ask his current assistant, DB10. to come along?
Would God accept? If he did, what would happen to the statue?
dk – yet another desperate attempt to turn the tide of history by bringing in a promising coach and ruining his reputation.
hopefully, bayonne, he’d stay with ajax as head coach, and the question wouldn’t be raised.
then, in four years’ or so time he’d come home and take over from the departing wenger…
Why dk?
Well probably because he’s one of the best young coaches in the business. A record equaling 4th title in a row by Ajax, I do believe they approached him before too.
If you mean why would he want to go there, then I agree, unless it’s for the money, which I can’t imagine he really needs.
He can break all records winning a 5th consecutive title, plus he’s guarenteed to test himself in the CL nxt season. He comes from a club where stability is seen as a strength, he has many former team mates in the directors box and coaching positions (Overmars, van der Sar, Bergkamp). He;d be absolutly barking to give that up for a job at the Swampies.
H2H knows 😉
My heartfelt condolences to you and your family, Trev. And all the best to Uply-mum.
H2H. I appreciate his record at Ajax, but, all due respect for the Dutch national team, the Eredivisie is hardly the highest level of football. Most (all?) of the players in the national squad play outside Holland. And if de Boer’s managed Ajax to four consecutive titles, he’s been in the CL 3 times already and not done a great deal. Ajax feature prominently on Danish TV every weekend because of the large number of young Danish players at the club, arguably the best of whom is now already down the road. None of the remainder would last 5 minutes at a PL club – OK maybe at one of the lesser lights like Spurs and West Brom.
And if he did accept Spurs’ offer, would he have to make do with the squad left to him? After all, they spent the crown jewels last season.
I would have thought there are managers in more competitive leagues who would be more interesting to Spurs if they’re going to do anything about the shit they’re in. But then maybe those managers wouldn’t be interested in Spurs, apart from getting a four year contract and getting the sack after one year. Sounds like a job for Michael Laudrup – right up his street.
Oh, and a message to Tim Sherwood – start looking for another job.
On second thoughts, sounds like a job for me – one season, get them relegated, easy.
Now where did I file that CV?
Does DB still have a fear of flying?
dk.
Maybe the Ere Divisie is not the creme de la creme, But he took over a team that hadn’t won the title in a while and turned them into a team that has done it four times in a row having his team picked apart every year, losing players to the other better European leagues.
What about Guus Hiddink? He only won the Ere Divisie too, how would you rate him?
Dennis doesn’t fly.
Yes he does D
He’s not a bad manager in NL however this could also back fire so I see H2H’s point. England and the premier league is a different ball game.
For him to come to LWC’s would mean to come our ofree his comfort zone why would he do that?
Heartfelt condolences on the loss of your beloved Mum Trev,i hope it was a peaceful passing from natural causes.
Just watched the Bayern – Madrid match,and Bayern were monstered from the first minute to the last.
They have paid the price for playing in a very weak league competition where they went unbeaten for months and months,and had the Title wrapped up weeks ago.
They neutered the only team that could challenge them,by buying their best player last season and taking their leading goalscorer for the 2015 season.
They also met little opposition on their way to the CL semi final.
So they have basically been strolling around all season feeling very superior.
By contrast a battle hardened Real have been in a 3 way contest for the Spanish title all season,have just won a pulsating Copa Del Rey final against Barcelona,and have 4 must win games in the league to try and win the Title.
To say that contrast showed this evening, would be an understatement.
The similarity between Real and the Invincibles was clear to me,and it still distresses me that we didn’t win the CL that season.
I think if AW had his time again,he wouldn’t have fielded a full strength side against Utd in the cup semi final 3 days before the CL 2nd leg against Chelsea.
Utd kicked the shit out of us,and we paid the price in the last 20 minutes against Chelsea.
Whether it was Arsene who made the decision to field a full strength side that fateful day,or whether the players pressured him into letting them play,i guess we will never know.
I have a sneaking suspicion that he wanted to emulate Fergie winning the treble back in that fateful season that shall remain nameless.
If that was the case,then a very heavy price was paid.
Cheers
The Sweeper
Maybe the Dutch league isn’t one of the big ones, but Ajax is still a masssive club.
The Arena holds 50k.
Put it this way, they’re a bigger club then Tottenham.
h2h, that’s not saying much, is it? tottenham’s shit. just about any club is bigger than shit.
Hmmm, I hadn’t realised that RM hadn’t been in a Champions’ League Final since 2002.
So, a club with bottomless resources to buy who they like every year playing in a league with only two possible winners most years, get to their first final for 12 years.
It’s odd that a club that played in the CL final only 8 years ago, that has had very limited money to buy players for most of the past 10 years and which, despite playing in a very competitive league with four potential title-winners most years, has like RM qualified in every one of those 12 seasons gets so much stick for “underachieving”. Maybe not so odd…
COYG
Scruz
Spot on mate.
H2H
I believe Frank has too much class and you are correct Ajax is a great club and always will be! However Arsenal way much better!
Good to see Real make a real solid BM all over BM.
Pangloss @ 169: Arsenal’s consistency in CL over the last decade or so has been nothing short of phenomenal, especially given the relatively moderate expense on team building (player purchase + wage).
This was the 16th consecutive seasons running in CL proper, and more impressively 14th consecutive seasons in the CL knock-out phase. One Final, one SF and 4 QF appearances. It is a tautology to have to say this, but the only thing we didn’t do is win it once. Because if we had done it (the invincible season or the 05-06 ) at least once the perception would have been so much better (for instance the way people automatically think Inter or ‘Pool as more of a CL success in recent years even though they have been much less consistent).
I am sure someone has done the analysis, but I am sure in terms of average european ranking per average annual expenditure we come out way top, for each year as well as cumulatively.
Many thanks to those who offered their condolences. That’s life I suppose. 🙁 🙂
Sorry to hear your sad news Trev, many sincere condolences.
Trev – sorry to hear about your mom and my condolences to you and your family.
8 ball – i hope your mom’s remaining time will be filled with love and happiness.
Trev,bt8b,
I remember watching us clinch the title in 2004 with my Mum in intensive care and finding it a bit surreal. It didn’t really register especially as my father- in – law was in Intensive Care in Bristol at the same time.
Mum rallied a bit and the news of the title and later the Invincibles was one of her last memories and really chuffed her. It’s hard to equate football and the loss of a loved one but I remember her saying to my father and I that she was glad we had the Arsenal to cheer us up. It really was a great tonic then and for my Dad something else to focus on that could help him. As he got older and much more infirm it was a huge source of joy for him. I was so taken with the Gooner Terry tribute that I have just ordered one for my Dad. He died four years ago but it will be magical to see his memory preserved at the Club that meant so much to him.
Thoughts will be with you both .
Dr F – When I was a youth I would read my grandfather’s copies of Scientific American and was fascinated by particle physics, and still follow current research. Later in school I was studying computer science and decided there was no future in the subject so went into geology. Which shows I am smart enough to be a professional footballer, if only I had the skill (I had to look up the meaning of tautology).
Real have now won Europe’s premier club comp ten times, Pangloss. That’s ten times more than us. Our ‘underachievement’ amounts to not winning when we had the best team in Europe, and only nearly winning it with a relatively inferior team. That and knowing Aston Villa have won it and Notts Forest won it twice ffs, never mind Liverpool’s five wins. Otoh Manure, with their assets, have only won it three times (their first nearly 40 years ago) and Abramovich, who views the CL as his primary objective, has managed just one win in a decade for his multi-billon £ investment. Hopefully not two in the near future.
And of course, if we qualify again this season we will have the longest unbroken qualification record of any English club, and second only to Real Madrid in Europe.
Not bad for a proper club with a proper history.
Öskar
Zico, Esso, Clive, Atg, ecg – many thanks, and to any I’ve missed individually.
Ttg – lovely stuff.
I’ve read several stories in this bar of how loved ones and the Arsenal are so intertwined. In the end, they are what makes it so special.
Clive knows @166.
Clive / bath / ttg,
I take Clive’s point about a lack of competition with bayern vs the 3 way horse race for the honours in Spain but does anyone (apart from me)not feel that pep has tried to impose a technical tippy tappy brand of technical football with a team who are not technically all that good? When you take ribery and robbed out of that side where is the technical ability? Last season Jupp Heynckes played a physical powerful brand of football which was far more suitable to Bayern and they blew everyone away. This season pep has ultimately diluted that power by trying to play a more technical game.
Ttg,
I’ll buy you a pint if chelski manage to beat Atletico. As highly as I regard mourinhos big game management, I just think this Atletico side have too much for them.
Joe – agreed.
Pep is beginning to look like a (very wealthy and decorated) one-trick pony.
Real should win the UCL for the sake of Zidane, hahha i adore that man.
Seriously they were excellent yesterday and showed why pace is so essential in today’s game. For all we may dislike them, Ronaldo and Bale are amazing and modric has had a season and a half.
Arsenal need pace to the team, even with theo there is hardly a sense of momentum in the team’s play.
The days when teams used to be afraid to get a corner or a set piece against us, fearing a counter attack at the speed of lightning are long gone.
I remember a game against blackburn in 05-06 i think, it was their corner, we get the ball, cesc to henry from our half go on till the blackburn penalty box and from around 18 yards, the king curls in a right footer to beat friedel. I mean in a split second from a corner to a goal, amazing. We do not have that kind of personnel but that pace is what i am trying to make a case for.
We need full backs much quicker and proper wingers not midfielders rolled into a winger mode. Arsenal need to have the pace back in the play or else it feels monotonous and easy to break.
Re: the game last night, I think Madrid’s performance underlined what a lot of us are crying out for: a move away from possession football and back to a more counter-attacking style where we break with pace and precision.
That said, the key to last night’s win for Madrid was Bayern’s inability to defend set pieces. The tie was effectively put to bed by the two Ramos headers – really disappointing goals for Bayern to concede at home in a game of this magnitude.
Regarding Guardiola, the suggestion he’s being found out is waaaay premature. We’re talking about a manager with less than five full seasons of top level management to his name and 17 major honours already in the bag. His team were pony last night, but I’d be wary about drawing broad brush conclusions on the basis of a single game, or even a single tie.
Bayern do look a little short – and they weren’t all that impressive against us either, but they are clearly missing a top centre forward. I suspect they’ll come again next term. Meanwhile, we need only look at the mess at Barcelona to see that the suggestion that it was all about the players, with Guardiola simply presiding over a perfectly primed machine, is wide of the mark.
He is a brilliant, innovative manager – the best in the world, even after last night. I’d have him at Arsenal in a heartbeat, and so would most of us, I suspect. I also thought he showed a lot of class after the game in admitting he’d made mistakes. Compare and contrast with what we’ll see from Mourinho this evening if Chelsea lose.
What it really underlines, for me, is just how tough it is to retain the Champs League. No team has done it yet, and we’ve seen some very good sides try and fail.
Oh, and come on Athletico! Chelsea Must Be Destroyed!
H2H. Had to go to bed last night sodidn’t see your response. I am in no way trying to denigrate Ajax’s history. I know what they mean to not just Dutch football, but European football. They’ve always had a fantastic academy, the ability to spot talent and bring them through – recent graduates Zlatan and Suarez (Eriksen possibly too). But, Dutch football apart, there is the sense that during the last 10/12 years they have been concentrating on doing that. Maybe it’s just a reflection of the way that money is distorting the game in that they are unable to hang on to these gems they find.
My “why” was double-edged. Spurs have a different project (in theory) and to realise it, I would have thought that they would need to try and get someone with a depth of experience that de Boer doesn’t have yet. Their problem is that right now, they have difficulty in attracting that sort of candidate, partly because they are so quick to sack people, partly because they bought a load of overpriced players last summer and there won’t be much available to strengthen a squad which is clearly inadequate.
From de Boer’s point of view, I can see that he maybe would like to broaden his experience outside Holland but I can’t see why he would want to choose Spurs for that, precisely for the reasons above. Germany would seem to be a better destination for him – somewhere like Werder Bremen, Frankfurt or Stuttgart, big city clubs with a following where he could make a difference.
I must say I am quite excited about the match tonight. Tonight I will be sat in front of my telly, ready to take it all in. In my eyes there is one clear favourite to win, what with all the experience of having won the whole kaboodle before and knowing what it takes to prevail under pressure.
But enough about Ronnie O’Sullivan v Shaun Murphy, this is a football pub after all.
Joe: I tend to agree with the Sweeper on this one, although I also think your point about Bayern not being as technichally gifted is also a good one as I agree that they simply don’t have the same kind of players that the Barca of a few years ago had. But I think the lack of competition in the Bundesliga this season is a far bigger factor, Bayern have had the league wrapped up for so long that I don’t think the way they play affected things too much. Let us not forget that despite everything else, what killed the tie was the shockingly poor defending on that corner that Real scored the first goal from and that had little or nothing to do with tactics. When you play what is little more than friendlies for a month you lose that extra bit of sharpness and I think that is what happened here.
Right, back to trying to get my computer to work properly. Came here just after 8 this morning and this sodding machine is still acting up.
Agree with what Lars says above re: Bayern.
They have some very, very good players. What they have lacked in recent games is someone to make the breakthrough – a Messi or an Iniesta. Both Robben and Ribery have under-performed.
It’ll be interesting to see what difference Lewandowski makes next season. He enjoys playing against Real, as I recall.
Real got well and truly rogered last night, but to suggest that Guardiola is a one trick pony seems to me to be somewhat disrespectful.
He would be high on my list of managers to be tapped if we were waving goodbye to Wenger come the summer.
Oops – Bayern of course GOT rogered by Real is what I meant to say.
I would imagine one of the central, and most overlooked, differences between Bayern this season and last is that the players aren’t out for revenge having been robbed blind in the previous year’s Champs League final.
I know you’ve probably all seen this before but just in case you haven’t… I hadn’t
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LZDlz39BR0
Heh @ first paragraph Lars, very good, 🙂
I don’t watch German games so often but Lewandowski and Mandzukic strike me as being very similar types of player. Their Bundesliga records for the last two seasons are very similar too – Lewandowski (25) 42 goals from 61 matches (68.8%) and Mandzukic (27) 33 from 53 (62.3%) – so if Bayern want Lewandowski and we get Mandzukic, I’ll be happy.
Not that it’s statistically all that relevant, but I see Matthäus is still insisting we’re going to sign Josip Drmic (21) from Nürnberg, who has 16 from 31 (51.6%) in 1 season and 44 from 88 (50%) at Zürich. Somewhat lower but playing at inferior teams – maybe he’ll do better at a better club (and maybe he’ll do worse).
Cynic. Ionly larff at crying Spurs fans if the are older than 12. 😉
On the other hand,
It doesn’t matter if you’re
A tot or a toddler
Or a waddling old codger
To enjoy such a glorious
St. Totts Day
Or Week.
Cynic – that’s from after the CL Final in 2012 when Chelsea’s win knocked Spurs out of the CL qualification spots.
Bayern’s game was lost with those two headers from Ramos, Real defended very well too and they couldn’t penetrate them in any way. Ribery will probably be banned for his little cheeky slap as well.
Robben was kept quiet all night too, he couldn’t do jack on his own. For me Bayern did not turn up for this game and we all know they are beatable we did just that last season. Once you’re two nil up and have to score four goals the task seems impossible, it’s like climbing a mountain. Bayern was never really a threat in that game.
As for Guardiola well you can’t really say anything about him. Got most trophies in his cabinet. He will raise again and with Lewy up front next season they will be there again, among the best.
I hope will be there too for that matter!
Mandzukic is not really a step up from Giroud. (imho) For the money Bayern would want, I feel we could do better.
Lays it on a plate……
I’ll buy everyone a pint and a plate of calamares fritos if Atletico beat Chelsea.
Tty thanks for sharing that story about the Invincibles year in your family.
Great assist H2H
8Ball and I’ll get the other round in!
You’re very welcome H2H @ #63.
I said at HT that someone should have given him a (white) afro wig so that more would have recognised him. Great to see him back at The Arse though.
Here’s hoping Atletico can silence Maureen tonight, if only for a couple of hours.
UTA!
I kinda enjoyed the Bayern defeat last night…Robben looked robbed lol…and Ribery, well, what to say, just the type to have sex with an underage girl! and I’m thinking, Real seem to be the only ones who could beat Chelsea…cos you know Maureen will nick a goal this evening and get through to the final…especially as all the injured, important players are suddenly right as rain
PS @ Lars – Hope your long-boat back home was better than the errant behaviour of your computing device.
Dr.z – I doubt AW is going to leave now, even if the unspeakable happens on 17th. Pep to The Arse seems even more unlikely given his current contract but what do I know?
@203
In the interests of fairness: Ribery didn’t strictly have sex with an underage girl. The age of consent in France is 15, the girl was 16. However, he paid her for the pleasure and the minimum legal age for sex work is 18.
Got to be fair to him as Benzeeeema was also involved, and as we all know (!) he’ll be playing for Arsenal next season!
N7@205: Yes, I stand corrected. It was the paying for sex bit I had overlooked. Yes, Benzy also involved in the incident. Now, according to the Beeb gossip, Chelsea are preparing a 40 million bid for Benzema in the summer, so I am not sure even if we are serious about him whether we will?
Afternoon all, Mr Holic, you need to know that all our first season flops will come good next season. Next season will also be the one we finish above you!! (I have never said this before, ask Tabs)
Dave,
Your first season flops will be gone by next season – only to be replaced by next season’s first season flops.
Next season’s manager(s) is/are, of course, included in this assessment. 😉
@Dave
“All our first team flops”
Sorry Dave, you’re going to have to narrow it down for us…
Trev, you may of course have a point. N7, not sure I can. All I know is that Mr Levy has a plan…
Dave, I’ve just taken a screen shot of that prediction.
Be sure it will be used in evidence against you.
@210 Good to know you haven’t lost your sense of humour 🙂
Heh Dave.
That would be everyone bar Erikson then.
Shame that the flops from the previous year will probably be off though. 😉
======
What can we expect from tonights game?
https://twitter.com/FootballFunnys/status/461441114055389184/photo/1
dkg, a sense of humour is required at the theatre of broken dreams
Dave.
In Levy We Trust Too.
H2H, I like the mad keeper Lloris but if he leaves we still have, believe it or not, Gomes. The rest of the them are average at best most of the time. That’s the thing, it’s been woeful football all season yet we are still probably going to finish 5th. Confirms to me that the Premier League isn’t as great quality-wise as it thinks it is. But, like you I guess, I’m tied to my team for life, however bad they are. Anyway, come on Hull!!
@213
Less a theatre, more a Punch and Judy show, I’d say 🙂
Well I certainly wouldn’t mind having pep at arsenal either – simply because we’re probably one of the few teams on the planet with the same football philosophy and style of play of barca.
But that doesn’t mean that there are big question marks when you try to impose a style of play on a team that blew everyone in Europe away last season. My point is that it clearly didn’t work and I never fancied bayern to win the CL this season after seeing how vulnerable they were when we ran at them (ive always fancied atletico to win the cl this year). I also think it somewhat disrespectful to RM to suggest that bayern conceded poor goals from set pieces. RM gave a masterclass in the first tie and were very unlucky not to be 2 up when Ronaldo missed a sitter. All they had to do was score once last night to put the tie beyond bayern. They scored 4 and more than repaid the spanking they got from bayern last year! It was a clinical and ruthless performance and had far more to do with bayern not being able to score given the enormous amount of possession they had over the two ties as opposed to the defensive mistakes they made.
Lars,
I feel pep deserves a lot of credit for the way in which bayern completely ran away with the German league. They’ve never won it so easily. And while Clive’s point about bayern buying up dortmunds top players is very true – you still can only beat the teams you meet. Dortmund have lost Goetze and now lewandowski to bayern and chances are reus will move too. Yet still this year, Klopp almost managed to turn around a 3 goal deficit against RM. In some ways peps instant success at a domestic level caused even bigger expectations at a European level. I just think he tried to impose too much change in such a short timespan.
I’ve never really rated Lloris Dave, always thought he was an accident waiting to happen, he get’s away with murder rushing out like he does. Pretty surprised he hasn’t seen red this season.
Win your last two games and you equal your best PL tally (I think), so that’s not too bad.
Before I forget…
A belated Happy St Totteringsham Day…… 😀
H2H that picture made me laugh 😀 cheers mate!
H2H@192: cheers mate, it seems you were the only one to pick up on it 🙂
TS@204: the journey home was done without complications, the tube was running well enough for us to get to Heathrow via Paddington. Really glad we didn’t have to take a taxi from there by the way, the queue for the taxi rank outside the station was absolutely massive.
N7 @ 216: Ha ha ha ha! Phew … ha ha.
No team in the modern CL era has won it consecutively. Not even the great Barca at their peak. The last one to have done it was Arrigo Sacchi’s Milan in 89 and 90. I have started watching football in mid-eighties and Sacchi’s Milan IMHO remains the best club team I have ever seen, better than Cruyff’s Barca, better than Pep’s Barca, and better than our invincibles , better than Madrid galacticos . But that could also be because they were the first great club team I really remember very well.
So I think there is something to be said about maybe a bit of drop in the desire or hunger, or maybe just a bit of complacency, that contributes to the failed run to defend the CL.
Pep is still very young. He has shown that he is extremely intelligent and someone who is looking for fresher challenges. He has been tremendously successful in a very short span of time, but he will get better, less theoretical and maybe more subtle and varied in his game plans. Once Arsene leaves he would be my preferred choice.
Lars,
I got it too. Just didn’t comment ‘cos I don’t get the point of darts. 😉
Looks like Bayern may have a decision to make.
Do they stick with their manager, in which case they may have to change a lot of their players if he is going to insist on tikka-takka (?) football.
Or maybe opt for a style of football that actually suits his players Trev?
Last season Trev we insisted on playing a formation that clearly didn’t work with the players we had. We were forced to become more pragmatic towards the run in and this meant we focused on defense, less on a game based on dominant possession but on being more clinical with the chances we had. It worked! And the same worked for large parts of this season until we reverted to tinkering with the formation at a time when we had so many players out when what we really needed to do was start with a philosophy of not loosing, rather than naively trying to play a high line at places like the bridge.
you’d have to stand in front of the board to get that, trev@222.
i thought it was a boxing match. 🙂
Trev, the point of darts is the sharp end. 😉
Annoyingly, Ronnie O’Sullivan played so well in the morning session that he’s already won the match so I won’t get to see him play tonight. Will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon when he faces Barry Hawkins in the semi-final.
And in case anyone didn’t know, O’Sullivan is not only the defending world champion, he is also an Arsenal fan.
BTW, I meant to make puns like scruz and H2H but they got there ahead of me!
Trev, H2H the whole point of darts is to emphasize the importance of size XXXXXL when buying shirts.
Football 365 T Shirts used to be advertised in the following sizes;
Small
Medium
Large
Extra Large
Dart Player.
I of course comfortably fit into the ‘Dart Player’ size category now. No what I mean is a comfortable fit for me now is ‘Dart Player’.,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHnBppccI0o
Not sure what happened to the link, let’s try that again…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/manchester-city/10797048/Manchester-City-hit-by-Uefa-with-Champions-League-squad-size-cut-and-fine-for-breaching-financial-rules.html
n7, so we don’t know if the fine is minimal. how much of a squad cut is being discussed?
and if we want to challenge the punishment, we can. now to see if it’s all real!
Heh Esso – that clip looks like any Saturday in The Tollie.
No names no pack drill. 😉
Dave, thanks for dropping by and standing your corner. You are a friend of a friend of ours, so I’m sure you’ll be happy to have made so many of his friends smile 😉
Take care fella. See you next March for the twentieth 😉
Cheers for the chuckle Esso.
I remember that sketch only too well, chucking a few serious arrows as I was at the time 🙂
Glad to report I am now very small dart player sized 🙂
Heh Esso.
Darts has
improvedincreased my weight. 😉A true story.
The scar on my leg from the recent surgery is almost exactly 16″ long.
Due to the collective failure of various nurses to take it out when required, one continuous non-dissolvable stitch had managed to get itsself buried under said scar.
Therefore, last night I had to see the surgeon who dealt with it on the spot, by digging a loop of it out from the centre of the scar. He then snipped it in half and pulled with some mini-pliers-like instrument.
And pulled. And pulled. And with no form of anaesthetic – at all.
The best way I can describe what that feels like is –
HOOOO-LEEEEE-SSHHIIITTTTTT !!!!!
I honestly want NO offers of sympathy for this little tale. It is intended as a tribute to those who are involved in animal conservation.
How ?
It will hopefully be enough to stop ‘cba’ from devouring 50% of the local farm animals from his barbecue this evening. 😉
N7.
All conjecture on my part, but if City really do believe, as the article states, that their deal with Ethihad is true market value then they will most probably appeal.
We shall see.
H2H, N7,
What I read at the time of the Etihad deal, was that City had devised the ” area around the stadium ” idea precisely because there was no other such deal and, therefore, market value could not be disputed.
So if I understand the linked article correctly, City can appeal their sanctions, in which case the adjudication will be reassessed, or accept their guilt, in which case they receive a lesser sanction anyway.
Any chance UEFA could just ask them in advance what sort of punishment they would be happy to receive, halve it and then let them off anyway ?
Oh, they are …..
Turning into the joke we all feared.
Hope Atletico are up for the task!
Trevor hope the scar is feeling better now 😉
Steady on now everyone, I think the City penalty may be rather a lot more harsh than it may seem on first inspection. The fine won’t do a lot, but the reduced CL squad could have very big impact assuming the reduction isn’t just that they must leave out one under-21 player. A reduced squad for the CL will mean less opportunities to rotate and potentially a bigger toll on their best players which would in turn affect their league performance.
There is also the fact that, at least according to earlier reports, the penalties follow a rising scale. If they fail to comply next season as well they will be more severely punished.
In other words, provided UEFA don’t cave in and let them off the hook in case Man City appeal then I am starting to think they may actually mean business with this FFP thingamabob. And also, remember what I’ve been saying for quite a while: teams like City, Monaco and Chelsea would be the perfect scapegoats for UEFA and if they do start punishing them, it will be much more difficult to let Real and Barca off the hook later on.
An Atletico player tries to cross the ball, overhits it slightly and Schwarzer is nowhere near the ball which hits the bar, then the post and bounces of Ivanovic’s knee and goes just over the bar… we all know how this game is going to end, right?
Lars,
I thought the original idea was that if teams incurred unreasonable levels of debt they would be banned from European competition, which would surely be the ultimate, no fudge solution.
Such a threat was, I believe, made to Real Madrid some years ago, which resulted in them boosting their income by selling their inner city training ground to the local authority for some stupid amount of money.
A bit of a con, maybe, but it certainly made them act.
Now, however, UEFA have already said they will not ban clubs from European competition, thereby nullifying their own ultimate threat before the thing has even started.
Rizzoli is ref.
Remember the red for Wojciech.
Nuff said.
I remember reading that too, Trev, I thought it was a smart move at the time.
Lars, I’ll hold judgement until after the (probably numerous) appeal(s).
I’m afraid until something really does happen, I’ll remain sceptical.
Come on Atletico!!!!
Trev, expulsion is still a very distinct possibility. But I don’t think that will neccessarily be neccessary for it to have an effect. Will players want to sign for, say, City knowing they may have to be left out of the CL squad or even that City must play with a reduced squad, thereby significantly reducing their chances of winning the thing?
H2H: we’ll see. I did add my caveat about not folding in case of an appeal but I must say UEFA have already acted much more forcefully than I expected them to.
Ofcourse Torres. 🙁
I would like to see the deal with the devil Chelski made, I hope it catches up with them sometimes……big time ..unbelievable.
Why’s it that Ex-players always score against their old club? !!!
Is this an unwritten rule of the footballverse!?!
Get in!!
Atletico!!! Adrian!
HAHHAHAHA! A most entertaining half 😀
Come on Atletico 😉
Penalty ATM
🙂 🙂 🙂
Ah… and it gets better 😀
ATM should have had a penalty before that one was given, so, kinda, justice was done.
Cholo Simeone! 😀
Grazie, Nicola.
Odds on a Ramires dive ?
More pictures of Moronho please. 😉
Irony would be if Atletico park the bus now! 🙂
What’s the point of replacing Torres with Ba if you need to go full out to score?
That doesn’t seem very “Special” to me.
Courtois is superb. He should stay at Atletico, they are going places!
GET IN THERE!!!!
You asking me H2H ?
Must be confusing me with someone who gives a shit 😉
Game over. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH 😆
Ah .. Masterclass as they say Jose!
Ha ha ha what a beauty ha ha ha ha
Hold on the red is doing alright tonight 😉
Ref not bloody red phone 😉
BB.
Athletico, like any other club that threatens the absolute power of the Real Barca axis in La liga, will be picked apart, best players will be sold for a tidy profit, some debts (which are plentiful) will be paid off and they’ll dissapear into obscurity for a while again.
Chelsea have looked absolutely clueless after Atletico made it 1-1, it looks like they have no idea how to play when not sitting back defending. You know, almost as if the great tactician have no plan B…
Mourihno is a twat.
And Ashley is her daughter.
And they were caught in the act of incense.
Moronho doesn’t seem quite so visible now. Funny, eh ?
Who will he blame tonight ?
“has no plan B” – third person, ffs… 🙂
Moron-o: Specialist in Failure!
Anybody able to translate the “Jose Mourinho…..” chant coming from the Atletico supporters???
Jose Mourinho, Jose Mourinho, Jose Mourinho ha ha ha get the fuck outta of here
H2H
Yes that has been the rule so far, hopefully they keep winning and producing brilliant players like Costa, Falcao, Aguero, Torres to name a few and maybe change La Liga into a more interesting league.
One can only hope.
As it stands, hope they take home the double this year!
He’s just a simple words would describe it. ..
A proper cunt!
It would be nice BB, but it won’t happen.
At least not until they change the TV money situation from which I believe Barca/Real recieve about 80% of.
Chucklin’ 🙂
Joe,
Congratulations mate you called it perfectly. It was great fun to see Chelsea hoist by their own petard. In truth as well in a more open game Atletico looked a far better team than the mob we saw last week. It will. E an interesting final with great passion involved but I think that my money will be on Real. But as Atletico have shown tonight they really know how to win big games.
I think it down to me to buy the pint Joe!
Atletico players must be supremely fit, they move in small swarms!
And quick too!
Why mouninio didn’t play with first squad? same which won at Anfield
Oh delicous shadenfreude, my cup runneth over. 😉
So that’s Maureen out of the CL?
Mug 😆
The moaning one will shoot his mouth off about everything and everyone and hopefully get banned for some CL matches next season!
😀
Gloat, gloat gloat.
Losing at home comprehensively to a team coming from behind.
Masterclass Jose! Here’s to many more performances of the same calibre!
🙂 😀
Let’s hope another team in red-and-white can do something similar next season.
Beautiful sunny morning here in Auckland NZ, as is usually the case.
My mood has been futher brightened by watching Chelsea lose at home to Atletico.
Deep fucking joy.
Commentators full of derision for JM’s “tactical ” substitutions.
Makes a chap feel all warm inside.
Coffee, I think.
And a satisfied smile.
“If you know your opponent wants to get behind your back line and is good at doing it, and you don’t do something about it, you’re stupid.”
(or words to that effect)
J. Mourinho 30.04.2014
Gary Neville full of praise for Atlético.
Whacks one off the bar …
Pops up for the assist…..
Nice one H2H
Completes the humiliation – let’s call it 4-1
Cheers dk, bit of an accident that one though.
An ex-pat combination
I haven’t felt this happy in a long while. Maybe it’s because I don’t have to put up with seeing Mourinho on the touchline in Lisbon.
Is this too much to hope for that this result would have a bit of an impact on Chelsea team and they would lose the next two PL matches to yield us the third spot?
If Chelsea loses this weekend’s match anything can happen on the final Sunday.
BTW, Atletico being neither the fastest nor the physically strongest team they really have an excellent defensive organization and discipline, especially in terms of covering spaces and double-teaming. And looks like a very well-drilled and well-rehearsed team, they worked on the long ball to back-post and then cut back inside routine all day long and something Chelsea defense continuously had problems to deal with.
Atletico’s fans could be heard chanting ‘Hijo de Puta (Son of a bitch) at Mourinho’…..
…They get straight to the point don’t they these fans!
😀
Chelski out of CL, couldn’t happen to a nicer team 🙂
What can I say ????
Do I really need to say it?
Quoting from BBC:
“At the final whistle, the visitors danced in front of their fans as John Terry stood in the centre circle and shed tears. It is the first time Atletico have reached a European Cup final since 1972 – and their meeting with Real will be the first time two clubs from the same city have ever contested the final.”
Atlético’s third reminded me a bit of one by Santi – I think it was against Liverpool – header against the post and then followed up by putting the rebound in the net.
DK
I remember that goal very well 🙂
It has to be said it brings balance to the world of football for this team not be involved in this competition!
The best BUS driver in the world got it back from those who really love moving swiftly through traffic!
I think the problem with Mourinho is that he can’t accept that football is really about the players on the pitch. He wants it to be about HIM and what a wonderfully clever man he is.
I hope Norwich line up 5-4-1 at the weekend, even though it won’t do us much good.
Ttg,
Your a class act and for a long time on this blog I have humbly learned from the likes of yourself, Holic, Bath, Clive, btm & co about the history of this club. So when that time comes when we do eventually meet, the pint will be on me good sir!
Atletico are the hardest working team I have ever seen. I have seen better offensive sides and better defensive sides but they have a sense of balance that is very rare. What impresses me so much is how they reduce space for opposing teams. Hazard didn’t get a millimetre tonight. Ronaldo won’t either. Ive said it for a long time before X-mas that I thought this team would win the CL – and tonights performance consolidates that opinion. They were majestic and one would almost be forgiven for thinking that AM were at home tonight! Be great for football if they won!
dkgooner wacks one off and H2H pops up to assist? Boys, this is a family establishment…
Joe: Atletico were magnificent in the second half tonight. The final has the potential to be one hell of a game.
Heh
Just home from a Roseanne Cash concert (the dog’s bollocks) to find that I missed a victory for football. I hear the racist chief chav on the field was nearly greetin’ at the end.
Sounds like Madrid will be decanting to Lisbon for a nice day out.
I will be in Lisbon a couple of weeks after the CL final, and am totally relieved that the city has been spared a visit by the Chelsea pond life.
It’s been a good week already, what with St Totts and now Atleti pissing on Maureen’s chips….. 😀
Lars,
They’re just a great team to watch. Full of honest effort. It’s like watching 11 Spanish Aaron Ramseys!
Evening Joe
Agree with your comments on Atletico.
They have fought all season long against the 2 moneybags Clubs in Spain at the top of La Liga and are on the brink of a stunning upset Title win if they beat Levante and Getafe in their next 2 matches.
They are not a team of Superstars,just a collective group that Diego Simeone has moulded into a very very competitive outfit.
So kudos to him and his players.
I thought they were superb this evening,never panicked even when going behind,got a somewhat fortunate equaliser,but never sat back to try and protect their advantage,rather they ‘ seized the moment ‘ kept on the front foot by attacking,and took their destiny into their own hands.
A just reward for playing the game the way it should be played,trying to outscore the opposition as opposed to putting 10 men behind the ball to frustrate them.
I have a lot of Old school mates,some of whom follow Chelsea, none of them enjoy the way their team plays,nor did they choose the manager,but they follow their Club through thick and thin just as we do.
But to a man they have all said that their 2nd club is the Arse and that despite his recent lack of success,they would take Wenger over Maureen in a heartbeat.
Just so they could watch the club they have followed for 30 – 40 yrs play some PROPER football before they die.!!
Cheers
The Sweeper
Clive, that observation about your Chavski-supporting schoolmates provides a great perspective on ‘our troubles’.
Maureen finally runs out of diesel.
Do you think Terry will still be in Lisbon to collect the trophy anyway???
Heh Steve T. He will have to dig out a red and white striped shirt. I’m sure he can go down to a local sports shop and lift a Sunderland one.
Evening Bath
I also have some long time mates who follow the Hammers.
They are absolutely devestated at the way that Allardyce has dragged their Club into the gutter with his dreadful long ball tactics.
There is serious unrest down at Upton Park.
Ditto at our near neighbours.
We should be eternally grateful for what we have at the Arse.
Hi Steve,
Hope you are well,
are you taking the little ones to Wembley.??
Clive. Good evening. Sadly my away credits did not stretch to a ticket for either. They will have to make do with a sofa seat in the lounge.
I take it all is good with you and yours???
Hi Steve
Yes all well mate
Just heard from my Brother that he has secured his ticket for Wembley,given he hasn’t been to any away games this season,not sure how he has got one.
My sister and nephew are both still on tenterhooks waiting to hear.
So fingers cossed for them.
I assume you have secured a ticket for yourself.??
Yes, I have my ticket I’m pleased to say. Very much looking forward to it. Fingers crossed for another great day.
I hope your sister and nephew get some good news very soon. You not managed to secure one via the “FA football family” and the Ramblers???
😀
Just stopped laughing- oh, no, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. 🙂
ATG @309,
“At the final whistle, the visitors danced in front of their fans as John Terry stood in the centre circle and shed tears.” from BBC.
Well, it’s what bullies do when they don’t get their own way. That oaf has almost – not quite – single handedly hoisted Chelsea above the Totts for me, as the team I hate most.
Clive – ggod stuff,
And interesting that your mates have Arsenal as their second team. I’d bet that not a single Gooner would reciprocate.
Joe,
Good prediction and spot on about the way Athletico deny space. They made Chelsea second to virtually every loose ball too.
Love you all 🙂
Night Guv’.
By the way, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. 😆
Your calamares been fried Jose. Deep fried the way we like it. Ole. Ole. Ole. Ole.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Silent Mourinho is a sight to behold!
What’s even funnier is how Chelsea fans are suddenly all gracious on twitter, saying things like “Atletico were great, hope they win the final” when we know they’re crying inside at the prospect of finishing this season with absolutely nothing to show for it.
Atletico are now my second favorite team, just for making John Terry cry.
Very late response to this report
Apologies for disrupting the flow of the ongoing drinks.
Great report Holic.
One of the best.
Loved seeing ozil show why he is so important as an individual but agree wholeheartedly that when he is connected with aaron and santi, that is the heart of the team for me for the future.
Great result all round for all the reasons already mentioned by many
Eden Hazard became the latest critic of Jose Mourinho’s tactical methods after Chelsea exited the Champions League on Wednesday night, saying “Chelsea is not made to play football.”
“Chelsea is not made to play football. We’re good on the counter, a little bit like Real against Bayern.”
http://www.espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1803570/eden-hazard-criticises-chelsea-tactics-jose-mourinho-parking-bus
HAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHHAHAHAHAHHAH!
Hilarious!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2617407/John-Terry-kit-joins-Atletico-celebrations-Terry-Tiny-Tears-Doll-Chelsea-bus-crashes-best-internet-virals.html
Hijo de puta is literally Son of a whore. Coincidentally (?) Jose is also a son of one and quite possibly related to putas in a variety of other ways as well. I do have to give credit to the Atletico fans for calling him as they see him. 😉
What a performance by Athletico Madrid. That’s what Spirit and Belief and Mental Strength looks like. Not 6-0. Plus they’re in pole position for La Liga. Good luck to them. I’d imagine Simeone could choose whatever Manager’s job he wants right now. Who would have thought a CL Final between two Spanish teams & one’s not Barca? Funny old game Football.
With respect to Giroud, inasmuch as it is hard for me to describe him as a resoundingly top top class striker, he has a very sturdy-strongish, never say die attitude, and I for one am glad he had as healthy a season as we could ever hope for, and I look forward to the next.
Cheers,
mec
p.s. Can’t wait until next year…I love everything about this team, and this club.
Hi Clive, @ 319
Pedants cap on – looks like AM have to play Levante away, Malaga at home and then Camp Nou last game of the season. They need 2 wins assuming Real win theirs.
Can we get half of that Athletico team please, hahaha. I mean seriously what a team effort and the best part was a chelsea loanee was brilliant against them. That save by Cortouis of terry’s header was for me the pivotal moment in the match.
Cant laugh enough seeing eto’s tackle on costa for the penalty, hahaha amazing to see him there defending.
Specialist in failure??? well jose 6 defeats in 8 semis, got to give it to you for consistency, you make sure that your teams reach the later part of the UCL, but then you also know how to lose majority of them right, add to the fact that you have spent zillions to form these teams, no you dint build any you moron.
Athletico will not win the UCL, its destined for Real but then this has been an amazing season for them, kind of what Dortmund did a couple of seasons back, can they sustain the same for more seasons to come, i doubt, for they will end up losing a lot of this team.
I for one think Atletico winn win the CL and the league, and deservedly so should they do it!
Enough of this parking the bus business! Let’s see some teams that will come out and play!
😀
winn=will 😀
“Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho rues crucial Thibaut Courtois save” – BBC
I think this answers the crucial question from last night. It’s all the fault of those people at UEFA whou wouldn’t allow Chelsea to insist that Curtois not play.
I’m gald that’s all sorted out.
COYG WTNM
Clive
I have a soft spot for West Ham in that they respect a certain approach to football. They also beat Spurs the week before their Cup Final appearance so we could get into the Champions League. Even relatively poor West Ham sides played great pass and move football. Allardyce has trampled all over that and I think its a pity.
For all Wembley bound Holics a friend of mine, Tom has a pub in the parade of shops to the left of Wembley Park tube as you look at it. It is called Watkins Folly and has been designated a Gooner pub for the day. The publican, Tom is a very strong Gooner as well. So if you haven’t got a place to drink!
Afternoon all.
Never really had a second team, even though I’ve been to loads of matches here in the Low Lands. I’d support the team of the people I was with, if they won great, if they lost, ho hum.
Definetly no second team in England, if they’re not Arsenal, then fuck ’em.
No Second team anywhere for me to, but yes someone plays good football you do admire them, of course no english team merit admiration than my dear Arsenal.
Everyone has a second favorite premiership team.
It’s whoever is playing Tottenham.
I get where the Wet spam fans are coming from, no one would want that walrus faced. negative tacticed, tub o lard as their manager, but would do well to look at the record of the teams that Fat sam left behind. Bolton, Blackburn and Newcastle were all relegated after he left.
He may not play great football, but he knows how to keep a team in the division, something that is of paramount importance to the Spammers as they prepare to move to their new stadium. I believe that the porn peddling owners are aware of this and won’t remove him until they are safetly installed in the olympic park.
* but they would do
further ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha about moanin’ho:
http://www.marca.com/2014/04/30/futbol/champions_league/1398889940.html?a=3f7fa5e9bc12a95240bbd3f3b29846f3&t=1398926293
Excellent link scruz. Tee hee. 😀
They must of forgot to recite this at the Bus Stop last night;
http://p.twimg.com/Av2OwYFCEAEZhL1.jpg:large
With your kind permission Holic a very good read:
http://www.7amkickoff.com/2014/anti-football-pro-football-or-pragmatic-football/?
Chelsea assistant manager Rui Faria is given a six-match ban for his altercation with officials during the loss to Sunderland.
It’s getting worse for the blues! 🙂
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27248257
I never knew Chelsea had a manager, let alone the assistant.
But you learn something every day.
They will have to source an extra-large laundry basket for that fella to be smuggled into the dressing room.
Heh H2H @352 -how apt.
Good link Joe @353
Arsene doesn’t know how long the Ox will be out because there aren’t 3 weeks left in the season…… 🙄
good on you joe@353, tim’s got an excellent perspective. only by setting aside his cuntishness, mind.
A tents post >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Great delivery. Solid arguments. Keep up the great effort.
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