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Goonerholic

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Gloss Well And Truly Taken Off By UEFA Madness

May 16th, 2019 by 'holic

CBA implores “write about what hugs yer heart”. A clever way of pointing out I have been lax this week. As I will be out from dawn until well past dusk tomorrow I shall type random phrases accompanied by a very large muscle relaxant. What is in my heart? The Arsenal of course.

This should be the happiest fortnight of the season coming up. Finally we have a European Final to look forward to thirteen years after that Champions League Final when we were thirteen minutes from lifting big ears with only ten men against them, in that despicable European Final graveyard for us. Names that cannot be mentioned have not been.

Yet the shine has been taken off the upcoming completion of Europe’s second competition by and large because it is being held pretty much in Asia. Certainly in Eurasia, as Orwell would confirm. The expense of getting there, the paltry ticket allocation, and by no means least, the requirement of a visa. This has far-reaching consequences for some Gooners.

Azerbaijan is still virtually at war with the ethnic Armenian majority of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by Armenia, although officially the conflict ended 25 years ago. The wounds are fresh and as we discovered when we played Qarabag earlier in the tournament nobody seems willing or able to guarantee the safety of Armenian Henrikh Mkhitaryan. It doesn’t stop there, however. Arsenal, being a worldwide club, have a number of Armenian and Anglo Armenian supporters who will most definitely not be granted visas to travel to the match.

How on earth UEFA could have picked such a venue, inconveniencing (*to say the very least) the supporters of both competing clubs, and to which we probably won’t be able to take a key midfielder in the absence of Aaron Ramsey, is beyond common sense and smells very unsavoury indeed. (* royally pissing off would be more accurate!)

I suggested on Twitter yesterday that once supporters have missed a European Final they might be inclined to miss more and more matches if this is how the governing bodies are going to treat them. UEFA is effectively driving people away from the game they are supposed to promote. That is a grave charge to lay at their door.

I was going to say it’s not all bad news, but for a couple of young footballers the missing of such a high profile fixture must be soul-destroying. Fortunately for us they are Chelsea’s Hudson-Odoi and Loftus-Cheek. The latter was crocked playing in a friendly in the States a fortnight before what would have been the biggest night of a fledgling career.

Let’s pray we don’t have anybody getting enthusiastic with their challenges in training as we build up to our last chance to clinch Champions League football next season.

Dear Chelsea, I don’t suppose you’d do us a favour and withdaw that Hazard chap in protest if Mkhitaryan is forced to miss the Final? You are already in the Champions League, after all.

Have a good weekend, ‘holics.

Posted in comment | 152 Drinks

152 Responses to “Gloss Well And Truly Taken Off By UEFA Madness”

  1. on 16 May 2019 at 8:34 pm1can't be arsed

    i got mentioned

  2. on 16 May 2019 at 8:35 pm2can't be arsed

    ?

  3. on 16 May 2019 at 8:53 pm3iBtM

    The extent to which money talks is increasing worryingly in this fine game of ours, Holic.

    Final should have been played in a big country. Congrats on the mention, cba. A song for you.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=657TZDHZqj4

  4. on 16 May 2019 at 9:24 pm4can't be arsed

    no
    i got mentioned

  5. on 16 May 2019 at 9:36 pm5Goonerholic

    My inspiration, cba.

    I didn’t want to let you down for a whole week. ?

    Money indeed, BtM. The next two are in Eastern Europe too. Let’s pray we make the Champions League.

  6. on 16 May 2019 at 9:58 pm6TTG

    “UEFA take risible decision ignoring fans of both clubs shock “
    In three years time world football will decamp to a dubious and highly unsuitable desert state to play the World Cup out of season for almost everybody , in extreme conditions in a country with a deplorable human rights record. This one is just a marker on the road .
    Friends are trying to get me to go but it is just too much of a hassle to go half way round the world at huge expense to face goodness knows what. It’s a terrible choice of venue I. Where is the Champions League Final next year? I will watch us in that !

  7. on 16 May 2019 at 10:23 pm7Goonersince54

    Evening H
    methinks this is all down to politics,encouraging the smaller Countries to vote in UEFA’s favor for any changes they may put forward in the future,and in return those same Countries get more prestigious matches for their referees,and yes,get to host a major European Cup final.
    Didn’t we have a Neville nobody for our CL final. ??
    My brother sent me a text to say that there is a 3hr time diff between us and Baku,and that we are actually kicking off at 11pm their time.
    Can Ned’s monks or anyone confirm this.??
    That would just about put the tin hat on it,with the match finishing in the wee small hours,and god forbid it going to extra time and penalties. !!

  8. on 16 May 2019 at 10:40 pm8OsakaMatt

    Yes, kick off is 11pm local time.

  9. on 16 May 2019 at 11:07 pm9Goonersince54

    Thnks for confirming Oska
    Going to be interesting to see how the players cope with the late kick off.
    The backroom staff are going to have to manage sleep patterns,training,
    food intake etc,in a completely different manner than normal.
    Good luck with that.
    13 days to go.

  10. on 16 May 2019 at 11:23 pm10can't be arsed

    i’m chuffed ‘hol
    i got mentioned
    i really am

    btm

    .
    i really am
    i’m chuffed

  11. on 16 May 2019 at 11:26 pm11can't be arsed

    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    i got mentioned
    ?

  12. on 16 May 2019 at 11:31 pm12can't be arsed

    first too

  13. on 16 May 2019 at 11:33 pm13can't be arsed

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pf2DgSJuUHc

  14. on 16 May 2019 at 11:42 pm14can't be arsed

    .
    .
    .
    you can all fuck off here
    i’m Mr unOverlooked
    .
    Dundee ‘s finest
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zyr8snd9mTA

  15. on 17 May 2019 at 12:06 am15can't be arsed

    .
    .
    .

    Yeah
    I shoulda played it cool
    but have
    ye met me

    .
    I’m over the fuckin bastard moon
    .
    .www..

    ooooooooooooooh

  16. on 17 May 2019 at 12:11 am16OsakaMatt

    The 11pm kick off is I
    suppose an “honest” attempt to
    balance the need for TV money
    against the need for the votes
    of the FAs in the various UEFA
    countries.

    At least the Gooners of Western
    Europe get a reasonable evening
    kick off on a Wednesday night.

  17. on 17 May 2019 at 12:20 am17can't be arsed

    .
    hey there , Japan

    see anybody was mentioned
    that you should acknowledge
    and
    just
    maybe casually say
    stuff
    like wow

  18. on 17 May 2019 at 12:26 am18North Bank Ned

    As you mention, Clive, and Osaka Matt confirms, it is an 11pm kick off Baku time, but that is 8pm in London so the players will be kept on their UK body clocks. When we played Qarabag there, it was a 9pm KO local time.

    UEFA picks the venue for the Europa Cup two years in advance. You would think it would be possible to delay the decision until two months in advance. That is when the draw for the quarter finals is made. So there would be only eight clubs left by then and a sensible decision could be made about picking a stadium that would be reasonably convenient for any of them. You would think a stadium big enough to stage a final would be able to put a game on in two months.

    Baku is staging one of quarter-finals of the next European Championships, too.

  19. on 17 May 2019 at 12:27 am19can't be arsed

    could i be any clearer ?

  20. on 17 May 2019 at 12:33 am20North Bank Ned

    You are always the One, cba.

    https://youtu.be/0wYS0u0s1Wk

  21. on 17 May 2019 at 12:33 am21can't be arsed

    ned
    could i call on the monks ?

  22. on 17 May 2019 at 12:40 am22OsakaMatt

    Thanks for the post Guvnor.

    Good news for us on Loftus-cheek
    I suppose. Though my own recurring
    nightmare is an OG scorpion kick.

  23. on 17 May 2019 at 12:40 am23can't be arsed

    Derry City v Arsenal
    87 odds

    our line out

  24. on 17 May 2019 at 12:44 am24OsakaMatt

    And a very well deserved
    mention for the multi posting,
    multi talented and handsome
    inspiration that is the one and
    only cba!!!!!!!

    will that do? ?

  25. on 17 May 2019 at 12:48 am25can't be arsed

    much like
    The Blockheads
    playing Derry
    79

    who gave them grief
    NOT THE NATIVES

    .
    .
    .
    i believe they were dressed in green
    a perpetual row for to have

  26. on 17 May 2019 at 12:52 am26can't be arsed

    24 what sorta bastardin weirdo are you ?

    .
    .
    .
    honestly

  27. on 17 May 2019 at 12:57 am27can't be arsed

    i really dunno Dave
    .
    .
    d’ye know any o these cunts ?

    oriental boy fancies himself
    don’t worry
    (INTIMIDATION Etc)

  28. on 17 May 2019 at 1:05 am28can't be arsed

    guns
    Yeah

    champion
    back in there
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WMGvQ2v-ZRM

  29. on 17 May 2019 at 1:12 am29can't be arsed

    .
    i’ve arms like legs !

  30. on 17 May 2019 at 1:29 am30can't be arsed

    Ooooooooooooooh
    here’s the first
    of
    FIFTY
    according to
    his intellectual delicness s
    .
    .
    .
    .
    if he had walked a fuckin mile in my shoes !

    .
    .
    Etc
    i got the bus

  31. on 17 May 2019 at 1:33 am31North Bank Ned

    Derry City v Arsenal. Friendly evening match. September 5, 1987.

  32. on 17 May 2019 at 1:34 am32can't be arsed

    .
    .
    .
    back home
    but did
    ANYONE ?

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CqrQ-ZI29Pk

    God rest ian
    I think we’d a got on

  33. on 17 May 2019 at 1:38 am33North Bank Ned

    We won two-nil.

  34. on 17 May 2019 at 1:40 am34can't be arsed

    anaaava
    casanaavaaa

    .
    RIP

  35. on 17 May 2019 at 1:46 am35can't be arsed

    no 31 ned
    or
    are you just not answering
    cos the oriental person
    made a terrible mistake
    said i was handsome
    and is not secret serv

  36. on 17 May 2019 at 1:53 am36can't be arsed

    what was the line up , ned?

    i could ask people
    but i’m testing the monks

  37. on 17 May 2019 at 5:23 am37OsakaMatt

    People say it’s the hope
    that gets you. But it’s not
    really, it’s the damn ingratitude

  38. on 17 May 2019 at 5:27 am38OsakaMatt

    When I’d worked my left
    thumb to the bone an all.
    Not even for the teacher but
    the teachers pet 🙁

  39. on 17 May 2019 at 5:30 am39OsakaMatt

    That’s me learnt.
    Disagreeable and negative
    from now on.

  40. on 17 May 2019 at 5:32 am40OsakaMatt

    And that other bloke keeps
    calling me Oska 🙁

  41. on 17 May 2019 at 5:39 am41OsakaMatt

    The other day I was
    “the boy OM”. 🙁

    the boy!! Old people were
    more respectful in my day.
    Otherwise it was the short,
    sharp shock treatment for
    them

  42. on 17 May 2019 at 5:43 am42OsakaMatt

    Anyways, not to worry about
    INTIMIDATION

    The boy cba couldn’t find
    Japan if his arse was a banjo

  43. on 17 May 2019 at 6:24 am43Dexter

    That was all heart, no bollocks! Thanks G

  44. on 17 May 2019 at 7:06 am44goonersince54

    Oops.???
    Apologies Matt.
    Teach me to read properly.?
    ???

  45. on 17 May 2019 at 8:00 am45Steve T

    I received my e mail a few days back now asking if I wanted to purchase tickets. I could also purchase day trip flights for a few pence short of a grand. I would also need a visa and god knows what else. All in all, the total cost of a 24 hour trip to Azerbaijan for an 11pm kick off would have been about £1500. For that I can renew my season ticket, renew my two Saracens season tickets and still have enough left over to ensure that both Bath and Holic can still enjoy the odd cheeky double.

    If the game goes to extra time and penalties then with the presentations will not be taking place much before 2am???

    But no, I’m not having it. There is no way that a final in Azerbaijan and world cups in both Russia and Qatar had anything whatsoever to do with money changing hands. What a truly ridiculous thought.

    Those in charge of both FIFA and UEFA share a common fact with MP’s. That is that they are all just like nappies in the fact that they should be changed regularly, and for exactly the same reasons.

    I’ve said for some time now that I really don’t like the way that the great game has gone. I fully accept its a business but there has to be a line drawn. I got slaughtered by several here a few years back for saying that I now feel like a customer rather than a supporter. Sadly this just is just one of many that emphasises my point. I think it was by mid October this season that we had actually played a game on every single day in the week.

    I’m not sure what genuine thoughts go through UEFA’s heads when they select venues like this if it is not money related. The only reason they have made 6000 tickets available to travelling fans is that their research suggests that this is all that Baku can handle??? Bizarre. The word from the club is that so far we have only sold around 3,000 of them. For a competition that they try and champion as a major European Cup, I think that is quite sad.

  46. on 17 May 2019 at 8:03 am46Steve T

    Ned @20. Top tube from an awesome album.

    cba. Dundee’s real finest…..

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=idz_8QxUJtw

  47. on 17 May 2019 at 8:52 am47Steve T

    Top TUNE even…….

  48. on 17 May 2019 at 9:57 am48bathgooner

    Bang on the money, Guvna. I also agree with comments by TTG and Steve T.

    The gloss has been well and truly taken off this final by the preposterous choice of venue, the desultory ticket allocation and the flagrant disregard of the interests of fans of both clubs who are clearly regarded by those grandees who run the game as mere backing vocals. If it weren’t for the importance of matchday atmosphere to the TV viewing experience, this disregard of fans’ interests, a feature of not only UEFA and FIFA but also PL grandees would happen more frequently.

    I too received the laughable offer of the opportunity to apply for a EL Final ticket, a £997 day return flight from an unnamed ‘London airport’ with Thomas Cook (named by Which magazine as the World’s Worst Airline for three consecutive years) and a visa. I will be astonished if the stadium is even half full.

    Football may be approaching a watershed as it prioritises the global TV audience over the match-attending fan. The Guvna is bang on the money when he observes:

    “I suggested on Twitter yesterday that once supporters have missed a European Final they might be inclined to miss more and more matches if this is how the governing bodies are going to treat them. UEFA is effectively driving people away from the game they are supposed to promote. That is a grave charge to lay at their door.”

    For many years I have regularly enjoyed the match day experience at Arsenal and the associated cameraderie with good people but it costs me a lot of money to do so. I also enjoy a nice glass of red wine watching television in the comfort of my living room. I have long since eschewed the aggravation of travelling to away games. Wild horses wouldn’t drag me to Azerbaijan let alone Qatar.

    The regular and often quite late displacement of PL matches from their traditional kick off time to serve the interests of broadcasters has become an increasing aggravation and inconvenience. Time will tell if that converts this ST holder into an armchair fan and an occasional match-day tourist. At that point I won’t give a jot about when, where or why a game is scheduled. I’ll just set my Sky box to record the game and I’ll watch it when it suits me. However I’ll be disappointed if the match day atmosphere doesn’t match my memory of the past though (Hint: it already doesn’t!)

  49. on 17 May 2019 at 10:10 am49Cynic

    Was watching BT Sport the other night (I pay enough for the dubious privilege, so occasionally do this strange thing) and they were showing the 1998 FA Cup Final. Dear old Brian Moore.. that must have been close to the last one he ever did?

    A reminder of the days when commentators had accidental catchphrases rather than contrived ones, and when conversation was kept to a minimum between lead and colour commentators.

    As for Baku and all that stuff, my inner Corbyn makes it hard to feel sympathy for anyone who has a grand (or finds a grand) to spunk on a flight to watch a game of football. Real fans would have set off in December and walked 😉

  50. on 17 May 2019 at 11:21 am50Countryman100

    Top posts above by, inter alia, TTG, SteveT and bathgooner. You guys said it all. As you know, I’m not averse to an away day, but this is a step (and more than a few quid) too far. In the words of Andy Townsend, not for me Clive.

  51. on 17 May 2019 at 11:38 am51can't be arsed

    oska is ma nooo absoloooot favrit
    ???????????
    moooooooooooooooooooooo
    ???????????

  52. on 17 May 2019 at 12:04 pm52can't be arsed

    shame ye aren’t going c100
    as i’ve said loadsatimes
    i fuckin love yer away day reports

    i suspect it woulda been the best drink ever
    ?
    selfish of you really
    what’s a few grand and risk to life and limb

  53. on 17 May 2019 at 12:53 pm53Vinay Prabhakar

    Been away long but right on cue for the finals, so far been a sham the way it has been handled, believe latest figures indicate only 6000 tickets have been sold kept for the general public, I mean seriously?? What is the use of allotting so less to the fans and more importantly who choose the venue? If this is a case of promoting the game far and wide then what next? Alaska?? Honolulu? This is what we face in cricket matches here in India, general public 20% of tickets, 80 go to “sponsors and Members” who are nowhere to be seen and these tickets are often sold for exorbitant prices.

    To football and the usual transfer rumors, Milan want Mustafi and interested in Xhaka? Mustafi we will personally deliver him at your doorstep, Granit, jury is out and I would say one day he plays like our captain and then next like our mascot. We have supposedly bid for the Gremio center-back Walter Kannemann( wow name) and are interested in Zaha, any center back is welcome but from what I gather Walter is injury prone and has hardly played 150 games in about 7 seasons, so good luck with that, Zaha no thank you.

    Champions league finals and we all know pool will win, the contrast can be different, they were where we are right now a few seasons back, they have now reached two back to back UCL finals, should have won the league and are definitely in the 2 horse race for the title next season as well, we??? well mid table to say the least but for certain lacazette and Aubameyang.

  54. on 17 May 2019 at 2:02 pm54bt8

    Quite a distinction, imaginary best drink ever, but c100 you should be honoured.

  55. on 17 May 2019 at 2:31 pm55can't be arsed

    praise from a drunk wannabe Caesar is no praise at all
    though my praise is genuine

    i fuckin love the away day reports
    fuckin proper gooner heaven

    i’m in that car
    i’m in those motorway services
    i’m in that indian restaurant

    i fuckin love them
    like young Wind of yesteryear

    the attraction for me about here
    is it isn’t just Car Coat wearing cunts
    playing internet manager

    though there’s plenty of those
    off whom i’ve learned loads

    it’s people saying
    they fell over
    or
    made a shite dinner

  56. on 17 May 2019 at 2:31 pm56Gunnersaurus Stunt Double

    Argh. I feel the bosses’ recent pain of watching a perfectly good post get swallowed up by the airwaves. I will try again.

    I’m thinking out loud here. Would any UK based holics be interested in arranging to meet up for a game or two away from the stadium? In a pub or at some hospitable holic’s home? The cost and hassle of the matchday experience coupled with the contempt we are treated with is not inspiring me to stump up my hard-earned. My attendance has been steadily declining for a while now and I am tired of being treated like a customer. I’d rather pool our savings and spend them a couple of bottles of top quality single malt.

    If the matchday experience is changing I can’t help but feel foolish for not trying to recreate it with a group of gooners that I would genuinely love to watch a game with. Is anyone interested?

    This Baku final fiasco is more harbinger than outlier. The game is screwed and I want to eke the most I can out of it before we see the inevitable Hell we are headed towards.

    When I have kids I will teach them to play football. But will I take them to games and pass on my mania? No chance.

  57. on 17 May 2019 at 2:35 pm57can't be arsed

    creepy

  58. on 17 May 2019 at 2:37 pm58can't be arsed

    mind you
    i used to love the carvery at Harbingers

    so
    thanks for that
    that’s something

  59. on 17 May 2019 at 2:50 pm59can't be arsed

    .
    .
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwNwU2U0yVc
    .
    .
    that’s The Arsenal

  60. on 17 May 2019 at 3:09 pm60can't be arsed

    it’s the north west 200 now
    the motorcycle event where increasingly
    irresponsible fathers leave bereft children
    half orphans

    but
    hey ho
    it’s a predominantly done thing
    by the strong Scottish planter community here
    hence the almost unintelligible interviews
    of the Dunlop family

    my own accent is preposterous
    but at least i can pick up
    every other word

    them ?
    not a single solitary square sausage !

  61. on 17 May 2019 at 4:02 pm61Dexter

    45
    Great points made.

  62. on 17 May 2019 at 4:18 pm62iBtM

    An ordinary girl can make the world alright, cba, as you know, even if she has legs like a Mullingar heifer.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et5opRAv_OU

    Dundee’s finest indeed by a hair over Steve’s pick.

    I was right there then. How did I miss Alliance? Must have been too much playing and not enough listening.

  63. on 17 May 2019 at 4:23 pm63iBtM

    @56 “My attendance has been steadily declining for a while now and I am tired of being treated like a customer.”

    Wait till they throw you out on your ear for celebrating a Danny Wellbeck hat trick too enthusiastically, GSD. It will increase your rate of decline fairly dramatically.

  64. on 17 May 2019 at 4:32 pm64can't be arsed

    awwww man
    fuckin love the blue nile
    fuckin love them

    top stuff fella

  65. on 17 May 2019 at 4:37 pm65can't be arsed

    fuckin brilliant
    got the 12″ of Stay on the turntable now
    .
    .
    i think i scratched it an im gonna fuckin not be happy in the morning . It’s fuckin 35 years old

  66. on 17 May 2019 at 4:39 pm66can't be arsed

    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    fuckin LOVE the blue nile

  67. on 17 May 2019 at 4:46 pm67can't be arsed

    aw man
    brilliant

    time for a walk across the rooftops

  68. on 17 May 2019 at 4:52 pm68can't be arsed

    herself loves him
    i fade into the background
    i know my place
    .
    fortunately
    she bought spiral scratch
    so
    i’m fuckin punching MASSIVELY above my weight
    and
    I KNOW IT
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AFJ71w_ez6Y

  69. on 17 May 2019 at 5:26 pm69can't be arsed

    .
    .
    i got a mention ?

    i know it means nothing to you professional gooners
    many of you long time more than me

    but
    *wipes pie and mash liquor off lips*

    .
    it meant a lot to me
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaElQ3pb1GE

  70. on 17 May 2019 at 5:28 pm70can't be arsed

    cheers dave
    ya fuckin adorable oul tart

  71. on 17 May 2019 at 5:42 pm71can't be arsed

    CBA implores “write about what hugs yer heart”. A clever way of pointing out I have been lax this week

    i SO got mentioned
    but
    i’m keeping it on the DOWN LOW
    so
    probbly nobody will know
    ?

  72. on 17 May 2019 at 5:43 pm72can't be arsed

    i weep

  73. on 17 May 2019 at 6:13 pm73can't be arsed

    see 71

  74. on 17 May 2019 at 6:24 pm74can't be arsed

    it’s right up there
    after 70

  75. on 17 May 2019 at 6:25 pm75can't be arsed

    just sayin

  76. on 17 May 2019 at 6:26 pm76Countryman100

    CBA. I am touched and honoured by your kind words. I’ll be back next season. Only a few weeks before the fixtures are announced!

    Mine’s a chicken dhansak , a tarka dall, a garlic naan and a pint of Cobra.

  77. on 17 May 2019 at 6:27 pm77can't be arsed

    i don’t wanna make a mouth o meself

  78. on 17 May 2019 at 6:30 pm78can't be arsed

    but c100
    i meant every single word

    ye bring the far flungs in
    not easy to do
    but you do

    .
    anyway
    FUCK OFF
    never liked ye

  79. on 17 May 2019 at 6:32 pm79Countryman100

    ????

  80. on 17 May 2019 at 6:43 pm80can't be arsed

    kind words c100
    indeed in reciprocity

    but
    we are on two different levels

    your reports i send to all my gooner friends
    even the Scottish ones
    though they’re probably picking their ears with their toes
    so takes a while for them
    to
    “I say….. it takes a …………”

  81. on 17 May 2019 at 6:48 pm81TTG

    It wasn’t you Holic was referring to CBA, but another CBA of his acquaintance. Chin up mate .
    I’m now back from the North after a trip to the Museum outlining the history of the Orange Order near Armagh. Fascinating even if they do look a bit weird in those bowler hats .

  82. on 17 May 2019 at 6:49 pm82can't be arsed

    but
    apologies to fellow drinkers
    yer posts are ?

  83. on 17 May 2019 at 7:06 pm83can't be arsed

    thunder T
    i would be non sectarian
    im from the old school
    of the United IRISHMEN
    except in my mind
    religion is a loada made up nonsense

    Wolfe Tone a TITAN in Irish Republican history
    was a protestant

    There’s young morons hovering about
    who
    i really can’t understand their rage
    and sectarianism

    .
    There’s no arseholes in green
    pointing guns at you
    calling you interesting names
    beating you
    shooting you

    .
    .
    no
    .
    this new generation
    are just clowns
    dangerous clowns
    but clowns

    and any time i see one of the wee fannys
    in the street
    my opinion of them is galvanized

  84. on 17 May 2019 at 7:40 pm84can't be arsed

    .
    .
    toy soldiers

  85. on 17 May 2019 at 8:09 pm85bt8

    Santi Cazorla named for Spain 2020 squad.

    https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/48306449

  86. on 17 May 2019 at 8:25 pm86can't be arsed

    and that dino
    is why i delight and annoy people
    in sometimes unequal measure

    deconstruct me again
    ya blert

  87. on 17 May 2019 at 8:34 pm87Silly Second Yella

    you forgot to take your pills

    again?

  88. on 17 May 2019 at 8:45 pm88North Bank Ned

    cba:

    Lukic, Adams, Sansom, O’Leary, Davis, Rix, Rocastle, Thomas, Williams, Groves, Smith

    Richardson, Quinn, Merson on the bench.

  89. on 17 May 2019 at 8:49 pm89Silly Second Yella

    13 years ago

    exactly

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U09vfmHvr78

  90. on 17 May 2019 at 8:50 pm90can't be arsed

    fuck off ya inconsequential wee skitter
    .
    Rocky played , Ned?

  91. on 17 May 2019 at 8:53 pm91Silly Second Yella

    Juliano fucking Belletti

  92. on 17 May 2019 at 8:54 pm92North Bank Ned

    Not the full game. He was subbed.

  93. on 17 May 2019 at 8:59 pm93Silly Second Yella

    fuck off?

    where to, wee wee?

  94. on 17 May 2019 at 9:01 pm94can't be arsed

    is the list definitive ?
    relative of mine was at it
    but thinks he’s inventing
    who played .

  95. on 17 May 2019 at 9:02 pm95North Bank Ned

    SSY@89: Brilliant. Saw him and Sonny Terry play on Chicago’s South Side more years ago than I care to remember.

  96. on 17 May 2019 at 9:05 pm96can't be arsed

    is it monk stamped ?

  97. on 17 May 2019 at 9:05 pm97Silly Second Yella

    Sad, sad day in Paris.

    Sonny and Brownie?

    GREAT stuff, man.

  98. on 17 May 2019 at 9:06 pm98can't be arsed

    i was in that there england at the time

  99. on 17 May 2019 at 9:06 pm99North Bank Ned

    As far as the monks can tell, cba.

  100. on 17 May 2019 at 9:08 pm100can't be arsed

    transparent twat

  101. on 17 May 2019 at 9:08 pm101North Bank Ned

    Who does your relative think did or did not play?

  102. on 17 May 2019 at 9:12 pm102can't be arsed

    it was about Rocky and Smudge
    didnt or couldn’t remember
    if they were there

    Alan Sunderland of course
    played for Derry City
    but that’s a story
    for another day

  103. on 17 May 2019 at 9:17 pm103North Bank Ned

    Smudge was also subbed off, for Quinn.

  104. on 17 May 2019 at 9:17 pm104can't be arsed

    anyhoo
    cheers ned
    and pat a few monks on their tonsures

  105. on 17 May 2019 at 9:19 pm105can't be arsed

    top tarts

  106. on 17 May 2019 at 9:21 pm106North Bank Ned

    That’s all they ask for.

  107. on 17 May 2019 at 9:53 pm107bt8

    Dirty Leeds bottled it again. Derby will probably beat Aston Villa, based only on my premonition, but we don’t need another club finishing as badly as Derby did the last time they were in the top flight (or bottom of the pool plunge as it were).

  108. on 17 May 2019 at 10:01 pm108Dexter

    TTG

    It’s an easy mistake, given how many CBA there are…

    Christian Brothers Azerbajan…
    Chartered Bulgarian Accountants
    Charcoal Braised Artichokes…

    Easy mistake really…

  109. on 17 May 2019 at 10:14 pm109TTG

    Clive
    Bielik scored a fine header for Charlton in the second minute tonight. I was flicking between that and the cricket( with a smidge of the golf)
    We have been linked with Aribo on a Bisman but the lad who 8mpressed me was Charlton’s right back DijkSteel a Dutch boy. Very quick but strong defensively too.

  110. on 17 May 2019 at 10:52 pm110bt8

    Charlton make it to the League Onexit playoff v Sunderland. Come on Addicks! Bielik to lead them to victory?

  111. on 17 May 2019 at 11:10 pm111Goonersince54

    TTG
    Bielik lasted 110 mins for Charlton,as they won penalty shoot out to reach play off final against Sunderland.
    Haven’t seen any of the match,so bow to your impressions of the Dutch lad.
    Must admit i know nothing about Aribo,but given he is already 22,and playing at Charlton,doesn’t fill me with confidence personally.
    Countryman @50,
    Only the mad and those with nothing better to do,will attempt the
    journey,and i use that word advisedly,to get to Baku.
    But as the inimitable cba points out,it would have the away day report to end all away day reports.

  112. on 18 May 2019 at 1:52 am112scruzgooner

    i think wolfy would attend more home games if we had a dutch boy named dijksteele in the squad. he might even risk his fave jimmy choos.

  113. on 18 May 2019 at 4:23 am113OsakaMatt

    @85
    Thanks for the link bt8.
    I’m amazed and impressed that
    Santi could get back in the
    Spanish squad. Happy for him
    and I hope he gets to play.

  114. on 18 May 2019 at 8:06 am114TTG

    Clive
    I was taken to the Valley by my grandfather several times ( saw Eddie Firmani return from Italy) so I have a soft spot for them. In truth they were a bit lucky. Bowyer who was an odious little turd as a player looks a decent coach but some of the players , while skilful , were inclined to showboat and Doncaster were solid and determined. Bielik is decent but might be a classy central defender rather than midfielder. He looked very knackered in extra time. Aribo is, as you say , someone tgatvwe probably don’t need with Willock coming through.
    Charlton v Sunderland will repeat their epic play-off final , a level down . I think the Mackems will take it this time .

  115. on 18 May 2019 at 9:19 am115OsakaMatt

    Are they making another
    documentary? A nail biter
    for them.

  116. on 18 May 2019 at 1:54 pm116bt8

    Indeed, OM. Santi Cazorla’s recovery may be a miracle of the saints. 😀

  117. on 18 May 2019 at 4:39 pm117bt8

    Re: Chris Hughton, I must agree with these comments made by Troy Townsend:

    “What are the expectations of Brighton? Surely it is to stay in the league. You are fourth from bottom and you have got to an FA Cup semi-final. I don’t get it. … ( Hughton) has given Brighton another year of Premier League football and he gets repaid like this? Really?”

  118. on 18 May 2019 at 5:06 pm118OsakaMatt

    Hughton was a bit unlucky
    I thought but it seems to be
    the knee jerk reaction to any
    risk of relegation these days.

    He did well to get Brighton up
    and last 5 years really.

  119. on 18 May 2019 at 7:00 pm119iBtM

    With a comfortable lead Citeh bring on their second string, De Bruyne, Sane and Stones.

    Not to be outdone, Watford unleash their heavy artillery and bring on, er……… Cleverly 🙁

    Money won’t hide and the Milk Shake of Ably Dhably has enough to burn. Meanwhile we’ve got Stan, so there is that.

    Meanwhile, nobody loves you this way, cba

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GVMnDjFKHw

  120. on 18 May 2019 at 7:24 pm120North Bank Ned

    Meanwhile,BtM, Aguero can’t get a game. Or is winning 6-0 while leaving your best striker on the bench just rubbing it in?

  121. on 18 May 2019 at 7:32 pm121TTG

    Agree with Troy and Bt8 re Brighton. Remember Alan Curbishley had taken Charlton as far as he could – I think it was sixth in the Premier League! Now they are hoping to get back to the Championship.

    Today was a sad day for football. Citeh are a wonderful side but they have done it by bending the rules and splashing money they didn’t earn. Their punishment is to watch two inferior teams contesting the Champions League Final. And the chance of a Kroenke owned team competing with them is minimal sorry non-existent .

  122. on 18 May 2019 at 8:17 pm122Dexter

    I think our best chance to succeed is to produce our own top players. Hopefully Emery will promote/loan more in the seasons to come. It would also make any success feel more satisfying. Bit of a naive long shot I know!

  123. on 18 May 2019 at 8:22 pm123iBtM

    It’s called Pep Cool, Ned.

    Arsene pioneered ‘Arsene Super Cool’ by giving Giroud the weekend off and playing Sanogo last time we knocked Liverpool out of the Cup 🙂

  124. on 18 May 2019 at 11:16 pm124North Bank Ned

    Yaya Sanogo. There’s a name you don’t hear often. But still banging them in for Toulouse — or not; just 12 goals in 55 games.

    Is Pep Cool like Dex Cool, the antifreeze?

  125. on 19 May 2019 at 12:33 am125bt8

    Yaya Sanogo. Not a name I will be likely to forget, primarily for morphological reasons. Not to upstage the monks or anything but I see on transfermarkt that in 20 appearances for Toulouse this season he scored 3 goals and they came against Strasbourg, Nimes and Guingamp.

    https://www.transfermarkt.us/yaya-sanogo/leistungsdaten/spieler/127194

  126. on 19 May 2019 at 1:37 am126bt8

    Anybody heard from Lurky? I always loved it when Lurky chipped in.

  127. on 19 May 2019 at 5:07 am127OsakaMatt

    There was a lot of mockery for
    Sanogo, and for AW for playing
    him. I thought he was useless too,
    but to be fair he is playing quite
    regularly in Ligue 1 it seems from
    Ned and bt8.
    Not good enough for us but he’s
    done much better than some of
    the other high potential youngsters
    we signed.
    AW was right and I was wrong for
    about the 10,000th time 🙂

  128. on 19 May 2019 at 11:30 am128Steve T

    I have exactly the same Premier League goal scoring record as Yaya Sanogo. Yes, he was that good.

    Current figures suggest that we have sold only 2,800 of our tickets and CSKA Fulham have sold only 600. UEFA have also confirmed via the BBC that due to the limited infra structure that there was not one scheduled flight due to land in Baku during the week of the final.

    Such a relief that it’s a well thought out plan????

  129. on 19 May 2019 at 12:18 pm129Dexter

    Seems to be lots of articles about Arsenal utilising their young players more!

  130. on 19 May 2019 at 12:22 pm130Dexter

    But most of the articles are unrealistic and simplistic… suggesting players like Emile goes straight into the 1st team… I’m sure these same authors will give the young players all the time and patience needed too.

  131. on 19 May 2019 at 1:33 pm131bt8

    Feeling well and truly defootycated today. And it is raining cats and dogs so gardening duty is miserable. The golf results seem to have been decided on Saturday or Friday. I guess that leaves going to the movies or curling up by the fire with the real cats and dog. Who won’t be happy about the lack of walking opportunities. 🙁

  132. on 19 May 2019 at 1:39 pm132bt8

    Kompany to Anderlecht as player-manager is a big story though. May he bring them to European glory, unless that club too is now part of the Man City oil empire.

  133. on 19 May 2019 at 2:57 pm133Cynic

    Feeling well and truly defootycated today.

    This. But since about October for me.

    I have a strange hankering for Bale in an Arsenal shirt. No idea why as he’s one of the most heinous ex Spuds around (still playing) but I sort of have the feels for dumping Ozil and M’kay and having Bale.

    I know he’s getting on a bit for a winger but he is younger than Ozil and I think we’d get far more out of him in terms of goals and assits. And effort.

    I know… get out of town… 🙂

  134. on 19 May 2019 at 2:59 pm134Cynic

    And Bale wouldn’t be glad handing it with tyrants in his spare time, althogh a club with a commerical deal with Rwanda is hardly to care about Erdogan’s little foibles.

  135. on 19 May 2019 at 3:04 pm135North Bank Ned

    Andelecht is owned by the Belgian pharmaceuticals multimillionaire, Marc Coucke.

    https://www.rsca.be/en/media/video/marc-coucke-michael-verschueren-about-vincent-kompany

  136. on 19 May 2019 at 3:35 pm136OsakaMatt

    Bale is a good player but fuck
    him and the donkey he rode in
    on.

    And I have the same scoring
    record as Sanogo in the PL too.
    But I don’t in several other
    football competitions where he
    has scored because of course he’s
    a professional footballer who is
    capable of playing at a certain
    level rather than endlessly
    complaining.
    ooohhh I am drunk and aggressive
    🙂

  137. on 19 May 2019 at 4:57 pm137North Bank Ned

    City paid just 8 million euros for Kompany in 2008. Smartest piece of business they ever did.

  138. on 19 May 2019 at 6:18 pm138Dexter

    Ned
    City only went for Kompany as we gazumoed their bid for Michael Silvestre! We were linked with Kompany from when he about 16. We definitely got the better deal!

  139. on 19 May 2019 at 6:57 pm139North Bank Ned

    Dexter: Sunday was going quite well here at Castle Ned until your post…

  140. on 19 May 2019 at 8:10 pm140bt8

    Okay then, Ned. It could be a case of going out of one web of evil into another, but at least it appears to be a new one. Anderlecht seem to have hit bottom last season so it could be good timing to step in with nowhere to go but up, presumably.

  141. on 19 May 2019 at 8:12 pm141bt8

    Is that conditional enough?

  142. on 19 May 2019 at 8:41 pm142Dexter

    So sorry Ned!

  143. on 19 May 2019 at 9:38 pm143North Bank Ned

    We are resilient folk, Dexter. 🙂

  144. on 20 May 2019 at 11:51 am144Steve T

    https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.express.co.uk/sport/football/1129452/Premier-League-rules-changing-changes-full-list-VAR-video-assistant-referee-handball/amp

    Rule changes for next season.

    Thoughts???

  145. on 20 May 2019 at 1:15 pm145OsakaMatt

    The intent of the new rules seems
    good. The handball change is fair,
    the free kick rule is clear.
    The drop ball rule may lead to
    arguments about who had the
    ball last but the idea is fair.

    The manager dissent rule will create
    more complaints about consistency
    as it will be almost impossible to
    apply consistently and some managers
    should be booked every game.
    They won’t be though.
    I’d prefer to just get rid of the 4th
    official altogether.

    The sub rule is good but a player
    still wearing his kit as he walks
    around the pitch has the potential
    for confusion.

  146. on 20 May 2019 at 1:47 pm146bt8

    It is interesting to read the changes, Steve. Disallowing attacking players from forming part of the wall on free kicks seems intended to prevent jostling-related delays and I approve for that reason but reserve judgment about its tactical impact. I definitely approve of the time saving change requiring substituted players to leave the pitch at the nearest spot. VAR will create such delays that some of these overdue time saving measures were finally seen as obligatory I assume.

  147. on 20 May 2019 at 7:36 pm147scruzgooner

    i think the substitution one is wrongheaded. it should be that when the ref whistles the substitution on, he stops the timekeeping as for an injury. the substituted player can take his time off the pitch, get the applause, whatever, and it doesn’t cost the opposing team game time.

    everything else seems reasonable, except i’ll be interested to see which managers get carded…

  148. on 20 May 2019 at 8:58 pm148North Bank Ned

    Our preseason schedule:

    6 July v Boreham Wood (Meadow Park) Details
    15 July v Colorado Rapids (Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Colorado) Details
    17 July v Bayern Munich (Dignity Health Sports Park, Los Angeles) Details
    20 July v Roma (Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte) Details
    23 July v Real Madrid (FedExField, Washington DC) Details
    28 July v Olympique Lyonnais (H) Details

    10 Aug 2019-20 Premier League season opens

  149. on 20 May 2019 at 9:01 pm149Cynic

    I think there’s a safety issue to making players go off at the nearest point. I can see a scenario where a player is on the opposite side of the pitch and has to run the gauntlet of opposition fans chucking coins and all sorts at him.

    I don’t think that law change will last, personally.

  150. on 20 May 2019 at 9:10 pm150scruzgooner

    ned @148, i’ve already got my tickets for the game in los angeles v. bayern!! can’t wait 🙂

    cynic, you too have a point with that. also obviated by having the ref mark the time and add it to the game.

  151. on 20 May 2019 at 9:35 pm151North Bank Ned

    The biggest rule change for next season, to my mind, is that ball will not have to leave the penalty area at goal kicks.

    I agree with SCG, stopping the clock for a substitution to take place is more sensible than having the player exit the pitch via the nearest touchline.

    bt8b: Will the wall rule change mean the ref will now have to spray two foamy lines at free kicks, one for the attackers and one a metre on for the defenders?

    As a point of record, these changes have been made by the International Football Association Board and apply to all senior football. The Premier League has to follow them whether they like them or not.

    http://static-3eb8.kxcdn.com/documents/791/171520_110319_IFAB_LoG_changes_and_clarifications.pdf

  152. on 20 May 2019 at 9:40 pm152Goonerholic

    More bollocks >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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