Gunners To Provide Pre-Hootenanny Joy At The Baggies?
Dec 30th, 2017 by 'holic
Unable to go without my live football fix for any longer I made a very rare visit to Swindon Town to watch them edge Notts County 1-0 in an equally rare home win. There are things Town do very well. Before the match you can enjoy Guinness at pub prices in the Legends Lounge underneath the main stand. Reasonably priced pies and snacks are available too. Of course it helps they are catering for crowds of 6,000 not 60,000 but that’s a good start to match day.
I had the benefit of seeing two former young Gunners in the home team. Reice Charles-Cook was promoted to keep goal following a 0-5 drubbing by Luton on Wednesday. He ensured the three points were secured with an absolutely wonderful save in the closing stages of the match. James Dunne patrolled the midfield area and picked up a yellow for a proper James Dunne ‘challenge’ that sparked a brief melee as tempers boiled over.
The refereeing was ‘interesting’. This is probably understandable given the paucity of decent officials in the PGMOL. If today is any guide they have little challenging from underneath, but that could be hugely unfair on Ben Toner who might just have been having an off day. Then the short journey home to find out that Chelsea and Liverpool had both won thereby increasing the pressure on us to get a result at the Hawthorns in the late Sunday fixture.
The match will see Arsene Wenger set a record, surely never likely to be beaten, of 811 games in charge in the Premier League. Regardless of your opinion of the man that is an astonishing record worthy of some recognition. Let’s hope the team he is able to put out will produce another away win for him after the 2-3 triumph at Selhurst Park on Thursday.
We don’t appear to have any of the injured players coming back so could we go with an unchanged eleven three days after Palace away and three days before Chelsea come to the Grove for what used to be called a six-pointer? A little bit of ‘rotation’ would not be a surprise with Francis Coquelin, Alex Iwobi, and Danny Welbeck possibly getting promotions from the bench.
The opposition are rock bottom of the League, having jettisoned the loathsome Pulis and hired the equally dislikable Pardew as his replacement. Albion watchers have told me that they are improving under the latter, but it has to be said that he has extended their winless run from twelve to eighteen matches, half of which have been defeats. It also has to be remembered that we have lost on our last two visits to the Baggies. Take nothing for granted.
The ‘holic pound
The beauty of cashout saved me on Thursday so I will have that page open again while watching the drama unfold on Sunday afternoon. I do expect the Baggies to give it a real go against us, knowing full well how inconsistent we can be on our travels. It would also be bitterly disappointing if we didn’t have enough ingenuity and finishing ability to outscore them.
As matchday coincides with the celebration of Hogmanay I am bound to back Begkamp the Man’s preferred scoreline of 2-1 to the Arsenal, and have taken 15/2 against it. Come back straight after the match to find my account of how it did or didn’t come in.
Have a great one, ‘holics.
118 Responses to “Gunners To Provide Pre-Hootenanny Joy At The Baggies?”
Nice one H.
Top of the pile ??
A fine preview Guv’nor; surely a portent of many more to come in 2018.
COYG
gabba gabba
sway
Evening H
Trust you had a good Christmas with the Family.
Another year has flown by in the blink of an eye,and here we are still in Groundhog day as ever,battling for a top 4 spot without ever looking like mounting a serious Title challenge.
Inconsistency as usual is our Achilles heel,will be interesting to see with our new Head man in charge of bringing in the quality players we so desperately need,to see if any major signings are brought in in the Jan transfer window.
But if we don’t,then i expect more of the same in the 2nd half of the season.
Still 3 Cups to play for,and that is probably our level,getting up for one off Cup games,but unable to put a consistent run together in the league.
As for West Brom,like Bolton/Blackburn and other assorted Northern Neanderthals,they know our weaknesses,so expect long balls/long throws bombarding our penalty area all afternoon.
Without a win in 18 games,sods law tells us they are closer to a win than ever,so let’s hope it isn’t against us.
If we play as well as we did in the first half at Palace,but take our chances this time,then we should carry the day,so score early and undermine what little confidence they have left before putting them to the sword and go into the New Year on a positive note before a huge local Derby against the Chavs..
I’m feeling a scrappy 1-0 win will have to suffice.
Happy New Year to all and thanks Holic for another fine year on the blog – still the best Arse read around.
UTA.
Hogman who, ‘holic?
I like the sound of 1-2 and with Alexis on a warming trend might put the extra 5p bet on him replicating the brace he chalked up down the Palace.
Let’s put ‘em to the fire like abalones on the grill with no place to run.
As mentioned in the last drinks, AW’s record is specifically a Premier League record. Fergie was managing Manure for six years before the Prem came into existence. So AW still needs several years longer to equal Fergie’s management longevity record and around 300 more games to equal Fergie’s record number in charge.
And if he has designs on the overall club management longevity record he will need to be managing Arsenal well into his 90s!
Don’t put it past him…
A one goal advantage to the good guys is my best guess on Sunday, just scraping through. But a draw against the bottom club in the division would not surprise.
Glad you enjoyed Swindon Holic. The mention of that team still makes me shiver. I was contemplating a trip to Gillingham but I’m becoming very nancified nowadays and found an excuse to join Mrs TTG by the hearth.
I think the Holic Pound has a fighting chance with a 2-1 prediction . I thought Xhaka looked injured on Thursday so we might see Coquelin in midfield or even AMN! I think the defence was ok at Palace but we don’t really do defence and the Baggies will be dangerous from set pieces as they were last year.
Looking at the table I’m even more convinced that there are four leagues. The one Citeh are in on their own, the next five , a few decent teams and ten useless outfits. Hopefully West Brom will still be bottom of the heap tomorrow
8 – 1 – 1
0 – 3
Fine preview Guvna. Your 2-1 to the good guys won’t be far wide of the mark. I would like us to demonstrate our vast superiority but these days that is too much to expect.
I expect we will see some changes tomorrow possibly with reversion to a back 4 to give Bellerin and more particularly Koscielny a break, but necessitating reversion to AMN at LB. Like TTG says Xhaka may be injured but he too needs a break, so perhaps:
Cech
Debuchy Chambers Mustafi AMN
Elneny Coquelin LJW
Ozil Lacazette Sanchez
with the hope that the half time score is sufficiently decisive (sorry H) to introduce Welbeck, Walcott and Iwobi early in the second half.
Chris, with regard to the record, don’t you know there was no such thing as football before the PL was initiated?
thanks for the preview Guvnor.
Good luck with the holic pound,
but I fancy 3-1 at least to the
good guys.
I’ll be curious to see if Kieran’s
changed. Anyway, we should
attack down his side.
you can take all me money &
valuable documents about WW II
with that numbers
…like… Fritz is still alive!!!!
As for the team who knows.
I’d rest Hector and Kos, Jack too.
It seems to be asking for trouble
to start LJW vs Palace, WBA and
Chavsey.
But I feel AW might pick anyone
today.
Cheers H. Great preview.
Many congrats to AW on reaching the record. Dress it up as you want. Be as negative as you want. It’s still one hell of an achievement. We all have our own opinions on the great man. I’m sure that the vast majority are awaiting some sort of change. It would appear that with the recent appointments that we may at last have identified the real issues and may at last be making positive changes with the back room staff. But that shouldn’t stop us from celebrating AW’s achievement.
I have no idea why but I quite fancy us for this one. I just have this weird feeling. As always it will depend on which Arsenal team turns up but I can see a game where LJW pulls the strings and the rest just click. Bizarre? Maybe, but I just fancy us for this one.
Okay, perhaps I have over indulged.
Have a good one Holics.
It’s a hell of a record, Steve, I’m just less sure about the achievement bit. The first decade has not been matched by the second, and changes which should have been made at least three seasons ago are still overdue. We’re not even marking time currently, just inexorably slipping backwards. Excuses such as ‘lack of transfer funds’ and ‘new stadium build’ just don’t wash any more. Time to bite the bullet and enter a new era with a new manager with new ideas.
You’re less sure about his achievements Chris???? AW has won more st Arsenal than most clubs have won during their entire existence. You seem to love stats so much that I will leave you to check it out.
Changed should have been made at the very top. We have failed in the transfer market for several years now. I’m genuinely not getting involved in that again. Should AW take some of the blame for that? Of course he should, along with other errors that he has made.
I’ve been fortunate enough to watch the vast majority of the Home games under AW’s tenure. I have been treated to players, the quality of which I never thought I would ever see in an Arsenal shirt. I’ve also been treated to titles and more cup finals than I ever imagined possible. So, considering all of that when you come to realise that he is about to break a Premier League record, to just turn round and effectively say that it’s not up with Fergie I just find incredibly negative. Regardless of whether he should or shouldn’t be in charge, in my opinion it’s something worthy of both recognition and celebration.
So Chris. Who’s your new manager then? Who do you want to take over?
Holding and Iwobi prominent in the official training pictures this week. Could mean nothing but could mean something.
Chris – a very good point about PL records.
I don’t like them either.
Steve – another very good point about
gracefully recognizing all that AW has done.
Top class fence-sitting by me.
I want an ex-gooner player for next
manager.
bt8,
I wouldn’t mind a back 3 of
Calum, Mus, Rob for a fair few
games between now and the end
of the season.
Quite probably wouldn’t work but
on the admittedly small chance
that they gelled we could have
a back 3 for the next 5 years.
Holding has done enough to merit a longer run in the team. He is a quick study and seems to have ice in his veins so it’s about timewe gave him a go. I for one am less confident about Calum based on his recent and less recent displays but most definitely would not mind seeing your scenario come to pass, OM. It is Xhaka and Iwobi I have begun to worry about and think we need greater competition for their places.
Cheers ‘h! ?
3 – 1 to the Arse!
Steve T,
Re-uniting Luis Enrique with Raul Sanllehi, and adding-in Sven Mislintat into the mix, there’s the new gang that will try to take our club “back to where it belongs”. ??
Enrique for Wenger (after seeing what Guardiola has managed to achieve already with Tiki Taka in England after just 1.5 seasons), it’s a no-brainer to bring-in “the other” La Masia-indoctrinated-prodigy and serial winner of “everything” with Barcelona, to also try and build-up something similar at London Colney and at Ashburton Grove. ? To finish-off what Arsene hasn’t quite been able to do with his slightly “lower-standard” post-Highbury Wenger-ball. ?
The most important signing that Kroenke and Gazidis can make now, with Arsene finally being magnanimous with respect to his palpable decline, is to tie-down Senõr Luis Enrique to a contract to take over from Wenger just like Cit$h did with Guardiola during his brief sojourn from the game. Believe me, you’ll very quickly see most of those current contract rebels start to wet-themselves to sign brand new deals to stay on once they know who’ll be taking over from Wenger. You’ll also get a whole bunch of new “top quality” talent wanting to bite your hand off to come to North London to play once again for the Arse, instead of wanting to move up North to Manchester and Liverpool. ? Why the feck would they ever want to go live and play their football up there when they’ll be able to live in London (one of the greatest cities in the whole world) and start to play and develop under a young, contemporary, superstar, Head-Coach and Man-Manager that has already won everything in the game as a student of the Barcelona La Masia way? I know where I’d choose to be to! ☺️
UTAAD&AN!
AFCOF!
bt8,
Agree that Xhaka and Iwobi
haven’t really come through and
certainly want more competition
at CM. Xhaka does ping a nice
ball and is a good player but
looks less mobile than we need
– which is a pretty big drawback
in a DM.
Wenger’s successor, Steve? I can’t fault the team Dan suggests in #23. Others in contention would be the usual suspects Thomas Tuchel, Patrick Vieira, Maurizio Sarri, Diego Simeone and Leonardo Jardim, with my preference for Enrique, Simeone or Sarri.
To be clear I don’t mean to belittle AW’s contribution to Arsenal history, I just believe he has hung on too long while not doing enough in the transfer market for equally long.
Nor would I expect his replacement to be an instant success. Part of any management change has to be an adjustment period. My view is the sooner we get into that period the better in the long run.
@25 Surely the last many years of consistently poor performances under Arsene will surely remove all pressure for the incoming person.
It will be nothing like the pressure that poor old moyes was under when he followed SAF.
Lot’s of talk of change in here. Really good, fact heavy, agenda lite article in today’s Sunday Times about the fairly dramatic changes in the back room staff. Sorry it’s behind a paywall but you can just register to get two free articles a week.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/life-after-wenger-x5587kz6x
Or alternatively, just read arseblognews for a much shorter version
http://news.arseblog.com/2017/12/report-sven-mislintat-brings-new-team-of-scouts-to-arsenal/?utm_campaign=autotwitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter
Steve T@15 makes a very valid point about it being one hell of an achievement from the manager. It seems very unlikely that it will be surpassed in the future. Also the club has finally taken steps towards a post Wenger era – something that was long overdue.
We are heading into a year which will be pivotal for the club. If we haven’t finalized our next manager by this time next year, the media will be all over us especially with every bad result. I am in favor of announcing the next manager with six months of Wenger’s tenure remaining. Whilst it could make those last six months a bit of a prolonged farewell to the manager but it would definitely ease the uncertainty in players minds. They would not only be playing to give the present manager a good send off but also well within the knowledge that the next one is assessing their performances. So alongwith having a difficult next two transfer windows in terms of sorting out player contracts and strengthening the squad, the club will have to start negotiating with future managerial candidates as well.
As for who that new manager should be – the best candidate for a risk averse club like Arsenal would be Carlo Ancelloti. Succeeding a very long term manager is a very tricky task and yanited have really struggled to do so after Red Nose despite their vastly superior financial position. Ancelloti has managed in England before and won the league here. His Chelsea side played very good football, perhaps the best they had played in the Abramovic era although Conte’s team played well too last season. He has also won the Champions league with multiple clubs and is just the sort of solid manager who would attract players in the future. Immediately after Wenger – he is the sort of manager who would keep things stable and at least ensure Champions League qualification which would be financially vital for us in those years. A manager like him for 3 to 4 seasons would certainly keep the ship steady and hopefully do much more.
Other options would be someone like Luis Enrique as mentioned by Dapper Dan earlier. I am not too sure about going down that route because he managed a team which was quite well settled and had very very good players. Playing in that style would require a huge squad overhaul and yet it may not be the best way to play in England without having excellent players for each position on the pitch – something Guardiola has at City(barring the centre halves perhaps). Someone like Joachim Low would also be an interesting candidate but he too has managed an over abundance of talent in the German national team and is unproven at club level. Options like Thomas Tuchel, Laurent Blanc, Mauricio Sarri etc are all promising candidates too but none of those names seem to have the solidity behind them that Ancelloti has.
Eloquently put @17, Steve. Your third paragraph sums up my feelings entirely. It’s been a huge privilege to watch the Arsenal during this period and I will have eternal gratitude to and respect for Arsene Wenger despite the travails and frustrations of recent years. Travails that do include 3 FA Cups of course.
Without question it’s time for change and for our most successful manager ever to be given an appropriate celebratory send off. Even his most virulent detractors will possibly find it an occasion for their own kind of celebration. I really hope the recent backroom changes are an indication that succession has been planned and a smooth transition will occur though I have yet to be fully convinced that those in charge have the competence to select the right candidate from what, despite the prevailing gloom, will be a plethora of very different candidates. Good luck with that. Whoever gets the job, I expect the whining and black scarves to be out in weeks.
Damn you Milivojevic, could have inflicted the first loss to Shitizens
Dog of a penalty. Still we won
at Palace so we’re clearly better
than Shitty.
I want an ex-gooner player for next manager.
The Jay Emmanuel Thomas campaign starts here.
In other news, Graham Poll reckons Jason Puncheon’s assault on De Bruyne isn’t a red card. What a complete idiot.
As for today, back four please. Clean sheet, win. That’s all.
Jesus weeping and De Bruyne stretchered off.. winning run ended. What’s not to like? They’re only on this run because of the absence of injury to their key players.
Watford will do them in..!
😀 😀 😀
Wouldn’t be surprised if Arsene extends another two years!
If we’re not willing to spend don’t see any established cup winning managers queuing up to come… it’s the sign of the times.
@32
In fact I heard Stepanovs is doing
a bang up job with the Latvian U17
national team and of course Jermaine
Pennant getting a bit of managerial
experience these days. Who needs
Ancelloti?
“There are times when I have been touched and have gone down when I could have stayed in my feet.” The words of Michael Owen but in truth, they could have been the words of any player in the Premier League.
That alone tells me all you need to know about one of the major evils in the game. Something to consider the next time you’ve watched an incident from 10 different angles and in super slo mo and then slaughter the ref for making a mistake. Until the mindsets of both players and managers changes then the game will be full of cheats.
Personally, something I hate with an absolute passion.
Excellent posts Dan, Desi and Bath. It may be that we are at last, about to see some real positive changes. Who knows, the club might actually see some direction and leadership??? Whisper it very quietly.
We are willing to spend, BB, we’ve just spent fortunes on very average players.
With Jesus gimping and weeping off, and deBruyne getting stretchered off, might the coffers at Citeh be opened up more willingly to sign Alexis in this transfer period? While they have the league all but wrapped up, they still may feel the need for reinforcing their other silverware runs.
@Cynic
I’ll reserve my opinion till after Arsene leaves to see if we are leaning towards that direction… 75m for a defender seem to be the norm now to compete for top 4.
Just don’t see Kronke opening the chequebook…! So am of the opinion we are overperforming as it stands.
Wish I was wrong, time will tell.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/42527428
😀
Happy New Year to one and all
from Japan. I hope all our wishes
will be fulfilled.
Starting with the earliest of New
Year kick offs at 01.30 ??
happy new year osaka M !
?
Happy New Year @OsakaMatt
Don’t let the radiation get to you..
😀
Indeed Chris.
The quicker that we take that still bitter and corrosive medicine to some, and then swallow it all down in one svelte gulp, the better for the collective whole. ?
It’s inevitable anyway so it’s prudent to “just get on with it” now.
“Most” of those now whiners and black-scarf wearers (like me I guess) will almost certainly give the “new guy” (or gal) a fair crack of the whip. After all, that’s what we Brits like to do! Is it not? ? Isn’t that also what Arsene got back in 1996 when he was appointed? ?
Desi,
Appointing Ancelloti will be regressive for a Club that has already dropped out of the top 4. It’s best to stick with Wenger until the “newbie”!
Steve T,
Yes indeed, do “whisper” it very quietly. ?
And don’t tell anyone about those new back-room changes. Oh feck! It’s too late! ?
Pick up 3 more points away in the Black Country, then it’ll just be 19 left to catch up with the Oily Cash Cows! With Cit$h now seemingly picking up injuries to key players, maybe Arsene?! Just maybe?! ?
UTAAD&AN!
AFCOF!
HNY already, to all that are “Over There”! ? ? ?? ?? ?? ??
A host of excellent posts on here today especially from Bath, Steve T and Desi Gooner.
A few observations. When Wenger took over from Rioch the Totts and Arsenal were similarly- ranked clubs with similar prospects. Over the next fifteen years Wenger took us to another level. Yes he is past his sell- by date but I’m not going to boo him or publicly chastise him. Arsenal owe him way too much.
Today’s Sunday Times has a very interesting piece about the future of Arsenal and the likely changes with the new team coming in. It suggests Wenger has played a full part in their recruitment. Whether he has or hasn’t he deserves a very serious statue outside the ground he helped to build.
As for Citeh the Palace record of 1 loss in 10 ( to us) suggests last Thursday was none too shabby a result. Citeh with their wonderful manager will just blow another £60 million on replacements for injured players. Remember that when Wenger is placed in perspective. We spent £2.5 million in the summer before the Invincible season although we did recruit Reyes in January.
There are Holic’s the world over. Some are already into 2018. May I wish you all a happy , healthy and successful 2018 and great success for our team!
Mesut out at the Hawthorns. Iwobi in .
Otherwise it’s Thursday’s team.
cheers ??? to BB, TTG, cba and
dan
And to the incomparable Mesut on
his day off today 🙂
@44
already got my tinfoil hat fully
prepared with the toppest quality,
tinniest foil there is ??
Mesut has a ‘slight’ knee injury. A doubt for Chelsea.
We haven’t scored more than one goal at the Hawthorns since 2013.
We’re due then Ned 🙂
We’ve never scored more than four there. So a record waiting to be broken, OM.
So it’s red shorts with a red and white shirt?
Get to fuck
Nice to see playing in our home kit on away game
Apart from the rubbish red shorts, yes.
Would have looked better in a back four ?
Cynic they do look awful ?
*Lurks*
-just in case we are “ on “ today.
Hoping for a Gibbs ‘trademark’ blunder though..
missing Ozil much?
Kola joining the fetlocked; AM-N in.
@62 loads
Too intricate, simpler boys simpler, and shoot ffs
Very poor first half. We ran round and round doing nothing. We need to speed up in the second half.
They are well organised at the back and closing well….
Hopefully we’ll have more opportunity in the 2nd half.
as you said @66
Very average. Looks like my early pre match optimism was a tad misplaced.
Missing a Özil’s creativity in midfield although LJW trying to make things tick. It’s all a bit congested at the moment.
Need an injection of quality for the second half.
ad for heartburn medicine just on
.
it’s like they know
the game
and that clown’s suit
sweet holy fuck
Fell asleep watching that and woken up by the half time whistle. Not sure if it was because of the game or staying up all night for nearly a week watching the cricket.
won’t mention his fuckin screwtop haircut
On Thursday we were treated to some very slick passing but today without Ozil conducting proceedings we look pedestrian. This game could go either way, we need to up our tempo and be more positive this second half.
COYR
“it might take a goal to get this game going”
inspirational punditry right fuckin there
Amazing that we’re not even warming up Walcott or Welbeck
Oooooo Laca….
Might be missing Ozil just a tad ☺️
We have played this badly, and worse, with him in the side. We’re just not very good.
HAPPY NEW YEAR CYNIC ?
WTF is this? Mertesacker?
Happy New Beer to you too, you old sot 🙂
I did put a smiley face on that but, in keeping with the season, it vanished.
If we wanted to win this game it would have made more sense to put Mustafi and Chambers central and switched to a four when Kos went off, so we could have put on an attack minded player?
And then when we do put on “an attacker” it’s Welbeck…
I’d have taken Iwobi off, put
Elneny on and pushed Jack
forward. We need someone to
create something for Laca and
Alexis.
Sanchez!!!! Get in. Happy New Year indeed.
Am going to miss Alexis when he leaves….
GET IN!!!!!!
Poor free kick but who cares.
About bloody time.
And that is the player we will miss when he goes.
get in !
shit lucky but i’m with Steve T !!!
Fucking dreadful penalty decision that. Abysmal
Dean fucking it up, as usual.
Of course the ref fucked us…
Mike Dean strikes again, the massive, massive, massive CUNT
bollocks
Jasper Carrot’s Love child does it again.
I defend officials often but that was very poor.
HIs arm was in front of his body too….
Bloody Ref!
Dean is a sadist?
Dean is an odious shit
Dean is such a prick. Half the time he does this shit just to be a cunt. Because he can.
Utterly pathetic decision
Just walk onto the pitch at the end and punch his fucking lights out, Wenger.
Head butt the wanker, Granit. Take one for the team.
Did Cech just call him a fackin kant as he was walking off? Haha
Fkin utter Bollocks!!!!!
What a bloody disgrace…. !
Why don’t they give this eejit voluntary retirement benefits?! Always pathetic in our games…
Sorry Steve T but the referee has to be completed blamed for that one…
With Kos, Giroud, Ramsey and Kolasinac out.. The chavs are going to be an uphill task…
Utter C*nt of a Ref!
Never in doubt that Mike Dean would eventually (yet again) decide the outcome of another poor performance.
HNY! ??
Cech doesn’t get many bookings
and that one was well worth it.
Very frustrating.
Even Steve T would agree that the fucking refree did us in today just to spite Wenger and give a leg up to the spuds. The wanker.
I am sick to death of taking this shit from the travesty to refereeing that is Mike Dean. What a fucking robbery.
And boy do we miss Ozil’s quality in midfield…
Credit where it’s due though; West Brom deserved a point at the very least if one is being fair. Dean is still a Cunt, and will continue to be in 2018! ?
Re: BB @98. Dean of course could not see that Chamber’s arm was directly in front of his body because Dean was 90 degrees askew from the angle where he could see. There were referee’s assistants who could have told him that but did he consult with them? Of course fucking not because he is MIKE DEAN.
Even barcode Shearer says it’s not a penalty..
Guys, I will have to cut litigious posts, even though I agree with most of them!
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>