I Don't Like Football, Oh No, I Love It
Apr 4th, 2010 by 'holic
The early game doesn’t produce the result we want, but the unexpected sunshine at the Grove lifts the spirits, and a lively start by the Gunners bodes well. It is just a matter of time before Wolves fall apart, isn’t it?
Why then am I getting irritated? I’m watching from the family enclosure with a top Gooner and his five year old son. Why is it that every time the ball comes into our half the adults have to stand up? I want to be on my feet at every game, as it happens, but not in front of the little ones in their own section of the ground.
On the pitch I am starting to get the hump with the blatant time-wasting by the visitors. Little do I know it will come back to bite them at the end of the afternoon. I have to say though that you can’t blame them. It is the referee’s job to stop it, and Mr Marriner is showing no sign of taking any action whatsoever.
Eduardo, recalled to a much-rotated side, has the best opportunities early on. He is denied once by a fabulous Hahnemann save, and once by his own poor touch. Theo Walcott is proving to be a handful for Elokobi. He twice sets up Sagna and goes close himself with a wonderful first time strike from the edge of the box.
Somehow we get to half time with no goals. The ‘holic pound is going south again. I exchange texts with a friend about Bendtner ‘s boots and we wonder how long it will be before the big Dane is summoned from the bench. Nearly three-quarters of the game has passed before he is finally sent on for Eboue.
In the minute that follows Wolves are down to ten when Henry cynically scythes through Rosicky from behind. Mick McCarthy can take a running jump if he thinks that was wrong. Hansen and Lawrenson can join him. Chops from behind (please don’t call it a tackle) were outlawed long ago. If that was a foreigner on Rooney there would have been outrage. He committed a bad foul, and the referee dealt with it correctly, end of story.
The remaining ten continue to frustrate, and I have to confess that for once I cannot see where the goal is coming from. Twice Rosicky is thwarted by Hahnemann and Theo miskicks in front of goal, but minutes are being eaten up every time the visiting keeper gets control of the ball and every time the ball goes out of play for a Wolves throw.
The result of that time-wasting is five added minutes at the end of the game. They are nearly complete when Sagna chips the ball onto the head of Bendtner and the all-important goal arrives. Beside me a five year old goes berserk, but he is not alone. I too am going absolutely mad. As we depart for the pub I’m sure I see Arsene put something back in his pocket. I suspect it is a card saying ‘get out of jail free’.
Back on the Guinness, we digest the afternoon’s other results and calculate with some glee that our next premiership game, at White Hart Lane, should be St Totteringhams Day. That can wait, however. The mantra continues. We are off to the Nou Camp on Tuesday.
Win the next match!
157 Responses to “I Don't Like Football, Oh No, I Love It”
This team is going to give me a heart attack, and I love every minute of it.
Imperial stout, if I may.
so you were the old cunt blocking my view, sit down fucker, il have a ribena
[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Shin Ryujin. Shin Ryujin said: I Don’t Like Football, Oh No, I Love It: The early game doesn’t produce the result we want, but the unexpe… http://bit.ly/deeRMX #Arsenal […]
Great writeup ‘holic. Spot on about both the sending off and timewasting. We cannot however afford to be so profligate infront of goal on tuesday.
A glass of red please. Barca seem to have their own injury problems. Here’s to winning the next game.
Oh and Happy Easter to you, the management and all the ‘holics. Always a better weekend after an Arsenal win.
For once it didn’t seem too many left and those who stayed got their just reward.
I can’t remember the last time we celebrated a win like that – I sprained my Achilles in the process which presumably means Arsene will sign me up for next season?
NB52 has had his ups and downs but even at his worst has never stopped trying and is now getting his just rewards.
Onwards and upwards?
p.s. I think I’ve probably had enough but a coffee might go down well . . .
Great write up. This’ll definitely give the squad a boost before Tuesday’s match. Thought Sol in the squad was a bit of a surprise. Pondering Song in the back and Deni in holding spot since he did well there last time vs Barca? The look of utter dissapointment from eduardo after Heneham made a fantastic save really said it all. I was gutted for him because he and every gunner supporter almost thought the same thing that he showed on his face that he cannot buy a goal to get out of his slump at the moment. As I said in the last post we might be singing this soon enough ; ) . An ice cold Coors Light will do the trick!
He’s Six foot Fouurrr
He’s Six foot Fouurrr
We’ve got Nicklas Bendtner.
Fuckkk Adebayor !
Hi Holic,
First time reply for me. R\Great to see Rosicky step it up today…MOM?
Guiness please.
Keeping the dream alive is all we can do at this moment. A truly magnificent victory it was. Not for the faint-hearted supporters, the glory was there.
Someone on arseblogs twitter said it best I think, I’ll be billing Arsene for the heart attacks the team has caused me this season.
A Full Moon if you please.
I can say that i knew we would scre this has been the mantra of arsenal f.c since stoke city. I dont no if anyone outhere sees it to but this neva say die attitude iz share by everyone on d team bar # 23. I tink his injury can be a blessing in disguises
Now that was heart stopping!
I can honestly say that whether we win the title or not, I am so proud to be a gooner! With all our injuries and lack of depth, the boys have shown true determination and maturity over the past months, such a turnaround from the last few seasons. Just when we seem down and out the boys dig their heels in and produce a result. Well done Arsenal, you are already champions in my eyes!
Let’s have a few more glorious One-Nil to the Arsenals and keep this season going because it’s been glorious glorious glorious!!!! ‘Holic I’ll have a Kronenbourg and offer a toast to Nicklas Bendtner and the whole team that’s going to rip the Catalans to shreds on Tuesday.
Great post ‘holic….from backwards freekicks to doing up your laces, wiping the dry ball for throw ins and seeking the trainer after every tackle. Wolves gave us all of that injury time and then some with the hatchet of Rosicky. I hoped for 3 extra mins, and when 5 came up I had a good feeling, we just kept turning up the heat at the end…it was so brilliant!
No matter how these last few weeks go – we have to say could we really ask for more? The incessant belief in this team is something we’ve been missing for a while – I really reckon those players belief in each other – and did you see Sol Campbell and that goal !
Back from the dead for Easter indeed….
Can’t wait for Tuesday…nobody is giving us a chance….bollocks to the media as I think we’ll come out on fire that night.
I love my Arsenal.
Keep the faith
Sol Campbell has been so good for this team’s spirit and determination. Just the right added ingredient to bring us as far as we have been able to come since January, and the amazing thing is he can still play too. But what a great achievement for the whole team to come this far despite the most horrific string of injuries anybody could have imagined. Those who have replaced the injured players have done a heroic job.
‘Holic, did your grandson take the right path yet? I remember he was cheering for Wolves at the Molineux!
We ARE “the improbables!”
Let’s see just how improbable on Tuesday.
´Holic; I am seriously impressed with your typing skills whilst steamed! Or does the management run an editorial rule before publishing?!
As others have said, this squad are already champions, and the season a success. However, maybe, just maybe…..
es @ 17 ‘The Improbables’ – love it!
So this is what it feels like to rise from the dead. How appropriately Easterish.
A Fernet Branca to get the engine going, please.
Never doubted the goal (much!). They’re playing with us and are running a competition to see how late they can leave it.
Come Tuesday, we need the first half Almunia, Sol to shine, Song to be on song, Nazri to be Fab and Theo, our sub on fire. Believe!
If you think that mistimed tackle was worthy of a red card then it’s little wonder Arsenal fans get labelled as a bunch of moaners. Even Wenger didn’t think it was a red!
Can I get you a spitoon for those sour grapes, fella?
Red card? My arse!!!
Good post ‘holic, have a guiness on me. To John Taylor and Lurch, irrespective of what you two think, how can Le Boss think it was a red anyhow, you know he never sees things like that 🙂
The boss said he would need to see it again, but it thought that a red card was probably harsh. However, Rosicky did require a bandage as he had two stud like gashes bleeding on the back of his calf, so maybe the ref called it right for once…
So the wolves clogger, at full force, throws himself into the back of Rosicky’s legs. He doesn’t win the ball as far as i can see, and even if he does he absolutely obliterates rosicky in the process. If Rosicky’s studs had been in the ground then his leg would have snapped like a dry twig, as it was he was lucky to escape with just a bloody great hole out of his calf.
So it was illegal under the laws of the game, it was reckless, it was dangerous and a man was injured in the process. And some people still bleet about how it was not a sending off.., what planet are these people on?
Typical MOTD if anyone saw it.
Henry should have been sent off for two yellow card offences as the straight red probably was harsh (I’m being magnanimous as we won 🙂 )
First half Henry decides to do a bit of surfboarding on Theos leg, replays show a definite intention to do it and amazingly it gets no replay on MOTD.
2nd half Henry decides he needs firewood to keep the home fires burning and mistakenly chops down Rosicky thinking him a big oak
Footage at the game shows Rosicky with some nasty gashes in his leg afterwards, and amazingly again MOTD decide not to show it being the unbiased lot they are.
So Lurch & John Taylor, even if the red was harsh he should still have gone for two yellows.
As for the game itself, like so many others have said today and yesterday, jesus talk about nerve shredding, but awesome seeing the lads NEVER SAY DIE attitude
Theo had a worryingly hit and miss day, at times he looks like the greatest prospect in the world and at others like the worst Sunday league player nobody really wants to pick but because he is young and looks sweet you do not want to offend him.
Eduardo never stopped trying and big respect to him for that, but how many of those chances he had would he have buried before Birmingham Surgeons decided to chop him up?
Sol looked completely outpaced yesterday but not once was he outplayed and that is credit to the big mans positional sense
And finally I thought this was a pretty good read and for once a completely fair assessment of our season thus far
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/373032-arsenals-dream-of-winning-silverware-is-hanging-by-a-thread
Bring on Barca, that bunch of overhyped wusses are going to regret giving us the chance to get back in the game 🙂
Come on you Rip Roaring Free Scoring Never Boring GUNNERS!!!!!
Pai, thanks for asking about the grandson. Sadly he couldn’t make it down to the Grove yesterday. When I can get him there I’m sure that will be the clincher.
j, I am amused they don’t see who is doing the moaning here. No grumbles here at all. He committed the foul, was rightly sent off. End of story.
Fair play to Wolves for the spirit they showed, but Hahnemann kept the scoreline respectable. I understand them being frustrated, but keep a sense of perspective. If I were a Wolves fan I would be moaning about the blatant time-wasting that cost them the game.
Rotational fouling. Thought Jones might have gone first.
Do you do blood transfusions ?:)
Song cannot die.
You wouldn’t want any transfusion from me this morning, xyzzy. Traces of blood have been discovered in my alcohol stream. Spot on about Jones too. Three terrible challenges. He was a lucky boy.
Good morning Allan. Interesting to see Denilson holding yesterday and the Song more advanced. Worked quite well, I thought.
Good news ahead of Tuesday – Ibrahimovic out
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/feedarticle/9016634
No red card for that powerful tacle from behind (with no chance to get the ball)? What kind of football do you want to play in England? Could someone tell me please?
Usually these fans blogs are spot on.
What a load of blinkered, self rightious nonsense,
you silly gooners actually believe what your silly whinging manager keeps spouting, that no one can tackle one of your players
& that every team that comes to the emerates should roll over & give you the space to pass it round them
Perhaps not even bother using a keeper, just to cause you guys less inconveiience!!!
Get real
With a bit of luck Barca will do what they should have done the other night & stick about 8 past you
Then you might actually have something to moan about!!!!
The irony of your name is not lost on us, Grace.
Bleating Wolves fans, do feel free to check out Henry’s other fine bit of handiwork too, here…
http://www.arsenalvision.co.uk/reviews.php?articleid=1579
Get a life all you self righteous so called football supporters, as our manager quite rightly said in his honest assessment of the game is that Arsenal played the best football and deserved to win.
He also said also quite rightly that Henry should not have gone and that he actually got the ball, if you take off your red spectacles and watch it in slow motion even the most biased cockney can see that, lets face it the only reason he got sent off was the reaction of the Arsenal players and the linesman who was 50 yards away, the usual cheating, wanting to influence referees that you.man utd and chelsea always use, like your ever moaning manager you expect every team to not tackle, not waste time and most of all agree that you are the worlds best and roll over and let you win every time you play.
On another matter lets see if the PL slap a fine on you for making 7 changes, dont hold your breath on that one after all it is the Wonderful Arsenal we are talking about and the PL always kiss the Moangers arse. Good luck Barca on tuesday, your only hope is to use your conning the ref tactics.
*mops up acidic grape juice*
Morning All Hlolic & Holic`s
Quite a few none gooners making posts on a Arsenal blog as of late. Funny that, if I was a fan of a different club I would stick to their fan-sites. The truth is out Holic your reputation of having the best blog must have them all flooding here.
Ahhh the game, why must we keep making this hard on ourselves the blood pressure cant take it much longer. I think you have the right idea Holic replace blood with alcohol.
It was a bit strange to see Eboue start on the left ? he was no way near as affective as he is on the right and I think we lost something in that. Theo came out the blocks fast and caused all sorts of problems for Wolves but faded in the second half. I dont think he has any injury problems maybe its just that he isnt used to playing for a whole game, well he will have quite a few games to put that right and get his match fitness back to its best.
A few of the players out there yesterday didnt look as sharp as we would have wanted but you cant have everything. As they have mainly been bit part players for the season if due to injury or just lack of form or the player they would replace has been on stunning form. Eddie and Rocky II looked a little off the pace and who can blame them both have had a horrible season with niggles and strains, silly little injuries that stop you getting match fit and upto speed. Its going to be a big ask for them to step up immeadiatly but again they will get games to sharppen up.
Bendtner you big brilliant Danish legend. I didnt see a goal comming and there he is again, Arsene must keep hold of this lad as in 2-3 years time I think he has a golden boot or two in him.
RVP has been back in full training for a week or so and what a wonderful bit of morale boosting news that is, we should bring him on the bench to give the players a lift as im sure they would love to have him out there.
WE ARE STILL IN THIS AND WE CAN WIN THIS COME ON YOU GUNNERS !!!!!!!!!
Yup Holic, that is the moment I referred to in my post, Funny how none of the non-Arsenal fans here have commented on it, Regardless of the red being harsh, he should have been shown two yellows anyway.
Should we all start going a little mental when we get tackled, No if the tackle is a good one and Wolves made plenty of good tackles, But please do not come here bitching about the fact that Henry made two awful challenges and rightly did not finish the game, you get what you deserve.
Come on you Rip roaring free scoring never boring Gunners!!!
and re moaningwhinger.
Get a grip you moron, how many changes were enforced by injury?
Oh yes we’ll get away with it because we are Arsenal, the second most fouled team in the History of the PL and the highest injury list of any team in the PL.
Wonder if those two stats could possibly be connected?
Changing a team to weaken it is what gets you in trouble you idiot, pathetic that you hate your own team so much you have to come here just to get some attention
@moaningwhinger
Wenger didnt moan about the tackle and was complementary about Wolves.
As drapedindarkness said injuries = player change.
As for non gooners comming in here begging for Barca to beat us dont get jealous maybe if you asked them nicely you might get them to play you in a pre season friendly as that is the only way you will see them at your ground.
sorry boys got to say your talking total bollox yes arsenal should have won but you didnt take your chances early on is that our fault yes we were time wasting but what did you expect from a side fighting relegation expansive attacking football or something as for the tackles and red cards are you becoming as blinkered as your french leader that only sees things in one direction also the thing that really makes me chuckle is this everyone kicks our players because we are not a tough team blah blah dont know how many of you remember the arsenal side with adams , keown , viera , petit etc etc was this not a side that played under wenger were they not tough players and as a final note i would never normally want a foreign side to beat a english club but lets be honest you are a foreign club that is based in england 1 english player yesterday unless im mistaken also the way barca took you apart for 30 minutes without scoring was far more entertaining than anything you produced yesterday and i never thought i would see the day that arsenal at home needed ref decisions to beat wolves
cannock wulf
Sour grapes you pathetic twit, it was a red card. Did you manage to see Rosicky’s calf?
I watched this game on a Polish sport channel and they didn’t think it was a red until they saw holes in the skin from this so called fair challange.
He may got a slight touch on the ball but he butchered his calf and it was a very dangerous play, yoy break legs with these.
You are a snob aren’t you, dont worry I hope you get relegated and hopefully you appreciate what Wenger is doing for football in this country and not just for Arsenal. How many players do we have on loan? How many are English?
You have some guts coming here and to listen to your gibberish is like you are the moaner here!
sorry for the foul language yesterday, but please sitdown in the family enclosure lol
It tastes like lemon that bitter taste. Your manager said we were better and deserved the win, let it go lads.
Until today i had nothing against wolves and was impressed with your keeper and defensive display. But now all you barca loving Arsenal hating wolves fans can go and enjoy yourselves in the championship were you will remain.
Goodbye
canock wolf, you lost and deserved to lose, it wont be the last time this season, good riddance championship and millwall away beckons
if you go into a tackle at that speed your an idiot, you have to win the ball 100% or face the consequences, he didnt win it, now he must face the consequences,stop bitching,you can all get back to supporting manure on your armchairs next season
Do wolves have a fan based blog ?
If so go and cry on that site.
If Arsenal lost you wouldnt find us bleeting on their blogs.
I blame twitter. LOL
Arthur
Didn’t see his calf, but did see him running around like a spring chicken about 30 seconds after it looked like he’d be in plaster for the next 12 mths
Funny that???
to arthur
if you are saying its red because of the injury to his calf being so bad how did he manage to get up straight after the card came out and play on with this ravaged leg also cast your mind back to your game at hull and sol cambells tackle on the hull player whose season is now over so what your saying is that should of been a red should it because i didnt if we take the tackles out of the game then the game is finished it is a contact sport like i said in my earlier post you didnt seem to mind tackles flying about with adams keown etc (what a team that was i might add) but as a season ticket holder at molineux i have seen all to often wolves getting the rough end of the decisions against the so called big 4 you call me a moaner but look at it from our point of view being so close to a point at a ground where i would never expected one would you not be a little aggreived if the roles were reversed
Still can’t believe you lot from the highbury library are on here whinging about tackles when 10 yrs ago you were wetting yourselfs over the team Professor Arsene created that tried to bully every team they come across
Remember your club anthem?
1 – nil to the arenal???
Hardly sounds like free flowing football
And for the record its not sour grapes, I just can’t stand self rightious hypocrites
Gentlemen, play nicely please. Cannock and Grace, you are welcome here, but I think we know from the outset that we are not likely to find common ground on that ‘tackle’, or his challenge on Walcott.
Actually I’ll upset my own here and say I don’t want to see Wolves relegated. Got some good (and bad) memories of being there on the old South Bank and the entertaining journeys through that bloody underpass.
Cheers until next season when hostilities can commence again…
1-0 to the arsenal, that was 15 years ago, football has changed since then,everyone was at it, when england get dumped out by the first passing team at the world cup they come across the small english towns can take the blame for its rugby pitches and for teaching all these buffoons nothing
Baby arse
You’re a tool, see you next season!!!
I have no problem with Wolves either, I actually hope they do survive, But calling us hypocrites because of a team from 10 years ago really ruins your credibility.
Nobody is denying Arsenal were, note WERE a tough tackling side and we got the reds and yellows at the time to prove it, The problem is that teams are committing the same kind of challenges and worse on our boys NOW and not getting the yellows and reds, Both Grace and Canuck have come here and mentioned past stats and how Rosicky jumped up after the card, When he did not in fact jump up, he was taken off the pitch to recieve treatment and hobbled back on where after a few minutes he ran it off.
But neither Grace nor Canuck have bothered to mention the tackle by Henry on Walcott which was worthy of a yellow, the tackle on Rosicky was never a red but it was a yellow, so truthfully he had to go anyway.
I’d like to say again that I do not want Wolves to go down, I actually want Hull, Burnley and Stoke to go down, two out of three would be ok though 🙂
PS to fans of Stoke, Hull and Burnley, It’s just a joke 🙂
Grace another 6 points, cheers love, good luck
Not sure if it was 30 seconds later I didn’t have my stop watch on me at the time 🙂
It was dangaerous play end of, I don’t think the ball is played at calf level is it?
Funny that eh?
Arsenal 1971 I did think Wolves fans were decent but obviously not, it was a bit harsh of me to say that I wanted to you relegated but hey you seem to play decent footy so lets just leave it at that.
By the way….
HAPPY EASTER TO HOLIC’ AND ALL THE HOLICS HERE….
I’m an Arsenal fan and I can’t believe what we got away with. It certainly wasn’t a sending off offence and Wolves were very unlucky. I just don’t like to see our players conning the ref by reacting the way they did to get someone sent off. And I thought Rosicky was dying judgeing by his reactions, before he ran off the field having successfully got his man booked. I thought Wolves defensive display was one of the best we’ve seen at the Emirates – good luck to them in their fight against relegation.
arsenal boy
Arsenal fan, no
Grace & Wulf
Is the refs decision the real problem here ?
As you may know Arsenal/Wenger dont pick the ref for games the FA dose. So if your upset at the ref why not go to the FA`s web site and vent your anger there.
Your MANAGER said we deserved to win the game and we did. If you are upset he said that and you dont agree, go to the wolves web site and complain.
Grace i do remember our club anthem very well it brings back such fond memories of a over flowing trophy cabinet. Yes 10 years ago Arsenal were a very big physical team but I dont recall us breaking legs to prove that. The football may not be have been the free flowing football that we play now, maybe we adapted with a new batch of players who are smaller. Possibly wolves could adapt and play better football who knows scientist may come up with a new pig flying potion.
But your anger should be aimed else were.
as for relegation i think 2 more wins will put us well safe fulham away is probably our hardest game on paper think west ham will go down cus can only see them getting two wins and ending up with 33 points but who knows i will also say aint we all a bit biased to our clubs as for wenger it just annoys non goners all over that he always sees things for arsenal but never the other way (i did not see it) and speaking as someone who has seen all of the top six at molineux this season you play the best football but i still feel chelsea will win the league cus they can mix it when things are not going right anyway good luck for rest of the season think you need some to get past barca i see the swede is injured for them you now got that little git bojan to worry about
ps the subway is still there but away fans tend to get bought in another way now stay away from the town and park the other side of the ground
i dont think wolves put up a good defensive display, i think we were just poor,thats a fact, we played a weakened knackered team, wolves had two shots on goal,one from the halfway line, we had 5 or 6 chances which should have done better with, it was hardly a great defensive display by anyone,tackle from behind = red card
Got a bit fiesty here …. 🙂
canock wolf, what annoys us is the way they question wenger, and kiss up to other managers who throw their toys out of their pram and dont give interviews,if they ask wenger a question at least he will answer, i didnt see it actually means no comment but its tv friendly
Can’t believe that the wolves fans are comparing the 2 tackles. If it’s the one I’m thinking of, Sol slid in front of the Hull guy, blocking the ball. Henry went through Rosicky’s leg with his studs up to get the ball. Huge difference. Anyway, he deserved to go for his stamp on Walcott earlier as well.
What 7 changes? Only players changed from the Birmingham team were Vermaelen, Silvestre, Eduardo and Eboue. Vermaelen was suspended for that game. Maybe you wanted us to play Cesc, Arshavin, van Persie, Gallas, and Ramsey. Believe me, we want them to be able to play much more than you do.
baby you really talk nonsense to even restrict arsenal to 6 chances at home is testament to how well wolves defended and i have said you should of won but like i said reverse the roles would you not feel a bit pissed off my first message may of been a bit over the top so sorry for that but i just didnt think it was a red card even if he may have deserved 2 yellows 2 wrongs dont make a right as for our 2 chances thats 2 more than i expected it would have probably been our result of the season (even better than our 1-0 win over your north london friends) so to lose in the 95th minute is a hard pill to swallow
I am a window-licker
I licks them all of the day…
the point im making about the tackles is when a tackle is made momentum carrys you into the player sols tackle at hull was a fair challenge but his momentum took him through the ball into player belive me boys karl henry is not a dirty player ive seen him now for years at wolves cant remember his last red card he was trying to get the ball surely you must see that as for the treading on walcott not sure didnt see that until now (watched on net bit jumpy missed bits) but if he meant that then red red but i dont belive he would stamp on anyone hes not that type of player
well in the rule book it says tackle from behind red card wolf, football needs to get back to the rule books and away from clogging, in 4 years the future of england at the wolrd cup will still be cloggers unless players are encouraged to stay on their feet, whats the point of top speeding up the pitch going through the back of a player just to put the ball back into arsenal possesion 4 or 5 meters away? the art of tackling is about controlling the ball and taking possesion especially on the half way line, not commiting 6 yard box defensive challenges 40 yards from goal, the question is if he won the ball cleanly would he have controlled it ? no it would have just flew away to an arsenal player because you had 10 men behind the ball and one man offside by miles for 90 minutes
Six, cannock? Were you chucked out after twenty minutes? 😉
Actually I was at the new gaffe for the first fixture, in with all the Wolves actually. Did enjoy the ‘4-0 and you fucked it up’ when you scored in injury time.
cannock wulf
Yes it would be a hard pill to swallow if the roles where reversed, I think everyone on here can accept that. at Birmingham we got a draw because a ball bounced up and hit a player on the nose and went in. That was in injury time as well, we felt agreived but didnt go on Birmingham blogs to start pointing fingers. I know its not the same thing as you lost a player due to a red card but a injury time winner or to loose 2 pionts because of a draw is always going to sting a bit. You will find that 99.9% of the gooners on here are true fans and will debate with you reasonibly. Just dont come in guns blazing is the piont i am making. Good luck for the rest of the season.
to be honest though the game went exactly how i expected it to go after not scoring in the first 15 minutes, wolves were brave but they were getting leggy even with 11 men on the pitch,we were lucky to score right on the final whistle though its true, that was definantly two points gained where as last week was 2 points lost, so its a balance
your man said six not me think he may have meant proper chances cus stats sometimes are stupid even a goal kick that reaches other keeper can be classed as a shot on goal i would of thought you had about six good chances
fired back into an into an onside players nose from a cross that should have been flagged for offside might i add,71
i think we had 6 chances, 2 for eduardo, one theo scuff, the sagna sitter fired into the keepers legs, a couple for rossicky he could have done better with, and the goal, whats that, 6-7 good chances
Very true baby arsene but the piont was we all get pissed off with refs displays against our teams. It wasnt that long ago when you would have to pull out a gun and shoot one of our players for us to get a penalty.
anyway thanks for chat lads gotta go now good luck for the remainder of the season and hopefully we will be back at the emirates next season
but it was still not a red lol
cheers
were all biased, we all want it our own way, dangerous tackles are made doubley dangerous on crap surfaces with no give, if shawcross went though ramsey on a good turf the grass would have just ripped up an no break, i hate crap surfaces ,thats the biggest crime in football, rotational fouling, and bad surfaces, there will always be fast tackles like the one the other day as long as refs allow players to get carried away ,anyway lets all pray for george boatang, real role model for the young players looking to be the next zidane
lol wolf, agree to disagree but good luck
I’m 100 percent sure most of the non arsenal fans making posts recently are spuddies. Just read through the comments sections since the Stoke game. Their ‘style’ of writing using all hot air and empty cliches, the knowledge of Arsenal’s recent controversies or just their timing. No doubt.
Vital Arsenal get invaded by them on a regular basis, but over there they cannot hide their identity. On ACLF they get found out quite easily as well despite their best efforts. Pathetic if you ask me.
well if i was born into being a spud id disguise myself as a stoke fan too
Wolves fan here,
Good write up. I think (like most Wolves fans and unlike most Arsenal fans) that the red is harsh. I found that all neutrals thought it was harsh too. And as said earlier, Wenger also said it was harsh. To Henry’s stamp, I honestly believe he is trying to get out of the way. Karl is a player who is very honest and not a dirty player at all.
Arsenal played some great football, I thought it was a good game and you deserved the win. It is a bitter pill to swallow as it was such a late goal.
Well done, and good luck for the rest of the season.
Louie
Good luck to you too Louie
My faith in fair suppoters dicussion is returning
Cheers Louie.
problem is the offenders are always fair players, nice blokes, wouldnt hurt a fly,didnt mean it types, until its a …………..?
It’s the smallest perfect number and ours was Tony, now a toffee called Phil. A throw of the dice; a 5 and a 1; a 4 and a 2; a 3 and a 3? It’s going to be high scoring but 3-3 would put the floodlights out on the league!
Cub scouts sitting with in their Wolves pack with a sixer, is that some kind of omen? Rhymes with pricks that make us sick – ah, visiting Wolves fans that one’s easy. The number of strings on my red riding hood Fender and I strum “I don’t like…..I love it” on my Dreadlock Holiday. 10CC isn’t a big drink so make it a strong Green Eyed Monster and we’re NOT the worst band in the world and we certainly don’t give up.
I’m sitting in my HoneyComb, thinking “Have I the right” to write all this bollocks? It’s a benzene ring, a hexagon of hope, the atomic number of carbon, the legs on a creep crawly (and who brought Phil Brown into this?). It’s the VI bomber (oh no, not Ade again!!); it’s time to rev up my V6 as they drive down the M6.
Six is the number, so, flex your muscles, crack open your six-packs, and take your partners please for the Dashing White Sergeant as the Catalan-less Gooners prepare to whirl and birl there way through the first of a sensational-six-set-sequence of stupendous significance. I’m Hot to Trot, but I’m Not in Love (with this young team), so don’t forget it.
OK, I’m Dressed to Kill. Number 4 shirt in recognition of our loss. Strict Code of Silence with Her Nellieness. “We won’t talk about Cesc, baby”. That lasts for three seconds “Oh, there he is on his crutches, she croons”. I can’t help but notice he’s sitting with JD20 – is he on the mend? Sol’s on; does that mean Song at CB in the Nou Camp? He’s starting Dudu – a run out before Barcelona? No Clichy? Not another long injury please!
Welcome to Paradise you black and gold with your Old Wild Men, McCarthy and his side-kicks.
90 minutes and Grandma Wolves intent is clear from the first. No show of teeth up front, let’s protect our hairy back passage. Shine a Light in the Dark, This is not Art – for Art’s Sake! Rubber Bullets wouldn’t Shuffle these Men on a Mission one yard along Wall Street, even with a bull market dozer. 93 minutes, the ClockWork Creeping to 95 in and my Sacro-Iliac is causing me real grief and a bad case of the Deceptive Bends, hope I don’t Sheet Music myself.
And suddenly, We Feel the Benefit of AW’s sub. I’m Mandy, Fly Me sings Bendy as he soars aloft to Get It While He Can and thump the game back to the original script and Original Soundtrack “one nil to the Arsenal”.
Well, well, well, Lol Crème, that was One Night in Paris! Life really Is A Minestrone. Now I’m Laid Out I’m so Laid Back.
Fill Her Up, barman, anything wet will suffice.
*smiles* 🙂
After all of the above, I’m confused
I seem to recall a discussion – was it on Focus yesterday morning – re tackles, something along lines of
tackle from behind is a red (my q is if you come from behind but dont touch player surely nothing wrong?)
tackle from side is fine as long as the follow thru does not endanger tacklee
I have to laugh at all the ‘time wasting’ comments against wolves.
All I ask is imagine being one up against Barca in this weeks 2nd leg. You’re one up with 10 minutes to go. So, are you gonna play flowing attacking football or are they gonna do all they can to run the clock down?!
Yes, another wolves fan (blame NewsNow).
Anyhoo, hope u win this week. I expect to see no time wasting 😉 and no, it was yellow not red, no studs up. Wolves are lots of things but we’re not dirty.
See u next season….hopefully
Arse are perfecting the art of leaving as late as possible to score the winning goal – Gives opponents now time to come back into the game as they barely have time to kick off again!! LOL
However, i request that this policy is stopped immediately – i have no fingernails left and family has a history of heart complaints!!
Nice post but should you be taking a five year old to the pub after the match?
now = no
Another great write up.
As for the foul, personally I thought it was a yellow at the time and after watching it on MotD, despite the marks on Rosicky’s leg. I didn’t think he’d gone high or anything … but then I watched the replay again more closely and Henry is off the ground briefly. He goes flying in and although I still think it was a harsh red card, I can see why the referee gave it. If you’re off the ground, you can’t control your momentum and that is deemed reckless or dangerous play, so the red was understandable within the laws.
kevnal, we didn’t take him to the pub.
lurch, but one up is different from 0-0 in the first ten minutes tryin to run the clock down
Where`s Matt,Steve T,8 Ball and pires is king today ?
Too many Easter Egg`s maybe ? Too full to type.
I look forward to your posts as i do many others, put the egg`s down and start typing lol.
For me there is no question that it is a red. The tackle is from behind, he doesn’t get the ball (no, he didn’t no matter what McCarthy said) and he comes in a full speed. It is dangerous, and as such shall result in a red card.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/apr/04/arsene-wenger-arsenal-contract
This is very good news.I was very worried when he said at the beginning of the season that Arsenal had to win a trophy this term,that he was forcing himself into a corner if we did’nt win anything and would feel duty bound to move on.France will certainly be looking for a new manager after the World Cup and he would be favourite if he made himself available.I know he has already said he wouldn’t be interested but I had my doubts.
Pint of WTNM for me
Disappointed to see all the fighting. I like Wolves, they’re a bit of a “second team” for me, if you will. Been following them all year, hoping that they’d stay up and possibly do even more, and I think they’ve shown a lot of resilience. Played some nice football at times too, and it doesn’t hurt that their keeper is an American.
Personally, I didn’t have a problem with the time-wasting, but it’s a two-way street. It seems a bit disingenuous for so many Wolves fans to criticize Arsenal supporters complaining about the time-wasting, then turn around and themselves complain about the amount of added time.
As for the tackle, the appropriate question isn’t whether it looks like a red card after dozens of slow-motion replays, but rather whether it looks like a tackle that the ref could legitimately have seen as a red card offense on the field. When it first happened and I saw it on TV, I was fuming (especially knowing Rosicky’s history), and there was no question in my mind that had it been one of our players, I’d have been completely fine seeing them sent off. This was, by the way, even before I’d realized that Henry had been the one that had made the dangerous tackle on Theo earlier on. After seeing the replays, I felt it was somewhere in between yellow and red. It wasn’t intentionally harmful, but it was dangerous and clumsy. It wasn’t clearly one or the other, and it came down to the ref’s discretion. Can’t fault him too much, just like you couldn’t had he given only yellow.
Fair play to Wolves. They were solid on the day, especially Marcus (happy to see him standing behind Timmy Tourettes come June 12!). I have enough respect for our team and our home crowd to feel that any team that can come to the Emirates, not try to kick us off the pitch (which they didn’t), and still nearly walk out with a point deserves massive props. Had I been lucky enough to be there, I’d have stood up and applauded the opponents on their way off the pitch. If there was any way to give them one point will still taking our deserved three, I don’t think anyone here would hesitate to give it to them.
100 drinks?
Alright now Pip, I think you have had enough. Only I can handle 101.
Another Wolves fan here. Henry made a poor tackle, no doubt. Not a red 9 times out of 10, but after the recent furore and Wenger’s histronics he should have known better. I wouldn’t feel surprised that you get a bit of anti-Arsenal bias from the media, though. Wenger is notorious for his double-standards and, like Fergie, doesn’t inspire much sympathy from neutrals for his team.
Anyway, good luck for the championship this year – I genuinely hope you spoil the Man U/Chelski party. You do at times play some of the nicest footie in the prem, and it was horrible to watch you tear us apart at the Molineux earlier in the season.
Arsenal 1971
Mate, not really got a problem with the result, have to admit I was gutted at the time you scored, justas much as you would have been elated.
If you go back to my first post, most of these fan blogs usually paint a fair reflection of what has gone on.
Instead on here, your man whinges about time wasting & the red card being the right decision, when anyone who knows anything about the game accepts it was a bad decision.
Then you have morons on here like baby arsene who should be watching tiddley winks coz they nothing about the game.
– just expect fellow footy fans to be as honest as myself & not have short memories.
Grace, I will have a short memory about you. If you don’t like the blog don’t waste your time on it. Apparently you lot do love time wasting though.
Grace, clearly you haven’t read ‘Holic before and don’t know what you’re talking about. Have the good grace to get you nickers back on and get off back to your own Wolfie blog and let us get on with our whining and our whinging.
Another window licker here!
Dear Mr Wenger,
I’m tired of the “Barcelona are Gods” euphoria being pedaled universally by the global media gurglers. The fact that they came to The Emirates and managed a draw with the greatest team in the world, does not merit the hyberbolic bollock hiping that is spewing forth from Auchtermuchty to Aarhuus; Wellington to Wolferhampton.
That the draw was achieved with their full squad available, while Arsenal were sorely depleted, makes it none the less commendable. However, the fact that our injury list could probably beat Barcelona, caused me to ponder a cunning little scheme. Actually, it was inspired by Her Nellieness. (Have I written to you before about Her Nellieness, Arsene? No? Another time then).
The cunning little scheme requires a modest investment in seats on the company jet for the injury list. Shine them up, comb their hair and have ALL of them sitting right behind you in the “dug oot” when the global gurglers’ cameras are on you when Denilson scores the first goal on Tuesday! Brilliant, even the Glesca ‘Bauchle (Wee Lulu MacS.) will be forced to say “Aye, Arsenal has got a couple of injury’s right enough!” when he sees:
William Gallas (France)
Johann Djourou (Switzerland)
Kieran Gibbs (England)
Cesc Fabregas (Spain)
Aaron Ramsey (Wales)
Andrei Arshavin (Russia)
Robin Van Persie (Holland)
all sitting there as “could have been playing as first team picks.
Just a wee idea for you.
Yours sincerely.
BtM.
SORRY, to trouble you again, Mr Wenger.
I’m suffering from a Her Nellieness explosion (never a good thing.) Would you kindly change the sign-off on my earlier note to:
“BtM and Her Nellieness”
Ouch!
To “Her Nellieness and btm.
“You know, you’re right, you’re also a pair of pricks”.
Is that one of 10CC’s numbers ‘Holic? I don’t recall it. Could be one of their later works I suppose. We can usually count on Snail (albeit with Mrs Snail’s help sometimes) to resolve conundra of this type. But, methinks 10CC were probably crooning while both the Snail’s shells were still silica on the beach. Long before they’d begun to assume molluscan dimensions. I may be wrong……..
……..but then dear Grace tells me I’m right. She must know be better than I know her for, despite having racked my single brain cell, there is no recollective connection with any of the graces. Unless, that dark night in Birkenhead…..no! Couldn’t be.
Thank you BtM.
Surprised we didn’t get a “fact, lol” from our Gracie. So glad I don’t know anything about football though. That must be why I have to bow to Grace’s superior wit and intellect.
poor grace, she knows too much about the beautiful game, are you that lineswoman that lasted 2 games?
Off to Brazil tonight. Will be in Sao Paolo for the game at the Nou Camp. Sao Paolo, home of the rhythm king, sultan of swing, samba sensation, DENILSON. I’ll be taking my red number 15 top and my Slingbox. Enjoy the game ‘Holics. “Talk” when I get back.
@96 – 1971 I have it on good authority that ST is on a “Play Like Ade” away weekend. Keep it quiet. Don’t tell him I told you.
@99 – Dadric That’s a good post.
113 drinks? Damn, is there anything left for me? Not that I should really have another drink, but the choice is yours landlord!
3 weeks without the ‘holic man, but I’ll repeat the mantra!
Cheers.
Some lively discussion here!
Having seen the incident again Henry didn’t go in studs-up and simply made the mistake of mistiming what was supposed to be a strong challenge. As to the damage to Rosicky’s calf, it didn’t stop him 30 seconds later getting forward to find himself one-on-one with Hahnemann.
Anyway, it’s not Arsenal fans to blame for the sending off, it’s the referee who probably succumbed to recent publicity and the thought that the reaction of Arsenal’s players made the tackle seem worse than it was. Had the referee seen a replay, (which is another story!) I think he’d have given a yellow. Having said all that, I think the Wolves players would have reacted the same way to a similar tackle on one of their team-mates. It’s become part of the game.
Anyway, as Mick McCarthy said it was still clearly Arsenal who deserved to win the game and the amount of late goals is a trait that all title winners need. It’s not just co-incidence.
Good luck for the rest of the season.
Baby arse
I am a cross-dresser called Craig. You can ask ‘holic for my email addy and ip address, although he probably won’t let you have it…
TTFN
OUGH OUGH OUGH miss Grace
I really don’t have a lot to say but – WOW!!!!
JT @ 115 – good post! Now.. how about a few riffs from cicra ´84? I know, I know; if you had a penny….
John, thanks and welcome. I know we will have different views on individual incidents but it is a pleasure to be able to discuss them nonetheless.
Snir, good to meet you and Dad yesterday. Hope the flight back was ok, and you enjoyed at least the end of the game!
lol grace, knew it, craig gardner in disguise
what does TTFN mean?
Oh you are a baby, arsene 😉
Jimmy Young speak. (He was a Gooner, google him) Ta ta for now.
lol i am miffed, TTFN? google here we come
lol it really does mean ta ta for now, alrite folks, toodle pip
Holic,
I get it now, its your ball & we have to play how you tell us, sad, v sad
No Grace, let me explain. If you say things that I won’t show my grandson, you get what is coming to you. The whole foul language abuse thing from non-Gooners is not on. The regulars don’t use it, so you can either argue your case without resorting to bile, or face the consequences. That makes me sad in your eyes? Look into mine. I don’t give a monkeys old son.
Your details are safe with me though, I will assure you.
No worries Holic. I enjoy watching Arsenal play and would like to see you win the title because of the way you play.
Yesterday was just frustrating not because Wolves lost (always expected and might have happened anyway) but down to a refereeing decision which we will feel was unjust.
We all move on. Hopefully we’ll be back next year. What say you Catalan Gunner – “hungry like the wolf?!”…..
Hope you are back next year, John. Think you will be in all honesty, Good news as I have family there and can get tickets in with your lads, but I will definitely be incognito after this 😉
Understand the way you feel, even if I don’t entirely concur…
What is it with these small midlands clubs?
Brum, Villa and now the Woolovs coming on here with their ill-manners.
Good and bad in all J, including us. Hope you had a good drive back yesterday?
And can I also take the opportunity to say how funny it was to see Robert Plant fuming in the Director’s box with that stupid mane of his all over the place.
You can 🙂
Why all this idiot say it wasn’t red card.Two foot tackle by behind in the law of the game is a red card offence specially he doesn’t get the ball. actually too few referee punish this offence .Excellent decision by the ref
@lordgunner
But didn’t you hear? It wasn’t the ref that made the decision, it was all those dirty Arsenal players out on the pitch. I even saw Vermaelen sneak his hand into the official’s pocket and grab the red card out himself! Those cheats, what has evil, foreign Arsene been teaching them!? We should all be ashamed!
Almost time to set Eboue loose on the unsuspecting population of Barcelona.
First time poster here from Nairobi, Kenya. I’ve been reading the blog for a while now and all I can say is ‘a toast to the ‘holic and ‘holics for keeping it neat!’ Go Gooners!!
@ 135..Sol should have slapped karl henry hard for that pathetic tackle…and Varmaelen should have just finished him off with a flying-kick on the jugular.. Enough said..
went to bed last night at 1 30 with myself and only 15 drinks gone from the pub, woke up earlier on Easter morning to 115 drinks.. damn timezone. quality posts nonetheless. Dadric at 99 summed up the tackle for me. As holic said always good to hear opposition opinions on some controversal incidents. I can understand where alot of wolves feel on the topics and respect their views ( although one Grace gave me a laugh ) .
@Chicago Gunner
I feel you on the timezone, as I’m down in St. Louis. Speaking of which, I meant to ask how you can be drinking Coors when you’re so close to Goose Island, one of America’s finest! 🙂
Time to put Wolves behind us. We’re still two days out and I’m already shaking in anticipation. Five years from now, we’re going to look back at Tuesday’s game as the opening act of The Legend of Samir Nasri.
JT @ 128…. It couldn´t be could it? He´s got the name, he´s from the right area…and now he knows the lyrics! Surely this is more than mere coincidence??!
Good luck for the rest of the season, even though you´ll be missing your Wild Boy(s) for the next game…
Now, I´ve got to go and explain rope a dope to my Father in Law
anyone tell me which block the tickets are allocated to gooners for tomorrow – thinking of going down there from france if i can get a ticket from the barca site
Now, I´ve got to go and explain rope a dope to my Father in Law
Excellent 😉
Morning Holic & Holic`s
I think we should put a fork in this one as it is well and truly done. the game is now confined to the history books and what transpired during the game will not be in there.
I am now looking forward to Holic`s blog on THE GAME we are all thinking of, i am also looking forward to reading the postee`s views on the game. Come on you know we want to talk about it.
Yes it is done. Whilst I am ambivalent about whether or not the Karl Henry sending off was truly warranted, it is nowhere near up there with the most contentious referring calls of all time. I suggest a sense of persective is needed.
Anyway…enough of all that…time to get me’slf focused on the game of all games…..beginning now!!!
In the words of Masters At Work…’I Can’t Get No Sleep’ (I recommend the Down Low mix).
Keep on believing 🙂
Forgive please….
*refereeing* that should have read.
Song missed training this morning, apparently. At 6pm BST I expect the world to hold hands and say a prayer for his…
oh, don’t be silly 😉
Break out rabbits foot,horse shoe,pikey heather, five leaf clover and all touch wood for Song, we cant have him missing as well. The footballing gods have had their fun enough is enough.
Lots of mixed feelings on here. All seem to centre around one decision. Did if have an affect on the game? Yes. It made Wolves even more negative and meant we had to put up with even more time wasting.
3 points is 3 points. We looked tired at times but yet again stuck to it up to the very final whistle.
Boo boys in block 4 again having a go at Bendtner. Funny, I turned to look for them after he had scored but they appered to have left early. I will make them fully aware of their twatishness at the next home game.
Keep the faith……
Confirmation. Song is out and has not travelled. Campbell a ‘worry’ but in squad. Back with more later.
Diaby.Denilson,Nasri,Rosicky,Theo,Bendtner,Eboue,Sgna,Clichy,Verm Sol,Siv,Eddie,Vela and Almunia your club needs you.
Stand up and come forward and write your names in history lads you can do it. We all believe in you.
Oh Dear…………. just found out about Song on the official website…looks like a inflamed knee cartlidge.
Lady luck is certainly still against us and our lads are dropping like flies, however I still believe we can nick it at Camp Nou.
The bitch lady luck needs to find her way back to the Arsenal quick time. Dose anyone know what position Arsene played ? I think he was a CB not too sure, but he will have to dust off his boots at this rate.
I`m with you Arthur I still think we can nick it too.
This is really unfair right..Just when we have to face a side like Barca we get all the mother****ing injuries in the world!
The only positive is that this puts us firmly as the underdogs. But honestly, without the inspirational leadership of Fabregas and the vast amounts of quality missing I think its unfair to blame any of the remaining squad if they dont make it.
At least we have given it our very best shot , and thats fair enough. Interestingly, the other Barca boy is on the flight to NouCamp – hopefully he doesn’t like it too much there.
Sorry I missed much of this lively discussion, I’m in NY for a family trip getting ready for tomorrow’s game.
I think it’s a big credit to `Holic to have opposition fans come and discuss with us, I didn’t find their points too controversial. After all they must not feel very different than us when Brum scored in the last minute…
Here’s the Arsenal squad for the Barca trip. Unfortunately Song is injured so Arsene included Eastmond (and Merida):
Manuel Almunia
Lukasz Fabianski
Nicklas Bendtner
Eduardo
Abou Diaby
Samir Nasri
Denilson
Fran Merida
Theo Walcott
Craig Eastmond
Tomas Rosicky
Armand Traore
Emmanuel Eboue
Gael Clichy
Bacary Sagna
Thomas Vermaelen
Sol Campbell
Mikael Silvestre
GO GUNNERS!
Song injured? Now this is just getting ridiculous…
Don’t let your head down, we do have plenty of quality players to rattle Barca who also have injured starters.
I can’t even decide which team would be best as there is still too many players to choose from!
Sol is doubtful so perhaps Silvestre will start. Other than that:
Sagna – Sol/Silvestre – VErmy – Clichy
Diaby – Nasri – Denilson
Eboue/Walcott – NB52 – Rosicky
That ought to do it. Read the Barca blogs they’re shitting their pants right now. They won’t know what hit them.
Great title ‘holic! Have you heard Marcos D’Cruze’s world cup anthem with the same title?
http://www.marcosdcruze.com/