Another Guest post from @The_Beck_
There’s something special about this week, I’ve wanted to write about it all summer, yet when it came, I felt weirdly empty and lost for words. I’ve struggled to come to terms with what happened last week, even though I was probably one of the few who truly believed something like that or more would happen. I’m talking about our biggest record breaking signing, ever, Mesut Ozil.
See for me, I’ve long loved Ozil’s new manager, his name is Arsene Wenger, he’s the greatest manager Arsenal has had to this day and I doubt many will top his tenure. It’s a bit of a cliché to say that Ozil came at the best time, it is hard to say when that time is, but it certainly helped the club, the fans and the manager.
Yet when Ozil was announced, I wanted to go around and laugh at those who doubted it would happen, doubted Arsene, doubted Gazidis and Law (almost everybody), those who talked about them all summer like they have no place at the club, like your average Twitter user somehow knew more, your average Arsenal blogger had all the answers and all the right questions with it too.
But I didn’t do it, I had 100’s of Tweets favorited, 100’s of mates to text, Facebook friends who I’m sure would defriend me after a little online Ozil party. I just thought to myself, we’ve done it, this is great, this is great for our future and no one can take that away from us and all I want to do is celebrate.
All year I’ve defended players he’s defended, whenever I’ve gone to a game, I’ve never booed or abused a player, I’m always the first to defend a player who I believe has quality but is not finding form, the likes of Kos and Ramsey and even Gervinho. I also defend those who have never quite made it at our football club, even if secretly I think they are not a very good player (sort of like AW does).
People truly believe I act or think the way I do because I want to be some kind of super fan? They don’t think I want to look out for the club, its players, staff and fans?
95% of my thoughts are Arsenal and Politics and Sex and Love, the other 5% is just food.
I want the best for us; I want the best for the club, the fans and of course the world (a world where Arsenal is winning, until we’re sick of winning).
For me the best supporter, the best fan of the club is Arsene Wenger, he’s a model supporter, it’d be pretty difficult for me to be a better supporter than he is.
He looks after young players, nurtures them, makes them better, keeps faith in them after injuries, despite our fans wanting them sold, and even when they turn their back on him and leave (Robin), he still continues to do the same for other players (Ramsey/Diaby). The man embarrasses my level of support for my club.
I don’t want to be some kind of supporter police, telling people what they are wrong about, that they are carrying on ideas that do not match reality nor rational thought. It’s not my job either to look out for the club, its players, staff or fans, I am just one person, I have a few that think like me. But making sarcastic quips at people for what they think and why they think it, I do it because I love the club, I love the manager and I love a lot of the fans I interact with.
And I also do it because I see that people are adamant that they love the club, but they don’t show it, is it some kind of secret love where you only drink Peroni and shout at the t.v.? I don’t think that’s love, I think these people fell in love with a quick shag and didn’t realize who they really were and now constantly want them to change. You can always tell how much someone loves something or a person, by how often they put themselves or their thoughts or their feelings before it, or before that person. Love is not a competition, it is just love.
And just like I enjoy being friends with faithful lovers, I enjoy being friends with faithful Arsenal supporters, who stay true to their love. I enjoy questioning things, questioning them until I get an answer that satisfies my rationale, my mind, I don’t enjoy condemning situations or people. Of course, people do not like being told what to do or how to think, this is self-evident in many situations, they want to somehow get there themselves, or to think they got there themselves.
But this week, it changed something in me; it made me not want to tell people what to think or why they were wrong, I didn’t need to, perhaps I never did. Our manager did it for me in a way. All year we’ve had people speculating about what Mr Wenger is like, that he would never spend, that he only seeks cheap solutions to expensive problems. That he’s done finding gems, that he’s a relative panic buyer and that he doesn’t have any plans anymore.
But every year he surprises, every year he answers critics, piece by piece the British media try to make him out to seem clueless, pundits, bloggers and the odd bloke at the pub, predicting his demise, predicting it’s his final season, when the likelihood is that he’d be signing a new contract (I’m certain he will) and finally have a fair crack at the title, that I don’t think he’s had since 2004 and we were invincible.
The worst part is, when he proves a certain group wrong, or when our club prove others wrong, they use it for fuel, not to apologise for their irrational conclusion, but to further insult, attack, misinform and panic others and like the sheep they are, they follow.
I wonder what Usmanov has up his sleeve now; it’s probably drenched in pharmaceutical sweat and oil.
This is not to say he doesn’t make mistakes (it’s obvious he makes them, every manager makes them), this is not to say he is the definition of perfection, I just believe, due to the evidence presented towards me, year after year, we are far better off with him, than without.
It was an emotional game (Spurs), Monday was an emotional day, but the man is paid to keep it under pressure and he does, he always does, he always keeps calm when others are panicking, you see it every match and every window, he has the edge, even if he doesn’t always get the targets he wanted.
I’d say every one needed to be reminded that he could still do that, that Arsenal could still do that, but if he hadn’t, for many, this would be their wish for him to leave.
But in a window, filled with misinformation and mistrust and greed, I am still forever impressed that they pulled it off. And even more impressed with the targets we’ve been after all summer and the targets we will be in January and next summer. We can be confident in our proceedings and our pursuits, we are a far attractive club with Ozil, but we were with Cazorla, as we were with Robin and Cesc and Henry and so on. We’ve always been an attractive club with a manager that romances players to sign contracts for us and he does it well.
The thing that annoyed me the most this week is this: Arsenal bought Ozil through the self-sustainable model. No hand-outs, no billionaire showing off what he can do for the club, silent Stan was silent and he will continue to be as the value of our club rises, without his help, without anyone’s help but our own revenue.
But no one, no one talked about this, it wasn’t covered anywhere, it wasn’t celebrated in the news, it should be celebrated by us. They should be lauding us.
They lauded Dortmund all last year (for good reasons), who struggled to keep Gotze and look like they’d struggle to keep Lewandowski, let alone Reus and Gundogan (who we’ve been interested in for a while).
We’ve done something amazing and will continue to make amazing purchases at a time 2-3 of our in domestic rivals have more spending power than we do. We will catch up and we will do it without help or as I like to call it, cheating.
This is a fantastic achievement, both in business terms and in football terms. We should be proud, I hope most of you are.
I don’t think you can be a super supporter, I think if you are true to your club and its values, you will just enjoy being a supporter a lot more.
I love Arsenal so much more because of Arsene Wenger and I love Arsene Wenger so much more because of Arsenal.
Positively Arsenal 
“The FA already have enough information to know what to do.
Where there is not a will the way will be barred.”
Easier to ‘blame the foreigner’ to excuse their incompetence and unwillingness to invest in grass roots. To pan for gold you have to be prepared to sift through an awful lot of dirt. There are no shortcuts.
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@ ZP
Forgot to say – thanks
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Yah, more commissions is what’s needed. Uraggggg. They have been doing this for going on two decades that I know of. Talk,talk,talk.
The road is clear as to what needs to be done they just choose not to embark on it. We will be having they same conversion in a few years again. If you can’t come up with your own formula,take the best example out there and try to emulate. Just do it and stop blaming those blameless in the process. Bloody technocrats.
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Anicoll, the solution is not simple, but if the only thing the football authorities do is point fingers, then nothing will get done.
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WOW FINSBURY
that compilation there gets me so horney. Is that so wrong?
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this article is worth reading over and over again and so I have. If only every fan not just of ARSENAL but of all clubs was made to read it, If only the british press and the F.A were made to read it. Maybe then they would realise why a club that has won nothing for eight years can pack a stadium, keep its manager and why England are shit.
All the home nations shouldn’t need enquires to find out why they are lagging behind in world football just to wake up and give credit to a genius and stop encouraging the football neanderthals.
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Cool
FORBES MAGAZINE rating of top ten most valuable clubs in the world.
In forth place THE ARSENAL.
after rm, manure & barfa.
What more can one ask for. The new golden era is here. We shall take great Britain and then Europe by storm.
A grand hurricane. Enjoy the party.
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what is wrong in being a super fan? if we all are super fan, we will never hear any boos around the emirate against our team, players or the manager. yes super fan i want to be!
i’m sure arsene will be difficult to replace, let alone matched. he has a name that sounds like the club’s. he was born to manage arsenal. whoever will match his record must build a new stadium, world class training facility, world class medical facilities, qualify for cl every season and most importantly, reject every advances from big spender like madrid, psg and monaco to remain loyal to the club. i didnt mention going through the season unbeaten because i think you need luck to do that.
as for the fa and greg dyke,
the english people have to change their value system as regads football and players if they want to get better. most of the countries they use as case study value things differently. for instance, english value pace and power over technic. we often hear shoooooot!!!!!!!! when a technically gifted teams or players get anywhere around 40.yard of the goal. you dont hear this in other leagues. goal of the season, of the week or the month are usually long range shots from anybody even a goalkeeper. players like messi is not valued in england. you will hear them saying he needs to gym up and add more muscle.
the team of the week is usually players that got on the score sheet. best defender is the one that scored from a corner kick. the best midfilder is the one that got one or two goals. not the one who controlled the midfield. it is not so in brazil, spain or germany.
value is what they need to change.
can you imagine bale was voted the best player in the league and cazorla was not even included in the team of the season!
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George, I got the impression Amy was backing towards the ropes on ClockEnd but Adrian would not let you finish her off by the end of the round ? She did not engage with the whipping up hysteria accusation
Interesting one on the FA and U10s football – an experiment from start of this season at goal kicks the opposition have to retreat to half way line to allow side in possession opportunity to control ball and build the the back.
And the first person who says ‘ but Bobby Moore never needed that’ can stand in the corner
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Yes anicoll5 ,I knew what she would say and had the gun loaded ,but they cut me off.Adrian has contacted me and apologised,not his fault
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@anicoll at 10:14 am
I felt that Amy did not answer the question at all. She merely offered the same old speculation about Arsene’s and Arsenal FC’s dithering, indecisiveness and overall poor performance in transfer market. She did not suggest that she had ‘inside information’ informing her opinion. Her piece in the Guardian was much the same, just speculation.
Whilst, the media may not be maliciously targeting Arsenal with negative news the need to attract readers and therefore income has the appearance a similar overall effect. Arsenal and Arsene are great value for money.
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Taken from someone on facebook:
‘You hear about the Gervinho – Lamela- Bale – Ozil
thing, but what people don’t realize is
that this shit
was started by Arsenal long back. Arsenal
sold Andre Santos to
Gremio, then Gremio sold Rafael
Marques to
Atletico Mineiro, then Bernard went
to Shaktar,
who sold Mkhtariyan to Dortmund,
who sold Gotze
to Bayern, who sold Gomez to
Fiorentina, who sold
Ljajic to Roma, who sold Lamela to
Spurs, who
sold Bale to Madrid who sold Ozil to
ARSENAL!!
Hahaha. Awesome.
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Yes Layksite, in large part absence of understanding and appreciation for Arsenal arises in the first place from the English “idea” of football, and in smaller doses from an old but deep-seated prejudice about the continental “idea” of football. It manifests in different ways, types of players and styles, tactics, “worthy” attributes and so on.
English have loved the old-fashioned “Captain Courageous” centre-forward, physical, great shot, superb header, fox-in-the-box-poacher, fast, who would turn a game around with one dazzling display of bravado. Next to the CF must be the “nuanced” player, typical # 10, keeping the ball, harassing, weaving passes to flanks, or curling one in from afar now and then. On one flank at least, must be the “dribbler”, cunning, maybe fast, able to beat 2 defenders and place a pinpoint cross onto the head of the CF! And of course, the combative midfield, winning balls, closing space, running hard and capable of a brilliant 40 metre pass. It’s been quite hard for English teams to adapt from 4-4-2 culture of football, rigid about roles and positions, built around “individualism”, and much more physical, to modern continental fluidity of “the team” and the variation of 4-3-3s or our 4-2-3-1.
British media have often celebrated players of these archetypes, ones you tend to remember from much media adoration, and yes they were very good, ignoring those that do not “fit” the role; but very few English bred players made it in Europe.
In some measure, censure of “trophy-less” Arsenal has had to do with tacit criticism of continental football in general, a jingoistic, misplaced idea that British football and its traditions must be “better” (misplaced not in the sense that it is worse, but that it must be victorious, even when not). Wenger has adapted “continental” Arsenal to the English game very well in my view, taken on board some sense of English traditions, none more so than speed and counter-attack; but when it comes to artillery duels of long balls, crosses and English heading, we are surely not amongst the best in England. On the other hand, every top team in the EPL has improved in their passing possession game since Wenger’s first Arsenal appeared, and all have adopted elements of continental football that their coaches are more comfortable with, and alongside, a huge, historic influx of players from Europe, Latin America and Africa continues. The other day I read somewhere that every goal in the EPL on that day was scored by a foreign player!
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I fear Adrian’s role is to keep it light and polite and Amy politely wittered about possible indecision during the window at the club, but a happy outcome eventally. I was looking forward to George denouncing Ms Lawrence as a disciple of Satan and the Whore of Babylon – I could hear it was on the tip of his tongue.
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It’s like opening a window…
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No sign of Marica at the .com, but if he is a free agent I think the transfer deadline does not matter. (Why we would bother with him instead of giving some lads in the reserve a chance is beyond me). We still only have 7 defenders in the first team, ok Flamini or Arteta, might do as emergency CB and even Ramsey or Bellerin can cover FB, but it is still a worry, if more injuries occur. We need TV5 to recover soon.
I’m only quibbling because after this international break we are into a long tempo of 2 games a week.
Still it’s one tiny cloud on an otherwise sunny blue sky. To be honest I don’t think there was a player on the summer market that would have slotted in as 4th choice at Arsenal, it’s a difficult position to sell to a really good player – especially if they are looking for international selection, that’s why Johann is at Hamburg.
As the old song goes: ‘the future’s so bright I’ve gotta wear shades’
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@ dc
We don’t have anyone in the reserves with experience. Except Bendtner, and it’s probably a good idea to keep him on his toes with a bit of competition. And he has been injured and is rusty.
Akpom and co will get opportunities in the U21 competitions which appear to be proliferating.
@ anicoll5 September 10, 2013 at 1:16 pm
ha ha
I look forward to listening to the podcast soon – looking forward to hearing PG give AL what for.
@ ZimPaul September 10, 2013 at 1:06 pm
Agree with so much of that. There’s a reason why football is the most cliche-ridden sport I know of and that is because of the ossified thinking which goes with it.
Also, and I will probably get stick for saying this, but the English game in England has been harmed in some ways by the working class mentality with which it is imbued. Inherently conservative, prioritising the values and qualities you list, thinking short-term where money is concerned – if you are living hand to mouth, short-term is the only option. There are survival reasons for that way of thinking when people are part of an underclass, but that mentality doesn’t always work when translated into football and certainly doesn’t help where football development and building for the future is concerned. Furthermore, I wonder if the fear of being ridiculed for poverty partly plays into the craving for big-money signings. Wealthy upper class people are not afraid to get a bargain, or buy something second hand as long as it’s quality, poor people fear the humiliation of others knowing/thinking that that is all they can afford. And if they make it big, they think it’s important to show off their wealth.
(Retreats behind iron fence)
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I know Bendtner is not a reserve, but you get my drift, I hope.
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ZimPaul,
Do you remember when Moyes last can to the Ems with Everton and proceeded to kick the shit out of us for a very unfair 0-0 draw? (If we got that goal, we probably would have been up runners up for the season).
He then was boasting on the TV after the match that Everton played proper ‘British’ football and Arsenal were a bunch of soft southern pansies if they didn’t like it. This was 2013, not 1973 for fucks sake….AND did the British media care one jot that the heir apparent to Britain’s most marketed football franchise was talking retro bollix that Don Revie would have been too embarrassed to spew forth, about the quality of EPL football??
No, not at all – it’s only Arsenal and a good kicking is what those foreign johnnies fancy dan tippy tippy lightweights need. But now they realise that English teams get rings run around them in Europe by foreign johnnies all the time, and Mike Dean can’t select all the refs. Their solution? Get rid of the foreign johnnies.
Jeez, England will soon become as obsolete as Scotland at competing for major honours.
My only anger about this state of stupidity in the FA (not being English), is it that this DOES affect Arsenal, because there are a high portion of UEFA coefficient points given to each club based on national team performance, (which I think is blatantly unfair on the smaller countries, but that’s by the by). It is therfore in Arsenal’s interest to have a strong English team, even it is just to get the extra points each year to keep us as a top seed in UCL draws.
It’s a pity Chavski and City aren’t pulling their weigh and have a few more decent British based players, if the finger of blame for a dearth of English players at the top level is to be pointed, it’s over there.
And any comments at all in the British press about AVB’s clear out of the old guard of hard working ‘tommy adkins’ cart horses at the spuds? He’s had noting but plaudits for doing it.
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Fungunner,
You have a point about the social thinking of pikey class vs lower middle class in the UK. (I will leave out what was once the real working class from this debate, Thatcher killed them off).
It’s something Jamie Oliver noticed recently – the council house family with the huge plasma tv (sky sports of course) but eating shit takeaway food which costs more than home cooked food. You see more middle class folks at the discount supermarkets nowadays but buying the better quality foodstuffs to cook up at home. I’d personally recommend the Lidl Parmesan.
How often have we all seen the same old joke photo of Wenger with the cheap shopping bags on the Internet? It’s only a joke to some because of the perception by many that Arsene and by association Arsenal should not be buying cheap.
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Fungunner,
Yes, we have nobody in the reserves with much experience, ( isn’t that always a catch 22 for youngsters?) pity about NextGen and all that. My thinking is that Wenger was under massive pressure from the board and evan from Gazidis to deliver results last season – we were sending out very strong teams in the the domestic cups, and we were forced by circumstances to play the strongest team possible week after week, we only ensured last 16 of the UCL on matchday 6 and there was no respite at all in the league fixtures in the second half of the season. We had to haul back in the spuds, which we did, again and again. And thank the Dennis that Tomas Rosicky was fighting fit and up for it!
Our league cup game is away to West Brom (no pushover there) sandwiched in between the Orcs and Swansea. Difficult to see Wenger being able to call up too many kids any time soon.
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Fun, and DoubleCan.
It seems to me that the role of AST (or any supporters group that gives itself a name seemingly “representative” of supporters) is to be well-informed enough itself to raise all-round appreciation of modern football, and of Arsenal, amongst Arsenal fan-hood; a supporters trust that illuminates (rather than lectures) about issues affecting Arsenal, the way the club is being run and how it responded to challenges (or not). One issue is the changing tactical game in England/EPL away from 70s/80s/90s roots, still trumpeted by media and pundits, and the pivotal part played by Arsenal in football progress, in England and beyond. More-so, that it is Arsenal that ironically now has a British “spine” (how the pundits love that word) playing an advanced style of continental (passing/possession/attacking) football.
I take the point about working-class conservatism in culture and values, including football, although I wonder whether this is also just British media doing the dumbing down. Working class pride and appreciation of progress (and cultural innovation) is also a well known working class virtue, or maybe I am just a hopeless romantic.
A few years back, I was excited to think I would discover Arsenal fans who would be more knowledgeable, more loyal, more worldly. And to a degree it was true. But in time, I was disappointed that the narrative was often just re-heated left overs of the same on umpteen forgettable sites. YW’s excellent posts aside. I don’t mean to put ACLF down, just stating how it is, and ACLF is one of the better/best out there.
But with Arsenal football pedigree acknowledged by the best in Europe and beyond you would think worldly football knowledge would permeate to the majority of fans, and to be an Arsenal supporter would be synonymous with being “a football fundi”.
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Cor that is a good question Fun – for what it is worth there is no evidence I can see that the working class mentality, assuming you mean the white working class in itself, is responsible for the widespread hysteria that erupts during every transfer window and the excruciating focus on ££££ among fans in modern football.
I see a lot of people, and there are many of yer middle class capitalist lackeys on their blogs and message boards, swept along by the 24/7 media frenzy, with the message banged home hour after hour/ day after day that the transfer window, that SPENDING BIG, is absolutely crucial, key, unavoidable.
It does not matter that most of the stories are utter bollocks (and the people who produce them know that, and the people who receive the stories know it) the message is clear – money matters – it is key – it is not just the best way to do things but the only way.
Like Zim I am more inclined to see it is manipulation by the media, or more accurately may be those who own the media
The small picture is the self feeding frenzy collects clicks, viewers and sells papers
The bigger picture is it emphasises to people what is important, indeed the only thing that is important
Way above my pay grade
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What the hell are
‘Statement of intent’?
‘Sending a message’?
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ZIMPAUL
great post as always. I have a theory regarding this British spin we talk about. I don’t Think it came about by chance alone and feel there was a concerted effort towards this ” British spin ” by AW. I wonder if you concur that AW is looking for a bit more support and more protection on the field for ARSENAL players in general by having four to five gunners in the first team for the national side. Granted it hasn’t manifested itself just yet and our players are being targeted same as before ( especially JW ) but I think the memo will get to the referees association before long and finally we can enjoy a level playing field this year.
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Clubs that imagine the only way to deal with Arsenal is hack them soundly them around the knees and ankles all day long, while lobbing long balls into the box in the general direction of 6 foot players on the chance of a pinball goal are gradually giving way to tactical solutions. Optimistic I know, but I think this Arsenal is increasingly out-thinking the hackers and forcing the change, including using the long ball itself (Giroud, Theo). A reasonable tactical solution against Arsenal is to slow the game, pass the ball for as long as possible, load 5 in midfield and prevent the Arsenal flanks getting too clever; and force Arsenal to pry them open through the middle through rows of buses. It’s kind of legitimate tactically, it’s still football even if not too attractive (but it can be with the right attitude), and if Arsenal can’t find a way through, OK.
Then there are those who genuinely attempt to play football, fast counter-attacking and take the game to Arsenal, for periods they may outplay Arsenal to a degree, and create chances. I applaud them.
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Anicoll,
It also should include the webinet as part on the media nowadays.
A lot of blogs, supposed to be Gooner, and even supposed to be fence sitting neutral have been in Anti Wenger overdrive for the last 3 or more years.
That shit at the AST has been feathering his bed over at the small bit of woodland. That’s clearly a WOB at ANY COST site. I’d say that is colours nailed to the mast. The club need to freeze out all prove lagers they were given with immediate effect until they clean up their act – I.e. sack their own board!
Haha the fucking irony, it might even be lost on the fools.
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To those who see Amy Lawrence as anything but a hack, please see the link below:
http://player.arsenal.com/player/4009-the-clock-end-highlights
Her explanation of how the media was not responsible for the bad blood amongst fans is mind blowing.
Pro-Wenger journalist my ass.
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Bootoomee,that was me asking the question of her.
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George, what was your response going to be before you were cut off?
Maybe you could have cited some of her vile words when you called her out.
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Wow, George that was you? Great question! But why didn’t they allow follow up questions or did they edit them off? As I watched, even before I know it was you, I felt like the questioner would have a good follow up that would have exposed her for the fraud that she is.
She is still a hack and I simply cannot understand why some of our fans continue to call her pro-Wenger and then accord her credibility that she clearly never earned or deserve.
Well done man!
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Very nice master GEORGE. a true gunnery sergeant. Covering all fronts…..
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Goonerkam, I think Wenger is committed first and foremost to great football, it’s his default. In that, I would guess he knew from the start I think that ultimately the ambition was to inculcate that type of play with a young generation of English players, as far as possible, and coach them, not buy a team. What players he’s found! It’s not been simple, but in Ox, Jack, Aaron, Theo, Gibbs, increasingly Jenks and potentially amongst the youth, Akpom and others, he’s struck gold. In different ways, he has an incredibly balanced team: youth and mature, English and non-English, tough and elegant.
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“I see a lot of people, and there are many of yer middle class capitalist lackeys on their blogs and message boards, swept along by the 24/7 media frenzy, with the message banged home hour after hour/ day after day that the transfer window, that SPENDING BIG, is absolutely crucial, key, unavoidable.”
Interesting discussion, but I’m not sure that they are ‘middle-class capitalist lackeys’, rather upwardly mobile chavs who’ve come into a bit of money or are living it large on the never never. If they can have all the trappings while up to their neck in debt, they can’t understand why the club won’t follow suit. They think there must be something wrong with you if you believe in old fashioned values like spending only what you earn or what you can afford to pay back.
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The arsenal fan base is vast.
The sun never sets on the Positive Arsenal empire, the discussions here can revolve from Europe to the Americas, over to the Far East, Australia, India, Africa and back around again; and we are just one small grain of sand on the vast shore of the worldwide Arsenal fan base, point is it’s in the interest of the media to generate an industry of arsenal stories for millions and millions of us to be suckered into.
It makes them money, and the first axiom of any news business is that bad news sells, no one buys good news stories.
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Another interesting and probably correct observation Passenal
Whatever ever the socio economic group it is the sheer swivel eyed foaming at the mouth I WANT IT NOW they have in common
Good game in Kiev – not great footballing quality but handbrakes totally off
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Passeral,
Isn’t it amazing that the Guardian, of all papers is in cahoots which that spiel?
Champange Socialists. phahh.
I’d rather our own socialist Champange Wengerball any day.
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So we both think them same except you think it was more chance than design. I think AW changed the face of the spin as a way to reach his results with least body count. At any rate I do hope the officials will try to keep the kicking and hacking to a bear minimum..
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What strikes me about Amy is how completely she misses the point. Arsenal will produce a stunning passage of play, fluid passes by players, dominance unsurpassed or at least at a level not to be seen again too soon, maybe a goal to boot at the end, anyway at least worth noting, and Amy will talk about Arsenal not having invested in a defensive midfield (factually inaccurate), or a keeper’s (arguable) mistake or some such, or how well the other team played for 3 minutes. Playing to the gallery. She’s a bit of a coward, or just a weak journalist.
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Poor Jack,
Caught in the middle of a Steveie G and Frankie ego sandwich.
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Lloris is having a mare for the French tonight.
Ollie hasn’t been too sexy either.
30 mins left in Belerussia
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For the record, I am well aware that there are working class virtues, and that football embodies some of them, but my point was that some virtues and other attitudes are not helpful in developing the game or building for the long term.
@ Bootoomee
“She is still a hack and I simply cannot understand why some of our fans continue to call her pro-Wenger and then accord her credibility that she clearly never earned or deserve.”
You and me both. She doesn’t even have information. At least John Cross and Jeremy Wilson actually have contacts and get scoops. All AL ever writes about is gossip or spin. She does publish the occasional player interview, I suppose, to be fair to her.
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I always fear the second game in an international break. Something bad always happens. Rosicky’s injured, I just hope Theo is ok.
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She is talking absolute bollocks about what went on in the transfer window. She knows nothing.
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I’m gutted to hear about Rosicky’s injury – his energy will be missed on Saturday. A long weary trip to the outer reaches of Sunderland after an energy sapping international break is never an easy proposition. We need a break from the injuries, which have been the bane of our existence the last few seasons.
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Remind me never to enthuse over the first 30 minutes of an England game
It deteriorated thereafter
Jack and Theo no worse than anyone else – other than Kyle Walker obviously who set a new low standard
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At least everything went well with the German national team. Merte scored, Özil scored, no injuries to report.
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Walker, wasn’t he young player of the year a couple of seasons ago anicoll5? Sounds like he’s really living up to his promise then!
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He was no more the young player of the year than I was Passenal.
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