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Goonerholic

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Move Along, Nothing To See Here

Jun 19th, 2017 by 'holic

“You need to do a new post, you do.”

Do I? What about?

“About the Arsenal, of course!”

But they’re not doing anything newsworthy at the moment.

“What about all those new signings they are being linked with?”

What new signings? Kolasinac, good player, great deal. Nobody else has signed.

“But NewsNow is full of stories of imminent signings. About two dozen about to be nailed down.”

Well carry on reading about them there. Then come back and tell me how many have happened on 31st August.

“So you’re saying we aren’t signing anyone?”

Where did I say that? What I am saying is that 95% of the clickbait crap out there is pure fiction.

“So talk about the 5% that isn’t?”

If I knew what the 5% was I would be singing it from the rooftops like the canariest canary of all time.

“You don’t know?”

No.

“But you’re a blogger?”

That’s right. I work in a supply chain organisation all day and write about the team I love at night, when there is something to write about. There isn’t!

“That’s not very exciting, is it? Can’t you make stuff up, like they do?”

What’s the point? They are so much better at it than me? And, to be honest, I only want to know what has happened in the real world and comment on that.

“You’re missing a trick mate.”

I think not. Keep the faith fella. Up the Arsenal!

View post on imgur.com

A huge thanks to our old friends at Art of Football (click here for their website) who have provided some raffle/auction prizes to those good people @TheGunnersPub for their Grenfell fundraiser with Hardeep Singh Kohli on July 1st. We will be featuring Art of Football Arsenal designs for the next month so you don’t forget who to favour for your next quality tee design.

Take care, ‘holics.

Posted in tongue in cheek | 135 Drinks

135 Responses to “Move Along, Nothing To See Here”

  1. on 19 Jun 2017 at 10:27 pm1Cynic

    Talking to yourself is the first sign of madness.

    Yup it is.

    The second sign is being a cba lover.

  2. on 19 Jun 2017 at 10:31 pm2Goonerholic

    Love cba, me! 😉

  3. on 19 Jun 2017 at 10:39 pm3Cynic

    There’s no hope for you, I’m afraid. 😉

    Football content – Only Arsenal could have a player wanted by three close rivals, who all finished higher in the table last season, and behave as if we don’t really need him and don’t care if he goes.

  4. on 19 Jun 2017 at 10:44 pm4TTG

    The explosion in bollocks since social media began is ridiculous. Best to leave it alone. I’ve planned and replanned our signings but Arsene never takes any notice of me. I just hope he’s more decisive this year after getting some criticism from the board for changing his mind on transfers so often. Or so the papers have said!

  5. on 19 Jun 2017 at 11:35 pm5Goonersince54

    Cynic@3
    Please enlighten me as to how you have any idea how the Club are dealing with our most coveted player.
    Have you had an intimate chat with Arsene himself, ??
    Have you an inside line to the players agent. ??
    Or perhaps you fortuitously happened to be doing your late night shopping at Aldi,and bumped into MCP in the petfood aisle,where he unburdened his heart to you about the situation.
    I’d love to know your source for this spurious statement.

  6. on 20 Jun 2017 at 12:00 am6Trev

    Well it’s great to be up to speed with all the latest transfer news – i had no idea things were so advanced ?

    “An explosion in bollocks”, TTG ?

    That should be a different challenge for the new medical man to get his teeth into.

    Ooo-er !

    Did Tony Colbert ever move on when Shad Forsythe joined ?

    And now we add another layer to the department.

    Do they have a standard procedure for bruised egos ? Apart from a fight in the car park ……..

  7. on 20 Jun 2017 at 12:06 am7Steve T

    Regress of the hundreds we are obviously buying, what about those coming up to a year left on their contract? Sky were just reporting that there have been no contract talks with AOC? You would have to ask both how and why that has been allowed to happen?

  8. on 20 Jun 2017 at 12:15 am8Trev

    Fear not, Steve,

    Here is our new contract negotiator –

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C_fHScmyWTA

    ??

  9. on 20 Jun 2017 at 1:34 am9Chris

    I wish, Trev!

  10. on 20 Jun 2017 at 2:52 am10Bayonne Jean

    New signing: reports have the Arsenal in an agreement to help promote Universal Pictures’ new releases, featuring their stars promoting films such as “Despicable Me 3”. Does that mean we’ve signed Costa?

  11. on 20 Jun 2017 at 4:31 am11OsakaMatt

    @Steve in the last drinks

    I think anyone we sign in the 18-21
    age bracket of say promising but
    unproven is odds against to make
    the grade, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t
    sign them and see how it goes.
    My hope is one or two out
    of ten will come through.

    Also, of course it shouldn’t stop our
    getting ready now quality in the
    squad. It’s two different things to me.

    In this case, I’m not sure why Asano
    gets picked out as getting 20 games
    for Stuttgart is a clear sign of progress
    compared to the J League.

  12. on 20 Jun 2017 at 6:04 am12Steve T

    You could actually be right Trev.

    ?

    Hi Matt. I do don’t single out Asano. The fact wa that when I came across the article that not only was it a player that I had no idea was actually an Arsenal player, but also that I’d never heard of him. Now I fully accept that this highlights gaps in my knowledge but that was the reason.

    As I’ve said before, I have absolutely no problem with buying/acquiring potential prospects for the future, in principle. When I do have problems with it is when we claim we have no money and that there are glaring holes in the first team squad. The fact that we have spent millions on players and then hundreds of thousands in wages on players that would struggle to make the league cup side I find very odd. We paid the likes of Sanogo £20k a week for 3/4 years? I’m not sure how many. Personally, I don’t consider the likes of Sanogo, and numerous others, good value for money when it’s quite clear they are not good enough. I just don’t see the point.

  13. on 20 Jun 2017 at 7:19 am13North Bank Ned

    You never miss a trick, Guv’nor.

    SteveT: Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda certainly made a successful transition from Japanese to European football. And who can forget Ryo Miyaichi (however hard we try…)

  14. on 20 Jun 2017 at 8:12 am14Cynic

    Ah the usual sneery bullshit that reminds me why I was trying to have a break.

    It’s so simple even you could understand it.

    And with that, i will leave those who think their longevity as an Arsenal fan actually matters, even though they’re not that far ahead of some of us mere plebs, to look down on the rest of you who don’t quite measure up to them.

    That is all.

    Have fun.

  15. on 20 Jun 2017 at 1:17 pm15North Bank Ned

    Well this will cheer up a few’s day:

    Mourinho accused of tax fraud during Real Madrid stint

    Portuguese-born Mourinho is accused of defrauding Spain of €3.3m (£2.9m; $3.6m) in taxes between 2011 and 2012. He has yet to comment on the claim.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-40339788

  16. on 20 Jun 2017 at 1:29 pm16bt8

    Thank you Ned @15. That brightened my day right up for me. 🙂

  17. on 20 Jun 2017 at 1:35 pm17bt8

    ‘holic you say “What’s the point? They are so much better at it than me? And, to be honest, I only want to know what has happened in the real world and comment on that.”

    In the real world I am reading the new book by Al Franken, our senator from Minnesota and the well-known comedy writer/actor who made me fall down laughing numerous times during the 1970s-1990s when he was on the Saturday night comedy show called, cleverly enough, Saturday Night Live. The book is honest and funny. Anybody who has a slight interest might like to read the Washington Post’s review of it:

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/al-franken-on-al-franken-from-comic-to-mostly-serious-legislator/2017/06/02/bf98a39e-3fd8-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html?utm_term=.80617a8ddaf3

  18. on 20 Jun 2017 at 10:43 pm18Biscuitbum

    Opinion on the radio this morning said we would be losing the ox to either Liverpool or Chelsea. Apart from wondering what these top teams see in him that Wenger refuses to see, wasn’t I reading some weeks ago that he was prepared to commit his future to us. Such is the Wenger induced stasis at Arsenal that he is being allowed to drift away. Wenger’s penny pinching has already lost us Alexis, who is now rejecting the wages offer he was being refused six or seven months ago, when we were still going for the title. Poor Jack Wilshere is being left in limbo, with the club in no hurry to speak to him, either to put him out of his misery or preferably offer him a new deal. After all it’s not entirely his fault that his body seemingly cannot stand the rigours of top flight football.

    Only one free signing and nothing on the horizon, when all or rivals are strengthening, or about to, is extremely worrying. Even Everton will have a more potent side than us at this rate.

    On the subject of Alexis, I will be annoyed if we don’t take the long view. He’s obviously a player who could make a difference in our quest to achieve a top four finish or have a successful Europa campaign, and taking the money now, might mean losing Champions League revenue for the foreseeable future.

  19. on 21 Jun 2017 at 1:00 am19Chris

    To be fair Bbum, none of us know what exactly is going on behind the executive doors at The Ems. Yes, the current transfer window has been open since 9 June, but new transfers aren’t usually announced until 1 July as most existing contracts don’t end until 30 June.

    If we’re still in limbo half way through July, then will be early enough to worry.

  20. on 21 Jun 2017 at 1:04 am20Chris

    As for Alexis, any decisions will likely be made by the player or his agent, and they have no reason to be hurried. Nor can we expect AW to make other key decisions until the Alexis situation is resolved.

    And I for one would be dead against offering him all the family silver to retain his services.

  21. on 21 Jun 2017 at 1:25 am21Cent

    Can’t for the life of me fathom how people reach these conclusions from the little genuine information available to the public. Why people get, it appears, so worked up about situations they have absolutely no control over, confuses me even more.

    Why the hurry to embrace the worst possible outcomes? All our players could go off and sign for our rivals while we replace them with Azberjan’s U13s team and then get relegated but it hasn’t actually happened. Possibilities work two ways; bad or good. Acknowledge that and enjoy your summer, do whatever makes you happy. If that means ranting on football blogs about bad things could happen but haven’t yet happened then you have my sympathy.

    Just remember that some good/bad people have nuclear weapons that could wipe us all out of the face of this planet in a matter of seconds if they feel like it. That’s another possibility right there.

  22. on 21 Jun 2017 at 2:02 am22Chris

    Too true Cent … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LraQWM6IjQU

  23. on 21 Jun 2017 at 2:11 am23Chris

    Interesting to note Lehrer quotes the world population as 3billion (in 1959 when the track was recorded), it is now 7,515,284,153 according to http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/world-population-by-year/ and rising…

    World population has tripled in just my lifetime. Now that’s something to worry about, imo.

  24. on 21 Jun 2017 at 3:03 am24Chris

    Some people can be soooo dumb … https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=OMG+I+HATE+MY

    +JOB&rlz=1C1CHWA_enNZ635NZ635&tbm=isch&imgil=ceQZKIJJZ5uMHM%253A

    %253BP6ge8xqURcp_BM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%25252Fnews

    %25252Farticle-1206491%25252FWoman-sacked-Facebook-boss-insult-forgetting-

    added-friend.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=ceQZKIJJZ5uMHM%253A%252CP6ge8xqURcp_BM

    %252C_&usg=__k6IJUjs5QEi2_2Kd8EhZRiMCZtA

    %3D&biw=1220&bih=613&ved=0ahUKEwjm5Pqf3M3UAhVEipQKHVa_CxQQyjcIOQ&ei=BMNJWebSK8SU

    0gTW_q6gAQ#imgdii=ruR8knMQ1Px0mM:&imgrc=ceQZKIJJZ5uMHM:

  25. on 21 Jun 2017 at 3:05 am25Chris

    Oops, let’s try that again. https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=OMG+I+HATE+MY+JOB&rlz=1C1CHWA_enNZ635NZ635&tbm=isch&imgil=ceQZKIJJZ5uMHM%253A%253BP6ge8xqURcp_BM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.dailymail.co.uk%25252Fnews%25252Farticle-1206491%25252FWoman-sacked-Facebook-boss-insult-forgetting-added-friend.html&source=iu&pf=m&fir=ceQZKIJJZ5uMHM%253A%252CP6ge8xqURcp_BM%252C_&usg=__k6IJUjs5QEi2_2Kd8EhZRiMCZtA%3D&biw=1220&bih=613&ved=0ahUKEwjm5Pqf3M3UAhVEipQKHVa_CxQQyjcIOQ&ei=BMNJWebSK8SU0gTW_q6gAQ#imgdii=ruR8knMQ1Px0mM:&imgrc=ceQZKIJJZ5uMHM:

    Is this the longest ever URL?

  26. on 21 Jun 2017 at 7:25 am26North Bank Ned

    Biscuitbum@18: If, as reported, the Ox says he wants regular first team football, why would he move to Liverpool or Chelsea? He would not be a guaranteed starter at either club. Smacks of an agent planting a story to up his client’s value in contract renegotiations.

  27. on 21 Jun 2017 at 8:12 am27Sancho P

    14 Cynic enjoy your break but don’t make it permanent please. Your comments that counter the ‘keep the faith ‘ arguments go a long to making this place interesting.

  28. on 21 Jun 2017 at 9:50 am28Gunner_KS

    I’d gladly swap Lewandowski (plus cash 🙂 ) for Alexis, one of the best No.9’s in the world.

  29. on 21 Jun 2017 at 11:00 am29Porco Rosso

    http://www.football365.com/news/arsenal-where-tomorrow-never-comes

    Good article here from Daniel Storey on the current situation.

    I fully agree with him that after the joy and promise of the FA cup win, things are already starting to slide again with the holdup over Ozil and Sanchez.

    Anyone (and this includes Wenger especially) can say ‘Judge our business at the end of the transfer window’ but we all know that is too late to get the season off to a good start. In my view we need to complete 2 decent signings by the middle of July at the latest, for them to bed in and have something approaching a pre-season so that we’re good to go from Matchday 1.

    Storey says we’re playing catch-up already; I say not yet, but we’re definitely getting there fast.

  30. on 21 Jun 2017 at 11:00 am30Delia Block 30

    Went to Queens yesterday, it was like sitting in an oven. Not the most enjoyable experience but watching the top seeds fall one after the other pleased me greatly, on a day when Roger managed his first win on grass at Halle.

    Monday was the day of Gooner David’s funeral in Cambridge. We always knew that religion paid a part in his life but his Arsenal/Cricket activities always had priority. It was a high church service with a great turn out befitting a lovely man who will be greatly missed. I will ensure there is an appropriate item in the earliest Arsenal programme next season.

    As for our transfers or lack of them, nothing changes apart from the two backroom appointments which seem superfluous to our current needs.We the fans will be the last to know and I have given up ever seeing Alexis again in an Arsenal shirt.The longer his agent plays the game the lack of time there will be for bringing in anyone who can fill his shooting boots. As for the others in the last year of their contracts, apart from rumours re: the Ox and the PIG, nothing seems to have surfaced. Looks like more eleventh hour panic buys. I don’t sound too optimistic do I!

  31. on 21 Jun 2017 at 1:29 pm31bathgooner

    The Guvna and Cent@21 know.

    As ever the Arsenal is undertaking its deals discretely. Nothing to see here is the mantra. Rest assured there is activity.

    Think of the serene swan gliding across the surface of the pond – there’s considerable activity going on below the surface of the water.

    Otherwise adopt a Zen approach.

    For your health’s sake don’t raise your blood pressure.

  32. on 21 Jun 2017 at 2:08 pm32can't be arsed

    wise words bath

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1wjvP-raOI

    though
    grasshopper
    was found in the buff in a wardrobe in bangkok
    so some swans shit in the nest

  33. on 21 Jun 2017 at 2:35 pm33Biscuitbum

    I didn’t realise there were so many AKB’s about. Maybe it’s the result of our cup win. We’ve been here year after year, heard all the stories, eagerly soaked up the rumours, but nothing really positive ever happens; and it will be the same this summer, now that Wenger has seen off the board, and remains in total control.

    I for one would pay Alexis every penny he wants. In the words of Ken Friar when we bought Bergkamp, “either you compete or you don’t”.

  34. on 21 Jun 2017 at 2:47 pm34Silly Second Yella

    July 21, 2017

    Dear Diary, I’m so tired of waiting to grow up.

    Row, row, row your boat –

    I’ll be back in a minute, Diary, Arsene is calling to me from downstairs. He says he has a surprise!

  35. on 21 Jun 2017 at 3:40 pm35North Bank Ned

    Biscuitbum@33: Dennis cost barely £13 million in today’s money (inflation adjusted). Less than 20 years ago. But when we could afford to compete.

  36. on 21 Jun 2017 at 6:29 pm36Barack O'Barman

    Ned, adjusting for inflation is one thing, but there was a lot less money in the game in 1995. A similar purchase nowadays would be in the £60m bracket.

  37. on 21 Jun 2017 at 7:43 pm37Biscuitbum

    It’s this inferiority complex Wenger has on our behalf which dictates that because we cannot compete with the top teams for the top players, we shouldn’t even try. We have almost £200m in the bank BEFORE we have to borrow millions like the rest; so how have we not been able to compete in the transfer market?

  38. on 22 Jun 2017 at 12:13 am38Chris

    So how would you spend that £200m, Bbum, now that top rank players are being touted at half of it or more, plus you have to pay them another £300k a week minimum?

    Remembering that if the player fails, or (more likely at Arsenal) gets injured and misses most of the season. What is your fallback position then? The clubs above us would simply look to their owners for another £200m.

  39. on 22 Jun 2017 at 3:25 am39Chris

    Oh well, something sublime to pass the time … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aK70h4kVd88

    Magical, inspiring voice of a unique woman who celebrated her century just a month or so back. Who knew she was still alive?

  40. on 22 Jun 2017 at 3:35 am40Chris

    And now a confession. I’m pretty sure (allowing for the current vagueness of my memory) that this was the first actual record I bought in my life, c1955 … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q66yTkrzosI

    Happily my tastes had changed by the time I opened the rock club in 1961!

  41. on 22 Jun 2017 at 4:08 am41Chris

    Of course everything changed in 1956 … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQB-vSmN0To

    Note he could only be seen from the waist up, his gyrations considered too licentious for American sensitivities.

  42. on 22 Jun 2017 at 10:51 am42Biscuitbum

    Chris, you have painted a dystopian world where we spend £200m on a player, he gets crocked for the season, and unlike our chief rivals, we cannot afford another £200m spend, not to mention 2 lots of £300k a week. It’s clear then, that Arsenal cannot survive near the top in this changed football world, and we should instead find solace in our trophy room and our magnificent stadium, and leave the real business to Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool, and that other lot oop north.

  43. on 22 Jun 2017 at 10:53 am43can't be arsed

    seen from the waist up
    no bad thing
    teenage years on my way to school one morning
    walking past the schoolgirls bus stop opposite
    i became so self conscious about walking cool
    i went from purposeful stride
    to near full on Max Wall in seconds

    one shout of “where’s me stool”
    and the bowels woulda gone
    anyhoo
    (one for the youngsters there)
    .
    interesting pub trivia
    he once toured with Mott the Hoople

    (two for the youngsters there)

    .

    morning all

    UP THE ARSENAL

  44. on 22 Jun 2017 at 10:59 am44can't be arsed

    “try the veal”

  45. on 22 Jun 2017 at 11:41 am45OsakaMatt

    Hi Steve,

    Just catching up the posts and saw
    your reply – basically I agree !
    But we should be able to do both.
    Buy young players and see if they
    can develop and ensure the first-
    team squad is able to challenge.
    For me one big problem is AW takes
    too long to decide on players.
    Of course the flip side is patience
    and belief sometimes works with
    some players, I’m just doubtful
    that there’s enough time for that
    approach to work these days.
    Anyway, another slow news close
    season day……

  46. on 22 Jun 2017 at 12:54 pm46Clockendrider

    Biscuit bum,
    So you spend the available money (£200m , you say) plus borrow and spend.
    1. Can you explain to me how you pay the players and other staff wages at the end of the month?
    Cash flow is king. Cash is not profit. The balance sheet reflects cash at bank at a single point in time, not the amount available for investment.
    2. How do you then repay the borrowing?

    Unless you have access to Jeremy Corbyns money tree. Which would be nice. Any chance you can give me the exact location please!

  47. on 22 Jun 2017 at 12:59 pm47Dorset Mick

    CBA,

    If you don’t fancy veal, you could try kid instead!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bawZgzhSKtc

  48. on 22 Jun 2017 at 1:43 pm48Goonerholic

    That’ll be Queen, cba. Not a bad warm up act. ?

  49. on 22 Jun 2017 at 2:35 pm49can't be arsed

    nice one dorset M
    my neck of the woods
    ?
    .
    hey ‘hol
    sshhh we don’t mention the Q word round here
    the band that is
    not the wee woman in the hat
    though depending on who yer talking to
    i’d leave her outta the conversation as well
    just to be on the safe side

    i just think max wall then mott the hoopla
    what a great day out
    ?

    don’t tell me you were at it

  50. on 22 Jun 2017 at 2:37 pm50can't be arsed

    hoopla
    ?

  51. on 22 Jun 2017 at 2:39 pm51can't be arsed

    GET IN !

  52. on 22 Jun 2017 at 6:18 pm52Biscuitbum

    Clock, the alternative to Corbyn’s investment in our health service etc is the Tories’ perpetual austerity, supposedly designed to eliminate out debt, which has however risen every year. Wenger was saving our money in the gloriously naive opinion that once FFP started to bite, we would have the firepower to compete with europe’s finest. So let us wallow in our past glories and leave the future to those clubs prepared to go into battle.

  53. on 22 Jun 2017 at 7:19 pm53Dorset Mick

    I saw Mott The Hoople in 1972, but can’t for the life of me remember who the support was.

  54. on 22 Jun 2017 at 8:08 pm54Clockendrider

    Politics aside, finance is finance. You cannot spend every penny you have, borrow , spend that, then pay people. It is a finite resource. Hence my attempt to describe the difference between cash and investable funds.

  55. on 22 Jun 2017 at 8:19 pm55Vinay

    Aubameyang and Matuidi available??? well that’s that, sign them now and we have a realistic chance of winning the league and Europa, even if pep has gone crazy and is buying anyone he lays his eyes on. Conte seems to want the entire juventus team and Mbappe is going to real, so the best 2 available out there has to be the ones mentioned at the start. Please boss do it and do it now.

  56. on 22 Jun 2017 at 10:09 pm56Biscuitbum

    I wish you would tell that to Real Madrid or Barca. Clock. These clubs are massively in debt to their banks, but, boy, do they win things!

  57. on 22 Jun 2017 at 11:11 pm57TTG

    Wenger will not deal with Raiola or Mendes, one of which is the agent for Matuidi so you can forget that deal. I’ve read a lot about Aubameyang versus Lacazette. Most observers feel a predator like Lacazette will adapt better than Auba who likes to run in behind. There is little scope to do that at the Grove as most teams defend deep so I can see that logic. Mbappe can play both roles.
    I thought young Chambers looked assured at centre back tonight and he stands a much better chance of playing in a three. We have some depth in that position now if the BFG and Gabriel stay on. With Nacho and Koscielny I don’t see any more defensive signings unless Bellerin goes

  58. on 23 Jun 2017 at 1:03 am58Chris

    No, Bbum, I didn’t suggest spending the whole £200m transfer pot (assuming it actually exists, which I doubt) on one player, I was highlighting the risk of spending half of it – the going rate, on one player and, presumably, the rest on 2 or 3 others – without a Sheik Mansour or Abramovich to bail us out in the event the marquee player fails or gets crocked. If Stan decided to compete with them it might be different, but he’s shown no sign of wanting to.

    How to spend the available funds is a conundrum I wish AW well solving. If he doesn’t get it right, through poor choice or bad luck, he will inevitably get roasted.

    It could be quite different with Usmanov in charge, but some of us prefer the traditional business model Arsenal have always enjoyed to a foreign dictatorship. I believe it’s time for a change of manager simply because Arsene’s style has gone stale in recent years, but I have no interest in changing the business model. Arsenal can hold its collective head up high for its achievements against the vastly greater spending power of clubs who believe buying success is as worthy as earning it.

  59. on 23 Jun 2017 at 1:14 am59OsakaMatt

    It’s nice to have a couple of good
    young centre-backs, hopefully
    they will come through over the
    next season or two. Throw in
    Hector and Sead as well and I
    think it’s fair to be optimistic.
    Replacing Kos will be a challenge
    in the future but i believe he can
    carry on for 2 more years. I will be
    interested to see Mustafi’s
    second season and whether he
    can adapt and progress further,
    I’m a bit less hopeful on Gabriel
    and I’ve regretfully given up on
    Jenks and Kieran. Better for both
    of them, and us, if they move on.
    But BFG and Nacho give us good
    experience and solid professionalism.
    Not sure about Woj but 2 decent
    seasons with Roma has convinced
    me we could give him another
    shot, though Emi seems a reasonable
    prospect. Goodbye Debussy.
    All in all the case for the defence
    can rest for now. I vote not guilty.
    I’ve waffled a lot and said the same
    as Ttg in 5 times as many words hahaha.
    I just wanted to write a positive post
    without mentioning politics, money
    or AW 🙂

  60. on 23 Jun 2017 at 1:18 am60Chris

    Does anyone understand FFP? How come Man City – a club which has made a profit only twice since Mansour bought them in 2008, and whose cumulate profits have been far less than Arsenal’s over the past 10+ seasons – can still spend money like water (or should that be oil) through the period?

    Makes no sense to me.

  61. on 23 Jun 2017 at 1:36 am61Silly Second Yella

    politics money AW

    mmmmmmmmmm

  62. on 23 Jun 2017 at 2:30 am62OsakaMatt

    Hi Chris,

    Just read @58 and wanted to say
    the last sentence in my @59 wasn’t
    directed at your post (which I mostly
    agree with) but only to reflect my
    general feeling.

    Until Kroenke came along I’d never
    really given much thought or cared
    who owned the club. Who has the
    most money now has become
    important in our new reality but
    sometimes it’s just depressing.

  63. on 23 Jun 2017 at 3:16 am63Chris

    Depressing indeed, Matt. Do I really want to meet with Mephistopheles down at the crossroads just so I can win trophies? Is it worth it, in the long run?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgRZgx3jxHY

  64. on 23 Jun 2017 at 3:26 am64Chris

    By the way, I don’t buy the crap about Usmanov being the criminal bad guy some make him out to be. We could do a lot worse than go down his path, imo, maybe not finding any cross roads at all.

  65. on 23 Jun 2017 at 9:52 am65bt8

    Arsenal.com matches an all time record, set many times previously, for banality in headline writing by quoting Nacho Monreal about the upcoming trip to Australia:

    “I know they have kangaroos there.”

    Truly brilliant.

  66. on 23 Jun 2017 at 11:11 am66OsakaMatt

    Cracking song, that last red devil
    looked like Jimmy Hill 🙂

    Personally I don’t want
    Silent or Usmanov, but they seem
    to be the only options at the table.
    We sell our soul either way I think.
    Kroenke’s miserable US sports
    teams make me lean toward the
    anti-christ er….I mean Usmanov.
    But I’m holding out for a hero.

  67. on 23 Jun 2017 at 2:31 pm67Clockendrider

    Biscuitbum,
    I am unclear as to the nature of the debt of Barca and Madrid. However positing we follow their model is a little unrealistic. On the one hand Barca are the embodiment of Catalan nationalism and hence are ultimately supported by regional banks. Madrid on the other hand are the embodiment of the concept of a Spanish nation and have, de facto, been supported by the Spanish state in one form or another dating back to Franco. I’m afraid here are no such more or less risk-free investors backing Arsenal. Hence following their model is not an option.

  68. on 23 Jun 2017 at 2:38 pm68Clockendrider

    Chris,
    I’m not wholly clear but some or all of the following may pertain. I imagine they are simply another vehicle of the holding company, others being New Yodrk whatever they’re called sand Sydney Tree Huggers or whatever they’re called. Their players are employees of the holding company which effectively leases them out to city. City pay them a salary but the players may receive another portion from the holding company. City’s books only reflect the direct costs incurred with the rest residing with the holding company, based outside Europe and therefore outside FFP. Alternatively City pay their whole wages but this is reclaimed from the holding co in a kind of transfer pricing agreement.

  69. on 23 Jun 2017 at 2:49 pm69Sancho P

    Chris @60 obviously your question is rhetorical but that said here is my tuppence worth.
    Only in as much that clubs with lots of money can bend the rules and employ people to facilitate this. The sponsorship deal they had with Etihad for 400 million over 10 years was investigated by UEFA but despite the figures far from adding up they got away with it.

    FFP is dead in the water. Even Bournemouth are at it if you look at their income and outgoings from their Championship days to today. Crowds of 11000 and they want to pay Defoe how much?

  70. on 23 Jun 2017 at 3:46 pm70TTG

    There are rules coming into play about increasing your overall wage bill by no more than £ 7 million pa which must be a challenge for Citeh, Chelsea and United. You are allowed to do it providing you generate your own revenue and don’t use PL money paid to each club from the TV deal. It seems to me you would want to sign young players for the squad and get rid of the Debuchys and Jenkinson’s

  71. on 23 Jun 2017 at 3:57 pm71Ochi

    Assume the money is there to be spent (while Kroenke’s distracted getting a shave), do We really want to spend £200m on Mbappe vs tooling up with the same on Laca, Carvalho, Fornals instead?!?

  72. on 23 Jun 2017 at 7:22 pm72And Lester

    Blimoi :

    https://www.theguardian.com/football/2017/jun/23/arsenal-alexandre-lacazette-lyon-record-bid?CMP=share_btn_tw

    if above thingy don’t work, feel free to check Guardian Sport onlne for wot sounds like fairly kosher tranny news UTA!

  73. on 23 Jun 2017 at 7:25 pm73And Lester

    soz, forgot “i” – silly moi. xx

  74. on 23 Jun 2017 at 8:23 pm74Biscuitbum

    I accept that Barca, for instance were helped by the city authority some years ago, when the bought the training ground for some €200m, but the truth is, in the modern football world major success is only possible by tossing huge sums of money about. Of course, things would have been different under Usmanov. Wenger would have departed some years ago. and we might have won a few more titles. I was never a fan of the Uzbek, but anything is preferable to life under Kroenke; after all NONE of his sporting franchises (except for Arsenal in the FA Cup) ever wins trophies. BTW I was reading today that we will be breaking the rules if we offer Alexis or Ozil bumper new contracts. Can this actually be true.

  75. on 23 Jun 2017 at 8:47 pm75Silly Second Yella

    gotta gotta gettawaaaaaay

    GOTTA GOTTA GETTAWAAAAAAAY

  76. on 23 Jun 2017 at 9:08 pm76Porco Rosso

    A *lot* of noise about the Lacazette deal getting close to being finalised some time next week…

    …based on my obsessive by highly unscientific monitoring of news sites and the less ridiculous Twitter sites.

    Furthermore, this in the Independent about us being willing to sell the Ox for £25m with up to eight more to follow him out. My view on this? Not too fussed about losing him – I’ve never seen him as a mainstay of our first XI (feel free to contradict me of course, I’m far from well informed).

    http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/transfers/arsenal-transfer-news-alex-oxlade-chamberlain-liverpool-giroud-wilshere-bellerin-arsene-wenger-a7804351.html

  77. on 23 Jun 2017 at 9:10 pm77Porco Rosso

    PS The Ox story comes on the back of more than one reliable site stating that Prem rules mean we need to cut down our wage bill if we want to offer £££ to Ozil and Sanchez (which I am all for).

  78. on 23 Jun 2017 at 9:38 pm78Porco Rosso

    Biscuitbum

    Just read your post a few above mine and apparently it’s true that we’re on the verge of breaking Prem League wage rules with our plans for fat deals for our 2 galacticos.

  79. on 23 Jun 2017 at 10:26 pm79North Bank Ned

    You can drive the proverbial coach and horses through the loopholes in the Premier League’s salary cap. As long as any excess of the £7 million annual increase in the total wage bill is paid for by higher revenue from commercial income, player trading and match day income, then that is just fine and dandy. Every £20 million player clubs flog off gives them about 375,000 a week extra in wages.

  80. on 23 Jun 2017 at 11:57 pm80Porco Rosso

    Cheers for the clarification Ned. What I know about these rules or how to circumvent them can not be written on a postage stamp as I’d literally never heard of them till yesterday.

    Here’s hoping Arsenal exploit that loophole.

    Nighty night all

  81. on 24 Jun 2017 at 1:34 am81Chris

    I agree with Porco re Ox. I love his energy and commitment, but his decision-making has always been poor resulting in a lack of penetration and goals. He’s flattered too often to deceive in my book. I would bite Klopp’s hand off for £25m.

    Lacazette or Giroud? Six of one and half a dozen of the other. The latter is still the preferred CF for France and 7 inches taller than the diminutive Lacazette who is 4 years younger. Giroud is also a useful defender, which Lacaz is not. What if AW is resigned to losing Alexis and actually striving to sign both Lacaz and Mbappe?

    I know Lacaz is the same height as Aguero, but I still worry about signing a guy who would be the shortest in the squad in the event Alexis leaves and Santi remains out of contention.

    I’m more than happy to leave these decisions to AW. 😀

  82. on 24 Jun 2017 at 1:38 am82Chris

    A cap on transfer fees would be better than a cap on total salary payments, imo. But probably legally uninforceable, restricting players’ rights to hold clubs to ransom.

  83. on 24 Jun 2017 at 1:57 am83can't be arsed

    i must remember all these intricacies
    when i shout at the tv screen

  84. on 24 Jun 2017 at 2:04 am84can't be arsed

    pfffttt

  85. on 24 Jun 2017 at 2:05 am85can't be arsed

    FART NOISES

  86. on 24 Jun 2017 at 8:01 am86North Bank Ned

    Chris@82: The salary-cap rules are completely self-serving for the top Premiership clubs in as much as they are intended as insurance against the clubs blowing their TV money on hugely increased contracts for players and then seeing those broadcasting-rights fees shrink in the next renewal cycle. They are nothing to do with ensuring a level financial playing field no matter how they are dressed up in the language of ‘sustainability’.

  87. on 24 Jun 2017 at 8:06 am87OsakaMatt

    Wouldn’t want to sell Giroud even
    if we buy Lacazette. They’re not
    similar and Giroud is sometimes
    useful. I’d let Perez go though.

    As for Ox, why would we take 25m
    in this market? I don’t believe we
    could replace him for that.
    40m Klippety, now piss or get off
    the fucking pot. In fact 40m plus
    a quid, fuckers.

  88. on 24 Jun 2017 at 8:09 am88OsakaMatt

    sustainable large G&Ts all round?
    🙂

  89. on 24 Jun 2017 at 8:12 am89OsakaMatt

    Off to the pub to watch The Lions
    roar !
    Don’t really understand the funny
    shaped ball game but i fear it will
    all end in tears.

  90. on 24 Jun 2017 at 10:07 am90OsakaMatt

    Lions have played well, lots of good
    stuff but couldn’t finish and now
    getting punished by a very good side.
    Seems oddly familiar to me 🙁

  91. on 24 Jun 2017 at 10:34 am91can't be arsed

    osaka M
    ?

  92. on 24 Jun 2017 at 10:38 am92can't be arsed

    87 last para
    a joy to behold
    ??

  93. on 24 Jun 2017 at 11:01 am93can't be arsed

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkH9BHS-ph4

  94. on 24 Jun 2017 at 1:23 pm94can't be arsed

    busy fuckin day here
    two new stout brews on
    one sugar wash
    and a trip to the beach planned but failed

    sheep are fuckin everywhere
    hate sheep
    noise o the cunts

    anyhoo
    happy today everyone

    stop eating mutton an lamb
    there’ll be less o the noisy po faced cunts about

    UP THE ARSENAL

  95. on 24 Jun 2017 at 1:36 pm95can't be arsed

    slow Arse day roundabouts so
    incidentally
    am drinking imperial stout
    i found
    which i clearly hid ray milland style
    many moons ago
    oct 2016 9.2 writ on the bottle
    just a half dozen
    but fuck me it’s gorgeous

    half pint glass
    constant top up
    yer only fuckin man

    sláinte
    six o these
    an i may require consideration
    and kindness

    be nice to each other ?

  96. on 24 Jun 2017 at 1:39 pm96can't be arsed

    no caledonian relatives today
    so i can drink out of a glass made of glass today
    and eat off the good plates

  97. on 24 Jun 2017 at 1:41 pm97can't be arsed

    herself has taken her jewelry outta
    the youngests nappy
    and put it back on

  98. on 24 Jun 2017 at 1:44 pm98can't be arsed

    and
    any unintelligible accents
    are ours an ours alone

  99. on 24 Jun 2017 at 1:45 pm99can't be arsed

    such

  100. on 24 Jun 2017 at 1:45 pm100can't be arsed

    BLISS

  101. on 24 Jun 2017 at 1:46 pm101can't be arsed

    ??????
    get fuckin in
    ??????

  102. on 24 Jun 2017 at 2:10 pm102can't be arsed

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTObCKSkaBs

  103. on 24 Jun 2017 at 2:22 pm103can't be arsed

    mighty empty here today
    not unlike here as well

    just me and the sheep

  104. on 24 Jun 2017 at 2:25 pm104can't be arsed

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcUAJHIuJo0

  105. on 24 Jun 2017 at 2:34 pm105can't be arsed

    my tunes of choice
    walking to and from the bar

    had two wee speakers
    taped together
    size of a can

    nowt like walking in pitch darkness
    dub
    down wee roads and fields

    .

    fuck summer

    DARKNESS

  106. on 24 Jun 2017 at 2:36 pm106can't be arsed

    beware cattle

    huge big fuckers

  107. on 24 Jun 2017 at 2:38 pm107can't be arsed

    they don’t like strangers

  108. on 24 Jun 2017 at 2:41 pm108bathgooner

    cba @ 103, be careful you don’t get tempted! ?

  109. on 24 Jun 2017 at 2:50 pm109can't be arsed

    funny ye should mention that baff
    there’s one’s been giving me the glad eye
    but i am a man of steely reserve
    and not easily swaaaaaaaayed

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p71c6Yu1Fg0

  110. on 24 Jun 2017 at 2:56 pm110bathgooner

    ?

  111. on 24 Jun 2017 at 3:05 pm111can't be arsed

    i suppose zico an btm’ll show up the noo
    the MacConch having been blown intee

  112. on 24 Jun 2017 at 3:05 pm112can't be arsed

    one one one

  113. on 24 Jun 2017 at 3:06 pm113can't be arsed

    that’s all the ones

  114. on 24 Jun 2017 at 3:06 pm114can't be arsed

    none left

  115. on 24 Jun 2017 at 3:07 pm115can't be arsed

    fuckin get in son

  116. on 24 Jun 2017 at 3:18 pm116can't be arsed

    i have to stop slagging scottish people

    there’s lots of them
    and
    they drink

    and then some
    and then
    some more

  117. on 24 Jun 2017 at 3:18 pm117can't be arsed

    more often than not , mine

  118. on 24 Jun 2017 at 3:20 pm118can't be arsed

    but
    i suppose
    the saint that i am

    someone has to minister to the unfortunate

  119. on 24 Jun 2017 at 3:22 pm119can't be arsed

    minister !
    MINISTER ?

    prod or taig , pal ?

    askin fe a friend

  120. on 24 Jun 2017 at 3:25 pm120can't be arsed

    .
    .
    .
    .
    aye aye aye
    nae bother

  121. on 24 Jun 2017 at 3:44 pm121can't be arsed

    .
    .
    merciful hour , ‘hol
    sort yer fuckin
    update filter spam shite out

    my grandchildren will not look back on today
    with glee or anything less than embarrassment
    should they find my secret Arsenal journals
    in years to come
    nailed to the wall of the outhouse

  122. on 24 Jun 2017 at 3:55 pm122can't be arsed

    where’s trev to show us what language can do
    where’s steve T to show us his weller tattoo
    where’s cynic
    god , i love cynic

    where’s etc an such etcetera

    bla de bla rhymes with etra

  123. on 24 Jun 2017 at 3:58 pm123can't be arsed

    *on a fuckin winner*

  124. on 24 Jun 2017 at 4:00 pm124can't be arsed

    chicken n black bean dinna

    .

    this shit writes itself
    .

    peace

    OUT

  125. on 24 Jun 2017 at 4:15 pm125can't be arsed

    as

    a groovester might vomit
    .

    anyhoo

    off out fer a walk
    this first in me ears

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVphe18ZlWY

  126. on 24 Jun 2017 at 4:35 pm126bt8

    Got to Stockholm. The wife insisted on stopping at the ABBA museum gift shop to get a postcard to send to her friend the ABBA fanatic but we dodged the bullet of actually entering the museum itself. Came. That. Close.???☠️

  127. on 24 Jun 2017 at 4:47 pm127TTG

    Bt8
    You nearly met your Waterloo. Almost time for an SOS. Mamma Mia!
    I’m in the land of Bath and Zico for the week with a sporty Golf to run around in. Top stuff!

  128. on 24 Jun 2017 at 4:48 pm128can't be arsed

    8ball
    happy holidays to you and yer missus
    but here’s umbrage
    an i’m gonna take it

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvChjHcABPA

  129. on 24 Jun 2017 at 6:26 pm129Goonerholic

    Abba, nooooooooooo! ?

  130. on 24 Jun 2017 at 6:38 pm130bathgooner

    Not noooooooooooo, not never, pal! ?

  131. on 24 Jun 2017 at 7:33 pm131can't be arsed

    outside !

  132. on 24 Jun 2017 at 7:34 pm132can't be arsed

    hillbillies

  133. on 24 Jun 2017 at 7:38 pm133can't be arsed

    cheerio
    i am for the bed
    my suit is hugo boss
    call me a cunt
    an i’ll stand on yer neck

  134. on 24 Jun 2017 at 7:40 pm134can't be arsed

    oooh

    get him

  135. on 24 Jun 2017 at 9:06 pm135Goonerholic

    G’night cba. Sorry bath! Can’t stand ’em! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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