We’re Not Slayed, Kos I Love You
Sep 13th, 2011 by 'holic
At clubs where a new manager is trying to piece together a new side with a raft of new signings a degree of patience is accorded to both him and his players. There is a danger when an established manager faces the same challenge that he will not be given the time to complete the rebuild he has started. In the wake of the mauling at Old Trafford there was a reaction in some quarters against Arsene Wenger, and it was quite understandable under the circumstances.
Tonight, ironically, given his ban from the dressing room and bench, the players he is attempting to mould into the latest version of Wengerball showed the wisdom of allowing him time to complete his work. Let’s not go overboard. For long spells we were put under the cosh by an outstanding side. No wonder they lifted the German title last season. I loved the effort Dortmund put in, the pressure on the ball, the lightening breaks. They contributed fully to a fascinating contest.
BUT SO DID ARSENAL.
I won’t deny we could have been three down before the game was a quarter of the way through, but under similar pressure to that fateful day at Old Trafford we defended the final third with gusto, even if it was desperate on occasion. It wasn’t fault free. Both defences surrendered possession dangerously, but the Arsenal midfield trio did a tremendous job of attempting to nullify the yellow and black swarm that threatened to engulf them.
The most noticeable performances came from those who bust a gut to win important challenges, or make critical blocks, in dangerous areas. Koscielny was a giant, Song was immense, and behind them Szczesny looked special. But I was also drawn to the amount of work the debutant Benayoun was getting through off the ball to deny space and opportunity. His performance was every bit as impressive.
Then there was the skipper. Robin, like Yossi, worked hard to put pressure on both central defenders and make life uncomfortable for them. His reward was a goal that gave us an unlikely first-half advantage, but he will be the first to credit Walcott for setting him up after he himself had won a loose ball in midfield. Theo and Gervinho will both have nights where they will impose themselves more on the opposition, but again credit to Dortmund, who hunted both in packs when we threatened them with pace.
The timing of the equaliser was cruel indeed, but the goal itself was one that immediately I clapped whilst sitting on a leather sofa some 377 miles away as the crow flies. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred I would have been cursing the scorer, the opposition, and anybody else who had contributed. This time though I just shouted a brief expletive, followed by “what a ****ing strike”. Fair play Perisic, and unlucky Gunners. It was clear it would take a very special effort to deny us the points tonight.
The win for Marseille, who finished with ten men in Greece, means a group of death is already starting to take shape. With the German champions having come out of pot four in the draw one of three big clubs will find themselves out in the cold come Christmas. A point away in Dortmund puts us in a very strong position, but some serious challenges remain. Tonight we have the advantage over very strong opponents, so let us enjoy that fact while it pertains, and hope this fledgling side continues to learn and grow, step by step.
I hope Dortmund get through too, because that is how football should be played.
607 Responses to “We’re Not Slayed, Kos I Love You”
COYR!!!
Headline inspiration for the young…
damn
Second (First!)
BMBD
Away game at the home of the German champions, a team that are chomping at the bits at the prospect of playing in the Champions League against one of the traditional greats of the tournament, and a home crowd that was really, really fired up and behind their team.
And we go there with a partially new team and perhaps also rather low on confidence and are within minutes of winning the game. There is nothing you can do about such a goal – yes, you can claim that we should have closed him down better but show me a team anywhere that would have had a marker on that player in that situation. It was a one-in-a-million shot, simply.
I thought that for most parts of the game we played really, really well. No, we didn’t attack too much but that wasn’t the idea either. And apart from the one on one after about ten minutes, how much did they really create between then and their somewhat flukey goal? There was one corner where the ball took a wicked bounce but Szczesny came up massively big on that one. We set out to defend and snatch a goal on the counter-attack and it very nearly worked.
I was massively impressed by Dortmund. They worked incredibly hard all over the pitch and hardly misplaced a pass all night (but when they did we stole the ball and scored!). Not sure if they can keep this up for every game, but if they can then most teams will struggle at their ground.
Oh, and as others have pointed out – the ref was brilliant. He made one mistake that I can remember and that was the yellow card that was never issued when RvP was brought down but that is just petty details. Surely, UEFA can’t allow this sort of thing to happen so he’ll be demoted to lower-league football from next week on. We can’t have impartial and fair refs, this is the fucking Champions League!
So, one point in the bag. Now let’s make sure we beat Olympiakos home and away and Marseille at home and then win one of Dortmund at home or Marseille away and Robert’s your father’s brother.
What game were you watching mate…Kos was a disaster up untill the last 20 mins….Benayoun was awful as was Arteta…..we were in need to players who could keep the ball not work as defenders…
Awful preformance, we have gone massively backwards…..we have gone from the technical brilliance of Cesc, Nasri, Jack to amateurs and with those three we were still not good enough…so who knows where the fuck these lot will finish
No fair, ‘Holic. You can’t be the first to drink at your own bar 😉
BMBD
I mishit the ‘submit’ button and missed No 1.
Tabs, Zico, TS, Ollie, H2H – please see last of previous drinks – i’m not clever enough to copy them in here fellas 😉
Great improvement in the performance tonight.
Haters gotta hate I guess.
what?
indeed!
‘what’ – what ?
A team that hasn’t played together before against the team who walked the German league last season.
It wasn’t brilliant but it was full of fight and it was another step on the way back.
I bet you hate Christmas too 😉
Two dull teams with no realistic chance of winning the competition. The amount of simple stray passes made by both teams was astounding. Of course, Arsenal couldn’t hold on – they never do. Great strike, but when you can’t cope with pressure something’s got to snap.
Hahaha someone’s claiming Kos was a disaster? What blinds you mate, and you accuse the writer to have watched different matches, it’s you who watched different matche. Koz was superb and he won all headers. Even when the offside didn’t work he recovered well and put pressure on the guy on the ball. For me, Song, Kos, and Chezzer were all superb. Van did what Van does best; scoring a superb goal. Benayoun was ok also.
Disapointed with Theo and Gerv a little bit, but to be honest they were isolated from each other and Van persie. Gervinho had about 4 players on him whenever he touches the ball. The Germans were tracking well and had excellent work rate which wasn’t matched by us.
Gutted we didn’t win but a point away against strongest team in the group is not bad at all.
Sorry what , but I thought Kos has a great game (as did Song and SZCZ). Overall a point is a good result.
‘Holic, have just now read your report and agree with every word. You know, how we sycophants do 😉
What does ‘what’ want out of life do you suppose ?
Good point, Holic – Benayoun was massive. This is exactly what he was brought in to do. We are taking steps in the right direction, and quite frankly anyone who expected us to grab this game by the scruff of the neck and play them off the park desperately needs a reality check. I was really happy to see us be a bit more pragmatic than usual, why should we attack ourselves to death all the time? Build a solid defense, then we start attacking.
‘Holic, I thought there was an age limit to enter the bar?
If not, age, surely we can construct a football-IQ test. James and “What” make the keyboard feel dirty.
BMBD!
What is really what he is – a what
Koz was average. Got away with a lot. Mertesacker was so much better, wanna know why? Because you didn’t see him. His positioning was very good so he dealt with everything easily, whereas you noticed Koz because his positioning is bad and he’s always having to dig himself out of the shit.
People who understand football know these things; but then you’re not going to get “insight” on this blog.
Anyone fancy a season ticket next to ‘what’ ?
Jeez.
Beautiful post. Exactly right. We worked hard, and there were a lot of good performances, but you have to respect the way that Dortmund played as well, and they fully deserved the goal at the end. They had more chances to score, but don’t forget that Gerv could easily have scored twice as well. I thought we were excellent in the centre, but were beaten in the wide positions. One thing that was lucky for us was that they didn’t seem able to cross the ball, otherwise we would have been in more trouble.
It looked to me like Pat Rice did a good job on the touchline as well. Can’t argue with the substitutions, and it took balls to bring on a youngster (impressive as frimpong is), and a debutant at the end of the game. Don’t think they were bad subs, as it was only a spectacular strike that prevented the victory being sealed.
Nice post Holic, and I certainly agree about Koscielny. We`ll be a tougher proposition once Jack gets back, but frankly none of the other teams scare me that much, despite the result in Piraeus.
This is effectively our second game of pre-season. Certainly not great, but a solid result that anyone would have taken beforehand and enough positives in the performance to justify some hope for the season ahead. If tonight makes you want to write snipey shit in the comments section on blogs, please fuck off now. Everyone else, welcome aboard we need all the support we can get…
A massive result for a team that is only beginning to learn how to play together and is still missing some key players. We didn’t look the dog’s bollocks but we showed balls and would have taken all 3 points with a slice of luck but for the stonking volley at the end. Still a lot to do but this team will give it a real go, that’s for sure.
Hey James, good of you to drop in. We’re all so new to the game and Arsenal on here – maybe you could come by every night and teach us all some more. 😉
“Great strike, but when you can’t cope with pressure something’s got to snap.”
What are you talking about? If it weren’t for a wonder-strike we would have coped with the pressure. You can’t really fault the defensive header, as he was under pressure from 2 attackers and he won the ball – but you can’t expect someone to volley the ball into the top corner from outside the box like that. When it got close to the end of the game, we brought on some more defensive players, and raised it a bit, made it very difficult for them, and the only way they were going to score was with something like that. You can’t ALWAYS blame these things on what has happened in the past. This was one of those “that’s football” moments.
my dear gooners don’t be surprised by the presence of some people who are blinded by their own assumptions and refuse the watch the match then pass some ridiculous comments like the ones we see. It’s one thing to argue that Kos wasn’t as great as the author suggested, but it’s another to say that he was average or rubbish. It’s better that we don’t argue with that sort of people. It’s not constructive is it?
Anonymarse – well said mate 😉
They didn’t have their most creative games by a long way, but I thought it was great to see the likes of Arteta and Bennygoon prepared to fight so hard and do all the dirty stuff. Good on ’em.
Wise ancient football manager say –
“When centerback is invisible,
defense will be derisible.”
Know-nothing Fantasy Championship manager say –
“Mertesacker was so much better, wanna know why? Because you didn’t see him. His positioning was very good so he dealt with everything easily, whereas you noticed Koz because his positioning is bad and he’s always having to dig himself out of the shit.”
I’ll throw my lot in with the wise ancient football manager. I see Merte all the time, and he is doing exactly what he is supposed to be doing…getting better.
These know-nothing complainers are getting on my nerves.
BMBD
Already posted a few tidbits of my thoughts in the last blog entry. Very happy with the result (well, as happy as you can be with a draw, I’m not over the moon!) Came here, read a stunning new entry from you ‘Holic, and proceeded to read the drinks. Perhaps I shouldn’t have.
James. I have tried to write and rewrite a little something quite a few times now, but I think I’ll just leave it.
To the rest of you, have a round on me, I have to go to bed. Early meeting tomorrow.
In all the post match stuff, I missed the wonderful (?) ‘holic pun at the start of the new post 🙂
James @ 27 – seriously, can you explain, civilly, how calling people who try and support the club C*nts, in any way alters or helps get over the horrible results that have already gone.
The ManUre game was played by our weakest possible team at Old Trafford against a ManUre side bang in form.
I am really interested to know how you think your slagging helps.
Davi, apologies, but having deleted the original abusive post I cannot allow your quote to stay.
You are welcome to contribute.
James can scream out to the nurse that I have been unfair to him.
What game were you watching mate…Kos was a disaster up untill the last 20 mins….Benayoun was awful as was Arteta…..we were in need to players who could keep the ball not work as defenders…
Awful preformance, we have gone massively backwards…..we have gone from the technical brilliance of Cesc, Nasri, Jack to amateurs and with those three we were still not good enough…so who knows where the fuck these lot will finish
Captivating performance from both teams. Interesting that the men in red and white would feel disappointment when a 1 – 1 would have been welcome at the start. Is it just me or did anyone else notice some red and white flashes of top notch football.
So this is what it’s like working in a mutant’s creche.
James, rajesh, what – come along now, time for medicine and sleepies.
Seems we have an echo in the bar…
Ah well, I’ll respond with another echo. Kos was brilliant. Song was brilliant. Woj was brilliant. It took a wonder goal to break our defense. Yes we got lucky a few times, but it’s about time (and everyone says that you have to create your own luck).
Holics, I apologise in advance for WHAT I’m about to say but:
Dear James and What, my considered response to your whinging is basically…fuck off!
Sorry holics but I really can’t be bothered with civility that is frankly wasted on people like that. Replying without resorting to either name-calling, swearing or being generally impolite is an effort I’m not prepared to make in this instance.
The lads did us proud, 1 point on the board in an away tie that would have taxed anyone to be fair. Yeh we got a bit lucky, they couldn’t cross for toffee tonight but what the hell. You think Man U and Barca have no luck at all? Please.
COYR! and good night.
Sorry I missed one. Rajesh, consider yourself added to my list above.
Good stuff holic.
I’ll pop in later with my 2cents worth.
In the meantime the next round’s on me.
Hey H2H, i’m coming back later too, when all the animals have been taken home.
Not sure what the nay sayers were watching but Kos had as good a game as I’ve ever seen him play. Gibbs too. Great vision, better positionally as I’ve ever seen him play. Nice job for a young ‘un.
Before the game I’d have been happy with 1 apiece. I still am.
All in all, great progress for the lads in playing AS A TEAM and putting a MASSIVE shift in. Flipper I thought was a very unlucky not to get a score in. Song was immense. Nutsacker might have the turning circle of a tectonic plate but my goodness, he knows where to be. Benny hill was so much better than I expected. Arteta played his, errr, ear off. Really, really loving the speed with which they’ve got together from a bit of a shaky start, to really getting something going.
Unlucky a little bit to not snatch a win. But I can’t complain. We were at the home of the feckin German champions FFS and got a draw. With a brand new squad. If a Gooner can’t take delight in that then frankly you’re not actually a Gooner. And you know less about football than my cats.
Like the game at the weekend, I still think it’s going in the right direction. Work still needed, and more playing time together can only help. But I think this is a rocking result, all things considered.
Come on you reds. Really good job.
Hey, James, rajesh, what – “Shut uppa your face!”
snowy:
“Like the game at the weekend, I still think it’s going in the right direction. Work still needed, and more playing time together can only help. But I think this is a rocking result, all things considered.”
That was simply a brilliant summary. Have a pint on my tab!
SAGNA: it is imperative that it is the first word I say, as sloppy as he might have been on occasion tonight… the reason is when he has a brief goof he puts in the shift to recover, and puts in another shift when his team-mate goofs (like Mertesaker with a couple of not so impeccable passes).
Per I have little doubt will gel into the team well given.. but from what I’ve seen in his last 180 minutes is that he can on occasion fall asleep before a pass (much more noticeable with Dortmund tonight since they are a perfect example on how to press the play). He’s a bit slow and did make me nervous on a couple of occasions.
Having said that it brings me to praise of this fantastic team, stadium, and supporters of Dortmund. It surely is a scary place to play: for any team to take the lead till past the 80th is really something, bar you taking a point away with the match home. They play the game the way it should be played … the way Arsenal believes in playing. Dortmund can beat ANYONE.
I’ve said enough … I’ll only add that for Kosceilny is such an important and effective player.. quite a scare thinking he was injured and couldn’t continue in the first half.
And of course Scezezny can’t be blamed for the goal.
GH… Good post, I agree with the comments on the players, Song was MTM for me closely followed by Kos. This was a sound all round performance against a very good side on their patch. A positive step forward in the rebuilding of confidence and form after the Man U debacle.
I do think Jack will make a difference when he comes back as his creativity is a big miss.
Re Lars’s comment; I must confess I didn’t notice the ref….. but of course that’s exactly as it should be, (what a nice change) so 10/10 there.
Such a relief to see Arsenal defending well with a solid keeper. To be fair to James his point about Mertesacker quietly doing his job without being noticed is a fair one. His point about Kos being average isn’t because Dortmund had just a handful of shots on target despite the creativity that they possess and the possession that they had. The defense did very very well.
Sagna Sagna Sagna… He even had Scezezny’s back (I think that’s how you spell his name)
Thank you Lars. And have the same on me. With an antibiotic chaser 😉
(Hope you’re properly on the mend now)
“What’s” your drink then vinegar? You miserable bugger!
We were a bit flakey for a while and we did ride our luck, but after the goal and in the second half confidence grew and we performed much better. Several outstanding performances – notably Song (who I thought started poorly), Benayoun and Arteta also grew into the game, Mertesacker was competent and Kos outstanding as he threw all bits of himself in front of the ball. This team will need to continue to improve and there is still work to be done, in particular we must put more pressure on the ball and close the opposition down quicker and not allow our own player in possession to get isolated but tonight I am proud of a spirited and gutsy performance.
Walcott is still playing like a wee lost boy out there , simply not good enough ,cannot keep persevering with this kid anymore he just cant cut it .
Note how Mets and Kos will not look to play the ball out if they are under pressure , why should they take the blame for a pass to Chamack/Walcott that is lost and comes straight back without a fight,Walcott is got to be the thickest footballer around , turn kick and run ,or a square pass he has nothing to add.
We cannot keep relying on rvp , gervinho was shit today ,did we but another lazy prima donna, Gervinho ,Gibbs, Walcott very poor , dont think they are good enough ,irrespesctive of Walcotts England “career”…………
PAT RICE MOTM
West Upper, agree.
We cannot rely on just Jack to provide that creative spark though. Let’s hope we continue to build on the last two performances.
Neither were trophy winning, I know, but we are recovering from being a long way down, and the signs are positive.
If we crash and burn, fair enough, but until then I really wish the handful of those who are determined to be offended get a reality check and get behind a team in the process of being overhauled.
No we haven’t replaced Cesc and Nasri. Instead we have players not quite at that technical level who want to play for the club and are putting a shift in. Fuck those who didn’t want to be a part of the Arsenal.
hec, there’s only one ‘wee lost boy’ in here.
Time for bed, sonny.
Am happy wit the grit am seeing in this side.its been lacking for a while.great game all round.hwever met just too slow and maybe torn apart on a 1 v 1s. For me from nigeria,its gunners for life! Peace yall
Rajesh @35 – “so who knows where the fuck these lot will finish”
That “lot” wear the Arsenal shirt and regardless of your opinion on how technically gifted they are or will become they have been putting in hard shifts all season and more importantly they want to be here which for me is more than enough get behind them and not slag them off
great game and a good post ‘holic
We really could have scored two more if Gervinho hadn’t slipped/rushed
I’ve no complaints and both goals were truly special. Like some have said, haters gotta hate. If we still had Cesc and Nasri (or even Henry and Bergkamp) a 1-1 away draw with the German champions in a really fired up stadium is a very good result.
One serious question: If Sagna had been injured after 4 mins tonight, who would have played at right back?
Songhino
Jesus christ.
Great result at the home of the German champs and there are actually people in here whining!
When did you lads start watching football? This is the champs league – you aim to win the home games and get something from the away games.
As for the slating of Theo, Gibbs, Gervinho and (dear god) Kos – well, there’s no accounting for taste and these things are always highly subjective, so I’ll just bid you a hearty Fuck Off and you can be on your way.
Well done to the lads tonight, all of them. There were shakey moments, but this is quality opposition in front of a noisy home crowd and we showed a whole heap of the kind of fight that was missing entirely for most of last season. Keep scrapping like that and the silks will come soon enough – too much quality in the squad for it to be any other way.
Proud to be a Gooner tonight. Oh, and UEFA can stick their pathetic attempts to make an example of Wenger straight up their collective arse. Let’s hope they’ve got this much bottle when it comes to eyeballing City and enforcing financial fair play – somehow I doubt it.
Roll on Saturday. Hopefully we’ll “only” win one nil to give all the window lickers something to get worked up about.
First post from a long time lurker here, ‘Holic.
It’s a shame not to come away with all 3 points, but I would have settled for a point before the game ( I would have settled for a point away against the german champions if the invincibles had been playing!). Dortmund were a good opponent and I think that the lads can take a massive boost from that game and result. Yes, there were some stray passes and at first we seemed nervous and susceptable, but I think we grew into the game and got a brief glimpse of what a ‘new look’ Arsenal ‘could’ do.
The new boys looked good on the whole, but possibly tired towards the end. Probably to be expected after their second competitive game (for some of them) without a pre-season.
Arteta bled for the cause, put in some nice passes and some good tackles. He played a similar passing game to ‘The Departed’, if perhaps a less technical, but I feel he compensated with a mature defensive contribution as well which we maybe lacked in seasons past.
Yossi looked energeticly for link up play, running well, although he faded as the game wore on.
Szcz was a rock as ever. There was nothing he could do about the goal. Why do we always conceded wonder goals to debutants? Probably never hear of him again (just like Danny Rose).
Theo showed he can assist as well as score but he just needs to do one or the other (or even both) more consistently.
And RVP was sharp and looked to be trying to lead by example. World class striker that boy and I think he loves the club. If he can stay fit he could be our next TH14, TA6, PV4, DB10.
I’m sick of the Doomer Gloomer Gooners moaning about every little negative of our game. We hit rock bottom against Manure and we have a long way to climb back up, but so far we are improving game by game. Our new boys have yet to fully bed in but they show signs of promise and improvement and we are taking steps in the right direction with each game so far. There is progress and given the form and psychological balance of this team since February that is a massive positive. This game shows there is more to come from this new look Arsenal side. I feel positive about this season for the first time.
Make mine a pint of Stella and whatever the bloke buying the round wants! 😛
P.S You wot, ‘what’?
forgot to add…..Song was amazing in that second half, has someone been working with him on cleaner tackling? He was immense. Perhaps the changing of the guard this summer is going to lead to new leaders stepping up…..
Well I am clearly in the minority because I don’t think Kos was that great. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he had a bad game but I did think he made some mistakes. Clearly the relationship with PM will understandably take time to flourish.
All round it was very encouraging against a top side. I can only see us improving as the games continue to come. I feel a tad disappointed we conceded with only 2 to go, but like most I would have taken a point before kick off. I also think that I won’t be the only one thinking that if we had conceded like that last season that we may well have gone on to lose the game?
Steps in the right direction? Most definitely. Bring on the chicken farmers.
The lads really got down and with it!
http://youtu.be/u7XEjl5GNS8
Especially in the sencond half!
Chicken farmers…heh!
BMBD!
Drunk again
But happy
A great display and a great point earned. Thought Per was solid and. as I. said in previous post the bounce denied Gerv a brace. Still think Theo not the answer on the right but he was there when it mattered. All to play for and looking forward to the ride.
so nice to see us getting result showing “grit” away to the fantastic german champion and some idiot turning up talking shit on this fine blog.
and the moaner,”doomer” can stay away from the Emirate we get far better ambiance too.please stay miserable and stay away from my club and the satdium as my match experience is so much better thasn sit next an idiot
@arsenalreport Arsenal Report
Laurent Koscielny had a massive game, winning the most aerial duels (5) and blocking the most shots (4) on the pitch.
@arsenalreport Arsenal Report
Koscielny also made the most clearances on the pitch (17), and had 100% long ball accuracy – 4 successful long passes out of 4 attempted.
I rest my case.
Blimey. Does that make me a fuckwit then? And there was me thinking that abuse was banned? And rightly so in my humble opinion.
Onwards and upwards.
Rajesh is not a gooner, they are trying to unsettle the gooners to rebel for their team. Rajesh could be somebody who is paid by Man C, Manu, Chelsea, Lpool because arsenal defy the odds and show up their spending habbits. These team as the money to do so; hence, we have to be mindful. So we will watch and make our post.
Holic, am I seeing things here or have you amended your last post? I have only had 2 beers and am beginning to think I am losing it.
Quite right Steve, and duly withdrawn, but some have tested what was my good mood tonight.
I hope you understand as your posts remain unscathed that you are a welcome contributor here.
New poster here. Although I ve been reading the site for a few years now.
On the game , I think we struggle when team put pressure on us because our players don’t make themselves available. Watch barcelona , they are constantly moving around giving themselves options for a pass. There’s nothing a player can do when he’s surrounded by 3-4 players and his teammates don’t give him an avenue for a pass.
Reason why gervinho look average tonite was bcuz of that. He’s contantly marked by 3 guys and V.persie and the rest are miles away to receive a pass.
Bright side:
We are defending very well now and regardless of what u think about wenger , he will have this team playing beutiful atrractive footie once again . We all know that’s what he pride on. As long as our defence and goalkeeping positions are playing well , we ll come good again.
I like Dortmund’s coach , he neutralised the threats of walcott and gervinho and then put pressure on our midfield as he knows that’s where our strength is. Wouldn’t mind him at arsenal when papa wenger calls it a day.
Evening all,
Pretty satisfied with tonight. I am very encouraged by what the boys showed tonight. Granted we showed some frailties but I do think that so many of those can be put down to players not knowing what their team mates are going to do, that will come with playing together. We defended well overall, some positional mistakes that, like our passing, will get better with games. Rvp’s goal was well taken and was an award for the shift he put in. Walcott with the assist to cap off an average game. On Walcott, am I the only one who wants to see balls pumped down the wings for him to run on to? Having him in our defense for corners seems kinda silly. Gervinio was not as on fire as he was against Udinese, but I attribute that more to Dortmund’s ability to defend in numbers than to anything else. I thought Yossie put in a shift as did Arteta. Those two along with our new defender are showing their class. Old Pat Rice did well, I could hear him shouting through my TV. In my opinion, he made the right subs, given the game and generally did well without the gaffer by his side. As to Dortmund’s goal, well, it was true class, what else can you say? On the Dortmund topic, FairPlay to them and their fans, what a show that was, I hope they come through the group second after us, they are the most interesting thing to comet of Germany since funfth star delux.
In summation, great game, lads defended well, lots of positives, looking forward to Rovers at the weekend, breakfast time for me.
Cheers!
Cheers Holic. I was more concerned that stone cold sober that I was starting to hallucinate.;)
79th. Get in.
Im on team Koz for this game. He made a couple of mistakes in the first 20 but after that was awesome. I think Per had a descent game, but i don’t think you can say that because you didn’t see him he was amazing. Koz and Per are very different players. Koz is aggressive and goes to the ball, while Per only makes a challenge if he has too. Both styles of defending have their place, but i think in a game where Dortmund were really trying to feed off their offensive pressure Koz’s aggressiveness invaluable.
Dortmund played a great game, and I’m sure they will come at us just as hard at the Emirates. I look forward to it.
Gervinho tried to cut inside every time he had the ball down the left flank. Problem was there were always 3 defenders on his inside. He is a great player, but really needs to play the percentages so we can retain possession in games such as this one.
Hope the good mood is still there. Loads to be positive about and as I said, this time last year we may well have gone on to lose that.
Keep the faith.
Still in a good mood here. Have a drink on me.
This just in…
Midnight Marauders are climbing the standings in the ‘Holic Leagues. Laissez le bon temps rouller!
I’m coming for you Wolfgang… and no Spud, Manx, Chav, or Mugsmasher in the squad.
BMBD!
Work is getting (badly) in the way of Goonerholic at the moment, I’m afraid. Most of what I saw on “record” has been eloquently expressed by Holic – and then immediately countered by Steve’s rebuttal.
It is SO funny to come on late and read jibbering James. That boy has been making me roll with laughter for several seasons now. What a hoot. IDKAnything’s not here – no surprise, he only comes to gloat on the rare occasions we struggle.
Very fine, but far from perfect performance tonight. Most noticeably, with two players in MF who’ve grown up outside the “Wenger way” we struggled to hold possession for too much of the first half. Denilson’s composure and willingness to make himself available for the past was missed.
But overall, what a gutsy performance. Kos was my MOTM. The Polestar continues to inspire. Benayoun worked his socks off, Robin’s goal was a peach and I really liked his ball wining tackle to set up Theo’s through pass for his strike.
A very fine away point, and a great start to this campaign. I’m in the Clock End for Olympiakos.
Arsenal, Bloody Arsenal
First post for me, though I’ve followed and admired this fine community ‘holic has brought together for quite some time. Cheers to all.
Excellent result. Let’s face it, the only reason some of us may be unhappy with a point is that we were so close to taking all three. Had the equalizer arrived via a moment of defensive incompetence, I could understand the undercurrent of angst. But there was _absolutely nothing_ that could be done to prevent a once-in-a-lifetime strike.
I watch the Bundesliga fairly regularly, courtesy of my somewhat distraught Leverkusen-supporting friend. BvB are a quality side. A point at Westfalenstadion is nothing to be ashamed of.
And it has to be said… Goetze would certainly not look out of place in the red and white 🙂
Alright Chaps ,
Now that , my friends , was a performance . Brilliant post match report from ‘holic , augmented by many others .
1-1 was ultimately disappointing , given the lateness and the “Danny Rose” quality of the strike , remarkable not only for its brilliance , but also for its once in a career virtuosity ( a one off that we are sadly getting used to given the afore-mentioned Rose , not to mention Tiote ) .
However , if you’d offered me 1-1 before the game I’d have bitten your hand off , if you’d offered it to me half an hour in , i’d have had your whole head .
The first half was difficult . Defensive disorganisation threatened a defeat of Mancunian proportions . The defence looked woeful , whilst the midfield rarely had the opportunity or the ability to see and execute a forwardl pass .
Beacons of light amidst this chaos were Szcz , who was magnificent , Benny who played with his head up and always tried to be constructive , and VP , who led from the front .
HT and amazingly one up , as a result of Theo’s one meaningful contribution to the game and a clinical finish from Robin .
Pat Rice , Take a Bow Son , because whatever you said or did at half time worked a treat . The Defence dropped 10 yards , suddenly Gibbs looked to be much more confident , Per was quietly authoritative , and Kos and Sagna were magnificent .
Song suddenly looked world class , dispossessing world class players with ease , whilst Arteta , struggling with the creative side of his game covered every blade of grass . Benny , my oh my , put a hell of a shift in .
Flipper did well i felt , despite getting some stick in the pub . Always looked dangerous and on another night would have nabbed a couple . Walcott , I felt , was poor . Apart from his glorious ball for the goal , he failed to retain possession , failed to offer a threat , and more culpably , failed to put a defensive shift in , often leaving Sagna woefully exposed , as Bac , on more than one occasion , was not shy in pointing this out forcibly to him .
Frimpong’s cameo was good , and I felt that Dortmund had run out of ideas leading up to their wonder strike .
So all in all not quite the wondrous result we all hoped for , but nevertheless a very good result against a very fine side . All good for confidence , onwards and upwards to Blackburn .
PS – spent the evening with a crowd amongst whom was a very good friend of Liam Brady , who met him on the day of his Arsenal debut and still sees him now . Have some great stories involving David Dein , Rix , Cascarino , Hoddle , Tony Adams and Nialll Quinn , but that , as they say , will have to wait for another day , when its just the regulars .
Good night all .
r
TaBS,
When you and the other regulars trade those stories, please send me a transcript (via the usual methods). With a 3 year old, I fear it will be some time before I get across the pond to buy you guys a proper drink.
BMBD!
Many thanks GH, another top, top drawer post.
In light of this week’s comments by Arsene Wenger, MSc Econ, regarding the perilous state of the Euro/zone/finances/all-going-to-hell-handcart, his recent acquisitions understandably have all his hallmarks of prudence. Should the Euro thinggy implode in the next couple of months, as he’s predicting, then the January transfer window could be super-interesting, and I couldn’t wish for a better navigator than he. It’s deliciously ironic that on the pitch he’s all about the short game, but all about the long game off of it. A big win for him last night.
Scrumpy, anyone?
No worries Lonestar 🙂
There was nothing particularly libellous or “private” so will post when its just the regs .
Anyone bringing up the negatives in that result is desperately searching for them. It wasn’ t perfect,but some of you must really struggle to find a way out of bed each morning,your world is so bitter lol .
Get a life.
We will struggle to win a trophy this year,imo,but we are on the right path to succeed next season.
Bring on Blackburn,let the resurgence continue.
Fair result, Song, Kos and Sagna were studs….didn’t think Gibbs was that bad either. Look, they pressured us in the midfield like Barca did in the away games the last two years and we didn’t handle it that great. How these guys come-up with these wonderstrikes I’ll never know but the draw puts us in a good spot. Hopefully, we came out of the game injury free.
Are we really going to have to put up with moaners every time something doesn’t go according to plan? Some people need to just grow up and realize we’re in the middle of rebuilding ourselves.
Lots of hard work was put in and while I’m also disappointed we didn’t come away with all 3 points, I’m satisfied that we hung on for a draw. Will come in handy later…
Really jealous of the away fans who were able to be at such a venue, it looked charged with excitement….like me after sticking a fork in a wallplug….
Brilliant stuff, ‘holic. My thoughts succinctly – a bit of cohesion in time will do wonders for our lot. Forgot how good Kagawa was, first touch was exceptional and overshadowed Gotze at times. We’ll have to do Olympiacos home and away to be in contention for the group winners, IMV – not exactly favourable the latter fixture with our record in Greece.
Must agree with those saying Koscielny was man of the match. I was only able to see the second half but he was doing a great job in clearing up the sloppiness of others. Agreed also about Song who had a great half. Welcome VFB93 @62 You are speaking sanity. 😀
Hi Holic and Holics.
I have to say I disagree on some of the general ideas.
We COULD have done something about that goal, and that is not to concede that foul (which was rather cheap IMO). Arteta got caught on on the ball and we could have held the ball a bit more and not concede the foul.
The other thing I disagree with people is that Dortmund didn’t really threaten us that much. I felt they were very naive in their attacking play and hurried their shots causing all of them to go over the bar.
It seemed as if they had no anticipation in the box as to what the defenders would do and as soon as a defender just came their way they shot the ball even though they could have made a good pass to set up a goal.
I was expecting to see a “walk the ball into the net” team but saw the opposite actually.
Having said that, a point at that stadium is excellent. This practically guaranteed our qualification and we should be able to go to Marseille with ten points after winning at home against Marseille and Olympiakos and in Greece.
If we get a result there, we could rest our first teamers for the 6th game at home against Dortmund.
I have to say it was refreshing to see the mighty Arsenal play for a result and if anything this performance gave me confidence that we would be able to grind a result in a second leg at a tough place after narrowly winning at home. This type of performance against Barca last season would have seen us through. I’m delighted that we learned to play for a result cause that’s what this competition is all about.
Overall, a great result.
@Snir, Dortmund being “naïve in attack” could be down to excitement. Most probably we’ll get a better performance from both them (and us!) at home I think. Might be risky resting players in the home leg though…let’s hope our points tally really goes the way your psychic abilities predicts it
Tabs – Spot on!
I linked the Sylvinho interview with Arsenal Brazil where he says he learned to defensive play at Arsenal and that Pat Rice is the one in charge of the defensive side at Arsenal.
He also said that the defensive coaching he received at Arsenal (by Pat Rice) helped him to a great degree at Barca where he played under Pep among others.
We have been calling for an ex-gunner to get a defensive coach role for a while (Bould, Keown et al) and knowing now that Pat Rice is in charge of it, I feel a lot calmer.
I know he does a great job, perhaps he was unlucky with the personnel he was given. The lack of cover which always bit us in the ass.
I am certain Pat concentrated on the defensive side in his team talk and you could see that the team played excellent defense in the 2nd half. I felt like they wouldn’t score for years if not through a wonder strike (although like I said, I felt their naivety in the box contributed to that).
Kudos to Pat Rice.
In fact, according to the fixture list we play Norwich on the Saturday before the return fixture against BVB…If it were up to me I’d rest a couple of key players in that match instead. But then again, that match is also potentially tricky…
He shoots. He scores. Everyone goes wild.
He receives a bouquet of flowers from the supportive crowd.
His rivals rue their missed chance to win the century.
He flashes his famous West Indian smile and kisses the badge.
Gives pints of Old Speckled Hen to the faithful drinkers.
P.S. Did anyone else notice that Alan Smith is replacing Andy Gray on FIFA 12? Should make the commentary bearable…
And one more thing TABS – I disagree on Gervinho.
I think he should have the intelligence to notice he’s being triple teamed and pass the ball more instead of trying to take everybody on.
I thought he was really selfish and actually could have set up Theo for an empty netter when he shot against the GK’s legs.
I love him, but am a bit disappointed with him today. But, I’m sure he’ll come good once he gets a better understanding with his fellow attackers.
All things considered it was a hard-earned and well-deserved point.
Just a little note on Koscielny, and this is not with particular reference to last night’s game. I think he’s one of those guys who might continue to divide opinion. I can’t quite seem to decide if I like him or not. What I do feel is that he isn’t the most reassuring defender to have around. What’s the word? Volatility? Not so much in character but in his performances. Something like that, in that, some days he looks like a world beater (remember the Barca game at the Emirates when he handled Messi and co. really well), strong in the tackle, his distribution at times is quite marvelous, decent heading ability and he’s got heart. But far too often he makes these glaring errors, a rash tackle, poor decision making. You’d find games where he does some brilliant things, as good as any other defender out there, but then he’d go botch it up with a couple of errors later in the game. Potentially I think he has the ability to go on and become one of the best defenders in the world, but he just can’t seem to iron out these flaws. I hope he can do so with time.
It was good to see Santos out there, even if it was for a few minutes. I hope he starts at Ewood. I wonder when we’d get to see Park in action. Fat chance of that happening against the dwarf-like figures of Dann and Samba. Wenger would probably start with RVP and bring Chamakh later on. I think Bolton at home would be ideal.
Whistler.
A couple of things.
The first is every player makes mistakes, it’s how you recover from ’em. You got caught on the offside trap? You recover and block the shot or pressure the striker into a bad shot.
His recovery ability is incredible.
I think he’s still learning and you can’t expect a player in his 2nd season in the EPL to be absolutely flawless. As a CB the mistakes are a bit more costly that’s all. Cesc made mistakes even after 8 seasons, as does RvP and even TV!
I’ll let you in on something – Vidic makes mistakes too:) . That doesn’t mean he’s not one of the best.
I definitely think that if Kos continues with the form he’s showing this season he’ll be up there with the best in Europe.
Morning all
Have just skimmed through the drinks (shaking my head ruefully a few times – Dortmund “dull”????)
Was composing my own reply to those who whinge when I read Holic’s drink @55
“No we haven’t replaced Cesc and Nasri. Instead we have players not quite at that technical level who want to play for the club and are putting a shift in. Fuck those who didn’t want to be a part of the Arsenal.”
…. and then found that you had done it for me!
Arteta didn’t set the word alight with game winning passes, but he showed his experience and technicality in drawing fouls and so helping relieve the pressure.
This was Champions League football – high pressure, high quality. How it should be. Great stuff.
Bloody Mary, H2H??
I am going to watch the game again later. I am starting to get a complex.
Steve – I won’t lie.
After our little discussion about Kos over the weekend and seeing Holic’s title, your comment is the one I wanted to see.
I felt that if you would have been convinced then Kos really did make a giant improvement from last season 😀
Granted, he still has a lot to improve, but he (and of course Woj) started this season on top, top form.
Getting to the drinks late (or early) and some interesting points above. (not from the twats, we and they know who they are).
Last night was a major step in our rehabilitation. There were some really fine individual performances from Woj, Song and Kos (early phase of the game apart) and I thought both Arteta and Benny showed great fight and the maturity that is needed to dig out a result. I also thought Per German Bloke was very visible – can’t remember whether this is good or bad 😉
Gervinho gave notice that he could be the most frustrating footballer since Kanu and will hopefully learn to play more for the team in the coming weeks. Yes he was triple marked a lot of the time, all the more reason to pass the ball off to a team mate son, rather than trying to dribble through each and every one of the opposition! And what was
going on with his boots – he spent more time on his arse than the
chubby check-out operator from Sainsbury’s.
As for Theo – and whilst his assist was sublime – we really need to get more out of him. He is not a winger and his career may suffer in the way that NB52 has at Arsenal by being asked to perform a role that he is not really suited to. But there is nothing to stop him putting a shift in and Arshavin might think there are some double standards being applied regarding helping out his full back. I am desperate for Theo to succeed at Arsenal but if he doesn’t waken up, then he could find himself behind other recent arrivals who may be more suited to the role.
A final word on our Captain – I thought he was excellent tonight. Linked up play really well, worked hard to get his goal and scored it with his chocolate leg, but most importantly worked their back line into making sloppy passes.
As said in the last drinks, get the points on Saturday and we can look back on a very satisfying 7 days.
Hi all,
Back from hols with the lovely Cicilia,she has done a ‘ Maggie May ‘ on me.
That’s for Tabs and TS to work out.
Re last nights game,
Snir @ 96,
Spot on my boy,
88mins of hard graft thrown away,giving up possesion in our own half,
Sing a Song of Sixpence makes a needless foul,free kick,Goal.
Gutted.
Thought the Dortmund supporters were fantastic.
Only thing that eased my pain was seeing Barca concede a 93rd minute equaliser at home,to a really poor AC Milan side.
cheers
The Sweeper
Of course “tonight” was really last night.
Trev from last night’s drinks, cheers. Now that I know where PHW got his crutches I expect his medical plight will show up in the drinks. Mr Mee, your legal brief could be in order 😉
Zico @ 108
I am still waiting for my half price Pensioner season ticket for the HT,
Is it in the mail.??
please confirm
cheers
The Sweeper
PS can i get a 2 for 1 deal for the lovely C as well.
She will definitley make the longer journeys go quicker,for me anyway.!!
Clive, OAPs go free. Celia can pay in kind. 😉
Agree with you catalan @105.
Arteta was excellent in winning those freekicks which reduced the tempo of Dortmund’s attack and they really were frustrated until that ‘once in a lifetime’ strike!
Steve T, SG can I add a pennysworth
1. Kos worked extra hard, because he was covering ground to back up PM who is not up to speed, although PM was well positioned sometimes
2 Dortmund were pressing high up (better than us) and as I observed at half time, our defence was peppering Chez because they couldnt find a forward
3 Gervinho was being triple marked, but there was very rarely another Red to take a pass, though you could argue that he might try and hold the ball rather than run
4 Theo, with one notable exception, was a disaster.
There was an occasion when he broke in support of either RvP or Gervinho, I forget which, but they broke on the left somewhere, but Theo stayed on the wing rather than coming closer to signal his presence or offer a pass.
As has be said, he almost never supported Bacary, and for their corners worked too close to our penalty area . If he had stayed in midfield, the threat of his speed would have meant that their defence would have to be much deeper, and dare I say it, might have avoided their goal
Finally 1-1 wa a fair result given all their misses and our few
“The Gunners have been boosted after Thomas Vermaelen was given the go-ahead to start gym work as he recovers from achilles surgery.”
http://yfrog.com/o01icij
A picture from Jacky boy of him and TV on the bike.
TV should be in training in 2 weeks. Good news. Very good news.
Zico
many thnks Old chap.
But i must insist that the Orange juice is freshly squeezed,and not that Supermarket muck.
As a 50+ yr veteran Arse supporter,please confirm i will be accorded all rights and privileges pertaining to the First Class Carriage,ie:King Size bed,Spa bath,Personal Butler and monogrammed Zimmer Frame.!!
Re C,unfortunately she is only kind to me.
Cheers
The Sweeper.
I think that not many people picked up on the most important thing from yesterday.
We learned how to play for a result.
How many times have we heard AW say “we will not set out to defend” etc?
We learned to grind out results away from home when we’re under extreme pressure from the opposition and not only that, we limited them to very few dangerous opportunities. Most of their attempts were hurried shots over the bar that didn’t threaten anybody.
That’s what this competition is all about. With the aggregate rule in the knockout phases, getting a goal and holding on for a draw or better will take you through to the next round 90% of the time.
I’m thrilled by that fact. Absolutely thrilled.
Again it comes back to the point that we’re less exciting but stronger. And we’re stronger in our chances for the UCL because we can play for a result.
Can’t agree on Koscielny, I thought he was a liability for the entire first half and, if we’d been battered, it would have been entirely down to his inability to hold a line. They had acres of space because he played a yard too deep. In the second half, late on anyway, he was better in the challenges he made but we should have been hammered first half and he was awful.
Still, a point away is more than acceptable.
Good morning Mr R,
You can take a seat next to Steve. You have a lot in common 😉
I think you may have a point about his positional sense. He is a young defender learning the ropes. Bould and Adams were making those sorts of mistakes at his age. Look at the stats though and they all make sense. He was heading them out, lunging in to block, generally making the right calls about when to pass and when to hoof.
Then again I could be easily pleased 😀
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think Kos had a bad game. I think he played quite well, just not the motm performance others are suggesting. I do think he has come on and he is a big improvement on last year. I also think he will get a lot better as well. I will have a look at it again. I certainly do not want to look for negatives after a good away point. Especially as I have said earlier, we may well have lost that last year. That is possibly the most positive for me.
120 Posts –
Good to see alot of happy Gooners! 😉
I think we had a lot of leaders on the Pitch last night, which is when we usually have our best games! 😉
I think the game we’re playing is quite unbalanced.
I mean, either you play a high line and press high up the pitch or you play deeper and ease off.
We played with a high line and eased off in the first half.
Good to see the adjustments were made in the 2nd half. As soon as we started playing deeper we limited them almost completely (the only chance they had was from that deflected corner).
The downside of that is that we had a hard time attacking once we got the ball.
Morning All!
Terrific post Mr.H with extra fine support from the regulars (you all know who you are) and the odd CMC abuser wandering in for a very unwelcome whinge…. ‘What’ The F*ck?
I think I said my piece in the previous drinks so won’t repeat but it was a very decent result and an extra mention for the immense Mr.Songinho last night – please Alex can you keep playing like that?
tabs @ #87, look forward to hearing some of those stories in person.
The Sweeper @ #109, good to see you back safe and sound but I always envisioned the VC as a younger woman in her prime not an older woman teaching a young man new tricks per Rod S. No doubt tabs will come up with the answer that you are seeking 😉
BtM @ #85, hope we get the chance to share a drink, a thought and a laugh or two post the Greek visitors. And thank you for spelling OlympiaKos correctly! When exactly did a ‘k’ becoem a ‘c’???
PS: Notice a lot of The-o bashing going on. Each to their own. He seems to be our new ‘marmite’ player. I’m just wondering if he’s having his head turned by someone on The Dark Side regarding his contract renewal? For me his flashes of brilliance and clinical finishing (at times) make him a must keep player but I also believe he deserves a good ol’ go at being played as a stiker before judgement day is reached. Then again, maybe the acquisitions of O2TC and Park are designed to offset a loss that is being predicted? who knows….
Cheers all. Morning beverages for all in the bar are on Lars 😉
Loving the positive comments. Defensively sound as i said before. Promising start by the new boys in midfield and happy to give them time to settle and improve. My MOTM was Song, thought he was immense and it’ll be great to have him back for the EPL matches. I’ve always thought he was immense and that the team is so much more solid without him. Gervinho interests me because he did lose the ball a lot but he also had three players on him a lot and that has to be down to a lack of support as someone said. That’s where you need your full backs to overlap and one of your midfielders to push up. No doubt Dos Santos and Gervinho could form a formidable partnership on that left side when the Brazilian is fully match fit. Hopefully he’s not too selfish and realises that taking on three players on your own every time is the wrong decision, i think he just wasn’t given options.
125, that’ll do for me
Morning all, reading through the drinks the ‘Theo’ theme seems recurring.
I’m in agreement with ts and all who suggest he now has a run up top. If we can’t fit him in there then I think wr have to accept we’re seeing the best he can be as a right winger. By the way his stats last year and so far this season aren’t too shabby.
The-o’bashing…Is he the new irish centre half:) Morning TS. Theo constantly proves me wrong, every time I throw my hands up at him he seems to pull something out of the bag so defo a love hate relationship. Read somewhere about Kos’ percentage clearances, duels won etc and it was miles better than Cahill and Jags so no regrets on that one. Can see why people have a go at Gibbs but all our productive attacking wing play is on that side lately so somethings gotta give.
TS
The lovely C is indeed in her Prime,it was more certain words in the song that were pertinent,not the Lady herself.
As a Board Member of the HT,perhaps you can verify my requests @116.??
Many thnks
Cheers
The Sweeper.
Clive @ #128
OK Mr.Sweeper, just for you there could be a number of extracts from Maggie May that are relevant, how about these?
Oh Maggie, I couldn’t have tried any more
You led me away from home
Just to save you from being alone
You stole my soul and that’s a pain I can do without
All I needed was a friend to lend a helping hand
What a lover, you wore me out, all you did was wreck my bed
You stole my heart, I couldn’t leave you if I tried
PS: Will pass your HT requests to Edwin 😉
PS: My guess, it’s the last two lines…?
“ At clubs where a new manager is trying to piece together a new side with a raft of new signings a degree of patience is accorded to both him and his players. “
Here, here Holic – may I echo that sentiment too.
Defensively I thought we were impressive. I thought this was a performance from a group of players who understood what it meant to wear the Jersey – something that we’ve missed in recent years.
Sure, we were overrun in midfield and we didn’t create the same chances we would normally – but it was a gutsy defensive display that got a result, unlike the ones that would have lost this match in yesteryears.
Kos is coming good and while still prone to error, its far more reassuring to have a player of this quality to step in for Vermy. It shows we’ve some depth at Centre half – something we didn’t have before.
Special mention to Yossi – who was my MOTM. He never stopped running and breaking up play, impressive attitude from a new player on loan.
Other points of note: Dortmund may be German champions, but they also knew they were facing a team at its lowest ebb in some years. If ever they were going to beat us, last night should have been that night. Despite having most of the possession, they missed chances which were as much down to their own lack of penetration as our collective defensive effort. It took a wonderstrike to draw level 3 mins from time! I guess my point is this: if I had a choice between Bayern and Dortmund in the group, I’d be taking Dortmund everytime.
I must also ask, but am I alone in thinking that Arteta could have done better? We needed some experience and composure to retain possession in midfield – and I thought he should have provided this. Thoughts…?
A final word on Theo. This is his 6th season at the club. It was only last year we begun to see some form from him and so far this year, he’s been instrumental in scoring against Udinese (home and Away) as well as setting up RVP’s goal last night. That said, TABs makes an excellent point in that he did very little to dig out defensively last night and IMHO, at Old Trafford.
My point is this: young Theo has a long way to go yet before he could be trusted with a central role down the middle. In fact, considering the emergence of Gervinho, the resurgence of Arshavin and the arrivals of OXO, Park and Miyaichi, Theo has it all to do to make his own place on the wing, let alone be dreaming of playing down the middle as of yet!
*boilk*
Afternoon Fellas ,
Bit more time to digest all the drinks today .
From the last set of drinks , cheers for the kind words Trev , and Lesser Spotted African Gooner , great moniker , drinks on my tab await Gentlemen .
Now then , The Sweeper @116 – I hve to say your little conundrum had me stumped for a while . Had the lovely C given you The Spanish Archer ( surely not , you’re after a season ticket for her on the Happy Train ) , had Rod Stewart himself turned up at your resort which would be enough to ruin any holiday ? Nope , dont think so .
So I’m plumping for the fact that such was your mutual vigour and passion , she wrecked your bed . Here’s hoping that the kick to the head in the morrning wasn’t too hard 😉
Snir @various . Thanks for your kind words , though as you say we’ll have to agree to disagree on Flipper . Just my view . Plenty in the pub shared your point of view . I just felt that in the first half , when we often struggled to get out of our half , he always provided an outlet ( which was not matched by Theo ) and his ability to break the first tackle , if not the second and third , bought us much needed breathing space and time . Yes , he’ll need to play with his head up more , but that will come .
Time for hair of the dog methinks . Drinks for all Barkeeps .
Arsenal were under a huge amount of pressure for most of the game and we were lucky not to concede more goals.
However, this was a ballsy perfomance from a committed Arsenal team. Every player was prepared to stick a foot in and track back against the free flowing, technical football being showcased by the German champions.
The Dortmund team were industrious, putting pressure on every Arsenal player and forcing errors. It was frustrating to see simple passes go astray.
I have no doubt that we wil see improvements in the coming months. A side more used to playing with each other along with a fit Jack / Rambo will retain posession much better against strong sides such as Dortmund. We will hopefully see an increase in the number of chances we create too.
The players will have had a much needed boost in confidence from this hard earned away point. Another 3 points from the Blackburn game would really kick start out season.
Arsenal for life.
Afternoon tabs, feeling a bit *boilky* myself today which would be fine but no real alcohol has passed my lips in the last 24 hours.
Noel73 & Geoff – Cheers for the references fellas. Good to sahre similar viewpoints.
I also agree with Joe in that Theo’s really got his work cut out for him this season in order to keep his regular first team starting status – but that’s exactly as it should be at our great club.
Dr Z , great post , only partially agree with your Gervinho comments , as detailed above , but fully in line with the Theo comments .
I don’t want to be a Theo basher at all , nobody would be happier than me to see him really nail down that place with consistently good performances . Thought he was getting there last season until injury set him back . Just feel time is slightly running out for him at Arsenal , unless he can bring a consistency to his performance . I’m not with those who say he hasn’t got it . I think he has , which makes performances like last night all the more frustrating .
Have to say , also , that I don’t think the comparison with Bendtner being used out of position is an apposite one . Billy possessed none of the attributes required for playing wide . Theo does . His pace is , or should be , as dangerous out wide as in the middle . Until he is able to both find ways of imposing himself physically , and utilising that pace , I tend to agree with Joe , that he might have to wait a very long time for that chance in the middle , where the physical challenges are , if anything , greater .
TS @129 – you bugger , you got there before me 🙁
tabs @ #135
Final word from me on The-o today. Agree that consistency is the key he needs to unlock a nailed-on starting position in the first XI.
For me, that’s the biggest frustration with his play.
Afternoon TS ,
I have requested that Smallballs discusses Clive’s requests@116 with Feelgood at Bolton ( item 3 ) .
I think the monogrammed zimmer frame is fine , but the king sized bed and Spa might present operational difficulties . Suggest we stick him in the Sports carriage ? Smallballs probably happy to carry out any butlering/ personal service the Gentleman requires 😉
Dear Mr.Sweeper @ #116
I have now received requests from both Messrs Storey and Smallballs regarding your requests for special treatment on our HT MkII.
The DLL Board will meet again prior to the Notlob home match and although I won’t be there in person, the board will be quorate and my opinion is that your outstanding long service to The Club does warrant some Club Level priviledges normally reserved for those who pay the increased ticket costs.
Wolfgang is quite correct when he says the king-sized bed and spa will cause ‘operational diffculties’. Put simply, it’s a bogies thing. Our prime directive is to avoid any Class One events therefore the trains undercarriage is tuned accordingly to this goal.
As for the freshly squeezed OJ and mongrammed zimmer frame, both are fine by me. Perhaps Dr.F can think of some rather appealingb ways that our freshly recruited bar-staff might squeeze those oranges for you?
Yours, Edwin.
Right,
Roll on Saturday, hmmm? There are a few options again, but my guess is Arsene will play our strongest squad, similar if not the same as yesterday!
Good, drinks all around to a settled collective of Gooners!
…. and wouldn’t it be nice to see us pressing hard to regain possesion like Dortmund did yesterday? Just like another team we all love to loathe.
It clearly works, so why don’t we do it??
Still, enough analysing. I enjoyed a great game of footy. Simple.
TS @ 124
Daily reader but not a regular poster, think the only time was to direct one of your thirsty punters to the Singapore Gooners bar, where I was a regular before moving here 3 years ago.
Re the Greek visitors, I drive past their stadium everyday and as far as I’m aware after about 80 years of spelling their name with a K they changed it to a C a few years ago. Their web site shows a C as does UEFA. No idea why, its all Greek to me!
Anyway will be at the Emirates with my 3 kids for the game on 28th (son’s 21st) plus a few of the lads from Arsenal Hellas and of course the return here on 6 Dec. Lets hope the gate 7 crazies go home earlier and they dont lock us in as late as they did last time.
Great point last night , but must admit when the equaliser went in I was cursing Song for giving away the free kick, as Kos looked to be ready to nick the ball.
Sailor Jerry n coke for me and ouzos all round.
Prof TES @138 heh , very good 🙂
hellas @ #141
Many thanks for confirming that Olympiakos did randomly decide to become Olympiacos instead.
Enjoy the match on 28th. I expect one or two from this bar to be at The Tollie post match. The ‘back garden’ is the preferred supping point.
I’ll avoid an ouzo if you don’t mind. DLL water, straight-up, would be a fine replacement 😉
Thank you tabs @ #142. TS says help yourself to an extra ouzo courtesy of hellas already on the bar.
PS: For some reason, TS used my laptop to post back to hellas above 😳
Notice how I don’t mention it when Prof TES makes posts on here from my PC 😉
Honestly Edwin, I thought our relationship was above such things…
A drink for Hellas Gooner, please barkeep.
Weird they’d change their name …. maybe a Greek hat shop ripped off their trademark?!
Keep posting . … the more the merrier.
Ash, nice post too. Neither do I think we looked defensively sound in the first half, but obviously something clever was said by Mr Rice at half time, and then it was very assured.
TABS, TS, GT…. the usuals?
Heh Dr.C
Please keep my glass refreshed with water 😉
Into the night, the train hurtles westward. Raucous happy passengers singing themselves hoarse. Empty stein glasses are strewn everywhere and a purple haze of “cigarette” smoke, reminiscent of a Brown cafe in Amsterdam, lingers in the air.
In the Executive Carriage, a self-satisfied Doctor Feelgood is holding court:
Dr F: “Well then people, the linters seem well chuffed with tonight’s proceedings, eh?”
Edwin: “Almost to a man, Dr F, although there are a few freeloaders being held by Security who have had plenty to say for themselves.”
Dr F: “Did we get their names? You know how the last lot were so severely beaten, that even their own mothers didn’t recognise them, heh.”
Edwin: “Yes indeedy, we have Messrs. What, James and his cousin with an unpronou
Edwin: “Yes indeedy. We have Messrs. What, James and his cousin who has some unpronounceable name, but Legal have suggested that we take a more restrained approach to dealing with the disgruntled.”
Dr F : “Well Edwin, you know I only want the gruntled on board, but this restrained chat sounds a bit woolly and liberal to me.”
Edwin (massive grin on his face): “It is really simple. I sent Wolfgang Smallballs down to see them. I swapped his parasol with an out of tune ukelele and he has been down there singing Kumbaya to them repeatedly since we left Dortmund.”
Dr F: “An act of genius Edwin, what happened next?”
Edwin: “Well at first they were all stunned into silence as soon as they saw his psychedelic lederhosen. Then they started to whimper when he stripped down to his speedos. But as soon as he started singing, they all started to shout in unison “let me off this fucking train, now, let me off!”
Dr F: “Okay, keep it going till Paris. Tranquilize them, dip their wallets and then leave them to the devices of Ollie, maybe he can teach them the alphabet, heh. Nice work Professor, you have obviously got your mojo back…..”
Feelgood is seen exiting the Executive Carriage heading to a rendezvous with a girl with green eyes…….
Linters =punters. Feckin Apple.
Sorry for break in service (heh) – feckin Apple again.
Dr Z heh , you got me at “Kumbaya” – brilliant 🙂 🙂
Nice one zico. Well played on the break in service too. 😆
Trust that serves as an adequate warning to James, What & Co. from The Locomotives (heh!) 😉
zico, nothing like a cliffhanger when things are at their dramatic peak!
*tries to rub out mental image of a man wearing orange speedoes playing Kumbaya on an out of tune ukelele*
Prof Tes huh? Interesting!
Or should I say, elementary?
Good Afternoon Holics
The boys did OK. I was seriously worried at one stage that we would be lucky to escape with a narrow defeat. Wave after wave of attacks from a very aggressive Dortmund side fortunately came to nothing . How woeful was their finishing.
The midfield was overrun and when we did get the ball out wide Theo and Gerv were snuffed out with defenders swarming all over them . Then RVP gave us a lifeline.
Who knows what PR said at half time but we made a great job of defending our lead in the second half. Kos, Song and my man Szczesny put in a great shift, as did Arteta and YB. It was a cruel blow to concede in the final minutes but Dortmund deserved something from a very entertaining game.
We should gain some much needed confidence from a great effort in front of a fantastic home crowd. Oh for that sort of atmosphere at the Ems.
I expect some changes at the weekend but I fully expect 3 points at Blackburn. Onwards and upwards.
As always COYRs.
Memo to Dr Feelgood .
cc Prof TES , Wolfgang Smallballs
Subject : Security Measures taken in Germany .
Casualties 4 .
Regrets 0 .
First Casualty –
Name : What .
Family name : The F*ck
Drinks : One
Misdemeanours : – Calls people who aren’t his mate “mate” . Refers to Arsenal as “these lot” . Questions whether supporters have seen the game .
Diagnosis : Too inarticulate to be drinking . Suggested action that he post in his native language refused .
Action Taken : Mercilessly dealt with in the Bar , before being taken to cell . Subjected to Smallballs Kumbaya , broke down and confessed he was a Spud . Chucked off train at high speed . Outcome unknown .
Second Casualty .
Name : Kevin .
Family Name : O’ Notyouagain .
Age : 29
Mental Age : 3
Drinks : 2
Misdemeanours : Delusions of Grandeur – felt only he understood the game . Had some self-awareness of his condition , as a result of his “insight” .
Diagnosis : Hates Arsenal .
Action Taken : See above . Unfortunately fell in love with Smallballs . Apparently , first time that anyone has given him one on one attention . Smallballs not happy with attachment . Casualty vapourised at first opportunity .
Third Casualty .
Name :Rajesh .
Family Name : Radish .
Drinks : one .
Misdemeanours : Not taking medicine . Repeats word for word meaningless Sh*t . Regurgitates drinks .
Diagnosis : Identity issues . Failure to hold his drink .
Action taken : No lullabies for him . Immobilised on a coat hook , and chucked off in The Alps . Outcome unknown .
Fourth Casualty .
Name : Hec .
Family Name : Toring-Inanely
Drinks : One .
Misdemeanours : Called Walcott “thickest footballer” and Flipper a Prima Dona . Basic command of English very poor .
Diagnosis : Unaware he is much thicker than Theo .
Action taken : Offer of basic writing class refused . Immediately vapourised without a backward glance .
Al wallets retained , revealing £1.95 in total , one P45 from KFC , a note from a Mrs O’Notyouagain to a school regarding her Son’s special needs , and a dummy .
Feckin’ excellent Carlos, drinks and ‘roids on the bar for you and the boys!
Got in just in time.
Double Heh at C Kickemhard.
Cheers for the BM @ 106 Dr C and I’ll take TS up on his kind offer @157.
Many great drinks and some excellent window licking by assorted visitors.
See if I can get something posted myself…..
Carlos, does Kevin = James?
Apologies – Kevin =James .
It was a long night .
Just rounding up the boys for their refreshments … they’re still a bit jumpy .
Thank you Carlos
FYI, Edwin is going to recommend a commendation award to the board for your team’s stirling efforts in dealing with the small but regular flow of interlopers that turn-up uninvited and leave unwanted.
Thank you TS , these boys would do it for nothing , but a kind word or shiny bangle always goes down well .
Right , off to make sure all windows are cleared of spittle .
Back from the dead…. well played Arsenal. Made everyone proud yesterday. Cheers.
Carlos Kickemhard, heh. Excellent summation of recent outpatients in the HT medical coach.
The stationmaster would like to know how these reprobates were allowed to board the express service from Dortmund Central to London Liverpool St in the first place. Is he to assume that the revenue enforcement staff are in need of extra training sessions??
Carlos, not only will we provide you with a bangle, but we can even introduce you to the barmaid who left it in my, err, office. 😉
Fantastic work – not gone un-noticed. 8)
Apologies if this has been discussed before, but judging by what I have read, Pat Rice seems to have the media very well after the game.
Maybe Arsene could take a leaf out of Ferguson’s book and let Pat handle the sharks for a bit? I love Arsene’s fundamental honesty, but it doesn’t always serve our interests. Thoughts, Holics?
TS @ 152 – didn’t see that one,
very clever.
Alrighty then, my 2cents worth;
I thought we started badly last night, we were playing way too high a line and an excellent Dortmond team, who made a complete mockery of their pot 4 seeding, carved us open at will and if it wasn’t for a combination of bad misses and last ditch defending (briliant Mr Sagna) the game could of been done and dusted before the half hour mark.
However, we weathered the storm and slowly but surely managed to get a foothold in the game, kept poccession for a while and managed to catch them on the break thanks to an excelent tackle from RvP a subliem return from Theo and top drawer finish from van Captain.
The second half is hard to call, because although Dortmond pressed almost the entire 45 minutes, I never really had the feeling we were in any trouble, the defence had dropped back, so were well positioned and Woj, as in the first half, seemed to be a ball magnet, every cross and shot ended up in his arms. As I said in the previous drinks, a one in a million shot was the only way he was going to be beaten yesterday. Well played ze Germans for grabbing the equaliser, as gutting as it was, it was no less then what they deserved. Any gooner dissatisfied with a draw at the home of the Bundesliga champs is either deluded or just happy to be miserable.
The best performance on the night for me was from the referee. He didn’t need to be the centre of attention, he let the game flow and intervened only when necassary. Top marks.
Marco van Basten singled out Kos for praise in his post match anaylisis, saying that he was impressed with his improvement, not too shabby an endorsment that. For me Arsenal’s best performer was BennyGoon. I believe I was more excited then most by his arrival and what he showed last night is exactly the reason for my high expectations. He is a very industrious player, who moves with the ball well and accesses his options before releasing the ball. His movement and workrate remindes me a bit of Brian Talbot, but fortunatly Benny can make a hell of a lot more then just a square pass. 😉
All in all it was a good team performance, ofcourse I would have liked to see us with a bit more bite futher up the field, but we played deep and Dortmond play a very good pressing game and after we had nicked a breakaway goal they weren’t going to let that happen again and there seemed to be three players on the boys in red everytime the half way line was passed. Once again praise has to go out to a quality opposition.
I hope the lads realise what a great result this was and see at as such rather then dwell on what might had been bar the wunderequaliser. If this doesn’t raise the belief and confidence within the squad then I don’t know what will. With players still to come back and the new arrivals “gelling in” over the next few weeks, things can only get better.
Next up we’ve got some Chicken fuckers to pluck three points from.
Come on you Gunners.
Hi Sajit, haven’t heard from you in a while. Did you mean YOU were back from the dead? 😉
Camberwell – feel that these questions should be directed to the ticketing office , rather than Security , but I would say that it is very hard to ascertain the character of new travellers , until they start drinking . If their drinking reveals certain personality failings , that’s when we step in .
*slips off with swedish bamaid with swedish dictionary , a copy of Abba’s greatest hits , and a kilo of smoked herring* 😎
Re: Dr. Z @166: Agreed about Pat Rice and the media. The variety would be refreshing on many fronts, and would give AW a rest from the constant onslaught and pressure of the same questions. PR is seasoned for sure and is not likely to give away trade secrets. His good nature could provide to a pleasing song and dance now and again. In short, PR could be good for PR. 😉
Carlos, fill your “boots”, you deserve to. You wont respect her in the morning, though. 😀
(Reading upward) Psychedelic lederhosen? 😀 😀 😀
I expect some changes but I fully expect 3 points at Blackburn
Welcome aboard the Happy Train, Delia.
Re: hellasgooner, Thanks for the explanation about the change in the spelling of Olympiacos. Had been wondering, but had also preferred it with a K for some reason…
Dr Z @166 ,
Thought Pat had a terrific night last night , both in the tactical changes he made at HT , and the subs he made late on , all of which , I felt were sensible .
Thought he dealt with the media well , albeit on the back of a good result .
Dont think he should do it on a sustained basis , (a) because I doubt we’d get away with it ie one rule for Manure , another for the rest , and (b) think he would struggle on days we didn’t get a result and the questioning was more hostile .
No reason , however , why he can’t do it every now and then , just to give AW a bit of a breather .
Dr Z.
Just had a quick butchers at PR’s post match interview.
He said all the right things, didn’t look too comfortable saying them though.
I did love the; “they’re bloody good players” bit though.
To: C. Kickemhard, head of PARS
cc: Prof TES, Dr T
From: Dr C, HT Quackery
Congratulations, sir.
I feel that it is much more appropriate that your efficient team deal with such interlopers, and we can keep all medicinal compounds for administering to the regulars.
We, and our enthusiastic team are, of course, at your disposal should you feel our “expertise” is needed. But, to be honest, I believe that immediate euthanasia is by far the best approach in such cases.
For the greater good and all that.
Such proportioning of responsibilities will, of course, free up the Ketamine supply for that Israeli ADHD patient of ours.
Please find enclosed your “prescription”, and a pipe with which to self administer it.
Yours etc etc
Blackburn fans are planning a 1,000-strong march at Saturday’s match against Arsenal to demand the removal of manager Steve Kean.
Full story: Daily Mirror
That should make quite a strong statement…
Over 50% of the fanbase turning up to demonstrate 🙂
Excellent Dr C , will pass on comments , pipe and prescription to Kickemhard , as soon as he’s finished with the Blonde .
In the meantime perhaps I’ll have a little taster ….
* pulls up chair and contemplates the challenge*
H2H@179 – heh 🙂
TABS
Perhaps you could also inform Carlos that I have a few spare speculums hanging around the office, which I have previously lent to Nurse Wolfie for “personal use”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculum_(medical)
I have had a word with her and she is happy to use them on interlopers, under Carlos’ instructions, as he sees fit.
Hope this helps?
An excellent suggestion Dr C .
I have no doubt that Carlos will wish to avail himself of this increased weaponry . Anything that helps The Arsenal always gets his thumbs up .
Not surprised Wolfie identified the potential of such an implement . Expect an order from The Gooner Ladyboy Massive in the coming days 🙂
tabs, the agenda is filling up for 24th – so far I have
1. Linda Lusardi’s bits
2. Terms offered to Harsha for supply of psilocybin
3. Privileges for the Sweeper
4. Carlos Kickemhard – Board Room material?
We better remember and go to the game 😉
“I have no doubt that Carlos will wish to avail himself of this increased weaponry . Anything that helps The Arsenal always gets his thumbs up”
If he gets those speculum thingys there will be no longer a need for “thumbs up”
Dr Z , yes indeed a packed agenda . Think as well that Prof TES was after a formal vote of confidence from Dr Feelgood as to his position .
Working on the proviso that we will have approx 3 hours , and that No.1 will take approx 2 hours 55 mins , will we be able to fit all other matters in ? 😉
H2H@168, good assessment.
I felt a bit of nostalgia watching last night. Reminded me of the 1994 Cup Winners Cup Final v Parma. Although not present in the stadium last night like in 94, there was a feel of the old George Graham spirit out there, a more resilient backs against the wall type performance. Defenders threw themselves in front of balls. Then try nick a goal and hold on for dear life. No 1-0 to the Arse unfortunately as that scoreline in 94 was.
I thought Sczc, Sagna, Song & Koz were huge. I was very impressed with BD’s style of play, Jurgen Klopp is a top Coach who works within a budget, has a great eye for talent and is very passionate. So no slouching on his watch as you could see.
Was Peter Hill-Wood injured in the stands last night too?
H2H @185 – its a second heh from me 🙂
Top-up ?
Bernard , agree with you that the second half performance had much of that old spirit present .
Also agree that there was much to admire about BD , though Wolfie remarked that Klopp was overdue a visit to the barbers .
I think PHW’s injuries have already been discussed by the medical staff above . Shame . I had him down for a 15 minute cameo at the end as a midfield enforcer .
And the 200 hoves into view … 😎
THank Bernard.
And of course tabs, top him up sir.
A round of voddie shots on me lads.
THanks Bernard.
And of course tabs, top him up sir.
A round of voddie shots on me lads.
Sorry, double post.
Oh well, it just means twice as many voddie shots.
Cheers.
Cheers H2H
H2H @ 179 and 185 – tres Heh 🙂
tabs @ 186 – when it comes to Linda Lusardi’s bits, Feelgood is all ears, but would like to be all hands (on).
Also Professor Storey is expected to be back in the good books after his handling of the Fuckwits, James What and Co.
I think a drink is in order – Guinness for me, BM for H2H and for tabs?
Cheers, indeed. What a great feeling to know now we have a GK that actually can keep us in game’s. How many times have we seen Cech or Van Der Sar win games. I’ve become so used to our GK’s losing them, it’s a great feeling.
I think I’ll join H2H in a BM , thanks Dr Z , still feeling a bit boilkish .
Some great recent exchanges up there fellas….I only stepped away for an hour or two. That’ll learn me 😉
Big hehs and sound opinions from the usual suspects, zico, Dr.C, tabs, H2H, 8ball, bernard and some developing alter egos 😀
Delia – V.glad to have you aboard the HT. You should help to keep the behaviour in check, could prove to be really useful.
Sajit – Congrats on your resurrection! Can you walk on water too?
zico @ #167 – Thanks for that. #152 was aimed at you in particular what with Watt being the right nationality and what not 😛
OK, so drinks, golden pipes and silver speculums all round then???
PS: Big thumbs up for PR’s PR. A perfect antidote to AW baiting?
@ Bernard, yes with you on that one mate. Definitely a significant improvement in that department. The last two European ties alone have produced great match defining moments from our Goalie.
Long may it continue.
Bloody Mary it is – Cinzano for Wolfie when it shows up, but warn me so I can put my shades on 8)
Scores?
Off the post, and in!
!
Are you lurking tabs?
Re: BD as team, if we’re going to strengthen our squad again in the The Xmas TW, Goetze and/or Subotic would both go down a treat with this Gooner.
Well in zico!
Commiserations tabs. At least you scored y’day thanks to my able assist 🙂
Bugger ! 🙁 Done by the double posters . Almost as bad as having Rooney in your FFL team .
Heh well in Dr Z
tabs you are the king of the 1’s
Er zico, that was in off two posts. That might nit sit well with tabs 😉
*slinks off to the corner with his pipe to cheer himself up*
nit….wit….not
Thank goodness Ollie’s not around.
*joins tabs*
Wouldn’t say no to either of those TS , or indeed Hummels .
Wolfie , on the other hand was especially taken with the look of Bender 😉
Heh tabs, agreed on Hummer and not surprised by Wolfies choice.
Having just off-loaded one, could we face having another Bendy in our squad? 😉
TS 202
Indeed, two great players, with tip top names.
A Gotze, a must have item and a Subotic a cybernetic super bench player, to be brought on when you need something special or a clone army needs to be destroyed.
Heh H2H! Yes worth purchasing on their names alone. I could also imagine Subotic replacing Gary Oldman if they were to remake Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Won’t speculate further, not appropriate….
Hummels – looked really good last night. Can’t help saying “Gott en” before his name.
Childish, I know.
TS and zico – I can do everything… ie till Holic bans me again 😉
Evening ladies and gents, some fine posts to cheer me through a rather boilky day, truth be told.
Loving the suggestions for new toys on the Christmas list. If we’re all good and sing loudly every game, I hope Father Wengerclaus will be suitably generous this year.
And nothing wrong with being childish CG – growing old is inevitable but growing up completely optional, as someone or other once said 🙂
Any suggestions for something to take the edge off what is now looking to be a Category 8* boilk?
*Category being defined by the number of hours past midday that the boilk remains…
snowy
I’m liking ‘Father Wengerclaus’, beats the normal meeja stereotype of Scrooge by a mile.
Feel free to have a rummage in the CMC. Doors are wide open.
Sajit
The naughty corner always awaits. Try to steer clear this time.
We’re mostly good boys most of the time but beware of the PARS team. Carlos is never far from the bar or the HT and his standard M.O. is judge, jury and executioner.
Plus, if needs be, we have a Speedo wearing Wolfie brandishing his tuneless ukelele.
You can run….. 😉
Bloody Mary without the celery , repeat x5 , generally does the trick , Snowy
Why thank you TS – you are a true gent indeed. It’s for purely medicinal reasons, obviously 😉
I’m all for beating meeja stereotypes me. So I won’t suggest that AA be an elf in the Grove Grotto. Get Herr Nutsacker elfed up I say.
Don’t mind the tuneless Ukalele TS , but I had no idea Carlos would put me to work , cleaning up after the window lickers .
Now I go cleanin’ windows to earn an honest bob
For a nosy parker it’s an interestin’ job
Now it’s a job that just suits me
A window cleaner you would be
If you can see what I can see
When I’m cleanin’ windows
Tabs – great suggestion. A quintuple BM and a rummage in the CMC – job done!
You’ll be as right as rain Snowy , half an hour tops .
Just in time to appreciate Benfica’s win 😉
snowy
As resident bar owner and heavy drinker I fully endorse tabs suggestion.
There’s usualy a pitcher full on the bar, feel free to sample.
1-0 get in !!! Great goal .
And a card for potato face…yesssss…. 😀
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
Separated at birth…..
Benayoun & Steve Buscemi?
(see current pic up on Pravda homepage)
Heh TS Benny is Mr Pink 🙂
Exactly tabs! Great minds… 😉
Come on Benfica, spank those Mankeys 🙂
Evening chums.
Mexican and beer. Great combination.
Now home on the whiskey 🙂
Citeh 0-1 Napoli.
Have that Nasri, you cunt for giving the ball away cheaply 🙂
Evening ‘Holic , home just in time to see the Mancs cop it 😉
1-0 Napoli at Middle Eastlands. Nasri and Barry worked together on giving the ball away to a Napoli player and about five seconds later the ball was in the back of the net after a brilliant counter-attack.
Ha ha
Thank you Napoli
Ah, the ‘Holic himself beat me to it! Shouldn’t have used so many words 😀
… excellent news from the Oillands
Yip, my thoughts as well Holic.
Been impressed by that Napoli side so far
Napoli ‘keeper makes an even bigger fuck up. 1-1
Yeah, what was he doing? He just stood there, he should have got to that ball easily.
That’s what’s called the zico mockers 🙂
The Zico Mockers , Dr Z ? Weren’t they in the charts at the same time as Tabs and the Tabloids ? 🙂
Heh, tabs, yeah, ukelele bandits each and every one.
🙂
So, man City draw at home to world football giants Napoli. Hope that puts a little perspective on last nights encouraging result!
I wonder if there’s any need for me to watch games anymore. I was dragged into a meeting kicking and screaming yesterday but I just had to come back to my desk to read `Holic and holics posts to get the feel of what happened without the usual life-shortening stress. Not entirely surprised our performance is much more more composed with Song in the team…
De Gea? 20M on the bench… Great piece of business, that.
And of course the media is already congratulating the Manchester clubs on their great draws.
So, the English press should be waxing lyrical that the best EPL performance this week in the CL was us giving the German Champions a real run for their money and very nearly coming home with all 3 points.
Will they f*ck….
Hmmm? Some interesting results across Europe over the last couple of nights!
Of course our result was by far the worse! 😉
…by the way I’ll have a pint of seaweed water
I like the taste of course! 😉
Napoli were very good tonight. Standard seems to be top class this year . Nasri puts in one good cross and is invisible the rest of the match bar fucking up and being at fault for a goal, his Arsenal career in a snapshot.
Though to be fair, there is at least one rather sensible piece in the Guardian about our game yesterday:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/sep/13/arsenal-borussia-dortmund-champions-league
@ Noel73 – totally agree.
I made a point of watching him quite closely and couldn’t help but think, have we done City up like a kipper again?
Some really good players in that Napoli side though. I thought Italian football was meant to be in the doldrums.
Good article Lars – cheers for the link .
Lars @251 – nice find. Some quality comments beneath too.
Particularly this one:
“What about that crowd, eh? They know how to enjoy their footie over there. Standing, booze, fags – a player called Gertcha.
Think i might emigrate.”
Heh…
Will be interested to see what the meeja make of the Manchester clubs’ ‘victorious’ draws…
TS @129 and Tabs @132
Close enough is good enough.!!
Prof Tes @ 138,
Thnks for your prompt response to my requests.
I must admit i am a tad disappointed about the King size bed and the Spa,are there any other optional extras you can offer me for those long tedious journeys to far flung northern outposts,not to mention the trips across the Channel.
As a suggestion,perhaps you could investigate whether there are any suitable establishments en route to our furthest destinations,where I could stop off for a Refreshing Spa and a nap,before we continue our journey.
I would of course need to partake of same service on return journey as well.
Also to avoid the rest of the HT Travellers getting bored waiting around for me,perhaps you could let them off to stretch their legs and do a bit of rape and pillage of the local Countryside,before continuing our journey.
Your thoughts are awaited with interest.
The lovely C says to say hello,but that’s all.
Zico @ 148 and 149
Brilliant
Carlos @ 156
Another great addition to the Alias Gang.
Wolfie,I fear that the standard of Butlering i am used to,will leave you unsuitable to the job,particularly bearing in mind the sensitivities of the lovely C,i fear she could be scarred for life if she is in any way exposed to your outlandish dress sense,not to mention your Ukelele.
To the Board of the HT,i await your report from the meeting of the 24th,re my suggestions/requests,with great interest.
Cheers
The Sweeper.
Clive,
Lars is taking the minutes – an innocent abroad 😉
More hospital visiting tonight i’m afraid. looks like I’ve missed some good fun above.
Tabs, Zico, TS, Clive usual good stuff, and a rather excellent debut from Carlos K’hard 🙂 🙂
I’m still trying to get an explanation from PHW as to what that crutch was all about last night.
As I’ve been unobtainable most of today, he has kindly promised me an exclusive by tomorrow evening.
I may “interview” him in my medical capacity to try and extract the really gory details. 😉
Seems it was a night, or two, of draws for the top clubs of Europe then.
Of course, the only one to bring disdain and warnings of crisis down on it’s participants, was our very own.
Will I ever recover from the shock ? . . . .
Heh The Sweeper 🙂
Smallballs will of course be disappointed re the Butlering role , as he’s been practicing his bowing by bending over all evening . I’ll break the news to him gently . Hopefully this won’t affect his ruminations on the 24th vis-a-vis your various requests .
Will also pass on your kind words to Carlos . He is still busy with the Blonde Barmaid kindly provided by Feelgood . Given that he is the polar opposite of Smallballs in the nutsack stakes , ( nickname “Grapefruit boy” in his home village) , he may be gone some time .
Evening Trev , will look forward to the PHW exclusive 🙂
Nightcap ?
CWGS54 aka The Sweeper, I bow to your unquestioned sense of propriety, but just saying, Shouldn’t Blackburn be in any sentence including rape and pillage at this moment in time? 😉
Zico @ 256,
Lars may need Counselling after the meeting on the 24th.
Perhaps you might have to have someone on standby,
Like Men’s Nipples,Just in case.!!
Trev @ 257
I await your interview with PHW with interest.
Given his Olde Worlde outlook on life,it should be fascinating.
By the By,is Lady Nina on hols.??
Tabs @ 259.
re Wolfie,better to brutally honest upfront,than risk upsetting him on the Job.
Is Carlos’s dress sense more circumspect than Wolfies.??
I would have thought he only needed to show the Retarded ones in the ‘ Punishment ‘ Carriage, his ‘ Heavy ‘ equipment to make them see sense,and promise on their Mother’s lives that they will blog elsewhere in future.
Cheers
The Sweeper
BT8
Couldn’t agree more,but the Board meeting to resolve these issues isn’t until the 24th,so plans cannot be formed until after that date.
Let’s hope we get them away,in the Carling or FA Cup,then we can return with Interest.!! Having upset Wolfie though,there is no guarantee my suggestions/requests will be taken on Board,by the Board,if you get my drift
cheers
the Sweeper
Clive ,
Carlos far more circumspect in dress sense than Smallballs . Always wears full military uniform and enjoys the sense of power this gives him . His only concession to relaxation on his days off is to oil his pistol and put his cap at a slightly more jaunty angle .
Tends to save his heavy equipment for Barmaids and prefers the “unadulterated violence” method , with regard to miscreants .
Before those beastly Doctors start poking their bloody noses in, I may as well come clean – well, it would make a change – and explain precisely why I was forced to sit holding my crutch for the entirety of last night’s match.
Lady Nina and I took the opportunity for a flying visit to southern Germany a couple of days before the game.
We were invited by that enormous Per’s grand-parents – rather unfortunately referred to as gross farter and mutter, or some such – who own a rather splandid hotel near Munich, and Lady Nina positively jumped at the chance of a romp through the Black Forest.
Anyway, on the way back to Dortmund, we stopped overnight and self-catered in Frankfurt.
“Oh Woody”, Lady Nina said, “we simply cannot stay here without trying a couple of those foot-long frankfurters. You know, just like you have in your box at The Emirates”.
And so two suitable sausages were obtained, and it was then that my troubles began.
Lady Nina speaks no German, despite her somewhat Teutonic accent, and there was never much call for that sort of thing at Eton, as I’m sure you can imagine.
Long and short of it is, the accident necessitating the crutches was the result of an error in translation of the frankfurter cooking instructions.
Remove the protective sheath from your sausage, I think it said, and stand in boiling water for 20 minutes.
Never afuckinggain is all I can say!
*Looks up solicitor’s number * 😉
PHW – absolutely fantastic 🙂 🙂
On that superb laugh out loud post , I must bid you all good night .
Drinks of your choice on my card ( in Lars name of course ) .
Cheers takeabowson – must retire now too.
Duties to be performed – tomorrow, of course.
PHW
Wonderfully entertaining
I assume Lady N will be going ‘ Without ‘ for some considerable time,while your Frankfurt recovers.??
Perhaps Carlos could service her until yours is back in the swing of things.??
just a suggestion of course.
Cheers
The Sweeper.
A tip of the hat for some highly entertaining posts.
‘holic, I’d put that laywer on speed dial if I were you mate. 😉
I too enjoy Mexican food and beer, my mate, who I hadn’t seen in a while, has an excellent Mex restaurant in The Hague and as it was my Birthday on Monday my girlfriend thought it would be a nice treat for me to go to see him and have a nice nosh at the same time, a kind of suprise party if you will….
The biggest suprise was, that contrary to his website, he was closed on Monday, a bit of a waste of a 200plus mile round trip. 😆
Luckily it wasn’t a complete waste of time as, as we had a decent meal at a Japanesse gaff and my mate opened the bar for us and we had a good ol’ drinky ’til the early hours.
ps Tequila is deadly shit, I’ve still got a *bolik* more then 48 hours later.
Mancs now fielding their Carling Cup team in the CL?
PHW: Delectable sausage stories. 😀 Not to mention many other great drinks by the usual suspects. 😀 😀
Dr. C @178 – I’m guessing you were talking about Benayoun ;)?
Evening fellas. Drinks on me for now.
Reading through most if the drinks all this talk about kos has got me thinkin a bit which may or may not be good. But, let’s reflect a little…. He, song, big sack, sagna and woj all played superb. But, looking back at the game and especially the first half kos seemed to fall victim to the high line we play and he took his step a step late to set the offside trap. For me, that is where he may have struggled and was forced to make up ground but he wa able to recover and put pressure on the attackers none the less. For me Song was the MOTM just for his second half defense. Just trying to play devils advocate and trying to add to the (intelligent) conversation from most.
YDWBHL – True. He did fall victim to the high line, but he got better in the 2nd half when we played deeper.
Everything has it’s consequences and with us playing deeper we limited Dortmund’s threat (got only one shot on target aside from the goal) but it also cause us to have problems going forward and problems holding on to the ball.
*caused.
Trev Hill-Wood, a very amusing start to my day. Well played, sir. 🙂
*boilk*
Catalan – can I refer you to post # 219, from an “expert” ?
Thanks Dr Z – they’ll go down a treat.
Completely FUBAR’d today.
SG –
I forgot to mention but that link you left with Silvinho talking about Pat Rice being the defensive coach was good and set the mood for the game on Tuesday with Ricey being coach for the day.
I thought he did a good job and it was a relief to hear Woj say that he does a lot of shouting, because sometimes that’s how the message gets across.
More telling were the subs he made whether sent by text or not, defensively he made the choices which gave us a result!
So I would just like to take this opportunity to give SG and Ricey a Salute
😉
Still bemused by Chamakh. *more boilk*
I forgot to have a drink on my return yesterday evening.
Round on my tab today then.
And for Dortmund fans too, they are amazing.
Catalan –
It would make sense if it had to do with viva Las Vegas. Otherwise a run out in the Beer cup may help!
I presume you mean ‘Olympiacos’ when you talk of the third big side there, ‘holic, though I’m surprised at that.
Ollie –
When I saw that packed Dortmund stadium during the build up, I thought ‘we could be in for it, if we don’t hold our heads here lads’
Experience and composure definitely rang through for us in the end!
I thought Benny was quietly efficient when it came to experience, in particular.
Right, Sunderland tickets sorted.
I’m a bit annoyed that you don’t seem to get anything below row 20 when booking 3 together in the North Bank now, even though sales are down in general and I got logged in pretty much on the clock.
I suspect that the renaming of the stands has had a bigger effect that I personally wish it had, regarding where tickets are sold.
I see no other explanation since it started then.
Bah.
Yep, agree with you GT.
Our defending was actually better in the second half.
Shame we could not keep the ball (and shame Theo completely snatched at possibly the best chance of the game), but it was good to see heads stay up, and experience showed indeed.
I was impressed by Yossi’s work-rate indeed, he ran fast everywhere and to decent effect for 90 minutes.
I seem to remember a good short mazy run in the first half too.
Can’t be arsed checking all the drinks above, but if it’s not been mentioned, that Mertesacker song (shall we call it the Mertesackerena?) is excellent and has to catch on.
He’s 6ft 6 and his name’s Mertesacker,
He’s gonna knock you out and his name’s Mertesacker (– possibly family friendly edited verse)
He’s Arsenal’s number4 and his name’s Mertesacker
Peeeeeeer Mertesacker!
I seriously don’t understand the hype around the Dortmund fans.
It’s not that I think they’re not good it’s that there are so many like them and everybody is acting as if they’re the only ones.
Have you heard Pao? Aris? Frankfurt? Basel? I can go on and on.
It’s not that special. That’s the way a crowd should be and most crowds ARE that way both in singing 90 minutes and in choreography (the crown they made, yes it’s called choreography. FC Zurich and Marseille are two of the best in Europe in that and that crown isn’t among the top shows in Europe.
Again, I’m not saying they’re not good I’m just surprised everyone is acting as if they’re different than most European crowds.
😆
Excellent song Ollie, I love it!
That reminds me, I think we should re-edit AA’s song! I don’t think it’s appropriate!
But that’s just me, ahem!
Roll on Saturday; bring on the 3 point givers
I don’t think anyone said they were different SG, just good!
I believe there were 80,000 of them who made their presence known! 😉
Can’t be arsed checking all the drinks above/
Shame on you, Sir. You will therefore not have the pleasure of being introduced to Carlos Kickemhard, dirty bastard on the Happy Train.
Yeah but everyone was surprised at their behavior.
For instance Stephen Hughes said on Arsenal player in the 40th minute “credit to crowd. It’s been 40 minutes and their team hasn’t scored and they’re still cheering.”
He said in a way that sounded as if he’s surprised, as if that behavior is weird when in fact it’s quite normal, that’s the way it should be and that’s what most crowds do!
Trev,
Needed a little giggle this morning the ways it been going for me and it was duly provided by Mr PHW. Thanks..!
Ollie,
Great song on PM……Curious question but do mind if I enquire about your thoughts on M’Vila….?
Hmmm….. just a mild sedative at the moment, I think.
Patient Snir…. drink this beer and we’ll see how you go.
Nursie! Get the ketamine ready, just in case.
*pops his head round the door , and sees there’s a chance for glory* 😎
Fully primed and at the ready Dr C .
Great Mertesacker song Ollie btw
SG –
Those Journo’s/media have it in for the ARSE!
Sky Sports said a draw at home to Napoli for a Marquee squad like City was good! (Not!)
😉
oooh
Get in , my little lovely . Thanks for the assist GT .
I think I’ll celebrate with a brunchy Bucks Fizz .
A round for all in the Bar .
Dr C – I’m giving you a heads up. You won’t be able to control me tonight.
Maccabi is playing Besiktas later today in the Europa Leauge and no matter what medicine you try to give me it won’t calm me down. 😉
Bentley GT – where did you see me talking about the media? I was mostly referring to the reactions from people at this bar and added Stephen Hughes’ reaction.
I’m wouldn’t call Stephen Hughes from Arsenal player, media 🙂
I would hope that Benny’s latest comments that he knew 8 days before TDD , that he was coming to Arsenal , puts to bed the AST/Le Groan nonsense that the signings were made in response to the Manc mauling .
Hope all is ok Joe .
SG-
Are you taking the medication you have been prescribed, becasue you sound as though you need it son!
You may have a point, Snir, but we don’t get to these stadiums every day.
And frankly, i don’t think Marseille, who, like a lot of French fans boo their team anytime something is even slightly wrong these days, can be a patch on these.
Notably because they are c**ts. I think it’s like Liverpool or Man U, totally overrated fans.
As for the rest, I was well impressed by Liège too, but the sheer numbers in Dortmund make a difference.
Barça are quite noisy but they’re an unbearably arrogant lot. And do have some quiet moments.
Nevermind the fact that we didn’t encounter the Dortmund ultras unlike the Liège equivalents (or did we? every one was quite friendly and cool before and after the game in Germany).
It’s known that Greece and Turkey have amazing atmospheres too.
Joe, I haven’t watched enough of M’Vila to be honest. And the bits I’ve seen of him both at club and international level mix the very good/promising and the not-so-good.
One to watch, for sure, but if you ask me today, I prefer Song 🙂
zico, i have now checked the works of Carlos Kickem’ard!
Good stuff.
Medicine won’t work eh?
Right then Nursie, we’ll move to the paddle therapy. Bring your speculum too.
Tabs –
Anytime
It’s all good my real therapist explained it all to me on Tuesday!
Drinks all round! 😉
Yeah so, Saturday should be a good game!
Hmm it’s on Sky Sports too! Lovely for me! 😉
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_attendances_of_European_football_clubs
Ollie @306
You took the words right out of my mouth . I was slightly baffled by Snir’s fairly “so what” attitude to Dortmund’s fans .
The above link shows that they combine massive crowds with a great atmosphere . Interesting that the Germans fill 4 out of the top 8 positions , no doubt as a result of the fore-sightedness of Germany to incorporate standing areas into modern stadia , and to keep prices to a reasonable level .
Dortmund’s fans were certainly better than anything going on in England at the mo .
As for the big two in Spain , can’t say I’ve ever been overly impressed , unless you count the ability to whistle at ear-splitting decibels when the opposition have the ball . Also should be noted that average attendaces there are well down on capacity ( something between 15 and 20% ) .
I bow to your knowledge as regards Marseille .
Greece and Turkey do have amazing atmospheres , but don’t have the numbers , and I think that often there is a real undercurrent of hostility which seemed to be absent in Dortmund . I would discard those nationalities whose fan clubs appear to be run by “ultras” . The price to pay for a great atmosphere is too heavy .
H2H will know best regarding Ajax , but I don’t remember their arena making the same impression on me when we have played them in the past .
I say all this with a recognition that it has been many years since I saw Arsenal on the continent 😉
Two final points . AC attract 3000 more fans than Inter which surprised me , and the Spuds come in at No.41 . Only a matter of time before they drop to 50 , which would of course be more apt .
Dr C @309 ,
Oh goodie . Speculum warmed and ready .
I do so enjoy my work .
Just in case you haven’t clicked on to one of the most important websites today, here’s good link:
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/arteta-cesc-advised-me-on-arsenal-move
Oh, and not to be neglected of course, tabs:
20 minutes from final whistle to beer in the centre of town.
Ah, so the bad influence was at work in Dortmund as well.
No wonder everybody was hungover 😀
tabs,
can’t believe your research didn’t lead you to the atmosphere at St Mirren versus Motherwell on a wet Monday night…..
And Wolfie, Speculum, Ukelele – oh the glamour.
I was remarkably sober, ‘holic. 🙂
Now what are the chances I can persuade the CG Management that we really need to be at the airport on Saturday 3 hours before take-off (so I can catch the game in the departure lounge over a few jars)?
Reckon she’ll go for it??
Tabs, not to sound overly arrogant I think I would know a bit more about Ajax than H2H as we (“the 12th player” of Maccabi) have a brotherhood with Ajax’s ultras group vak410 (the F-side is not Ajax’s ultras group as opposed to what most people think).
They are very good in cheering and actually take most of their melodies from us.
I have a ‘so what attitude towards Dortmund fans because of 2 reasons – 1) that’s the way it should be so their belief and ideology isn’t something special. 2) Most clubs are that way as well.
Ollie – I didn’t talk about Marseiile’s cheering or booing but only on their choreography and some of their shows are absolutely sublime. FC Zurich are the best there IMO.
Milan’s Fossa Dei Leoni was actually not bad at that before the mafia took it over and vak410 are rapidly improving but nobody is close to Zurich.
Camberwell –
I’d say why not, provided they have SS2 in the DL! 😉
But then if you’re like me and you’ve got Sky Go the DL services shouldn’t be an issue! 😀
Oh and the Spanish fans are horrible.
The Braca fans had the audacity to wave the white towels when they were posing two seasons ago even though they won every competition.
Horrible fans.
Greek, Turkish, Argentine, Croation, Serbian etc. are all very good crowds.
Ollie, as opposed to others I don’t rate the Liverpool and United crowd at all but that’s due to the chanting culture so obviously they won’t cheer and sing for 90 minutes. The YNWA is impressive but you need much more than that to be among Europe’s best.
Oh and Tabs, Dortmund isn’t even considered the best in Germany. Frankfurt is.
http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=nUeph_yeOno
Zico, Clive, Joe – thanks chaps 😉
I can sense that Maccabi vs Besiktas game nearing. 😛
Ollie,
Thanks for that. I was impressed seeing M’Vila at the last international – he seemed to have wonderful composure and time on the ball that only really good players have but I wanted a reliable soundboard from someone who might have seen more of him.
Tabs – thanks, just one of those insanely busy mornings which Trev Hill Wood brought a little fun and perspective to..!
Ollie – definitely mate.
I just hope everything will be ok.
Due to the “great” relations between Israel and Turkey there will be more cops securing Maccabi than there are at the Fenerbahce – Galatasaray derby.
2700 as opposed to 2000.
I just hope everything will be fine. Won’t be surprised if there is a tragedy tonight.
Ok Snir , had no intention of getting into this so heavily , but I’m afraid you’ve provoked me 🙂
Already made the point that “in my view” the presence of “Ultras” is far too high a price to pay , given the corruption , violence , and racism that they generally bring , just for the sake of a “good” atmosphere . I stand by that .
I know diddly squat about FC Zurich , but a brief skip around the net details the fact that they have a significant hooligan problem , have a 25’000 capacity and average only 15,000 . Might the presence of the ultras account for the fact that there are , more often than not , more than 10,000 empty seats ? In the circumstance , I really don’t give a fig about how good their choreography is . I just know that I wouldn’t want to be mixing with them wearing an Arsenal scarf . The “best ” ? Meh .
My point about Dortmund is that they combine massive crowds with a great atmosphere . I have never once said that they are the best in Germany , nor do I care . We were only talking about Dortmund fans on these pages because Arsenal played them this week .
The impression gained from the tv was that their crowd whilst very partisan , also remained pretty good-natured . Certainly Ollie appears to have had a trouble-free evening , and came away impressed with what he’d seen .
The challenge of generating a good trouble free atmosphere in a crowd of 60,000+ , is wholly different to a club who have a 15,000 capacity and whose support base is far more localised . In this respect Dortmund and other German clubs have shown the way .
Any fan base which has ultras or an “ideology” , ( other than to see their team win) , can go hang .
Anyway , I hope your team win for you tonight , and I’ll buy you a drink when you’re next in , subject to Doctors orders . 🙂
Ah I see Nurse Wolfie has been using my computer @329 🙁
Ollie @316 – a huge oversight on my part 😉
Dr Z @318 – another astonishing oversight for which I can only apologise 🙂
Wow Tabs, your definition of ultras is very wrong.
It seems as if your definition between ultras and hooligans is very similar or the same. That’s just wrong.
Most ultras groups are not hooligan firms.
And thanks for the drink mate. You have the second round waiting for you on the bar from me 🙂
I just hope everything will be o.k…
‘holic,
I love reading everything you have to say about Arsenal. It’s hard to contain my excitement when I see a new post is up! If you’re ever in Omaha NE, drinks are on me!
Cheers!
Snir,
The name of the Ajax Ultra’s (as you like to call them) is still the F-side, taken from the name in their old stadium. Vak (=section)410 may very well be where they are now situated in the ArenA, but in word of mouth, they are always refered to as F-side, not that it really matters anymore, as here in the Lowlands football holaganism is now almost a thing of the past, nobody cares about the mindless thugs, even ADO Den Haag, the club with the worst reputation in the league has all but stamped it out.
As for the original question, tabs, I too was never impressed with the athmospere in the Arena, the acostics are not that good either. De Kuip in Rotterdam probably has the best atmosphere in the NL, their fans (Feyenoord) are widely considered to be the best/most loyal, in the land. You can also hear/feel the difference in atmosphere when Oranje play their home games in the Kuip, much better then in the ArenA.
I’ve been to a few games in the Bundesliga over the years and some of the German stadiums are magnificent, (incl Dortmonds) Reasonable prices, standing areas and beer and ciggies permited.
In fact, I’d go as far as saying that the way the whole league is ran, makes it the best league in Europe. They have real fair play rules, a mandatory youth structure at every top club and they don’t allow clubs who spend beyond their means. Just take a look at how many different teams have won it over the last few seasons, as to testimont how open a league it is.
Right, that’s enough German arse kissing to last me a life time.
A big BM to get the nasty taste out my mouth, please, and a taste for whoever chooses to join.
332Snir.
Sorry mate, but Ultra is just a fancy name for hooligan.
Snir , thanks for the drink . Totally agree with H2H @336 . Have , for my sins , and as part of a past life , done some work on hooligans/ultras .
THE only difference is that ultras tend to have a semi thought out political philosophy to go with the violence . I would be very careful before you use that word , if by it , all you mean is passionate fans
One last praise for Dortmund : CL ticket included local transport.
Having been to Cologne earlier this year I can also recommend the atmosphere at the German footie. Myself and a band of boozy brothers had a capital day out, lots of beer, lots of red and white on show – enough to put a tear in Dr Feelgood’s glassy eyes.
Never quite worked out what the feck the goat had to do with anything, but I expect Dr C would have had a glint in his eye as they paraded the horned fecker around the pitch, both before the match and at half time.
Drinks on me for the cognoscenti – payment in Lars promissory notes 8)
H2H, sorry mate but you’re just wrong. The F-side are Ajax’s hooligans and sit behind the goal and Vak410 is Ajax’s ultras.
And I urge you to take a closer look at the Arena. Ajax have improved a lot over the last 5 years. And if you brought Feyenoord up, they’re also considered to be the most racist crowd along with Den Haag.
An Ultras group is the group responsible for creating the songs and choreography and making sure it gets executed on matchday.
Tabs, when I talked about Dortmund I meant that people were surprised by their on field performance i.e. cheering and choreography and didn’t wanna get into off the field such as hooliganism.
Their on field performance is very good but it isn’t unusual so it shouldn’t surprise anybody.
And I also have very good memories from Germany as I was a part of an anti violence delegation in Bremen. We stayed with Bremen fans and had meetings with their fans board etc.
All that was with their ultras group so I’m certain you have the definition wrong.
There are ultras groups that on top of what they do for the team such as singing and choreography do have some sort of violence in them but that doesn’t make all ultras groups hooligan firms and there are plenty who just keep it at signing and choreography!
Dr Z heh 🙂
H2H -Thanks for the info @335 , and I’ll join you in a BM .
Cheers .
What’s all this “choreography” crap about?
I thought we were talking about football, not High School Musical. 🙂
And with all due respect, how many matches have you been to here in the Lowlands? I’m talking about my first hand experiences and not about what I’ve seen on tv/internet.
Maybe I am “wrong”, I prefer to see it as mistaken. But I’m sure if you ask 100 people for another definition of the word ultra (as in regards to football) 90 of them will say hooligan or a word to that effect.
I’ll leave it at that and I hope we can just agree to disagree, because I don’t want to get in a pissing match about a subject that holds very little interest to me.
Agreed Snir , that there are differences and that there are I’m sure clean and non-violent “ultra” groups , but there is massive crossover between these groups and the firms , such that , certainly in English , the word has pretty much come to mean the same .
Merely using the word in your fans name has come to mean intimidation , violence and male posturing .
“An Ultras group is the group responsible for creating the songs and choreography and making sure it gets executed on matchday.”
I’m sorry Snir , but that is a hugely romantic view . That may have been the reason behind the origins of many of these groups , but originally in Italy and spreading across Europe , they got taken over by political affiliation , and violence .
Of the 5 countries you mention @323 , the Ultras are a particular problem in South America and esp Argentina . Their leaders wield an enormous and unhealthy amount of power , often holding the club to ransom , preying on the poor , operating protection racquets and causing mayhem .
In Serbia and Croatia these groups are beset by huge violence and (generally) an extreme overtly rascist philosophy .
For Turkey look no further than the problems Leeds and Arsenal fans encountered in the Uefa Cup of 2000 against Galatasaray , for their outlook and particular way of displaying your club affiliation .
As your trip to Bremen , and H2H’s excellent overview of the Bundesliga , bears out , I think the Germans are getting it more right than most .
*checks scores*
*is worried for Snir*
H2H – you know me better than to think I would argue a point this strongly without having any hand on experience on the subject and basing everything on internet.
That’s just not me, I know what I’m talking about. I’m a part of an ultras group that has no violence in it and like I said we even take part in anti violence delegation.
Tabs, I agree, there are countries where the ultras groups are the firms as well. Gate 13 of Pao is a great example.
But that still doesn’t mean ultra members are hooligans.
We’ll leave it at this because my point was about Dortmund and not this.
All I said was that I don’t get the hype around the Dortmund crowd cause all they did was cheer for 90 minutes. I guess it doesn’t make that much of an impression on me because I’m used to it.
H2H, Tabs – please don’t take any of this personally, I’m not trying to insult or patronize and if it came out that way I apologize. It was just important to me to make that distinction because I see myself as an ultra member and not a hooligan.
Ahhh, it’s just lovely to hear that Spanish bloke discuss our future… then again, something must have been lost in translation, eh?
If we get the chance to smack him in the mouth, I hope we are resolute enough to take it.
Barcelona Must Be Destroyed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/sep/15/cesc-fabregas-arsenal
It’s the Barça DNA getting back to the surface, Lonestar….
LG – While I was very angry with these comments of his, I can’t ignore the fact that Bobby, Ray and Paddy said the same and I can’t ever be mad at them. Ever.
Was just going to comment on that LG so good spot. I wish Cesc would stop talking about Arsenal as I lose the admiration and appreciation I had for him more and more everytime he opens his mouth about Arsenal. To be honest I am shocked he said those things. It shows complete disrespect for his former teammates.
This just proves to me he will never be a legend. A little bit of LeBron James if you will. Given two choices (1) Stick it out and give your all for the team that made you what you are with the acceptance that it certainly won’t be easy but also knowing that if you succeed it will be the making of a LEGEND. (2) Jump ship to the current best team and pretty much guarantee yourself trophies but you will never feel like you built were the primary driving force behind the success. Plenty are happy with (2) and both Cesc and Lebron chose that path, but neither will ever achieve true greatness to me because of it. Cesc’s is only slightly more acceptable since he was returning to him hometown whereas LeBron was shunning his.
Bearded, I feel your anger, I have it too, but read my 349.
Perhaps our expectations are over the top in today’s football world?
Ollie – Thanks mate. Although we got hammered, it wasn’t a 5-1 game. We actually outplayed them in the first half and conceded silly goals from set pieces (remind me of another team I support) so I can definitely see some positives. I’m certain we’re not gonna finish this group in last place.
Hope it gets better indeed, Snir.
I have to say the problem I have with Cesc’s quotes is the same I have with some Nasri quotes or others: practically absolving himself of the blame ‘they weren’t good enough’, etc.
Now what about that backheel in Barça, and declaring yourself fit in one of the most important game of the season when you clearly weren’t, just because it was your ‘home’ club?
Terribly selfish and costly.
Snir the main difference there to me is that those guys are already Arsenal legends and won trphies. Cesc never did as captain of the club.
I do agree with your point about expectations though. As loyal fans we expect the same loyalty from the players which is probably unrealistic. I’d like to think I would choose the first path I described if I was put in the same position but I never will be so can’t know for sure.
Very true Ollie, but as opposed to Nasri, Cesc did say on a couple of occasions that he let the team down.
Still, those quotes are poor form (even though he said in the same interview that there is always a chance he’ll come back in the future). Very poor form.
But, I won’t hate him, just like I don’t hate Clichy even though he did say the same things. Nasri is a different thing.
Couldn’t agree more Ollie.
Bearded Gooner and Ollie, I wholeheartedly agree on all counts (no surprise there).
Snir, you know where I am coming from, so I won’t hold it against you when indulge that Spanish bloke more than you should.
Anyway, I got better things to do than waste my time on him and them, no wait…
BMBD.
Snir – check the extended quotes on arseblog in regards to him returning.
“I don’t know if it’s realistic that I would return one day. But maybe I said the same when I left Barca, so you never know. If that was the final thing Arsenal needed to agree on to let me go then I’m satisfied.”
I really can’t see what it is that makes you all so upset. Is he saying something that isn’t true? We are not competitive at the moment, why is that so controversial?
And Cesc DID stick it out and fight for years despite having Barca whispering sweet little nothings in his ears for years. He did not leave for just any club to get away from Arsenal, it was always Arsenal or Barca and nothing else. Other clubs tried but he wasn’t interested. He hasn’t bad-mouthed the club (saying ManU, ManC and Chelsea have more money is the truth, it’s not bad-mouthing) and he stayed and fought for the club for eight years. He may not become a legend (though only time will tell, Liam Brady became a legend under rather similar circumstances) but isn’t there a middle ground between legend and villain?
LG – I thought about it.
How about we go back to BMD?
It could be Barca Must Die! 🙂
Ollie – The goals we conceded today were the some of the worst I’ve ever seen. But, the offensive play was not bad, even very good at times.
Hope we’ll fix the defensive frailties before we got to Stoke and break Delap’s arm! 🙂
Snir, I still don’t understand the double standard vis-a-vis Na$ri and that Spanish bloke.
But, as this sorry ground has been well trod, feel free to continue that specific discussion along “secure” channels; so we won’t clog up the bar…unless others want to continue that line.
BMBD.
I’m texting you as we speak 😀
And yes, Cesc did screw up with that second leg against Barca – but he has also admitted his mistake and said it was the worst night of his footballing life. The difference between him and Nasri is also that Nasri was out the door like a shot at the first opportunity and was always one of the first to disappear when the going got tough while Cesc almost always carried the entire team on his shoulders no matter what.
LG – saw a shorter version of that article earlier this evening, thanks for sharing a fuller version.
I can’t say there’s that much new in it really? We knew he wanted to leave to win stuff. He did and he has.
I also think he’s not a million miles from what the rest of us are thinking really – that we’re a way off the squad depth of both Manchester teams and Chel$ki. Our sugar Daddies have turned out to be, well, not very sugary really.
We can only play the hand we’re dealt, and hope that clever buying, good team spirit and consistent effort can help us (again) punch a bit above our weight.
One thought for the mix – saw this video a few months ago. Apologies to anyone who’s already seen it but it does put quite an interesting perspective on what really motivates improvements in performance, beyond simple monetary incentives. The science seems to suggest our traditional view of financial incentives is all wrong for anything other than simple mechanical tasks…
http://youtu.be/u6XAPnuFjJc
My question for anyone who bears with watching it (it’s 10 mins but quite engaging) is that if motivation/improved performance is really down more to autonomy, mastery and sense of purpose than monetary incentives, might we be onto a better thing in the longer term than the financially doped clubs?
Lars – You don’t think it’s disrespectful to his former teammates and I assume friends to write them off 3 games into the season? Regardless of whether that is the reasoned expectation I just more tact was called for in his response.
Just read the Cesc comments and must say I am fuming. We have put up with the best part of 2 years of shite from Barca. What does Cesc say? Absolutely nothing. He sulk sufficiently to get his move and now all he does is gob off? I am rapidly getting the arse with Mr Fabregas.
Ollie is spot on. Don’t hear either of them apologizing for not bringing silverware to the Arsenal. I have heard more fighting talk from Benny and Arteta in the last 2 weeks than in the last 2 years from those petulant, spoilt brats.
Not amused this evening I must say.
Steve, you’re right. It is very poor form. But Cesc has apologized and said he let the team down on several occasions.
He also had only good things to say since he left apart from this.
It is poor, but people seem to forget the good things he said.
Anyway, no matter what the opinions here are not gonna change. Everybody has his opinion on Clichy, Nasri, Cesc etc. and that’s it.
BG, no I don’t think it is particularly disrespectful. The players aren’t stupid, they know how much ManCity, ManU and Chelsea have spent and I am pretty sure that while the team may very well have an ultimate target of winning the league they also know that it is an almost impossible task and that in reality the aim is to win as many games as possible to try and secure a CL spot and then hope for a good run in one of the cups.
Secondly, there is no source given for these supposed quotes (at least not in The Guardian) so we don’t know when it was said. Was it, for example, perhaps said before the last two days of the transfer window?
24th April 2002.
Champions League semi-final, second leg, Ashburton Grove.
PA : “Substitution for Barcelona: number 8 Iniesta is being replaced by
number 4 Cesc Fabregas”
Whole crowd : “WHO?”
That’ll do 😉
Add 10 years to that.
Lars – fair enough but I guarantee a player like Chezzer, as wonderfully crazy as he is, truly believes he and his team can win trophies now. Even if the chances of them doing so are slim the only way they will win is if they believe they can in fact overcome those odds. Having your former captain come out after he has jumped ship and say he did so because he doesn’t believe in the players at the club seems counter productive, not that he has any responsibility to boost the young players confidence now that he plays for another team.
Snir. Arsenal made Cesc. He would never have had the chances he had at Arsenal if he had stayed at Barca. I am grateful for what he gave to the club but his attitude in the last season was very questionable at times. I just see no reason why someone who was handsomely rewarded, even when he was sulking should start gobbing off now. There is no need for it. Anymore and he will rapidly eradicate any good feelings towards him from Arsenal fans. Cesc, keep your trap shut son.
Agree with the Bearded man. Whether what he says is true or not, whether he thinks it or not, it was, once more better to simply say nothing (like the ‘Arsène helped convince the board to sell me at a lower price’ (or something) quote).
I know he was probably being egged on to say things by the Catalan press (c***s), but still, I was hoping he’d have more sense than to give in to these cheap soundbites.
And he knows the UK press so knows they’d jump on these kind of quotes.
It’s not controversial to say that Tottenham won’t win the league. It’s not controversial to say that Liverpool won’t win the league. It’s not even controversial to say that Chelsea won’t win it.
Then why should it then be so controversial to say that we won’t win it? As I said, the difference between Cesc and someone like Nasri is that Cesc never hid. Cesc also stayed several years despite having the best team in the world (which also happened to be his boyhood club from his home town) breathing down his neck. Nasri would probably have moved anywhere just to win titles, Cesc wouldn’t.
Anyway, we’re in disagreement on this one but I have no problems at all with those quotes.
Ollie @ 368 – heh 🙂
I still think we shouldn’t be blaming him (or anyone else) for leaving.
People leave jobs for one reason – that job is not fulfilling their expectations in some way or ways.
As supporters we’re interested in the team’s performance – whoever is in that team.
If we want better performance from the team, they have to be motivated to succeed. Granted Cesc’s comments aren’t exactly inspiring to his former colleagues. But so what? He always was a bit of a dud as captain, didn’t raise the team when it was required. So nothing new there then.
We move on. And hope that the new lot (who are currently making all the right noises about being motivated) get with the programme on this.
Lars @ 373 – spot on.
For the record I still hold him in a higher light than Na$ri and always will, just that the light is fading everytime he opens his mouth.
Lars, I don’t think it’s about this being ‘controversial’, it’s about being uncalled for.
Any journalist/neutral can say that.
A player generally loved at a club he just left should have the good sense/grace to not say it, I think that’s all this is about.
snowy, that animation about motivation is brilliant. I’ve seen it before, but it is worth seeing again.
Lars, Snowy
I think everyone had enough instances where they were MIA on the pitch. Please don’t make it out like that Spanish Bloke was always trumping the line while Nasri was shirking his duties. Theo, Arshavin, Bendtner, Diably, Ebooooue, even RVP many times has been adjudged and found wanting.
That Spanish Bloke never organized and barked at players like Chezzer or Wilshere. I know, they are different people, but a Captain either grows into the role or not. The fact is this, the Spanish Bloke was responsible for no trophies during his era – I think we’ll do better in the post-Spanish Bloke era.
Nasri never had any of those trappings. He left to make more money. I defy anyone to say he wouldn’t consider the same.
Aw, feck it. You guys will eventually see the true light of that Spanish Bloke’s frailties. What really pisses me off is the harm that two straight summers of will he-won’t he did to the teams’s ego, our coach’s ego, and our team composition.
BMBD.
Glad you liked it (again!) Lars.
The reason I thought it was particularly interesting is that some of what I assume are the highest paid players in the club (including a few who just left!) were not always the ones who made the most difference week in week out. Frankly, a couple of key ‘superstars’ were absent in mind or body for a lot of last term.
Conversely the ones who seem to have impressed us most are those who are likely to be at the lower end of our wage structure – Chezzer, LJW and now Frimpers… who are all heart and soul and pride in the shirt.
LG – I don’t disagree that Cesc left a lot to be desired as a captain. He was, mostly, rubbish at that. He was and is a brilliant, creative and skilful player. But he couldn’t run a bath. Great player and playmaker. Wrong leader.
Having said that, as an employer, the club has a duty to meet his expectations and to not be surprised if he (or anyone else) leaves as a result of them not being met.
I wouldn’t stay in a job that wasn’t doing something for me. Would anyone? Everyone has some kind of ambitions, no?
The facts are that we won no trophies on Cesc’s watch.
The only way to put him in his place (and all the rest of the renta-mouth mob) is to go out and win some silver.
I am over Cesc Fabregas, and the sooner everyone else is, the better you will all feel – trust me, I’m a doctor 😉
As the man’s moniker says “If you don’t want to be here, leave”. None of them are bigger than the club.
Snowy – I, for one, never faulted him, or anyone else, for leaving. Like it or not, sports is a business nowadays. To believe anything else is folly. Anyone who has the skill and desire to look back at my postings during this saga will see that I wanted him to go at least a year ago.
I have no problems with him wanting to go somewhere more primed to win trophies. An honest look at our club will show that we will be profitable, somewhat entertaining, and likely trophyless for the next few years, unless those scalawags at UEFA decide to clamp down on the runaway debt.
Look at our squad, player by player, compared to the nouveau riche and over indebted, and you will see that we will always be darkhorses to win trophies. That’s just the way it’s gonna be. I accept that.
What I don’t accept is the conclusion that Nasri is more the villain. Nasri left for cash, good on him. That Spanish Bloke left for honors, good on him. But, if you want to hold one player in scorn, to me it has to be the Spanish Bloke. His transfer saga has needlessly done so much to hurt this club. Then he continues to comment – just shut up already, damn. [Housequake]
BMBD.
Spot on, Dr. Z. Spot on.
BMBD.
Oh and in the interests of even handedness, I am also over Nasri.
Although he is still a c**t. A lesbian one at that.
Shut up.
Already.
Damn.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1691LjYCEk&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL0114C9DB09BB5163
Enjoy.
BMBD.
Snowy@381. I think your happiness at work scenario misses one vial point. He still had 4 years left on his contract. No one forced him to sign his contract, he was paid even if he was sunning himself in Spain with a slightly sore toe nail. He would have been paid even if he never kicked a ball again. He knows the situation when he signs his contract. It was not signed pending the team win anything in the next year or two. He committed to the long term future. Then when he saw the grass maybe greener elsewhere he sucked until he got his own way. Now, as others have said above he just needs to keep quiet.
If I am unhappy at work I give my employer a months notice and leave. They are the terms of my contract.
In my humble opinion he should just get on with his life in Spain and be a tad more humble towards his previous employers.
zico – as always, very wise words.
LG – agree with you on that. Confess to being a bit miffed at Na$ri’s blatant money grabbing. But that’s because I’m a supporter of the club and not an employee. So my heart took it personally. But my head tells me that I’d do exactly the same if someone offered me three times my salary for the same job.
There isn’t really a big difference between the two departures really. And if anything Na$ri has been a bit more circumspect in his media comments since he left than Cesc.
It’s difficult for us because we form our opinions about these things through what we read in the media. And the media have a particular interest in stoking up conflicts (where there may be none) because it’s ‘good copy’ and results in papers sold, interweb ‘clicks and such.
For example:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/14926507.stm
Apparently some England rugby players “drank in bars on Sunday after their 13-9 win over Argentina”
Whatever next? “Bears seen in woods”, “Popes all Catholic”. Hold the front page…
A relaxing drink for all in the bar please barkeep. Let us not forget who the real enemies are. Journalists. And Spuds 😉
Ketamintini anyone 😆
Why do people forget about his other quotes?
I agree these quotes are out of order but you say he should be humble and Nasri has been more circumspect with his comments.
Why doesn’t anybody remember his other quotes? I mean it’s not like that’s the only thing he had to say since he left the club.
Steve T – very good point. But I think there’s a significant difference.
We all mostly have open-ended contracts – when we want to go we go after our notice period. Professional footballers have only a couple of times in the year where they can move on, so if someone wants to leave and ends up being clearly a destabilising and demotivating influence (as Cesc was) they’re stuck there, having random ‘hamstring problems’ that miraculously improve in warmer weather…
I’m not defending Cesc’s failure to get a grip in the latter part of last term by any means. But that does seem to be par for the course with the constraints of the footballing contract system as it stands.
Personally I’d rip the whole thing up and let people leave whenever. I’m sure the systems in the various football leagues and at UEFA could cope.
Be careful with the translation issues with these quotes guys!
Cesc was our boy and always will be!
We’re in a position where we have to prove ourselves and Cesc’s is showing the naivety he has displayed on many occasions and we always forgive him because he’s a cool guy!
Let him have his way and we’ll have ours
“Id never speak 1 bad work abt AFC, here there’s once more prove that so many people put in newspaper wtv they want and its not professional.
I want Arsenal to be succesfull as much as every single fan. Thats not why i left, it was never in my mind. AFC made me who i am today.
And nobody will ever change that. I never gave any interview away since my press conference at my presentation and there i just said…
…The truth and what came out of my heart. Great words abt this great football club cause that just what they deserve: succes and trophies.
People can h8 me 4 leaving or remember that i gave my all for the club. But me talking 1 bad word or saying smthng against AFC will not seen”
These are the words of the man himself just minutes ago on Twitter. I said “supposed quotes” in a previous post which I did because I was not convinced he had said these things and if Cesc himself is to be believed then he never did.
Snir @ 389 – which quotes are you referring to?
The reason I ask is that ‘direct quotes’ – as in what we see people saying live on telly or post themselves on Twitter (i.e. those which the speaker is in complete control of) hold more weight for me than those reported at second hand in media that have their own agenda.
GT and Lars – I think I’m agreeing with you.
I said a while ago on here that Cesc is just a gooner now like the rest of us. And I’m actually really sad he’s obviously upset at being misreported.
The media have their own agenda for sure. And it’s based on creating perceived conflict.
Snowy – apart from his latest tweets, have a look at his press conference when he was introduced. Very gracious.
Lars – first off, mate, you can never be certain of the veracity of “tweets.” If you doubt journalists, then you most certainly have to doube twits… I mean, tweets.
Secondly, let’s assume for a moment, that both the Guardian quotes and the twits… I mean, tweets are accurate. Does the latter invalidate the former? I don’t think so.
Some folks will always think that Spanish Bloke is a “cool guy.” Indulge him all you want. Whinge and fawn over him all you want. No one man is bigger than the Arsenal. Not nobody. Not no one.
Hey there, Mr. that Spanish Bloke –
Shut up. Already. Damn.
BMBD
Lars, we got one Holic back to our side, we can’t rest now 😉
Personally, if his tweet is accurate, I think he has a bit of nerve to talk about being unprofessional.
Hello Pot.
This is Kettle calling.
BMBD.
We are just great here at Arsenal..now can all ex players, pundits and journos kindly stop fucking talking about us as if we are a sick child…silence is golden I remember someone saying once( obviously when I was talking utter shite to them).
Evening All..
Why is it that when certain people (me included) refuse to hate Cesc it means they think he’s bigger than the club?
Everytime we argue a point about Cesc and ‘we’re on his side’ we get reminded that he’s not bigger than the club.
1) We know that.
2) The fact that we’re on ‘his’ side doesn’t mean we think he’s bigger than the club, it has nothing to do with anything.
Snir – then I absolutely agree.
Boring revelation here, but dealing with the media has been my job for a couple of long and rather stressful decades now, hence my interest in the discussion above.
Snowy’s dullsville observation about communications 1: Good communication means you are understood.
Snowy’s dullsville observation about communications 2: Great communication (which is super difficult) means that you are never MISunderstood.
The reason I think Cesc should have been a little more circumspect in his commentary of late is that the more you say, the greater scope you have for being misunderstood.
The media want a good barney between Cesc and his old club. I don’t for a second believe he wants that. If anything, all I have heard from him is that he genuinely loves the Arsenal. But the more he talks (outside his own self-directed tweets and such things that he is complete control of without the scope for editing) the more they will make a story of this. That’s just he way it is.
BTW if the articles from Sport are to believed he also keeps the door open to coming back. Which (whether it will happen or not) is as big a compliment as there can be, given circumstances.
zico of course I will take a course of anti-delusion tablets, as directed, right now 😉
LG @ 396 – Tweets you can trust (Unless someone has hacked your account). They are your own words, said as you wish. Just like here 😉
It’s not about taking sides, as I see it. It’s about moving on. We should be more interested in what Mikel Arteta (as a for instance) has to say, than an ex-player. He didn’t want to be here. Fine, we’ll get behind the guys that do.
I know Zico, but why is it that everytime I argue a point and don’t berate Cesc I get reminded that he isn’t bigger than the club?
I know that!
What does that have anything to do with it?
Lonestar, I’d much rather believe something written by the person himself than quotes that are not attributed to any specific source whatsoever.
Snir@400: well said.
zico@403: agreed 100%.
Snir@346 – I didn’t take it personally at all , no worries , we’ll just agree to disagree .
Snowy – nice link earlier .
As regards Cesc , I think Dr Z is bang on . He’s gone , he aint coming back , and we should all just move on .
I shall always remember him with fondness , irrespective of comments he may have made . I think he should have the sense to keep stum , but from his recent tweets , it appears he did .
His tweets are his words, very well. But, even conceding that point, says nothing about his motivations. Could it be that that Spanish Bloke speaks with forked tongue?
Nah. It couldn’t be that. It couldn’t be that he said what he said to the Guardian, that he meant what he said to the Guardian, got some stick about it, and then tweets his tweets to tamp down any flack. It’s called being duplicitous… and is the exact opposite of naivety. He has NEVER been naive in this entire process.
Snir, my issue with supporting that Spanish Bloke is the lack of consistency. Like him all you want, fine. Think in your heart of hearts that he might one day come back, fine. (I never want him back.) But if your gonna give him a pass, then you should give the same benefit to Nasri.
BMBD.
Since the invincible’s the aim has been to break up Arsenal and belittle Arsene Wenger!
But we’re still here!
@snowy always enjoy your posts and agree 100% with zico@ 403. I love cesc but every time cesc or any other ex player speaks it feels like a fumble with an ex and we are better than that…we have a great team and a club most plastics would give their left bollock for. Am happy to consign them all to history while our new guys make it..
Lonestar, I can guarantee you that Cesc has not spoken to the Guardian in this case. If he had, the article had been full of “Fabregas told the Guardian” and such phrases.
Lars, given the severity of English libel laws, I am quite certain that he did speak those quotes to either the Guardian or a source or subsidiary of the Guardian.
If that Spanish Bloke did not say what the report said, he should the sue the Guardian and use the profits to bolster B*rca’s coffers.
Delusion is never pretty, but enough of this. I’m focusing on Wengerball 4.
BMBD.
LG – I have no problem with your view as I’ve come to terms that you won’t be persuaded otherwise, but I have to say, that sarcastic tone towards Cesc bugs me a little bit.
I won’t say offended cause it doesn’t offend me, but it does bother me…
Would appreciate it if you could stop with that…
Noel @ 410 – “fumble with an ex” – triple heh 🙂 🙂 🙂
Yes I know – but I least I know I’m being delusional !
I don’t MEAN to keep harping on about him but I do think he has as much affection for the club as we do. He’s still young, sometimes a bit naive in his honesty, and every 5 minutes it seems to generate another media storm for nothing at all. Just because of who he is. Which is why as a comms person, I’d like him to keep schtum for a bit.
My Bengal cat has said he will make himself available as his PR adviser forthwith. I couldn’t do that of course, as that would just be too “not getting over it”. 😉
Lars @ 411 – I think that’s absolutely right. The story started in another publication. It’s been reported in lots of other online media (with widely differing perspectives).
Cesc can’t really ever be called a legend, but only because we won so little with him…
But he certainly is one of our best ever players (is he not?) and I think he may well develop into one of the best players in the world.
He could have been a legend, but he was probably let down by Arsene, because he failed to make just one or two acquisitions in recent years that may have led us to the title.
Just because Na$ri says he loves the club, doesn’t make it so. With Cesc, it’s completely different and in a way, I think he’s justified in making observations about Arsenal — in the same way that Na$ri is totally unjustified (jumping ship at the first opportunity going MIA for most of 2011 etc. etc.)
Cesc is just being honest — few of us believe that we’ll finish above the two mancs and possibly the chavs (although our hearts are telling us otherwise).
Anyway, we have a totally different team and who knows, maybe we’ll stand a better chance with grafters and players drawing to the end of their careers (when did that last happen)?
Snowy excellent posts @401 and @414 , and thanks for pointing out to me the correct way to spell “schtum” 😉
Tabs @ 407
Evening mate.
You can tell when it’s a slow night in the bar when the last 60 entries are a debate about players who aren’t even at the Fucking club anymore.!!
By the By,either you or Trev will have to do one final Alias to complete the Circle.
You kno wwho i mean of course.
cheers
The sweeper.
Just got a thick ear for mentioning fumbling with ex’s….Damn you snowy..
Lonsestar, trust me: he has NOT spoken to the Guardian or any of it’s subsidiaries in this case. Libel laws will never ever come into play here, if he (or other players for that matter) would start libel cases every time incorrect quotes are published then they wouldn’t have time for much else. And besides, they would hardly ever win any of those cases either.
And please don’t call me and others deluded just because we don’t agree with you.
Anyway, I’m off to bed now. Drinks all round for all who are still at the bar!
Lars – it appears you are correct. Cesc-TSB (an offer of compromise, Snir @413; out of affection for you 😉 ) made his quotes to Sport Magazine.
http://news.arseblog.com/2011/09/fabregas-admits-to-arsenal-return-contract-clause/
These are direct quotes. Twits….I mean tweets notwithstanding.
Matt(2), come on, man. This image of the noble, long-suffering Cesc-TSB who was basically “forced” to leave Arsenal because AW let him down is absolute rubbish.
I’m starting to become angry now.
I stand by what I’ve said before. Cesc-TSB, please shut up, already. Damn.
BMBD.
Noel @ 418 – sorry! But you started it 😉
Pint of something, umm, analgesic for Noel please, plus whatever everyone else is having …
😀
By the way, I apologize for using “delusions” supra. I was becoming annoyed, but that is no excuse.
I do find the position inconsistent, but delusion is harsh.
Lars, the drinks, this time, are on my tab. 😉
BMBD.
Noel@473 – 🙂
Evening Clive ,
yep have to say I’m totally with you , re ex players . They just don’t matter any more . When and if Cesc ever returns in Barca colours , some will clap , some will stay silent , a few might boo . Who really cares ?
Now then , completing the circle ? You’ve lost me there a bit . Lady Nina ? The Blonde Barmaid ? Am I being a bit of a thickie here ?
LG – You have my reply in your mailbox. If you want we can switch the subject to the weekend performances of Tony Romo and TB12 🙂
Unfuckingbelievable.
TaBS, in addition to your many various talents, your also are clairvoyant 😛 (Noel@473)
BMBD.
Noel , I of course meant your post @418 . Your post @473 may be equally as funny but I have no way of knowing at this stage , given that I don’t have Snir’s balls 🙂
i better make that post really funny so 🙂
Snir – got it. Didn’t mean to rile you with my references to Cesc (I might backslide a bit).
The last thing I want to discuss is “Romolater.” Now you are REALLY aiming to rile me up. 😉
BMBD.
Ah , you got there first , Lonestar 😳
Tabs – Noel @ 473? I’m confused. Did we get there yet? Oh bugger I’ve not been paying attention again, haven’t I? (doh)
*stares at feet and shakes head, awaiting enlightenment about squaring circles, Lady Nina, blonde barmaids etc…*
Snowy@430 heh 🙂
LG – It was less about Romo and more about the utter awe I was in after watching that performance by TB12.
Just like Ochocinco heh 🙂
Well, you might not agree with me but at least you have my view now and I hope it isn’t considered to be a double standard 😀
Evening Holics!
Interesting quotes doing the rounds in the media regarding what Cesc said and hasn’t said.
To me it’s plain simple, what is the point of making a a huge deal out if it? Well there is none, he ain’t playing for us anymore so it’s irrelevant!
Yes he’s a great footballer one of the best in the world be he left and that is that. Yes it was emotional for all parties but I think I have had enough of the old stuff being brought back to the surface again.
It’s boring stuff we’ve been through that already, the media are always on a fucking Arsenal hunt, anything just to make us feel worse, bunch of cunts nothing else.
As for Cesc good luck to him, he chose to go back home fair play let’s keep it that way no hard feeling either way!
Let’s do Blackburn on Saturday that’s all that matters!
Tabs @ 423
You surprise me my friend,
Who is the one Major Player in the Arse hierarchy that you/trev haven’t parodied yet.!!
RING RING.any bells going off yet.!!
LOTF HOTB.
don’t disappoint me.
cheers
the sweeper.
Snir
He ain’t coming back mate, sorry to break it to you like this 🙁
“I don’t know if it’s realistic that I would return one day. But maybe I said the same when I left Barca, so you never know. If that was the final thing Arsenal needed to agree on to let me go then I’m satisfied.”
ATG – Who wrote the piece on your blog?
Because from this comment it doesn’t seem to be you.
The writer of that piece called him an ungrateful little shite.
I’m guessing it isn’t you after reading your 433.
ATG – I didn’t say he’s coming back. I just said that it wouldn’t surprise me if he would, in about like 6 years or something like that.
It’s my Tabs Kaka prediction, everyone is entitled to one 😀
Good spot Snir made a change now! Oopps that was close 🙂
F*cking hell , Clive , its late , apologies .
Do you mean the fat Russian ?
Holic will really need his lawyers if I ever go to town on him .
Am I on the right track ? Give me a few moments on LOTF HOTB .
I still haven’t ruled out Kaka Snir . Nice christmas pressy as far as I’m concerned 🙂
Evening Arthur .
Now back to Clive’s little teaser …
Tabs, I think Kaka is just being mean. He prefers to stay on the bench than to let you have your statue!
Sniri
Shaun OFlaherty wrote that piece and few of them in fact going strong 🙂
I have an ear infection Holics annything in the MC to numb the pain?
Evening TaBS
Time for bed I think and another dose of drugs…. legal I think 🙂
Ok , Clive this is my best shot …
Lover of the French.
Hater of the Board.
David Dein ????
ATG – It’s written under your name though.
Snir refresh the page 🙂
Snir – TB12 is unreal. That was quite an impressive performance. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when your head coach practices the dark arts ;). I actually thought Miami would have a better game, but there you have it.
I actually heard callers on talk radio try to defend Romo by saying the media is jealous of Romo. (I almost drove off the road) So I did this back of the envelope calculation:
Tom Brady –
Super Bowl Rings (3): check
Super Bowl MVPs (2): check
All Star “caps” (6): check
Hot wife/girlfriend (Gisele): check, check, check
Inspires confidence that he can drive the team down the field without throwing exasperating interceptions, making boneheaded fumbles, and generally being a quarterback who can win the game for you: check
Tony Romo (aka the Romolater, the Romosexual)
Super Bowl Rings: um, no.
Super Bowl MVPs: again, no. Never even sniffed a playoff victory; let alone a Superbowl.
All Star “caps” (3): I couldn’t believe it, but still advantage TB12
Hot wife/girlfriend: um no. He married an average noname Dallas-socialite.
Yeah, we ALL should be jealous of Tony Romo.
BMBD.
LG – I think we should continue this conversation on emails or texts. I’ve got so many things to say about this new NFL season 😀
Snir – email me, boss.
BMBD.
Tabs
Land Of the Free,Home of the Brave.
Silent Stan,to complete the circle.
Cheers
The Sweeper.
PS we will need an army of lawyers if you or Trev do your job.
Look forward to the first instalment in the next interlull.
Hey Tabs / Clive – afraid I’m struggling with the riddle too?
Just did a catch up since about no. 320, and my brain is feeling the strain.
For what it’s worth I personally think it would be better if we did what I wish the players would do. Move on, keep quiet.
They move on for their own reasons, which they are entitled to do.
It is a shame that they then feel compelled to talk down the club they have left, which has paid them fantasy money to play football.
It is a shame that we waste our time continuing to debate their motives after they have gone. What difference can it make ?
I am enjoying watching the fighting spirit of those who remain at the moment. I would far rather talk about them.
Just saying. Not trying to make everyone else agree 😉
Doh !!!!
Had ruled him out as he was in one episode of BTA , but true to form , he stayed silent !
Apologies for being a dimwit .
Cheers mate .
Evening Trev ,
Agree totally with your post @450
Oh, I may have posted on the wrong blog. Is this now a super bowl site. ? ;(
Cheers tabs, what’ll you have ?
Trev, Trev, Trev – don’t hate on Football Americano. Snir and I will duly keep the NFL comments on private channels. 😉
BMBD.
Oh don’t be a party pooper Trev, we did our best to not get caught into a (American) Football conversation and switched to emails 😉
Ah, sorry Clive, bit late.
I’ll give Stan some thought – not much too work with though is there.
Still, we love a challenge. 😉
SG, LG – I’m not a hater. Just mystified.
Trev/Tabs
If you do him half as well as the brilliant PHW,Lady N/Wolfie/BTA etc,then it will still be top notch.
I agree his is a major challenge,as the Fucker doesn’t say much,but of course that is in Public.
What he gets up to OFF Camera is where you and Tab’s fertile/dirty/evil/convoluted fucking minds come in.!!
cheers
The sweeper.
Cheers Trev , i’ll have a quick brandy before retiring .
American “Football” ? Always makes me think of The Village People . Don’t know why … 😉
Trev @453
I always thought ‘ Super Bowl ‘ was what my No 1 Grandson had his humungous breakfast in.!!
Boardroom coup in BTA in the next interlull Clive .
I’ll leave any individual “Stan” entries to the master I think .
TaBS – you KNOW all good things have come from America…
*Unbuttons business shirt to reveal Old Glory on undershirt. Stands and solemnly salutes in picture frame reflection*
BMBD
MEMO (just for clarification purposes of course)
=========================================
From: Frank Fabrecat, newly-appointed PR Adviser to ‘a Spanish footballer’
To: The twisted, agenda-ridden media
CC: Enlightened ‘holics worldwide
=========================================
Sirs, It has come to my attention that attempts have been made in the media recently to suggest that there is some sort of rift between my Client and his erstwhile employer, most particularly in respect of ambitions for silverware.
I can assure you that this is not the case. It’s all a complete bunch of Kaka.
My Client wholeheartedly supports the endeavours of his former club, as evidenced by his personal knowledge of a wide range of Gooner anthems and chants, his selfless periods of enforced “rest” whilst his Mediterranean hamstrings adjusted to 8 years in a temperate climate, and his ongoing attempts to refer to said club on Twitter, on an almost daily basis.
My Client is, and always has been, a Gooner.
He would like to put what he terms as ‘clear red & white water’ between his current Arsenal-obsessed comments, and those recently made other Arsenal-obsessed ex-club players, namely a tectonic ‘striker’ who is expected to sleep gently for another season (but this time in the rubbish club in North London), a defender whose brain regularly freezes in these cold climes, and someone known only as ‘the Lesbian’ who recently had the misfortune to break a bone in his hand trying to carry unfeasible quantities of gold bullion to his hobbit hole in Middle Eastlands.
He has asked me to point out that this bunch of completely un-named (legally-speaking) players are a bunch of c*unts, and, um, some other things that I cannot commit to the blogosphere without consulting legal counsel who are, at this late hour, currently in a ‘meeting’ in some establishment I know little of, but sounds something like Sheersplint Wino.
Thanking you in advance for your attention in this matter. Should you require further clarification, I direct you to my Client’s Twitter feed.
In the meantime, should you require direct quotes for your articles, may I direct you to the following, all of which you have permission to attribute to my Client:
“One team in London, There’s only one team in London” (repeat until speechless)
“We love you Arsenal, we do (x3)
Oh Arsenal We love you” (ad infinitum)
“The wanky Tottenham Hotspur went to Rome to see the Pope (x3)…And this is what he said: ‘FUCK OFF’” (NB: Secondary reporting scenario implied here, please check and verify named sources before attributing on publication)
I trust that your future copy will take account of these views forthwith, and that fellow Gooners may now ‘move on’.
With grateful thanks etc,
Frank
Snir – Nurse Wolfie has brought it to my attention that, whilst doing her obs, your attention span appeared to have reduced to almost zero.
She tells me that you are rambling almost uncontrollably and seem emotionally stressed, switching subjects from a lost Spanish love, to a girl named Gisele, to mutterings about a romosexual called Tony Romo and Tom Brady’s ring.
Apart from being quite inappropriate conversation in your present surroundings, there has been absolutely no recent mention – and one will, therefore, presume a dysfunction – of your balls.
I am, therefore, upping your meds, or rather Nurse Wolfie will be, as soon as she can find a pair of surgical gloves.
*running for his life*
again 😕
The unmistakeable – I hope – mark of Zico at 464 😉
Nightcap for you sir ? Time for me to go.
Trev , I have no idea what to praise first , the content or the speed .
Great stuff 🙂
Lonestar @463 – Fair enough 🙂 , but a little surprised you all-american boys didn’t help me out with Clive’s conundrum earlier 😉
Night all .
Drinks on the Bar for those who are batting on .
Well I think that’s sorted pretty much everything out for the club and it’s supporters. Apart from maybe the crystal balls and some weird ‘speaking in tongues’ thing I obviously haven’t got the hang of yet….Nurse Wolfie, we’re in your very capable hands, so’s to speak.
So shall we now fix world peace, global poverty and the debt crisis ?
Or maybe just get another round on Lars’ tab?
😀
Cheers Tabs and G’night.
Ah , it seems I was wrong and that even Trev couldn’t come up with such a gem at that speed .
Dr Z ? TS ? Great stuff .
And a tip of the hat to Dr T 🙂
B*llox I clearly haven’t got the hang of this ‘alter ego’ thing…
*hangs head in shame – again*
Heh Snowy , on the contrary , first class stuff 🙂
Have a drink Sir .
Now I really must be off .
Cheers tabs – and night all
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Is what Fabregas said true?
Yes.
Do I feel hurt? No.
All this shows is that Fabregas was a quitter. Instead of knuckling down and trying even harder, he quit for trophies.
Good. We dont need such players at Arsenal.
Re: Tabs @439: How many lawyers do we suppose that ‘holic has????
‘holic, If you need a good one, I’m sure Lucy Nutcrackerjee would be glad to do some pro bono work. 😉
” “.
I repeat;
“…………………………….”
lol@Silent Stan!
When will we see Park and Santos start for the reds?
Are we becoming Everton in disguise?
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/84592,sport,football,transfer-talk-marouane-fellaini-could-join-mikel-arteta-at-arsenal
Lonestar, apology accepted!
I refer you to an earlier post : WHO?
And ignore most previous arses as I don’t know who they’re on about.
Over it. Indeed.
C.O.R-@482 I hope not
Snowy, be careful with that alter ego stuff.
That way lies madness 😉
Not a big fan of elbows and afros? Or Elfros for short?
Interesting stuff over on Arseblog News about the stats from our CL game, comparing us to the red and blue cunts oop noorf:
http://news.arseblog.com/2011/09/arsenal-and-the-two-mancs-by-the-numbers/?utm_source=feedburner.com%2Farseblognews&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+arseblognews+%28Arseblog+News+-+the+one+stop+Arsenal+news+site%29
And speaking of cunts, someone was stinking up the bar straight after our game slagging off Koscielny and saying what a rubbish game he had.
Read it and weep, doomers. Statistical evidence that you’re all full of shit (stop hiding in the corner).
BMBD
Just read that too CwellG, it was pretty informative that one. More tackles, clearances and Interceptions than those effing Mancs as well. But then again, we did specifically set out in the second half to protect our lead…
Camberwell @ 488 – thanks – very good read.
Hope he continues this way, I was a bit underwhelmed by him last term but the stats do seem to back up that general impression of there being a big improvement in his performance. Nice work Koz.
Zico @ 486 – I’m counting on it. Never know when it might be needed as a legal defence… 😉
Camberwell –
Information is key! 😉
Completely unrelated, but reading this http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/14935658.stm
and the ‘Analysis’ bit on the side, I’m still staggered that people talk about ‘history’ when mentioning PSG.
Yes, they’ve won a lot of French Cups, but they were still founded only in 1970.
‘holic had already been following Arsenal for 50 years then 😉
More staggering than that Ollie is the fact that there’s a tug of war between the LWCs, QPR and PSG for Beckham?????
Got a very interesting letter today from a very strange Limey……
“Dear Mr Krankie (sic)
Next time you come over to North London, may I invite you to a gathering of astute and like-minded individuals who will have a business proposition for you.
It has come to our attention that your reputation for silence is somewhat undeserved. We believe that you have lots to say but, are unable to get a word in edgeways because the antics and outbursts of your fellow Board members are continually attracting the headlines – take Mr Hill Wood’s latest tribulations with a German sausage as a case in point. Or the self-same individual romping around the Far East dressed in a Sumo suit.
We know you have things to say. We can say them for you! We have connections on the internet. We have drink. We have drugs. We have GIRLS. All that we ask in return is that you swap your shareholding in Arsenal FC for shares in our fledgling transport company. A swap ratio of 10 Arsenal shares to 1 DLL share seems fair, don’t you think? However, lets not quibble. I think you will find our Legal team very lucid and accommodating (not on Fridays).
This business opportunity won’t last forever Mr Kranky (sic), so I’d advise you to book your travel now. But think how much better you will feel once you get the chance to air your voice with the rest of the Arsenal fraternity. Who knows, we may find out, from your very lips that “Walcott is shit”. (I’d be careful not to get too downbeat by the way as the Security guys have a zero tolerance policy…..).
The meeting will take place on the 24th September at the Tollington Arms, Hornsey Road, N7 and will convene at 11am sharp. We look forward to seeing (and hearing) you
Your humble (non) Servant
Dr Feelgood ”
Yeah, like I said, very strange……
heh, very true Cannons @493.
Enjoy the fun on the 24th, Dr Feelgood.
I think my train timings mean I may well be able to watch the game in a pub in Bordeaux (surely they will be showing it).
Btw Ollie, (very ridiculous question coming here) but are you the same Ollie from The Tuesday Club podcast?
No, no claim to fame for me, Cannons. 😛
Hehe, just checking 😉 (I don’t know if you listen to that podcast but that game was 0-0 by the way…)
Is it?
It’s a dirty job Ollie but someone’s got to do it
(escorting Wolfie to the bar, I mean) 😉
I would like to dedicate this 500th post to the Academy.
The Arsenal Academy, that is, for the magnificent speed they’ve imbued me with. Hitting 500 isn’t as easy as it looks kids, but if you keep working hard and staying positive, you’ll grow up to be just like me. A winner.
Nooooooooo!!! Knocked off the ball by Zico…
You speak on behalf of zico, Cannons?
Or is that some sort of EPIC fail ? 😉
Majestically eases to 500……
Rofl, it was the most majestic fail of all my friends 😀
To think I ran back home without going to the bar just to hit 500 and ended up “tabsing” it
Ah well, A Kirin Beer for Zico and Ollie to help with the chuckles
Heh , Dr Feelgood , an excellent idea to invite Silent Stan to the Board meeting . Wolfie has already remarked on how much he admires the luxuriousness of his ‘tache .
If he takes up a position with DLL , we could put him in charge of customer relations as Communications Executive .
Welcome to the one club Canons 🙂
Heh tabs,
I thought “Complaints Department” 😀
Equally as effective there Dr Z 🙂
On a rare footballing drink , I have to say that I welcome these Fellaini rumours .
I have to say that usually on visits to the Ems , so wrapped up am I in what the Arse boys are doing , I rarely take note of what oppo players are up to unless they are exceptionally good ( Carrick on his WHU debut in 98 , more tragically Rooney a couple of seasons back ) , or the comically inept ( Danny Mills ) .
In both Everton’s last 2 visits to the Ems , Fellaini stood out a mile as both physically imposing and as having a great eye for a pass , and I felt he was MoM on both occasions .
I’m taping up my letter box and closing all the doors and windows. If they can’t post the writ I’m sorted.
Ollie, you’re in the book for that PSG gag 😉
Yeah, I jumped the gun Bolt-style tabs…btw, apologies for the late uploading of BTA strip man…I wasn’t happy with the crap I produced so just doing it over at the moment after work…hopefully I’ll be able to 1) get it redone and 2) scrounge around for a scanner before too long 🙂
I think you’ll like it when it’s finished though, got a few compliments from onlookers at Starbucks (and not just on my West Indian good looks)
Well in Dr F – heh 🙂
And looks like you beat the AST to it as well:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/football/article-23987737-arsenal-fans-want-to-hear-from-silent-stan.do?
Canons , heh 🙂 , I’m sure it will be fantastic .
Should I put the writer as “tabs” on the comic? And btw, will I be a plaintiff as well when the libel suit comes in the post? 😉
Or should be a defendant? I hate law terms…
like Denis Law
As long as you remember that I wish to take all of the Glory ( and of course the hard cash) , and none of the writs , you won’t go far wrong 😉
Am I the only one that thinks Silent Stan looks like Daniel Plainview from There Will Be Blood?
You’re a bastard from a basket!
Not sure how much cash can be gotten, not sure if the world is ready for your words and my crap art combined…might make enough money to buy a can of moustache wax
tabs @ 510
Yeah, I’m with you – he’s been one of their better players every time he has played against us.
Also, he won’t need to worry about winning the ridiculous hair competition, as Alex Song took that particular trophy for keeps last season.
Snowy @ 513 – I’m sure if Stan has any sort of business sense, he will know which set of fans he needs to address 😉
West Indian good looks
moustache wax
You are Richard Roundtree and I claim my five pounds 😉
Hehe, they don’t call me Cannons “Shaft” Rhetoric for nothing holic 🙂
Canons , fair enough , didn’t think we’d be getting rich 🙁
I think Stan would be pretty happy with your look-a-likey @518 .
I have him down more as a James Finlayson from the Laurel and Hardy flicks .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Finlayson_(actor)
Dr Z – think you’re right re the hair , though should never write off Bac for that particular award .
😀
tabs, I lol’ed at the notes section: “He once knocked himself out by putting too much effort into a double-take routine.”
Good effort…
Good to see you’re still smiling amidst the legal carnage ‘Holic 😉
Heh Canons 🙂 , he was a slave to his art .
Knocking yourself out is a quaint but common tradition in Larbert, in actual fact (birthplace of Mr Finlayson for the un-initiated)
They do a mean moustache there as well, and that’s just the wimmin….. 8)
Needed a lunchtime giggle. Knew I would get one here TaBS 😉
Right, nose being thrust against the grindstone again. Roll on the Friday five o clock pintage, followed by the customary pissed preview tonight…
Paul Robinson, look out fatguts, here we come again 🙂
(That will be the gist of the preview, as it always is when we come up against Porky Paul)
Excellent ‘Holic , will look forward to it . A 7 pinter I hope 🙂
@530 🙂
That friday feeling seems to be prevailing .
Dr Z @528 🙂 🙂
Right off to select friday Speedos for Wolfie , polish Carlos’ shooter , and charm the barmaids .
Yosh, time to lurk like a bastard from a basket
I actually feel fairly optimistic about tomorrow. “All” it takes is for our boys to be as determined and willing to run that extra yard as we were against Dortmund and the three points will be in the bag quite comfortably.
Silent Stan Plainview: Are you an angry man, Arsene?
Arsene: About what?
Silent Stan Plainview: Are you envious? Do you get envious?
Arsene: I don’t think so. No.
Silent Stan Plainview: I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people.
Arsene: That part of me is gone… working and not succeeding- all my failures has left me… I just don’t… care.
Silent Stan Plainview: Well, if it’s in me, it’s in you. There are times when I look at people and I see nothing worth liking. I want to earn enough money that I can get away from everyone.
Arsene: What will you do about your boy, Gazidis?
Silent Stan Plainview: I don’t know. Maybe it will change. Does your sound come back to you? I don’t know. Maybe no one knows that. A doctor might not know that.
Arsene: Where is his mother?
Silent Stan Plainview: I don’t want to talk about those things. I see the worst in people. I don’t need to look past seeing them to get all I need. I’ve built my hatreds up over the years, little by little, Arsene… to have you here gives me a second breath. I can’t keep doing this on my own with these… people.
*laughs*
Well Shaft (Cannons)
That went so far over my head, it had Easyjet on its tail…….
Shaft gets off on non sequitur…and fat bitches
Goonertown @ 491 – You’re right, but so also is actually forming an intelligent opinion based on real facts, rather than spouting the first piece of bullshit that comes into your head.
Seriously, the doomers really yanked my chain on Thursday.
Well, that took quite a while to go through all the drinks
It was worth it 🙂
May be not the ones about cesc
Right,so what happened of the proposal made by Secret supplies to the esteemed DLL board?
Pay attention Harsha – Board meeting 24th September item 2 on the agenda – see post # 184 😉
Dr Z , just listened to the Arsecast .
Blogs talks about a train driver who starts drinking at 7-30 in the morning and then goes off to drive his trains .
Rumbled ? 😉
Heard that tabs. Similarities of course could be entirely co-incidental.
Could
Afternoon chaps.
From about 100 posts ago;
Snir, I never take it personaly, after all, this is just business… er……No it’s not, but you know what I mean.
====
Apologies for my drunken, feeble attempts at an alter-ego last night (Sil’ Stan @478 & 479) At the time it seemed like a good idea. (damn you vodka) and at least ‘holic won’t have to worry about legal problems, because I only repeated exactly what he has said.
Speaking of the silent one, I think he looks like these guys.
I’m in dire need of a BM please.
Ah, I see Dr Z 🙂
Hope Mr WolfGang supports our cause in the meeting as he has promised
Crap, forgot to change my name back.
Oh dear, there are 2 (count ’em, 2) Silent Stans.
Hope we don’t have to pay double the dividend. And I hope they both don’t turn up at the meeting on the 24th 😉
Don’t worry Zico, my days as the silent one are over…
I never knew what to say.
Heh, very good H2H – have a Bloody Mary on me. 😀
Don’t mind if I do, cheers Dr Z.
In other news;
Wigan players have been reportedly left unable to train after thieves stole four sacks containing 48 footballs from their training ground.
Full story: Daily Mirror
All I can say is that someone who dares to break into a football club has a lot of balls.
Harsha ,
In return for a small concession , I will of course be supporting the proposed motion in favour of Secret Supplies .
Your competitor , whilst having an excellent product , is not always available for queeries .
Trusting that you will always be available for queeries.
Yours ,
Wolfgang Smallballs
Afternoon H2H ,
A few hehs above 🙂
I have at my disposal ;-
bottles of best Russian (x2)
small carton of Tom juice (x1)
Let’s get stuck in 🙂
Well don’t be surprised if our competitor doesn’t turn up for a while
Our warmest assasins regards have been dispatched for the CEO of PIK Supplies 😉
Well that was a bit of a fail 🙂
I meant for a strikethrough there
Good stuff tabs, none of that green crap needed. I’ve got the tabasco, to spice them up, sounds like breakfast is served.
Harsha – yep , an epic fail . Don’t ask me how you do a strikethrough 🙂
H2H , Best meal of the day . In the interests of balance , and to really set us up for the rigours that lie ahead , I also have a couple of packs of Marlboros . Would have been Camels , but Lonestar let me down .
I won my court case this week tabs, so I’ll be lighting up down in the bar later on. Lately I’ve been smoking my own roll ups.
Class act me. 😉
600th?
Oh, given the current posting rates, I thought it was rightly mine with this one.
I’ll go home then.
Wow, Ollie, and I thought Cannons of Rhetoric suffered from premature err, exclamation, but this?
On the other hand, since you took the trouble to get here, you could keep an eye on Wolfie 😉
“premature exclamation” 😆
H2H , nice one , are you the only Bar in the Lowlands to do this , or are others following in your wake to exploit loopholes etc ?
Ollie and Dr Z 🙂
Hmmm , without wishing to reopen old wounds , (I’m going to 🙂 ) , I see Tim Stillman , who hasn’t missed an Arse game , home , away or abroad since the late Jack Kelsey was in short trousers called the Dortmund crowd over at Arseblog ” the loudest I have ever heard anywhere in the world “.
The Defence rests M’lud , (and Snir) 🙂
I’m the only one here in the immeadiate region.
The law states that you only are allowed to have one area less then 70 square meters and you are not allowed to employ any staff.
I work alone with my girlfriend (under the guise of a one man business) so that was no problem, however on my licence, it stated that I had two areas one being 55 square meters, the billiart room, the other, the main room with bar and pool table being 78 square meters.
The billiart room was a no brainer and I immeadiatly closed it to the public and made plans to renovate it as a large sitting room, however the main room was more of a challenge, I had it re-measured by local officials who measured it at just over 70 square meters, I then argued the case that the toilets shouldn’t count in the overall measurements of the room, and won, meaning that the final measurement was under the required 70 square meters.
A win for the little guy. Plus admiration that an English guy could poke a hole in a dutch law.
This rounds on me.
Better that the English guy pokes a hole in the Dutch Law as opposed to sticking his finger in the Dutch duke, eh? 😀
Feck – duke = dyke
I hate Apple
Outstanding H2H – nice victory.
And great work all the Silent Stans – however many we have here now…
Getting proper excited about tomorrow now…but not necessarily the hideously early start to get there.
And with Benny Goon saying it’s a dream to play for Arsenal, Little Mikel continuing to have a sparkle in his eye when speaking about the club, and Rambo having a run out with the team in training this week…what’s not to be cheerful about eh?
Hope that everyone’s glasses are properly set to ‘half full’ this fine evening
🙂
Nice one H2H . Bloody big bar you’ve got there . 7 square metres or 70 ?
zico @ 564 😆
It’s going to take a while to shake that somewhat unwelcome image out of what’s left of my brain…
You going Snowy ?
Yep – I sure am 🙂
Snowy @ 568
I will rule the world when I learn how to switch off the auto spell check thingy on this fecking device
In the interim Dutch dukes are just going to have to grin and bear it 😉
Have a good one , 2-0 win I think .
Dukes or Dykes – amounts to pretty much the same 🙂
Wolfie will be out duke hunting!
Ahh, should of hit refresh before posting, because in he popped (oo-er)
Re: Tabs @562: Maybe the Dortmund crowd is so loud because they are all trying to emulate their dangerously insane manager who looks like he is about to bite at least one person’s head off. If that’s not it, maybe they distribute free beer in the stands??
Good luck with the journey oop narf tomorrow Snowy.
I’m pissed off that I have to be up early just to watch it on tv. 😉
Right, off for some real Guinness. Catch you all later tonight when the Guvnor has put his good words down…..
Cheers tabs. I’ll be a very happy snowy if it ends up like that.
@ 571 and 573 – heh 🙂
Cheers H2H – I’m so concerned at the early start I have 2 drinks on the go – a proper one, and a pre-emptive Bercocca…
Have a goodun Dr Z.
Be careful where you stick your fingers.
Re: Silent Stan @544: More articulate than I anticipated. More to the point, however, Is this an example of what we can expect to be your management style, and are those two pictures what you look like in board meetings?
Got there first H2H 😉
8ball – Yep , clearly a bit of a nutter , though did like the brevity of his response to questions about Arsenal’s breakaway goal –
” Shit happens ”
Although , in this case not shit at all . Very , very good in fact .
If Silent Stan stays in character , don’t expect a response 8ball
I had to google Berrocca, not surprised to find it was healthy, that’s probably the reason why I’d never heard of it.
Tom juice is healthy too you know, mix it with some vitimine V.
Gotta hit the bar gents, theres a drinking and smoking to be done, oh and a bit of work inbetween.
Cheers.
H2H – don’t they have Beroccas in the Lowlands? That’s a shame.
They’re the, ermm, ‘healthy’ alternative for those with a less than healthy lifestyle.
They also mix extremely well with Alka Seltzer tablets, in the perfect pre-breakfast cocktail for the morning after the night before.
Naturally I buy all of the above ingredients in bulk 🙂
zico: spell checks are evil. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t seem to realise that some of us don’t want to use such things.
Of course, TS has a word-scrambler instead, but that’s another problem 😀
Camberwell @539-
I hear you.
As they say down our neck of the woods “some people love taking fucking liberties!”
😉
What’s going to come first? 600th or new blog?
Ollie, It depends how many pointless drinks come first. 😀
I bet Tabs is lurking somewhere for 601 …
The ball seems to have been set in motion …
Surely someone else has to be around too?
Or is tabs just holding his breath?
Wouldn’t dare to post more than four times in a row of course …
Ollie, Isn’t #558 a bit early to start coveting 600??
Not that I haven’t been guilty of worse at times. 😉
Does #600 get a free drink on Lars’ tab?
😎
Tabs, A moment to treasure … and never let it be said you only get the ones. 😀
He played the long game , known as the silent assassin , he’s deadly .
Drinks on me ( Lars tab of course )
Heh, tabs! You must have been refreshing this page like mad until 599th and not dared put a single word on that 600th for fear it escaping you again.
Still laughing,here 😀
(perhaps the barman can add a comment somewhere (or remove one, as is more usual, but it’s funnier if you get 601st :p) )
558 was posted only in jest, you know….
Heh Ollie 🙂 Not used to the Glory here , it all got a bit frantic when I saw the 599 . Felt certain I’d come in in my usual spot , which of course had its usual comedy value 🙂
By dint of clicking ‘refresh’ on the wrong page.. new post has arrived folks
===>
🙂
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