Why I Love The Arsenal
Nov 27th, 2011 by 'holic
This is going to be difficult. To avoid having to post in the early hours of the morning I have brought the hPad2 along so I can describe the events of the day on the journey home. You know this won’t be a conventional match report now, don’t you?
This was one of those days where the performance we came to see did not match the anticipation, but nonetheless a thoroughly good time was had. The pre-match tapas and wine set the mood. Thank you, not for the first time, to a top Gooner for his hospitality. Then it was time to hook up with the competition winners.
Arthur and Danny provided great company for one of those games. I have not had the benefit of seeing the television coverage but I have to say the considered opinion in the pub afterwards was ‘how on earth did we not win that?’, speckled with a dash of ‘why did Arshavin start ahead of Gervinho?’
Regardless of who did and didn’t start Arsenal showed considerable early desire, and once again you could not fault the workrate. Walcott terrorised Riise from the off, Ramsey sadly failed to convert a couple of good chances, and Arshavin struck, only to fall foul of an offside flag. It was a half that held the interest, but didn’t lift us out of our seats.
The difference between Jol’s Fulham, and the side we have enjoyed watching in recent years, is their determination to grab a point by any means. Like others before them they packed the midfield, and wasted time. Oh so much time. That is frustrating because they are better than their league place suggests. They have quality, but Jol is trying to add functionality to their undoubted ability.
The travelling support summed up their astonishment when Thomas Vermaelen, otherwise outstanding again, gave them a lead they couldn’t believe they had. “How shit must you be, we’re winning away”. Clever. There is not much ambition at either end of Fulham at present.
The same man landed the inevitable equaliser when heading in a cross from the vibrant Walcott. If anything came out of this dropped two points it was the positivity displayed by Theo, particularly in the opening half. A word too for Djourou, surprisingly called upon to fill the right-back berth ahead of Koscielny. More than one around me considered that a risk, but he actually stood out in the second-half as the visitors sensed a rare upset.
However, the match will not live long in the memory, which is a shame on what was otherwise a really good day out. In the chill-out zone afterwards I ran into Adam, who sorted out the tickets from Indesit for us. I watched Ollie cast his bad influence over all present, and I had the good fortune to run into a good man, Snowy.
Sadly the good vibes did not extend to the journey home. This post did start on the hPad2, but mobile broadband cuts in and out as you head west. Fellow bloggers, don’t attempt it. That will give me an issue next Friday week. I have an invite to an event at Arsenal in the afternoon, and I have a dinner in the West Country in the evening. I was hoping my Everton preview could be prepared on the hPad on the train between events. Let me tell you now the Everton preview will be on the Thursday, or not at all.
Anyway, despite the odd frustration, a really good day was enjoyed. We suffered a blip, but it most certainly was not terminal. So a huge thanks to all at El Molino for the excellent food, to Tone for the banana rum and Tullamore Dew 43 black, to Ollie and Ms K for their awesomeness. Thanks also to Danny Murphy and Arthur for joining me at the game and joining in with the odd sing-song!
Most of all though, a huge thanks to Bonar and Kitty for reminding me what is important in life.
Arsenal, friends, kids. How good was today…
207 Responses to “Why I Love The Arsenal”
First 🙁
Holic, you’ve got mail…
Now to read the post!
Well in ‘holic – dedication to the Arsenal indeedee
Pardon – The Arsenal
Sounds like an excellent day, Holic. It looked like this to a mere mortal watching on TV on the wrong side of the water.
We stayed in Pok Foo Lam Road once. It was an explosion of the senses. Gasoline fumes from a yellow shoal of Hong Kong taxi fishes mingled with the fragrant spices of the Orient all mixed up with bare-toed Chinese ladies and egg flied lice in a noodle soup fusion of Cantonese extravagance.
That Foo Lam had little to do with today’s game against Fu Lham, apart from the huge coincidence that Egg Flied Lice was number 10 on the menu at The Fragrant Garden Chinese Restaurant. But Robin Van Persie hadn’t even been born in these days, never mind ready to wear to shirt made famous by the real Dutch Master and so, unfortunately, there the coincidence ends.
And that intro was a subterfuge. A Foo Lame attempt to ignite some interest into a day of huge hope and expectation that, for me, didn’t quite deliver on its promise. With two “four pointers” being played before and after our game, this was important one for Arsenal. The Deeply Indebted did their bit, surrendering to a home draw against the Barcodes. With Liverpool likely to hold Shitty tomorrow, this was a great opportunity to Kung Fu kick our way up the ladder. And so to the game.
The team once known as Fulham St Andrew’s Church Sunday School F.C. (I think we can claim some good Scots Presbyterian heritage there, Zico?), turned up jollily under the leadership of Jolly Martin Jolly, with a view to winning a point against a high flying Arsenal team, well capable of kicking their collective butts for six. They adopted their customary 10-1 formation and settled down for the duration with Phil Senderos’ pate gleaming in the sunlight (or was that Holic’s hip flask?).
Arsene had studied Holic’s recent posts carefully and considered there might just be merit in the notion of replacing the fireball provider of the moment with Russia’s Finest Haircut. And so, indubitably in an attempt to make a handsome return at Paddy Power’s expense, Arshavin for Gervinho and Djourou for Koscielny were the changes from the efficient disposal in mid-week of the Bundesliga Champions.
And within minutes of kick-off, with a flick of his coiffure, pint size had the ball in the back of Foo Lam’s noodle dish. Unfortunately, he was half a Muscovician body off-side, otherwise he would have transformed today’s outcome.
Arsenal looked jaded following the efforts of mid-week. They passed the ball around well and created some good chances, particularly a Walcott cut-back to Ramsey who shot over when hitting the target looked easier. Arsenal’s defence looked rock solid against Fulham’s lone attacker. Surprisingly, the half-time stats showed Fulham had more of the possession and both teams had four shots on target. Go figure. We’d played well but not spectacularly.
I expected to see Diaby, Gervinho and Benayoun come on after half time for Ramsey, Arshavin and Arteta. Ramsey was bursting his gut as always and catching the eye, Arteta looked well off the pace and Andre was his normal haircut. But change isn’t Arsene’s way, and so the same eleven turned out for the main course.
The second half was much like the first, Arsenal created a couple of good chances (most notably a RvP shot cleared of the line) but the tempo was low and mid-way through the half it was becoming apparent that this was a game that could go off the rails. And it did. Arteta passed woefully to a wandering Foo Lam mid-field rice vendor who quickly passed to their left wing, then toward Riise and Tommy Vermaelen flicked home.
One nil to the bad guys.
Arsene waited until nearly 70 minutes to make changes. Gervinho’s introduction resulted in an immediate transformation to the pace, tempo and creativity of the team. Diaby worked himself in well and Chamakh showed that there is some way to go in the process to restore his confidence and impact. (Where is Park in all of this, I wonder?)
The Verminator made amends for his earlier whoopsee to pull Arsenal level with a well-taken header and set up a final eight minutes or so of intense effort from Arsenal. As is so often the case, I wished this tempo and drive had been apparent earlier. Fu Lham had no response and were rocking harder than Dion DiMucci. But we couldn’t quite get it done and so, it finished One (Egg Flied Lice) – One (Egg On Face).
I kicked the dog. I kicked the furniture. I went out and cut down a tree and now I’m writing this. Disappointing, but not a disaster. Would I have taken wins against Dortmund and Shitty and a draw against Fulham in these 10 days? You bet I would. And I still will.
Arsenal, bloody Arsenal.
Anything wet and alcoholic please, barman.
glad you had a grand time mate……….summed up my feelings about the game succinctly!
Thank you kind sir for a fantastic day it was great to put a face to the name and good to meet Arthur, it was great to meet Adam ( eyes up ) and to know thr future of gooners is in good hands and that everything makes sense ish what a fine fellow snowy is wonderful tales from aboad I look forward to meeting you all in the future any tickets going let me know I still think it should have been 3-1 with DM getting thier goal but you can’t have everything cheers guys great day
Nice write-up, Gov…
Good to hear that the corporate largesse is flowing down to the blogosphere…where it belongs.
Couldn’t go to a more deserving gentleman I’m sure 😛
BMBD!
We salvaged a point and that’s a positive. Now comes a real test of our resilience and endurance. Come on Arsenal.
I thought we had good performances by Djourou and it’s great to have Diaby back. They can both do a lot to help us in the resilience and endurance departments.
Great post holic. I must confess that I’ve been drunk all weekend. The game was kicking off here at 2:30am and I valiantly kept my drunk self up to watch the game but passed out without seeing anything 🙁
Gotta download this one and watch it later….
ESB for everyone in the bar on Shaft’s tab
`Cant sleep………………
Great post Holic.
I think the reason to our flatness was because Arteta had a poor game.
We looked like the 3 game a week with no rotation thing was taking its toll on the players.
I just hope these 2 points won’t be points we’ll cry about come the end of the season…
Hopefully Liverpool will do us a favor and we’ll get back on track on Tuesday (although I doubt it if we go with a young team plus a few experienced players and not the strongest available against City) and then at Wigan who are the EPL’s worst team.
Everton at home a week later will be a tough one, no doubt.
After staying up until 4:30 in the am to watch the boys play Mr.Dean and the packed defence/midfield of Fulham, it was disappointing not to come away with all three points and make some ground on Man U and the toon.
I felt that with a tiny bit of luck in front of goal, RVP goal bound off the line clearance and JD’s wonderful late header being clawed away by my countryman Schwarzer and the first half attempt by the BFG at the death. The inability of Mr Dean to spot the penalty shoot of RVP and generally allowing the Fulham boys to get away with a fair few blatant attempts at fouling and therefore breaking up the rythum of the game.
Having said that I feel the boys put in a huge shift and JD and the god that is Santos were exceptional tonight and ensured an threat from the wings was quickly and effectiently snuffed out. The midfield looked very heavy legged. Theo was excellent, RVP was very good and his ability to create out of nothing was sensational, the little Russian just no longer believes in himself on a couple he was set free and chose not to drive at the Fulham goal like he would when he first joined. Lastly the BFG was untroubled throughout and TV5 was immense excepting for the one fuck up. Chezzer had nothing to do for most of the game.
Man of the Match was our Swiss wonder JD with a couple of great last ditch tackles to ensure that we didn’t get done at the death and his header late showed his desire to try and get the boys over the line. Would also like to say a big welcome back to Diaby who with an extended run of games, I believe will turn into a might fine player.
Bad luck boys but just keep on keeping on and make us proud to support the Gunners, like you have all season.
A very early Morning to you all chaps and chapesses ,
I am not of sober mind at the moment so I will not extol on the virtues of Arsenal right now , nor will I elucidate on why I think we were dreadfully unlucky to come away with a point .
So why post at this late hour I hear you ask ? Well , brethren , because the ultimately disappointing draw today aside , I had one of the most exciting Gooner evenings ever . “Why’s that Tabs?” the Holics cry .
At approx 10pm , the Tabsmeister had moved on from the away juicer of choice ( sadly becoming the home juicer of choice ) , and had moved on to the Kings Head N21 .
Sneaking to the garden for a crafty fag I was interrupted by a distinctive Glaswegian voice ” Can I trouble ye for a light fo ma cigar fella ?”
I looked up to see none other than the still chiselled features of Frank Mclintock , Double winning legend of ’71 .
Well needless to say , the light was proffered and even though I say it myself , we rather hit it off ! There followed a two hour forensic interview of Frank in which he was by turns funny , acerbic , and direct on all things Arsenal both past and present .
I did mention that I occasionally:blush: contribute to a blog and would he mind if I repeated what he said . He therefore made clear when he was talking off the record , which I will not of course repeat ,just so to make clear that I am not telling tales out of school .
So tomorrow dear chums , when I am a little less sober Frank’s views of Bertie Mee , Steve Burtenshaw , Bobby Campbell , Jeff Blockley , Charlie George , Peter Storey , Peter Simpson , Alan Ball ,
his departure from Arsenal , Arsene Wenger , Liam Brady , Jack Wilshire and the Americans .
What a night !
tabs –
hurry!! wake up and spill it all….
tabs, it’s not fair – you get all the good jobs….
The schwartz must’ve been w/ fulham after that save from the Djorou header and so on….
Some tired legs and wayward passes but, after a CL win mayve been expected. Time to rest some of our regulars… Also gotta love the heart that chamakh put out on his shift, can’t say the same for one little Russian.
Onto $hiteh on Tuesday… The lezza and Gail should be on the pitch along w/ the sure to be unlevel king of performance enhancing pills or needles toure… Wolfie may need to be on stand by to deal with such fits of shit form and ire. However senderos had a dent game but, walked the thin red line for me.
Oh
my
head
🙁
Forgot to mention Nicole and Carolyn. It was lovely to meet you beforehand.
I really did meet a lot of excellent people yesterday, including the fella with you Snowy. He was great to talk to.
Off to attempt death by coffee and ibuprofen …
WOTCHER ‘HOLIC!!!! Nice post mate.
A real pleasure for us to meet you too and I agree that the rum was delicious. Thank you West End Tone!
‘Holic, just wanted to say thanks to you for the blog. Great to have the positives and not the gloom that can prevail in the upper tier!
Arsenal…always Arsenal.
Morning All
Lovely iReport maestro. Trust that you were awake by the time the HT (Holic Train) pulled into Swindon?
tabs – You’re another one of those guys that wouldn’t come up sucking his thumb if you were to fall into a bucket of breasts. Cannot wait for you to share what you feel comfortable sharing from your chat with the living legend that is Mr. McC. And for everything that you don’t? Well….there’s always the Everton game and a the plying of alcohol to help unlock those extra ‘added value anecdotes’. See you soon mate *makes mental note to join tabs soon at a ‘juicer of choice’ too*
Ollie – I see that you were your usual bad influence. What did you do to ‘Holic, Snowy, WST, ATG, etc? Tsk….. Please save your Dr.Evil routine for The Arsebloggers at the next home game so that the ‘Holics can drink in relative peace 😉
BtM – An usually ‘frustrated’ report from you, still glass half-full by most standards, but there’s a strong after-taste of ‘oh f*ck it’. That’s exactly how I felt having watched most of the second-half with the StoreySon but on reflection this morning, t’aint so bad. We were unlucky not to score more than two goals (with apologies to Mr.V) but Fulham looked very well organised and dangerous when on the break. A decent side and the result was probably fair overall against a quite off-colour Arsenal side until the overly late substitutions injected some real venom and pace to our attacks. The major bummer for me is those LWCs taking the full three from The Baggies and stretching their current points haul over us.
Cheers to all and have a good Sunday. There are hangover cures waiting on The Lars with extra sachets of the stuff in the CMC. *types quietly*
Slightly boilky here in Stockholm today. Can not believe how we did not win that, we didn’t play too well but still created enough to win it comfortably. Fulham were incredibly lucky, and I think Riise should have been penalised for handling the ball in the leadup to the goal because in my view he definitely used his arm deliberately. But such is life, and I am quite convinced that we would have lost this game last season. Though I suppose not winning this game gives a lot of moaners some oxygen again, the poor sods must have been in danger of suffocating to death from winning all these games lately.
Anyway, off to attempt something resembling breakfast. May all your boilks fade away quickly!
‘Holic @ #19 – Heh! 🙂
“West Stand” sorry! Pet Shop Boys were on radio …
The Aim is To Irritate – And That’s A Fact …
So that’s it! We’re shit – again!!! 5 (or was it 6?) wins on the bounce – bollox!
You’re only as good as your last stat in my book. And that stat reads played 1 drawn 1. So that’s 2 points dropped in my eyes. Which means in reality we actually got minus 1 point from that game – which is worse than losing!!! And that’s unacceptable!! And it means we’re slap-bang in the middle of a terrible run – again!!!
Course Arsene so-called Wenger came out with his usual bullshit – making excuses for piss-poor performances from so-called highly payed, super-fit, full-time professional players – “The team is tired. We ‘ad a tough game in midweek against the champions of Germany blah, blah, bloody blah.”
Leave off Mr. Le Proff!!!
When i used to play on Sunday mornings I’d usually been on it – all night, the night before. But I always turned up ready to give it everything for the team. Half the time I chucked up in the back of me mate’s car on the way to the ground. Then I’d have a kip. Clear up the sick. And if we was short, and winning easily, the manager would – sometimes – give me the last 5 minutes. And I would always, without fail, put a full shift in. No fucking excuses!!! So DON’T give me yours Monsieur!!!!!
Now I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, and again, and again and etc., until someone, somewhere pays me some attention –
Win all games, all the time, under all circumstances, no matter what – you useless bunch of clueless bastards!!!
And I’m proud to say that, that comes from the heart of a life-long supporting, die-hard Gooner!
Cut me and I bleed pure red – just ask anyone what knows me – (and erm, a few that don’t – but that’s another story).
OK, as they say – no rest for the wicked, so let’s keep the pressure on – full blast – peoples. Be good Rashers. Over and out!!!
How likely is it, do you think, that a Premiership referee could handle ten consecutive matches of a top four club, without said club winning one.
Statistically, would you not at least consider the prospect that this official was worthy of some further investigation?
I took a fulham mate and left the ground feeling how can we with this incredible stadium, 60k, huge turnover, amazing training ground, players, history and everything else let fulham from their little ‘cottage’ give us such a game, yes we had the CL game midweek, yes arsene did the subs right and yes the winner was coming… But any team can score anytime even tho we scored that too.. So it’s all about attitude… If we started the game how we ended it we would have won it
Having said that some fantastic performances again & hunting in packs… Add the obvious ie a benzema, hazard, m’villa ditch the obvoious chamakh, arshavin, we have the money sitting in an account only for buying, Tweak the attitude to go for the win very game & this arsenal could have a great season & future
Well played Mr Rash. I see you are spreading your wisdom far and wide these days 😉
Top stuff LeG Rash @ #27 – and that’s also a fact!!! 🙂
WANGER OOT!
Holic @ 28 Exactly! In my view, when Fulham made a sandwich of Robin, we should have been awarded a penalty. Can’t wait to hear who you think should start against Citah. Don’t make us wait too long.
Took Wasp Jr to his 1st Arsenal match yesterday. Tried to explain the offside rule to him after Arshavin ‘scored’ but couldn’t.
As a result we ‘won’ 2-1!
On a positive note we are the only English team in the Champions League, who can boast a top table qualification with a game to “spare”! That will be telling going into our away fixture v Everton! I expect us to win that game, after being able to rest the first eleven, giving them a well earned break. It’s just a shame City and Chelski play each other that week so we can’t capitalise twice on both of them having to play their strongest sides mid-week, in an attempt to qualify and finish top respectively and then again, having to play each, although city may have less to worry about in the league than the other lot.
What happens before and thereafter remains to be seen. I’m sure the result this Tuesday whatever side we field, will not feel too disappointed at yesterday’s set back, as the mental and physical fatigue surfaced at a time when it wasn’t welcome.
A similar line up to previous beer cup matches this season, at home with fresh legs, could be a good idea and enough to topple a city side who despite having an exceptional second string who may not be too effected by having to play us within two days of their first string having to play away in a against a Liverpool side trying to get in to the top four also, nonetheless the sky blues are due at least one upset in the next few days. If we can pull it off, then we are due an exceptional run leading up to having to visit the said oil riggers on the 18th.
If not, we are still due a good run come next week. Please Arsene, rest the staring XI on Tuesday, in a competition we can boast reaching the final in 9 months ago, so win or lose, we can fry bigger fish over the next couple of weeks.
I shall raise a glass to Wasp Jr later. I like his scoring method better.
‘Holic @ 35
It was his 4th birthday present so couldn’t spoil his day could I?
Jaaaaaaysus. I seem to have been the subject of some truly evil influences yesterday. Can’t remember last time I felt that bad.
Mineral water please, barman
Head still hurts for sure I had a fantastic day yesterday!
I think a pint would sort my head out for sure 😉
Great to meet everyone last night it was a pleasure! Great walk with the ladies to the game as well!
Wish I could do it every game!
RIP Gary Speed…..only 42. Leeds legend, Wales boss….very sad day.
Let me think why, Ollie.
Guinness, Guinness, red wine, red wine, red wine, glass of port, banana rum, Guinness Guinness, whisky, whisky, whisky, Guinness, Guinness, Guinness…
All because you made me arrive early…
Great stuff tabs. BtM, incidentally I had some Chinese food last night(well, I think….)
I did laugh at West End Tone above 😀
Great to meet some new holics. Sorry if I was mostly mumbling incoherently after the game. The barman is to blame, I wasn’t sure whether the custom said you’ve got to empty the hip flask during the game so went for the greedy option
Holic
You forgot to add the Cider before the game 🙂
Very sad news coming in about Gary Speed
RIP
Zico
Oh Shit just read the news on that, committing suicide as well. Not good news at all!
Boilk
Sorry – ill timed Boilk. Rip mr speed.
He was a fantastic player in that great Leeds team, always seemed a genuinely nice bloke and was doing wonders with the Welsh team. Suicide only adds to the tragedy. RIP Gary Speed, can’t quite believe it.
Nice Report Holic . BtM , your Chinese left me wanting more , and Mr Rash , great stuff 🙂
Yes we were a little one paced yesterday , but still did enough to have won several games comfortably . Theo had an excellent first half and his cross for the goal showed those that constantly bemoan his end-product that their comments contain less credence with every passing week . Santos was again first class , and cult (no spelling mistake) status surely awaits the Brazilian .
Djourou enjoyed a heartening performance in front of what will no doubt be a starring role on Tuesday whilst the central defensive pairing of the Bfg and Verm were ( the one error aside ) , the personification of calm authority . Such is the character of the man that it was odds on that having put through his own net the Verminator would rectify matters at the right end .
On the downside AA did little to suggest that he should start ahead of Flipper , and the introduction of the Ivorian (10 mins too late in my view ) gave us an immediate penetration and danger which we had hitherto lacked .
Arteta looked to be suffering a bigger reaction than most following his midweek endeavours and I was surprised that it was Ramsey’s number that was held up , rather than his , to make way for the impressive Diaby . That said , I am aware that a television view does not give you the whole picture , and speaking to someone later in the evening who had been at the ground , I was told that Aaron was indeed out on his feet .
RVP led by example , but for once the only thing lacking from his performance was a goal to have seen us over the line .
And so , a little opportunity lost , yet , when you’re one down with 10 to go , I’ll take a point .
Just heard the truly shocking news about Gary Speed . RIP .
RIP Mr Speed. Very sad news to hear and it certainly puts two dropped points in perspective.
RIP Gary Speed.
Class act, proper football man. What an absolute tragedy, puts it all in perspective.
Wow, this is hard to believe. RIP Gary Speed, a true English League legend and a real gentleman. Incomprehensible. Life into perspective indeed, I’m definitely over those 2 dropped points now with this news.
A dissappointing result,but not the end of the world.I can only echo previous sentiments about AA I think his number is up.
My hope is now we can stay in touch with the top four,get busy in the transfer window and then have a strong second half of the season.A season without the delights of CL football is not a pleasant thought.
On a positive note it is good to hear tabs pulled last night,I’m looking forward to him kissing and telling.I’m over next week so maybe we can share a couple of jars in the Kings Head
Indeed Arthur. Thank you.
So sorry for Gary Speed’s family.
Heh Brazilian , will look forward to those Beers .
sad, sad news – your heart goes out to the family
Saddening and sorrowful news about Gary Speed. Hard to understand, though we know little about the circumstances. Our thoughts should be with his wife and two boys losing a husband and father so young in life.
Wow RIP Mr Speed! 🙁
Not had a chance to see any of the game yet. Not even seen the goals. I have read the reports and it very much seems like one of those days.
However, my thoughts of the game are somewhat overshadowed by the tragic news of the death of Gary Speed. A man who always played the game in the right spirit and someone who was always a proper football bloke. How much of Aaron Ramsey’s progress can we put down to him being made Wales captain? It has certainly helped with his development.
As a 46 year old bloke who has two wonderful kids and who unfortunately lost his father at the age of 8, news of this nature I always find very sad. I guess we will.never really know what makes someone who appears to have so much going for them take their own life. I just think it is incredibly tragic that things get to that stage. My thoughts and sympathy go to his family.
I had some white wine later too, ‘holic! 😉
Pretty sure I had a couple of vodkas in the pub too.
And heh, having checked elsewhere, now the doppelgänger story from yesterday rings a bell.
Mwahahaha
Why did nobody tell me that Bordeaux won yesterday?
So sad.
Always respected him.
RIP Gary Speed.
rip gary speed. absolutely shocked, and gutted. horrible news. Prayers for his wife and kids. shocking, shocking news.
What a waste of money Jordan Henderson is.
Unbelievable.
Sad day for Welsh football.
Condolances to his family.
Balotelli sent off, so he won’t play on Tuesday. Can’t see any of Aguero, Silva or Toure play either, they have all looked rather tired today.
Quite entertaining game I have to say, but I am torn between wanting City’s unbeaten run to end and wanting Liverpool to lose so we stay in sixth. But it looks like it will be a draw which of course means that none of those two things will happen…
Well that was quite obvious…
City and United lose points, so do we…
Damn it.
Look on the bright side, Snir, they didn’t get any further away 🙂
I don’t want the bright side, I want the title!
10 points is much better than 12, especially when it could be 7 and 4 after a trip to Stamford Bridge and our visit to Manchester…
Oh well… I guess 6 points deficit after our visit there will have to do… It’s definitely manageable, especially since we have everybody at home in the 2nd half of the season.
I think I have got the guy from Indesit wrong I thought it was Adam he put 2 names on my phone but there’s no Adam, so if you are on the drinks let me know please ( eyes up ) Once again it was great to meet everyone and Ollie now I know why you just kept laughing when I was giving you a rollicking for telling me you didn’t who holic was before the game bloody doppelganger oh and thanks to west stand ( end ) Tone for the hip flask supplement very nice indeed CHEERS
It was quite funny indeed, Danny.
Although I guess I was so wasted I don’t remember it clearly enough 😀
Lovely post ‘holic. Always a pleasure to spend some time with you good sir, and likewise the other matchday regulars at the Tollie.
Echo the sentiments above on the sad news about Gary Speed. By all accounts a great player and a very decent chap as well. Terrible shame. And ‘holic, how right your words are about remembering the important things in life.
In Snowy Towers this evening a glass or two will most certainly be raised to my nearest and dearest, friends old and new, and the hope that they all realise how privileged I feel to know them.
Which includes, of course, the fabulously barking lot on here, so a drink for anyone in the bar who would also like to toast the truly important things in life. Like Lars’ tab for instance 😉
So, who are they?
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/legends-statues-to-be-unveiled
My prayers and condolences go out to Gary’s family. Holic, you are so right about what is really important in life. Always tell your loved ones how much they mean to you…and try to enjoy the simple things in life.
Ollie @ 72 Ok Ollie, any guesses? I’m terrible at this stuff.
Hello abb. I’m no good either.
I suspect ‘holic would be as good at this game as at Mornington Crescent.
And I can only concur with what you said at 73.
French football is strange sometimes: PSG supporters are barred from supporting their team in Marseille.
But at the same time tonight, some Marseille supporters group are ‘on strike’ (they’re at the game but refuse to chant).
Hi Ollie, Hope your feeling better after yesterday, sounds like you lads had a rip roaring time! Yes, too often I’m impatient, wishes half my life away in the process. I must say I’m sorry to Holic, pressuring him so soon for Tuesday’s lineup. Very rude of me. Besides, we don’t have AW’s list of who’s fit. But, I’ve got the gooner fever bad so hurry up Holic! Cheers!
Snowy, one might indeed wonder what this bar would be like if my tab wasn’t there 🙂
Ollie @ 72 – clearly the statues are “Stony” Adams, “Cliff” Bastin and “Rocky”…
*gets coat*
Actually, lamentable puns aside, those 3 would probably be pretty close to my top 3 choices.
Lars @ 78 – heh 😉
Evening
It would be nice to think that Rocky would be in there, and I’d be astounded if Tony wasn’t. Other generations need representing too though ….. I’ll leave that to Holic to advise! 😉
Drink, anyone?
heh snowy @79.
Funnily enough, I thought of those 3 without even the pun aspect of things!
Although I saw him play several times for teams I largely couldn’t stand, Gary Speed seemed a very decent player, professional and person.
Genuinely shocked to hear the news on radio this morning. 42 ?!?
BtM great piece.
Tabs, glad you had a good night – can’t wait to hear Frank’s ‘stuff’.
Leg Rash @27 – you’re going to get ‘Holic de-corporatised if the PR boys get hold of this ! 😉
‘Holic – glad you had such a good day too. Had the pleasure of my daughter at yesterday’s game too. How does a 7 year old girl actually make football more enjoyable ? One of life’s more pleasant mysteries . . .
Thanks snowy. Obviously I didn’t have a clue when I typed those words last night how much meaning they would have today.
Hello Danny. Yes, Adam was the guy who sorted the tickets and some Guinness for us. Nice fella. Well, everybody I met yesterday was top drawer, you included, sir. It was a privilege.
Evening all
Firstly, I’ll join those in the bar raisng a glass to Mr.Speed and sending best wishes and condolences to his family.
Snowy @ #79 – What about Frank McFlint-ock? Howzzat for lamentable but very topical for young Mr.tabs, I feel 😉
… or even Charlie Gorge? 😳
If it’s only half a statue then it has to be Cliff Bust-in.
Sorry.
Evening TS – a double heh for two top puns 😉 😉
*searches furiously though player database for a riposte*
Trev, I know what you mean. Had the pleasure of lunch yesterday with my mate’s family, hence the reference to Bonar (6) and Kitty (3) who were just great. I remember my parents taking me out when I was about ten or eleven to try and educate me about decent food. After trying restaurants of just about every nationality we ended up somewhere I could get sausage, egg, and chips.
I do worry about what the grandkids and my mates kids face when they grow up, but I love to see them learning.
Whichever way, I’m pretty sure it won’t be
Andre Art-shavin.
*gets coat and off to sleep*
‘holic, I heard the cutest ‘Fuck off’ ever said to the wanky Tottenham hotspur by the Pope 😉
I think you are wrong. The first one is Putty Rice…
Oh yes, Ollie. She was brilliant. 🙂
Sammy Nelson’s column?
Picks the ball up in the right-back position. Looks downfield, then inside. Plays it square and runs forward into midfield space…
Just watched the game. Generally poor. I thought we were lacklustre. We lacked any real creativity or any real spark. The introduction of Gervinho made a difference but we only seemed to come alive when we scored. Yet again we end up dropping points due to a massive defensive howler. The various attacks we did muster showed why we should have found the extra 50p last season and bought Schwartzer.
I don’t buy this tiredness excuse. We should have a squad big enough to deal with that. The game was another example sadly that there is no one we can rely on if rvp is not firing. We lack goals from other areas of the pitch and we need to address that.
Next? The fringe players against Citeh. Blimey.
I have to ask the question again. Park? Why?
94 AL, Heh.
Over it comes…….
RvP style!!!
Good timing ?
You can’t teach that……..
Clearly not !! Well in H2H . Finished like a true pro .
Nice assist Steve.
Unlucky tabs, but you should of known it was going to come from the Dutch corner. 😉
Did you like the way I went round the aging, slightly tubby right back to hit a pin.point cross with the trusty left peg?
Poetry in motion, mate 🙂
I have always said, the older I get the better I was. 😉
Something for the night owls …
So , as promised in the early hours , a chance meeting with the legend that is Frank Mclintock took place in the local last night , and what a pleasure it was to meet the great man . Friendly , charming , forthright , Frank was expansive on all things Arsenal , and for a man into his eighth decade , his passion both for Arsenal and in a wider sense The Game itself shone through in every captivating word .
Mention of the ’71 Double side brought a grin and a retelling of stories which will already be familiar to keen students of Arsenal History – the tremendous team spirit forged by stand-up fights and then a reconciliatory pint (or two) afterwards . Frank was happy to tell me with a smile as wide as a cheshire cat that he hadn’t fallen out with anyone notwithstanding that he had belted the living daylights out of a fair few of them ! The only man that was prepared to stand his ground and question Frank’s own performance , whilst Frank was on “one of my rants” was Peter Storey ! Why is that not a surprise !
Bertie Mee ? Frank repeated his Captain Mainwaring comparison that he had made in the Arsenal History DVD . “Bertie knew very little about football , but it didn’t matter because he had Don Howe at his side . Bertie brought discipline , he ran a very tight ship ” . It was clear that Frank still had a great respect for Bertie .
Steve Burtenshaw ? “A good coach , had some good ideas , but he was just too nice and some players took advantage .”
Bobby Campbell , his successor , was not a hit with Frank .
Alan Ball ? “Didn’t really fit into our style” , but Frank really rated him as a player and liked him as a man . “Could play for Barcelona now , he was that good . He was ahead of his time” .
Peter Simpson ? “God he was so negative , Franny Lee is too quick , Kevin Hector is too good , every centre forward is world class , he used to say , but once he crossed that white line , all those worries disappeared and Peter was able to show what a marvellous player he was .”
Liam Brady ? “From the first time I saw him as a sixteen year old kid you knew he would be world class . You just knew he had it . Jack Wilshere is the same . Mind you , I worry that Jack’s style will lead to a lot of injuries .”
Mention of Charlie George brought a huge belly laugh from Frank .
” The key to understanding Charlie” he said “was to realise that Charlie saw everyone as a fakking cunt , and that if he liked you , you progressed to being an alright cunt . I never had a problem with Charlie .”
I’m not sure what was funnier , the line itself or the way Frank tried to impersonate Charlie’s cockney accent .
Mention of Jeff Blockley brought nothing more than a raised eyebrow and a rueful grin . Frank said that he was never really told why Bertie was prepared to let him go , but felt that following Don Howe’s departure , Bertie may have felt threatened by the power Frank held in the dressing room and that Frank was after his job .Frank said that nothing could have been further from the truth , but that for whatever reason , Bertie felt undermined . Frank said that he (frank) was in floods of tears when he was told he was being let go .
He said one of his biggest regrets was missing out on the title with QPR . “One fuckin’ point” , he repeated more than once and you could tell it still rankled with him .
So onto today , and Frank felt that Arsene was a “genius” , but nevertheless had “flaws” which were “so frustrating , because they are so obvious”. He felt he missed Dein , and was mystified by the goings on over the summer . His major bug bear appeared to be the attitude of some players , “I could not sit on the bench with Arsene and watch Arshavin give you 60% without running onto the pitch and tearing his bollocks off !” His Arsenal would have given this Arsenal “a hell of a game because we never knew when we were beat whereas this lot do .”
The old adage is that you should never meet your heroes . When your heroes are as nice as Frank , then that adage doesn’t really make any sense . By the end of our chat , I would have walked through walls for him . He is a natural leader of men , and it did not take much of a flight of fancy to still see him cajoling , mentoring and encouraging his troops to ever greater heights .
On a day when Wales has lost one of its favourite sons in such tragic circumstances , we should treasure our heroes when we get an opportunity to do so .
Frank – I salute you .
Who’s up for a night cap?
Line ’em up please barman.
Steve – I disagree… This 3 games a week thing is hard, for every squad and you saw that a lot of teams struggled this weekend after a midweek round of UCL fixtures.
Bayern lost, United drew, Barca lost, City drew, we drew…
All those teams played a strong team in midweek and this weekend and it showed.
I know, we shouldn’t care what others do but if Europe’s largest squad (City have the largest squad both in number and in depth, in quality replacements, just look at their offensive options) are having problems with it, it’s no surprise that we are having problems with it.
I would have rested players as well, but not Gervinho because like I said, our focus in attack changed from being in the centre when Cesc played (that is the reason we lacked to create when Cesc was missing as opposed to now when we do create even though he was sold) to the wing, and the wing play of both Theo and Gervinho is extremely dangerous.
I would have rested Arteta/Ramsey and played Rosicky/Benayoun/Diaby et al.
Those two points dropped bother the hell out of me but I do feel the case of tiredness is a valid effect (not excuse, but effect that can happen to any team).
City will drop points till the end of the season, and might even do so at Stamford Bridge.
Hopefully we won’t cry about these points come the end of the season.
Then why were they not rested Snir? Can surely be one of only two reasons? They were either fine or their potential replacements were not good enough?
Bedtime for me. Tabs, I will read that in the morning.
Legendary stuff tabs.
Thanks for that, mate.
Night Steve .
H2H , I’ll join you in a Malt before I too pop off . Cheers .
Snir , I agree but also take on board Steve’s point . Always tricky . Do you disrupt a winning team or rest players ? If the result doesn’t go your way , you’ll always be castigated for getting it wrong .
To be fair , Gervinho had looked leggy against Dortmund . What I found more surprising was why Arteta played the full 90 when he was clearly struggling .
Cheers H2H .
Right I’m off . Tomorrow mate .
Tabs –
Brilliant stuff – wish i’d been there too. McLintock and Simpson was some pairing – not the tallest by any means, and often knew they weren’t going to win the headers, but they made sure that whoever did win the ball couldn’t do anything with it.
I know you know that already – just a tit-bit for the young’ns 😉
Great write up, cheers.
Tabs –
That was magic – I bet you were both trying to remember all the details of what Frank said whilst grinning like the cat that got the cream. What manor was that pub out of interest? I think he used to live off Fox Lane near Grovelands Park around the corner from my grandparents although that’s going back a few.
Thanks for writing that all up. I fear he’s got a very good point about Wilshere.
Brilliant Tabs! Thanks for a wonderful read
I think Arsene has to dip in the transfer market for a striker/attacking winger at the very least. But, that’s for later
Arsene thinks RVP, Theo and Ramsey are in the dreaded ‘red’ zone
Rest all of them against the Oil cunts, I say
Nice one tabs, all that without an interpreter? 😉
Thanks TaBS
Tabs, cheers for a great read. There’s a pint with your name on it at the bar!
tabs. 101? mwahaha.
Now to read your better post.
Greath stuff, tabs, thanks for sharing.
I love Charlie George too. He’s an allright caaant.
TaBS – @108. Thanks, great stuff.
TaBS @113 – how are the splinters in your arse? 😉
Morning ‘Holics
tabs @ #108 – a brilliant read, great memories from a living legend. Many thanks for sharing that.
Morning coffees all round for the Europeans and whatever takes your fancy for the RoW 🙂
As it is the week after Thanksgiving week, I seem to have no work on a boring Monday
I see that a lot of our league games in December are listed as ‘Player’ under .con fixtures. Does that mean we won’t even find streams for them?
Nah, Harsha, it just means they’re not on UK TV. No doubt other foreign channels will provide sources for streams.
Ah, I had a feeling Ollie
I was pleasantly surprised to know that Barcunts had lost, only to realize later that it meant madridcunts are clear on top by six points! Valencia are not too far off though
Morning Ollie – how’s your head? 😉
Well oil be damned, it’s the plastic champions elect next up in the beer cup.
Initial reports coming from the club suggest AW will sheikh things up a bit with the team selection. Refined players of the utmost purity have been prospected for and extracted from our considerable reserves, and the playing style will be nothing so crude as that espoused by the ‘hoof it and hope’ crowd.
The short version goes something like this: the esteemed manager will be looking to pipe gallons of quality into the side, ensuring that we have a selection gushing with barrels of guile, power and – above all – slick passing. This is a tactic surely designed to deal with the combustible atmosphere likely to be seen at the Emirates tomorrow, as the infidel ride into town spraying their petrodollars all over the place.
Towels at the ready please, gentlemen. The last thing we want is to get involved in a mopping-up exercise following a foreseeable disaster at the wellhead.
Camberwell @ #130
Petro-tastic mate, ‘well’ done!
Saud-we win, then I’m hoping Na$ri will suffer the death of a 1000 pay-cuts 😉
Well in tabs
Now, on the statue front – I’m not sure how many Gooners know this story. But what with our fantastic French connections we are loved in France. So by popular demand we were commemorated in Paris after ‘The Invincibles’ season. If I remember rightly the French government had commissioned, in our honour, not a statue exactly, but instead
The Arse de Triumphe – and placed it along a boulevard they renamed The Champs Easily
i’ll get my beret, bike and onions – ding/ding UreDS!
Oil beef hooked – Camberwell, think you may well be on to something
TS – Now, if I could get some sort of posting as the HT’s ‘punner-in-chief’ I’d be well ‘chuffed’ – all I need is the odd morning off lecturing, then I can really build up a head of steam and hopefully stop the doomers derailing the process and halting the HT at the buffers!
On the other hand, if I end up getting sidetracked by work or if someone blows the whistle on me, well…that’d be simply terminal.
AL – I’m afraid oil beef is off the menu today, but can I interest you in a tanker-d of something?
Thanks for asking, TS @129. I still don’t feel quite right.
‘Holic @ 30. Thank you for the kind words – I know you and I don’t really see I to I on much, so I do appreciate that your back is broad enough to let me spread my pearls of W., re The Arse, in your fine establishment on occasions. And that appreciation has risen to new levels in light of the tale I’m about to tell you.
Now as you said @30 I have taken the liberty of distributing my pearls of Arse W. a little further, to 2 other blogs. You see once your fine connawassernames (people of taste ‘n’ style and that) said nice things about what I wrote on here, I assumed other Gooners might be a little bit interested as well.
So, alerted by drinkers on here re another bunch drowning in a misguided sea of grown-up, balanced, big picture Arsenal analysis, over on Arseblog – I dropped a couple a pieces there at the weekend. I can’t pretend everybody agreed with what I had to say – but the fella that runs the place let my posting stay up and even commented – he went HEH, which is probably some cleverclogs code for something sarcastic for the in-crowd over there – but as I say, he let it stay up so he can’t all bad – can he?
Which brings me to the the other blog where I popped my views – Le thingysomething, i think it’s called. I know one of your so-called resident wags – tabs is it? has already mentioned it. But what happened was – there am I spouting off – in what I thought was my natural home – picking up on and running with points the bloke that runs the site (Pedo is it?) was making. I was agreeing with him left, right and centre.
Then he goes ‘this is a load of shit’ – then he goes ‘i haven’t read any of it – but i still think it’s a load of shit’ – then he went really quiet when i popped some more stuff up, so I assumed he must be enjoying it now.
Then suddenly they took my latest contribution down, blocked me from making another one, then in my name (LeG Rash) a different posting appeared (i can’t imagine for a minute what crazy person did it???), in the form of a grovelling apology to Pedo. Then Pedo replies to my grovelling apology (what was written really badly!!!!!), moreorless straight away, – as if he was talking to me!!!! Can you believe it!?!!!?!
As i say, I seem to be blocked so I can’t tell him about the awful mistake he’s making. The poor bloke is, unwitttingly, colluding in a conspiracy to spread misinformation on his magnificent site.
So ‘holic, you’re on the inside and you bloggers have probably got a 5-aside football team or something, haven’t yer?? – Is there any way you can get a message to the main man over there, and tell him that his misleading his readership – through no fault of his own – on important Arsenal matters. I’m pretty sure he’ll thank you for it.
Regards!!!
Morning All ,
Thanks for the kind words fellas , but the privilege was all mine . He really was a top bloke .
Tim , it was The Kings Head in Winchmore Hill . Frank lives in one of the turnings off Broad Walk , backing onto Grovelands Park .
Dr Z – we were both talking with alcohol accents so communication no prob 😉
Mr C@123 – Sat on the fence ?Moi ? 🙂
Top punning Camberwell .
AL @132 – heh 🙂
Now then , these legends , difficult to see how they can possibly pick 3 from so many contenders , unless this is something they plan on doing on a regular basis .
If they stick (as I think they should) to those heroes who are no longer with us , I’d go for Geordie Armstrong , Rocky , and one of either Cliff Bastin or Alex James .
Perhaps 3 double winning captains , Frank , TA and PV4 .
Or perhaps the three boys who banged in the goals – Bastin , Wrighty and TH14 .
As I said , I would go for the first 3 , but I can’t help thinking that one of those pics over at Arsenal.com looks like Wrighty’s ear !
Hey Mr Rash 🙂 , sorry to hear of your present predicament . I remember reading over on ACLF , of someone else who had suffered the same fate . Apparently its a common tactic . They really are a pair of shameless *&*&* . Best stay among friends old son .
From now on – tabs – you bet i bloody will. But some people aye – what are they like?
For fear of repeating another to you Mr Rash…
Heh! 😀
AND what made it worser was he accused me of being an ‘intellectual’ – i don’t what that is but i do know it’s uncalled for – especially as i thought we was singing from the same Him sheet. Oh well – you live and you learn
One of his in particular has warmed to you. It must be very un-nerving for you to realise he is probably typing his responses to you one-handed…
Ahhhhhhh! – Heh – ‘holic, i won’t be able to close my eyes for weeks now – for fear of seeing the pictures you’ve just put in my head.
CG @130 – great stuff, but do you think we will have Frimpong or Coquelin petrolling midfield in front of the defence?
CG @ 145 – Frimpong I think. I expect to see him lubricating the channels and sliding long balls through to the thirsty frontmen.
Anyway, back to the oil-derived gags…
*shudder*
LeG Rash @ #137
So… are you thinking that one of the LG twins (GTC or Gervais) are using your pseudonym to post apologies back to themselves?
If so, what tabs said @ #139 and what ‘Holic said @ #143.
Shameless indeed and cheers for the story 🙂
Oh go on then CG – ermmm, a Pride, or a Harveys – either of Diesel do, ta
LeG, magnificent stuff 🙂
TS @ 148 – i won’t for one moment have anything to do with the idea that a coupla straight-ahead fellows who love the same football club i love, and have resolutely stood by …. and watched the club go through a load of shit in the last 10 months and helped – in their own very small way – to make it worse on the blogosphere, and selflessly, on occasions, have gone out of their way to pander to the shite end of the British media’s ‘Arsenal/Arsene in crisis’ narrative – for little or no personal gain – would stoop so low.
And if you can pick the bones out of that so-called sentence you’re a better man than me – and that’s a fact – in my opinion!!!
CG 🙂
LeGR :):):) You stand up for the facts, fella!
That was only put to my attention today, but it looks like we broke some kind of record on Saturday.
11 different nationalities started, and 3 more came on a subs.
Poland,
Swiss Germany Belgium Brazil
Wales Spain Cameroon
England Holland Russia
Subs: France Morocco Ivory Coast.
Still we had a Ghanaian and an Israeli on the bench who didn’t come on!
From Szcz (on .con)
“”It feels really weird actually,” he said. “People who have him in fantasy football teams must be gutted!
“He almost scored a goal though but his shot was cleared off the line. We’re confident he can do the job next week.”
Oh yeah, forgot about that: my climb up the table must have been slowed down now.
Ollie @153 – and none of the starting 11 was French!!!! Has Arsene so-called Wenger got a problem with the old niffy garlic munchers from over the other side of our English channel?
AL – quality. I’ll get to work on that straight away – or should I say “It’s in the pipeline”?
Lars! Off of the bottom.. congratulations!
Not really in the mood to talk football after the Gary Speed news but I did come across this tidbit and thought I’d share…
http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/16827
I love LeG Rash – he tells it like what it is. Fact.
Thank you for the kind ones Zico.
Now, word has reached my ears that you’re a doctor. Well i’ve got this really nasty complaint that i’d like you to have a look at, and i’ve had it for ages – it’s just been going on and on and on …
‘Bloody fukkin hell Arsenal, why don’t you fukkin well win all your bloody games, all the bloody time – no what’s going on inside the club OR outside the club OR anywhere else for that matter!?!?!
And instead of spending the hard-earned what we give you on keeping the club afloat during these tricky times – why don’t you just go out and buy all mostest expensivest foreigners all the fukkin time. I mean – that’s what Manc U and Shiteh and Barca and Chelski and some other mad Russian mob that no-ones ever herd of, and MADrid do – so why not us – for fucks-sake???!!?!’
Is there something you could recommend i take to make this horrible complaint go away??!!??
Yours sincerely
LeG Rash
Catalan@157: whohoo! Although now I can no longer say the only way is up 🙂
tabs@108: A beer on me for your reportage. Sounds like a fascinating conversation. So good to find heroes that don’t have feet of clay. Loved the description of Charlie George. I suspect there is a lot more you haven’t told — yet.
It was disappointing to drop two points on Saturday. As much as anything it means we missed the opportunity to move closer to getting off the plateau of sixth/seventh that we have been on for a few weeks. We’ve done the leg work of moving up the table after the awful start. Now we’ve got to start working our way up through the pack of seven pulling away at the top. Every point is vital because it looks like it is going to be a hand-to-hand fight at close quarters. Assuming the two sets of Mancs money will end up in the top four, that leaves five clubs scrapping for two CL places. It is not going to be pretty.
AW should rest as many first teamers as possible for the Citeh match, and then again for the CL match next week. Get the young and the tireless on.
Absolute great reporting from TaBS and LeG. Great stuff indeed.
Unfortunate to have dropped two points to the leaders and the spuds, but those things happen. I think the recent Arsenal teams would have found a way to surrender all three points, so progress is being made. Still, Mike “Jimmy” Dean is a fakking cooont.
I wouldn’t necessarily mind falling out of the beer cup this year because I believe a cold assessment will show that, not only is winning in Europe our best chance for honors, it may well be our only guaranteed method of CL football next season. I still believe we must finish ahead of spuds in the league, but we might accomplish that and still finish outside of 4th place.
I do think we need some offensive acquisition in January, but what the hell do I know?
On another note, the Barrister and I will travel to New Orleans on vacay this weekend. We will want to find a proper ground to take in the Arsenal victory of course, and perhaps scout some replacement llama stock… any suggestions for proper venue in the Big EZ?:cool:
Laissez le bon temps rouler!
BTW, any stateside (or non-stateside) gooners are welcome to join me/us (contact through secure channels…you never know when Shaft may be listening)
BMBD!
LeG Rash,
That indeed is one nasty complaint that you have there. A massive burden to carry.
However, there is hope. Whilst I did not carry out the procedure, you could undergo similar treatment to that which was administered to Gareth Le C*** – I think its called frontal lobotomy.
You may lose some of your poetic eloquence (fact) and have to go double dating with Lennie Shawcross, but hey, a small price to pay I’m sure you’ll agree?
Evening Gents!
NBN @ # 162 & Lonestar @ #163 – I’m with you both in that I think the CL and The Championship are the two tournaments where we should focus – Le Boss has also said as much last weeK.
At the same time, the opportuntiy to vanquish ‘The Abu Dhabi Vulgarians’* tomorrow night and to put the ghosts of that CC Final behind us is also very tempting.
Basically, I want to have my cake and eat it 😉
…But more than that, I want St.Totts day to happen too!
[*With thanks to The Arsenal Gent]
zico @ #164
Double dating with Lennie Shawcross, eh? Why not make a threesome with Decr*p who must have one of the ugliest mugs that Dennis ever put teeth into.
He speaks highly of me too apparently 😉
Tabs @ 108 To be a fly on the wall…lucky you! Back then those lads didn’t have anti-gravity machines, personal trainers, souped up health shakes, etc. The pitches were in gastly shape BEFORE the matches even started but they managed very nicely to play some beautiful futbol.
Private & Confidential
THE FEELGOOD FILE(S)
Psychiatric Patient File – Mr F Feelgood :
This is a tragic case. Patient was referred to us at a stage where any form of orthodox treatment was probably unlikely to produce any real clinical improvement, and indeed could actually make the symptoms worse. The patient’s wife first alerted the local physician, due to what she saw as a sleep disorder in the patient but what to the trained eye was clearly something more.
There is clear manifestation of a number of symptoms of classic schizophrenic behaviour, as follows:
Delusions of grandeur
Massive mood swings and associated mania
Inability to separate real from unreal experiences
Psychotic behaviour with a tendency towards aggression and violence
This list is indicative but far from exhaustive.
Whilst one recommendation would normally be Assertive Community Treatment, it appears that the community that “Doctor” Feelgood inhabits, is populated by a significant number of similarly suffering, but as yet undiagnosed, patients. Professors, nurses, Private Detectives, Statesmen, Wrestlers, Journalists, the list goes on and on.
We expect the medical care of this patient to require a significant leap of faith, and treatment hitherto deemed socially unacceptable, but between him and his friends, this represents an unprecedented opprtunity for growth for this practice.
We will include our initial interview assessment with the patient later……
Please Lars@161 and Catalan@157 think of this poor mug – playing for the first time this year, and now supporting you all (well someone had to I know)
My only excuse is that I do know how to pick players who immediately go lomg term injured – now its Gera!
Maybe for the sake of the Reds I better transfer out our players RVP, Rambo and Sz before anything happens to them!
zico @ #168
Heh! Far too close for comfort 😉
*twitches and laughs nervously but neither in a Hairy Redcrack kind of way*
Thanks the good Doctor. I’ll go and make a date with the hospital immediately – later on in the week or maybe some time after christmas, perhaps. Then i’ll sort out a date with the delightful so-called defender you recommend – at a later date than the date i’ll have made with the hospital earlier!!!
Evening all.
Camberwell
@130, Some crude points, but slick wsriting.
@134, Well this is the platform for those kind of puns.
Amusing contributions once again from LeG and Dr F.
Ned & TS.
I’d be very surprised if Arsene didn’t rotate the entire team tomorrow. Our main objective must always be the PL (imho)
Drinky time. Lagers on me.
cognac, it’s the first season for me as well 🙂
Zico @ 168 Wicked! The inmates are running the asylum.
H2H @ #172
I’m sure you’re right about the PL in terms of a priority but, even though it’s only late November, it may be a bridge too far for us this season. Doesn’t mean we can’t have a great season aboard the HT Mk II though 😉
IMHO, we’ve a better chance of securing cup silver than league silver this season.
Anyway, cheers for the lager and a BM is waiting on The Lars for you 🙂
H2H: I’d be very, very surprised if any player apart from Arshavin that started on Saturday starts tomorrow. I wouldn’t even include any of them in the squad apart from Djourou. It’s time to rest for a bit and focus on Saturday, because that is a must-win game.
Lars @ #176
A lot of people out there are of the same opinion re: tomorrow’s squad.
I think although there will be some rotation, he’ll leave a decent spine in the time, after all it’s the Vulgarians we’re playing and we really want to beat them, right?
First XI players that I think will stay in the team tomorrow: Szcz, BFG, Song, Gervinho
*team not time* tsk…
Leg Rash, do you bite? If not, Nurse Wolfie and I would like to invite you to join the Quackery Staff because we think you have what it takes. All the good Doctors from A to Z are on board with this decision as well. A word of warning, Nurse Wolfie is very sensitive about the stubble on her chin, so try not to stare. Cheers!
I’m in total agreement with Lars.
TS, I think it would be foolish to risk any of those players.
I agree that the league might be out of our reach this year, but I won’t give up the ghost untill it’s mathmatically impossible, but I’ still put finishing in the top 4 above a CC or FA cup.
==========
Nurse aeb.
Will you please stop refering to Nurse Wolfie as “she”. It’s confusing enough in here as it is without you casting dispersions on Smallballs’ gender. 😉
H2H @ 180 Ha! To be confused and disoriented are prerequisites for all Staff members. Dennis Rodman has nothing on he/she!
TS, Lars, H2H, et al: My gut says none of Szcz, Song, Per or Gervais will start. My guess at the starting line up:
Flappy
Yennaris, Kos, Squallici, Miguel
Frimpong, Diaby,
The Ox, Benayoun, AA,
Park,
with Mannone, Coquelin, The Ox, Rosicky, Chamakh, Ozyakup, Afobe on the bench.
Much the same team will start in Greece next week, with perhaps Chamakh starting in place of Park, and Djournou in place of Kos, who I think will play next Saturday, whereas JD won’t.
Cognac…… no excuses – my debut too! 🙂
Took me a few months to get around to looking at the scoring system!
NBN, generally in that case, the .con training pictures are a good indication, so I’d suspect Gervinho might start or at the very least be on the bench
Also, there are rumours that Diaby picked a little injury during his short cameo, and I didn’t see him in the training pictures either
H2H @ #180:
I’ve not given up either, just taking one game at a time and hoping that we’ll at least make top 4 along the way.
Interesting point re: domestic cup vs top 4 slot. Honestly, I’m a little torn between finally winning a trophy again and making sure we’re back in the CL again next season.
However, thinking more logically, the CL is a must for our great club and it outstrips the CC (even winning the final) in my mind. For the FA Cup I’m not so sure – I’m back to wanting both again – I have a soft spot for that trophy 😉
Regarding the team you have picked, I can’t see them beating a depressingly deep City squad but would be delighted to be proven wrong. I think there has to be a sprinkling of the first XI in the squad tomorrow if we’re to progress to the next round. Anyway, we’ll all know for sure in just over 24 hours.
Ollie @ #186:
I’ve heard that rumour too about Diaby. One (bit of a) game and out again! You’ve got to feel sorry for the fella.
NBN @ #182:
Would be more than happy for that to be the team in Greece 😉
Drinks on the bar for all who are in here this evening.
I’m not drinking anything until the Everton game now, TS 😉
Was that Lehmann in the training video?! Dear God, could it be…no, I must be hallucinating. But yes, I think I saw him…oh my word, YES!
Thanks for putting that offer out there – on the table ABB ! – BUT!!!! I feel I should warn you first – that i’m a determinedly independent-minded sort of bloke, and i need a lot of space, and even more time, to think my determinedly independent-minded thoughts!!!!! I bow to no man, nor no beast – neither!!!! In short i’m a one-off, a renegade, a law unto myself – and if anyone, anywhere tells you anything effin’ different then that’s fair enough i suppose, after all everyone’s entitled to their opinion, are they not?!? – C’est la fukkin’ vie, ay?!? – cheers!!!
Ollie @ 188
Such famous last words. Not even a glass of wine should we beat the Vulgarians tomorrow night? 🙂
Leg Rash @ 190 Fair enough mate. For Christmas, I want you to present a proper Spurs rant, with all the trimmings. Cheers!
My half a pfennigs worth v the sheik and vacuous mob from up there – is that i hope Arsene plays as many of the on-the-fringes-of-the-team players as possible. I want to see D.R.B and G’isalob and Dingdong and Le Coq and ComebakhattakhChamakh and Can’t Get On The Park and AA getting another home start etc .- out there, getting a game.
I want to find out if our new-found up-and-at-’em/won’t-be-beaten spirit has spread throughout the club. I’d like to think it must have, as you would hope everyone’s got to be gagging to get in that first team now.
Plus our nakered looking midfield 3, and a few others, can then get a well-earned rest.
We’re at home and we’re on the up. Let’s have a go at them and if we lose, well we’ve got far more important football things to concentrate on – imo
Up The Arse
French Ligue 2 is very weird now. Every year for the last 3 or 4, there’s a shit team with an extremely slow budget, who has never been to the top division and is promoted (well, last year we got 2: Dijon and Evian).
Clermont looks a good bet this season (they have just beaten Reims to take first spot on their own tonight).
And now, I won’t, TS.
Now will this reach 200 before the new blog post?.
‘keeper, rolls the ball gently to centre-back.
-w for the first one (passes to Santos on the left)
Oh ABB!!! That wasn’t a no – NOOOO!!!!!! I was just marking out my territory and playing a little bit hard to get in the hope that you might offer me some inducements or something to get me to join up. since none was forthcoming i, of course, accept your kind offer and will ignore the fact that it looks like you may withdrawn it. Phew!!!
Well said AL @ #193
Like the laissez faire kind of attitude. Probably the best way to treat tomorrow’s game given the type of team that those Vulgarians can afford to field with Na$ri as an excellent panto villain – a rather small Widow Twanky perhaps?
Assist?
2oo – what?
Stinkiest double-century ever 😉
Get in LeG Rash! That was an itch worth scratching 😉
I got no idea what you lot are on about
TABS @108. Massive. That must have been one hell of an evening. Arsene misses David Dein? Astonished at what went on during the summer? Now where have I heard that before?
It’s up >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 😉
Re: Ollie @194: Dijon and Evian are much to be preferred over Clermont, due to their names. That reminds me, do you have an FC Pommes Frites??
Blimey, since my last confession the bar seems to have gone a little mad with vulgarians, rashes and Ricky Gervais has even made an appearance!
It’s good to see AW actually does grant wishes and doesn’t try anything too adventurous tomorrow!
I’d like to see “play em off the Park”, “The Ox” and Benny (without his wife) bring a little magic to the pitch tomorrow and if Chamakhattackcanbringback his debut form and slot one in tomorrow, I wouldn’t care if we win that fooker tomorrow. Just the mere sight of the French lesbian dancing around tomorrow will add to any humorous joy that I’ll experience.
Lets get our make shift back four out there, get this one out of the way so we can get back to the meaty stuff on the weekend!
Up the Arse, I say!
Drinks all around to add to the madness in the bar! 😉