As Bowie Said, “My Weekend’s At An All Time Low”
Apr 3rd, 2011 by 'holic
The headline is just a tad misleading. Actually, Arsenal apart, yesterday was a really enjoyable day spent in the company of a wonderful bunch of friends, old and new. The inevitable question followed the main event, however.
“How on earth are you going to put a positive spin on that then, ‘holic?”
The question is a fair one from somebody I enjoy sharing a drink or two with. It isn’t my job to put a ‘positive spin’ on anything, but my job description is supporter, or one who supports. I have said before that the time for analysing what has happened this season is at the end, not while the competition is still underway, and fragile confidence can be further undermined by reading wave after wave of negativity.
Having said that I cannot deny that yesterday was possibly a turning point for a few more people. I said beforehand “A team with title aspirations should feast on the visitors”, and so we should. That we didn’t was probably most tellingly summed up by Arsene Wenger himself.
“Very few players looked to have the resources to put the pace up in the game. Part of it is down to the fact that Blackburn defended well but I don’t put the majority of reasons down to that. I feel it is more down to our poor offensive performance today.”
Poor indeed Arsene, and I don’t think it is unreasonable for people to be raising one simple question of you. How on earth can we come into a game after an international break with almost a full squad of players returning from injury, and therefore rested, up against one of the poorest sides I have seen at the Grove in a long, long time, and produce as flat and guile-less performance as the one we were treated to yesterday? That is the only question I would like to see addressed this week. We were in control of our own destiny before the game yesterday. We are no more.
There is a big week ahead, Arsene, in which this undoubtedly talented squad needs to be infused with a bit of belief, and a bit of backbone. We haven’t won a league match since February 23rd, and astonishingly find ourselves hanging on to the summit by our fingernails. What needs to be done in the summer will be determined by how we react to our run of collective poor form in the final six weeks of the season. It is time for the big players come to the party and offer some protection for their under-fire team-mates. Where are the van Persie goals and the Fabregas assists? Will Walcott and Nasri finish the season as they started it?
I offer those words not as blind criticism but as an obvious assessment of where we are. I want to get behind this group of players for the final eight games and do my bit to support them to a cliffhanger of a finish to the season. The odds are now firmly stacked against us, and everything I have witnessed in the last six weeks suggests we are down and out. A bit of character, please, and a hint that this team can be winners is required. Either that, or those summer questions may be made even more uncomfortable.
205 Responses to “As Bowie Said, “My Weekend’s At An All Time Low””
Morning All,
I’m far far to old for jaegerbombs my head fills like it was the ball in a 50/50 challenge between hunter and storey.
Holic,
I’ve been mulling this over all morning as I didn’t think it would ever get to this point but do you think Wengers lost the players?
Well said Goonerholic.
I can hear the chorus of “we’ve run out of excuses now”, but this result was predictable. A return from international fixtures, plus the return of Song, Walcott and Fabregas from injury, all lacking in match fitness. Arsenal is a momentum team. Unfortunately we need a run of games and matches before we hit the zone. Blackburn stifled our midfield and we didn’t work the ball in their final third.
We can only hope for some results to go our way now, but it doesn’t look likely. Man U are succeeding even with key players missing.
All in all a sober weekend. Make mine a coke.
Its a good point, and not one I had previously thought about. To sum up my feelings, I am so frustrated by all this are;
1. Chelsea and United are not as good this season as they have been, and this was our golden opportunity to take the league (and Carling cup)
2. That I am not surprised we did not. It is a pattern that we seem to promise so much then fade after February AND seem to lose out in the big crunch matches.
3. Champions can play poorly and still win or find the resources somehow to overcome adversity, we seem to lack that and leadership.
4. We all knew we needed a world class keeper, although I don’t think that is the single cause it should have been resolved 2 years ago.
5. We generally have not moved on since the likes of Thierry, Bergkamp and Pires left 5 years ago- all feels like ground-hog day.
Apologies for the ‘rant’ this nice spring morning, but it sums up my feelings fellow gooners.
I can’t belive how shit we are, we are very lucky Chelsea spurs Liverpool all slipt up, to be honest I can’t see us beating Blackpool, I said we would draw against Blackburn and we did, we will lose to Blackpool 2…1, we will also lose 2…0 to man united and we will draw 1….1 with spurs, the Liverpool game will finish 0….0 stoke away will be 2..1 to stoke, fulham will be 3…1 fulham. We are so lucky spuds and Chelsea are slippin up
We’re dead & although not buried i can see the shovels…
Chippy your not alone in your thoughts mate, iv been almost convinced of this since the recent west brom game.
Its as if the kids no longer listen to their father but lack the balls to take responsibility to be men.
Maybe a few big brothers who have made that step this transfer window please?
If not then maybe a stepfather…
P.S mines a brandy, no ice im already on the rocks
It’s not just AW’s fault that the big players didn’t turn up yesterday: Cesc and RvP shouldn’t be immune from criticism for pretty average performances yesterday.
Usual shit atmosphere yesterday: how about the part-timers who come late and leave early just don’t bother between now and the end of the season ? 40,000 Gooners who actually give a shit and know how to support the team might be more use…
Graci,
Nice analogy and probably lost is the wrong word more like don’t listen to him anymore!
With regards the Big Brothers – spot on- and if they are loud and vocal all the better, Arsenal at the Mo is all to nice and has become stale needs some shake and vak 🙂
Arsène is too nice with these kids. They do not fear him, and sometimes fear can be a great motivator.
“and sometimes fear can be a great motivator” *when everything else has failed* I should add.
@ Anonymouse –
‘40,000 Gooners who actually give a shit and know how to support the team might be more use…’
Those will be the ones that the board have priced out of football, I guess?
Just a thought about the overall quality of the squad; we are a ‘big’ team, but if we were to put the whole squad up for transfer, which players would actually interest the other ‘big’ teams in Europe?
I mean, could you see Madrid coming in for Diaby, or United in for Denilson? Yet we buy players from French 2nd division teams in order to boost our own squad.
The emperor reqires new clothes!
And I’ll have a Mackeson, barman!
I appreciate you effort to dredge some kind of positivity from the ashes of yesterday ‘Holic. But I think you could have written this same post many times over the past few years. I have been a staunch supporter of Wenger, even when those around me said he would never win anything with Arsenal again. But I believe we are witnessing the death throes of his stewardship of our club. The tail might briefly wag but the body is dying. I have firmly believed for some time that the ownership issue is at the root of why the ship is rudderless at the moment. There is no accountability. Who is going to knock on Arsene’s door tomorrow and tell him that it ain’t happening? Nobody, is the answer. At least with an owner there is someone who actually wants to put this club at the top. This board of directors, lead by a very sick man in Danny Fiszman, seems content to amble along, seeing CL qualification as justification to hike ticket prices to absurd levels. Listening to Arsene when he wants reward mediocrity with huge new contracts and ending up with a wage bill £40 million higher than Spurs and a squad that is carrying at least 8 players who should be nowhere near the Arsenal team. We are in the age of PL mediocrity where boring anti-football is the order of the day. The PL title has been there for the taking yet we are unable to grab it because we pay players like Almunia, Diaby, Denilson, Eboue, Bendtner, Squillacci etc huge wages yet don’t have a proper goalkeeper at the club. We enter transfer windows and end up buying no-one of any quality despite being in desperate need. Our manager has become a parody of himself with endless ramblings about potential and mental strength. And we win nothing. It seems so obvious and that is what makes it beyond depressing.
This an article from March 2008, written just before the second leg at the San Siro, which we went on to win.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/2293246/Sacchi-Arsenal-were-scared-and-narcissistic.html
Sacchi explained. “Arsenal played better, but they have little to show for it.
“Arsenal won the ball in Milan’s half maybe 15 or 20 times. Had Milan won the ball in Arsenal’s half that many times, they would have scored five goals. They would have capitalised on those chances. Why? Because Arsenal are young. And when you’re young there are times when you lose your determination, you lose your crispness, you lose your focus, you settle, thinking another chance will come along. There were times when Arsenal seemed scared, when they seemed narcissistic, when they were not as determined as they could have been…”
After a very promising first two thirds to the season, the faults that Sacchi identified three years ago still seem to be holding us back. Wenger has created a team in his own image … a combination of genius with a brittle core …
Welcome to my world holic.
Too frugal in the markets? Players let go too early? Lack of leaders etc etc. Ring any bells with anyone?
The most frustrating thing for me is we have all said it for the last 2 years and we have done next to nothing to address it. As I have said before, for me we really are not that far away.
The sadest thing for me yesterday?????? That I really was not surprised at all by the way we played. Disappointed but not surprised one bit.
What’s the betting the PR department decide tomorrows probably a good time to tell fans their tickets are going up by 6.5% 🙂
Lost – One clubs identity if found please return to N5 sharpish,
I guess my expectations are really low at the moment. I felt very little frustration watching yesterday. It seemed like a decent point.
It is a hard pill to swallow…..watching a club you love so much throw in the towel when there is so much to play for. Every morning I get up and read one Arsenal Blog after another, why, because I love this club, but I too have reached my limit with AW and his youngsters…. Where is this 5 year plan I have heard so much about over the past, oh I dont know 5 YEARS!!! I know Cesc has been injured lately, but his head doesn’t seem to be in it for Arsenal anymore, maybe thats me, but I doubt it. I don’t want to believe it’s over for Arsenal this season, i want to believe that we can pull this out, I know that seems far-fetched but hey hope right now is all we have….hope that Utd slip up, hope that Chelski and Spuds dont overtake us, and most of all HOPE that we can get it together and pull out this title……. we shall see???
I blame the ball; since the switch back to a white ball, we haven’t managed a win. (Yes, Mr Wenger, I’ll let you can use that one.)
4 becomes 3 becomes 2 becomes 1 becomes 0
Positives. I thought that Koz and Squil played ok considering what was behind them. Arshavin played really well, maybe the only one.
Negatives. So many that time does not permit. The overall level of performance was one of a mid-table team playing out the last few games. No urgency, no fluidity, no commitment, no leadership.
Next is Blackpool away and I can see Holloway firing his team up for it. By the time we kick off, more than likely we will be ten points behind. We may do well to finish second.
at least a third are not good :
bendtner mproved ? no , denilson ? no , rosicky ? no , sq18? no , aluminia ? no
Where oh where is that spirit and mental strength that AW has spoken of so often? Where is the heart? Where is the desire? Where is the urgency? SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG!
Bottle of Terminal Hope please.
Oh dear , i can only echo many of the points made above . Yesterday was the day when even the most optimistic among us , ( myself included ) , finally had to admit that the game was up , that we are not presently good enough to be crowned champions , and that we are not going to have a fairy tale ending to the season .
I am unashamedly a huge Wenger fan – admittedly a not too popular stance to take at the moment , both on the blogs , and for the first time , tellingly , inside the ground yesterday .
He has given me football the like of which I could only dream about , when as a teenager , i used to watch a desperately mundane side huff and puff their way through a season of mediocrity whilst a half full and largely disinterested Highbury tried to convince themselves that Rixy was indeed ” better than Hoddle ” . However no-one is infallible , mistakes have been made , and this season is , in my view , the first time since the trophyless years began that some of the bile heading Arsene’s way is justified .
So why this year ;-
– I am firmly of the view that from january 04 , ( when we bought Reyes ) , until the end of last season , there has been no money available, whatever the Board may have stated to the contrary . Arsenal are , by their nature a conservative ( small c ) club . During my time , there have been very few marquee signings – Alan Ball , Supermac , Charlie Nicholas , Ian Wright , Denis Bergkamp , David Platt and maybe Reyes .
As such , Arsenal were never going to spend big money and add to an already enormous debt which had become more problematic than envisaged when the property slump and banking crisis hit . That Arsene kept us challenging during this period is i think one of his greatest achievements . To his credit he went along with the party line that there was money available , invented i think by the board to ward off the threat posed by Usmanov . Thus the failure to spend money is now perceived as Wenger’s youth project rather than the Board’s parsimony .
Last summer , however , cried out for a marquee signing . The financial situation had eased with the near finalisation of the Highbury Development and the Adebayor /Toure sales , we had had 5 years of Emirates income and Red And White Holdings had failed to garner popular support . Morale was low in and around the club and a net spend of approx 6m was never going to cut it . A marquee signing would have given the whole place a lift and restored a feel good factor which has largely been missing throughout this season . Arsene is culpable that one was not made .
-The lack of a plan B really bugs me . Since the departures of TH14 and Paddy our team has been based largely on the wonderful vision and passing of Fabregas . He is the fulcrum , the guy that makes it all tick . When it comes off it is a work of art , but when he is injured or is half fit or simply not playing well , there is no compromise . Yesterday was a case in point , we were not playing well , but with three subs on we maintained the same shape and the same way of playing . Should have gone 4-2-4 with Bendtner and Chamak up top .Sometimes you have to win scrappy .
– The best thing about yesterday was the Rocky tribute pre kick off – it took great powers of concentration not to start blubbing . A couple of days ago i wrote on here about Rocky’s clenched fist and roar to his teammates just prior to the first goal at Anfield in may 89 , and the belief that that engendered both in the team and in those of us behind the sofa at home . Where was his modern day equivalent yesterday ? The stark truth is that there is no belief in this squad and for that Arsene is responsible .
– Graci above is spot on . the ” father ” comparison many players make is worrying . It seems that all players are treated the same , and that they are all trusted that with their own innate intelligence they will motivate themselves and make the right decisions . Well , we’re all different , some are lazier than others , some are thicker than others , and some people do respond better to the stick . Too many players are being indulged .
For all of the above I remain firmly in the ” Arsene Knows ” camp . Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater . The reason we are all so frustrated is we are pretty close and it wouldnt take a great deal of tinkering to get things right .For all those who want him to leave who would you replace him with ? Mourinho … ? if it comes to pass my season ticket would be ” up for grabs ” . And dont kid yourselves that not every footballing giant both at home and abroad wouldn’t want Wenger – be careful what you wish for .
Vodka Martini please , shaken but not stirred .
Mancs turn round a 0-2 deficit; we draw a must-win game 0-0 at home against a side only a point off the bottom three, and with a keeper who is our bunny. Think that suggests where the title will end up. The team should be used to playing against opponents defending deep at the Emirates but it still hasn’t figured out how to get a cutting edge in those circumstances. It doesn’t seem to be able to open up those defences unless Cesc is playing. RvP, from whom we needed goals yesterday, was anonymous until Cesc came on. Then both he and Nasri started to get the ball in the Blackburn box. But, bafflingly, we spent the last 15 mins hoofing crosses into the box.
A glass of your finest claret, as ever, ‘Holic. I fear it may be all there is to savour for the rest of the season.
Same attacking technique, same formation, same players, same result. We have some extremely talented players playing in strange spots on the pitch. Bendtner out wide and Arshavin subbed off when we really, REALLY needed a couple of big targets up front with a nice meat and potatoes 4-4-2. It looked like more tactical confusion from Arsene and predictable lack of execution from the lads.
All the criticisms about Wenger, the lack of leadership, the lack of guidance from the boardroom, all are legitimate shouts, but it pains me to say that, finally, the manager’s failings trump all others. I believe in my heart, and have for sometime, that Wenger has finally lost the squad, and with that he’s lost the last reason for staying on. Arsene Wenger is a genius and as it is with all geniuses, he has a fatal flaw. In the case of Ferguson, his flaw is that he’s a raging, irrepressible cunt. In Arsene’s case, it’s that he is opaquely blind to what’s happening before his eyes.
Jim Jones punch in a Dixie Cup, if you please.
seasonticket – you are spot on. no-one of note would want diaby or denilson or bendtner or gibbs or so many more, these players are not winners. when someone leaves old trafford they are snapped up, because they are taught to be winners and that is invaluable to the buying club.
i have made this point tiome and time again and been told by some to stop “supporting” united. on yesterdays blog someone went on about united having a 30m substitute – so what ? they had many many players missing and the guts they showed to turn around the deficit was quite staggering, our players should be made to watch a tape of that second half.
Chippy @1 – i think your horrible thought might be right. It was one that occurred to me as well yesterday.
Nasri continues to be played wide too much of the time and his contribution suffers as a result. He is clearly unhappy out there. Bendtner, when he comes on, seems to crop up almost anywhere but in front of goal. Yesterday, he ran around on the right wing trying to find others with crosses that surely he should be on the end of.
Arsene himself has said that the performance lacked pace and energy. That is a very worrying statement from a manager whose style of play is reliant on exactly those qualities.
There was a very uneasy quiet about the whole stadium during the game, with just the occasional desperate attempt by some fans to get the team going. The question is, why should the fans need to get a team going who have the title in their own hands with just nine games to go.
The fact is that as I sat outside the stadium before kick-off, there was no buzz in the air at all. It seemed almost inevitable that yesterday’s performance would happen, and yet another chance to push for the top would be wasted.
It sadly did not feel as though we were still in with a real chance of winning the league.
Opinion around me was that it felt like the end of another season of painful disappointment. People just wanted to get the last few sad games over and done with because they are simply fed up.
As soon as W Ham vs Manure kicked off, I could feel the old hope rising and headed off for the train, hardly able to wait to see the team in action again. Back to our old selves, I thought, let’s rip this lot apart and win the league.
Sadly, it soon became obvious that it was not going to happen. As inevitable, though it hurts to say it, as Manure’s comeback against W Ham.
It hurts, also, to say Chippy, that it felt yesterday as though the manager had lost the majority of the fans as well as the players.
It’s a fair walk from the Grove to Finsbury Park, and I cannot say I heard one positive word all the way there.
I sometimes, actually almost always, think that Arsene Wenger doesn’t help himself by being quite so secretive about his attempts to sign players.
This is perfectly understandable while negotiations are in progress.
It transpires this week though, that he tried to sign Pepe Reina last summer and, according to Bob Wilson, bid a lot of money for him.
A bit of insight into the club’s dealings, albeit necessarily after the event, might help to overcome some of the damaging negativity around the place.
I have never believed that AW has simply “lost it”, and suddenly doesn’t know a good player from a bad one.
Unfortunately, plenty do.
It would be nice, as loyal supporters, to know a little of what goes on at our club.
One way or the other, there will be plenty of difficult questions to be answered over this summer.
takeabowson – i’ll go with almost all of that.
The only reservation is over the 4-2-4 formation. I’m not sure that Bendtner and Chamakh are strong enough to win headers against a packed Blackburn defence with Sambe as it’s pivot.
I think that what hurt us most yesterday was a complete lack of pace in getting at their defence. Most worrying was the time it took to even get our slow paced attacks underway. Even when Blackburn were stretched following a rare attack of their own, we showed no urgency to hit them on the break.
As a fellow sufferer of half empty, disinterested Highburys – go on, we loved it really – Have one on me. You deserve it.
Greetings Holic’ and Holics’ one and all…
I have been tripping myself up for the past 20-odd hours in a vain bid to find the can of “Supergloss” that is going to make it all seem better. Problem is, once I managed to dig it out, it was bone dry.
We have, as Gooners, inventively, creatively, desperately found so many ways to excuse the poor performances of this team towards seasons end that we are fast becoming caricatures of the boss himself.
“They are young and they will grow.” – Seriously?! Did Cesc look like he needed to grow as Spain held aloft the World Cup? Does RvP need to be 36 before he discovers “that winning thing”? Does Clichy need another 250 games to find his rhythm? Does Nasri need another 250 too? How about Denilson remembers what he was seeing in 2005 from the subs bench in Yokohama where a Sao Paolo side got battered from start to finish by Liverpool and yet walked away with a cheeky 1-0 to become World Champions (Did you read that right? Yes, Denilson was a WORLD CHAMPION once!!!)
No, that excuse is dead, so let’s move on…
“It is all part of my five year plan.” – That would make us a little overdue now then Arsene. Not only that, but a five year plan that is sure to be stripped of its captain, engine room, mascot and crown jewel that the entire team was built around (if of course Barca even want him the way he has generally shown his most average side this season, let alone for 50m Euros!) doesn’t sound like much oif a plan now, does it?!
“Once we win one the lads will know how that feels and the next win becomes easier.” – That is so desperately tautological it defies belief that we, as sentient, smarter than average (I think) right-thinking peopler could even dream it up, let alone stick to it for what is about to become 6 desperate, gut wrenching, hope smashing, soul destroying seasons.
“People forget how lucky we are to not be in the mess that we were in during the…(insert random trophyless season(s) here).” – Really? REALLY? Do I need to? Ok, for those missing the fantastic irony here, we have a squad boasting international players from just about every last corner of the planet. We have arguably the best football stadium in the world. We have arguably one of the greatest managers in the history of the game. We have a wage bill that could easily support a third world nation or two and ticket prices to help pay for it. We are THE ARSENAL and we are SUPPOSED to WIN THINGS.
There is another underlying problem to all of this. David Dein set up a cunningly manufactured and beautifully implemented foolproof system of protection for the boss…”Arsene knows…” This provided an immediate division of supporters. Yes, Arsene enjoyed a massive majority to begin with, but the plan was never for the good times. Now we are seeing the genius in the plan…So many of us chose the AKB brigade and have defended him with for so long with such a broad gamut of excuses (see above for just a few choice ones) that it is now hard to get off that side of the fence. Indeed, the splinters are really beginning to irk in a lot of cases. Booing inside the stadium yesterday…Not new, but not something one would generally associate with AW’s tender. Fighting amongst Arsenal fans? WTF? Seriously, NOT an Arsenal trait. No, the supporters in the AKB tent are finding that leaving requires a HUGE backtracking and the derision that would accompany it would be as unbearable as seeing Denilson, Diaby and Bendtner on the same team sheet.
There are a lot of people still trying hard to fight back their own feelings of desperation, me included. I heard the chants for Arsene’s head yesterday. I scoffed. I thought about it. I convinced myself it shall not, cannot, will not be so, and yet, waking up this morning, I couldn’t help but think that there is actually a case for AW, Cesc, AA, RvP and maybe even Clichy to go, let alone Bendtner, Eboue, Diaby, Squillaci, Almunia, Denilson, Rosicky, and Fabianski. Screw it, send them all to Barcelona together in exchange for Guardiola.
Seriously, if we are brutally honest, this is the current first team squad list that SHOULD, when performing to standard or not injured, be at our fine club:
1. Wojciech Szczęsny (more one for the future. ARRGGH!)
2. Sagna
3. Clichy (still not totally convinced though)
4. Cesc
5. Vermaelen
6.
7. Nasri
8. Wilshere
9.
10. RvP
11. Walcott
So, a top flight football club with one of the highest wage bills on earth and, well, we don’t actually have a full first XI f anythig like consistent performers. Talk about team selection headaches!
Ok, this is becoming a touch surreal, or at least it had better be, because if it isn’t then we have been lied to, cheated, fooled and double-crossed by our club, our manager and our players.
BUT hold on a minute…maybe we should compare our squad to that of Barcelona, the team we apparently aspire to…
On second thoughts, I am not sure that I can be bothered to list all of their squad and point out that, without their two best defenders and us with almost a full squad to choose from, we actually came out 1 goal better off in each leg this year (or should that be 1 goal less badly off?!) but still got, inevitably, knocked out. Shush now…RvP getting sent off is yet another sideshow in the long running Arsenal drama and it is dull now. Frankly, these events that always seem to conspire against us are, in my opinion, nothing more than a distraction from the greater problems. In fact, I would be surprised if things were a great deal different if these things didn’t happen. RvP would only have broken his neck slipping on the touchline whilst waiting for the ball boy to give him the dangerous round thing!
Ok, what about Man U? Oh, how we chuckled to ourselves when they lined up with about seven centrebacks! Well, don’t feel too bad. Many a world class side would expect to get turned over by the likes of Wes Brown, John O’Shea, the brothers from Brazil and a couple of pensioners!
Seriously people, all the time that we wait the likes of Man U are introducing new, young, hungry winners. Man City are buying the players required to become a frightening prospect. Liverpool will support Kenny in the rebuilding project he is already undertaking with aplomb. Chelsea have not sat back idly. Dare I say it, even the Spuds will probably find another couple of players that they need to seriously challenge.
Is that what it will take? For the “poor relations” down the road to finally overtake us?
I will finish up with this…
“Second in the league, a cup final, knocked out of the Champions league by the best team in the world and out of the FA Cup at the hands of Man U. See, it isn’t as bad as it seems.”
To which I say BOLLOCKS!
Second in a league that nobody actually wants to win (except, of course, the team that will win it and all those that finish between us and them who obviously still want to win it more than we do.)
A cup final that we ultimately lost due to glaring gaps in the squad and the first XI (not the same thing and two faults there for the price of one!) Made infinitely worse by the fact that those gaps were recognised before the season started and were not addressed in EITHER of the transfer windows that passed us by. In fact, if we are honest, these are the same gaps that we have had since about the time Sol had his little breakdown.
Barcelona are a genuinely great side, but they were in a “poor” (by their standards) run of form, they were missing key players and they were coming off a delightful 2-1 turnover at our place…RIPE FOR THE TAKING? Maybe, but certainly not holding that air of invincibility that one would normally associate with the return leg. What really happened? Guardiola got them to play with a confidence and belief that outweighed any nagging doubts they may have had. We played with little or no belief and more than a dollop of doubt.
The FA Cup exit? Don’t get me started!!!
It ISN’T much better than it seems. In fact, I think it may even be a whole lot worse.
Win the next 8, turn it into a title race and let’s see what happens in the summer…
That would be Arsene’s very own can of “Supergloss” and, I fear, about the worst thing that could happen for the future of this club.
I want to end with my traditional “Come on you Gooners!” but it just doesn’t feel right.
Some absolutely wonderful thought provoking drinks today. I respect the amount of thought and work Mr Winston put in, very good read.
Myself, I spent an hour working on a witty post to try to lighten the mood with my limited vocabulary, knowledge and literary skills, but, I’m just so fucking tired of it all that I scrapped it.
Everything just has an air of inevitability. A pretty shitty Manure team are showing our not-so-shitty team of “youngsters” (yawn) how to be winners. (Or is it that silly red nosed bastard showing our classy Frenchman how to be a winner?)
From the Man City vs. Sunderland Guardian MBM
(City are 5-0 up)
“Sunderland have now lost their six of their last seven league games (barring a six-goal comeback). The one team who have failed to beat them are Arsenal. I’m not sure who comes worse out of that situation.”
Ho hum.
Thanks Trev , another vodka tonic please with some happy pills thrown in – and best get Winston one whilst you’re there !
Cant disagree with anything you said about the game or the atmosphere yesterday – have one yourself on me .
All together now ” charlie , charlie , charlie , charlie ” .
It’s funny to watch bairns worldwide throwing their rattles out of their prams. The bubblers are distinctly unhappy down Madrid way. The cacophony caused by the crashing bottles, teets, rattles and other pram-paraphanalia hitting the floor is deafening and threatening to drown out the Special One’s Sunday morning propaganda sermon from the Bernabau balcony.
Poor old Real. They sacked their manager and bought “Special” Poor old “Special”. He’s spent squazillions on Ronaldo (90M), Kaka (80M), Benzema (30M), Ozil (24M) and on and on and, b*gger me, they’ve only gone and been thumped at home by Sporting Gijon.
Who the feck are Sporting Gijon?
Never mind, Real beat their arch rivals at the Nou Camp. Right?
Wrong! They were thumped 5-0.
But after spending all that money they’re leading the annual two-horse contest that is La Ligua – Yes?
NO. They’re EIGHT points adrift with NO WAY back.
The bairns down there are doing a great impersonation of the BBB. They’ve already decided they want to ditch….”Casillas, pepe, Carvalho, Marcelo, diarra, Alonso, ozil 84, Higuain, di maria, Raul albiol and khedira”. (check out their sites). No doubt “Special” will be next on the block, because, no doubt, he’s lost the players (whatever that means) too.
Thing as are similar down amongst the Milanese spaghetti eaters, at least amongst those of a blue persuasion. Inter are five big points adrift of their bedfellows in the San Siro – and they’re NOT coming back either. The bairns’ nappies there are putrid and the fumes are teinting the taste of Leonardo’s Sunday Lasagna. They want him out! They want to sell the whole team. They want “Special” back. Sounds familiar.
Closer to home, the scouse bairns are beginning to doubt the wisdom of ditching Roy and installing King Kenny of the tarnished tin can crown. His new 50M strike force looks like it might be a bit overvalued – by about 40M. Relegation, Kenny? Not for Roy’s lot. For your’s. And Chelski’ 74M January Sale spend doesn’t look too spectacular either does it as they languish in our wake?
Arsenal drew yesterday because Jack Wilshere couldn’t convert from three yards, Marouane Chamakh from six and Robin Van Persie from six with a header. And that’s Arsene’s fault? Not in my book.
I’m right behind Arsene and the team for the rest of the season. I haven’t given up like so many here. I’m “willing” a Chelsea win versus The Deeply Indebted and then I’ll be there to see Arsenal beat The Famous Red Grouse at the Emirates. Win our two games in hand and that’s a nine-point swing. Won’t happen? That‘s what they said before a young man named Thomas slotted one in at Anfield a few years back.
Dreaming? Quite possibly, it’s something I do frequently – but I recommend it as an entirely better state of mind than the indulgence in self-pity being pursued by so many. If you are coming to the Manure game, PLEASE, don’t get in late and ask to push past me. Don’t ask to push past me before and after HT just so you can get an early pint. And don’t ask to push past me as you f*ck off home early to catch your tube.
And worse, don’t come on here and rant about lack of leaders then f*ck off home around 60 minutes like you did when Manure came down for the CL game last season. That would make me cross.
great post and great drinks everyone/holic. Certainly not quite time to reflect and hopefully we’re in this until the final weekend. This season has been SO odd I wouldn’t bet against it.
I know everyone is calling for Central Defender, cover for Song, another proven goalscorer but I disagree. I think the type of player we need most is none of the above.
I know the sort of player we need just couldn’t suggest a name..perhaps you could. We need a central midfielder or someone to play behind the strikers that is a bit older (26-27?) who can see when plan A isn’t working and literally change the tempo of the game by his own volition. My biggest frustration this season (injuries apart) isn’t the squad depth or the lack of goalkeepers (?) or bad officials but games such as yesterday when you can see fully well after 45 or 55 minutes that a new approach is needed and yet we play exactly the same way up until the final whistle. How many league goals have we scored on the counter this season? Perhaps 3 or 4? How many goals have goals have resulted from pinging the ball around the edge of the box? Not enough….
I don’t even know what I’m saying now…its the sort of player who can take the training sessions, the pre-match and half-time Wenger advice but then react to what he sees going on in front of him. We’ve got a lot of players in the same mold but don’t see enough switching roles on the pitch which will confuse defenders if they are marking space (such as Blackburn yesterday).
I guess the player I’m describing might just be a more mature Fabregas…but if he doesn’t stay and I fear he won’t it needs to be someone with a very different approach.
I’m still a huge optimist about this club and I don’t think a giant clear out of the starting eleven is required, yeah we can change some of the squad players but I’d like to see one major signing in the centre of the park…Wilshere is indeed a huge talent but expecting him to be the focus of the team too young is just doing what we’ve been doing with Cesc the last 3 seasons.
It’s probably going to make me look daft but I think tomorrow is a good day to bet on us still winning the league. The odds aren’t as long as they look.
Come on you Reds…
incidentally the odds against us are now 5/1 ….
I found out today the odds against Manure winning at half time yesterday were 8/1. I wish I saw that.
Winstons Myth: you make a few good points, but I think you really stretch it when it comes to claiming we don’t even have a full starting eleven.
I’ll copy what you wrote:
—
1. Wojciech Szczęsny (more one for the future. ARRGGH!)
2. Sagna
3. Clichy (still not totally convinced though)
4. Cesc
5. Vermaelen
6.
7. Nasri
8. Wilshere
9.
10. RvP
11. Walcott
—
What about Song? Arshavin? Koscielny? Djourou?
Yes, Koscielny. I’ll bet you a million pounds that had he been playing for ManU the general opinion would have been that Ferguson has once again beat Wenger to a great player. Yes, Kos has made a few mistakes but no-one, not even Vidic who is a fucking monster of a defender, is brilliant every game.
And Szczesny is not one for the future. He is very much for the present, he’s a very good keeper.
BtM: a brilliant post. We are all disappointed as hell, but we must also try to keep some perspective. We are not there yet, but desperation and panic can make things so, so much worse. There are a hell of a lot of things that are being done right and a few done wrong – but let us not destroy the good things in a fit of panic.
Some really great drinks on here today – I find myself agreeing with at least part of nearly all of them.
With my optimist’s hat on, I found myself watching the Blackpool game today and thinking that they’re pretty much the ideal team for us to come up against next.
Sure, they can be a handful, especially at home, but they won’t park the bus, they’re on a horrible run of form and we’ve a full week off before we play them (first time that’s happened in a while).
The title feels like it may have gone now, but if we’re at least to play for pride then this surely has to be the fixture we use to start turning our god awful form around. I’m not suggesting it’ll be easy, or will make everything okay if we do win next week. I’m just suggesting that, looking at the fixtures coming up, we really, really need to relocate our shooting boots, and this would seem a good opportunity to do so.
All of that said, if we drop any more points then I think the season really will be over, and I’m not sure I can take another week of feeling like this.
Come on you Gooners.
Evening Holic & Holic`s
@ Steve T 14
I watched the match and was not surprised at the result either, which in itself is prime example of how the team is playing at the moment. Last victory in the last 7 games was against Leyton O.
The PL was there for the taking this season and was offered to us by are rivals, but when ever the door was opened and a Arsenal welcome mat was put down we wiped are feet but never walked through the door. WHY ?
We need somthing, just exactly what that is I am not totally sure. Is it a new keeper, defender,midfielder or striker or maybe one of all of these. Will we get any ? who knows ?
To be fair the team is not full of teenagers, the one teenager in the starting eleven is a fantastic player who will be a Arsenal legend if he stays. So the excuses of maybe next season as we are a very young team are getting a little tired.
Please believe me when I say Arsene is a legend second to none in Arsenals managment history but is time running out. Can anyone name a manager in another country who are in the big top three who would still have his job after 6 years of maybe next season. You will not be able to name one.
Frustration vented a little, but I am sure I am not alone.
I’m arriving late in the game here (something I would never do on the rare occasions that I get a ticket to the Grove) and I didn’t even watch the game nor for that matter the highlights. But being kept abreast of things via text updates from my friend I felt a depressing familiarity creeping in as full time approached:
– crappy bunch of cloggers with 50 men behind the ball
– us missing one or two good chances: inevitably the only ones you’ll get in a game like this
– opposition keeper playing a blinder (and it was Robinson for chrissakes!)
– little change in the playing system that clearly isn’t working by half time (I know I know, I didn’t see it but I’ve read plenty of posts)
– 0-0 going into the last 10 and even against ten men I didn’t expect much more
We’ve been here so many times before that I just knew we were really unlikely to score – don’t you think it’s a bad thing that I would have been pretty surprised if we had?
You can say it was down to a couple of sitters missed, and you’d be right, but look at the bigger picture here. It’s the same capitulation at this stage of the season every time. And we don’t get any better at breaking down stubborn resistance. And someone, somehow always puts in a heroic performance and manages to fling themselves in front of a shot you’d bet your house on. Over and over and over.
All I’m saying is my faith is being just a tiny little bit stretched, and people can call me a plastic and a knee-jerker but is it really that unreasonable to think something might have to change? Really?
the only game which showed the real Arsenal capability is the first half of the 4-4 draw with Newcastle. Of course, the reality is you also see the other side of Arsenal at its worst. This particular game epitomized Arsenal of this whole season and the past 2 or 3 seasons as well. A out of balance team which needs some intelligent fixing during the summer or else we’ll see the fate happening again and again.
Hey Lars. And hey all…
“What about Song? Arshavin? Koscielny? Djourou?”
I don’t want this to come across like a childish bitch-fight, but I do want to respond to the point that you make. Please accept my response for what it is…My opinion, no more.
Song – So close to being good enough, but I cannot help feeling that he is not there yet and probably won’t improve much from here on in. A surprise package at times, a depressingly obvious one at others. I keep hearing about great he was agaist Barca…REALLY? He ran around kicking anything that moved with the general exception of the ball, and, once he got his yellow, caused EVERYBODY watching the game (which surely included the players themselves) to simply wonder how long before his 2nd yellow or for Wenger to remove him from the park. Don’t forget that we conceded 4 goals in 180 minutes of football against them with a 6 man defence, if you include the 2 defensive midfielders. They could and really should have scored more in Spain and definitely should have had a penalty too.
In contrast, how did Man U do with a similar type of line up over 90 minutes against us. That’s right, scored 2 conceded 0.
The problem we have with Song is more a case of when playing a loose 4-3-3, the need for the defence and defensive midfield to connect and form that safety net is so great that not having another defensive midfielder to speak of shows the glaring error/hole in the system, but it gets misconstrued as the glaring absence of Song. Put simply, of course we look better with him in the side. Without him we just have a tactic that doesn’t work.
Arshavin – I cannot believe that he is STILL managing to live off past glories to the point where people actually believe that 5 minutes per match is sufficient to justify his wages, let alone his place in the team. He is a passenger and we don’t have enough seats to carry him any longer. No work rate, few special moments, seemingly uninterested most of the time. Would Freddie or Bobby have been nervous about their places with him around? I very much doubt it. Waste of space, wages and time. Has to go, but where? Who would want him?!
Kos – I like what you said about him but only insofar as it is obvious to me that, had he gone to United, he would probably be a better player by now (a la Smalling) and, putting it bluntly, he is no more than a decent second choice. Campbell, Adams, Bould, Keown, Vermaelan – Could he compete with any of those? Put it another way…If Djourou could stay fit for more than 5 minutes at a time and Vermaelan was fit at all, would Kos get a game? Probably not, so that surely makes him, at best, 3rd choice. How can I include our 3rd choice centreback in our “automatic 1st choice XI”?
Djourou – See above! Not been in the team anywhere near enough to develop into the player that he promised, maybe even still promises, to be. I am not saying that he cannot get there, but we are suffering from years of waiting for players to “get there” and we will continue to suffer for as long as our 2nd choice centreback is constantly going without a run of games to find the kind of rhythm and understanding that is required at this level.
In short, the players that you name are not BAD players per se (although Arshavin is doing his level best to convince me), they are just not able to command a place in a 1st choice XI with any real conviction or desire to actually WIN things (in some cases, as yet, in some cases not ever.)
Like I said, this is only my opinion, but I get the feeling that the reaction at The Emirates on Saturday demonstrated that my opinion is not without support amongst the Gooner faithful.
Winston, it didn’t come across as childish bitch-figthing at all. We have slightly different opinions, that’s all. Have a pint on my tab!
Since we froze at Old Trafford that depressing night in December, we are actually undefeated in the league. I had to check twice but it’s right. P 13. W 7. D 6. L 0. Just maybe there is some (I hate this word) hope. The whole thing may well rest on Manure beating Chelsea in the CL. The semi-finals are the week before, and the week after we play them at home.
OMG, I’ve gone from pessimism to optimism, or, as it’s David Bowie day, gone from sinking in the quicksands of my thoughts, to falling wanking to the floor.
Speaking of Bowie…..
“Five years….that’s all we’ve got”
Thanks Lars…
Drinking it now 🙂
Owe you one when we win the league after all!!!!!
BtM, loved your post!
True Storey if you’re about, good to meet you!
In other news, I made it onto French TV today 😉
I remember queueing up 9 hours for a Ziggy ticket, £1.20, worth every minute and every penny. I actually got to the front and shook Mick Ronson’s hand (RIP).
Apparently Blackburn brought 14 rested players who never went away on international duty to the grove. On the other hand we only got everyone back (from injury and international duty) together for the first time in two weeks on Friday morning.
I’m sure about what Utd’s stats were as I don’t care much, but I’m sure someone will tell me anyway!
Prove me wrong next week Gunners. I’m sure you will. It’s never too late. Let’s beat the horse Manure and win our game in hand and with a little lady luck, who knows…
…still 8 more games to go! Bring on the Seasiders
🙂
I’ll have a Lemon and Lime Volic and some bikkies please
Guess we were right on the clean sheet though Holic! Lol! As they say if you don’t laugh you’ll cry! 😉
The fixture list could prove decisive. As it stands, Manure have two more games to play than us. If they beat Chelsea and City in the CL and FA, they have 5 more games. Those 5 games could be the difference, injuries, tiredness, swearing at the camera, God intervention, hatred of red-nosed bastards, maybe 5/1 is looking a good bet.
I think I’ve got a spare quid lying around somewhere
It’s amazing that I didn’t even feel disappointed yesterday, it’s sort of like I expected a lackluster performance and got one. One thing though, this season has been a rollercoaster and there WILL be some suprises going forward. To think Manure is just going to have any easy run-in is just not the case, they will drop points and allow us one more chance to win the whole thing. They haven’t been worldbeaters and while we haven’t been either, I think we’ll have one more crack at this.
If we can’t surpass them, I truly hope we are rested and healthy the rest of the way so there are no excuses as to why we couldn’t finish first. If our best is not good enough, let’s get it on the table, learn from it and become stronger in the off-season. This may require us to not rely on certain oft-injured players. I love Cesc but our reliance on him coupled with his injuries has left us short on many occasions.
Speaking of injuries, it is quite annoying but no team has been able to field a fit team for every game. We are a big club and should be able to field a strong second team to fill-in when needed. Manure’s squad players are the glue to their team, they don’t aspire to play elsewhere and fill-in nicely when needed even though they aren’t the most talented bunch….maybe this has to do with coaching and tactics by the manager. I won’t even get into this subject! Chins-up Gooners!
Some well thought out posts from the many sides of Goonerdom there people. Thank you so much for producing far more quality than the blogger. I was in a dark place after yesterday. You have demonstrated we can disagree civilly, rather than punch the lights out of each other.
Very disappointing game yesterday. Blackburn were brutal as usual and the referee let them get away with murder. The boys didn’t back off though and the result wasn’t due to lack of commitment or bottle.
The usual wisdom is that all of our problems are at the back but oh for a clinical goal hungry striker who gets into the box in front of goal to feed on the scraps. When is the last time we had someone like that, Wrighty?
When Cesc came on he played at 75% but what a difference just because of the quality of his passing, in front of the man running and usually forward not sideways or backwards. Nasri is NOT a good replacement in that position and is wasted there.
Theo started well, gave us width but then started to drift inside and became anonymous. Arshavin looked dangerous and committed and his substitution was a mystery. Song got injured and was plainly struggling.
As far as Wenger goes, I’m reluctantly concluding that he is running on empty and does not have any idea how to take the club forward.
Compare and contrast; we buy a promising Mexican kid and spend several years discovering he won’t make it (Vela). Man U buy a Mexican youngster who is a bit older for realtive chump change (Hernandez £7M) and he hits the ground running in the Prem, explosively fast and a deadly finisher, just what we deperately need.
Wenger won’t learn from this and modify his approach and for this reason its probably time for adieu..
Evening All,
I’M just sick and tired or feeling sick and tired…
that should read sick and tired OF feeling sick and tired…
Ollie @ # 46,
Great to meet both you and ‘Holic yesterday, a real pleasure. Glad to hear about your new found fame, send us the the link and we can all admire…
BtM @ #32,
Enjoyed that, your eloquent belligerence was a real shot in the arm. I’ll save the navel contemplation and the dissecton for if/when the league becomes a mathematical impossibility. We may just pull the rabbit out of the hat and win this thing yet. In the meantime, the team gets my full support even if the winds of change blow briskly through The Ems this summer.
There are some monumental posts up there. Take a bow ‘Holics, your support and passion are a real credit to the club.
BTM @32
Another brilliant,evocative call to arms,
Citing problems at other big clubs as an excuse for ours.
You truly have perfected the art of turning a pile of steaming crap into shiny polished diamonds.
I agree totally that AW is not responsible for Jack/VP/Cham missing virtually open goals.
What concerns me more is that as the manager and chief motivator of the team,he has to take full responsibility for the lack of any sort of motivation/determination/inspiration on the pitch.
With absolutely nothing else to play for except a golden opportunity to win the Title,playing against the worst away side in the league we don’t turn up.
In fact Blackburn put us to shame with their commitment to the cause and in the end you couldn’t say they didn’t deserve a point just for effort alone.
Somewhere,someone has to be held accountable.
What possible reason could there be for not ‘ Turning Up ‘ against a bunch of plodders that we would normally finish off as a snack before breakfast.
The one thing you want after an International break this late in the season is a home game against inferior low on confidence Opposition.
Which is exactly what we had,yet we couldn’t raise even the semblance of a gallop.
The question i ask is,why did Jack/VP and Cham fail to convert simple chances,why did the same thing happen against Sunderland,why does a simple ball control execution by Bendtner to propel us into the CL qtr finals,end up in total embarrassment.
What is this a symptom of.??
The law of averages would say you would have to convert at least 1 of the many chances we failed to convert against Sunderland/Blackburn alone,yet we contrive to miss the lot.
This is allowing for good goalkeeping/defending.
The malaise at our great club has been there for all to see since the odium of the Cesc for Barcelona saga in pre season,through the home defeats to West brom/newcastle/spuds,the meltdown at Newcastle and the comedy routine at Brom a couple of weeks ago.
Do we have a culture at the Club that has set in over the past few seasons,that it is acceptable to finish in the top 4,and have a good run in the CL/CC/FA cups without actually winning any of them.
Distinctly average players signing long term contracts,which produces a comfort Zone for players and takes away the ‘ cutting edge ‘ of perform,or face the consequences.
Something has to change at the acceptance of ‘ Glory in Failure ‘ approach,where we apparently punch above our weight for 3 parts of the season and then fade gently into the sunset when the business end of the season arrives.
3 points out of the last 9,against teams that we should be beating comfortably,simply baffles me,particularly when we are in the best position we have been in for many seasons to win the league.
The players do NOT look like a squad ready to die for/run through brick walls for each other.
I repeat,who takes responsibility,who is held accountable.???
… and the darker side of my nature also totally agrees with Clive. That’s the curse of being a Capricorn 😉
Fancy a cuppa before bedtime Mr. W?
“Distinctly average players signing long term contracts,which produces a comfort Zone for players and takes away the ‘ cutting edge ‘ of perform, or face the consequences.”
Clive, you hit the nail smack bang on the head. I have said it for ages and could not agree more. Motivation is a key matter. You ask who is responsible? Well AW ultimately, but I would strongly argue that he does not accept sole responsibility. I hate to harp on about leaders again but this just emphasises my point. In the days of Adams, Keown, Vieira, Petit, Bergkamp, Henry etc these players would not be allowed to get away with it. I am sure we all remember Ade putting the nut on Nicky B at the shit hole when he felt he had not bothered to turn up? I just don’t see anyone out there doing the kick up the arse bit anymore. Comfort zone sums it up perfectly. Why should someone who spends 75% of his time on the bench and still picks up 50k a week actually give a shit?????
BTM. Normally love your posts and have enjoyed the banter, but this time I think you are way off the mark. Clearly not a popular opinion by the above but an opinion all the same. To talk about Madrid losing at home amongst other things mystifies me. What has that got to do with us drawing the last 3 games? I do not care one bit if Madrid win 20 nil or lose 20 nil. I care about us making every effort to throw away the title. I admire your call to arms but think like many of us that you are also struggling to defend the indefensible.
Winston. Agree with almost everything you have penned. Lots of other good posts as well.
I so want Arsenal to turn it around and prove me wrong but even for a total optimist like me I have to say that I just do not see it. As I said earlier I was really not shocked with the performance or the result. What did shock me was the reaction of those I sit with. For the first time I actually heard calls for Wenger to go. Now I for one do not want that, but with results like yesterday becoming all too common it does become harder to defend.
So where has it gone so wrong? Well I guess that debate is for another day. We do have to get behind the side and we do have to support whatever we put out on the pitch. But I like many am really bored with the excuses. I echo Clive and ask who actually is accountable? We were told at the end of the 2008/09 season during a feisty shareholders meeting that the club should be judged at the end of the coming season. At the end of the 09/10 season my understanding is that questions were not able to be put due to a lack of a meeting. However yet again we are told to judge at the end of this season. We are constantly being told that this is AW’s best squad ever. BTM, you are spot on when you detail simple misses on the pitch by certain individuals. But many are waiting to sit in judgement. It would also appear that many have already made up their own minds.
Accountability?????? Perhaps the meaning just needs to be explained to those that are fortunate enough to be able to pull on the famous red and white shirt.
Around 15 seconds, TS…
http://videos.tf1.fr/telefoot/foot-etranger-un-samedi-en-europe-6345237.html
TS
Had my night time Cocoa thnks.
By the By Edgware Boy,i spent my teenage years living at a little place called Whitefield,which was a hop step and a jump from Brent Cross.4 stops down the line from you.
Catch the train all the way to Kings Cross,then the Piccadilly line to Arsenal.
I did that journey hundreds of times,there and back.
Not many Arse supporters on the train in till we got to Camden Town,then it would gradually fill up with Gooners till KC,then packed to the gunwhales to Arsenal.
Same on the way back,after Chalk Farm/Hampstead,you were more likely to meet Spurs fans particularly at Golders Green.
None of my mates followed Arsenal so many’s the time i travelled in alone to meet up with my Dad near the ground.
Being an open air station,Brent Cross was ripe for us bored/mad teenagers to play the ‘ Blink of an Eye’ dare game,whereby after dark we would climb down to the train tracks and wait as long as possible as the train approached,before darting across in front of the train and giving the driver a heart attack.
Now i look back on it,it was a wonder none of us got seriously injured or killed.
But when you are young you think you are immortal.
We did all get arrested after the Transport police mounted a covert operation one night,and that was the end of that,but is was exhilarating while it lasted.
Those were the days.
Steve T @ 59.
The only player in recent times who wouldn’t accept the average performances from certain players,and upset the applecart once too often,is now doing sterling work down the road.!!
Clive. Very sadly you are spot in again. The only one I really see doing anything similar in this side is 19 and in his first full season. May just be a little early for him to say too much at this stage.
Heh Clive!
Thanks for sharing those great stories. The comment about G.Green made me laugh the most 😉
By sheer coincidence, I had reason (not a pleasant one) to visit my old stamping ground today and took a trip down memory lane with Mrs.Storey and the littl’un whilst I was there. Things have changed, but not that much.
I spent a fair bit of time around Brent-X and Hendon when I was in my teens but never made it to far-flung, exotic places like Whitefield. One day, I hope to make it there.
As you say, those were the days when a trip to Highbury, often to watch an average pile of poo not too far removed from what Blackburn served up yesterday, never generated the angst or tension that seems to surround just about every match these days.
‘Holic,
Thanks. A certain red-haired supporter also sent me the link a little earlier.
Roll on next Saturday 🙂
Clive – great post, critical but thoughtful and unfortunately just about spot on.
BtM – I normally enjoy your posts very much. This time, however, you’ve lost me.
I don’t see that reporting on a subdued, pessimistic atmosphere at a match where we should be buzzing with anticipation, constitutes “wallowing in self pity”.
What disappointed people as much as anything was, especially in our situation, a lack of real spark and urgency – at least, as usual with the exceptions of Chelsea and Barca, until the last frantic 10 minutes.
Yes, I was there, as usual.
No, I did not, and never have, either turned up even 1 minute late, or departed even 1 single minute early.
The fact that I am offended by, and prepared to criticise lack of 100% effort and repeated totally unnecessary mistakes, does not make me any less of a supporter than your good self.
I am positive and vociferous behind the team at every match.
I dearly, dearly want this team to succeed. That is why it hurts so much every time they waste another opportunity.
In case you think it is only the errant among us who are perplexed, Mr Wenger himself said yesterday that the “performance was very concerning”.
If I was not the target of some of your comments, I apologise. That is the problem with throwing criticism around though, as you are very ready to point out.
Generally, by the way, your posts remain excellent and enjoyable.
Weekend not too great here either …
And we didn’t even get to have the five against fives!
Great contributions by everybody, I just don’t have the wherewithal to say much other than very disappointed.
Can’t agree with you more ‘those words not as blind criticism but as an obvious assessment of where we are’…
I think the main challenges for Arsenal squads, it needs a leader who have the leadership capabilities and preferably someone who have experience of winning record!
Since Viera and Henry left, no one has got the ‘Umm’ To really bring the young gunners forward!
Sad but truth!
Forever Arsenal Fans–
A totally damp squib from team and home “support” alike. Watching live from abroad it seemed I had turned on for a hastily and poorly planned testimonial! Absolutely no fire in the belly or awareness that the title was in our hands.
To those wondering why Arsene cannot see our glaring tactical and personnel weaknesses, I think he summed it up when he described himself as a futurist. Always looking forward to a rosy future while the present is sacrificed. Yes several players are not worthy of the shirt but I’ll bet they are still on the (bloated) payroll in Sept.
This weekend showed the gulf in attitude between us and the scum in inglorious technicolour!
Clive@62: actually, the player you are talking about has been injured for all season save for the first three games. And sterling work down the road? Nah, in my opinion (apart from a few games) he’s actually been quite crap. Still, I do agree that we lack somewhat in the “crazy motherfucker” department.
Still, the neigbours are quite an interesting example, they have received almost nothing but plaudits from everywhere for the past two seasons, the media have been falling over themselves in praising the defensive solidity and attacking prowess while we have been said to have no defense and shit attackers – and yet they are nine points behind us, they have conceded more goals and scored a bucketload fewer than us. Yes, they made it further than us in the CL but unless they (Dennis forbid) win the whole thing that won’t matter one bit. And what I mean by this is that we need to see that we actually do some things better than we might think we do, the trick is to identify the few bad bits and correct them without destroying the good bits.
SteveT@59: “But I like many am really bored with the excuses.”
This boredom bit is actually, I think, perhaps the main source of the massive discontent that is starting to emerge. The whole basis of sports is to not know the outcome beforehand, but when every season ends the same way it gets boring because you know what is going to happen before it has happened. Paradoxical as it may sound, it would probably have been better for Wenger if we would have failed to qualify for the CL one or two of the past five-six seasons, because then the seasons wouldn’t have been such carbon copies of each other.
Today’s Arseblog also makes for very good reading. What I think Arsene needs to do is perhaps to make some kind of change to shake things up a bit, even if it is just for show. Sell, for example, Denilson and Diaby and buy someone like Scott Parker (who, while still not the player to push us over the line, is a better and more consistent player than either of those two) or some other player that people know about and not some unknown player from Nooneeverheardof FC. Well, unless of course that player is extremely good, but you get my drift.
Winston, that pint will be very, very tasty 😉
Slightly unfair to assume that players would be firing on all cylinders after the interlull. Many of them played internationals and those returning from injury could not be expected to be at 100% capacity. That’s not to say that the performance should not be criticized. The predictability of Arsenal is worrying to say the least and Arsene’s seeming inability to make the correct tactical changes during the match call into question his judgement. Perhaps it’s time for the club to inject a fresh perspective by appointing someone new to assist Arsene – Stojkovic or Bergkamp maybe?. This is not however the time for such idle speculation. I suggest all supporters put aside their recriminations until the end of the season and get solidly behind Arsene and the team.
Lars @72
You really need to check your facts my friend,unless we are talking about 2 diff players.
Billy G has played in 21 league games and 6 CL games this season,and was the driving force behind the Spuds getting past AC Milan to reach the qtr finals.
He has regularly captained the side,and several Spurs fans of my aqquaintance,regularly tell me how well he is playing and how much his winning attitiude rubs off on the other players.
He is playing so well,he has just signed a 2 year extension to his contract.
He should still be at Arsenal,but because he wouldn’t accept the lack of effort/refuse to lose ethic that he himself embodied,and upset a few ‘ Precious ‘ individuals,he was shown the door.
More’s the pity.
Imagine him and TV at the back,what a diff that would have made.
Chippy @ 8 = I agree mate!
My comment in the last post about 2nd best team, was just a simplification of the league table! If you are asking if I think they are 2nd best NOW – then the answer is obvious. Certainly not excusing the performance, just trying to take a tired look at the big picture of the season.
But Arseblogger has said it all better than I ever could today…. so “what blogger says!”.
A herbal appetiser?
Lars @ #72,
Really enjoyed reading your post.
I think the jury’s out on Billy G but I’m blinded by my bias towards him in a negative way because of some of his behaviour whilst he was captain and the fact that he dared to join that lot last summer.
Clive may well be right. It’ll take a while for the real truth to come out but personally I don’t miss him and we had TV & BG at the heart of our defence last year for big periods of the season and things still went pear shaped.
‘Dennis forbid’ made me snigger. The Spuds bias in the media makes me feel ill at times. We are, however, a strange lot when it comes to criticising our own team. I chatted with a Chavs supporter this morning, he says that there’s hardly ever rumbling and grumbling when he goes to games. Then again, there’s a lot less of them than us 😉
An acquisition like Scott Parker would, IMHO, make a huge difference to our squad.
Allow me to get your next drink…
Loved the Arseblog piece today. Love the reasonable chat above. Then went to Le Grove. There is your problem. Pair of spoiled club level plums whipping up the mentally challenged with their extremist bollocks. And the mentally challenged lap it up and repeat it.
“Wenger out, sell players, buy players, don’t charge me so much for my food in Club level”
Sickening.
Dr. C,
Could do with a herbal lift right now if there’s any left.
Agree that Blogs has really hit the nail on the head this morning. Everything is always up for debate when presented in a reasonable manner. Until the season is over we have to get behind our squad ‘officially’ even if true feelings and ultimately our actions are not represented by doing this.
At least lets go and beat the Mancs and the Spuds to restore some pride and bragging rights. The team will need our support to help them do that.
TS;
one large aperitif heading your way. I mixed it with one of Chippy’s jaegarmeisters…
Well i don’t know about everybody, but am glad I support the Arsenal……at least Van Persie will not tell me to F*** off once he’s scored a goal……instead he’ll be sure to tell the opposition fans how much they suck.
For that simple reason – GO GUNNERS!
Cheers Dr.C (& Chippy), that did the trick. Shake & vac at the ready, if required. 😉
Clive,
Back to “Paint It Black” on the recoed player, I see. No more “Let’s Spend the Night Together” drinking nips then?
Steve,
And there was me thinking you’d be proud that I’d deleted the references to my boy Ade! (I wrote that with a smile – please smile accordingly).
The big man would certainly have netted at the Nou Camp when Bendy fluffed and I for one (and I DO realise I’m the ONLY one) would very happily have Ade and Robin as our two front men for the rest of this season. (Ducks quickly as rotten eggs, tomatoes, old boots and used condoms are thrown in his direction). We had two world class strikers then. We now have one (plus Adebayor light and Bendy).
But…to be serious, when I distill down all of the rhetoric above, I still can’t buy Clive’s notion that we’re dealing with “a pile of steaming crap”.
The genius remedy being promulgated by most is the mind numbing:
1. Fire the manager
2. Fire most/many of the players
3. Buy players who run around fast and furiously
In my references to others, this is an old donkey of a strategy that’s been around the track so many times that the knackers yard won’t even take it because it’s a liability. Real Madrid is the most vivid example of how/why it doesn’t work. But you don’t need to look that far to learn from the error of others’ ways.
One thing is for certain, if the BBB are successful with their desire to oust Arsene, the queue for his services, starting in Spain, moving on through Italy, back up through France and Germany right into our own back yard will be a long and VERY willing one. Good luck to him if he goes. His has been the work og genius. The dark ages will beckon at Arsenal.
Maybe we can persuade King Kenny to come here and bestow his brilliance by spending another 50M on two kippers masquerading as a strike force. We’ll have to wait until January though. He only buys then when prices are at their highest.
Keep smiling and supporting these lads in red as vigorously and passionately as you do. I thought of you immediately, Steve, when I saw two wide men fielded on Saturday. Didn’t work though, and Cliche still can’t cross when Russia’s finest wing man cuts inside to fee him to take stage left.
Someone mentioned the first half at Newcasle as Arsenal at their best this season.
I wasn’t there so, for me, the 3-1 shellacking of Chelsea at Christmas was the game that I enjoyed most. The 5-1 win over Shaktar came close. That night, against Chelsea, the same manager seemed to be able to motivate the same eleven then.
But that night we took every chance that came our way. On Saturday we missed them all. Had Wilshere scored from three yards on Saturday and we’d played EXACTLY the same way, most would be REJOICING on how Arsenal had learned to win ugly, or learned to grind out results in adversity. We’d be up to 250 exuberant “we’re going to win the league” posts by now and ‘Holic would be under the bonnet looking for some more horsepower.
Jack missed from 3 yards, an opportunity that Her Nellieness would have converted with her blindfold on and “Now” as John Lennon said famously “It’s all this…..”
Football teams are not biological machines that you turn on, switch to full power and watch go to work. Arsene looked devastated on the weekend and as bemused as me. He will, no doubt, this very minute, be working with the team to build shattered egos. Meanwhile the BBB are readying their next salvo of “boos” for a great young team who’ve entertained royally this year and for a manager who is, quite frankly, the best in the business.
Booing our players and manager off because they’re ONLY second in the league, are one of only two teams in Europe to play in a Cup Final, didn’t knock Barca out of the CL (influenced heavily by a Swiss/German ref who will be sans testicules if he ever visits Fife) and were knocked out of the Cup at Old Toilets) is an insult to all Gooners who really care for the club. If you’re sitting next to me at the Manure game and you my team – expect some vitriol in fluent Fife.
Clive, we had Gallas and TV at the back last season, how do you feel that season worked out? Care to remind us what the magnificent leader that is William Gallas did to lift the team at Brum in 2008? On second thought, please do not … 🙁
And even with Gallas still in the team, Vermaelen would still have been injured all season.
BtM: very good posts, we do need to keep some perspective or we run the risk of tearing down the house to build a garden shed.
Storey@76: I’ll have a John Smiths, please!
BtM,
Another couple of crackers, both really made me smile.
OK, that’s definitely re-tuned my iPod back towards the better half of the Stones’ back catalogue. Paint it Black has been deselected from my playlist.
I agree, if those who comment (mindlessly) on LG get their way and AW is to be relieved of his duties then the queue for his services would stretch longer than a very long thing.
I was at the 3-1 drubbing of Chelski too. It was one of the best Arsenal performances I have seen over the past 5 years. We were magnificent. It’s only been a few weeks since we beat Farca, most say that the atmos was even better at The Ems that night. It’s incredible how quickly things change.
Like you, I will always love and support my club. I also believe that a couple of key signings in the summer and a gentle sweep of the locker room will make an enormous difference to the team.
Keep posting in fluent Fife and a drink of your choice from the bar.
A glass of your finest soothing and perspective bestowing Fife whiskey please barman.
Lars,
It’s been served and is waiting for you on the garden table where you can keep on anyone attempting to build a new shed.
… where you can keep AN EYE on….
Now is NOT the time to give in. As one sage US sports manager put it so eloquently, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over”. So COYRG !
Having said that, the major change I’d do going forward is to hand the manager’s reins to Dragan Stojkovic. Why him?
– Sometime, the thing you just have to do is make a change because, put simply, the inmates need to hear a different voice. That’s just the way it is, you know? As we’ve said in another blog, it’s not that the Arsenal doesn’t have a Plan B, it’s that the Plan A that makes lots of us admirers of the Arsenal style is becoming a bit stale, and the Premiership as a whole is catching on.
– But you don’t need to go whole hog and throw away a fundamentally sound blueprint, and go to City/Chelsea/Mourinho-like extremes and buy, buy, buy. Stojkovic would maintain the basic Arsenal way, but (hopefully) bring a freshness that’s needed.
– Biggest advantage would be “cultural”. I think one of the things to bring that freshness is a nod to Eastern European hardscrabble tenacity and “match ruthlessness” that you find there (see Nemanja Vidic), which someone like a Serb coach could inject.
I would never want to see AW dispatched completely, and would hope that he remain in an important, non-game management function. But it may be the right time for a change….
Wow, the blogosphere is rife with opinions from opposite sides of the same circle. Does Arsene know best, or should he be led away in handcuffs? I dont know, all I do know is that Arsene knows far more than I ever will, and for what he has done for this club, he deserves to be treated with respect, something which I am glad to say, this bar does regardless of opinion.
I know we gotta focus on Blackpool, and Holloway’s defiant statement that Blackpool will continue to attack bodes well for us, but I cant help thinking about who is playing their last few games for us. I thought Arshavin was one of our best players Saturday and was perplexed that he was taken off. Is that a cryptic clue? But what worries me the most, and hopefully I am reading far too much in to it, but Walvott was quoted Friday as saying he wants to look back on his career and count the number of medals he won. Ulp, er, does Emirates Cup count?
I do not think there is any way Arsene goes at the end of the season, but if the rumours are true about Pat Rice retiring (why is it all we get fed are rumours?) then I would like to see a Stuart Pearce type bought in, someone who is vocal and fires ’em up. Someone who would have gone apoplectic while watching Saturdays abject display.
In Arseblog’s post this morning, he says he doesn’t want to hear Wenger speak, he just wants him to take the action of getting things right. We all know what an excellent “spin” AW puts on things & has done for years. People are now just catching on to it though.
I heard Ian Holloway after their loss yesterday say “We’ve not been in the bottom 3 all season & I’ll make sure it stays that way”. So we play Blackpool next, a team fighting for survival and Arsenal, a team playing for the title supposedly.
Let’s see who has “ze mental strength” next week. If AW cannot get a reaction from his team at Blackpool after Saturday’s game, with a whole 8 days off to prepare and no excuses, then maybe it is time for a re-think. 1 win in the last 7 games & that was v Leyton Orient.
As Sam Tyler (the U.S. version, that is, played by Jason O’Mara, who hides his Irishness with a damn good New York accent) would say, “Why does it always come back to David Bowie?”
Andrey Arshavin and Nicklas Bendtner could sing, “We could be heroes… if just for one day.”
Can you hear me, Major Tom Rosicky? Nope: “Planet Earth is blue, and there’s nothing I can do.”
Denilson, Diaby and Almunia would be saying to me, “Hey, man, aw, leave me alone!”
And, of course, there’s Emmanuel Eboue’s Bowie song: “Let’s Dance.”
UM @ #93
….And as many detractors would have you believe, Le Boss is ‘A-Lad-In Sane’
Just for laughs, of course 🙂
….. or is everything really just Hunky Dory?
or “Changes” or “Always Crashing In The Same Car” or “Oh You Pretty Things” or “Boys Keep Swinging”
Uncle Mike, Major Tom Rosicky indeed does appear to be on the verge of “stepping through the door” but I’ll let you decide what’s on the other side.
Hello holic
Nice to read a balanced view after all the hysteria from some others. The season is not over yet. On a different note I couldn’t access your recent posts because of a problem with talktalk. If anyone else is having the same problems the solution is to change the DNS servers from the default TT ones to the google ones ie 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.
Rooney suspended for two games: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/12950670.stm
Let’s all hope for the best case scenario, a frivolous appeal and a lengthened suspension (as if the FA would ever consider doing such a thing to the English deity Sir Rooney).
“If you stay, we wont be sorry, cause we believe in you” Kooks.
BTM – Top drinks from you – a wee dram from me perhaps ?
And oldgooner what can i get you ? – again spot on . I too had the misfortune to wander over to ” Le Grove ” yesterday , and couldnt believe what i was reading . Having read the blog there i wandered into the comments expecting some sort of reasoned riposte but all i found was monsieur Wenger being compared to Colonel Gaddafi ! When he was then compared to a ” virus ” a few comments later that was enough for me – i wont be going back .
I mean really … who are these people ? Have they ever been to an Arsenal game ?
Fantastic piece from Arseblogger – all the more incisive because of its restraint . He sums it up far better than i ever could.
All i would add is that to be pro Wenger is not to be without a certain recognition that the team has shortcomings and that , in the last year , ( and not in the last 5 years , as many would have you believe ) , we have had greater financial resources than have been used to improve those failings . Similarly , i will listen , though will never agree , with those that suggest Arsene’s time is up , if it comes with some degree of knowledge of how we play and some recognition of what the man has achieved at Arsenal .
That is why i am on this site – both views are given an airing without any resort to vitriolic abuse or ill informed nonsense . ‘Holic has managed to body swerve those that want to play championsip manager with my club , our club , and send us into receivership , those that take every cliche from the over moisturised lips of Robbie Savage and store it for future use , and those who haven’t started school yet . ‘Holic i dont know how you’ve done it , but to you sir , i doff my cap .
Missed chances dont tell the full story against Blackburn or indeed Sunderland , there was a lack of urgency and tempo which was present against Chelsea , Barca and to a certain extent Everton , but BTM is essentially right , the difference between success and failure in top level football is a pretty thin one . How different would our ( semi ) recent history if
-mahoney had headed rather than handled Frank’s header off the line
-Rix had decided to have a little dribble instead of crossing first time to Alan Sunderland
-Charlie Nicholas hadn’t got injured at spurs in 87 and allinson wasn’t on the pitch to score his delightfully spawny goal .
– Denis hadn’t missed that pen at villa park .
– The mad German hadn’t been sent off in Paris
– Nayim had passed instead of trying to waste time
I could go on and on , but i think you get my drift …
Finally , and mercifully i hear you say , for today , I’d like to echo what has been said elsewhere . We are one big family , ( apart from those that post on Le Grove ! ) , from all walks of life , with one thing common to us all , We love The Arsenal . We are not some faction-ridden political party all squabbling over either the moral high ground or the need to be proved right – whatever that actually means . Sure , Saturday was hugely disappointing , all the more so because of the element of Deja Vu , but , hey , we’re the Arsenal , and what a privilege in life that is . Sometimes it is easy to forget that , especially in the wake of crushing disappointment , so here’s just a few reminders ;-
– the kit – what a work of art that is – anyone who sees those crimson shirts and white sleeves knows its an Arsenal shirt . Cant be said of many , Ajax and Barcelona off the top of my head . Certainly not Manure or Liverpool . As for Spurs they cant even make up their minds what colour shorts they should be wearing !
As a wide eyed 5 year old entering Highbury for the first time in September 1970 it was the kit which first made me fall in love with them . Certainly wasn’t the crowd or the noise – i had been treated to Arsenal Reserves vs Norwich Reserves … Peter Marinello , what a player !
– Tottenham Hotspur . There but for the grace of god … … On the morning of that reserve game detailed above i was called into conference by my late father and told that i had a very important decision to make , and that once i’d made it there would be no going back , it was a decision for the rest of my life –
” Today , Takeabowson , you have to pick your football team . You have to pick a local side , and where we live you have a choice of two , Arsenal or Spurs . Completely your choice son , but … … if you want to support spurs you have to go and live next door !”
No real choice then and thank the lord for that – 5 year olds are notoriously stupid .
I have thus spent all my life basking in the superiority of the red three quarters of north london . We are better than them in every conceivable way – better kit , better stadium , better history , way more trophies , better area , better fans ( i do know two intelligent and well informed , balanced spurs fans but they were bloody hard to find ) , better manager , better ethos , better training ground , better pundits and more pertinently , better future . It was ever thus , and will be , long after i’ve fallen off my mortal perch .
-Finally the drama , what other club can boast a “michael thomas ” moment . Even when we f*ck up we generally do it in hugely dramatic circumstances . Last minute penalties in fa cup semis are either scored or missed , cup finals are won or lost in the last minute , we win league titles at old trafford , anfield and the lane , and we do it all with a class and a dignity which is beyond all other clubs . And so , i’ll take all the heartache and the hair pulling heart pumping strain cos i know , just know , the next michael thomas moment is just around the corner .
Onwards and Upwards to Blackpool mes amis
Nice post TABS
I didn’t need a choice, I was taken to my first game by my late father also around 1970 when I was 5 and that was it. It sure is a once in a lifetime decision. Peter Marinello indeed…. 😉
Are you off to the seaside this weekend?
Is this an unorthodox way to recruit Wiese to join Arsenal?:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/arsenal/8427226/Arsenal-goalkeeper-Jens-Lehmann-sues-Werder-Bremen-goalkeeper-Tim-Wiese-over-muppet-slur.html
cheers TS , waiting on a ticket so not sure at mo – dependent on someone pulling out . More likely scenario is an N21 juicer .You ?
nasri,
A spotter’s badge for you, that was hilarious. You would have thought TMG would fight his own battles and quite literally as opposed to engaging with legal types. BTW, which muppet would he be? Animal?
TABS,
Well, I am going to the seaside for a weekend break with the family but that doesn’t really count does it? Anyway, I’m still hosing down my boots from the spilt blood and guts that I was treading in on my way out from The Ems on Saturday. I may get a ticket for the NLD but waiting on someone else.
TS – fair enough – and if you get that ticket for the lane , give ’em a shout for me .
Nasri – top spotting – it will take a great lawyer to convince a court that Jens doesn’t belong on the psychiatrist’s chair – all the prosecution need do is round up several thousand gooners who can all attest to several thousand examples of his … ahem … individuality .
Catalan,
Light me up my old mucker and let’s get smoking 😉 Not to sure a jagerbomb – Northern Light combo goes so well but I’m all up for trying 😉
BTM, I don’t want Wenger to go and think certain comments aimed in his direction are a disgrace to a man that has given us so much but why do you think we’d be in the Dark ages if he did go? We’ve had some fantastic managers and some average at best the one thing they all have in common is that they left at some point and the club still went on and was still succesfull, And now we are probably in the strongest position in our history so not sure I agree with that,
One thing I’ll add to the Frustration debate or Mass 😉 soz couldn’t resist is that the PR department seriously do not help our manager and it’s also time that someone from the board popped their head out the sand and told the Fanbase some truths as we are all big boys and girls in the main and instead of treating us like mushrooms and rankling one and all they may find there’s far more patience than they think, This secret squirrel shit and barmy announcements of for Example there are only 10 players in the world we couldn’t afford and then a few weeks later having that C@@” Silvestre smiling on arse.com must stop.
What a great bunch you all are. BtM, superb. Old, close to deletion, but you have smote some nails firmly on the head, just keep it civil. tabs, what an addition to the drinks you are, cheers.
And of course, TS. Great to meet you on Saturday. Hope I wasn’t slurring too badly 😉
Oh, and Boston, if you do read this, I am a committed Makers Mark fan now. Half a litre last night says it is ‘moreish’ 😉
Thanks all for picking me, and doubtless many others, up off the floor. It was so sad to hear of Gooners scrapping on Saturday. But then we always have, one way or another…
No ‘Holic, you were as coherent as anyone in The Tolli 😉
Did you join the 40 odd at the local curry house that was being organised by your ‘favourite organiser’?
Holic, forgot to say the pleasure was all mine. Blogs seemed like a top bloke too. The Tolli was awash with Arsenal royalty….
Catalan,
Just whacked 50p in the jukebox and requested Junior Murvins Police and Thieves I’m sure your find it a nice accompliment for the herbs and alchole 😉 Id whack the you tube version up but it dosent seem possible from an iPhone !!
‘holic thanks , high praise indeed from someone such as yourself , new to this posting malarkey , will endeavour to live up to early promise and not go off the rails a la raphael meade !
tabs,
N21? Winchmore Hill? ‘Sa bit posh innit? 🙂
yeah TS winchmore hill , but if you visited the pub , posh wouldnt be the the first word on your lips . Live in N14 these days but old habits die hard – landlord is a season ticket holder and he shows every arsenal game regardless of whether its actually on UK tv – entails a bit of grief from my nearest and dearest now im disappearing for every away game in addition to the season ticket , but hey ho – still as barmy about it all now as i was all those years ago when marinello made mugs of those norwich reserves !
A round for all the currently present please, barman.
Enjoyed reading some long posts above, worth the effort! 😉
Couldn’t stop for the ruby, TS, but 56 did apparently 🙂
And we are not royalty at all. Ordinary fellas, every single blogger I’ve met. Nice people.
Consider it done, Chippy…
thanks Ollie dont mind if i do , pint of cool lager to go with the Kiss me Quick hat and bucket and spade in readiness for the weekend please Barman .
Actually met the man from East Lower for the first time on Saturday. Cracking fella. Not surprised though.
Better up my lager order for next week. It’s getting popular in here 😉
Haha love it cheers Barman,Is their any better song to bong to lol
As well as a stocked bar may I suggest a trip to the pharmacist 😉
No ‘erb here Chippy 😉
Hi holics
Could someone please help me with a joke about *purs? It is my wedding on Saturday and would like to take the piss out of my 8purs supporting Uncle who is often the ire of the rest of my Gooner supporting family’s jokes.
Many thanks in advance
I was thinking more along the lines of Grand Master Flash 😉 Pardon the pun!!
Big shooter
google *purs jokes
there’s enough to fill your whole speech, take your pick
Catalan, never did thank you for the prescription a post or two back. I made my best effort to follow it to the last detail, but may have overdosed a little (not too much!)
Chip @ 107 : “Why do you think we’d be in the Dark ages if he did go?”
In the last 5 years Arsenal’s priorities (quite rightly, I think) have been:
1. FUTURE of the club – on a sound, sustainable financial basis
2. Entertaining football that people want to watch and Winning.
I think AW and the board have bought in to that prioritization. I’m sure the board hoped fervently that both could be accomplished simultaneously through Arsene’s guile.
Most Gooners have NOT wanted or not been able to see any merit in that prioritization. “We pay good money and the board is using ‘us fans’ money to get rich” mentality prevails.
Time, some bad luck, worsening of the global economy and, in fairness, some bad calls have meant both 1. and 2. haven’t been achieved – YET. But to write the man off and demand change would fail to recognize the scope of the challenge, ignore the accomplishments of the last five years and by capitulating, completely undo the progress that’s been made.
The Scope of the Challenge:
• Rebuild an aging team completely. Win something in England/EU.
• Do that on a (nearly) zero transfer cost basis.
• Do that when key competitors have unlimited funds (Citeh, Madrid)
• Do that when others go deep in debt to buy silver (Man IOU, Chel)
• Do that when two Spanish clubs rape their league’s TV revenue
• Do that when one Spanish clubs still has to borrow to pay wages
• Do that When Berlusconi owns Milan – ‘nuff said
The Accomplishments:
• Squad rebuilt completely, Clichy now the only Invincible.
• Net spend 0M.
• Capacity crowds at nearly every game, driven by quality play
• NEVER out of CL last 16, semi-finalists.
• FA Cup semis, Carling Cup finalists.
• Record bettered only by two in England, two in Europe.
The Descent on Departure:
Stage 1. (The Search)
• At contract renewal, AW was a wanted man. Everywhere.
• Both Spanish teams, the Italians salivated for his signature.
• Chelski would ditch Ancelotti tomorrow. AW’s integrity precludes.
• There isn’t a better option. Anywhere. We won’t find one
• Guardiola wouldn’t come. If he did, he try to emulate Arsene.
Stage 2. (The Appointment)
• “New Broom” hand picked by the BBB arrives. Hope springs.
• NB likes to shout at players who run fast, furiously.
• NB sweeps the benches clean. Wengers men. Not NB’s. Out.
• The board gives NB 40M. Ask him to reinvest sales proceeds.
• Marquee signing(s) appear. (eg Carrol 30M, Suares 24M, etc)
• Young players like Ramsey don’t. They go to elsewhere.
• NB eliminates all the “young player bollocks” scouting network
Stage 3. (The Decline. It’s Terminal).
• The marquee signings approach doesn’t work (aka Real Madrdid)
• NB doesn’t work (check out Real manager changes)
• Arsene is now managing Inter. He bought our youngsters.
• Inter have just won CL and all Italy domestics
• Crowds at the Emirates now 30,000. All BBB. All bleating.
• We haven’t qualified for CL for the first time in years.
Stage 4. (Fire NB. “He’s lost the players”)
• Try to get another “Arsene Wenger”
• ……and on and on.
You think it won’t happen? It will. Just look at Real Madrid. Only difference, the BPL isn’t sufficiently corrupt to let Arsenal do what Real does financially. So, the hole just gets deeper and blacker. Spurs rule North London Ya Bas! Courtesy of the BBB.
The BBB, like leopards change their spots. “This would never have happened in Wenger’s day. We had Fabregas and Song then. None of these bollocky prima-donnas”, carefully forgetting their part in the plot.
I’m a realist. Arsene can’t and won’t go on forever. My choice? Another two seasons to finish his contract. Appoint a designate in the last season to work with/succeed him. Appoint him to the board in perpetuity for an unmatched contribution to the long term well-being and development of Arsenal FC. Give him a gold watch inscribed “AW truely know best”
But hey, what do I know? I’m the guy who would have kept Ade playing alongside Robin. And that’s all I’ve got to say on the matter except, “If you sit next to me and Boo my boys, expect some Fife vitriol – at the very least”.
If you’re still bleating, should I really care? You’re probably one of the morons who sat with me in Barcelona and justified the existence of the strawberrry net by throwing crap over it. Coins, full bottles, shirts, the lot. Or started the “Pull it down” chant as you ripped the strawberry net off the Nou Camp and had a squad of Spanish Darth Vaders heading our way. Very clever that. Just like firing Arsene would be. But hey, what do I know?
Spanish Darth Vaders with fecking big sticks. If the gates hadn’t opened just then, we’d have been in the news. Big time. With big gashes and lots of blood. Didn’t feel very proud then. Don’t feel proud now. A “family” of Gooners? I don’t think so.
On a brighter note, Emmanuel Frimpong is pencilled in for the Reseves vs Sunderland.
For those who saw him make Gatuso the Snarling Dog look like Pierre the Poodle in the Emirates Cup game against AC Milan in August, you’ll realise that he would certainly have had a few starts in Song’s absences this season but for doing his cruciate. Welcome back. Get fit. See you back next season.
BTM @82 & 125.
Very impressive verbiage my friend,although i am a tad disappointed that yet again you lump my comments at 57, into PIB depression mode.
Being a life long supporter of the Arse,’I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe ‘
I’ve seen Duncan Edwards in his prime, grace the hallowed turf at Highbury,
I’ve seen George Best dance the Light Fantastic across more football fields than you can count.
I’ve watched great Goalkeepers,Jack Kelsey,Lev Yashin,Bert Trautmann,Gordon Banks,to name a few.
I’ve watched George Eastham,Danny Blanchflower,Dave Mackay,Bobby Charlton,Joe Baker,David Herd,Big Al Skirton + more names than i can mention here,do battle over the years at the best stadium in London.
All these things,now just memories,lost in the mists of time.
But great memories all the same.
My point is,that considering what was at stake,the Holy Grail of every footballer worth his salt, that if they were all looking down from on high last Saturday,they would to a man be as baffled and disappointed in the uninspiring,lethargic perfomance of the Arse as everyone else.
It was simply unacceptable BTM,you know that as well as i do,and no matter how much you muddy the waters with statistics/5 year plans,they’re only human etc etc,there has to be some accountability.
It’s not just one match,this was the culmination of many other such efforts this season,which i have already pointed out at 57.
If AW cannot motivate the team to go out and box a plodding Blackburn sides ears,with the Premier league Title in our grasp,then the question is,why.??
Cheers
Clive
Howdy Holics.
Early evening on the far,far side of the pond.
Tender, please make mine a two-fer. Make that a three finger two-fer.
Man it’s bleak and if this isn’t a free fall then it is something very much like one. But I signed on to the Arsenal for keeps and that means free falls too. I love this team. Ive loved all our teams, But if for some reason this team were to be no more I’ll be goddamned and dipped in shit before I love another one. “Till then though….
Come on you Gunners!!!
Clive, was that a Blade Runner reference? If so, good on ya, that is my all-time favourite movie.
And maybe we could do with a few replicants in the team, I mean when Cesc gets injured we just put on a clone of him and get on with it 🙂
Morning all,
Mmm…. very sad to see some deeper divisions in our Arsenal family than perhaps I’d imagined. I’ll take off my rose tinteds for a while and go and smell some coffee.
The debate elsewhere (LG especially) is appalling, end of. As the saying goes ‘be careful what you wish for’.
The debate here is, as always, measured, thoughtful and intelligent.
Unfortunately, the work of great men/women is often overlooked until they move on or pass on, especially when things aren’t going their way. Could the same thing happen with Le Boss and Arsenal?
Paint It Black is back on my playlists for now.
Trying to keep off the blogs @ the moment as I’m not sure I’d be very supportive to MR W & his team of underachievers, however as BTM states best news for months “Emmanuel Frimpong” looks set for a run out tonight, go on my son show this overpaid first 11 how to win games please………
Lars @130
Correct my friend, My fav Futuristic movie,
Sitting in my all time top 5,
Along with a magnificent Western, The Wild Bunch,a Paen to the end of an era.
“All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Time…
to die.”
Bloody hell, it’s been too long since I last watched it.
Chippy…. nice Tune!!
Got me in a Friday mood already!
Some great posts (from all points of view) too… much to ponder.
TABS – Rafael Meade – Heh!
Drinks all around please!
Top choooon that. Reminds me of Gordan Mac in the original days of Kiss.
Oh, and sir. You are very welcome.
Why do i get the feeling AW has lost it… seemed abs lost at the post match interview.
Hooray to Frimpong
Clive,
It’s because of holics like you and others here that I spend my Gooner time at Goonerholic and nowhere else. Holic’s contributors have mostly done good time on the Highbury terraces or the Emirates seats. That enables a point of view that has some validity and isn’t based on what they just read on the Daily Wail’s sport page or tripped over while weeding their garden.
That you, Holic and others have the depth, experience and continuing passion for this great club, frankly, gives me hope to counter some of the abysmal nonsense I see and I read.
Believe me – I am every bit as distraught as you over points “thrown away” against Sunderland (twice), Newcastle (twice), Spurs (2nd half), West Brom (twice) and Blackburn. The team is MUCH better than these results indicate. No question in my mind of that.
So then to your point on accountability. In my book it’s down to everyone, not one man who’s worked near miracles over more than a decade to carry the load of accountability. There needs to be a collective share of can-carrying.
The entire TEAM needs to look hard in the mirror and ask “Why?”. Why – when provided with huge financial reward, the best playing surface, a passionate capacity crowd and the huge opportunity provide by the quality of the other 10 they have the privilege of playing with – Why can’t they produce consistently? Where is the self-belief? I DO NOT subscribe to the “lack of effort theory”.
The BOARD and MANAGER have set the priorities I outlined @ 125. With the benefit of hindsight (always a wonderful thing) the investment in the team has been unnecessarily frugal. I would have made Given and Cahill priority buys. (But I didn’t know that Vermaelen was going to be out for the season and in September, I would have said we don’t need Cahill).
The FANS need to decide what their role is in supporting the team toward the silver they claim to crave. Right now, many young players confidence at Arsenal has been diminished by being booed both ONTO and then OFF the field (no names etc). Frankly, to claim to be a supporter and then “Boooooo” your team is for me “the pits”.
Having said all of that, we’re NOT out of it yet although you’d think from what we read/hear that a footballing Tsunami has just broken over the clock end.
Clive, may you enjoy another 57 years of Arsenal and, respectfully, may I hope on your behalf that Arsene remains at the helm for the next decade.
In the words of Joni Mitchell (a big fan of The Clash, I understand):
“They took all the trees and put ’em in a tree museum,
Then they charged all the people twenty five bucks just to see ’em
Don’t it always seem to go
That YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’VE GOT TILL IT’S GONE?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot”
Let’s be sure that it’s the BBB that the Big Yellow Taxi takes away and NOT Arsene. Please!
Hey Catalan , TS , and afternoon all ,
Drinks all round from me to keep the creative juices flowing .
Mr Meade indeed , two goals at the lane on a particularly crisp boxing day morning ensured his footnote in the gooner kingdom love-in , before his spectacular descent into anonymity – i wonder where he be now ? – somehow i doubt he is glad handing the club level members round the posh seats .
TS – How about a bit of Love Will Tear Us Apart from Joy Division to really get those depressive urges to kick in ?
BTM and Clive , top posts the pair of you . Isnt the truth surely that you are both right ?
BTM – An epic dissection of Arsene’s achievements in the last 5 years , to which my only quibble would be that a marquee signing , and by that i dont mean an unproven uraguayan and a pony-tailed fighting machine for ridiculous amounts of money , but a proven top class International centre-half , with the wherewithal to organise , cajole , and head the ball to the halfway line – cost 15 to 18 mill – would have immeasurably improved us , and wouldn’t have jeopardised the future of the club .
I’m no talent spotter but lets play championship manager – what about Subotic ? – never seen him play , but the mere mention of his name would transfer me back to a time when i would have been happy to have put my ” flick to kick ” skills up against anyone .
My choice for the future – Arsene for the next twenty years with a new tub thumping chest beating progressive No.2 . When the strain of having to defend the quadruple for an unprecedented 9th successive year begins to tell – arsene is shuffled off to his alsatian vineyard – and that greying and pot bellied stalwart of the club , TH14 , can continue his unprecedented rise through club level parking attendant , kit man and loyal No.2 , to the hot seat , whereupon a further couple of decades of glory will ensue .
That takes me into my mid eighties and i suspect that by that time , my carers will have stopped wheeling me off to the Ems or my juicer of choice for away games ;-
” Just give the old boy another large scotch and tell him they won 5-0 .”
That’ll do for me .
Right , off to concentrate on far less important matters whilst the lady-in-residence polishes her marraccas and prepares for an evening of spanish victory .
adios amigos
BTM apologies , hadn’t seen your post at 139 before i posted.
I like the sound of the lady of the house polishing marracsas, TaBS. Coincidentally, I was just saying to Her Nellieness last night that mine could do with a good polish too.
As a reminder our last marquee signing anyone?
Unless I’m very much mistaken DB10…
WOW all those years ago now, just shows you how long we have been playing 2nd fiddle to all the other big teams in the Prem!!!
TABS,
Ah Joy Division…. I’ve moved on from PIB now and instead, have set my browser to forbid me to read LG’s comments section.
Life already seems a little better 🙂
Were you one of those guys that used to file his fingernails into pointy shapes to aid the old flick-to-kick action? I couldn’t bring myself to do it even for the regular tournaments with school mates that often got quite heated I seem to recall.
Hasta manyana
BtM,
BBB? B’stard Boo Boys? Would you care to clarify as i didn’t get that memo.
Cheers.
TS – LOL , Can’t say i possessed the necessary dedication to indulge in that particular shady practice !
If memory serves me correctly my particular gripes were with the pushers , and those that flooded my area with their own men before firing it in at rapid speed only for the ball to take a million and one ricochets before nestling in the corner of my net , and then having the temerity to claim a legitimate goal – an early precursor of Fat Sam’s teams perhaps ?
And yes those schoolmate competitions got very feisty
Just a thought…I’ve heard it said on many blogs and in the press that if this team were to win the league it would be Wenger’s greatest accomplishment (although I’m not sure I agree). Conversely if this team comes a close second it doesn’t make this his biggest failure. You can’t have it both ways.
Storey, BBB = Boo and Bleat Brigade.
Welcome back ‘holics. Sorry about that. Atmospherics in DC or something, but all well now.
oh what fun __ __ __ ___ _________ lose ____
Kim Lewis wrote a book called ‘Goodnight Harry’. 3 – 0 oh my, oh my…
SInce this site is back on, I’ll buy a round to celebrate the currently enjoyable football results tonight.
Hee hee
Get a whole bottle for BtM 😉
🙂 The Spuds are taking a pasting right now 🙂 Where’s Cus when you need him?
🙂 🙂
No matter how down we as Arsenal fans get the Heebs never fail to put a smile on my face – Thats them done for another 10 years 😉 Please get a 5th
Can’t complain at all about the results in tonight’s CL games.
Pints all round!
Back to another decade of irrelevance. Such a shame, such a nice bunch of lads.
Seems I am not allowed on cusop’s site anymore. Bit unfair given I let him have free access here when we are narrowly beaten by the best club in Spain 😉
Real Madrid had 35 attempts at goal.
The Cockeril well and truely got stuffed 🙂 And paxo wasn’t even playing!!
Cusop that’s bad form, Im not sure how dumb Spurs fans are after all these years you’d have thought they’d have realised we always have the last laugh and normally it’s at their expense,
Wilkins what a twat.
I can’t even say it felt wrong rooting for a Mourinho-managed team.
😀
Thank you Tottenham, the Wile E Coyote of the football world…
Barman , i think a bottle of your finest krug is in order .
The stars have realigned , and normality is restored – maybe that Premiership is still within our grasp after all …
One step at a time, TaBS 😉
Sorry about the lack of a post tonight, but couldn’t even get under the bonnet until nearly nine, by which time I was laughing too much to type anything…
Tomorrow night, I promise.
Hey ‘Hols,
Say it ain’t so, Geronimo. I can’t believe the “mighty” Cusop blocked you from his site. Praytell what is the address? I will deliver our well wishes from the bar 😉
Ahh, the sweet nectar of Schadenfreude…
Just home.
Great to see the big man back in action tonight, ‘Holics. Wasn’t it?
Great to see him make Big Willy Gallas look like Little Tiddly Pom. A wee bit of pay back from the dressing room propaganda spread by so many that the athlete, not the clogger, was the problem. And that while Sammi wouldn’t even speak to Silly Billy.
His third header, the one that hit the bar was a peach and would have made a beautiful headed hat trick. The only one of the CL so far. But he’s unique, isn’t he? Can’t expect lesser mortals to emulate uniqueness.
I can’t make up my mind whether I liked the sheer power of the first. A blast from 15 yards that nuked its way through two players before crossing the line, or the second. His ability to hang in the air then glide the perfect ball wherever he wants is a sensation to behold, and so probably the second just nudges it. He certainly deserved the 80,000 strong ovation.
We had two world class strikers once upon a time. I used to love the way the big man used to lay high balls of for Robin. The majority of Van Persie’s goals in 2008-9 came via the big guy’s head. These were the days and I’d trade strikers two and three tomorrow for 8 more games of the train arriving at Platform 25 – the Togolese Express.
Pardon my self indulgence, Holics. Largely tongue in cheek. But just for another shot in the arm, I’m off to watch the best part of my Arsenal Greatest Ever Goals DVD. I just can’t get past the A’s though. That man with the number 25 on his back scored some wonderful stuff for us.
A little Toto Togo rum for everyone in the bar please, barman.
BTM @ 167
I still feel it was a great shame that Ade like so many others before him,had his head turned and his wallet smitten by the Sirens call from on high.
Like so many others before him,Overmars,Petit,Flamini,Hleb et al,
They all learnt a painful lesson,that when the Blackbird comes calling because he sees some new shiny things he just has to have,it very very rarely translates into happiness and joy.
You have mentiioned it yourself before,that you don’t know what you’ve lost till it’s gone,and the grass is very very rarely greener on the other side.
I do believe quite strongly that if Ade and his advisors hadn’t had their heads turned by the Red and Black monster,that we would have gone very very close to winning at least 2 more Premierships.
PS,thnks for your kind words at 139.
It is a pleasure to correspond with you on all things Arsenal.
Clive @128, BtM @139,
two top posts fellas.
Clive, i cannot disagree with a single word of that, and to use football’s current favourite word, “respect” to BtM – good to hear your true, from the heart feelings on the situation, instead of more lavish praise for Denilson, the Samba Rhythm King etc . . .
I appreciate you are only trying to keep spirits raised at times, but, at times one has simply had enough of seeing lethargy rob us of another chance of victory.
That piece of honesty BtM, was enjoyable, and not destructive, to read. It is the kind of honesty that would stand AW in good stead occasionally, and the kind of honesty that would help the manager, were it to come from the Board, instead of their hanging him out to dry with their constant pitch of “money has never been an issue”.
I have said before that AW’s contortions on the touchline do not suggest to me, a man who has lost his ambition or will to win.
He has really performed the impossible at this club.
The football we have seen has, at times, been unbelievable.
It is only a shame that we must wait another year for the steel to be added to the talent, so that we can try again to win this title.
Steel that, in all honesty, we all knew was lacking last summer.
And so to bed, to sleep soundly in the knowledge that the LWC’s brief meeting with the Champions League is well and truly over. That was the first match I’ve enjoyed watching for a while.
Whilst enjoying your Greatest Goals DVD, BtM and other ‘Holics, take a look on YouTube if you haven’t already, at Robert Pires Greatest goals and assists. Eight minutes of sheer class.
Laugh or cry ? Who cares, just enjoy.
TS – do you keep anything in the medicine cabinet for earache ?
Wilkins and Jamie Redknob on Sky Spuds 2 tonght – FFS !!!
‘holic @163 That is the proper spirit! Tottenham going down (again) …
Some wonderful posts all round..
I’ll drink to all of them even if I disagree with some
Cheers
Holic@163, guess all we can say in addition to that is “meep meep”!
BtM, I’m with Clive on this one – what a shame he had his head turned by success and money. I would have the Adebayor of 2007/8 back in an instant, but not the lazy bugger of the season after that. But his goals last night were pure class, there’s no escaping that and I have to say that for the first time since his one good season with us he actually looked like he cared about his team and not just himself. Maybe the penny has finally dropped for him?
Cup of tea, please!
Morning ‘Holics!
There’s nothing like seeing the w*nky neighbours receive a good old thrashing to lift the spirits. 🙂
How I laughed when Crutch got dismissed for being clumsy. On that basis, he’d never play a game of football again would he? Van der Tart was lucky not to follow him for a premature shower; the boy’s got some real attitude on him when the chips are down.
I recall Zico’s comments of a couple of posts ago saying that a Sp*ds supporters would be able to tell their grand children about the glorious 10/11 season when they played in Europe ‘cos I doubt we’ll see ’em back there for a while. More of the same please Real next week. Finally, Adebayour put in another good shift for us. Does this mean we’ll be changing the wording of The Arshavin Song???
Here’s to our boys dishing out the same treatment on 20th.
COYRRRs!
Trev @ #170,
I certainly do mate. It’s a choice between the ‘off-ointment’ or the ‘change-channel cream’. Apply liberally followed by a thorough washing of the hands 😉
Lars @ #148,
Cheers! I guess we could make up all sorts of TLAs for BBB. Here’s one for BtM: Bring Back ‘Bayour. Just for laughs of course and tongue firmly in cheek.
TABS @ #146,
Yes, those b’stard pushers. Used to cause many ‘handbag’ moments 😉
@ Cusop, wherever you are hiding this morning? There’s a seat at the bar waiting for you when you’re brave enough. Be prepared for a particularly painful lock-in though. FOYS!
BtM : agreed: I remember some special goals from Kanu too 😉
Is that you Ollie or another Ollie?
Apologies all for my #177. That was the daftest post since Peter Crouch smacked the woodwork with his head.
Nope still me, sorry.
Must be the first time I post on the work laptop since Madrid 😉
And heh.
Something strong for TS, please barman!
Afternoon ‘Holics
Bowl of hot and moist paella – Tick . Lady-in-Residence shaking her castanets – Tick . Inane and laughable pre-match punditry – Tick . Incompetence and misfortune of lasagne proportions served up during the whole game – Tick . Ex arse-boy scores two for that extra sniff of schadenfreude – Tick . Inane and laughable post match bleating – Tick .
All in all a pretty good night – amazing what you can lap up , when you’ve been on a starvation diet for the last 6 weeks .
Thought I might venture out into the very quiet n.london streets just to gauge the mood and perhaps offer to make a DVD of the after-match party , but instead settled for early night and and that state of quiet blissful superiority .
BTM – Great love paean to the ” togo express ” . I even found myself ” for one night only ” warming to his 120 mph interview . However , the bone-cruncher on v-p , and the sprint and slide at Eastlands goes too deep, and there’ll always be a rotten tomato , with his name on it , in my back pocket .
And so to Manure vs The Chavs – i wont be watching – last time these 2 met in the Champs League , i got into such a pickle trying to decide who to support , my head blew off necessitating months of painful reconstructive surgery . Manure for the fixture congestion i guess …
TS – you propping up the bar on your tod there ? A drink of whatever you fancy and a toast to those who endeavoured to play the correct way !
whoops didnt see you there Ollie , one for yourself
God I’ve missed this place 🙂
Clive – your work is poetry. Keep ’em coming.
BtM – keep taking the joob-joobs mate 😉
And a special mention for rockofgilberto – thanks for Saturday (oh and Ollie I am due YOU an apology for confusing your posts with those by Snir).
Now, Happy Train had to eject a few rowdy disgruntled passengers at the weekend (including this here convenor) but all are welcome back aboard. After all, who else could we support?
Cheers, tabs.
That would be on account of bothe being in the pub at the same time and not seeing you, zico? 😉
Have a drink on me too!
Cheers TABS, a pint of hair-of-the dog for me. Loved the culinary/Spanish humour but not quite as funny as watching the Sp*ds get stuffed and ‘Awwy Twitchcake trying to explain thier crap performance away. You really learn to appreciate Le Boss when you watch The Grand Tax Evader Pursuivant being interviewed.
Ollie, something strong? How about the smell coming form The Marshmen today?
Zico, welcome back from NYC son! You’ve been missed here. Suggest the HT is kept clean, tidy and ready to rip whilst we wait for a performance to get us back on the rails (sorry, couldn’t resist).
Cheers all….
Cheers Ollie – and thanks once again for the tip re the boys on East 14th Street.
Hope you had a great time, despite the game.
Anyone found Cusop yet?
He may be in the medicine cabinet TS or self harming somewhere 😉
FOYS.
Busy work load mean I have not read all the drinks.
BTM way back in the drinks. Always a smile and always enjoy the banter. No fears on that count.
I did think of you last night. I could almost picture the grin?
My opinion has always been the same. The year before Ade departed he was awesome. He had a great season and showed a great attitude. Then we had all of the should I stay, should I go in the close season. For me he was never the same afyer that. I agreed totally with selling him. My problem ever since is that in my opinion he was never ever replaced. All of that money needed to be re-invested in a top class striker. That in my humble opinion is where the mistake was made.
But hey, what the hell do I know.
Zico,
I sent him an open invite earlier. Rather surprisingly, he hasn’t responded. I have noticed that some of the razors are missing but thank goodness we only stock the safety variety.
Steve T
All things considered, unless Chamakh raises his game a couple of notches (and I seriously hope he does becuase I rate him), I would have Ade back but not before a public apology to RVP and all Gooners and a pledge to see out the best of his career with us.
Now, must get back to work before I get accused of self medicating after that post.
zico, Glad to hear about your transatlantic foray as NYC has great memories for me. Cusop must be in desperate flight at the mo’.
@ BT8BBNN
It was great – they (the NYC Gooners) are a fine bunch, just as Holic and Ollie described them.
Now then 8 ball – you familiar with Heavy Seas IPA? Had a major session on that stuff in Brooklyn on Friday night…..nice taste but bloody head splitting on Saturday…..
With all this talk of ex players….. Is Dudu playing tonight? A lot easier to love than some….
Buffet Bar filling up nicely on the train….
TS – ” The Grand Tax Evader Pursuivant ” – i doff my 1979 yellow and blue cap to you sir
Just answered my own question – he’s on the bench! Oh for a hat-trick from him tonight!
I fucking hate hoping United win, but the semi-final is the week before and the week after their game at the Em.
SR,
Be careful what you wish for 😉
Dr.C,
If Shakhtar can get an away goal, they might have a chance due to their fearsome home record which we know only too well… 🙁
Scrub that Dr.C…. 3-0 now. Was always a massive ask of Shakhtar to beat Farca in the QFs.
Spoke too soon…. again!
zico, Heavy Seas IPA will be on my to drink list for my next trip to Brooklyn, but I don’t think it’s available here in the upper hinterlands.
Felt sorry for Chelski tonight they got undone but yet againt a twat of a referee!
Had my Cheslki cousin over he was one livid man….
He knows I dont like them but I really wanted United to taste deafeat tonight, all I can say it rotten from top to behonest with you.
Shakhtar got a bit of a spanking like they did at our place so no hard feelings there for this so called best club in the world.
Before anyone calls for me head I rather a London team just beacuse of Shrek, ok and only apart from Spuds!
As far as positives for our loved ones I have to see the next game deep down my heart wants it….
BtM Ade was really good last night no doubt and I would have him back anyday over few individuals! But perhaps Spanish football suits him better!
Long debate on him awaits I’m sure of that..
A massive round for all the Holics who are still around if not please join for some TS medicine showcase! 🙂
Night all
Arthur, Man Utd fixture congestion is my mantra now. That, and the potential of mass injuries their fixture congestion will hopefully bring. Didn’t see the whole match so can’t comment on the ref but when will FIFA bring out the giant paddle for the little referee boys who did bad??