Respect, And How It Is Earned
Jun 16th, 2011 by 'holic
First full season as a player, and the double is won. Not bad, eh?
The odd ‘tasty goal’ with his swinger was a real bonus.
Captain of the winners of the ‘five-minute’ final.
The youth coach had a role to play on the biggest nights under George Graham.
Two more doubles, an undefeated season, seven major trophies with Arsene.
Deserves massive respect, and gratitude, in my book. Cheers Pat.
142 Responses to “Respect, And How It Is Earned”
Bang !
Has Pat announced his retirement , ‘Holic ?
Great Article’ Holic
Brought back some great memories
WG
No TaBS. He’s stopping on another year apparently, which has come as quite a surprise. I’m just a little tired of people who don’t know the first thing about what goes on at the club taking cheap shots at a dignified man who won’t fire back.
His record stands up to any scrutiny. I hope he has a successful last season to prove a few people wrong.
Hear hear-Pat is an Arsenal legend
Fair enough ‘Holic , the man has earned that right for sure , still think we could do with a new voice in the mix though .
Here’s hoping for that successful last season …
Hmm… So you are absolutely certain that its not a management problem at Arsenal, holic?
Great post ‘Holic,
Pat Rice is an absolute legend, who for all his faults (and there arent many) is a man who eats,sleeps and breathes Arsenal. You are bang on the money when you mention the cheap shots that are being fired in his direction. We have no idea what goes on behind the scenes at the Arsenal and unless the great man comes out and releases a tell all, warts n all book when he calls it a day, then I am sure we will never know. He is old school, very much like Bob Wilson who may stop working for the Arsenal but never really leave.
Pat Rice out!
What? Oh.
Absolutely excellent, ‘holic!
I’ll have whatever you’re having tonight.
Cheers!
Sajit, no I’m not certain, that’s the point.
Think about that answer, please.
I’d like to share (again?) this brief glimpse of Pat Rice-happiness:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_UNvE1q6o4
You were quite lucky young man to see so much history, good and bad in the making.
Mojito please
Ollie , Evening , now what’s the cross-channel take on this Gervinho chappy ? Pleased he appears likely to be coming ?
Hi tabs.
If you’re looking at stats, he was top of the combined ‘goals+assists’ charts last season.
I’ll be honest and say a very non-commital : I think he can bring something (some directness maybe?), but I have absolutely no idea where he’ll fit.
Thanks Ollie , i guess we’ll all just have to wait and see
what, you mean he’s not just a yes-man for mr. wenger?*
rum and coke, please, barkeep.
*so tired of hearing this, well done today, ‘holic.
Interesting ‘holic. Ive often wondered why PR always seems to take the brunt of fans ire.
I never saw him play and personally think he is the wrong man for the job. But I would never disrespect the man. He is one of ours.
nothing against pat rice as a player.
but in management, i cant see what he offers.
before we start drumming about all the he’s done.
look at guys who have assisted sir alex.
many legends, bigger than mr. pat
but they all moved on- it called being ambitous.
you’d think young upcoming manager would give anything to tutor under wenger for just a season- think of how many arsenal legend would have had the opportunity- bergkamp, dixon, adams, bould, keown, parlour e.t.c
pat should have just gotten the education and moved on as an individual manager- how would someone insist on being an assistant all his life. i wouldn’t be surprised if he has learnt nothing.
if he wanted a stable job he should have gone for something administrative- THE POSITION OF ASSISTANT COACH IS TO GROOM UPCOMING COACHES, NOT TO GET RETIREMENT BENFITS
as a player – great servant
as a manager- lacks ambition- and just remains a “yes man” who is just after his salary.
MY OPINION.
Boozy, ever considered the fact there is a distinction between great coaches and great managers, and few are both…
…and that yes man stuff is bollocks…
And he told you what motivates him when exactly?
You are the proof of my argument.
To call him a yes man Boozy, you must have evidence no? care to share?
Oh I see,
He told you the last time he came for dinner with you in Lagos.
Oh dear.
Either you’re deleting posts, or youre talking to youreself ‘holic? lol
Three answers to the same post as my ire increased James 😉
Nothing deleted here tonight.
So what was he like on the pitch? Was Rice a leader? A talker? A psychoesque tackler?
Funny that he has been out #2 for all this time and I know sweet FA about the man
I think Boozy lived up to his name and had rather too many before turning up at this Bar
Great motivational skills , James , a real fist clencher .
Not the most technically gifted , and certainly not the speediest , but had ( has) the heart of an ox
Everybody who played with him will tell you he was extremely hard working, not naturally gifted. Always stayed behind to work on his game in the afternoons.
The fact he was good enough to replace England’s right-back (Peter Storey) so he could move into midfield tells you a lot. It was the move that sealed that first double because nobody took liberties with us once Storey was the enforcer.
Solid defender, led by example as a skipper. Expected everybody to put in the shift he always did.
He was on the bench with George Graham because he had coached the kids GG promoted. Anfield ’89 owed much to Pat’s coaching qualities.
Holic
I think Pat said yes to one more year because Arsene told him he wanted them both to walk off into the sunset together.!!
I can’t say Clive, but Arsene was massively persuasive somehow.
Would love to see them have the success they deserve this coming season, but only Arsene would say “I told you so”…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anNMRVyLUms&feature=related
I would also say I told you so. I still believe that Arsene knows.
Pat was a great player for us but as an assistant he just a glorified yes man
Is that so Danish?
Your intimate knowledge of his relationship with Arsene is based on what exactly?
Those calling Pat Rice a yes man are brainless sheep. Who have taken to heart a baseless myth created by some doomer somewhere to justify slating the man. The fact this man was Wenger’s right hand man when we won stuff is obviously beyond these cretins.
I think some freshening up wouldnt go a miss; some new coaching staff, but to besmirch an Arsenal legend so casually and calously shows the contempt some so-called Gooners have for their club and loyal servants who have put in a million times more than these arseholes ever will.
Pathetic
Holic
my comment was slightly tongue in cheek,
You and i both watched Pat grow from a boy to a man,and like the great Sir Frank,what they lacked in skills,they more than compensated for with indomitable spirit and sheer bloody mindedness,and the battle cry, ‘ We are the Arsenal ‘
The sight of Sir Frank wagging his finger and glaring in the direction of an errant fellow player,was a regular feature of that epic 70-71 season.
Pat is part of our Football history,and amongst all the Foreign Legion
now residing at the Club,is a poignant reminder of the essential
‘ Englishness ‘ of AFC.
When Pat does walk away,he will be another break in the chain of memories from our past.
As the old saying goes,’ You don’t know what you’ve lost till it’s gone.’
That will leave only the long Haired North Bank Terrace Graduate
as the last player from that golden time,still working at the Club.
Cheers
Clive
Sammy, Raddy, and Eddie are still putting in shifts, Clive. The club know what pulls in the punters. By the time you get to the generation of the GG era they don’t need the money as they earned it playing.
I’ve spent the last couple of nights with the history and 71 double dvd’s. Restores a lot of faith. I would love to know how Jon Sammels is these days.
Hi hol and scribes(that I love 2 read they are brill)can I just say thanks to ye lfor this season as hard as it has been.. 4 her 2 live with me always know I hav a site to turn to that talks reality.Thanks.
Well played Holic,
A club legend and I agree it would be nice if he finished up with some glory before he calls it a day.
I would still like to see the presence of another defensive coach near the first team though – if only to prove one way or the other that there is more to our defensive lapses than just blaming it on the 2 guys on the bench.
Noone can dispute the working lifetime of excellence PR has given Arsenal, he loves the club and is one of us.
Having said that, this was undoubtably an ideal time and opportunity to freshen up with the coaching staff as Pats initial wish was to call it a day. In my opinion and it is only an opinion holic so don’t bite me bonce off but when a guy is struggling with his own fitness it is going to be far harder to coach to the level Arsenal need.
I think the age gap between Wenger, Rice and the squad is one reason why it’s harder to motivate these youngsters as they are from totally different generations and a bridge between the two with a younger hungry no 2 would have been a welcome breath of fresh air and possibly a kick up the arse to the complacency of our players. I think Wengers’ fear of change in this is symptomatic of the old dogs new tricks scenario and has manifested an inflexibility which has been all too apparant in areas such as tactics and the insistence on shoehorning players into positions they are utterly unsuited to.
Anyone that belittles Mr Rice for his achievements with us deserves short shrift, but I believe his resignation and retirement should’ve been graciously accepted and a move made to press onwards (with maybe a promotion for Bouldy?) Seeing some of the squad and the manner in which they’ve swanned about a touchline shouter and a vocal motivator (as we have none on the pitch) is something we could probably benefit greatly from.
Show us yer medals..fuck yeah..any man that can not just give his life but actually be an integral part of one of the biggest clubs in the world has nothing to answer for in my eyes. Growing up in an irish community in north london and then moving there always kept the likes of himself, Brady and Frank S at the heart of everything we thought Arsenal stood for. One more year ? Gunner for life
No bonce biting here geezer.
Your argument, unlike most, has the benefit of possibility, and I can’t destroy that.
I would argue it is not a generation thing. I would argue that a young squad has been tested, and found wanting, and it is time for Wengerball 4 to begin.
I may be wrong, and you may be right about the inflexibility, I don’t doubt. The manager and coach deserve one more pop at getting it right.
Groverider, sorry my mouth doesn`t want to talk too much, while having someone closer to the subjectivity of the young players has its positives i can still break you with two examples: Sir alex ferguson, and Pat`s roar minutes before our equaliser against barcelona at home 🙂
cin-cin
I dunno chaps, a young squad has been tested and undoubtably come up short, but a team bereft of on pitch motivators and leaders needs direction and marshalling from somewhere and receiving it from the touchline is the only other option, head in hands arms crossed and bums on seats doesn’t give the team that extra push to give their all in the embers of games where digging deep is required.
Matus your example is to name what is unfortunately the most successful manager these shores have ever seen. Someone who despite his advancing years still instills a fear in his squad that to play beneath your potential is unacceptable, someone who could never be mistaken for a benevolent grandfatherly patron and someone who has routinely freshened up his second in command to keep his squad on their toes.
I really hope Pat can instil that spirit of his into the lads next season, if they should look up to anyone for motivation and tips regarding determination it’s Pat.
Pat Rice deserves massive respect, his relationship to Arsenal goes beyond my lifetime and he is one of all the all time greats towards the Arsenal legend.
However, this does not mean that things have not got a bit stagnant at AFC. Not that means PR needs to go, just another voice perhaps. You can see the likes of Dixon and Keown are respectfully making their point made about the defending, all is evidentally not well and it would be good to go beyond the AKB – AMG debate and face up to that. The thing is, the current manager does not appear to be dealing with the issues, much as we would love him to. Hopefully that is about to change this summer, but if not, then I don’t see where else there is to go for the current set up.
‘Holic – dead right about Pat Rice, as you, of course, already know.
With, we are assured, many new players due to arrive this summer, Pat could have a big part to play in instilling some true old Arsenal values in these lads.
Pat embodies exactly the hard-working, fighting qualities that have been lacking in those who we expect to be leaving over the next few weeks.
A link with Arsenal tradition will be important in a squad which will be undergoing a lot of change.
Jon Sammels ? I’d go a million miles for one of his goals . . . . . .
Just been catching up on the last couple of day’s activities in here after a stupidly busy week.
Great stuff from all the regulars, but TAKEABOWSON take a bow son !
While here, could I refer back to the “ins and outs” discussions in the previous set of drinks.
I did tell you that my rhyming minutes of the squad meeting with AW were “official”.
I think you will find that each item of the pub discussion with the bloke who knows Pat Rice, was in fact included in my “report”.
Here’s another little exclusive for you, if anyone really cares – Mark “I can’t believe you played for Barcelona” Hughes is the new Chelsea manager.
Can’t reveal my source but . . . we will see.
Far too late now, g’nite.
Holic,
After football, Jon Sammels owned a driving school in Leicester and is now retired. One of my favourite players of the era, his goal against Anderlecht will live in my memory forever – that night I think every gooner walked a million miles.
Cheers.
Greart article ‘holic. Hold the guy in same regard as PHW. Legends both.
Pat’s an absolute legend and deserves a lot more respect than some here and elsewhere afford him….the man epitomizes the Arsenal, the values & ethos of our great club.
Thanks all.
Cheers Esso. Knew you would understand. When did you stop advertising at Reading 😉
In this past season, I once questioned what the point of Pat Rice as an assistant manager is. I still wish I could go back and un-write that post, it was a knee-jerk reaction of the highest calibre in my disappointment after having spent the time and money to attend both WBA and Newcastle at home. Not my proudest moment 🙁
Newcastle (A)
CL Qualifier
Liverpool (H)
CL Qualifier
ManU (a)
Let me just say that we REALLY could have done without the qualifiers…
This is also the third season running that we start the season with an away game quite a long way away from London.
Fixtures are out, and whisper it, but our run-in looks manageable. Except for Wigan at home, 2 games before the end of the season – call that one a limp 0-0 or a 4-6 having been 3-0 up at half time!
All I’ll say is I hope Phil Dowd isn’t in charge of our opener.
Lars, do you think people are going to start talking about burnout and fatigue before the end of August? These kids are supposed to be top athletes (ish) and should really be able to handle a busy start to the season.
I guess the other side of the debate is that everyone’s a bit flat playing on a Saturday afternoon having hauled ass over to Ukraine and back on a Wednesday.
CG@57: I hope we don’t hear talk about fatigue at that early stage, because if they are that tired in August then where will we be in May? But as you say, if we are unlucky and have to travel far just before the game that certainly won’t help. On the other hand, we could also be a bit luckier and draw, say, Twente and play the first game away which would mean that the team would be in London for more than a week (albeit with two games, but with much more time to rest) before the ManU game. And if we can get a good result in the first qualifier then we can rest a couple of players in the second leg, so with a bit of luck the qualifiers won’t matter that much and might actually even help us with regards to the ManU game since qualifying will hopefully give the team a cofidence boost and they can play with less fear v ManU.
(Yes, I am a glass-half-full kind of guy!)
Well, as fate would have it, the HT MKII has a short inaugural journey over the border to Geordietown.
One of the new additions to said train will be the Armoury – this will include a state of the art rifle with lazer telescopic sight to take out that fat c*** Dowd if the FA have the balls to award him this fixture.
If I had ONE wish for next season it would be for an injury-free RVP.
What’s that you say? Pointless England vs Holland international 3 days before our first game? Oh.
I just hope the team takes this as an opportunity to set things right.new and manu away and liv home were 3 of the worst performances last season.but 7 out of those 9 points or even 5 will be a confidence booster.
@lars hope that happens.the january fixtures include 3 away matches and a home match against manu.we will lose chamack,song,eboue and gervinho(if he joins) due to the acn .nightmare scenario-selling bend and rvp getting injured in jan.still too early to be talking about that of course.
Cameroon might not qualify for the ACN just to say.
Great stuff, ‘h. Here’s a nice big photo of the man himself in the best shirt we ever had, or ever will have.
http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/9923/ricey1.jpg
I respect Pat Rice for what he has done for our club over the years
I shall raise my glass of your finest malt,barman
Actually Charlie, if the league tables at Wikipedia are correct, Cameroon are already all but out of the running as far as I can make out. They can not win the group barring really freakish results in the last two games (Cameroon must win both and Senegal must lose both – including the game against Mauritius who currently stand at zero points with two goals scored and fifteen conceded in four games), and while they can still finish second in the group it would take an enormous amount of results going their way for them to be one of the two best runners-up. In other words, it doesn’t look like we’ll have to worry about Song going to Africa in January.
For the attention of tabs:
Have you read Blogs today? Obviously he has been into the CMC – on your watch.
Questions will no doubt be asked…..
Actually, in response to my last post, I have a confession to make – my cache had stored the post of 18 May as being todays…
http://arseblog.com/page/10/
zico, yeah yeah, blame the cache all you want. I think we all know anyway who really has been dipping into the recreational goodies…
Err, I have merely been testing some “samples” Lars, in advance of the HT MKII leaving the station.
Pint of Boddingtons since you’re asking. 🙂
Ok then, you can never be too careful about Quality Control matters when it comes to medicinal matters. It’s a good thing you take it upon yourself to perform the selfless task of sampling and verifying the quality of the goods delivered!
One Boddies coming up, for my part I am actually off to the gym now for a bit of a workout so I’ll be back later for some rehydration. I have been told it is important to drink a lot after working out, so expect my tab to be extended even further later tonight.
Yes, its a dirty job Lars, but one worth doing for all my fellow travellers.
Cheers for the beer – and watch out in the gym that you don’t pull anything (Blondes excepted) 😉
Newcastle (A)
CL Qualifier
Liverpool (H)
CL Qualifier
ManU (a)
An interesting start to the season indeed. We really need those qualifiers smack bang in the middle of those games don’t we? But our highly paid star studded team of internationals decided to justify their enormous salary by another end of season capitulation.
It is now suggested that after only 3 years 90K a week is not enough for the likes of Mr Nasri. He feels the 3 years he has dedicated to this club warrant 110k a week if you believe what you read. This is despite his part in a spineless end to the season.
That for me just puts into perspective what a great man and what a great servant to Arsenal Football Club Pat Rice has been, and still is. I have no intention of debating with anyone about how good he was as a player, as a coach or as an assistant manager. I am not sure I am worthy of that in any case. But the likes of Pat Rice do not come around often. He is a true Arsenal legend and should command massive respect. I genuinely can not believe that any real Arsenal fan would think anything different. For another season Pat Rice will be a part of everyday proceedings at the club. I for one am very grateful for that.
Pat Rice I salute you, and I thank you for your years of dedication to my football club. Perhaps some of those youngsters in the squad who continually demand exorbitant wages and seem to want everything handed to them on a plate should take a long hard look at Pat. They might get a massive reality check and start to understand what it is all about.
Unfortunately Steve, players these days are unlikely to ever serve one club, like Pat has.
Agree with everything else you said, and yes, we can do with the qualifier like a hole in the head.
Re 73 – the Watford years don’t really count 🙂
looks like cameroon won’t qualify for the acn.one less worry then.I hope lansbury is given chances in the 1st team.He’s worth having just for the celebration.
Afternoon All ,
Trev @48 – Hmm , seems like Great minds think alike 🙂 , that or the chap in the pub is using your poems rather than Pat Rice as his primary source of information !
Jekyll@46 – In what way does ” the current manager not appear to be dealing with the issues ” ?
Dr Z @66 – I reject all charges M’lud . I was not in the Bar alone with an Irishman last night , we did not decide to celebrate your release with a mammoth session of Guinness , Rum and Californian , we didn’t decide to write his blog in the Bar , and we most certainly didn’t enter into a competition to be the first person to pass out . No Sir .
What’s that you say ? I was seen passed out on the comfy chairs whilst an Irishman ran skipping off down the road shouting ” I won , I won , I won ” . Oh .
Steve T @72 – Nicely said .
Newcastle Away , win 3-1 , Liverpool at Home , win 3-0 , Manure Away win 2-1 . Top of the League by the end of August – lovely .
Second seat on the HT has just gone to tabs.
Roll up, roll up. (heh).
Excellent news Dr Z , just put me well away from the llamas 🙂
Can we board and roll up at the same time ? 🙂
There may be a bit of red tape that I need to negotiate with Brussels – you may find though that one of the perks of being on board early that some damsels have already rolled for you, heh.
There are many improvements on this years mobile mirth machine.
Forget ArsenalNewsNet , this is the place where the news just keeps getting better and better
100% agree ‘Holic. Glad someone in the “public domain” has said it.
I’m busy in the corner getting all excited about the Eto rumours. Of course we’ll never actually see him playing off of RVP, but let me enjoy my fantasy for one day…
Dr C has really gone at the Californian hard today … Nurse … overdose … 🙂
At least he is getting excited about something that only has 2 legs 😉
🙂 🙂 , i’m under a gagging order from his lawyers
Why on earth do we need Etoo? Not happening. Thats 3 forwards who will be gone for ACN. And btw I absolutely loathe Etoo as a professional.
Last thing we need is another moody , self centered player. This is the guy who Barca were soo desperate to get rid off.
A real troublemaker.
tabs,
Started to watch Shadow Line, first three episodes. really good. Going to watch them again before going on as they are pretty complicated. Right up my street. Thank you 🙂
Sajit, Etoo will most likely not be playing in the ACN since Cameroon need a small miracle to qualify (see my post@65). Not that I am that convinced he would be the right player for us anyway, mind.
And by the way, Morocco are currently top of their group but are far from guaranteed to qualify (if they lose their next game they will most likely miss out) so Chamakh might not be going either.
Barman, pint of Boddingtons!
Stone – Glad to be of assistance . It doesn’t get any easier working out who are the goodies and who are the baddies 🙂
Roll up , Roll up , Gentleman , I am pleased to announce the first Ladies of the ” Sport ” carriage of the HT Mark II are as follows ;-
1. Petra Lovinghands
2. Josephine Tart-on
3. Fabkissa Colonseeni
4. Style Danger
5. Stephanie Nailher
Full availability and prices to be announced in August . Book early to avoid disappointment .
Lonestar – two for the price of one deals will be considered , but strictly no llamas allowed .
#33
I’m a Dane and a proud Gooner. Pat Rice is a brilliant example of The Arsenal Way. Being in the top flight since 1919 really does prove a point to me: You’ll never beat The Arsenal!
My first drink here, but certainly not first read. So anything you recommend, my good ‘holic.
Helping yourself again, I see, tabs 🙂
I just can’t help myself Dr Z 🙂
tabs@76 Top of the league at the end of August? Brilliant! I will drink to that in anticipation 🙂
Everything set with the CMC then?
*Checks the newly arrived stuff*
tabs @ 91
Failed applicants for job in the “Sport” carriage:
Pippa Lippasuckshen
Edna Bucketflaps
Pam Handshandy
Leslie Likespoons
Pass the Dutchie…
… on the left hand side …
Yes , Harsha , i think we can safely say the CMC is A ok 🙂
Dr Z , those ladies didn’t pass the …ahem … interview process . Breaking news , as a result of the toon’s signing today , I am also able to introduce a German lady , Memba Ya 🙂
Well I think they passed the “test”, we just ran out of reclining seats – I didn’t think it wise to start compromising on cabinet space.
Does Memba Ya have a posh cousin, Memba OK, ya?
100 not out – yay!
Yes a posh and much more discerning cousin , I’ve stuck with down-market for the HT , gotta know your client-base .
Quality market research, my friend, I can see I have filled my Executive positions well.
Just go easy on the product lines…..we don’t want to have to re-stock before we hit the first signal. *
* noun – “An indicator, such as a gesture or colored light, that serves as a means of communication – such as the imminent arrival of a new shiny footballer, or the departure of a Spanish Waiter” (Oxford Dictionary 2011)
🙂
Barking. Certifiably barking.
You boys want to leave those ‘shrooms alone 😉
It’s a long slow close season ‘Holic.
Even Blogs is struggling to find something new to talk about – we are just building windmills in our mind (ok trains, but you get the drift).
Have a dram on my tab and I’ll stick to the fungi. 🙂
Big fixtures post tomorrow night, maybe…
Two delayed but well known applicants for the “Sport” carriage –
Norma Stitz
Gloria Spoobs
and the rather less well known –
Melonie Frontage.
Two strangely dressed twin brothers were also trying to board the Sport carriage –
Ike an’ Justin Sertit
but I spotted them and told them it just wasn’t going to happen, although they were prepared to pay a lot of money.
Trev, the Sertit brothers are well known – rumour has it they are a pair of cocks.
No room on the HT for LWCs – well maybe as an occasional pet in the rear carriage.
Holic, looking forward to that fixtures post.
Boys. Home alone with 3 kids under 4 for 24 hours. You are my handle on reality.
I’m doomed.
Just teach them how to wield a bottle opener Dr C and you’ll be fine 🙂
The 4 year old is good at fetching from the fridge. Working on the 18 month old. Is it wrong that one of their first words was “beer”.?
They are growing up trilingual, so words get mixed up sometimes.
The 18 month old repeats what you say, but when I say “Arsenal” she puts her hands in the air and shouts “Goal!”. Clearly she is confused….
I’d say that displays way above average word-association skills for an eighteen month old , Dr C . The Junior Gunner has clearly latched onto our tremendous firepower straightaway , or is it our leaky defence ?
Catalan, beer fetcher at 4, budding neuro surgeon by the time he’s 24.
You can learn lots via the beer fridge – gravity (think about it), balance, responding to sudden dips in temperature, organisation in a cramped space and general logistics.
You can also teach him the variety of football formations – 442, 433 etc with the empty bottles.
As a treasured fellow traveller, do you have any requests for the HT MkII I should be thinking about?
Zico – a creche??!
Before you object, allow me to point out that Creche’s have nannies….. and for once I’m not talking about goats.
Beer please…
🙂
Well, we’ll be putting the four year old to work…..
Nice one ‘holic.
Pat Rice is an Arsenal man through and through and is a great servant to the club.
Bloody Mary please.
Trev @107 , Good work fella , we can try and fit those ladies in somewhere even if it means we can stick ’em in with Lonestar and the llamas . My only concern is are they based in Newcastle ? The HT Mark II already has planned pick-up points in Sweden , USA , Canada , and Israel . We can’t afford too many more deviations or we might not make it back in time for the Champs League Qualifier .
Dr Z is of course quite correct about the Sertit brothers , very unsavoury – come from an Eastern European mob based in the Marshlands , led by the very shady Laurie Bakanokorov . We may need to step up our security , these boys might be trying to muscle in on our supplier . One of the Columbians might have talked , and I’ve ordered my South American contact , Nelson Vivas , to undertake merciless investigation .
Mmm
Off to the booze seller shortly. You may have persuaded me to look at the vodka…
All depends if Tullamore Dew and Mount Gay are still on special…
I think the only way we can contemplate a Creche , is if we get Steve Bould on board for breast-feeding duties etc i think we can rule out TGFS , she’ll be kept too busy either on the Seventies Sweet counter , or up front with Dr Z .
The Mount Gay sounds of dubious character ‘Holic 🙂
H2H , is that an order for ad drink or anearly application for the ” Sport ” carriage ? 🙂
*a drink or an early*
Any old plonk will do, ‘holic, chuck it with some tabasco and tomato juice and I’ll be fine. Don’t bother with the cellary stick.
That would be a drink, TABS, but while I’m at it, I’ll apply for standing room at the bar in the buffet carriage, cheers. Swing the Happy Train round to Holland to pick me up, while here, you can also replenish the MC.
Holland is a certainty H2H , both to pick you up , and to replenish medical supplies . Apologies for the omission .
No problemo amigo, I haven’t been around that much lately, busy with my own bar, so it was an easy omission to make.
Next round’s on me.
H2H, I have family in Holland (near Enschede). It goes without saying that logistics and supply of medicine meant a diversion your way was always a possibility.
Oh, we’ve all been busy with our own bar by the way – thought that may have been obvious by some of the insanity above 😉
Afternoon ‘All!
‘Holic: Pat Rice is a total Arsenal legend and another of my boyhood heroes alongside the mighty Bob Wilson. In terms of Pat, has there ever been a longer serving employee of the club who has enjoyed as much success as he? I’ll admit to sometimes referring to him in recent years as ‘Silent Bob’ but when he (eventually) leaves it will be a huge loss for The Arsenal. As Clive pointed out, he is a magnificent link to past glories.
BTW, I use to spend the odd weekend down in The new Forest. Long story short, many a fine night was enhanced with a bottle of Mount Gay. It’s top stuff for quaffing on balmy summer nights, but I digress….
Zico: I’d like to second Dr.C’s suggestions for an HT Mk II creche for the StoreySon, esp. on matchdays of which I now have to choose my preferred 13. Life’s good sometimes 😉
tabs: Is that you getting yor hands sticky in the sweet jar again? Tsk, tsk… 😉
H2H: One never needs an excuse to visit The ‘Dam. I’ll be there next in October. If you’re around…..?
Nice one Zico.
TS, I’m not too far from A’dam, let me know closer to the time where you’re at.
Time to open the bar, gents, laters.
TS lives!
You do realise that your child will be working the bar, along with Catalan Junior?
Creche, really, you southern softies…. 🙂
Dr. z – no worries. He already been well trained. Sings the ‘AA 5’4″ song’ with his dad, shouts we hate sp*urs at random, and pours a mean JD & Coke. He’ll be 3 next month. How’s that for softie parenting? 🙂
H2H @ # 130
Will do, might help to keep me out of trouble too 😉
It’ll be in the first week of October. If the match at The Sh*thole gets re-arranged to mid week it might provide an extra excuse to get in front of the telly at a really fine drinking establishment.
No worries Zico – Boy can pay his way! The creche is for us old farts to sit in and be “nannied” by some of Lars’ compatriots….
Creche for old farts it is. Design team, pencils out.
Old farts? I resemble that remark but unlike Dr.C cannot claim that my boy can pay his way. I’ll leave that for his 5th b’day 🙂
Trev ‘ #107
A great pair of posts. Cheers.
TS @ 136 – you’ll ruin that boy.
I’m sure there’s a chimney he can sweep somewhere in the interim.
Wouldn’t dream of it zico. That’s being saved for his 6th b’day present.
Pat, true legend. A winner and above all a hard worker, the club definitely owes much to him, as someone who helped us achieve higher glories.
Pint of the black stuff all around, cheers!
Hi Holics,
After thinking about it for the whole weekend, this is my conclusion.
Since no one really knows the relationship between Pat and AW, anyone who whines about Pat Rice being a “yes man” is just looking to whine about AW, since people didn’t mind Pat being a “yes man” when we were winning trophies.
Kind of hypocritical.
Legend