A Barometer Of Our Title Aspirations At Goodison
Dec 12th, 2016 by 'holic
When you look at the teams around us, you can see that the margin of difference between the teams has shrunk a lot. So the way you respond in every single game is absolutely vital. Itβs a very important period where everyone has to be absolutely focused on our results and on the way we want to play.
Arsene Wenger ahead of a crucial Christmas period for the club. In the last three fixtures we have battered a poor West Ham team, Basel, and in-form Stoke City. The tests have got progressively harder and continue to do so. In five days we have two trips to the north-west, so often a graveyard for title aspirations. It’s title rivals Manchester City at the Emptihad on Sunday, but before that there is the matter of a trip to Everton.
Everton, like Liverpool and Manchester United, has invariably proved a barometer of our title aspirations. I can still remember the ovation they gave us when we went there in 1989 and whipped them 3-1 with a breathtaking performance. The fact that former bluenose Kevin Richardson starred and scored that day, plus the fact we were in the process of relieving Liverpool of the title, may have had a bearing on that generosity.
It’s a very different Everton we face this season. Ronald Koeman has taken over the managerial hot-seat and we all know how well his Southampton sides did against us. I am a little bit nervous that Tuesday night will be a tougher test than Sunday. Their only home defeat this season came when a below-strength team tumbled out of the EFL Cup to Norwich City. Otherwise they have played eight matches at Goodison winning four and drawing four. Two of those draws came against Manchester United and Tottenham, both 1-1. The battle for Europa League places is warming up.
Of course we make the journey without Skhodran Mustafi, yet to experience defeat in an Arsenal shirt, and such a vital component of our excellent recovery from our opening day humbling by Liverpool. Gabriel has looked much more assured in his recent appearances and switched seamlessly alongside Laurent Koscielny on Saturday. That partnership will be key to the next three weeks.
Being a Tuesday there may be a change or two elsewhere if anybody has not fully recovered from Saturday’s physical battle. It would be a surprise to see any further tinkering with the defence but both Francis Coquelin and Granit Xhaka put in a full shift at the weekend and Mohamed Elneny could get a start. The boss has spoken about the physical effort required to play on the flanks in his press conference earlier so Lucas and Alex Iwobi may be in line for starts?
The ‘holic pound
I may be cautious about the outcome of this one, but there is a pleasing symmetry to our recent wins. 5-1, 4-1, 3-1. I’m lured irresistibly to the natural progression to a 2-1 win for the Arsenal at a decent 17/2 if you shop around. That would return us to the summit of the Premier League for another 24 hours although it is difficult to see Chelsea’s run coming unstuck at Sunderland on Wednesday.
So to those making that long journey on a Tuesday night (and yes, I have done it in the past) I wish a reward of three points for your effort and commitment. Those of us ‘hiding behind the sofa’ will be with you in spirit.
Have a great one, ‘holics.
123 Responses to “A Barometer Of Our Title Aspirations At Goodison”
Drink!
When you spell out their home form like that, it suddenly looks a lot harder than at first glance. Just gotta believe. We’re playing well, no reason why we should n’t keep that going a bit longer.
UP THE ARSE!
I just added a little rider to that, Esso. π
Willie Carson?
Let’s have a go fellas, am with the Guv’nor on this one, 1-2 to the good guys.
UTA ??
Walter Swinburn aged 19,and Shergar,1981 Derby.
Magnificent.
Walter passed away today at the ripe old age of 55.
They keep falling.
You’re making me jumpy, Holic. I’ve had this pencilled in as a firm ‘away win’ for some time. I LOVE the sound of 2-1 for the Holic pound though.
Enjoy.
Good preview, ‘Holic. 2-1, likely hard fought, would be a good result for a midweek game at Goodison.
As long as Kos can keep Lukaku in his back pocket, as he did last time, we should be OK.
Until the mid eighties Everton was a terrible place for us to visit although the first year I was s Gooner we won 6-1 there. I’d be delighted to see the Holic pound come in tomorrow and a progression to 1-1 at Citeh wouldn’t be bad as long as we keep working back up when we meet West Brom. Gabriel dealt beautifully twice with Lukaku last season and we won easily there towards the end of last term . If we win tomorrow it will augur very well for us. I think we can
We haven’t lost a Tuesday PL game since Feb 2006.
Since that defeat we have played 17,won 10 and drawn 7.
Everton don’t score many goals.
At home this season scored 10 and conceded just 5.
They will play on the counter,so we have to be careful.
Having said that we have only lost once at Goodison in the past few years,and that was a 3 nil thumping in 2014.
Winning form is good form,confidence is high,score first and force them to come out to play.
Good, cautious preview Guvna. I’ll gladly go with that 2-1 to the good guys.
COYG
BM delenda est.
Everton started the season well but have tailed off – we are staying strong. 3-0 no problem. Ozil on the scoresheet.
And an early prediction for the weekend. 2-0 no problem. Alexis on the scoresheet.
UTA
I HAVE NETFLIX
fuck you !! LOSERS !
.
yeah
and anovva fing
my dad says it’s fuckin costly loads
so fuck you
everyday value gooners
.
portions of the above are not true
ARE THEY FUCK !!!!
ya fuckin come raaaand ere
givin it alllll that
.
vermin
Walter Swinburn aged 19,and Shergar,1981 Derby. Magnificent Goonersince54 #6
I’ll pay that, Clive, and raise you Pat Glennon aged 37 and Sea Bird II, 1965 Derby. Best ever Derby winner. The last Derby I witnessed live before exiting UK for the Antipodes.
I did also see Ribot, the greatest horse of the century, live winning the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth stakes at Ascot in 1966 and watched his two Arc de Triomphe wins on (black and white) TV, both hard held against the best horses of his era. His second Arc especially memorable by more than 8 lengths.
VERMIN
Netflix, cba? I recommend Black Mirror. I could also recommend The Crown (for its production values), but I fear I may be wasting my time there! π
RIP Wally Swinburne, Clive. I missed that in first reading of your #6. 55 is no age at all, aye.
ahhh send yer word wrangler general CHRIS in
.
yer all goin de hell
.
still
(bigfatdonegalhugfromatalldarkhandsomesomebeensaidstrikingindeedtrafficstoppingwasmentionedtheoddtimegooner)
A measure of Ribot’s supremacy can be gauged by the combined winning margins of his 16-race unbeaten career … 101+ lengths, an average 6.3 lengths per race in the biggest races against the finest opposition. And he was only a little fella too!
the height of my hair
is completely proportional
to my happiness
i have a crew cut
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv-E5Azr014
i loved spangles
moron twats spat at Liz
belfast 84 five odds
ulster hall ??
cunts
loads wouldn’t play over here
for fear of us angry men ?
.
BOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!!!!!
.
?
Chris
How good would Shergar have been if he hadn’t been kidnapped by those fucking Irish rebels,the IRA.
Who then shot the horse when the ransom wasn’t paid.
No limits to their mindless atrocities.
they did
the bunnymen did
the banshees did
the clash came over
got their photies tuck by barbed wire
swiftly shifty
like the xfactor boyband they were
and
got back on the plane
with their plastic pansy nonsense
safely in the can
.
career opportunities anyone ?
.
fuckin daisies
FUCKIN DAISIES
clive
you seem clued up
did your family feast on shergar steaks ?
was your freezer groaning with surprisingly missing horse’s ass ?
mine wasn’t
.
you are dealing with stereotypes and half truths
Mr Clive Waterman
52 Festive Road
Yesteryear-upon-Thames
thank you very fucking
much
what’s the current spelling of numpty
*presses record*
“and it’s you horse eating cunts are to blame . . .”
“for all the other stuff “
*drops 58*
*ick..s .. it up *
*tap*
*tap*
.
“is this cliche on ?”
sorry ‘hol
i honestly try
and i am sorry
Sofa shot.
8ball
what does that mean
je ne suis pas
bim bis bit
oh no bo
what does sofa shot mean ?
won’t ask you again
cos
i don’t need to
cos
clive (see address above)
is quite correct in saying
us pesky paddys
know where the whole world lives
.
thicker curtains are no barrier englanderers !
nope
they aren’t
and put the Hoover round ya dirty basta
cept for the boss
he keeps a lovely home
immaculate
neds gaff is a shithole
monk all over the curtains
steve T ‘s
nothing to see here
and
can i ask
any further correspondence with me is through steve T
Yup
or
failing that
FUCK OFF
ye don’t write
ye don’t call
Sofa shot.
Clear as day means I will not be at the game but will be drinking a shot from the sofa.
Shoulda looked it up in Webster’s. π
urdleydurrdley do
.
sofa shot ???
like
i’m like totally like
unaware
‘n shit
Jurgen asks what many a soul has asked about Gary Neville.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/38291484
What a glorious night of a Bonfire of the Insanities from our Resident Poet.
I wonder if any other Gooner website has such a fabulous collection of motley characters as Holic’s bar.
i think i need to shut my face
el bosso is understanding
cos el bosso
is just a complete and utter lovely fella
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fhy76l7iOOs
i’ve been a gooner over forty years
SHUT UP , THE BACK OF MY MIND ????
i’ve been a gooner WELL over forty years
??????
and
i fuckin love reading here
cos the fuckin matchday commentaries are fuckin genius
real gooners
sorry hol
shazaaaaaammmmmm my nonsense
don’t mean to be annoying
aww clive
ye are perpetuating this poet nonsense
and i know it’s ridiculous
and you know it’s ridiculous
I CAN NOT STAND POETRY
i do not right poems
i am an old hack
but a grateful hack
to feel welcome here
even when i won’t look up goonerholic.com
for days when i know the shitefaced feeling
of what the fuck did i write ?
homebrew is both a blessing and a curse
it’s pints of eternal apology
How good would Shergar have been, Clive? Horse racing is a world of What ifs, but we know how good he was in his prime as a 3yo, comfortably beating an average field in the Derby but then well beaten in the St Leger. His owners clearly preferred to take the money on offer at stud and retired him rather than risk an unsuccessful 4yo campaign that could have affected his stud fee. Horses make make far more money at stud than on the race track.
Shergar only raced in the UK and was actually beaten twice in his 8-race career. Ribot in contrast was unbeaten in 16 races in 3 different countries, in going from firm to soft, from 5 furlongs to one and a half miles, including two Prix de l’Arc de Triomphes (the world’s greatest race at the time). He never ran in the Derby because was prevented from entering on account of being too small! However he comfortably thrashed all the major classic winners of his era in the Arc and other Group 1 WFA races, always on the bit and without a whip laid on him.
Timeform, the bible of horse racing (with which many experts regulalrly take issue) only rates Ribot at 6th in its all-time ratings, with Shergar coming in at 50. I don’t agree with either rating, but the relative difference is right, imo.
i made more telly than flafffing in newspapers
i make none now
wallet mighty thin
Ooops. Ribot’s longest race was 1 mile 7 furlongs (3,000 metres), not one and a half miles.
struggling to be honest
but
boooo hoooo
who isn’t ?
.
fuck
jeez
not the cunts on here
stellar patrons
god bless every one of you 6figure earners
ya FUCKERS
?
Anyone wanna talk football? The logic of your 2-1 ‘holic pound prediction is irrefutable, ‘holic. Written in constellation of Arsus Major.
when i used to leave Highbury
i didn’t deconstruct the game
i roared and shouted during
same wi concerts
i just would be hyped up
Ramones VU Buzzcocks Prince
deconstructing is for the deconstructers
every fuckin cunt is an expert
“now lets check back with skyCAM as George , the tricky one of the Bernard Shaws is scratching his hole “
fuckin smarty pants
Gone on a bender of an allnighter Cba
Despite your protestations,i still think you are a Poet,you just won’t acknowledge it.
It doesn’t have to rhyme,and it doesn’t have to make any sense.
Which the majority of your ramblings don’t.
Which is what most Poetry is anyway.
It seems to have been a long night.
Mad as a box of frogs.
Harsh on the frogs, I think, Dr z.
I’m not sure you understand the smiles you generate cba. I hope your fortunes improve in direct proportion to the pleasure you bring people here.
Oh, and some of us are on a seven figure salary, if you count the pence as two! ?
Onwards and upwards troops.
For you CBA. I got it….
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jZOrkPIZ1JU
Top man.
Nice preview H. I’d be more than happy with any win. Everton will be up for this one and in Lukaku they do have a match winner.
Gabriel worries me at the back. He has still not convinced me. I hope that Kos can guide him through tonight.
I hope that Xhaka starts although I do think he needs to just be a bit wary. I think he can be a quality player but ill discipline could cost him. I just think he needs to wise up a bit and not put himself on offer.
I also hope that AOC gets another start, and hopefully, a full 90 minutes. I think he deserves that.
CBA. You need to get over here for a game and a glass or two. I’m sure that even The Sweeper would make that one.
Bring it on.
every fuckin cunt is an expert
Only the ones called Neville.
So, Yaya Toure admits to a drink driving charge although he denies intentionally consuming alcohol. It must have been a fairly massive bowl of tiramisu for dessert then?
UTA.
And there was me thinking Osmosis was Citeh’s new midfielder.
Sweeper @ 11, I was at that 0-3 game. Sagna had a total mare – last away game I ever saw him play (in red). I fell out big time with one of my best mate’s sons on the eve of the game and then got gaught in a six hour nightmare on the M6 on the way back south. Horror show.
Never going back, I’m never going back, I’m never going back to Goodison Park.
Oldie but goodie (Oldy but goody?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTYLz49ALhE
(Oldie but goody?) …
Hoping this applies more to Everton today.
http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161213-autocannibalism-is-when-you-eat-bits-of-your-own-body
Not really a ringing endorsement of Gabriel by Arsene Wenger:
“Gabriel is a guy who has good experience. He has done well at centre-back and I decide to play him.”
Maybe not, but if he keeps playing as well as he has been the endorsements will be more ringing I would think. Come on Gabriel and the rest.
Come on.
Come On!!
@72 http://www.montypython.net/scripts/haggis.php
Everton are getting physical and the ref appears to be letting them get away with it. COYG.
Everyone will be playing like the orcs against us!
We’ll just have to beat them at their own game…
Come on!!!
And they took out their own player… brilliant!
π
Why has Theo got a short sleeve shirt on? I thought the club rule that we all wore the same and it was decided by the captain??
Sanchez!!!!!!
Ashley Williams has had an awesome couple of minutes.
Get in
Alexis…GET IN!
Koscielny in some pain and holding his hip, hope he is ok.
McCarthy being especially nasty in tackles and the commentators do not see anything wrong with it.
Shitmus Coleman
They are pressing high up.. need to take advantage of the space if we are to prevail…!
Come ON!!!!
1-1, Coleman equalizes. We were hanging in and they have taken advantage of our uncertainty. Too much space given and no one to stop the cross coming in. Everton look like wanting it more.
Poor defending for the goal. I don’t remember Cech having anything to do first half of any note.
Theo has gone back to lazy Theo. The way he was turned there by Baines was too easy. From that the cross, the goal. Work to do here.
Baines with a solid cross using his off (right) foot. Bad time to concede.
After scoring we gave them the initiative they didn’t make an impact straight away but slowly slowly they were getting closer. it was evident that were going to concede we were losing our composure and letting them back on the ball
We really need to put a shift in this second half. Took our foot off the pedal after Alexis’ goal went in and must get it back down. Giroud waiting to be useful.
Hector doesn’t look fully fit.We started well getting ahead and then we let them get back into the game. A goal looked likely, some poor defending and it’s all square.
Some really nasty challenges just before half-time caused the rumpus as we left the pitch. We need to regroup and press on for a winner. Some wise words from AW during the interval will hopefully put us back on track and we need to keep all 11 players on the pitch!
COYRs
Everton playing like a team with only 1 win in last 11 games,pinch a goal out of nothing just before the break.
Certainly changes the half time team talk.
Hard to play with same intensity only 3 days after tough physical workout against the Orcs,and long journey up the motorway to Merseyside.
Methinks our bench will be the game turners in the 2nd half.
@ 80 – He hasn’t.
That’s a bad miss from Ozil.
They keep taking their own players out…
@97 – All Theo’s fault obviously π
Looks like they want it more…
COME ONNNNNNNNN!
Sanchez might have scored but he’s been absolute dog shit all night. And Ozil.
All about guts and mental strength now.
So much for that.
The second free header in the box?????
Poor defending again im afraid.
We go behind and have probably lost the match. All the commentators will say we said so and there is nothing new about this version of Arsenal.
Come on Perez. Score one when we really need it.
90th minute and we have still only had one shot on target.
If they do ksn then they may have a point?
Unless we get physically stronger players (who are also technically good) we will always get physically bullied especially during our trips up North.
A minute left to salvage a point, Steve.
Sadly, we only have ourselves to blame.
It’s over as our unbeaten run comes to an end.
Is that because they scored two and we scored one, Steve?
Fully deserved!
If we played with the same application when we scored the goal this wouldn’t of happened!
We didn’t create enough BTM and gifted them 2 goals.
Didn’t deserve to lose but didn’t deserve to win. Not a lot of goal threat this evening.
Good game for the neutral observer I would imagine, but not for me. π
Agree with the second point. Two poor goals to lose. π
Conceding goals at the ends of halves never a recipe for success. And the miss by Ozil in the second half was pivotal.
BTM
I’m sorry but we lost because we were shit after we scored and you of all people should admit it. Come on!
We had one shot on target in 90 minutes and scored with a deflected free kick. Is that being creative???
I thought we were unlucky to lose but didn’t do enough to win. It was a bad time to play Everton who were really up for it and we looked a little bit tired and flat going forward . Until the last minute we didn’t work their keeper enough but how they kept the ball out at the end was a mystery. Lots of pressure heaped on us now for Sunday because we don’t want to slip too far behind the Chavs.
We really miss Santi
Oh well π >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Obviously we did try hard towards the end but it wasn’t enough and too late well too late for my liking not trying to be negative here just want the Arsenal to win π