Lambs In Attack, Lions In Defence
Aug 13th, 2011 by 'holic
I have counted to ten, more than once, and have placed myself under a media and web blackout so I can try and convey thoughts about a match that left me, and doubtless many of you raging. For a conventional report, go elsewhere.
Where to start? Well, before I get holier-than-thou, and you know I will, I have to say at the outset that we were clearly not innocent parties in all that transpired today. Alex Song must have drunk a whole bottle of stupid at half-time. Yes, he was the victim of a questionable tackle from behind (reminder to Robbie Savage, that is against the laws of the game), but to stamp on an opponent when you have already received a yellow card is all kinds of dumb, and then some.
Gervinho? Someone needs to take him to one side and explain two things to him. Firstly, the dive he undoubtedly committed in the first-half is not what we want to see. I’ve been critical of Eboue for it, so I cannot apply double standards just because Gervinho looks like becoming a really top, top player for us. Secondly, if you are going to get sent of for raising your hands to a cowardly scally ex-convict then at least make sure it is a punch that spreads the little tarts nose right across his face, rather than the timid slap that appeared to poleaxe the obnoxious little cheat.
An interesting question arose in the drinks earlier. Snir pointed out the fact that the ball was still in play when Barton hauled Gervinho up by his throat. Mr Walton had clearly played on. Even if the first incident wasn’t a penalty (it was), the next offence was a deliberate assault by an out-of-control madman in the box. Is that not a penalty these days? This was not Mr Walton’s finest day, but bigger names than him have allowed Barton to get away with murder in this fixture, eh Mr Dowd?
Not a penalty? You’re having a laugh.
Having said all of that isn’t it great that we are actually getting worked up by real football again? Not that this was a particularly memorable game for footballing reasons.
Arsenal were, well, Arsenal. Totally in control of the match virtually throughout, but having one of those days where one touch too many was preferred to the attempt on goal. If that was predictable, then the performance of both defences wasn’t. Last season’s 4-4 draw was not entirely a surprise to supporters of either side, given their obvious defensive weaknesses. Today though both, I thought, were outstanding.
What is now our first-choice back five looked solid, both from open play and set pieces. We were able to play the high line with Wojciech Szczesny sweeping, and Laurent Koscielny didn’t miss a clearing header all game. That should not be taken as any sort of suggestion that the clamour for new blood should be ignored. Frankly it is not the first-choice players who are the problem. Lose a couple of them and we are down to players who are not of the quality required to remain competitive in the top flight.
It was disappointing to hear the “spend some ****ing money” chant in the circumstances prevailing at the time. Eighteen minutes to go, 0-0 away from home, defending well, I thought the team needed more of a lift at that stage. Then again, those that were there spent good money to travel a long way to witness a fixture moved to a late kick-off at the whim of the second-rate broadcasting outfit that is ESPN. I’ll accept their right to react as they see fit. It’s all too easy to sit in judgement on your sofa 262 miles away.
It is to that sofa I should retire, and not get into what I am sure are some lively online debates.
Perhaps just a little look first…
174 Responses to “Lambs In Attack, Lions In Defence”
Get in !!
Just before MOTD, well in TABS.
Good post ‘Holic , wont repeat my rant at Barton posted in the last drinks – probably not my finest hour – even though he is a total cuntstick .
I remain , despite the lack of penetration , mildly encouraged .
Another pint of Wind Down please Barkeeps
Hhahaha the Song drinking a whole bottle of stupid at half time made me laugh. Anyways great defense, but we need a distributor in the Fabregas mold. And possibly a new CB for backup to Kos and Vermaelen, either buy or promote Miquel to the first team
Well put, ‘holic.
No drinks for me today. Been on a three and half day festival bender. What I need now is sleep.
* from last session *
TS, thanks, mate, for the kind words.
Snir, I think the DL Ltd board will reward you “appropriately” for your innovative observations, but if Wolfgang tells you he has something for you in his office, I would respectfully decline.
I just think you ought to be objective and evenhanded. Lots of people (LG posters, mainly) are quick to complain… slow to praise. Well, if you can shout your criticisms, you should shout some compliments too.
Take my pub for example – I’m never watching another match there again. Aside from the fact, that all the hot waitresses were “let go,” 90% of the Arsenal “support” (folks that got all gussied up in their new 125th anniversary kits) proceeded to piss and moan every time a through ball was a bit too heavy. It is the first game of the season, folks.
All these fat fuckers (in my former-pub) complaining about wasted touches, who couldn’t (even if they lost 50 lbs and were 10 years younger) even sniff this level of athleticism…argh, it was pissing me off. I’m fat, but I respect the effort these boys display, when they display it. And they did just that today.
I also think AW deserves some credit. They’ve been working on the defense. No goals on set pieces over the pre-season. Nothing conceded today. So what if the Geordies offense is pedestrian? Our defense last year made pedstrian offenses look Farcelona-like. Although he has fallen short to date on the personnel side, AW has made some improvements to this squad’s defensive understanding. Fair play to him!
Cheers Fin . MOTD it is , at least we aint QPR 🙂
Thanks, TaBS, for the alert earlier 😉
Early days yet, but the back line looked really solid today. Set pieces were dealt with efficiently and without the customary panic. Song had a very good game. However, the forwards seemed off the pace today, particularly our skipper. I think that if he was a bit sharper he could have latched on to and capitalized on a few of the half chances that were created. I think that if Gibbs can stay fit, he offers much more than our dearly departed left back who clearly stagnated over the past couple seasons. Gibbs provides an attacking threat and far better crosses. He didn’t look out of place today at all. We were hard done by the red card decision as if Gervinho had to go, so did that cunt face Barton. Nevertheless, putting the circumstances in perspective, this wasn’t a bad away point. Bring on Udinese and let’s spend some money to bolster our thinning squad. Gunners4life!!
Ice Cold Heineken please Mr Barman.
No probs Lonestar . Sorry your Juicer wasn’t up to scratch – get yourself over to north London 🙂
On balance was it the result right? I mean we hardly troubled their keeper with clear chances. Song SHOULD have gone but Gervinho shouldn’t. All in all relatively fair. Maybe Barton could have gone but it was never likely at St James’s. We defended well and were neat in the build up. lacked a spark but I thought newcastle somewhat parked the bus for 75 minutes, which is disappointing given they were at home. The lack of quality to replace say Ramsey and Rosicky stuck out a mile!
Happy to see TV back in the side.
Wos is becoming an Arsenal legend. Get the man some silverware.
Missed the bombastic creativity afforded by Jack the Lad (and how much does it say of him?).
I think the lack of a set team is affecting the squad. Wished the transfers were all done and dusted by this point
It was refreshing to hear the TV commentators describing Barton as “bad Barton.” I hope that attitude prevails through the rest of the media (although that may be as much of a hope as wishing Cesc would change his mind).
Thrilled that football has started again.
Frimpong is built like a “brick toilet”. Would really like to see him develop his game and challenge Song.
The squad looksas thin as i can remember. With 3 games ban likely for song and gervinho, we go to old Trafford with frimpong, ox and Jap chap. None of which has ever played a prem game before. Why the fuck loan Bartley out, who has at least played old firm derbies?
If we don’t get a positive result ontuesday, I fear a major backlash from the fans and a crisis on our hands
@LG: about your pub, I’ve had a few similar experiences last season but as everywhere else there are few leaders and a lot of followers. The times there were people like the ones you mentioned, I’ve upped my support and started encouraging the boys really loudly at every opportunity. Not confrontational at all, simply really enthusiastic. No one is going to berate you for being a happy supporter and it doesn’t take long to get all the followers on the supporting side. It never failed for me and makes for a happy banter after the game.
@gazzap: we certainly deserved more than they did but we can’t complain about the result either, bar the penalty. I fully agree it was a shame to see the toons play like an Allardyce team, they needn’t have sacked him after all. As for Rambo, let’s give him a good run before judging him. It took quite a while for Cesc to step up, let’s give at least the same time to Rambo.
We won’t have to wait too long to see who’s the starter ahead of Rosicki.
Bonjour tout le monde.
Managed to listen to the game on dog spunk 1089 in the car. Sounded garbage. Just seen the highlights in French. Looked garbage. Barton has just explained to the world why Newcastle want to give him away and also why no one wants him.
Without Cesc, Nasri and little Jack we lacked real creativity it seemed to me. And I really don’t know where our goal threat will come from on tues night. The defence seemed to have both leadership and direction which is a massive plus from last year.
I thought the crowd were singing “where’s the Fucking money?” I do think that all levels of tolerance and good will has been pushed to the limit over the last few seasons. I fear that many will not be as forgiving this term. Let’s hope the need for forgiveness does not arise.
Pissing down here. Glad I brought some bass with me.
One point I agree on, if you’re going to be sent off, it better be for breaking a bone, not bitch-slapping. But at the end of the day, the result flatters Newcastle more than us, it encourages the rest of the league to do the very same thing they’ve done to us over the last six years. Nothing has changed, it boils my blood. This is not “total football”, we are just lucky we didn’t get Rubin in CL qualifier. The old fox lost the plot. He doesn’t understand that the world changes, evolves, and we have to adopt to it, otherwise we are instinct. But it’s all right though, I’m younger than him, I can afford to wait for his cheap way of life, let alone his Arsenal career come to an end.
@Impeccable1: Frimpong has a lot of progress ahead of him before catching up with Song. On the other hand may I suggest you watch a Lorient game or 2 because Coquelin is well ahead of Frimpong atm and of Song at the same age.
Our defense looked great!!! So refreshing for them to show that they have what it takes in difficult circumstances. I really wish we could have taken all 3 points today. Our club has been getting lambasted all summer by everyone. AW has been getting killed for not bankrupting our beloved Arsenal by buying 17mil defenders and 30mil wingers. I truly believe he will add some depth in the coming days and we will be all set. We have to stand behind our club. Let others tear us down and let us build each other up.
Alex Song should have been sent off for stamping on Barton. Gervinho aimed a slap at Barton so the rules state he should be sent off which means both players will (song will be banned on tv evidence) missing for three games.
Gervinho was clipped in the incident so therefore it is not a dive and should have been a penalty. Did Gervinho claim the penalty by rolling about or running toward the referee or waving an imaginary yellow card at the referee? No! Newcastle seemed to do this very well.
How was the sending off created?
Barton assumed Gervinho dived (even though according to Arsenal hater Robbie Savage there was contact therefore a penalty) and the decided to GRAB Gervinho and forcibly pull him off the ground.
What would have happened if Barton did not do this?
Yellow card (wrongly) given to Gervinho and play goes on.
No sending off for Gervinho.
He (barton) caused this problematic situation no one else. He got a yellow card for the incident therefore cannot be punished further.
Last season he nearly broke Diabys’ leg and got away with it (Diaby sent off for retaliation) and Nolan put Szczesny in a head lock and got away with it Szczesny booked.
Two visits two draws two red cards.
Justice for all villains?
I DON’T THINK SO!!
Lovely post mate lovely
Holic – Top post! It’s an honor to be mentioned in the post :)!
Lonestar, I might have misunderstood you, but apart from the people at your pub, did you mean people in the drinks too? Because I’m quite sure I did scream out (at the TV) “shoot the ball” on more than occasion. I don’t really see why that would mean I need to go and support any other team!
I agree with everyone who says that Newcastle’s offence isn’t the best but offences like theirs are what our weakness always was. We dealt with the ball playing offences, but never dealt with the strong, physical offences.
Like Holic said, Kos never lost a header today and it is something he improved adding to his magnificent reading of the game.
On to Udinese, and like I said earlier (and unfortunately this game didn’t prove otherwise for me) I am wary of our offence not creating enough without Jack and Robin.
TaBS,
I am all over a trip to London like stink on a Joey…er, I mean monkey. Now, if I can find a way for my firm to pay for it.
This “juicer” was (as we Texans say) all hat and no cattle.
Buckling in for a (should be) happy trip back on the HT mk II. I think the llamas performed well – no complaints from PHW.
Cousin Op (i like that, whoever coined it has a drink coming from me) got out of his cage for a minute, but that’s ok.
Fantasy squad is on life support right now. Who knew, that the QPR midfield would be turned over by BOLTON? 😳
Matt @ 15,
I tried, mate. I TRIED.
I clapped for good effort plays, and solid exchanges. I was the loudest, positive fucker in the joint.
I think a large part of the problem here is that most folks don’t know what the hell they are looking at. Thyey criticize the end-product that comes up a tad short, because they can’t recognize the endeavor and good play that led up to the pass in the first place.
Finally, I lost my cool a bit (I was traveling solo today) and told, fat-fucker-in-chief that, if he could do better, I’ll gladly pay his airfare to London.
His mouth was full (of food) at the time.
@Steve: Enjoy the holidays with the kids! Too bad you couldn’t watch the game I think you’d have been massively pleased with our defensive display and our organization on set pieces which if I’m not mistaken has been your major grievance for much longer than this summer.
The fluency wasn’t there but at the same time with a newcomer (Gervinho), a recovering youth (Rambo) and a starter in a new position (Arshavin on the right) against a team parking the bus it wasn’t hopeless either.
The fans were a disgrace. Not to be heard one bit during the game, the one you mentioned is only chant they managed to get heard at the time the team needed most support. With that kind of fans we won’t get anyone queuing to come to Arsenal.
It must be the tv angle looking different here in Australia,but I thought Gervinho was clipped,without doubt. He made a bit of it,but Barton should never,ever have a go at someone for acting…….academy award stuff,you little piece of shit. Creativity in midfield was lacking,but a bank account of 50 or 60 million will fix that. Also,getting Jack back will help,with his piercing runs. Overall,a positive start. Oh,and Barton could have been sent off for the tackle on Song,so Song squared up. If he ever does that again,though,sack him!
Title of the post sums it up. Very impressed with defence. Midfield looked tidy and inventive first half, with some flashes of Wengerball. Tomas & Ramsey impressed too. But RvP, Gervinho and Theo all guilty of poor control/decision making. And if only Djourou had got that late ball right to Theo!
Anyway – solid enough start. Waiting to hear the Wenger out cries from the masses, but lots of promising factors for me.
wonder the defense looked great that is a shocking Newcastle side with absolutly no penetration,nice to see shooting already coached out of gervinho,and is it just me or did RVP look un-interested
Snir @22,
I apologize for my lack of clarity. I definitely meant the folks in my(former) pub.
You can scream shoot all you want…from your couch. 😉
Boris, what the HELL are you talking about? ( BTW, Snir, he’s an example of someone who should fuck off and “support” another team.)
Don’t worry NZ, it was you.
@LG: I hear you. For me the thing is that I enjoy watching games too much to let anyone spoil that. Many times at home I don’t hear my wife or kid talking to me during the game as I’m so much in it. At the pub it It’s possible I got lucky, or I’m a good cheerleader or a clown so pitiful no one wants to hurt my feelings. I wish I had such skills on the business side too 😉
Lonestar – Thanks for clarifying. I scream shoot the ball cause sometimes it seems to me that they want to walk the ball into the net.
Nz gooner and everybody else saying we defended well because of Newcastle’s attack – You have to remember that it was those kind of offences that always gave us trouble. The aerial ball is not something we deal with perfectly and we did today.
The ball playing opponents actually don’t scare me as much as the likes of Stoke, Newcastle, Blackburn et al.
@Matt 25
“The fans are a disgrace”
Really?
Having spent good money (airfare, hotel, ticket) I feel more than entitled to express my view on ‘spending more money’.
Were you at the game?
Cheers Matt. It has been a massive problem for me as you well know. I Never thought it was just down to the back 4 though. The impression I got today was that we had players taking responsibility and showing leadership. How many times have I moaned about lack of leaders? I have lost count.
Snir – I agree with you for the most part. I scream to shoot alot too, at home mind you, because I believe as you, that good things happen when you make the keeper work.
Look at what happens when we make ‘Holic shuffle around a bit…:razz:
*looks to make sure sure ‘Holic has left the establishment*
Not the most inspiring start, but I’ll take a point away from home.
Positives for me were a solid looking defence (although they’ll be tested far harder in weeks to come), a lively Gervinho and an imperious Alex Song, who bossed the midfield.
Negatives were too much cocking about in the opposition’s box, a less than stellar RVP and the indiscipline – it was obvious throughout the second half that Barton was looking to get one of our lads sent off, no idea why two of them chose to bite.
Watching the game reminded me of where things started to go wrong last season. The defence took a huge amount of stick for our season coming apart, but as I recall the problems began further up the pitch – quite simply, following the cup final the goals dried up for everyone bar robin as we struggled to break down massed defences (particularly at home).
I suspect we could well be in for more of the same this season if we’re not careful.
Looking to the weeks ahead, does anyone have an inkling who (if anyone) we’re likely to bring in? My Wengerometer is twitching this evening, and my gut is telling me we’ll be seeing Mata, Jadson and Cahill in red before the derby. The “we’re not interested in Mata” stuff feels very like posturing for the benefit of a negotiation and Cahill just makes too much sense – all the other defensive candidates we’d either have surely signed by now (Samba/Dann) or just ain’t gonna happen (Jagielka). I have a strong feeling that we’re waiting until the final week of the window to force cash strapped Bolton to choose between selling the lad comparatively cheap or losing him for free next summer.
That’s what my instincts are telling me. Could be wrong. However, if we head into September with those three players I’ll feel a whole lot happier, even if we still feel light a centre forward.
Anyway, onwards and upwards. Here’s to Tuesday night kick starting our season – I’d particularly like to see a goal from the big Moroccan who has been so quite since Xmas.
I suspect that the
Damned, smilies… 😛
Overall I’d say a decent effort by most of the squad today. I was impressed by the back 5’s discipline and I thought Schez played well. I realize that I’m just a yank so my football knowledge may be below the english standard but the comatose have a better work rate than arshavin. An occasional moment of brilliance does not make up for being a lazy **** 99% of the time. I’d rather see a youngster at least they give effort. If the sales of Cesc and Samir go through that leaves about 80 mil for AW. I’m not asking for all-star quality but maybe Vertonghen for cover for CB and DM, Javi Martinez or Gourcuff for CM and an attacking player of your choice. Arsenal lack experienced depth. Our 18 yr olds should not gain that experience in our first team(unless they’re covering AA), they should be on loan getting real minutes not 10 mins here and there. Hopefully we’ll be sharper and with a little more pace on tues.
We lacked creativity in midfield and attack today.. We had to use Arshavin, Rosicky and Ramsay instead of the normal Cesc, Nasri and Wilshere what yall expected? However i was impressed by the defense and the goalkeeping this was encouraging as a Gooner who feared the worse without the role players in the middle of the park today. As for Barton he remains a “cunt” but hey! it’s Barton.
We need another backup quality defender, a creative attacking midfielder that can scores in open play, good at set pieces and a Striker in the form of a poacher. Arsenal need a tricky and selfish no nonsense striker who scores in the 18 and 6yd box, not pass it to someone who will then pass it to someone else. If we can get these we will challenge for the title this season, lets hope Arsene sees the need to.
So a 3 match ban for our new signing for violent conduct,and Song up on a charge once the FA look at the stamping incident.
Things can only get better.!!
cheers
The Sweeper.
tabs
Thanks for the heads-up from the previous post.
Holic’
Great post, loved the comments about silly Song and Gervinho who needs to learn how to punch! Corking photo of the c*ntmeister Farton as well, says it all.
Snir
Footballing expert of the weekend award goes to you, well done.
Overall, a fair result. Very pleased with our defensive progress. I can see us becoming a 1-0 to the Arsenal side all over again 😉
*removes tongue from cheek*
The wasp – You’re an entitled to an opinion but you have to agree with me that the timing was lousy.
To sing that in the 93rd minute with our backs against the wall, with a man down or with 18 minutes to go when the game is still there to be won is wrong in my opinion, all about timing.
I must have been watching the wrong game as our backs were never against the wall, either in the 1st or 91st minute.
Fair enough, I’ll try not to get annoyed next time an Armchair fan calls me a disgrace…
Nice Parthian Shot there, Wasp.
In your favor – you have the money and opportunity to attend games (and thereby be a REAL fan).
Not in your favor – you haven’t quite realized that money can’t buy class.
@Steve T: as usual let’s wait a few games but at least today it looked good on the leadership front at the back. There were quite a few close shots of defenders and Woj telling each other to position themselves better. Very refreshing.
@The Wasp: well considering we have consistently the best away support of the league that couldn’t be arsed to chant and support the team in a tough away first fixture of the season, yes today they shamed themselves when the only time they could be heard was to indirectly slate the team at the time they needed support the most.
I wasn’t at the game. To attend a game costs me twice as much as your season ticket so it’s not like I can afford more than one or two a season, and this year I plan an away game first because I think our away support is so exceptional, I’d love to share the experience and contribute. Maybe that’s also why I feel so let down today as it was totally unexpected.
I’m just telling you but I guess I have no more issue saying our support is sh*te when it is that some so-called fans have when slating the players, the team and the manager whatever happens on the field. We saw top-notch defending today, neat clearances and tackles. Considering all the moaning all summer about the defense you’d have thought perhaps there were some occasions for rejoicing today.
@Matt 18: I was merely commenting on Frimpong’s physical stature and highlighting that I’d like him to develop his game to eventually challenge Song who obviously has no CDM competition in our squad at the moment. Obviously, I don’t think Coquelin is rated as highly by the man that matters as he wouldn’t be playing in the Under 20 World Cup , rather, he’d be with the first team. I watched him in a couple of the French Under 20 games but he didn’t stand out and was underwhelming in my opinion but then again I’d have to watch him more consistently to make a more informed judgment.
Nevertheless, Matt, order a drink of your choice from the barman!
No, but apparently money can be used to buy football players.. It’s just a pity we we have no money to spare.
Anyhow, off out to enjoy the delights of Newcastle’s nightlife with my disgraceful and classless Away comrades.
@The Wasp: anyway, I don’t want to pick on you. As I’ve said on record here many times, we’ve got the best away support of the league, many away games feel like home games (or at least like home games should be). If you’re a regular at away games, congratulations mate, I’ve been enjoying listening to you countless times. I’m just surprised and disappointed today, that’s all.
Newcastle are muck. They are no threat going forward. If the defence didn’t look solid today it’s never going to look solid!
Matt @ 45
excellent post mate.
Considering nearly all our players were scattered across the globe for meaningless Intl friendlies during the week,followed by a long trip to the North for todays fixture,i think they can be forgiven for lacking a little bit of sharpness..
Bearing in mind they would have had more than 1 eye on Tuesday’s game,i think a point is more than satisfactory.
Unfortunately you can’t please everyone.
cheers
Clive
@Impeccable1: can’t agree more on Frimpong’s stature, he looks like a heavyweight!
@The Wasp: have a round on me with your classy mates and cheer them up. My apologies if I offended you, I really did not mean it like that.
Must have some bubbly leftover from yesterday. Anyone care for drink?
Are you guys doing this on purpose?
The defence DOES deserve credit cause no matter how you look at it, it IMPROVED!!
We used to struggle with these types of offences every week because of the aerial threat and physicality.
The ball playing opponents were easier for us because of our CB’s reading of the game.
You wanted the defence to improve and it has, so give some credit.
The last time the defence dealt with that kind of aerial threat was Blackburn away and that was (surprisingly) the last time Kos and TV played together.
@Clive: Thanks for the kind words I kept a some bully water just for you 😉
Can’t wait for the next 3 games to see how it pans out. Could someone please invent a way to fast-forward the season?
Heh , Mr Sweeper! , all I can say is that those old vet legs didn’t let you down today Clive , organised the Defence beautifully imho .
Shame old Wolfie wasn’t quite so effective in the hole 🙂
I am generally happy with a point considering the context of the game, down to 10 men and up against a timid referee and a baying crowd of deranged naked fat geordies.
But we didn’t deserve much more than a point – how many times did we force Krul into making a save – when, over the course of the 90 minutes, did we look like scoring a goal?
The main positive I took from the game is that we did not wilt under a bit of pressure, unlike the last time we are at that particular ground. Particularly toward the end. I thought we passed the ball quite well, particularly first half, but were really ragged in the last third of the pitch.
Some raw materials to work with, once supsensions are served 🙁 , but loads of work to be done, not least finding someone who is going to score us 20 plus goals.
Tuesday now looms massive. Clean sheet and a 2 goal advantage – I would bite your hand off for it now.
@lonestar no set piece goals conceded? I point you in the direction of handzhou greentown. Really good article and very amusing. You’re right about the chanting and whilst I was watching the match from a sofa, I do still think it’s poor form even though I do agree with the sentiment. The first game of the season is not the time to tell your players you don’t think they are good enough, we need to get behind them andhope wenger and his minion gazidis are true to their word (active summer) although I don’t think they will be. Come on the arsenal!! from a melancholy gooner
Tabs @ 54
Mate,i thought i went well first up,but fuck am i paying for it now.!!
I wouldn’t be too hard on Wolfie,i think he was distracted by all the sweaty bodies around him,also remember Tabs,Wolfie has a major role to play in the downfall of the Eyties on tuesday night,so i am giving him the benefit of the doubt.
Matt @ 53,make it the next 4 games mate,then we will have a clearer picture.
cheers
the Sweeper.
Considering the wailing and gnashing of teeth about our defence that has been going on, I thought they did very well indeed. The much questioned Gibbs had a terrific game and attacking wise he is better than his predecessor – especially his crosses. Koscielny will one day be a great defender and we all know about Bacs and TV.
Our midfield does look a little bit short but give Ramsey a bit more time and I’m sure he will come good and Jack is still to return.
We still need a target man up front, someone who will make those runs into the box just in the expectation of getting on the end of something. It isn’t Robin’s game and I don’t think he’ll learn the art now at this stage in his career.
As for spending some ******g money, I predict at least two signings before the transfer window closes – oh and two departures (as if you didn’t know).
Clive@57 – Wolfie is on his way to give you a cold bath and a rub down 🙂
Dont worry , Wolfie knows that his season will be judged on how he fares on tuesday 🙂
Dan – the ‘truth’ – I would never expect you to apologize for anything mate. Cheers.
Gone, Norfolk.
Presumably not aware of me not having any gratuitous abuse of Arsenal people.
That should be a reminder to all.
zico @ #55
I agree re: Tuesday night’s expectations. I’ll be there to cheer the boys on to help them get a decent result like that.
According to Edwin, The HT Mk II arrived back in North London a couple of hours ago, still looking fine. All passengers in good shape. Attempts to capture Joey and put him on the Noah Carriage unfortunately failed.
Is Gerv still eligible to play on Tues night?? Never sure in these situations.
Thought the defence looked very determined and organised today, and, as they say, you can only play what’s in front of you. That has to be a huge plus from the end of last season.
Although the whole back five played well, the defensive star for me was Woj Szczesny. Very confident coming for the ball. Excellent punches to clear. Very loud in organising the defence. Calm with his distribution.
I didn’t even mind him racing up the pitch to try to get Barton booked. Not the brightest thing to do, but this lad really cares. If he wants to demonstrate some fight and support for a new team member then good on him. At 20 (21?) he has some real presence.
If De Gea turns out to be as good for £18million, ManUre will be delighted.
We were disappointing up front, but after the collapse of last season, and robbed of Cesc, Nasri and Wilshere, I was just pleased and relieved to see some fight back in the side.
If you took the three most creative players out of any of our rivals, would any of them do any better.
A word for Thomas Rosicky who, apart from his finishing, I thought had a very decent game.
I also have to say that I hope that Nasri and Fabregas are no longer being paid, given that for various reasons the manager clearly cannot see them as available for selection, although neither of them is injured.
Djourou for DM as Song will undoubtedly be banned ??
Not worth repeating all that has already been said about the life-long lump of turd that is Joey Barton.
Save to ask if there is still an Arsenal fan anywhere that wants him soiling our club ?
Ban wouldnt apply to Champs League TS .
What a load of shit- Wenger out!
Trev , great post , can’t disagree with any of that . A perfect summation .
What’s crazy is that foraging run box to box by djourou in the mould of THAT NIGHT by walcott at anfield is the type of morale lifting,opponent bashing boost that our midfield needs in drab games like these. Kinda like the gerard pull the team by scruff of neck days of old. Unfortunately,difficult seeing any of our midfield doing that on a consistent basis bar wilshere maybe even tho that is not necessarily his strength. I thought thats what we got rambo for even tho his mental injuries are still healing. No point trying to pass the ball around if not gonna be incisive.
Holic @ #61,
My thanks for removing the abuse. Unfortunately, if things carry on like this, our next big loss after F & N will be Le Boss. There are already rumours circulating about informal talks with PSG. Maybe change will be the best for all but in the middle of a season? No thanks!.
Norfolk @ #58,
Two in sounds about right, maybe more esp. if Eboue & Bendy leave too, as expected. I’d be tempted to give Bendy another chance and play him in a true CF role but things may already have gone too far, no idea…
Honestly Sidcup….
Where were you duirng the summer when we were putting the HT together?
This is a forum for reasoned debate not a place to come in, whip off your keks, take a big smelly dump and then feck off. What gives?
Thanks tabs @ #64. That should help with a decent result vs HK&Udinese 🙂
TS – your first para – No , No , No – don’t let the keyboard warriors grind you down 🙂
TS – your first para at 68 .
Squillaci has definitely finished his role at Arsenal IMO. Not even selected today.
Trev, I know Frimpong hasn’t played first team football yet but I would still prefer him over Djourou at DM.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2025700/Gary-Neville-Arsenal-fans-shouldnt-criticise-Arsene-Wenger.html
If Gary Neville is the one telling us to stop the abuse towards AW it shows you exactly where our fanbase is at the moment.
The day Le Boss leaves will definitely be a sad day, especially bearing in mind that the replacements out there are not even close to 1% of his football knowledge.
Don’t worry tabs, I shan’t 😉
But there’s no excuse for poor behaviour like that…. and of course that applies to farton and, unfortunatley, Song on the football field today.
Considering all the turbulance in the squad, I expected a draw with goals today but a nil-nil is what we ended up with.
Going forward, we were indeed lacking that incisive ball. There were a few times where we really missed Cesc/Wilshire/Nasri for that defense splitting final ball. Van looked a little rusty and needs to be rested if he is carrying a knock, however, he did get a few chances. I can also see goals and assists coming from our new signing Gervinho (in about 4 games time) and Arshavin was playing with a bit more urgency. So not all bad on the attacking front. Once Wilshire is back and Mata signs (you can only hope), we are going to rip Newcastle a new arsehole.
Well done to the back 4 and Chezza! We looked organised and solid at the back. A vast improvement on some of our performances in pre-season. I didn’t hear any praise from Hanson and the twat off the crisp adverts about us looking good at the back, I must have been momentarily distracted by the light reflecting off Shearers shiny head.
I am again disappointed by the numpty Arsenal fans at the back scarf grotto who think its a great idea to keep quiet for an entire game and then bad mouthing their own manager in the last 15 minutes with that super negative chant about spending more money. Its easy to spend a shit load of money. Tottenham and Liverpool have been doing it for years and they are still shite.
Why on earth would our top players want to sign contract extensions for a club where they get booed by their own fans?
Its an embarrassment. If you can’t show support to your team in a positive way then pipe down. Wenger deserves a bit more respect considering what he has done for the club.
I wholeheartedly agree that we need another CB, ST and a creative midfielder to replace Nas/Cesc but booing your own manager and team is not going to win us games away from home.
Mines a white russian barman. Big respect Goonerholic! Your up there with the best of the bloggers.
Snir @ #73
I think both could do a job and we’re likely to find out once the FA give Song a retrospective red.
Snir – whilst I agree with the sentiment of your first sentence , I think you’re drawing the wrong conclusion . 4th choice centre back won’t make the Bench if the first 3 are fit . Squill’s role will only be over if we buy a new centre half .
the defense was well improved as a whole…its good to see them getting credit for it from at least some source, well done ‘holic.
glad to see someone else said the same thing i was thinking…surely since play is still going on, barton’s manhandling of gervinho should have resulted in a penalty kick!
That piece is absolutely beautiful. It shows you the respect AW has within the game. Too bad people are trying to disrespect him.
Tabs – Maybe. I can’t remember the last time we had 4 fit CB’s to check if he put 2 CB’s on the bench 😀
Gervinho did not dive.
What a total tosser Pardew is.
His explanation of events was that what Gervinho did (getting tripped in the box) is what incenses players and Joey (aahh) just showed his frustration a bit. ‘Why’ should there have been a red for Barton, he asked, most offended.
However, by contrast, the blow thrown by Gervinho was, of course, worthy of a red card.
Not sure which of them is the bigger c*nt. Yes I am.
Pathetic too that while Barton was demonstrating the punch that floored him, Taylor was explaining to everyone that Barton had been elbowed. Guess he should know, having let Bac have one in the first half.
This poor love rolling around on the floor from Gervinho’s girly slap, is none other than the hard man who stubbed out a cigarette in one team mate’s (think it was actually an apprentice at the time) eye, and punched another one unconcious on the ground.
Maybe someone at the FA will eventually have the guts to expel the scum bag from the game for good.
Good link Snir – G’night from me.
Good night Trev, grab yourself a beer before you call it a night. I’m buying!
and you all wanted that tosser Barton to join us.
Well in Trev. No-one in the FA has that kind of steel in them unless it’s going to benefit their pay packet in some way.
Arguing which is the bigger c*nt, Farton or Fartdew is a bit like arguing what is more pointless, Lady Savage or men’s nipples?
Not I, Danish
Snir fair bit of the shoot yelled from my couch also,one thing i was pleased to see was Rosicky looking near something of his old self,song will be having a rest so i imagine frimpong will get a look as a starter
Just home from the pub. Will catch up on drinks later, but just a few quick words:
The anniversary party went well, Anders Limpar was given a heroe’s welcome and the only thing that really didn’t go as hoped was not getting three points at SportsDirect Arena. Oh, and speaking of which: fuck you Peter Walton, you fucking Phil Dowd wannabe.
Right, the bed is calling out my name. Been up since before early this morning, and have been drinking since about 1pm. I think this might be an appropriate time for some kip. See you all tomorrow.
Did anyone see the Muamba goal today?
http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/qpr-bolton-14964256/
(The 4th goal)
That’s exactly what we were lacking today. Forward runs into the box from Ramsey and Rosicky.
Late to the pub, but happy to be back for a new season, Holics. All the selling an almost selling has madee depressed, but real footy has brought me back to life. Today’s drama is much easier to swallow than the want-away business.
Guinness, please, barman. Cheers to a new season.
Just in from the pub three sheets to the wind so here is my tuppence worth.
Defence.. Magnificent. Try and take the number 1 jersey off that man..ha.Ramsey and Rosiky were running the show but no imagination. Gervihino..you got bartoned…you’ll learn.
Walcott..A big dissapointment and no improvement on last year…if thats all you,ve got then we are both fucked.
Happy enough as only first day of season…COYR and bring on the hangover..
PiK!!!
Welcome back from your summer slumber mate!
The Guinness you ordered is on me!
People paying tickets,airfares and for hotels just to boo the club and it’s manager are pretty bloody stupid…… And Wasp, just because you do piss your money up a wall to carry on like a git hardly qualifies you as a Gunners fan. Quite the contrary,to be honest. Yes,spending your money entitles you to your opinion,but the fact is we all are equally entitled to our opinon that you are not a true supporter. Go and watch Netball…cheaper,have a perve and who cares who wins lol…..
@Snir thats exactly what I was thinking…that Muamba run could have cut through the heart of Newcastle’s defense. We needed that extra burst from Ramsey or Rosicky to get into the box
Hey, we got a point. I’m not ready to get down on the team over a draw in the first game. There is a lot happening with the club right now and while we’ve had all summer to deal with it, some things just don’t get sorted quickly (Fabregas).
Re: game, going forward we weren’t much but we were solid in the back. Last year, we might have lost 1-0. We did play good defense and who cares who it is against, we didn’t concede….
I know I’m might get flak for this but I really do think Bendtner is a player we need in the squad, upfront, not on the wing. He gives us an aerial/physical presence which gives us an added dimension that we don’t have. Sure, RVP nicks a few headers here and there but that’s not his game. He’s probably going to leave but it never bothered me that he is overconfident/cocky or whatever you want to call it. We play so many teams that park the bus… it’s just too difficult to tippy-tap through the opposition on a regular basis. I’m ready to take my punishment now….
You won’t get punished here Gedo, a lot of people here think NB should be kept.
Glass half full. Barton a c*nt of immense proportions.
Get in!
agree with Gedo that we could use Bendtner, but also that we would have lost that game last season. much improved defensive showing tonight
@83: Brilliant post Trev, I think he should be castrated in front of the Premier League masses before being sent to the fringes…
Cheers Snir! Thanks for the warm return! Yes, the off the field shenanigans by none other than our beloved duo had me too down to put finger to pad. But solid defending and some Barton slaps have be back up n at ’em!
One round for all, barman, for our new season and whomever’s wearing the shirt this time around!
Also, as North Bank brought up- are we seriously paying wages on Nasri and Cesc as they sort it out but don’t play? I’m definitely in the wrong line of business I tell you…
Please excuse the typos, too much California red wine in the system. Summer crop is a coming, just around the corner gents!
Gedo agree bendy is a waste and never had a true oportunity with us,can never work out that AW trait of replacing players into the same role with in a match,would be better to look at a players assets i thought and play them best how suits them and change the tactics within a game?
@Scott
Mate, you seem to have confused those who sang ‘SSFM’ with those who routinely boo at home games.
Travelling away over the last few seasons, the Away have NEVER booed the team or the Manager.
Get your facts right before shooting your mouth off.
Great post Sir Hollic,we really deals with their fucking setpieces.And becouse of that stupid cunt Barton,now Gervinho will missed 3 matches for GODSAKE!
The terrible refereeing aside I’m not overly concerned with the display today. Sure it would have been nice to win but the clean sheet is a very welcome thing to me. I’d rather draw 0-0 than 4-4.
Right, had some hours of sleep now and only a slight *boilk* to report.
First off, Snir is 100% correct – it should have been a penalty. Ball still in play, rules broken by defending player in the box – that’s a penalty every day of the week. Piss-poor refereeing.
And Snir is also right about our defence looking better not because Newcastle played like they did, it looked good despite the way they played. They wanted the ball over the top, the odd set-piece and the counter-attack. Not once did they really threaten, but last season we would without a doubt have managed to concede a goal.
I am also happy that more and more people are beginning to see the presence that Szczesny has. His punches in the first half were magnificent. We actually do have the foundations of a really great defence here. And I have to say Gibbs played really, really well – basically, he played as well as he did in the spring of 2009 before his injuries started. Please, Kieran, stay fit this time! I for one did not miss Clichy one bit in this game.
I would of course have wanted three points, but I am ok with the one and the clean sheet. There has been talk all summer about our weak defence, so starting off with a solid performance is of course a positive.
And I can’t quite make up my mind about being mad or not at Song for planting his foot on Barton, he’ll be suspended I’m sure but as others have pointed out we, in this game at least, did also send out the message that if you try to bully us we’ll bully you back. And we could really do with getting rid of the “don’t like it up ’em” tag, and any way you look at it the more offences you commit the more you get away with and while I don’t want us to become leg-kickers we might just have to accept the circumstances and at least at times give as good as we get. It’s really just rather basic psychology, refs are always reluctant to give yellows too early on in games but that also sets the bar for the rest of the game.
Anyway, an ok start to the season. Could have been better, but could have been a lot worse.
So, brekkie beckons. Have to try and expel the last remaining *boilk*. Huge glass of orange juice, please.
Danish @ 86 – don’t be daft.
TS @ 69 – you poet, you. 😉
Pires is King – welcome back, we thought you’d been kidnapped.
It was a pelanty in the first place and not a dive!
Our defence has improved but I would still be cautious until after the mancs game
Since Snir is buying, I’ll have a drink on his tab for a change 😉
No goals scored. Wenger out.
Seriously though, have you seen as solid a defensive performance as that from the boys in the last few months? I think not! Sz was imperious, noone could mess him about, the DF’s looked like they could deal with that typical unimaginative Pardew fare all day and come back asking for more.
A word on Pardew (who looks like a cross between GI Joe and Barbie’s Ken), we can lump him in with all those other bus-parking, long-ball, percentage football morons – Fat Sam, Pubis and their ilk (the list is too long to type in its entirety).
I’ll take an opening day away point any day, and the team in general didn’t take any sh*t, showing a good bit of fight. OK we need to be more inventive in attack, some signs of that ponderous, perpendicular passing were in evidence, but hey – not too shabby in my eyes.
PS – The CG management became aware of Barton for the first time yesterday. She was like, “Why would Newcastle give a convict a contract? He’s an animal!” Well said CGM.
@ Matt,
I heard our away support singing more than SSFM to be honest. And whilst I know people may disagree, the fans venting their frustrations is not the fault of the fans. It is squarely the fault of the board and the manager through the lack of transfer activity and a clear of leadership from up on high.
I posed the question yesterday and it still seems relevant today: if we are still paying Cesc’s and Samir’s wages why are the not playing? Forget all the ‘unsettled’ arguments and the falsehoods of ‘injuries’, these guys are still employed by Arsenal FC and thus should do what they are paid for.
Granted a point away from home is usually not a terrible result. However I think we run the risk of setting the bar quite low of what we’ll accept this season if we are happy with a draw away at a Newcastle team also without 3 of their top players from last seasons games. As has been pointed out, they didn’t really cause us any problems and pretty much parked the bus. That’s something we should be used to by now and something we are likely to see again. That said, it was generally our final ball that let us down so all things considered things hopefully can improve.
Role on Tuesday and a 3-0 win for the home team.
Good Morning Holics
Great post Holic, I am just grateful we got out of that pressure cooker with a point. Yes Song was a fool and we will loose his services for 3 games. If Barton had accosted someone on the street in the manner he grabbed Gervinho, he would have been charged with assault. The guy is a pariah on the football field and should have been red-carded.
Ten out of 10 for the back 5, delighted Gibbs did so well, am more than happy to eat my words if he maintains this form against better sides.
We were however inept in front of goal and I am seriously worried, without LJW on Tuesday ,where the crucial passes will come from which will lead to chances and more importantly GOALS.
With F and N on their way this week ,Arsene & Co have their work cut out finding replacements plus the all important CB.
Seems we have a few rocky days in front of us but as always COYRs
PS. Did anyone catch Sky this morning , talk about anti-Arsenal bias!
Agree with holic headline sums up perfectly,also nb1 if there still collecting there wages get them on the pitch or at least in the squad na$ri was fit enough to play for France?also must confess to feeling shit today I have that pikey barton in my fantasy team..oops
A quick word on the issue of why F & N weren’t on the pitch given that we still pay their wages.
If I were a betting man I’d guess that Arsene would probably have left them out even in the unlikely event they’d begged to play.
Sure, their presence might have helped us to an extra couple of points yesterday, but consider the impact it would have had on the squad – player who’ve not shown a shred of commitment this summer walking into the first team and rosicky/arshavin (who, whatever their flaws, we’re going to be relying on, at least until some new blood arrives) left kicking their heels on the bench, deprived of a chance to build some form and wondering what the fuck is going on.
One of the things i’m looking forward to in the weeks ahead is watching player who at least have some semblance of commitment. Personally, I’m happy for our wantaways to stay away.
Oh, and finally – can you imagine the anti wenger headlines if he’d played Nasri on the eve of a £25m deal and the little scrote had broken his leg?
All of that said, let’s hurry up and get these deals done. The circus is long overdue to leave town.
This ” out-of-control madman” .. is your fans primary target
Whole lot of fail on that one cus. We all know which tax-dodging wheeler-dealer is most likely to snap up the odious little cunt if he moves.
Shame you boys couldn’t play this weekend. I hear the rioters caused nearly a million pounds worth of improvements to your shithole 😉
Song for Barton…
Cheers ‘holic! That response got me laughing here. Which is only a good thing right now.
Morning/Afternoon/Evening ‘holics. Some great posts above and it’s massively pleasing to see so much perspective and reasoned analysis about what after all wasn’t the worst start to the season we could have had. With all the changes and uncertainty, this team is clearly still a work in progress, but definitely moving in the right direction.
Given the defensive frailties of last term, it was nothing short of a total joy to see an Arsenal back five on such good form. Lots of shouting and organising, and above all lots of really clear communication (especially in the set pieces) – something which we probably missed almost as much as we missed TV.
Regarding the drinks above on the away support – I can assure anyone who wasn’t there that we were singing up for the Arsenal plenty. A few SSFM murmurs late on are not representative of the whole 90 minutes. Away supporters areas aren’t always pitchside, so don’t believe all you see/hear from edited highlights, because they can deceive as much as that rancid, cheating criminal c*nststick of a f*cktard Farton.
And just for the record Joey, no amount of retweeting words from the Dalai Lama is going to change the fact that you are what you are – an emotionally incontinent borderline psychopath who belongs in a f*cking asylum.
Never gonna be a target here Cus.
And thanks Mr ‘holic sir for sharing that fine song @119 and a most astute observation @ 118. Set me up for the day that has 😀
Afternoon all!
‘Holic @ #118 – Heh! Farton & Twitch – could either be an American 80s cop show or a meeja match made in heaven 😆
zico @ #110 – Cheers! 😉
Camberwell, Delia & N7 @ #s 112, 114 & 116 – Good posts, enjoyed reading them.
PiK!!!!! – Your’re back! Thank heavens, we need a sit down ASAP to discuss supplies for the GT for the rest of the season. I should warn you tho’ there are others offering similar products now but there’s a certain something about yours being homegrown in CA 😀
Lars – Drinking from 1PM to the wee hours with minimal boilk? Either your Viking genes are alcohol resistant or you’re still half-cut mate 😉
Gedo @ #97 – Keeping Bendy on the books for another 6 mos unless we’re about to buy another CF would kind of please me at this juncture.
A round for all please Mr.Barman and I’d like to propse a quick toast to our 11/12 first-team back 5 – they look like just what we wanted throughout the summer!
Just so privileged 2 be readin dis kinda blog! Matured,funny buh intelligent writings. Regretably,de comments ended.Alwez a pleasure readin ur blog!
Or rada it hasn’t yet ended,bring it on!
Garry Neville is really pissing me off, he’s making me like his punditry!
That piece he wrote in the mail (the one I linked @74) should be shown to every gooner booing AW.
@ N7
Fair point regarding the commitment of said players but as far as I’m concerned if we are paying their wages they should be asked to earn those wages when required.
Would I nave been gutted had samir leg been broken. Hmm, maybe. Maybe not.
Snir
I said it to GH and I’ll say it to you too. Sharpnet on you for reading the ‘housewives favourite’ and I don’t need the neviller to tell me about my club or why we should be grateful for him.
Also shame on you for admitting you like him. No go wash your mouth out with soap for such profanity. Tsk Tsk Tsk.
That should read shame not Sharpnet. Fucking predictive text.
Is it me or are Stoke playing better football than Chavski?
Snir,
Just had Mrs NB1 read me the article and whilst he sounds reasonable, I’m of the opinion they he’s using us as a means of having a dig at Citeh. just my thought.
NB1
That might be true, but with the way he wrote about AW, it seems like genuine respect towards AW and not just a dig at Citeh.
And I didn’t say I liked him! I said I like his punditry! There’s a difference 😉
Haha but you included the words ‘Neville’ and ‘like’ in the same sentence without adding ‘red card’ ‘arrested’ or ‘little boys’ anywhere. What was I to think?
A fee on Jadson has been agreed. Not sure I’m really pleased with that, would be extremely disappointed if he’s coming instead of Mata.
Where did u hear the jadson story Snir?
Holics, this is for you, and especially for you – Tabs!
(Tabs, have a look at minute 2:21)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXAZJ28s1rU
NB1, someone reliable on twitter. Haven’t seen him being wrong yet.
To be honest he was good when we played them away buy I thought Willian was their best player over both games.
I hear what you’re saying about Mata but don’t need another homesick mummy boy like Reyes…..or Cesc for that matter (I know harsh, but fair?)
And Tevez isn’t “homesick”? So we shouldn’t buy Argies? I don’t think you can conclude anything on Spaniards based on 2 players.
I trust my manager to take care of any homesickness and I’d rather we get Mata if he’s a better player (I think he is).
I actually downloaded the Shaktar game from last season as soon as I heard we’re interested in him (from Arsenal TV archive) and I have to say that he didn’t impress me that much but I trust AW to know why he’s after him, after all, Jamie from Young Guns said on Arsenal Report that our scouts sometimes watch players close to 100 times.
The homesick comment was more tongue in cheek than anything. Easy tiger.
C’mon you should be easier on me, it’s barely 10 A.M on Sunday here 🙂
But I totally agree re Willian, he really was the most dangerous although Jadson was the one who took the set piece that equalized.
Apart from that he wasn’t that dangerous, and not really an upgrade on Nasri or even on par with Nasri.
I think we should re-make of an old classic film and call it ‘Bring Me the Head of Joey Barton’ starring SZCZ, with Asharvin as his side kick. We could donate the profits to Arsene to buy Mata. Or at least restock the bar!
Frustrating yesterday, but hardly a disaster. We were definitely the better side, it was just a matter of the final ball being missing, but that’ll come as new players settle in and sharpness returns. Possibly having to play the next three games without Gervinho and Song is going to be taxing, though.
All the uncertainty at the moment proved to be unhelpful, and there was a look of anxiety to the team. At this stage I just hope the Fabregas and Nasri deals are done on Monday and that they bring us at least 55 million to spend (though it should be more like 70). It would be nice to think that the Fabregas deal might include a buy-back clause, as he may not find it as easy to get a permanent spot in the Barcelona team as he thinks and as they’ve implied. They buy players from Arsenal as a statement of power and then use them sporadically, as seen in the cases of Hleb, Henry, Petit and Overmars. Pretty sure all of those guys would have regrets about their moves. Whatever happens, whatever he wins with Barca, it won’t be as satisfying as anything he could have won with Arsenal, as people would argue that they would have won it anyway.
As for Nasri, he can just fuck off at this stage. His behaviour has contributed hugely to all the uncertainty and frustration this summer, and Arsene Wenger would have been entitled to expect better from him. He’ll join a City side who scraped one place ahead of us because of a massive collapse by a team he was part of, and which he contrbuted to through shoddy form and poor finishing. City will then have four players on their books (Adebayor, Toure, Clichy and Nasri) who were key players during Arsenal’s lean years and believe that the lack of success was everyone else’s fault. GET FUCKING REAL.
But that’s the modern footballer: trophies mean glory and massive endorsement deals that allow them to imply it was all down to them, and lack of trophies mean they bolt elsewhere for bigger deals and cite ‘lack of ambition’ as their reason.
Snir @136
Fucking Brilliant mate !!! The lead singer was a bit too Scholesy for my taste , but the lyrics , ( if not his tone ) , were pitch perfect .
The ” Arsenal , bloody Arsenal ” at the end was fantastic .
Name checked at 2:21 , it doesn’t get any better than that .
Cheers mate !
tabs, you’ve been made famous by a cockney ginge and a baldy Glaswegian – zico is still laughing….
Oh and eminem has a lot to answer for 😉
Snir , one good turn deserves another , this is for you mate .
Check out the line at 1:53 , it was ” borrowed ” for PHW’s rant , a couple of weeks ago in BTA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKJ_zCHLoKU
Afternoon Dr Z , yes indeed , perhaps a mixed blessing 🙂 but hey , fame is fame .
tabs, indeed, I will be (and am) honoured to drink in such exalted company 😀
Just watched the bulk of Stoke vs Chelsea . Didn’t want Chelsea to win , but its very difficult to support Stoke under any circumstances .
Thought Chelsea played well in fairness with Torres impressive .
Stoke are almost comic in their utter cuntheadery . Shawcross showed once again he’s learned absolutely nothing from breaking Aaron’s leg , and I actually burst out laughing when Pubis brought on Dean Meathead , just in case Stoke didn’t have enough brain dead neanderthals on the pitch at the same time .
Dr Z , you say the nicest things 🙂
Right , off to watch the Baggies get one over the despicable Mancs .
Snir@136. That is actually really good. Pump it around the Emirates before matches I say..
C’mon West Brom…1-1…the ManU goalkeeper is complete shite.
Get in you Baggies.
How much did de Gea cost again…? 😀
Afternoon. Great piece holic, interesting drinks too. Good to see recognition of the great performance our back 5, it was said above that no matter the opposition we didnt allow them to play and on the odd occasion when they nearly threatened(i remembered a collocini cross near the end where koz cut out the danger) it was swiftly snuffed out. Each to a man was comfortable, a collective effort and not once did i feel that eerie ‘here we go who will cock up now’ feeling that was there for most of last season. Was delighted with the response of the lads to the sending off, typical barton cuntduggery but the heads did not drop and that necessary edge was there. Love the fact we are being written off as contenders we do play our best football when its the case! Liked the fact song is sending the message ‘fuck with us’ and we’ll fuck with you. May not help us short term but its what we have wanted, admittedly not the ideal way but a marker has been laid down by the man. Overall liking the toughness that was evident throughout the team also, kicks were taken but got up and got on with it. With Ljw back we will see rambo free alot more and that directness will be more evident. Still need the necessary reinforcements but the future’s bright. Come on you Gooners!
He conceded 3 goals so far and all of them were his fault. If that was an Arsenal GK the media would have had a field day.
Tabs, magnificent! Good to know people still respect the Boss.
And one for Wolfie !!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91dg8bViklA&feature=related
Go on the Brummies . Mancs look good going forward , but dodgy at the back .
Schez or this De Gea fellow ? No contest . 45 mins in and De Gea already bears that haunted look of his compatriot , Manuel .
A couple more mistakes this half , and I reckon Manuel’s off to Manure 🙂
Before yesterday’s game everybody was saying how lucky we were not to have Dowd or somebody worse refereeing. Walton disappointed big time. It looks like time to start distributing chocolate chip cookies to the refs in the tunnel. Are we the only club not to have thought of this already? Moral superiority my arse. 😉
This day just gets better and better. Vidic off injured.
PiK, Welcome back. We missed you big time this summer. One scenario had you being pursued by desperadoes in Norther Mexico. The GT quality control should be back up to par now, I trust. 😉
Ferdinand off as well.
Let’s see them now without their 2 top CB’s.
Vidic and Ferdinand injured on the same day. What could be better, you ask? Make them career ending injuries, the pair of them, or at least Arsenal length injuries. 😉
I’d take Gervinho and Song being suspended any day of the week if it means United won’t have Vidic and Ferdinand.
An own goal by West Brom, how obvious is that?
Still trying to work out which is the worse value: De Gea or Rooney’s hair transplant.
N7 @ #163
Per Trev, that’s like arguing who is the bigger c*nt, Pardew or Farton 😉
@North Bank 1: I briefly spoke with a geordie mate of mine who told me the Toons were chanting too, which is why overall it sounded much louder than the other away chants. The timing was really poor still.
@Snir: too right. De Gea has a terrible start of the season but hey they paid his weight in gold for him so let’s give the lad some time… If it was Woj he’d be labeled worse than Almunia by the Arsebollah already.
I barely can believe the difference in the headlines between the Chelski and Liverpool draws and ours. I’m not talking about the usual anti-Arsenal blogs but even the major media sources have this blatant bias. The really funny things is how far it is from the supporters perspective. I had a quick look at the Pool forums and it’s not like they’re beaming with the confidence of a team that’s supposed to kick us out of the top 4. They’re at best apprehensive and hoping for a draw.
The FA need to create some kind of rule whereby the instigator if a situation is given at least the same punishment as the person defending himself. Its crazy that nobs like Barton can wade into a situation with the intention of getting a reaction, then walk away with a yellow.
Also, whilst I don’t think its particularly great what song did, I welcome a bit more competitive spirit and anger. We should expect a decent defensive mid to serve a few suspensions per season, so should have decent cover. Same old story with Wenger though..decent 1st team, but nothing to step in when needed.
On the subject of competitive spirit and anger, i really wish our players would get a bit more competitive and angry when things seem to be going against them. I hate to see them hugging pricks like barton. I’d much prefer one of them to just knock him out.
Evening ‘holic and ‘holics.
Nice article once again sir and some enjoyable drinks, not too sure about the dodgy raps, lyrics were ok, but that’s about as much praise as I’m prepared to give. 😉
I’m also of the opinion that our away support is one of the (if not THE) best in the PL, you can always hear them cheer on our boys, so critiicizng them for one SSFM chant seems a bit harsh.
Anyways, i stayed away for 24 hours so that I could cool down and not go all knee jerky after yesterdays game. I was more then happy with the shift put in by the back five. I don’t think it mattered that Newcastle’s offence lacked bite, we gave them nothing to chew at. Last season we came unstuck on set pieces and I can honestly say that I turtled every time a ball was launched into our box, But not yesterday, every free kick, corner etc, was dispatched with comsumate ease and Woj controlled the box and all looked confident.
I thought Rosicky did ok, AA tried, Aaron looked a little lost without JW, but I think he was also carrying a knock from the mid week interlul waste of space game. RvP also wasn’t quite himself, Gervinho looked lively, but like the rest of them, his last touch let us down, still, all in all a satisfactory start,
However, I can’t believe how stupid Song was. I posted during half time that he had to be careful, but he was the complete opposite, Don’t get me wrong, he had some great moments and I admire the way he gets stuck in, but that stamp was just wrong, sneaky, sly and dirty.
Remember how up in arms we all were when Adebuymore did it to RvP?
Ofcourse Barton is a dispicable pondscum sucking invertabrate mongtard, but that doesn’t justify it (well it does a bit, but still). His actions will no doubt have repercussions,and his stupidity will rob us of his services.during our hard start to the season, With all due respect, I don’t think Frimpong is ready to make the step up. The lad has potential, no doubt, but he lacks the vision and awareness needed in the PL, (i ofcourse will be overjoyed to be proved wrong)
Gerviniho should of known better too, it’s not like you can get away with raising your hands to a player in another league, the rules are the same everywhere. Ofcourse it was all Barton’s fault, but that doesn’t change the fact that we will be without him too,
All in all, I thought it was a high price to pay to take away a point from Sportsdirectdotcom Park or whatever it’s called. What is it about that place that turns our lads into nutters? Something in the air maybe? The odour of thousands of shirtless sweaty Geordies would be enough to send anyone over the edge I suppose.
It’s done and dusted now, time to focus on Udinesse. my worries for the defence have been put to rest (for now), time to work on the offensive side of our game.
Drinks for the usual suspects.
So finally the fab to farca deal is done. Adios el capitan and maybe now wenger can start to make his moves in the transfer market.
we’ve been proper mugged. 14.5 mil now, 14.5 mil in october, 1 mil for every season of the 5 yrs he signed for, which barca are taking from his wages (total of 34 million euros) and an additional 6 millin euros if barca win 2 league titles and a champions league. Alltogether thats 40 million euros or 35 million pounds
Snir – btw their 3rd and 4th CBs are light years past ours — if you can be objective for just one fraction of a second that is. Hey ho …
Th14: you are on the button. Barca has got a bargain, no doubt.
th14 – I thought we went through all the crap this summer to get a fair price for Cesc….so much for that. Not pleased at all. I’d prefer he’d have gone to City for 50 million…(not that he wanted to).
th14 – if what you quote is correct, this seems to totally contradict what PHW said – i.e. we were not interested in conditional payments – we had a price and Barcelona could meet it or “do one”.
This is a really poor outcome after all the crap that has gone on this summer.
wenger has lost it. we get done over by barca and now (NOW ?) he bleats about “how difficult ” it is at this stage of the season . why did it come to this ? and he tries to placate us _like we are children _ by holding out hope that nasri will stay. why would we want that now.
so much BS. we have no song or gervinho and possibly jack for next 3 games – just watch liverpool and mancs take us apart