A pleasure to be reminded this morning that the return of domestic football is not too far away with the release of the PL fixtures.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the World Cup, even as an England fan, but international football does not have that total grip of Arsenal and the daily twists and turns of PL football. It does not have the means of inciting the same exquisite pain as following Arsenal.
I thought I’d have a look at the ten opening games and a possible 30 points in the bag. Lets face it by 1st November we will know if it is three more glorious years or back to marching, turquoise snoods and civil war.
We start with a visit from the nutcase with the drum on the 16th August. I am attending a wedding that day so that clears me of any responsibility for murdering the bastard. Assuming Mr Taylor is not handed the whistle we should get our domestic campaign underway with a positive result and some momentum. Next up A trip to Merseyside and the chance to make amends for the recent disappointment at Goodison in April that nearly, nearly, spoiled a good season. Will Lukaku still be there …… or even Coleman ? Who knows –who cares. I think we can assume that the Everton game will be televised.
Leicester, who apparently did not like it up ‘em, or was that us? I have no idea but I suspect of the three promoted teams it is the Foxes who will struggle most. We shall run the fox down and the hounds tear the quivering vermin to pieces.
And then the great blue Satan, at home. A real serious test of our, and Citeh’s, League credentials. No hiding place.
A ticket to the Citeh game somewhere has my name on it, the fixture falling closest to my the 50th anniversary of my first game at Highbury.
Villa away ? Three points, Spuds at home ? Well conceivably they will make a game of it though about six games into the season it seems reasonable to anticipate the N17 faithful will be calling for the head of Pochettino.
And then, the weekend of the 4th October, Chelsea – Stamford Bridge – no hiding place for them, and their new signing, and none for any Arsenal player – no sir – not that day.
Hull, S’nlunn, Burnley ? Ppppppfffffff !
So 30 points in the bag ?
Well that would be a tall, tall order. We do however possess the tools, we must make sure that we do the job.
Right, you can get back to the World Cup now, Lawrenson and all !
Today’s dose of positivity was brought to us courtesy of @anicoll5
Positively Arsenal 
Hands off PG!
Yield???? 10 games could garner 30 points?
July 29th, 2012, 10.05 am …… PG
“I love Arsenal.
Ok, I said it first.”
Northbank, I will keep Passenal’s put down to PG, for another day!
Chin, chin.”
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i havnt seen much of serge aurier in this tournament to be excited about. defensively i mean. we want to be better than last season, and whoever must replace sagna must at least measure up to him if not better. better still lets keep our money and promote jenko and bellerin.
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Sterling totally anonymous. Game is crying out for someone who can pass and keep possession: Jack. Rooney has been pretty good but that’s it really.
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Will Jenks defend better than Sagna? No way. He is much weaker in the air. So why keep our money?
Aurier was good at pressi g high up and absolutely superb in the attacking third. Blistering pace. I can’t speak to his defending in his half, however and Shotta thought he was partly culpable for a goal in the first game, which was debatable. Need to analyze the two Columbia goals.
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Not much point playing Stetling unless he gets the ball and gets the ball early
England a bit too solid and slow across the middle, Welbeck off,Jack on , bit of quality from Luis – damn him
Even game so plenty of time yet
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Fins, his pace and handling of the ball made him completely unstoppable on the right and he fired excellent cross after cross as they chased the game. His defending seemed fine but I need to examine that further. I like his spirit and speed.
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True Anicoll, but he’s been poor in possession when he’s had it. I can see him getting flustered and carded in the second half. But he’s not the only one culpable–this doesn’t look like the team that played against Italy. But young players are quite inconsistent, as we Arsenal supporters know only too well. Sturridge, Sterling, Wellbeck, Henderson subpar as have bern Cahill, Jagielka and Baines. Rooney, the lightning rod, has been good. Hopefully for all myEnglish Arsrnal online compadres, these youngsters can settle down and play with the freedom they showed in the first game.
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Woy, please take out Welbeck and put Jackie behind Rooney. Stop being such an effing coward.
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Not a very auspicious start to the second half. And Sterling very lucky the ref and linesman did not catch him absolutely clattering pereira viciously from behind. He is going to get thrown off playing like that.
Rooney is clearly cursed in the WC as third time was no charm. He is playing well though.
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LSG, i know jenko is not at the level of sagna.but buying a player based on his attacking qualities rather than his defensive is like buying another santos. if all aurier does is give a decent cross, i’ll keep my money and promote jenko.
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cavani is soooooo overrated.
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Sterling off before he maims Pereira. Awful game from him.
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Who says he isn’t a good defender? I haven’t made up my mind about that. And there might be other options for players who do defend well. Our goal needs to be to get better or at least stay as good. Money isn’t really the crucial issue if we can afford to bring in a good player.
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Jenks has defended well with his head. 3-5 at Gazprom, other games.
It’ll take a while for any player to prove they are as consistently good as Sagna in the air.
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this is how far liverpool has taken england. hope they try the arsenal way in russia.
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Great job from Woy. All he had to do was play Rooney in the Suarez role and the players around him would have played from memory. But, no, he fucking chucks Welbeck into the mix, leaves out the Engliand equivalent to Coutinho and distorts the whole thing. Now the buck toothed bastard has a chance at going into the last sixteen.
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Pereira needs maiming. Uruguay is tied with Honduras as the dirtiest team in the whole tournament.
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Right I’m off looting now but before I go I’d just like to commend England’s players for all giving it 100% effort tonight
Unfortunately the quality was not there – especially in taking on and beating players, and hitting the back of the net with the basket of half chances and real chances came our way.
Well done Uruguay – better side won
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Gains @ 10.06
Good summary!
–
Suarez keen on a move abroad!
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It really looked like England would at least get a point, but the difference was the error prone Gerrard for the former and the clinical buck-toothed one for the other lot. Perhaps England will finally get the message that Gerrard is a liability?
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Gerrard has been doing the John Terry thing of pretending to slip or to have been tripped when he has just been done by an opponent.
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Gains, Uruguay are well known for their dirty play – they have been hacking, cheating and diving their way through many world cups, and I’ve seen many of them over the years. The buck-toothed one is a perfect example of that, although he can also score goals unlike the invisible Cavani. I can’t believe the rumours that Arsene bid £30m for him – perhaps not getting him was a blessing in disguise.
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What’s up folks!
England not doing so well. I am not surprised. The team lacks creativity in the middle of the park. It is painfully obvious. Stevie is passed it and Henderson has no right starting ahead of Wilshere, none!
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Welbeck is ok, but he starts for England. I thought hogdson was a good choice but I think England needs a change if he is going to play favorites.
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I’m sure Arry Redknapp could be available at short notice Paul to take over
Arry, being a Gooner, I am sure we would all get behind him
(Coughs nervously)
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First off, I thought before KO that is was a strange decision to give the England/Uruguay game to a Spanish ref. Bit like giving it to a scot, or welsh one (although probably would have resulted in as many decisions going against England).
Then there’s Roy’s obsession with Liverpool players. Gerard as captain means (as I said a few days back) that he simply won’t be dropped or subbed, despite yet another error strewn, insipid, slow as performance. And again I ask; what the fuck does henderson do? Please, someone who knows about these things, please enlighten me.
Welback? Well, it aint his fault, he cannot magic himself into a half decent player, like Heskey couldn’t.
I thought for the majority of the Italy game, England played well, but in this game they were pretty much dreadful all game. And Sterling, our most potent attacker was subbed for yet another central midfielder! Leaving both henderson and Gerard on to do their damage (to England’s chances as it turned out!).
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Managing a national football team ?
Piece of piss
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Gains, I agree–absolutely despise dirty Uruguayan team since Suarez and Ghana 4 yrs ago.
Fins,you are right that it will take time to establish aerial abities compared to excellent Sagna. I wish we had offered him more money and a third year early this fall when his fitness and form was proven. Ultimately cheaper and greater continuity. We don’t have time to develop Jenks as our starter, in my opinion, next season if we intend to win the league. So what are our options? Good RB’s actually seem pretty rare.
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FG, that is an interesting observation. I think (and hope) it is going to be difficult for Gerrard and the Liverpool crew to dodge responsibility for England failing, however. The football wasn’t even that good in the second game. Needed Wilshere, Ox, and Gibbs.
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Posting inane shite on a blog?
Piece of piss
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Commendable admission Dex
Whining about Gerard like a spoiled child cos little Jack wasn’t allowed to play by Wotten Woy
Perhaps the weason Wotten Woy does not pick poor Jack is that poor Jack has barely played any football for the past two and a bit seasons, has contributed nothing to England’s progress to the World Cup finals, and maybe just maybe tonight was not the night to experiment ?
Of course if Wotten Woy had gone the other way and played Jack, and England had lost, we could have reverted to the fantasy of using Jack as the excuse for an early trip home.
Load of bollocks
England played to their limit and while the convenient fairy tale that if Ox and Jack had started it would have been different might suit you, it don’t suit me
Easy
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Fuck me !
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So many experts after that final whistle blows
Extraordinary
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I would have started the tournament with Barkley in the hole, Rooney up top, with Sterling and Sturridge on either side.
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Classic!
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Actually, I went to watch England play Honduras and I thought the mid lacked creativity and drive. I still believe it to be an area of weakness after these two matches. If Wilshere is not up it it, why in the world waste a spot on him?
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The whole selection was predicated on the fact that Liverpool were amazing (which they were at times last season to be fair). But it was Liverpool with Suarez, and I wonder if he hadn’t been playing last season how many would have been selected from a side that would have in all likelihood finished in a similar position to previous years. He is that good that he makes those around him better, if only because they get the confidence from winning regularly and also the freedom of playing with no markers given that the oppo are all clustered round LS. Take him away, or put him in the opposition team, and suddenly your Gerrards, your Hendersons, your Sturridges don’t look quite so special.
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dex, henderson is in the team because gerrard is in there. he knows how to clean his shit but unfortunately, they play against the player that makes them ( liverpool players ) favourites of the english people.
jack has always been special but henderson has never. but just one season when he played with a player who made even flanagan ( according to hodgson ) a better left back than gibbs, henderson is sudenly better than jack. it was obvious last season that their best defensive midfieder player was barry, but because he doesnt play for liverpool, he was not even in the squad.
why even play jack when you know the other players will likely isolate him in the midfield.
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my england eleven
hart
johnson cahill jelgieka gibbs
barry
wilshere barkley
raheem stanley oxlade
rooney sturridge
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stanley? kubrick ?
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pace! since theo is injured
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http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-dutch-secret-to-soccer-success-field-hockey-1403045877?mod=trending_now_3
Interesting read.
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Look everyone, you heartless bunch of bastards! How dare you critique the performance of England, their players and managers?
You seem to have really upset the delicate sensibilities of dear old ani!
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When my crew of Morris Dancers have finished with Steww Dex they are on their way round to your house !
A muted response in the media this morning to last night’s defeat that in previous World Cups which is a welcome, no vegification of the manager so far.
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And a hey noony nonny no to you too ani!
I have a lot of respect for Hodgson and think he is a very intelligent coach. As I stated before, I think we have played some good football under his stewardship, but some of the personnel have let him down. It also hasnt helped that the media, yet again, have put so much pressure on him to play certain players and in the heat of the moment, a few decisions didnt pay off as he would have hoped/expected.
Taking off Sterling; a pacey, tricky trickster who can play wide (Uruguay were packed centrally) and replacing him with media darling Barkley, a very talented but inexperienced central midfielder made little sense to me. I am all for giving Barkley a go, but in that situation, when we are desperate for a result into a packed midfield, I just didnt understand the logic.
I will never understand playing henderson in an England team, ever! Milner (another player who is derided) would have been my pick to partner gerard (if we have to play Stevie! that is!). I think he is far more experienced, talented and intelligent. I can only imagine Roy felt the club partnerships would pay dividends, but as lakysite says, there aint no Suarez, or English refs to assist them.
I do think we have the core of a very good England team, although the fullback positions are a concern as is where the fuck to play Rooney?
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lol….dex + ani..calm down..uruguay is a better team than england and so are italy… it was a tough group and until wenger’s english players (who are taught football and not hoofball/rugby etc) are the heartbeat of the england team dont expect much….the next tournament is yours..wilshere wlacott gibbs jenkinson sterling sturridge lalanna …england should abduct ramsey too …have faith…
as for suarez…well…even his most avid haters must have bowed last night. nor can i blame him for being so focused to hurt england after all the unfair criticism he has received here…. i blame ivan for not calling henry’s bluff….
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DONT TELL ME TO CALM DOWN !
(banned smiley)
My criticism of Hodgson would not be about last night, who he picked, subbed or left at home.
On the night I can understand why Hodgson chose who he did and whichever players he had on the pitch I suspect Suarez might have undone England with his two out of two killer strikes.
Where I think Hodgson let himself down was in not moving on after Euro 2012 and bringing in and relying on younger defensive and midfield players, quicker, sharper and hungrier who would have had two years to gel and by this tournament have been more of a match for the top teams in the world.
Even if the result had been the same in this World Cup a nucleus of a team would have been together to build on for the next Euros and the Russia World Cup.
England I think are better than they were two years ago, hopefully the rush to chuck out the bathwater wont include the baby too.
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PA is such a lovely place for informed football debate. I love the contrasting views and I learn something every day. Keep it up guys.
PS: This is when a piece by Steww would have been be so timely. Que sera sera!
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Hunter
Thanks, but me chilled guy!
Anicoll
I agree about Wilshere. At this moment in time, he hasnt done anything to warrangt a starting place and doesnt seem in top form. However, on a purely selfish note, it would have been nice to see him play himself into form with England! And come to think of it, an out of sorts jack is a better bet than the plodding Henderson!
Here;s my England 11, injuries and form permitting;
Hart (because there really isnt another decent english keeper)
P Jones (because there really isnt another decent RB… until Jenkinson steps up next season)
G Cahill (I thought he was our best defender last night, not really high praise I know)
Gibbs (how he missed out is beyond me, but England’s loos is AFC’s gain)
Wilshere
Milner
Theo
Barkley/AOC
Sterling/AOC (Fitness permitting, I think the Ox is a definite starter for England and Arsenal)
Sturridge (although he really needs to learn how to hold the ball up better if he is to be the first choice CF)
Obviously I am missing a CB, this is because apart from cahill, I don’t know of another decent English CB! Smalling is just not good enough, Jagielka is probably the best option at the moment, but hardly one for the future.
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The best football played by Roy’s England was in the two Brazil friendly games?
Wilshere, Walcott and the Ox the standout performers, and of course none of them were really fit right now. Grateful Roy didn’t mismanage and play any of the two in the squad. In the victory in Feb.2013 over Brazil Smalling and Cleverly started! Haven’t seen enough of Smalling but he can’t be as bad as Jones.
When a barely fit Chamberlain was the clear stand out player for England in the warm up games, and he was, then it’s obvious that they need more Arsenal players! I’m not biased.
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