Cesc Looks Forward, And The FA Finally Go Certifiably Insane
Feb 27th, 2008 by 'holic
It’s good to see the odd interviews creeping into the news aggregators that look forward, not back. Opinions about what has passed have become polarised. The time has come to accept that and ignore the people you don’t want to listen to (isn’t the ipod cassette adaptor a wonderful invention when you have had enough of the car radio!).
The Times are among the many sources who have piggy-backed onto a Cesc Fabregas interview in the Arsenal magazine where the Catalan genius speaks of the critics who wrote off our title chances pre-season. He also speaks sensibly of the weeks to come.
“We are not thinking it’s all over, we would be very stupid to do that. We have to keep working hard and keep believing we can do it. If we can win it it would be amazing considering the age of the team.”
It would signify not just an achievement for youth, it would prove once and for all that you do not have to throw money around like confetti in order to achieve major success.
Out Of Touch With Reality
Nobody can accuse the FA of not having its ear to the ground. In a week when there has been a widespread clamour to differentiate between the punishment for leg-breaking challenges and petulant retaliation they have acted swiftly. Giving an additional one match ban to Jeremie Aliadiere for his cheek-tickling assault proves beyond all reasonable doubt that the governing body in this country has gone absolutely stark-staring bonkers.
Win An Arsenal Opus With O2
Todays featured image is a visual painkiller, a reminder of better days than we have enjoyed in the last week or so. Thank you to Andrew for his snap of the last goal at Highbury.
I still get emotional thinking of that day. I am so grateful I got there early, walked around the place, got in the ground when the gates opened (and avoided alcohol!) just so I could take in as much of the occasion as possible. I have been through all of the photographs I took myself and it is astonishing how fresh in the memory it all still is.
Anyway, if you want to vote for your favourite photo, and win your own copy of this sumptuous book, visit the O2 blueroom here. Voting closes on Friday so don’t leave it too late.
21 Responses to “Cesc Looks Forward, And The FA Finally Go Certifiably Insane”
First Drink? Wooot?
Yes the FA has gone mad.
it must be because Ali was an ex player. I’ve said it. Now watch all them cunts come and say stupid things.
Just a note: The “extra” game for Ali was not for the foul, but is the standard punishment for appealing when the appeal is dismissed as far as I have understood. In a way it’s their: “Here’s a bonus for wasting the precious time of the FA. Think twice next time, will you!?”
That’s right Steve-O he’s guilty by association! (and before people start losing it – I would post a winking smiley here if I had one)
+
You get an extra one match ban if they find your appeal to be without merit. This happened to us last year with Adebayor.
No, the Aliadière extended ban has nothing to do with him being a foreigner/associated with Arsenal, I totally agree with that.
However, the point, I think, is that even if they wanted to uphold the ban (I haven’t seen the incident myself, it’s not really been shown around here), a little modesty should have told them that adding an extra game on the grounds of ‘frivolity’ wasn’t really needed, particularly not this week. That’s just taking the piss.
Happy Birthday, goonerholic.
Oops, sorry, wrong blog!
😉
The point is that the FA again show their rules are against any natural justice.
‘boro fans must be aghast that their player’s milder response to the stupid pinching of his nose results in him being sent off, whilst the original perpetrator gets away scot free.
How many times more will we see this.
Indeed Pomp, I have to say there is that point too. It’s always annoyed me that the sanction always only seem to be for the person who reacts than for the person who starts the shit.
(as I said I didn’t see any part of the Aliadière thing, so it’s just a general comment).
Yes, happy birthday Arseblog, the original and the best.
as usual goonerholic you have the wrong end of a rather large stick. your fans’ attempts at appearing the wounded ones by the FA are laughable. how many times have arsenal got away with soft pens etc against so-called lesser teams. you are part of the big 4 and as such get preferential treatment off refs and the FA. you may not see it but every fan of the other 88 league teams does.
comparing aliadiere’s punishment with taylor’s is simply childish and only goes to extend the back biting etc.
aliadiere deliberately hit someone round the face. red card no questions asked. everyone knows that. so for the smoggies to appeal was a joke.
please let go of the “we are so hard done by” placards and banners now, it’s been done to death and your continual moaning and whining just add to the beliefs that you are bad losers with very little dignity.
last season blues had our capt injured by a shocking tackle which broke his jaw. however once the punishment was dished out (or not as it happened!) we simply got on with it as did our players. yes we felt agrieved by the injustice of it all but hey ho that’s football.
perhaps you should do the same and simply not keep harping on about our player and extra punishment for him. it wont make eduardo get better quicker and it wouldnt change the game as it was a tackle that happens 100 times a game so what are you gaining from continually referring to it?
Good point about the ipod ‘holic. No broken records on them eh?
😉
That’s better YNMF, play nicely.
Anyone seen my blinkers?
Yeah, no more biting ‘holic.
You should have put Lawton in this weeks hol-picks, by the way.
Didn’t notice us getting away with any soft pens last weekend. Any that were going went Brums way.
The tackle that Taylor made doesn’t happen a 100 times a game. That is just ridiculous. If you are prone to exaggeration to support a point at least try to make it a believable one. The tackle that Taylor made was reckless and executed at a distance and speed that did not allow him any control over his tackle. Throughout the tackle his leg is full extended. The leg has three joints that can be flexed at anytime to reduce impact; at the hip, knee and ankle. Taylor followed through with his leg fully extended, ramrod straight in fact and over the top of the ball. It was an uncontrolled, reckless and very dangerous tackle.
I can understand Brum fans rushing to support Taylors error and plead how nice he is in mitigation but it doesn’t alter the fact one jot. Taylors tackle was a dangerously reckless. I don’t suppose Taylor will commit another like it in his career – at least I hope he will have learned from it – but defending it – failing to see the danger in such recklessness prevents other players, inclined to believe that controlling their tackle doesn’t matter, from avoiding the same devastating consequence.
“Didn’t notice us getting away with any soft pens last weekend. Any that were going went Brums way.”
and dont we know it. but there are many many ocassions where you get the rub of the green for pens, the home game against us springs to mind but i dont recall much clamouring from the gooners when kelly clearly won the ball and you got a soft pen. it’s football and things like that happen.
“The tackle that Taylor made was reckless and executed at a distance and speed that did not allow him any control over his tackle.”
i agree it was reckless but you obviously dont really know what you are saying ashe was stationary when he made the tackle not at a distance nor moving at any speed.
“Throughout the tackle his leg is full extended. The leg has three joints that can be flexed at anytime to reduce impact;”
look at many of the available pics and you can see taylor’s leg is bent
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/images/homepage/2402_eduardo_01.jpg
there is one for you. the speed that this happened at meant neither player had a chance to react until it was too late.
it has become very obvious who has and who hasnt played the game. tackles like that DO happen every game but in 9999 cases out of 10000 the players leg is not planted in the turf and he rides the challenge.
I am not saying it wasnt a red card at all. it was. but since then i have linked a horrendous 2 footed lunge by henry which drew zero condemnation from any gooners and didnt warrant any comment from wenger at the time. plus now goonerholic is suggesting that the FA are in some way wrong because they havent extended taylor’s suspension as they did with aliadiere’s whichbeggars belief as the only reason aliadiere got a further suspension was his team tried to get him out of the sending off.
A_n_E, can I ask a big favour of you and all your mates from SmallHeathAlliance?
I have just found out I have been nominated for ‘best blog’ in the Football Fans Census.
http://www.footballfanzineawards.com/nominations-blog.php
Since you boys don’t have a candidate and you spend every day here could you all click on and vote for me? I wouldn’t normally ask but today is the last day for voting.
Cheers mate.
have done goonerholic.
Heh!
Fair play fella. Where would we be if we couldn’t chuckle.
😀
At least you have accepted that the tackle was reckless and therefore red cardable. That’s progress of a sort. The picture you posted was after the tackle had broken Eduardos leg. The trick is to flex one of the joints before contact is made – thats when it matters. There are plenty of copies of the definitive moment of impact before any bones are shattered. Seek them out and you will see just how dangerous his tackle is. From the horror on Cescs face (someone who has played the game) you will see just what his instinctive reaction was.
Once again you make the disingenuous point that Eduardos foot was on the floor. Once again the only problem is that Taylors foot wasn’t on the floor – it went over the ball – the tackle was made without control. It was reckless and dangerous and if repeated runs a very strong risk that the consequence will be the same as it was this time.
I haven’t seen the Henry tackle that you mention but if it was reckless, without control, launched from a similar distance at a similar speed, over the top of the ball without any flexing in his legs then he deserved to be red carded as well. I am not looking to single Taylor out but the game will benefit from removing the sort of tackle that Taylor made from the game.
I have just found the link to the Henry tackle you mentioned. A stupid tackle but not the same thing at all. It was launched from three times the distance – not directly at the player – and neither leg was extended plus crucially it wasn’t over the top of the ball. Reckless yes but not in the same league as Taylors.
the birthday blog appears to have been overcome 🙁
Is it really that criminal to rant and rave on your own blog about things you’re not happy with? That is the purpose of a blog, innit? to express your own opinion?
*shrugs* just thought i’d get that out of my system. Sometimes if it gets too clogged up, things get weird.
Ladida, bring on Villa then.