Ten Minutes Of Ninety Chamakh My Day
Nov 11th, 2010 by 'holic
I do recall going to visit my father a year or two back, and thinking I would miss a Portsmouth away game. We did dinner early, and I was back in the hotel just in time to watch it. Tonight I knew I would not get to see the Wolves game live, given that I would be tucking into the first course of a family dinner out to celebrate the management’s birthday.
The nephew sympathised. “You capture the atmosphere on your blog. You’ll be buggered tonight. Oh, by the way, Chamakh scored in the first minute.” It is not until I get home to watch Match of the Day that I see the Moroccan more than justify his selection. Regulars here will know the high regard in which I hold him, and readers of the preview will know I fully expected a reaction to his first poor performance of the season on Sunday. The nephew keeps me updated.
Once home, the BBC highlights seem to be cut sympathetically, which comes as something of a surprise, until the latter stages. I was at Stamford Bridge a short while back, and witnessed some bad challenges on Arsenal players, the worst of which was a disgusting assault by Essien on Diaby. That night it was not shown, replayed, or commented on by the usual suspects. Tonight, when Essien was handed a red in the bus stop derby, much more was made of Cesc’s late challenge at Molineux.
I will accept that the skipper’s challenge was not good, and would not have grumbled if a possibly harsh red had been shown. Don’t believe me Wolves fans? Check my reaction to Koscielny’s sending-off on Sunday. I don’t wish to contest that the two incidents showed what everybody already knows. That two referees will interpret incidents in entirely different ways. I am sick of the fact that the MOTD team will attempt to gloss over Essien’s thuggery against us one week, and yet use us as the benchmark when karma catches up with the twat a while later.
I digress. The highlights suggest a more even contest than the comments I am reading in the drinks, and the post-match words of the beaten manager. Wolves have obviously given a good account of themselves. Good for them. We had the lions share of the possession on Sunday, but were still well beaten. This seems to be the flip side of that coin.
Not many will be able to talk about the game without a word or two for Lukasz Fabianski. I wasn’t alone in not being best pleased with him at the weekend, but the young ‘keeper was outstanding from the little I saw tonight. Fair play to you, fella. More often than not, he has delivered in recent weeks. Let’s give credit where it is due, because I have to accept that many, and probably I, will be quick to criticise his every mistake. He is under the spotlight, but by and large coping admirably with that burden.
I also can’t resist ending with the second Chamakh goal of the evening. As he started the game, so the Moroccan finished it. He was not the only Gunner who could have struck twice, however. Andrey Arshavin was close to matching the achievement and only two lumps of wood, one a post and the other Marcus Hahnemann, denied the Russian. It was good to see him contribute, but much better to see Marouane set the record straight after one poor performance.
It’s up to you ‘holics to fill in the gaps in the drinks. Speaking of which, I would be grateful if all could follow the example of the vast majority and show some respect to fellow ‘holics. I will ‘lose’ posts that contain personal abuse of other commenters (unless by me, but it is my blog!). No more need be said, I’m sure.
Cheers all.
116 Responses to “Ten Minutes Of Ninety Chamakh My Day”
first ?
great committed performance – hope you enjoyed your evening out ‘holic.
Not our most flowing performance, but just what we needed.
Drinks all round.
Did MOTD (haven’t seen it) show Henry’s studs missing the ball completely but crunching nicely into AA23’s shin ?
Apparantly missed by the ref. Sad in it’s predictability.
Very nice evening Trev, except I now have a short night’s kip with a full cargo of Arkell’s 2B, Rum, and liver & onions with mash. I really won’t feel like work in the morning π
…and no Henry tackle on Arsh. There’s a surprise. Thanks for pointing it out, Trev. MotD really is a heap of shit these days.
haha…i just looked at the right side of your article and I saw a countdown since Tottenham won the league…thats classic. Am sure that countdown will go on throughout my lifetime…lol
Whoops! Got lost in the saloon bar or I would have seen you all earlier.
Which one wast it who walked on Song’s ankle as he was already on the ground? I bet they didn’t show that one on MOTD either.
Happy Bday to the management and good luck for tomorrow at work. I know the feeling…
The game was only one step on the road to recovery but a very good one for our back 5. How many times have Djourou and Squillaci played together? Few enough times to think there’s a lot of room for their understanding to flourish and Djourou’s shooting skills to improve!
Back to Bourbon tonight. It was a good game but very tough on my poor nerves in the last 15 minutes. They need some steadying π
‘holic that combination of liver and the rest indeed sounds wonderful for the old digestion. I’ll toast the management with an Arkell’s 2B whatever that may be.
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2B probably being unavailable on the left side of the Atlantic Ocean, I will partake only in virtual quaffing, but my research on Arkells 2B has yielded the following:
Formerly called BB or John Arkell Bitter, this is our lighter beer, described as “Fine quaffable session bitter” in the ‘Real Ale Drinker’s Almanac’. Made from 92% pale malt, 6% crystal malt and 2% sugar, it has a light, hoppy aroma and is a thirst-quenching beer with a slightly tart taste and a dry hop finish. 2B is a low gravity drinking beer which is nevertheless full of flavour. It has been brewed constantly since the early 1900s and was Arkell’s most popular brew until it was overtaken by 3B in the 1970s. 2B is also available in bottles when it is known simply as Light Ale.
made me realize ,how i miss the three points anyway,give me some more of that !!
We are having to put in a huge physical effort to get a result against a fair but tough side. Another tough one at the weekend against Everton- and the keeper will have to play well in this game as well for us to get anything.
I think this is a first, ‘Holic. Neither of us has seen the game in real time. I haven’t seen anything yet. I’ve read your blog and don’t have a single opinion!
Delighted for Fabianski. Delighted by 3 points.
Sadly, work is (very temporarily) getting between me and Arsenal/Goonerholic. Not good, but temporary. All things must pass.
Glad you enjoyed the family outing tonight.
Being at the game tonight I agree Andre worked harder defensively, but only a little. Clichy was screaming for help to deal with numerous bread and butter defrnsive situations. I don’t think the Russian genius is lazy, I just honestly don’t think he computes danger. At one point he was waving frantically to clichy to join him in attack. Gael ignored him and intercepted a through ball that would have gone behind our backline.
Flappy was sensational tonight. He really could be the real deal.
Henry’s tackle on Andre was digusting. Not surprised it’s not being reported.
I believe Lineker said “… and we can’t not comment on this” re: Fab’s challenge. What, like you don’t when it’s against the Arse – examples cited above.
One negative point: concerned Chesney is going to walk away without us ever seeing what he’d be like in a run of games.
An odd game by all accounts. The performance was as disjointed as it was gutsy and with our captain off form we struggled to build or maintain a significant period of dominance. Though it looked like we would from the off, but then we usually start well. The game was effectively won by our defence and Chamakh and all credit to them. Yet Arshavin could have won it for us early on. It seems the easy route has been discarded by this Arsenal team. Like it or not it makes watching a heart-twisting experience.
I can only hope now that the only way is up for Cesc’s form, given that November holds much sterner tests than Molineaux.
Whoever edits motd needs a slap,didn’t even show Henry’s assault on Arshavin but quick enough to highlight Fabregas’ poor tackle.
Fair enough they highlight bad challenges but at least keep it fair.
Good three points and well done Fabianski.
karl henry done his special trick of turning to the ref grinning and playing with his captains armband, thats what all thugs do, cesc needs to learn the armband trick to avoid them bookings
Four moments of the game – That beautiful turn by Rosicky to make the first goal, Sagna’s excellent block, Doyle shooting wide, Fabianski saves with 10 seconds to go or something.
Havent joined a session in the drinks for a while now holic… been stressing over College applications, school work, and the end of my own football season over here. I’ve been reading the blog though but no time for interacting.
First off Bacary Sagna deserves huge credit for saving the game for us with a “magic” challenge to deny Hunt from point blank range. Fabianski’s left-handed stop of the ball from Bera ( i think?) was also magic. the slightest rebound forward and ebanks-blake was there to tip it away. killing the pace of the ball like that showed extreme skill.
Thoughts on tonight were pretty mixed. Cesc is seeming to regain his form back with more time in the game. Seems as if he is still rushing a little but he will be back to his normal self soon. One thing about Chamahk which i would like to see improve is his first touch when receiving balls inside of the box. he seems to kill the ball with his first touch and get it caught under his feet. I expect we’ll see a touch in the direction of where he is going, a quick spin, or a one touch wall pass a lot more at his choice more naturally when he acclimates to the speed of the game here, and the quality of the quicker, trickier balls being played into him he has not been exposed to as much. Rosicky’s penetrating play payed off in the first minute of the game with his driving run, and Andrei ran his socks off for the team tonight. Perhaps we are beginning to finally learn from our mistakes of taking the foot off the gas. Three points in the bag, one game at a time. Cheers .
jack_wilshere Shout out to the boys who had the banner ‘we love wilsh’! Big support for us boys today! You arsenal away fans are awesome! Much love!
-from wilshere’s verified twitter page after the match.. good stuff from the away fans the players obviously are getting a response out of it!
Happy for Fabianski. It is high time a goalkeeper played a huge part in our victory. Maybe he should use his elbows to protect himself when going for high balls. The opposing striker would think twice or he would get whacked in his face.
we scored early then sustained pressure and defended for our lives, we need to replicate that more often.
Yes it was only Wolves but this league has never been so hard and competetive.
I thought Clichy had a decent game, I am one of his harshest critics this season, so when credit is due I have to aknowledge it.
Sorry holics, but Cesc’s tackle was really poor, I wouldn’t have been shocked to see him sent off for it.
Beyond the clean sheet, the nail-biting finale, we really, absolutely need to defend with the same grit and focus we showed last night. Maybe if we defended like that more often we could think of catching trams on the break with Theo and Arshavin’s pace (remember his fourth THAT night at Anfield?) and that would really really be a game-changer. Sometimes we can be so one-dimensional, but better defending could give us more options as it would make the other team commit more men forward for a change.
Come to think of it, what we saw yesterday was more last-ditch defending than organized cool-headed closing-down on opponents. Hmmmm.
Another negative that’s just come back to my mind was our poor reaction when they pressed us high up the pitch, we either lost possession or played back-passes to Fabianski who then had no choice but clear the ball forward, which resulted in us losing possession as well, it was arsenal-barca (1st leg) all over again, and it made me (and ArsΓ¨ne) very nervous, we need to keep our composure in those circumstances I think.
Well enough with the negatives, I’m happy with the 3 points and that Song isn’t injured.
Well done lads.
I’ll have a … Fuck…it’s time for breakfast here already..can anyone call me a taxi please?
Great just got home from work at 5am all ready to watch football first on me sky plus and there was a bastard power cut aparently.all I got to see was That fat ref blowing the final whistle!!! Not even Shak Attacks second goal…
Need a large Gentleman Jack on 2 cubes of ice and suffer MOTD. :((
Just watched MotD mostly in fast forward admittedly but Cesc dived in but went for ball and missed fair enough foul and yellow . Essien 2 footed and of the ground , therefore not in control and luckily for the guy DEmpsey was it missed him but still a red card for being 2 footed and not in full control.
If I’m wrong u can name me Hansen of the week!!
Just a single Gentleman Jack this time then I’m off up the wooden hill to Zzzzzzz land
Needed that result after the weekend, huge credit to Fabianski….especially THAT SAVE at the end. We scrapped and dug in and merited the 3 points that others may fail to see on that same ground.
I am biased this season, but Rosicky needs to play more – his use of the ball kept us going during the spells we looked good. As for our Moroccan Alan Smith – what a season he is quietly compiling.
Keep the faith we’re good for a top 2 finish I’m sure of it. 85 points will win the league…
Tim Merrick, Whenever Rosicky steps onto the pitch it’s a triumph for him but seeing how hard he has worked to improve so much over last season is extremely inspiring and I would love to see more of him. He gives us everything Nasri gives us except the goal scoring threat.
Holic
I said they were a sodding,jobbing,journeyman side,and they manged to lose 2-1 at home to another heap of Trundlers in Blackburn.
How the hell we allowed them to beat us at home on Sunday does my head in.!!
Bugger Bugger Bugger.
We were fortunate to win last night,should have been 3 up early on,but give credit where it’s due,Wolves fought their way back into the game particularly in the 2nd half and were a bit unlucky.
My brother went to the game and said he had never seen Wenger look so stressed.
He knew what another loss of points would do to the players morale,and he was avery very relieved man at the end.
Now we have to go through it all again at Everton on Sunday,not normally a happy hunting ground for us in recent seasons.
cheers
clive
Nez I agree with you 100% it was miss timed but not reckless and studs weren’t showing. Haven’t seen Essien’s tackle yet so can’t really comment on that.
We are gaing FORM again, we can all see that and hopefully we will do much better when under pressure against Everton as RVP’s right foot pointed out we would loose possesion straight away so this is something we need to work on. On the other hand if we were 2 or 3 nil up we would use our subs in more timely manner I think.
Give credit to Wolves they played well and played the ball on the ground most of the time. It’s pretty obvious for them it’s mainly crosses but they gave their 100% and fair play to ’em.
Also they are in relegation zone so it is vital for them to play out of their skins especially at home!
Let’s build up our form from game to game….
1-6 first game last season?
Nez – last year’s result epitomized ‘aberration.’
somehow i think i’m happy c.fabregas made that tackle. they caught song and andrey with bad tackles which they were lucky enough to come out unscratch pending to after match accessment of the whole team. i think fabianski was great last night well i hope he’ll continue to be great in every match
Morning Holics,
After listening to sky and that orange Crunt that was commentating i sat down to watch the highlightes last night fully expecting us to be well under the cosh-
Now from the highlightes i watched it was a very even game but a game in which we had the best chances in fact it could and should have been over before it really began, Thats not to say Wolves didnt have chances or play well as they did but i for one thought it was a decent performance from our lads,
Fabianski done well – not the superman impression some make out but was very solid and made a very very good save which could have massive implications on our season because if that had snuck in and wed have drawn our lads chins would have hit the floor,
The little Russian also showed some of his old sparkle and JD and Squicci were superb but for me the man of the match by a mile was Sagna he was absolutley superb.
Onwards and Upwards to Goodison,
Up The Arse.
Clive and Sniff – aside from us catching Everton cold at the start of last season with the 6-1 we also won there 4-1 in 2007/2008 (I think) – but it’s true that those games have been sandwiched by us losing there and needing last minute equalisers in the last few years so it’s a bit of an erratic hunting ground for us.
Chippy you mean ‘hey mr tangerine man…’
Nez,
indeed i hate his oranginess with a passion
There’s a song there but I’m to knackered to work it out maybe tomorrow… finished work 4 hours ago and back in 5 and can’t sleep Grrr
Any drinks in the bar that will let me sleep for 3 hours and feel ready for another 11 hour shift?
If theres one club bar us i like to see do well in all games apart from against us its the Toffees proper club with a proper ground and a good fanbase Hope we stuff mind on sunday π
How could i be so rude earlier by not mentioning all that have fallen R.I.P
Cesc is having a torres time at the moment and was lucky not to get a red card. The bad challenge, I am sure, was born of frustration in having so little go right for him in recent games.
Fabianski – man of the match for me – he kept us in the game and that late save one handed was top class. He has come in for a lot of criticism – most of it justified – but recently he has started to show us what a good keeper he may turn out to be, only time will tell for certain. The thing that distinguishes the world class keepers from the good ones is their decision making. At the top level they are all good shot stoppers but when the chips are really down it is the keepers who make the right decisions who stand out, but good decision making only comes with experience and all young keepers make mistakes, we’ll just have to wait and see if Fabianski’s decision making improves with experience.
I thought everyone, bar Cesc, played quite well on the night and showed the right level of spirit but they never quite gelled as a team and things didn’t quite come off although a good result in the end. Well done to Chamakh for his two goals. The team just have to keep going and they will get through this indifferent time.
Roll on Sunday!
Charlie: actually, we haven’t lost at Goodison during the past three seasons. 07/08 was 4-1 as you say (Eduardo’s first two league goals for us), the season after it was 1-1 with RvP equalizing with virtually the last kick of the game (I was, by the way, supposed to have been there but was lying in my London hotel bed literally shaking with fever from the worst case of flu I have had for 20 years – but with my track record when it comes to attending games the past two years that was probably a good thing!) and then of course the 6-1 thrashing last year.
Have just watched most of MOTD, these are some random thoughts:
Alan Hansen is a right muppet for saying that Essien should not have walked. And what he says about Arsenal, well, let’s all just ignore that because he must absolutely hate us (remember that bullcrap against Walcott after he had scored a hat trick earlier in the season?). I think his and Dixon’s analysis of our game was plain wrong – yes, Fab made a few great saves but really, we should have had the game wrapped up after ten minutes and I think we fully deserved to win. Have to say also that as much as I dislike the whingey McCarthy, all credit to him for acknowledging that Cesc apologised for the tackle. And I fully admit that I am biased, but having watched the replay I do not think a red would have been the correct decision. Comparisons have been made with the Joe Cole tackle, but there is one fundamental difference – Cole jumped in with both feet off the floor and was nowhere near the ball, and while Cesc didn’t get the ball either his front leg was not straight and his trailing foot didn’t leave the grass. It was not a wild lunge like the one Cole did on Koscielny.
As for noteworhty things from other games:
Ian Holloway is a true gentleman. Always gracious in defeat, well-spoken and honest.
Joey Barton is an idiot. (I didn’t have to watch MOTD to know that, though!)
The Manchester derby was so dull that they couldn’t even fill the full ten minutes allowed – and even the seven minutes they showed were so boring I almost fell asleep.
Oh well, have to do some work now, I suppose. Cup of tea with a shade of milk, Mr Barman!
Holics
All is revealed re Chamack’s poor, by his standards performance last Sunday.
In Wengers post Wolves game comments,he mentions that Cham was ill all week prior to the game last Sunday.
cheers
Clive
Morning Clive,
That was more in keeping with an Arsenal performance π
Just noticed that Fellaini was sent off for Everton so he won’t be playing on Sunday, that is a rather huge bonus for us.
Another happy moment from last night was hearing Wolves fans sing “Same old Arsenal always cheating” thats a glorious sound as you know the boys in Red and White are doing their job by winning and getting stuck in π
Chippy
That was certainly loud and clear on my stream too….
It would appear that a hearty plate of Liver bacon & onions is the *magic* cure for all of Arsenals ailments, as I too enjoyed an overflowing plateful before settling down to whizz my motorised dish around the Community to seek a broadcast of the finest team in action.
What’s this? Italians playing? Spanish playing? So what? I want The Arsenal!!
So I couldn’t get the match on sky italia or any of the other usual suspects, so rushed around to seek a stream, made all the more difficult by a 7.45 ko instead of the published 8pm version of the event.
Hence my missing of the best start to a match that can be had, some 37 seconds and the simplest of things, cross the ball to the pen spot and your 6’+ striker has to do his job and get on the end of it.
Park football, made exquisite.
However, by half time, the interruptions to the stream and the popping up of advertisments had me heading for the pub where I also had the opportunity to laugh at the tottenham supporters who had poked their noses out of the shadows.
Whilst Pole the Elder requires a well earned pat on the back for his efforts, am I being a pain to point out that Almunia is/was also a good ‘shot stopper’, and that it’s the positional sense of play that will always be the heart stopping moment?
Time will tell, Lukasz, please continue to prove me wrong… I enjoy eating cake.
So, Essian dives in with both feet off the ground, yet shouldn’t have gone, but Cesc is a right dirty oik and should have… Lee, that brown stuff on your nose doesn’t suit you at all.
Gentlemen, my offering for Hansen of the week is the one and only… Alan Hansen.
Morning to you Chippy
Sunday still does my head in,
Boring bloody blackburn beat newcastle away last night,which makes Sunday’s defeat even worse.!!
Agree with you re last night,lots of effort,chasing,closing down,getting stuck in,why couldn’t they do that on Sunday,??
If Arsenal were a racehorse,you’d be dope tested every other week.!!
cheers
clive
Clive,
If i knew the answer to that id be a millionaire π And the first name on Wengers contact list !!!
No idea – it quite simply baffles me i could slighlty understand it if they were a side that had won everything every season for the past 10 years but they should be so hungry for winning it hurts but at times they seem un fussed by it, They will certainly need to put a shift in on sunday and there can be no excuses for not doing so after last nights effort, Theyve set a benchmark now and have no excuses for not reaching it – hard work and commitment are essential for any winning team in any sport.
RIP All that have fallen we will never forget
Szczesny is making up with the PR girl this morning…his twitter says:
“At home with @LittleMissSandy having the happiest of mornings π x”
By the way she ain’t blond π
Heh, Clive,
Still singing Paint It Black, I see.
“I see a red team and I want to paint it black”
“Move On Up” and come over and join me in the warm glow of a chorus of “Red Sails In The Sunset”. The bottles open and there’s some blood red liquid in a glass with your name on it (and no black olive in site).
For me it was similar to Joe Cole’s tackle on Koscielny at the start of the season. Cesc was trying to intercept the ball but because the defender launched it his leg took the brunt of the block. Cole’s sending off was a bit harsh at the time. Yellow card incidents in both cases.
Also, Alan Hansen is a bell-end. Unbelievable bias.
I must say staying up until two to write about the only ten minutes I saw seems a particularly bad decision right now. Big meeting this afternoon. I’ll nod off snoring, I know it π
Hang in there Holic I know how it feels…. π
It was an ugly 2-0 win but a win it was. Stats show 50-50 possession and Wolves just outshooting us 8-7 in on-target attempts, which gives good sense of overall direction of game. Very thankful we had the early goal to defend or it could have been even more nerve wracking to watch. Again failed to capitalise on early opportunities to add a second and put ourselves at ease. Defence played well under pressure and Fabianski’s performance and outstanding late save rightly widely praised. Cesc still looking far from back to his best. Chamakh plays so much of the game so much deeper than RvP that Cesc doesn’t have as many opportunities to make those defence-splitting passes into opponent’s box. His assist for the second was the exception rather than the rule.
Karl Henry’s tackle on Arshavin:
bit.ly/afBakz (Youtube video)
Wow in the 1st and 93rd!
He has been a revolution this season!
Does anyone know his song?
A nice little plaudit for us guys
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/11112010/58/premier-league-team-week-double-chammy.html
Chamakh’s song is the opposite of this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLsl0hzNBWY
Official confirmation, I am so happy my feeling that he would leave was wrong!
Szczesny pens long-term contract
A pint of John Smith to celebrate, please!
Thanks Tim!
I’ll have to forward it to my home email and then wait for the Virgin Engineer to install our internet on Sat, as he was supposed to on his first visit last Tuesday!
Sorry
He’s just confirmed on his Twitter that he is delighted to have signed.
Good thing he confirmed that he set up his twitter because he wanted to clarify all of the mis-quotes in the papers!
Goonertown, Recently having moved I can report that it took 3 or 4 home visits before our internet was set up correctly, but clear communication of what you want, as well as patience, can be key ingredients in the process.
Lol Nasri –
Mrs Goonertown was present wiv little Goonertown while I was at work and the engineer apparently spent more time staring than he did working.
I should be around Sat so the next one can look at my ugly mug. Not that I expect them all to behave the same!
Howdy Holic’s.
Wow, what a difference a game can make, the low felt after Sunday’s offering swapped with the euphoria of last nights result were after, once again a large amount of alcohol was consumed, but this time in a celebratory manner rather then in a drowning of sorrows binge, the former tastes better!!
I’ve seen post match interviews of Mick “the Yorkshire Kipper” McCarthey, (who incidently is one of the most stereotypical Northerners on the planet, he couldn’t be more Yorkshire even if he was a Nora Batty dating whippet in a flat cap with a ferret stuffed down his trousers) in which he was always saying something along the lines of “we played well, but got nowt”. I always thought he was just playing the wounded manager and most of the time when he opened his mouth to moan all I could really hear was the Hovis theme in the background, BUT, by gum and ecky thump his boys really did give us a game last night and all credit to them.
Our pole cat between the sticks transformed into the Pink Panther, clawing away shots and pouncing on the loose balls. If he was to blame for Sunday’s defeat (which I think is a bit harsh) then he must definetly take a lot of credit for last nights 3 points, he was of course assisted by an extreamly commited defencive display, it’s been a while since I’ve seen our lads throw themselves in front of every effort with such gusto, heartwarming stuff.
I also thought that AA had a very good game, many may disagree, but I thought that last nights performance proves why he should always start, with Theo coming on later from the bench. Chamakh took his goals well and has made a great start to his Arsenal career. In fact I thought they were all great. A good night all round. If we can show that kind of passion and commitment in every game, then the sky’s the limit.
COYRRR
Pint of lager for me please sir, with a vodka chaser.
Cheers.
Sounds like Mrs Goonertown is a stunner, and well worth a home visit. Careful though, they say some of those engineers swing both ways.
Apologies for getting off track there a bit. Back to the Arse …
Injury news is sounding good. Gibbs, Diaby may soon be back and no new casualties from last night’s game. Time to knock on wood, I would say.
Btm @ 51
Get off of my Cloud.
Be careful my friend,i could grow to like you !!
Cheers
clive
Hello Clive. Interesting game coming up. We tend to win at Goodison in years when we win things, although as last season shows there are no guarantees.
Like you, I think it is a significant test of our credentials. Best take these games one at a time, as they say, or I might be looking ahead another week to sh.. you know who!
Some good news guys
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/wojciech-szczesny-pens-new-long-term-contract
I thinks its a massive boost for Arsenal and Wenger.
Am I the only one that’s actually quite satisfied with the fact that we’re bottom of the fair play table?
I don’t mind 10 yellows a game if it means the likes of Blackburn, Stoke, Bolton et al will know not to mess with us!
Snir, it’s about the first time I can remember we’ve been even near the bottom of the fair play table since the departure of Vieira, and while I’m not particularly proud if we’re absolutely bottom I do think it’s healthy that we’re not always absolutely top. Maybe we’ve learned something about defending ourselves.
Arsenal bottom of the fair play league but top of the table. I would take that every time even if the media pays more attention to the former than the latter.
Don’t you think that is a false place though boys? I know I am ‘fessing up to nearly every red card on the blog, but although they are right technically, we are not exactly going around terrorising teams, are we? And quite right too, I should add.
Can’t help but think we do get more harshly judged by a number of officials, and that may well owe something to the media misrepresentation of what Arsene is saying about foul play, and how it is the referees job to identify and eradicate it. There are a number of vindictive fuckwits in the middle these days.
It is quite surprising to hear we are bottom of the fair play league considering the several red cards that have been handed out to opposing teams already. Not being sure how the table is computed it seems there should be leniency granted to teams that have faced opposition who received a higher number of cards, thereby causing a need to retaliate at somewhere along the line.
I think you’re dead right about the Arsene implications of our treatment.
Look at the glee with which he was directed to the stand at Old Trafford for kicking a bottle of water. Can’t remember which of the idiots did it, but it clearly made his day, and probably his season.
By the way, a new Man Utd kit has just been released in time for Xmas – Black Socks, Black Shorts, Black Shirt and a whistle !
Ha ha like that one trev. As for bottom of fair play league can someone answer me this question which to be honest I can’t be arsed to research myself; who was the last opposition player to suffer any broken bone and how many arsenal players have suffered broken bones since then? Bonus question; since arsene became manager how many games have our players missed as a direct result of opposition challenges and vice versa? Well there’s a challenge for someone, to daunting for me but willing to bet we owe everyone some.
Trev@77 re man u kit; ihear our friends down the roads kit has been attracting some attention, is that a cockrell on their chest or a goose maybe, I don’t know but I hear a well known twitcher has been having a good look the last couple of years.
Hi,
Wenger saying rotation is on the cards for Sunday. I’d stick with the same team that played wolves or may be bring in Nasri for Rosicky if he is fit.
Good news indeed if Diaby is coming along well and also Gibbs.
We need depth for November.
Cheers
Morning Holic
Re your comments about winning at Everton and us winning things,
I venture to suggest that we would have gone mighty close to winning last season as well,but for the appalling injury list.
Looking past the Everton game to ‘you know who,’that game will be very interesting coming after another poxy midweek International break and 3/4 days before we both play crucial Champs League games.
A mate of mine follows the opposition and he tells me that both Defoe and Dawson will be very close to full fitness for our game.
He also offered his opinion that the 2 best ‘steals’ of the summer were Chamack and RVDV,and i for one wouldn’t disagree with him.
cheers
Clive
A good hard fought 3 points. I think we were owed that performance.
Red cards we have picked up this season have all been silly and should have been avoided. We need to sort that out.
Chippy @49. Your last sentence. Good call. We should all remember that we are only allowed to debate our petty differences because of the bravery of far greater men.
What was Chamakh wearing around his neck against Wolves? Double points if you can answer this question without telling a bad joke.
Bt8bbnn, double points for answering a poinless question?
Nasri –
You are not off track, hence why I could only answer you today!
That is why she’s Mrs Goonertown, but as you said regarding swinging both ways, I shall be clear and concise to our friendly engineer about how we roll in Goonertown!
Anyway, I’ll be back hopefully from the heart of my yard tomorrow when my responses will be in real time!
Up the Goonies!
This might be old chat but Evertonian are unbeaten in their last 5, although we have won more games in our last five.
Head to head we are the better team!
A draw would be a good result, but as the gooner cabbie told me outside of little Goonertowns nursery this morning “we need to win not draw”. Of course my answer was “we needed a win v WB and Newcastle” to which he laughed (presumably agreeing)
As for being bottom of the fair play table a wise old Gooner once told me when we made a bid for Melo was that he would help us add a little more steel within our midfield. Well as we always do when we do not make a specific signing, we make do!
So now we are sinkning down the table, we are getting thicker within the middle of the park see: (Denilson v Palcios Carling Cup WHL, Jack v everyone this season…wow!)
More please!
Steve T @ 82
3 of our 4 sending offs WERE avoidable (Wilshere deserved to go I’m afraid) – and some refs would have played the “common sense” card if they had been reffing someone else….
I refer to Koscielny – 2 yellows against Liverpool – the second of which was in, what, the 92nd minute and debatable?
Song against Sunderland – 2 yellows one of which was debatable
Kos last Sunday – clear goal scoring opportunity? Debatable.
I presume we are at the bottom of this Fair Play league due to the contributions made to these stats by these 3 reds, so false position I think.
Zico @ 87.
My point was that lack of discipline has resulted in our reds. Kos has made 2 poor errors of judgement that have resulted in his dismissals. Jack’s was a needless challenge. All 3 of these were in injury time. We need to learn from these as I am sure they all will before they cost us dear. Sometimes it is just the decision making that needs to improve.
The fair play table is actually a bit of a joke. It’s calculated through a ridiculously subjective system yet does not take into account the severity of offences committed – but you do get points for “positive play” (who the fuck decides what that is???) and “respect towards opponent” and such. This means that 20 yellow cards for celebrating goals excessively count the same as 20 cards for violent play, so if you get a yellow for violent play and then apologize (“respect for your opponent”) your team will look better than the team who celebrated a goal a bit too much.
And as zicoinexile points out, of our red cards Wilshere’s was the only one for violent play, and the rest debatable. I’d go so far as to say that both Koscielny v Liverpool and Song v Sunderland should never have been sent off and Koscienly v Newcastle was very much questionable as well.
Anyway, unless there have been some rather dramatic changes during the past two weeks we are NOT at the bottom of that table, we are in fact nowhere near it:
Premier League Official Fair Play Table
Steve T – I got your point. I would still argue that a second yellow would not have been given to say, Man Utd players for some of these offences, certainly not at Old Trafford!
It then becomes a question of the referees decision making as well as the players.
I like you though would like our players to make some better decisions as well. Especially late in the game.
Sod the Fair Play Table you don’t win trophies winning it anyway
Hello all. I have a Supporters Club meeting tonight, so the Everton preview will be tomorrow. Sorry if that is late discounting the ‘holic pound from your weekend bets π
Steve T –
I reckon our boys will improve. I just feel that as they have been ‘keen’ to get results they have been acted so, (ie: Kos and Jack straight reds).
Kos as was said earlier was debatable. Jack was trying to maintain our slender lead, prob after experiencing what had occurred at Sunderland Prior! He was unlucky not to get the ball as the timing of his challenge was made before Ziggy Marley had reached the ball
I agree wholeheartedly our decision making has to improve. I believe it will!
Afternoon all
Lars – great news about Wojciech y’day wasn’t it? Do I get to say I told you so??? π
‘Holic @ #92 – Is that an “official” supporters club meeting? Sounds interesting – will we get a report as well as betting advice? BTW, well done for doing the right thing on The Management’s b’day celebrations, sounded like you had a good night whist “all hell broke loose” in your bar – was really sorry about that. I think you might need to add a muppet filter ot at least a disclaimer on the submit comments button. Many of the regulars tried admirably to calm things down. Perhaps there’s a gap in the market for a forum where internet warriors can abuse eachother indiscriminately? It’d be nice to keep it well away from this pleasant bar though….
Arthur @ #91 – I’m really with you on this. Some say that a lack of fair play (whatever that means in the EPL) is a sign of a championship winning mentality cf The Invincibles. They were a bunch of complete bastards at time but what a side. BTW, I’m not advocating cheating or dangerous/late tackling before I get slaughtered for that. It’s just a fact that winners tend to do it at all costs – rightly or wrongly. There’s no “after you Cecil” thinking at Chelski or Manure and I’m sure that we’re better than them as a squad. I believe we need to harness that ruthless streak to turn us into champions and silverware generators.
Steve T
You get to say “I told you so” to me about the GK/rotating situation. Unless he puts in 2 or 3 truly awful shifts (heavens forbid) I think Fabi is here to stay as our #1 for a season or two whilst his more than able apprentice and fellow countryman readies himself for true greatness.
I’m very happy about that and the humble pie tastes good.
True Storey –
I totally agree on the fair play and Fabianski points!
I wouldn’t mind nicking Schwarzer too just because we wanted him, he wanted to come, Hughes stopped him and we can get him for free in May/June!! It seems Chamakhish to me!
Goonertown
I think 99% of Gooners would have been with you on that before the last transfer window shut, inc. me.
Now I look at Schwarzer and think to myself “what were we thinking?” π
IF Almunia leaves in January, that discussion might be re-opened but we’re all guessing aren’t we?
I would like to see even more more strength and steel added to the back 4 however, esp. as TV seems to be out long-term and we still have this tendency to leak unecessary goals. I’ll leave it to Le Boss of course but I bet we do buy at least one defensive oriented player, maybe even a DM, in January. Let’s see who leaves/goes out on loan first π
True Story and Goonertown above – Schwarzer was a cry for help, a bad call then, and a bad call now (in my humble opinion).
I was one of Fabianski’s biggest critics but he has shown me something in both the game at Eastlands and on Wednesday night and I think that maybe, not for the first time of course, Arsene knows better than me.
Let’s put it this way, previously, I would have been on his back after his gaffe against Newcastle, but I thought that he deserved every bit of slack that most Arsenal fans were prepared to give him based on his performances prior to that game. This was then vindicated with his performance against Wolves.
I like what we have seen of both the 2 young Poles thus far, and if we do need to go and get a keeper in January I think that we can do better than Schwarzer.
A glass of Tyskie for me Barman and whatever TS and Goonertown are having.
Cheers Zico! And a return round from me please Barman π
Zico. I agree totally re the cards. Do feel that kos using a bit of thought does not end up with either. Jacks bothers me less. He has that fire and desire that i love. He will pick up more along the way no doubt, but if will continue to learn.
TS. No problem. No humble pie munching required. We all love our club and all want what is best. No doubt opinions will differ from time to time. Beer on me my old son and lets raise a glass or 2 to The Arsenal.
Keep the faith.
Steve T / Dad
I’m going to be getting very virtually drunk very quickly at this rate but thanks very much, don’t mind if I do.
I fancy another win at Goodison Park. Just gut feel. It’ll be tight though. 2-1’s my guess. Interested to hear where the ‘Holic pound is going tomorrow. I reckon our 2 goal-scorers will be Arshavin and Cesc. How’s about that for a punt?
TS, fire away your Itoldyousos att will π
Pint of Boddingtons, please!
Lars,
Er, is it my round again? π
TS, well if you insist, I suppose it is π
WTF is up with ATV-O tonight????
Doesn’t seem to be working for me either TS! π
Back on line now – bloody hell, I pay all of Β£3.99 a month for this – heh!
Let’s not go overboard with Fabianski yet. As you may remember I have been advocating giving him his chance for a long while as people who have seen him in training have always been consistently praising his skills. He’s starting to show what they they were talking about but in the end for a goalkeeper what matters most is consistency. Fabianski is very young still, he just started learning his trade at the highest level, of course we can forgive the unavoidable rookie mistake from time to time. But remember Almunia has looked good too at times when he became #1 before showing us why there are many more things to consider than just raw skill to assess the quality of a goalkeeper. Let’s wait a bit and see how Fabianski deals with the pressure of a full season before we jump to conclusions one way or another. Hopefully the naysayers will have good reasons to flog themselves publicly in May, until then it’s a bit premature.
Matt, as I said I was one of his biggest critics – but I think credit where its due – without him we would not have had 6 points from Eastlands and Molineux.
I think what is different for me, is that previously when he made a mistake, the next time he played he looked totally shot confidence wise. This time, after Sunday, he deserves credit for putting his mistake behind him and putting in a match winning performance.
I do take your point though, the season is long and he has a great deal to do between now and May before we can say whether his demons have deserted him and he’s come of age.
TS, Your 2-1 prediction sounds both realistic and just the tonic we need. Shall we call it the TS tenner?
Nasri
That’s just fine by me. Double or quits on the Arshavin + Cesc goal scoring combination?
They both need to score a goal esp. the little Russian. I thought he looked a little heart-broken when he smacked the post, yet again this season, at Molineaux or whatever it’s called these days.
Barman? An ice-cold bottle of Dos Equis for me and whatever my fellow ‘Holics are drinking please plus a side order of Nasri Nachos.
Also let me join the chorus of the people worried by the Everton trip. They are a very tough team while at the same time we’re not out of our shaky patch yet. They will certainly miss Fellani but that won’t prevent them to be up for it. If we can manage to score early it will likely end up well, otherwise it will be another one of these tense affairs we’ve been witnessing lately.
2-1 would be nice indeed.
The best news of the day for me is Arsene’s acknowledgment that the players will be rotated, this alone will make a huge difference for the final sprint with players being fresher than in the previous seasons.
@zico: I’ve always believed in him, actually I have a lot of faith in the qualified people who have told us he was that good. Time will tell but so far he looks like the real deal since his return. Luckily for him Almunia is still injured π
I’ll have a Corona with a slice of lime to toast with TS.
“It is nearly insulting to ask me my opinion of the job Arsene Wenger has done at Arsenal,” Everton manager Moyes said.
“Arsene Wenger has been unbelievable for English football in general. I think he has been partly involved in changing the culture of our game.
“Everybody has to admire the way he brings in young players and encourages them. He puts his faith in them and trusts them to play. I think he has done great things for English football and he deserves huge credit.”
Matt, It sounds like Moyes knows what he is talking about.
On the other hand they tend to only compliment the opposition the week before a game so the comments could be seen as a sucker punch as well. En garde!
Zico and TS-
I’m finally back online at home. Three cheers for the Virgin Engineer. He even said he is going to report the last engineer. But he also said he is going to order a new cable lead so we can get a better wireless signal, as for now I have to sit next to the modem in the bedroom…ah not fully complete but at least this engineer did his jobby job!
The Schwarzer thing just seems like unfinished business for me and strength in depth would be good for us, although based on Fabi and Shezzy I wouldn’t move for Schwarzy until June. I am also happy with Fabbi and Shezzy to the extent that it excites me to watch them in their current form! So if we donβt move for Schwarzer it wouldnβt seem like a problem, especially when he appears to be getting turned over here and there with his Cottage Chicken gang! But hey that could be calling the kettle black. Saying that, I would rather see our own keepers come of age without a need to bring in outside help! Iβm at logger heads with myself over this; I need to snap out of it!
We could use the TV situation as an opportunity to shore up defence. As we all know we used Song Billibong v Blackpool although he did well, we were wearing thin, in addition to leaving an obvious gap in the middle of the park. However, having too many good defenders could lead to one or two becoming unhappy (see Lasana Diarra 2007/8 season).
Surely the boss has spoken to the lads and they all know that another defender may become necessary for the benefit of the club, come January. In addition the longer the injury the more vulnerable the player upon return (see: Van P and Rosicky). Resulting to the need for immediate cover (see: Arshavin and Chamakh).However (See:Djourou- miraculous recovery).