Keeping The Memories Fresh
Jun 2nd, 2015 by 'holic
Seventy-two hours after the event there is still a sense of giddiness in the air. For too long we went without winning anything of note, so to be celebrating a second consecutive FA Cup is somewhat surreal. I could get used to this feeling.
In an attempt to keep basking in the afterglow of an amazing day spent with wonderful people I looked back at all the pre-Final stuff I had missed as I spent most of my free time in the lead up to the Final getting the media day stuff into type. Then I stumbled on the following tale, with thanks to Katie for the heads up.
Nine-year-old Junior Gunner Malachi enjoyed the surprise of a lifetime during Arsenal’s game with Sunderland last week, when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain paid him a visit with some special news.
https://www.facebook.com/Arsenal/videos/10153119094572713/
The Ox sought out the Edgware youngster in his seat at Emirates Stadium at half-time and invited Malachi pitchside to reveal that he had been randomly selected from over 34,000 Junior Gunners to be Arsenal’s mascot for the FA Cup Final against Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium.
The Arsenal and England star presented him with an Arsenal strip and FA Cup Final tickets in front of the Emirates Stadium crowd and explained that he would get to visit the Gunners’ changing room before the game at Wembley and lead them onto the pitch for kick-off.
The Ox said afterwards: “We really enjoyed surprising Malachi and letting him know he’d be our mascot for the FA Cup Final. He’s obviously a huge Arsenal fan and I’m sure he’ll have a fantastic time at Wembley that he’ll remember for a long time.” I’ll wager he did, Ox!
Malachi and his family had been told that he had won tickets to the Sunderland game kindly donated by Indesit, Presenting Partner of Junior Gunners, which he was thrilled about. Little did he know that the Arsenal had something else in store for him!
What a lovely touch by the club, who continue to do things with a lot of class.
Art of Football New Cup Final Design
Also while it is fresh in the memory the good folk at Art of Football have added an Alexis special to their Arsenal product line. It is a reminder of a stunning strike and a great addition to an excellent range.
And with that I think I shall go and watch the match for a third time. Well, it only happens every twelve months, doesn’t it?
105 Responses to “Keeping The Memories Fresh”
As mentioned in the last set of drinks, I’ve never bothered with polls before, but would appreciate it if you would get over to http://abergkampwonderland.co.uk/abw-awards-2014-15/ and vote for your favourites.
I’ve enjoyed working with those boys and hope to get invited back on.
Thank you.
From last drinks, already voted ( mine’s the usual pint of Guinness Guvna 😉 ).
Friday 29 May Sepp Blatter on his re- election ” Let’s Go FIFA Lets Go FIFA” – Mission accomplished 🙂
Done, Holic.
Cheers chaps.
Still grinning from ear to ear? 🙂
Hey Guvnor here’s a song for you and all the holics. No recent live performance I see on the web comes close to matching this original version but I saw U2 in the 1980s and was amazed what a good live band they were. Cheers!
Promised song in 5. 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrch66gdjjk
Grinning from where to where ?
“FIFA Purged by Sepp-ository”.
Ok, cba ?
What does a ‘president for life’ do after resigning? It may be worth monitoring his future emails to make sure he’s still not running things from behind the scenes. Just sayin’
Nice one Guvna.
FIFA Sepparating, Trev?
Desepperate times at FIFA. 🙂
*gets coat*
Bath, afraid I did “Cream of FIFA Sepparates” in the last bar. 😉
Cilla Black arrives at FIFA Headquarters with a writ in a special edition of
“Sepprise, Sepprise”.
Guv’nor – For Heaven’s sake, don’t pay for Uply’s drink in dollars. You know it makes sense.
Trev….good to see you pun ishing us…no sepprise there then!
Panglossian…it’s my own FBI approach – Free Beer Initiative 😉
*looks for coat hoping that Bath hasn’t taken it by mistake.
i think FIFA is suffering from a deviated sepptum.
voted, guv.
New election in Sepptember? They’ll go to the Blatter Box then, I’m sure…
Scruz……Fifa definitely suffering from Sepsis and need an urgent fresh blood transfusion.
Ay up lads, Pfeiffer alert on BBC1 😉
He Might As Well Reign Until Sepptember. 😉
Who sang that ?
A new TV series featuring a Swiss mob of racketeers is to be called –
“The Seppranos”
Trev..many hehs. I see FIFA has emptied its Blatter – well they were taking the puss for long enough.
20……The great Carol King sang / co-wrote the song you mention.
No, please, this is all turning Sepptic. 🙁
Grr…..taking the piss….bloody spull chucker.
🙂
Now Blatter is to be unemployed he’ll have to rely on the
Sepplimentary Benefits he’s been collecting for so long.
Seppoku must surely have already been taken?
uply’s on fiyah… he’s beating the spill chucker with his seppter…
did you hear, since he’s going to be out of work, that blatter is going to be forming a band that plays swiss hillbilly music? he’s calling it “blatter and the seppcats”. no, y’all wouldn’t believe that, being as sepptical as you all can be 🙂
Six degrees of Sepparation.
Blatter had to go once the FBI got involved AND the Swiss authorities. I suspect someone has had a word in his shell like and the plea bargaining has already begun. They will have some serious stuff on him which I suspect will emerge over time.
I suspect Qatar is doomed and there may be doubts over Russia in 2018.
#1 done, ‘holic, including a vote for someone called ‘Goonerholic’ in one category. 😉
Öskar
What Oskar said @30 in this moment of triumph for the father (Arsene Wenger), the son (Theo Walcott) and the holy here one moment gone the next ghost (Alexis Sanchez).
http://imgur.com/gallery/ruqM7Ux 😀
http://imgur.com/gallery/YABOsYC 😀 😀 😀
nobody quits the mafifa, unless they want to find a sepperated horse head in their bed.
bb, that first is hilarious!
http://abergkampwonderland.co.uk/abw-awards-2014-15/
Guv’nor is running second in his category. Time to step up people.
Watched young Zelalem playing for USA against NZ in the Fifa U20 WC currently happening here. He had a useful game with some nice passing, but he’s put on no size/weight since I last saw him and looks way too lightweight to be challenging for a Prem spot any time soon. He seems to be the only Arsenal rep in the event.
Öskar
But has Splatter really gone? He’s quit before and with no leadership election planned for this year I assume he will still be pulling the strings. And I wouldn’t bet he won’t change his mind.
I’ll believe it when he’s arrested and behind bars.
Öskar
Cheers H. Voting done.
Blatt The Rat (the image is of a game of whack-a-mole with Blatter’s head instead of moles).
The president of the Qatar FA, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Ben Ahmed Al-Thani, has not taken too kindly to FA chairman Greg Dyke’s comments about the Gulf state’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup…
“Mr Dyke’s instinct to immediately focus on stripping Qatar of the World Cup speaks volumes on his views concerning what will be the first Fifa World Cup to take place in the Middle East,”
“We would urge Mr Dyke to concentrate on delivering his promise to build an England team capable of winning the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.”
—————————-
Them’s fightin’ words….!
Time to uncover the bribes and strip them of it as well as charge them with human rights abuses!
If European clubs refused to release their players, all the problems would be solved. and we’d get rid of the joke that is international football almost overnight.
The Qatar World Cup’s stadia will hopefully be an unused ‘Seppulchre’ for the hubris of the venal FIFA Executive Committee and that corrupt racist state.
However there still needs to be a lot of unravelling of clues and blood-letting for this to be achieved.
Blabber was going to set up his own special investigating team but was unable to locate Inspector Clouseau and therefore decided to resign 😉
Sanchez playing again on the 11th??? oh god he is going to drain himself totally this way. I so wish he says he had a slight niggle which will keep him off the tournament and then comes backs afresh in august, sadly aint happening knowing him.
Also BBC did have a short video of his roots and how he is a superstar there. For a boy of such humble surroundings to the superstardom he is at now, his humility has not changed and that is where upbringing comes into picture.
Blatter gone and Rafa to Real, 2 headlines dominating today and i dont know whether to laugh or cry for either. Both waste of space but were always at the right place at the right time.
The void starting to hit now, no Arsenal for another couple of months and the silly season of rumours is all that i will hear. Latest i read was pool ok to sell sterling for a swap with theo and gibbs. I dont know what they smoke or even eat there if they even contemplate that.
I did my voting part and as always voted for goonerholic, afterall it is the best right.
BB @38,
If 19 people had died during construction of sites for the 2012 London Olympic Games, work would have been halted pending a government investigation.
In Qatar almost 1900 people have died during preparations for the 2022 World Cup.
That is what Sheikh Hamad Al-Thani should be concentrating on.
BBC’s subtitles machine playing a blinder on the FIFA story, translating Greg Dyke’s mention of Blatter’s predecessor as Joe Have A Lunch !
🙂
Never did so little technology benefit the humorous impulses so greatly. 🙂
Jack Wilshere charged with misconduct.
What do we think of the FA? etc..
My old man, said join the FA son, I said …
@Trev
A boycott should be called for 2022 venue, countries should stop being hypocritical and go on about human rights and all that if they turn a blind eye to this modern day mass slavery and as if to rub it in they will celebrate in the very place those folks were worked to death.
What must it take? a player to collapse in the heat or fans to perish before something is done!
Depending on how large scale the investigations are and how many people squeal, we may yet see a complete overhaul of FIFA and if fraud and impropriety is shown in the previous selections of venues.. then there may be no option but to vote again!
I am hopeful that some justice will prevail.
Don’t hold your breath, Trev.
Uh-Oh.
Liverpool have made a “comprehensive plan” to go along with a 3 month “vote of confidence” for Brendan Rogers. Shakin’ in me boots over here. 😉
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/32986151
Shakin’ in yer boots, bt8.
Well, I’m in the farden and the sun’s out here, so I’m –
Bakin’ in me shoots. 😉
Boo, farden = garden. (Bloody iPad)
Farden garden? You a former Bill and Ben script writer, Trev?
No, that’s H2H, ‘cos he likes a little weed 😉
This is a great read on FIFA and the journalist who decided he’d get them.
“Here I am. I’m your boy. I’m not impressed by these tossers. I know what they are. I’ve done it to the IOC, and I’ll do it to them.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/03/how-a-curmudgeonly-old-reporter-exposed-the-fifa-scandal-that-toppled-sepp-blatter
Many thanks for the article @Cynic.
Was a good read.
Too bad Sepp can’t be extradited on account of he being swiss…!
Maybe that’s why he resigned so he doesn’t have to travel.
Benitez ‘admires’ Sterling?!
Last time he was around them parts he admired Sterling too.. Pound Sterling!
😀
cynic, that’s a great article. so glad jennings had the balls to run that all through. love the riker’s island quote, too!
Rikers Island quote funny but being a prison for people convicted by New York City it is not where Blatter is likely to be sent if and when convicted. Obama may be trying to close Guantanamo but it is available …
Great link, Cynic. Good to know there are still some proper journalists left.
blatter should just be made to fly coach, eternally, from point to point around the world, never allowed to get off the plane (or at least not allowed to leave the airport between flights). eating airplane food and using airplane loos, and sitting in those oh-so-comfy seats in front of kicking children while watching looped re-runs of the announcement that qatar was no longer hosting the 2022 WC in favor of england…
Peanuts, pretzels or cookies sir? 🙂
Just stumbled upon this gem of a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFLnmLa2BeY just shows how much of our attacking play actually goes through Mesut..he is just unbelievably good at football eh?
ATTENTION – BBC 3 tonight – Truly, Madly, Wembley the story of the Cup Final 2015. I had no idea this was on so it’s just about finished, but it is repeated later at 00.30
Always a bit embarrassing to watch people acting up for the cameras in their reproduction retro team shirts, but this looks like it might be a good bit of telly.
Did I really just hear the end of a piece on BBC news saying that Jack has been charged with bringing the game into disrepute ?
Presumably that would mean several games missed at the beginning of next season, if true.
Just a fine I think, Trev.
Written warning. He can wipe his arse on it.
Eandy@62: Or how many backheels we play.
Hop that’s all. Misconduct, apparently.
By the way, what I saw of Truly, Madly Wembley was very good. The Villa fans watching it at a wedding reception were priceless.
The ugly, unmentionable aspect of the FIFA scandal is the possibility that the bribe taking by higher-up FIFA officials could extend farther down to the level of match officials and referees. Have I seen anything that smelled of bribe taking at that level? Well …
A quick scan of my memory makes me think it wouldn’t be out of the question to think the referee in the Arsenal game against Barcelona a few years ago could have taken a bribe to send off Van Persie. The way he pulled out his second yellow card for Van Persie’s run of the mill kicking the ball away was a unique thing in my eyes. Sorry to rain on anybody’s parade by mentioning it.
Even if I did mix up my organizations between UEFA (who ran the Barcelona-Arsenal Champions League match) and FIFA. It is inevitable that fans will question the integrity of the game for this scandal.
Speaking of RVP he seems to be planning to ditch his current employers too:
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/32988940
I’ve been watching the local estate agents closely and can exclusively reveal that van Stapleton appears to have no plans at present to move to Wantage Town next season.
@bt8b
Some games look very suspicious for sure.. am not 100% certain bribes weren’t tried in one way or another to influence matches with the refs and players. Persie send off in that Barca game was utterly ridiculous! That ref should have his bank account checked!
On another note,
Chucky squeals : http://www.bbc.com/news/32998735
Now let’s see if those in charge can dig up anything on the 2018 and 2022 bids.
Warner reveals now : http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/fifa-latest-live-jack-warner-5819392
The dominoes are falling… !
😀
Cynic, the Villa wedding reception was great viewing! Loved how the few Arsenal fans there got increasingly smug as the father af the groom got increasingly pissed off. And not to mention the groom himself stopping just short of telling his wife that the whole day was ruined 🙂
8ball: while, as you say, FIFA and UEFA are two separate organisations, I don’t think for a second that UEFA are a bastion of upstanding morals. And that game you mention is one where I would not bat an eyelid if it ever were to transpire that the referee was on the take. It’s not just the RvP red card, there were so many suspicious decisions in that game. Our players got carded for nothing offenses while Barca got away with murder (almost literally in the case of Alves grabbing Nasri’s throat).
RvP did not kick the ball away either. He took a through ball and struck it at goal to a background of deafening whistling from the Farca crowd. Had he heard the ref’s peep through that it would have been a miracle. The card was on its way out as the ref walked towards him.
As bent as…..
Fill in the gap as you like.
FIFA
At the grassroot level , there is an army of Mom , Dad , volunteers to coach Sunday children teams . They have to pay everything themselves , from referee to location of indoor fields . Occasionally , they have to travel to tournament and have to pay for food and hotel .
From that level , they elect officials for their league . From league to league , the officials become the country FA .
Except for Europe and North America , many FA in South America , Africa and Asia are basically corrupted.
Blatter is utterly corrupted . He lavish all FA with money , unlimited 5 star hotels . Platini is much better than Blatter but I don’t trust him either , I think he too , is corrupted in this process .
So, to say , why parents have to squizz in cheap hotels and cheap foods and to pay those guys 5 star hotels
I still can’t believe Coquelin performed up to the level he did since AW put him into the team some five months ago and I don’t think most other people can believe it either. That’s why they are calling for AW to sign another defensive midfielder and I think they are right. While all my support will be behind Le Coq in the upcoming season I would be amazed if he can replicate the last five months over an entire season or more. We need another top level player in his position to provide competition for places and flexibility in team selection. We really want the title, not just to compete for a few months and fall short again.
If I’m not mistaken, the Swiss ref who sent off van Pussy at the Nou Camp became the head of officials in UEFA. Hmmm…..
Enough Blatter blather already. In important real estate news, my son just bougt a flat in Highbury, just off Highbury Park/Highbury Grove Road, within a mile’s walk to the former and current HOF. Since we did contribute some funding towards the purchase, he is on notice that on our visits, his bedroom will become “the parental wing”.
So, what are the nearest quality Arsenal pubs? My research suggests that the closest pub is the Highbury Barn. Is it a good one? And what others would you recommend that are in the vicinity? (After all, who better to ask about pubs near the HOF than a bunch of ‘holics?)
@bt8b
Definitely would want more competition for Coquelin.. however with flamini and arteta still here, not too sure if getting anyone in that position is top priority.
Would rather we get Cech.. and maybe another prolific striker!
In the end we may not even get anyone, I would not be surprised as long as we keep everyone we have now!
😀
Jean. Maybe you should keep quiet about mentioning the nationality of that referee who got promoted by UEFA. The coincidence of his being of the same nationality as Blatter is surely just that, a coincidence, am I not correct? If not, we shall surely find out. 😉
Copied verbatim from Massimo Busacca’s wikipedia page, and I am NOT kidding.
On-Pitch Urinating Incident[edit]
Just a few days after the Swiss Cup match between FC Baden and BSC Young Boys, Busacca was accused of urinating on the pitch whilst officiating a game in Qatar.[7][8] The referee appeared to urinate in the middle of a game between Al-Khor and Al-Gharafa when the ball went out for a corner kick.[9]
(see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massimo_Busacca )
Innocent until proven guilty I suppose, never being one to believe the veracity of anything you read on the internet unless it suits my purposes. 😉
Jean, nice one!
The Highbury Barn is a good pub. Good food and a decent selection of beer. Done up quite recently as well.
Jean, Congratulations on your investment in Highbury real estate and pub offerings and may your son fully appreciate what he gets. 🙂
Lars – The thing about that documentary that gets me the most is that Villa fan (female) with the air horn, who is singing all on her own at 3-0 down and screaming COME ON! at the fans around her to try to get them to join in, and they all look like they’re mulling over whether to kill her first, or just kill themselves.
So funny the way everybody just sits quietly around her.
http://i.imgur.com/BOJICZl.jpg
Previously on the world cup… :
http://imgur.com/gallery/3yX7c
😀
http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2015/0604/705872-delaney-confirm-fifa-payment-to-fai/
Incredible… one wonders what more revelations will come to pass..!
bb 5mil
jeez
saw none o that
hate it when shady doins don’t filter down to the common man
and there’s my tattered lot
runnin’ round the house
with the dolces nearly worn through the arses of their gabbanas
.
.
corruption needs lookin at
cba, my man
that is one of your finest pieces ever.
Please do what you have asked Holic to do
Please collect your fine posts on this site into
“The Collected Works of can’t be arsed”
I am sure that faber & Faber would publish a natty paperback.
@cba
Exactly.. and only 5mil.. kinda cheap too! Considering whats been going around! FAI are clearly amateurs at this game..
😀
Echo @bath .. a collected works of CBA would be much welcomed indeed!
Long may the run continue…
http://i.imgur.com/loZG5De.gifv
😀
In other news, Milner gone to Pool… and I hope we don’t get Schneiderlin, think there are better prospects out there or perhaps promote someone to become Coq’s understudy!
😀
Cynic: you’ve got to give her credit for not giving up, though 🙂
*chuckles*
.
cheers b. . b . . . bath
.
shortest pamphlet ever
.
.
drunk again . . . . moooooo
Actually, at the risk of sounding like I am defending FIFA, I wouldn’t be too quick to call the payment to the FAI a bribe. It looks more like an out of court settlement which is neither illegal nor incredible. That happens all the time.
with the dolces nearly worn through the arses of their gabbanas
😀 😀 😀
The man’s a genius.
Move over Seamus, (Heaney).
What Lars said at 95.
It was a great film. That girl’s passion was impressive as was the wicked glee of the bride’s father (presumably a Baggie).
Ave it!
Well in for the ton, Esso.
Lars@97: It does, however, point to a culture in which a large sum of dosh can make any problem go away.
What zico@98 said about cba@90.
I’d pay good money to read that book. Well, I’d pay somebody else’s good money…
bt8b@79: Agree we need competition for Coquelin. Every top club aims to have two top players for each position. With more than 60 games in a successful season you need rotation everywhere. Arteta is past the zenith of his career and Chambers and Beilik, if they are indeed the DM’s of the future, are several seasons away from being among the first names written on the team sheet. That all said, Le Coq is in possession of the shirt at this point, to my mind.
Well in Esso. Now for Snowy. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>