Deflated? A Little, But Not Sorry
Aug 31st, 2010 by 'holic
I know people will be expecting a bit more than I am able to offer tonight or tomorrow. For a variety of reasons I am in the middle of two very long days, and today has helped put some of the events, or should I say non-events, of today into some perspective. I have time for just a brief overview of where I stand tonight.
I do appreciate though how much people were looking forward to the arrival of a new goalkeeper today. I cannot lie and say I wasn’t one. Having said that it is a matter of record that I thought that if Mark Schwarzer was the answer, then we were asking the wrong question.
I have some sympathy with those expressing their displeasure, but would caution against aiming your fire at individuals. Particularly the wrong individuals. Arsene Wenger identifies his targets, but it is down to others to seal the deal.
There is something less comforting about this affair though. It is extremely un-Arsenal like to have so publicly courted an individual. The undisguised attempts to woo Schwarzer must have had an effect on the four ‘keepers who currently remain on the books, and on whom we will now need to depend until at very least January. The Highbury House inquest should include a resolution to return to the days when ALL potential deals were kept quiet until sealed.
I have to pray though that some semblance of calm is maintained. We are second in the table with one of the competitive away fixtures behind us. On Saturday there were glimpses of the Manuel Almunia of 2008. A much better goalkeeper I would suggest than Mark Schwarzer of 2010.There are better, I’ll grant you, but the Fulham veteran isn’t one.
Possibly on Thursday I will expand a bit on this, and cast in concrete my hopes and predictions for the season now that we are where we are. Until then may I express the wish that you and yours are all fit and well, ‘holics.
Cheers.
150 Responses to “Deflated? A Little, But Not Sorry”
Holic, I hear you but I’m still gutted. Not about Schwarzer, just that we have not signed a keeper.
(Another) double rum and coke. π
Expect this hostelry will get quite busy tonight too. Glad I got my bar stool early.
We’ll be ok, ‘holic. Keepers do fuck all in any case π
I expect you are right zico, but whining about the same thing every other post now the window is closed serves no purpose. We can only undermine the poor sod who has got the job.
A large number of us wanted a new ‘keeper. We haven’t got one, and can’t do anything about it now. Time to grow up and front up non-Gooners, not each other.
I too am somewhat deflated. I really hoped a keeper would walk through the door. However, it gives the four keepers on the books the chance to seize the number one spot once and for all. I doubt very much Arsenal will sign a keeper come January. So get behind the team and enjoy the ride.
Make mine a JD and coke please.
Yikes, didn’t mean to kill the drinks. A glucose and saline for me squire .
I like almunia – he’s a nice chap.
Harry β Hi Jose its Harry
Jose –Β Hello Mr Redknapp how can I help you
Harry β Well Jose I donβt know if you know but the transfer window closes here in England in 5 mins and I need to sign a player, have you got any for sale
Jose β Ah Harry I am the special one and I might be able to help you out
Harry β Great Jose who have you got?
Jose β I have Rafael Van Der Vaart for sale Harry, would you like to buy him?
Harry β Oh I donβt know much about him, havenβt you got any players I have previously managed for sale?
Jose β Only Diarra but you already have signed one ex gooner this summer
Harry β Oh yeah good point, ok tell me more about VDV
Jose β Well he is Dutch and played in the World Cup Final
Harry β OOOHH World Cup Final, ok I will take him because we only have 3 mins left before the window shuts, can you put him on the phone?
Jose β Not so fast Harry letβs talk money, I want Β£20mil
Harry β No chance make it Β£10mil
Jose β Ah Harry I heard you were a bit of a wheeler dealer
Harry β IβM NOT A F**KING WHEELER DEALER I AM A F**KING FOOTBALL MANAGER *hangs up*
Always a voice of reason ‘holic.
Holic, I am suitably chastised.
I will be giving my whole hearted support to whoever has the gloves come 11th September (and indeed every time we take to the field).
See, the thought of my trip to North London has already cheered me up π
Nothing to do with the rum and coke of course……
The defence has to do a better job to protect the goalie. Both goals this season have been defensive errors, not goalkeeping ones. Clichy has been awful again this season and how long will it be before Wenger gives Gibbs the nod. With Clichy being French, probably never.
Pint of Absinthe, quick!
If Almunia it is, then Almunia it is.
I’ve said countless times here he seems to be a great lad, and even though I’d be happier with him as number two, now it’s all about getting behind him. Cheer his name at the next game, fellow gooners! That’s all we can do at the moment (and funny thing being that it might just work!)
I don’t actually recall anything from Arsenal saying that we were definitely looking to buy a goalkeeper, other than some oblique references to “being aware of the problems” at the back end of the season. The media chatter about the Schwarzer transfer came from Fulham, IIRC
youve got to think that had we stumped up the cash instead of penny pinching in june we wouldn’t be here now.
Holic,
Best make it a strong treble the thought of watching the same keepers making the same basic mistakes for another season has driven me to despair . Such a shame hes handicapping our season once again, sorry for the downbeat post but i just cannot see us winning anything with them in goal and you cannot blame Almunia he trys but hes just not up to it, I hope im wrong and they prove to be solid but i just cannot see it, And if and when the do make mistakes that cost us points our Manager has no one to blame but himself weve had months to sort it out and not only has he not hes also undermined the ones we do have its completly bizarre,
well, i cant say i for one am too bothered; if the only option was bloody mark schwarzer as i quite fail to see in what ways he is x*millionsofpounds better than almunia.
would’ve rather, you know, a absolute quality keeper.
but, here we are! and i won’t not be getting langered because of it. gimme a bottle of jack…
The only public comment made by an Arsenal insider regarding our interest in Schwarzer came from Peter Hillwood in May 2010.
If he hadn’t spoken to his favourite tabloid, the Daily Star, no one would have known that Schwarzer was even on our radar.
‘Holic.. trust everything went as well as could be with you and yours today. As you say, puts all other things into perspective.
Manny is a lovely chap, and with our love will return to his previous best.
Onwards and upwards.
PS. Whhzzznyyy for vice-goalie!
I am not interested in the Mark Schwarzer deal too…I was interested in another GK from Portugal national team Eduardo….Heard Wenger was interested and came really really late to registered an open enquiry follow immediate with a propose transfer fee…..The seller club came to Arsenal to promote the selling of Eduardo and Eduardo was interested but impatient to wait forever which Wenger are always slow to follow up…Eduardo now play in Italy Genoa if I am not wrong to recalled….Miss chance as he is very good goalkeeper, tall, atheltic, quick reflexes, good shot-stopper, good organiser and commanding in his area ….Really a miss
Spot on ‘holic, as ever.
Never forget the heights Almunia reached vs Barca at the ‘mates. He can be that man again.
Every keeper has ricks and Schwarzer has his share.
Lets all get behind Almunia and remind him that he is Arsenal’s number 1!
Large G ‘n T please barman and something for yerself?
well it could have been worse, we could have signed Robert Green or Ben Foster, then the moaners would have even more reason to moan.
I think Almunia is good, just made a few costly mistakes here and there and a bit of bad luck at times but he seems to be making amends so why don’t we all throw our weight behind him, maybe that way he will be pressured to focus on keeping the balls out of goal and taking command of his sometimes sleeping back four especially Clichy. I think the team should learn to defend as a whole and that way both attack will be buffered by a good defence and in the end we are sure to win silverware
We could have bought Schwartzer for Β£3m, instead of the Β£2m we offered. Every goal Almunia lets in now will be scrutinised and evaluated over the Β£1m we saved by not buying a world class keeper. Make no mistake, Schwarzer is immensely superior to Almunia – ask any Fulham fan who they would least like to have lost this season.
i feel the same – i was very surprised to hear we were in for MS as i dont think he is any better than what we have already – i just hope Manuel doesnt get injured before January. As long as flappy is not in goal im happy – i wonder if he’ll play at
in the kids cup at the lane – i seem to remember schezzney playing in the first round last year v WBA – here’s hoping! Maybe a concrete bid for lloris or akinfeev before the mancs get in before us in the next window!
I agree with Wembley79. I’m not sure if we could have done anything to stop Fulham and the media going crazy about it. I doubt Wenger was too thrilled with how public it became.
On the whole, I’m happy with our summer business. Two defenders, a striker who’s good in the air (and on the ball), and Cesc is staying. I wouldn’t have minded a keeper, but there really was no one on the market. And I’m not sure Schwarzer would have been an improvement.
Part of the issue last season was that our defense and midfield was so poor at times (largely due to injuries) that Almunia and Fabianski were exposed more than necessary. We’re looking much stronger this season in those areas.
I am opta-fucking-mistic!
We have a decent fucking squad. Nasri bossed all pre-season and against Liverpool and nobody has noticed he’ll be out for another two weeks.
Rosicky is back and almost to his best!
Fabregas is like a new signing!
We have a decent defender in Koshielny! Yeah El Hadj Diouf was too much for him, but that was because he was covering Bacary. However Bacary made up for it by running past Blacburns full back and set up our second and equaliser! Nice one boys, you’re learning!
We have a hard asrsed defender in Squalichi who can deal with the likes of Dogba!
We have a decent target man. Van persie is out for a month and nobody is sweating, because when Chamak-attack! came on against Blackburn we all drooled over his hold up and link up! Don’t
deny it!
Song is looking frigteningly better than last season!
Eboue is now a steady ship!
Theo is now in fucking form and Kieran is breathing down Cashley”s neck to remind him which Academy in britan breeds the best left backs!Britan have had to admit they now need a bit of gooner to even think about playing international football again!
Andrei is pulling his weight!
Our reserves are in demand getting experience to the point where that even the ones left are looking like a good carling cup squad!
Jack has been a revelation!
Aaron is due back in November!
…oh and we all knew when Fulham assigned Chin man scum bag Hughes that the Schwarzer deal was no longer going to take place. So stop acting surprised and wake up and realise how jealous the rest of the premiere league are over our manager Barring Man U!Relax we’ll get MS on a free in May and everyone will live happily ever after!
Oh and Almunia played like a decent keeper against Rugby playing Blackburn on Saturday.
We are second in the league and Theo is joint top Goal scorer!
We got the best stadium in the league!
Lets fucking celebrate! For god sake!
I’m amazed at how stupid our fans are thinking that Schwarzer is any better than Almunia.
41 GOALS LET IN LAST SEASON.THAT TELLS THE STORY.WE NEEDED A GOALKEEPER.WENGER HAS MADE A MASSIVE MISTAKE.ALMUNIA AND FABIANSKI ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH
Schwarzer is pants, Arsenal fans have just delluded themselves into thinking he is the answer because, well, um, his name isn’t spelled A-L-M-U-N-I-A. Nor is Almunia nearly as bad a keeper as people are making out.
To echo some other posters on here, it was Hughes that made the Schwarzer thing public. We put our first bid in when Hodgson was in charge and he didn;t reveal anything, it was only when Hughes came in that we knew a bid had been made. I think Schwarzer was possibly being considered as a back up as opposed to Fabianski, which would make more sense to me. The defensive aspect if the team really needed fixing, the keepers weree xposed far too often. Time will tell if we’ve fixed that.
” It is extremely un-Arsenal like to have so publicly courted an individual.” Sorry Holic, but when did that happen? I don’t recall anyone from the club saying we were in for him. Only the media and the Sheep Shagger. Disappointed you may be but let’s not lose sight of the facts.
To be honest I am also a bit gutted that Fabianski has not been sent out on loan during this window. It seems that the only way he is going to prove to anyone that he can cut it in top flight football is to play several games in a row and maybe iron out his problems (which appear to be mental).
If we had Mannone and Chesney as back up I would not feel any more concerned than Fabianski in his present guise, so don’t really see what we could have lost by sending him out.
Of course, someone had to actually want him in the first place…
I’m gutttede we didnt spend 10 or 20 mil and go for a proper world class goalkeeper. Having said that I think our defence should be better and I like Chamak
Am happy with the squad – you can always says- it could have been better. But then this also applies – it could have been worse. We have four goalkeepers – we pretty much know what to expect from them, so best to get on with it.
Is it just me, who thinks, we need to defend better than last season rather than have a Wold Class goalkeeper. I mean, if you can’t defend, then no goalkeepers can save you. I think, most of goals came cos of our defensive mistakes in the outfield..
We just have to defend a bit better than last time. Simple as that.
Time to grow up and front up non-Gooners, not each other.
Words of wisdom ‘holic. Look forward to supping a few more with you at Bolton, mate.
Very disappointing. Alumnia is a liability in the PL, he doesn’t command the penalty box and our, at times, shambolic defending under the ‘high ball’ reflects that.
Lets hope he doesn’t make any clangers in the forseeable future & his confidence picks up. He has to improve reading the ball in the air & coming off his line. Letting balls punted up from the halfway line bounce 7yards from his goal line is not on. This happened 2 or 3 times against BBurn.
That said, if he gets injured & we get Flappy back in goal we’re f**ked!
Meh. You don’t kill what little confidence your #1 and #2 goalkeepers have left with all of the speculation and bids for Schwarzer…. to ultimately not bring anybody in.
Enough with the spin. I am a Wenger supporter through and through, but he clearly blew this one.
Terrible news.We ended last season with BOTH our keepers making horrendous mistakes which cost us the title.Yet here we are they are still our number one and number 2 keepers.We used to be a club that had great keepers Jennings.Seaman and Lehmann.Now we have two keepers who wouldnt be out of place in the circus.Shame on you Wenger
Hope all is well in ‘holicsville
Babysham please
‘holic and Esso at notloB? I shall insist on a drink then, then
Essexpieboy, good points all. MistaKen, that’s a very modest name.
This ia a very sad day for our club.The day we turned around to Chelsea and Man Utd and said we are not ging to challenge you for the title.How can any manager think Almunia and Flappyanski are nothing more than championship class keepers?.Wenger just hasnt got a clue about goalkeeper.Today will come back and haunt him in may
Lmao. OldGoon, that was great. I’m sick of the whining, our squad is set now, so that’s that. If it turns out to cost us, Arsene will get the stick he deserves. Right now, we are doing well, hopefully we will do even better and I’m looking forward to our upcoming matches. Really want to go to the Grove, only ever walked past it, seen it through a window.
Gooner at #42, completely agree. The whiners are out of control.
Notlob is a no-go now, chums. Next up for me will be a nice little trip to the bus stop in Fulham, I think.
If Almunia gets injured who comes in.? Yes that usless wanker Flappy the worst keeper in Arsenal’s history.Be afraid be very afraid
August 31st the day we lost the 2020/11 league title
Gooner Town @ 26. A pint for you mate – you sound like good company!
Alas, I think this is the slow boiling calm before the expected storm. The next mistake Almunia (or any of our current keepers) makes which leads to us losing 3 points will create an almighty backlash against Arsene.
I am a massive supporter of Arsene, but in this instance he has created monster pressure for our keepers and left himself exposed to fans anger like never before.
What is his strategy for the keepers? Interestingly we are now left with 4 keepers, after Arsene said before the transfer window that at least one will go on loan. Does this mean Sczceny is now in contention for the No. 1 spot? I think the main problem is that Arsene only wanted a short term keeper in order to give Sczceny experience. This effectively limited our market. Now if Almunia standards drop, I think Sczceny will take over.
Let’s support the manager and the team to come through this.
Well at least the squad is healthier than it has been for quite some time eh? And just look at Snir’s best friend – wouldn’t you say he is playing for his place? That’s what competition does. We have got ‘real’ choices now for just about every place.
Except the stoppers. I don’t think Almunia sees Fab as competion. However, he knows Arsene was, nay is trying to bring a new number one in to the fold. Maybe Al’s thinking ‘I have until Jan to make my case’.
Let’s hope he sees it that way.
The dye was cast long ago that Arsene sees the long term answer as Fabianski and/or Szczesny. Those wishing for a stellar GK signing were always on the wrong path as it would have hampered their development.
Schwarzer fitted the bill – old but still good and buying time for the development of the two Poles – but it did not work out. Only Given offered a similar option and he was never available to us.
I do not think it is a question of who is to blame. I just think someone is being very stubborn indeed.
We are where we are. Onward – but I have to say this time reserving judgement.
I just hope I do not get very cross indeed at the business end of the season. It is no good for my blood pressure.
My perception is that Schwarzer was never intended as much more than a backup keeper, and yes we do have a need there but some are reacting as if he would immediately have stepped into the no. 1 jersey and I think that is where their perceptions are flawed.
GY, a loan move to a Championship club can still happen. I am surprised that Fabianski is not at another Premiership club, but don’t doubt he was offered to those most likely to take him, and possibly it was dependent on a signing.
I was at Blackburn and Almunia was solid and strong. Just what we have said a new keeper should be!
If he can be as consitent as he was 2 seasons back AND as important, the rest of the team actually DEFEND as a team, from the front and track back etc, we should be OK. More than OK in fact.
However, it is very weird that we didnt sign a new keeper and Wenger will only have himself to blame if his pursuit of others upsets the ones already at Arsenal.
It is also sad that once again, even though he stated he had significant funds available for the 1st time since the move to the Grove, we have once again seemingly spent sod all! World class book keeping Arsene!! π
brandy and a load of coke please Holic!
Rack em up Mug π !!!
There are some right old drama queens on here tonight holic. Is Lily Savage going to do a turn later too?
Coming right up chippy!!!
Well that’s this week’s drama done and dusted then. Unless the injury report from the internationals turns out to be typically bad. Or if it turns out Young Jack wasn’t really acting as the peacemaker. I’m sure there’s lots of drama Fleet Street can dredge up.
Ya never know, Mug. Ya never know π
everyone knew we needed a quality keeper and we’ve not signed one,a big mistake in my book,hope im proved wrong but just look at the past winners of the PL,all had solid quality keepers.
Good Man,
Well that’s me done for the evening if I stay any longer it could spell an all nighter π As the wiseman says we are where we are, Nothing to gain by bitching like a heeb so that’s my moaning done and dusted till Jan, Well at least Bolton π
Up The Arse,
The kids ARE a year older … and a year wiser.
We have every reason to be optimistic until the performances and the results begin to suggest otherwise. For me, that hasn’t happened yet.
Let’s help Almunia get his confidence back. That’s out job!
A few things: last year our keepers under-performed, but it was Fabianski who made the individual mistakes. Almunia’s form dipped, but he wasn’t the reason we didn’t win the league. As Saturday showed he remains a perfectly decent keeper. Confident and at his best he’s fine.
I would have taken Schwarzer (and was expecting it to happen this morning) but was never excited about the prospect exactly. He’s a good, vastly experienced keeper. He is palpably not the difference between us winning the league and not. We should’ve won the league two years ago with Almunia in goal, we could this year.
The crunch comes in the big games this year. That’s when a really world class keeper can be the difference and Almunia will be under real pressure to perform. One thing’s for sure we now need to put this behind us and support the team, keeper and all…
And what if Almunia gets injured for 6 months? I don’t think he’s good enough to be number one, but our number two is absolutely pathetic. This is a disgraceful situation. If Wenger could not find a number one he should have at least bought a better no 2 than Fabianski. Why risk destroying an entire season just to save a few million quid. There’s no excuse – this is bad, bad management.
By the way – was anybody else very impressed with Song & Diarby acting as a holding pair at Blackburn. A bit special I thought. And that is from someone who was ranting about bringing in Melo. Maybe A does KB.
Have the kids gone to bed yet?
I was wondering how many times we wpuld see the cliche about how only teams with world class keepers win things baloney!
Victor valdes at barca is, erm, rubbish! van der Sar; NEVER RATED HIM, not did Juve for that matter, Lukic won a title at some club i csnt remember their name, sorry.
Kingsvery Cross; Yep, Diaby and Song did a great job and hopefully thats something they can continue and that will help the defence and the keeper wont it.
i jus wanna drink more!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh well, gutted as I am there is nothing to come from whinging about what could have been. Don’t think the current ‘keepers are going to win Arsenal silverware, but I’ll be exstatic to be proven wrong.
I’ll have a San Miguel and drink to Almunia.
Good Luck Manuel, I hope you play like a man possessed so we’re not back at this crossroads in January.
Come on Arsenal (and better defending from the other 10 won’t go amiss)
Whether or not you rate Schwarzer, the point, surely, is that we needed a better no. 1 and we didn’t get one. Not sure why this happened, but the reality now is that we have failed to address one of the key weaknesses of last season, and could (not ‘will’, I’m not that gloomy) pay dearly for it this coming season. A few of us are playing a consolation game right now of ‘he’s not that bad’ and ‘give him a chance’ and ‘Schwarzer was no better’, which tells me that it only takes a few months (of too much sun and too many drinks, in my case) to completely forget a season of blunders, nervy performances, and the inability of our outfield players to look Almunia in the eye. I will of course support the poor fella, since it’s all we can do at this point, but I’m frustrated we’ve been put in this position.
Here endeth yet another painful summer for gooners. Another summer of extreme speculation and the captain of our club crying because he cant play for someone else.
Wenger has won the annual -who can spend least on the team competition hands down. Still the Board must be pleased the wage bill has been reduced further. Can all the media speculators please note for next summer-dont waste your time if the player is not French or costs more than 8 million.
Too right Catalan Gooner. I felt the same way in 2007/8 we nearly won the league. In 2008/9 with all our troubles we still made the top four. Last season we came third. This season I want the league!
Evening ‘holic and ‘holics – i’ll have whatever Gooner Town is on, please. Must be some good stuff.
Not particularly bothered about missing out on Schwarzer, just, like many, very disappointed that we cannot sign a truly class keeper.
Don’t really know what the real Schwarzer story was, or how interested AW really was. Wenger is certainly a great student of statistics, and I would be very surprised if they improve much for 37 year old keepers.
Remember how swiftly dear old Jens seemed to lose the plot at that age – and love him as we mostly did, what a relief it was to see a hugely improved and calm Manuel Almunia take up position between the sticks.
It’s a funny old game.
Let’s hope – intentional use of understatement – that Almunia can rediscover some of that form. So far, the signs aren’t bad.
What will be interesting, will be to see who gets the nod against the Spuds in the Carling Cup. I would love it to be Sczczczczczeznznznzy.
Hi Catalan – did you notice at the weekend that Frank Lumpalard is to have surgery on a hernia, and is expected to be fit in 2 weeks!
RvP, on the other hand, “just jarred” his ankle, were the words used on the telly, i believe, and will be out for 4 weeks. And we all know what that means.
Is there a dark corner in this bar where no-one can see you crying?
Trev I’m on a substance called ‘we’ve improved’!
Schwarzer would have been the icing on the cake for us over- privileged 2010 Gooners. But I don’t really like my cakes that sweet anyway, although I’d still eat it!
On their day our reserves can beat a full strengthed Spurm squad!
I’d like to see Mannone there myself only becasue we can and I havn’t seen much of him lately!
Evening’ Holics! (or early ass morning, as the case may be). I’ve just had a blinding realization only minutes after the window closed: Almunia is the greatest fucking goalkeeper ever! Buffon and those other guys can fuck off, Manny will do the job!!
Now I just pray he is never ever injured until January or June…
whoever thinks fabianski is the worse goalkeeper in our history never saw richard wright
@Vital Arsenal – Interesting theory that Arsene wanted Schwarzer as a backup for Almunia to replace Fabianski. I tend to think that Schwarzer is slightly more reliable than Almunia.
I would be much more confident in our title credentials if we had a top class goal keeper, and I have to say that I’m disappointed in Arsene Wenger for not dressing Arsenal for success.
I’m actually still in denial and keep checking the official site for news of a goalkeeper signing (15 hours after the window has closed).
I’m pinning my hopes on either Almunia getting his head right or the young kid Szczesny taking over.
Mark Paul Hooker – Wright was shocking, but I rate Fabianski even lower. It’s a tough call, but for me, Fabianski is even worse. When a routine cross turns into an own goal and no one’s surprised, there’s a problem.
We never publicly expressed interest in Schwarzer. It was Schwarzer and Fulham doing all the talking. Wenger even said that he doesn’t want to talk about it. So let’s end this nonsense about us unsettling him. We put in a bid, that was never replied to, then asked for a reply to the bid. It was Fulham who were constantly talking to the press.
He also never said he was selling Almunia. He said that we all must live with competition at a club like ours. That, combined with the low fee, suggests that he wanted Schwarzer for competition .
As an Aussie I thought Schwarzer was the tough signing we needed, only because Almunia was fading game by game. Schwarzer has been Australia’s best over 6 years, even over Tim Cahill. Was thrilled to see Almunia fire up and let Blackburn know he wasn’t going to end up in the back of the net before the ball. Confidence is all he needs.
I think Clichy is that last man standing from our bamboo curtain and we will be looking very very solid when Gibbs steps up when we can run the game again from the back.
Trev – When you bring the Lampard issue up, it really is frustrating and I suggest you and Catalan get on that letter ASAP before our season goes to waste!
Well, I’m kind of shocked we didn’t get a keeper this off season, but if it has to be Almunia, so be it, hopefully he’ll have more confidence when having a good defensive core in front of him.
I just feel as though Almunia played his heart out because he felt his number 1 spot is being threatened and now will go back to being lousy when he has no competition for the number 1 spot.
Holic’s, I’ll say straight off I’m very disappointed we have NOT signed a world class GK & we will almost certainly regret it come the end of the season again, however you have to agree with our illustrious leader when he talks about questions & answers, because yes he’s better then what we already have but is he world class well I’m not sure only a run @ top level would have told us that, + you have to look @ his age too?
For me the way AW’s went about the possible signing of him says a lot about how he rates him too, we get him on a free next year or a lower price come Jan when Fulham will HAVE to sell.
However I’m still not convinced Schwarzer was his main target as he don’t fit the AW mould.
In fact I’d say if we did some ground work & looked @ other GK’s around the world contracts, AW has someone else very different in his sites we have not actually noticed as yet possibly coming to the end of their contract, because we all know that’s how AW works…………
The odd thing for me was, had Wenger signed a new goal keeper (in addition to the 3 other new signings in the transfer window), it would have surely been a record year for signings at Arsenal!? So whilst disappointed, I’m not in the least bit surprised ~ it has [not] happened.
Unfortunately, Almunia only really delivers top class performances when under pressure but now the pressure is off…….??
Looking at the positives, we have a much stronger back 4 than we have in previous seasons, which will surely be good in terms of supporting the keeper. In midfield and up front, I argue that we are better and more experienced too.
Keep on believing π
I honestly think Almunia will have his time until January to convinvce Le Boss he’s still up for it, if such is not the case he will let him go for sure and replace him with someone not as old as Schwarzer. I do believe Almunia is better than the one above, our defence last season made all the difference. I remember the Barca game at home and if it wasn’t for Almunia we would have nothing to play for in the second leg.
Either way I will cheer him on and get behind him all the way, let’s assess the squad on performances that will show us where we need to improve or where we need to address things. Koscielny needs imrpove but hey give him time I’m convinced he’ll be a great CB.
This is not a sprint fellow gooners it’s a Marathon!
Most of all injury free season please barman! I hope you have that on your menu, right? Otherwise….Holic please have words…
You make a fair point .. But if we assume Scwarzer and Almunia are on par .. that would mean that we have consistency in case of injuries ,illness or whatever two Almunias are better than one. But like you said we are second and we actually have TWO combative away fixtures behind us (Pool have to be counted in and ordinarily a point would be a decent result).
Morning Trev
The corner is the one with me already in it! I’ve got Snir here with me too.
Like all I’m a little disappointed but here’s the god news; Manuel showed a good bit of Jens-like fight against Blackburn. More of this and less Mr Nice Guy please.
The main fault with Manuel is that any mistake seems to rock his confidence. So this is where WE can make a difference to Arsenal’s season – Get behind him. DON”T destroy him for any slight error.
He’s ours until January at least. The pressure can come from having Wznnssy as number 2. Let’s be SUPPORTERS.
A final thought for those angry with AW: Was he responsible for knackering Stockdale and therefore scuppering the deal? Or for Given’s over-inflated wages at Citeh which persuaded him to stay where he was? Or the Chilean miners, the floods in Pakistan?
Truly, his malevolent powers know no end!
Holic….
Any chance for a song to cheer on our Munia?
He could do with it Arthur. Forgive my mentioning another blog ‘holic but I’ve just finished reading a very well written piece on Vital Arsenal about the (at times unjustifiable vitriol) abuse directed at Almunia.
Sure, there are aspects of his game that could do with improvement (the mental part in as much as anything seems to play a big part) but I’m convinced he is a better keeper than often given credit.
Good Blog `Holic,
I agree, would have been nice to have a shiny new keeper, but MS was not the best option. I wonder what went on behind closed doors.
Time to spend today making my twitter list less “bile fuelled” some people forget too soon the days before Wenger.
Time to get behind our team http://www.rantingmad.com/shine
@Catalan : AW may not be the blame for Stockdale’s injury but AW is totally to blame for the mess we’re in right now he only had the whole summer to make a replacement in the GK department and only seemed to go for one target he put all his eggs in one basket and it didn’t pay off. Was MS the only goalkeeper out there fit to be our number 1? No there a lorry load better than our lot. Any dog on the street will tell you that a great goalkeeper in the course of a title winning season is worth 12-15 points and a good goalkeeper is worth 3-5 points and it’s not a title winning season.
I feel sorry for Almunia the way he was treated in all of this and if anybody is under the illusion that everything was rosey behind the scenes just take a look at the way he left the pitch last saturday I was there and everybody was convinced it was goodbye. He even thought the game was up.
Alas, as a Gooner I’ll shrug this off and wholeheartly get behind our number 1 hoping and praying that the mistakes don’t happen, on his day he is as good as MS but can he do that consistantly?? I will also be praying that he doesn’t get injured cause if he does and flappy takes over then we are f***ed for sure.
Pint of Guinness my good sir!
@Clockend
Fair point, but I suspect that the deal was so far down the road, and at the point that it was virtually a done thing (judging by MS’s remarks), that once the injury happened it was too late.
As you say – we’ll get behind him and cheer him on. Everyone mentions Ibra’s goal for Barca, but they seem to have forgotten the 5 or 6 incredible saves before that. He has the talent, he needs more belief. We can help.
‘Wenger has won the annual -who can spend least on the team competition hands down.’
Nah, Portsmouth won that one!
Us gooners need to get behind Manuel, he’s the number one. MS was never that much better than him, and it’s irrelevant anyway as the window is closed and, I repeat, (as if you all needed reminding) Manuel is Arsenal’s No.1 keeper. So cheer him on.
Also, people saying that AW came out and unsettled MS: I’d like to see some evidence of that, so long as your evidence isn’t Mark Hughes coming out with it… Nobody thinks that Cesc wouldn’t have been unsettled by a Barca bid this summer, even if it was kept secret. What we all objected to was Xavi’s “Cesc’s Barca DNA” routine, and Pique & Iniesta’s reporting of his private conversations across the media. And the stupid shirt stunt. So of course MS was unsettled, but that bit of it is just life, I’m afraid. If that had been all Barca had done, there’d be no complaints from me.
But get behind Manuel, and it might just inspire him. Fuck it, chant Fabianski’s name too, he’s said on Arsenal.com that he’d love to hear that. If he’s in goal for use due to an injury to Manuel or whatever, NOTHING IS ACHIEVED by boos or the “ironic” cheers when he makes a simple catch. If we are annoyed, it is because we want Arsenal to do well, right? So keep wanting that! Try to make it happen!
Mills-N7
You got that one spot on I couldn’t agree more with you! Lets get behind our Spaniard and our Jam Roll Pole π
I believe it was Fulham who went public first regarding Schwarzer. After that it was the media all the way. Arsenal conducted themselves as they always do. Their transfer spokesperson has the easiest job in town. “No Comment”.
I support Almunia.
Don,
Thats all well and good but Wengers the one thats undermined him big time not the fans,
Its not the fans who made him sit out the end of last season with a mystery wrist injury (No jokes) and Its not the fans that said less than 3 weeks ago Arsenal havent got a number 1 and its not the fans that have been sniffing around Schwarzer for the best part of a year, If Almunias confidence is battered look at the Manager not the fanbase,
You have to ask the question: “Do these people ACTUALLY want success”? If they do they they will get behind and stay behind our entire squad.
Pre-selecting scapegoats for future failures will only encourage failure.
To do your best, as a fan, to encourage success then pick them up when they’re down and love them when they’re winning. It’s not complicated.
Last time I watched Schwarzer at the Emirates I seem to recall he couldn’t even sort out a simple backpass and practically gave Arshavin the ball for the first goal in a 4 nil drubbing. That was just 4 months ago. He’s hardly the answer. Manuel’s our man.
@ Arthur 88
Elvis came to me in a dream last night (too much cheese) and offered up a little reworking of his song:
Maybe we didn’t love you, quite as well as we could have,
Maybe we didn’t cheer you, quite as often as we should have,
If we made you feel second best, we’re so sorry – we were wrong,
You are our number one, You are our number one,
Man-ny, tell us that your blonde hair isn’t dyed,
Man-ny, a clean sheet and we’ll be satisfied…satisfied.
repeat repeat etc etc.
Apologies in advance!
academic q…. whats wrong with timo hildebrand? doesnt he hold a bundesliga record for clean sheet minutes or something? and apparently hes a free agent… there is the fact that his last stint wasnt with a “big” club, but we picked almunia from celta vigo… and he kept getting loaned out to lower division spanish clubs even there.
i dont think almunia’s bad and im quite willing to get behind him, but if wenger WAS looking around, what about this guy?
wow we are two games into the season and Arsenal are a club in crisis. We have a better looking defense this time round. We are looking good for the season.
I like it Catalan, I like it indeed…. π
—There is something less comforting about this affair though. It is extremely un-Arsenal like to have so publicly courted an individual—
Arsenal didn’t make ANY public statements or announcements rearding Schwarzer, it all came from Fulham and that supersized twat Mark Hughes.
One thing people dont seem to understand is that a goalkeeper is only as good as his defence Almunia last season had no front gourd and with our new promissing defenders, we will have a chance of playing with the big boys.Scoring has never been a really concerning issue with us but with the on form theo and a striker who will promise us more minutes on the pitch rather than on the MRI we are for a bettter season than our last one remembering we only needed 4 wins to pick the title.Lets have some faith with the professor yes his that good.
I to be honest did NOT want schwatzer to replace Almunia as I think Almunia is a good keeper and if u look at how many times vandersar and the rest mess up each year Almunia is as good as anyone he does the job well…… I wanted schwatzer to keep that frikken MUPPET flapianski further away from first team football.
But looking back at the blackpool game and the header they had after we just scored when CLYCHY was 100% at fault and again against blackburn I dont care who we have in goals if he doesnt get his finger out and wake up we will need all 4 keepers in goal at the same time.
Hope AW plays gibbs more he has far more situational awareness.
BUT we have what we have and its time to get behind the arsenal lets just hope AW sees clychy is going backwards and has a word in his ear one more mess up gibbs gets your place.
@ML Hooper and 433.
I have two words for ya; George Woods.
—-
The time for speculation and what ifs is over, we have what we have and it’s time to get behind the team.
Come on you rip roaring gunners!
Best wishes to you and yours ‘holic sir.
@ chippy 96
I honestly don’t think Wenger has been anything other than loyally supportive of Almunia. Other managers would have long since run out of patience with the fella…..especially while his performances were suffering.
Personally I think Almunia plays better when he knows there is natural competition for his jersey so I think Wengers comments of the last 3 weeks (in refusing to confirm who was No1) was spot on.
So far, Almunia has been a better goalkeeper for it.
don,
We will have to agree to disagree on that one then as i think hes been treated pretty poorly and had the confidence knocked out of him to such an extent he was saying his farewells after Blackburn and looked totally dejected after a pretty solid display,
As you say lets hope the pressure works and he becomes the first line of a solid defence π
http://desigunner.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/am-i-the-only-one-not-concerned-about-the-goalkeeper/
Some very good points.
The goalkeeping issue will be fine, our season counts on Catalan and Trev anyway!
Blimey – no pressure then!
Ol Twitchy lost it a bit;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJBsI7RAuvk&feature=youtu.be
I wonder what he would of done if they called him a lot worse? (I’m sure we can all think of a few names)
Sorry holic, but lord furher wenger identifies his targets &does the negotiations. That’s one of our club’s problems
@UK: So what do you think Ivan Gazidis does then? Wenger is the manager, he manages the team. This is his remit, and whilst at one point in time he did do more than simply manage the side that is no longer the case as I understand it.
Grand post ‘holic. Bit dissapointed we didn’t land a new No1 but I can live with it, afterall we’ve done some pretty good business in the window anyway in reshaping the defence and signing the impressive and hard-working Chamakh. For the time being atleast, it’s time to get behind Manu and try to give the guy a boost rather than overanalyse every mistake that he makes. No doubt the media will do enough of that, no need for Arsenal fans to do the same.
I’ll take a nice cold Staropramen please and keep ’em coming!
@ 110 chippy.
I see your point to an extent. Nice doing disagreeing with ya buddy. We’re all fans after the same thing.
Whatever water has passed under the bridge, let’s look ahead to a successful season.
I’ll have a San Miguel from the bar and whatever you’re having chap.
On a side note, does anyone here ever read Le Grove? My word they are a happy go lucky set of Arsenal fans!!!
Much prefer the beverages on offer Chez Holic, I have to say. Can you recommend a tipple to go with Damson jam and peanut butter on toast? Nothing in the fridge, the missus is out and I can’t be arsed to head outside! Sad really…
holic, the issue isn’t Schwarzer or Given (neither of whom are really impressive) – it’s the way AW went about addressing what is our weakest position and what is such a crucial position for any trophy-chasing team. It beggars belief. We’ve just gone thru a hell of a summer dealing with a want-a-way captain — a world cup and Euros winner, ffs! A player wanted by one of Europe’s biggest clubs. One of the game’s best creative midfielders. He asked to leave. We managed to keep him as he did not want to force a move, since he loves the club.
You’d think that AW would go all out to resolve the keeper issue. But he refused to spend the needed cash, bidding pathetic amounts of Eduardo (far better than MS, Given or Almunia), not willing to spend money that he does have for a very important position. That’s the issue. Esp. after having publicly unsettled our keepers. It’s a shambles. Ferguson and Mourinho would never treat the keeper position with such complacency and shabbiness the way our manager does.
We don’t always get what we want
Just a quick stop at this bar before venturing out into the Cretan night!
I wanted a new keeper, but it was far, far more important that we signed another central defender which we did in the form of Squillaci, and if he is half as good as Wenger seems to think he is, we’ll be fine. Almunia is not the greatest keeper in the world but when people are going an about him being the worst in the Premier League things have gone completely out of hand. Scott Carson, for one, is even worse than Fabianski, in my opinion.
And besides, maybe Almunia can find his feet again – he was really, really good v Blackburn and showed a determination that I don’t think I saw for all of last season. Whoever is in goal for us now we will have until at least January, so let’s give him our full support.
Essex,
Damson jam, peanut butter, toast. That’s a challenge. Fruit theme may yield the answer. An inexpensive calvados would rinse the peanut butter from the tongue.
Or spend a few bob more on an Asbach brandy.
Where else would you get such helpful and practical advice? π
Each year the witchhunters identify their target and relentlessly try to bury him. Recently we had Eboue and Bendtner, and now it is Almunia. I’d wager a fiver it will be somebody else quite soon.
Notlob is a no-go now, chums
Cant believe this! And that means West Brom’s a non-starter as well! C’est la guerre.
Holic, Isn’t life too short to drink inexpensive calvados, even when served with peanut butter and toast?
Have you tasted Calvados, bt8bbnn?
One of God’s little pleasures reserved for rare but delightful moments.
Ah Holic – calvados – good shout!
If only I hadn’t been dispatched to the supermarket two weekends ago to buy said tipple to go into a nice tarte tatin.
If only I hadn’t balked at the price and purchased Asda own brand smart price brandy instead (in a plastic bottle no less).
Only true disaster would tempt me to actually drink the rest of it, or extreme stress. If we don’t sign a keeper I may well be driven to it…
Guys can you believe Hleb has gone to Birmingham? What a complete dumb arse!
I thought he didn’t like teh English weather…
‘Holic, Calvados in a non-plastic bottle is indeed in my liquor cabinet but I’m not sure I believe Essexpieboy gets his brandy in a plastic bottle. Must be at quite a smart price if so. What brand Calvados do you suggest?
Arthur, Hleb to Birmingham and VDV to Spurs quite surprising but I am half expecting to see these two things happen: Hleb to shoot and score against us from distance (something he never would have attempted when with us), and VDV to break his compatriot RVP’s legs based on his thuggery in the World Cup Final.
BT8BBNT – it was Β£7 for a 50cl bottle. Calvados was Β£17. It was a horribly false economy, but would have made for an expensive dessert. Genuinely in a plastic bottle, like the ones you get beer in at footy grounds. Genuinely not very nice (I just tried a sip out of morbid curiosity)!
behind the 8 ball but not nasri
You’re spot on about Hleb, he could never shoot from a distance for us, I remember how I use to shout at him:
Shoot…Shoooooot…..Shooooooot!!!!
ArthurTheGooner,
I remember shouting that at a lot of our players. Seems we have greatly improved in that department.
Holloway2Holland @ 108 – I’ve got 4 words for you – Rami Shabaan, Willie Warmuz. Not sure if that’s going to make you feel better or worse.
Catalan @ 100 – clever stuff. It would have to make him feel better, but as someone already commented on here, there are those who struggle with ‘Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal . . . ‘, but I will do my best at the Bolton game.
I’m in Catalonia from Friday, but the French bit up near Perpignan, otherwise we could have planned our attack on the medical room.
Arthur @ 127 – Hleb will never play for Birmingham. At the first sight of Spaghetti Junction he’ll have a fit and run all the way back to Barcelona or Stuttgart or wherever he plays these days.
What a career move that was!
Still, Birmingham is quite the peaceful hamlet compared to stressful, noisy London.
Essexpieboy, Here’s to false economy and morbid curiosity!
Holic,
A first time poster but I think would like to be come a semi-regular drinker at his fine establishment. Have been an Arsenal man for more than 40 years but based here in Oz have never seen them live. Your posts bring Highbury and the Emirates to life so vividly (so much more so than the Big Match did back in the late 60’s/early 70’s on a fuzzy black and white TV).
Can I venture to a slightly different topic in this international week and ask whether or not we will actually field a team dominated by kids in the Carling Cup. When I look at our squad we seem to have more depth this year. I thought a Carling team might look a little like this:
Szczesny
Eastmond, Squillaci, Djourou, Gibbs
Wilshere, Denilson, Rosicky
Eboue, JET, Vela
Unless we get some injuries during the international break (a virtual certainty I know) the boys above will be very hungry for game time come the Carling Cup.
It’s lunch time here, could I have an ice cold Peroni Leggeria please?
That should have been Armstrong!
Armstrong, I’d love to see a team that strong but it looks like about two blooded players too many based on the big man’s policy of the CC being for blooding young upcomers.
@ 136 GAwmi69
I like it. Bearing in mind we face the Spuds in the next round I wonder whether Wenger’s desire to get a result might be a little stronger than normal? Yes he’s pretty single minded but I don’t fancy a repeat of the mauling we had when we last met in said competition. And surely neither does Wenger??
@ Trev
Welcome in advance! Business or pleasure? There are some fantastic restaurants in that area.
Still around 30c during the days here, but a little cooler and more comfortable at night. Cold beer helps the temperature regulation, I find!
Meeting one of the Barca docs next week to have my very own groin scan. Phase one of infiltration operation begins!
does this mean szczesny is going out on loan? can’t seem to find his name in the squad list.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/sep/01/premier-league-squad-lists
49 Unbeaten read this:
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/arsenal-submit-their-premier-league-squad
thanks arthur. that was a relief.
cheers!
Welcome George Armstong won me in 69,
What a great name.
Ta Holic.
It’s late at night here now, better make mine a large glass of your finest red please and do have one yourself.
Regarding Alex Hleb wasn’t it Arseblogger who dubbed him Dribbly McNoScore?
Greetings one and all.
Just got back from 3 weeks away and must I am gutted that we have not brought anyone in. I think the way the whole Schwarzer thing has been handled has been shocking. It is so amatuer it is beyond belief. And what must Almunia think now? I think it is very crass indeed. Click on the link below for an article by John Cross. It says almost everyhthing I want to. This is a big big season for us. If we do not win anyting this year then AW will have some massive questions to answer.
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/john-cross/John-Cross-column-The-failure-to-sign-Fulham-keeper-Mark-Schwarzer-will-cost-Arsenal-dear-and-they-only-have-themselves-to-blame-article569871.html
@ 108 Holloway2Holland – I never saw George Woods at work. I take it he was prone to the odd clanger?
I`m just now reading all the reactions to no Schwarzer as on Friday my router decided to reset itself, and the guy I got in had to get in touch with my service provider. Holic, you`re right, lets not go overboard about not getting Schwarzer in, although I`m convinced an offer of Β£4k before Hodgson left (overpriced or not), would have got him. Almunia it is, and he should get our unqualified support, while those morons talking of barracking him should save it for Flappy should Almunia break a finger! I fully expect Szczesny to go out on loan next week, although I would rather it were Mannone, and for AW to tell the two poles to prove to him who should be the back-up keeper.
An article in the Mirror? So somewhere just below toilet paper in the great scheme of things then.
I think a new keeper but would have been very good, and Almunia does have whacking great flaws at times, but if we don’t win anything this season, I think the reasons will amount to more than just not having Mark bloody Schwarzer in the team.