By the time you read this it is possible that Jamie Vardy may have been announced as the second major signing of the summer. If so it will be an almost Fergusonian transfer. Buying the star striker of a top four rival, spending big to cover a temporary injury problem on a player with only a couple of years left in the tank. Aggressive, positive and short term. Well, possibly – that is one interpretation.
Of course Vardy might simply prove to be this summer’s Higuaín. A steaming heap of click baiting baloney providing social media know alls and bloggers like me the opportunity to spout ill informed bollocks about something which was never going to happen in the first place.
I’ll be up front with you; I don’t give a hoot either way. Similarly the Suarez transfer never interested me in the slightest quite simply because it never happened and never came close to happening. It was as worthwhile a use of our time and attention as a discussion on whether or not the earth is flat.
I no longer get angry when people follow up on the journalist’s daydreams and discuss them in all earnest – after all like the flat earthers they do no one else any real harm. They’re entertaining a fantasy which engages and amuses them. So what? The real transfers happen in due course and all the stupid pointless arguments and debates about the hallucinatory targets and fees evaporate like the hot air they always were.
So it isn’t the existence of the Vardy rumours which interests me. It isn’t even the moral debate which signing such a player, even in merely hypothetical terms, has provoked among my friends and other contacts. What made me prick up my ears was a conversation with my wife, a person with less interest in football than I have in macramé, as we traversed the car park of our local Lidl.
I’d outlined the problems people were having stomaching the thought of cheering on a man who has proven to be of dubious moral fibre. ‘But you can’t control that’, she said, ‘you have no say in the players you support. Someone else hires them, someone else picks them. In any case they change every year until after a while the entire team has altered and yet still you support it. Heck the manager and coaches change, the kit and the badge change and even the stadium can change, and still you support it.’
Then came the sixty four thousand dollar question. ‘What exactly do you support? If The Arsenal is like some huge, complex Trigger’s broom, what is it you are actually throwing your weight behind?’ My mouth opened and closed a few times as I absently stowed a half dozen bags of cut price and highly tasty groceries into the trusty Hyundai Matrix.
We can kid ourselves it’s the ethical nature of the club and quietly overlook the scandal of allowing people to work in and around the stadium on match days for less than a decent living wage. We can point to our players’ avoiding the tabloid excesses of those from other clubs as if they were saints rather than simply well drilled and controlled. We can dislike the politics of someone from Leicester City and assume none of the current or past squad are raving right wingers in favour of politicians who’s sole aim is the destruction of all that is decent in our society.
We can make a big deal of Arsène Wenger’s decency, the unquestioned statesmanlike dignity with which he manages our club, but then what if someone like Jose Mourinho was appointed in his stead? We wouldn’t stop supporting would we? We’d perform like moral contortionists, make our excuses and go on cheering for the team.
We stand on feet of clay and I suggest we have no option but to find shoes to fit them. It’s distasteful sometimes but what can we do? The only option is to support someone else and good luck finding another team any better or more consistent with your moral stance. I suppose one could just give up following the sport at all, but where would be the fun in that?
So what did I conclude in the supermarket car park? What exactly do I support? If not the players, manager, owners, stadium, crest or shirt then what? In the end I decided all I was left with was the name. It seems that I support The Arsenal. And like my marriage I do so for better or for worse.
Positively Arsenal 
Ed, four of the six group games are at home after the CL fixtures.
LikeLike
These Friday night games might actually be quite handy for CL games
LikeLike
sequence goes Matchday 1 Hull Away, M2 Burnley A, M3 Middleborough H, M4 spuds H, M5 Bournemouth H, M6 Stoke H. The problem would come later in the competition when some of the grade A games are just before CL fixtures which may be on a Tuesday night. The first leg semi is sandwiched between spuds away and manure at Home and the second leg between that game and Stoke Away. sounds tough but it would be good that were doing that well.
LikeLike
Alexis scored twice as Chile beat Panama 4-2 to book a QF spot v Mexico in the Copa America. Panama had taken an early lead after a give away in defense and then a goalkeeping error. Vargas leveled when he followed up the rebound of an Alexis shot, then he put Chile ahead just before half time. Alexis scored early in the second half, but Panama pull one back, before Alexis scored late on to seal the win.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The BPL said last season that they would not give CL clubs the benefit of Friday night games. We can only hope that BT and SKY have more sense than the BPL.
LikeLiked by 1 person
LikeLike
imagine if we win the league at WHL again, and then UTd have to give us a guard of honor the next week, or maybe even better still, we win the league by beating Man Utd and then Stoke have to give us guard of honor at their place, the orcs would be furious.
LikeLike
LikeLiked by 2 people
my in depth analysis of Arsenal’s BPL fixture list for the coming season
We play 38 games
We play 19 at home
We play 19 away
We play every other BPL team twice, once at home and once away
We will play games on a Friday,or a Saturday, or a Sunday, or a Monday, or a Tuesday, or a Wednesday, but not on a spursday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Where does Evra play his club football these days? I’m surprised he is still a starter for France
LikeLike
It would seem that Mr Ivan Ethinios Gazidis, has been forced to change his particulars. Form CH01 dated 20 April 2016, has changed the day of his birthday to: XX.
The Arsenal directors, have all changed their address to, Highbury House.
So, I assume the directors have been subjected to letters of abuse.
Mr Gazidis, I suspect, receives birthday cards with maledictions. Birthday parcels of dog’s turds?
It would seem that the discontented, will use the vilest means to achieve their aims.
It is a limited number, who will use The Companies House, for the directors’ details.
Bowler hats and pinstripe suits.
LikeLike
We are seeing the Evra who was slung out of the Mancs two seasons ago in the Euros Pass, slow, clumsy and past it.
Impossible to believe he has had two good seasons at Juve inc a CL final appearance.
May be at 35 this is a tournament too far after a busy season.
LikeLiked by 3 people
He has looked like the weak link in the team. Giroud has not got much in the way of good service and to me there seem to be a few players unable to live up to the hype. unless there is some late piece of quality this is looking like the first goal less draw of the tournament
LikeLike
France the first team through to the last 16
LikeLike
Oh goodness, the Payet hype machine carries on in full effect!
LikeLike
REALLY HAPPY FOR FRANCE naturally becos of my peeps… OG and LK.
Then again France were the better…
LikeLike
What I would give for an OG hattrick soon enough… Not sure I want that for the Swiss cos of our Man… But how come only OGs misses are the issue and no other player missed chances? OG slammed for France display? why? Likely did his part in wearing them down.
LikeLiked by 2 people
AFCPressWatch™ @AFCPressWatch 4h4 hours ago
Xhaka completed 94 of his attempted 107 passes vs #ROM, creating three chances, making 8 ball recoveries & winning 4 of 5 aerial duels. #SUI
LikeLike
afcstuff @afcstuff 9h9 hours ago
Alexis is now just 4 goals away from becoming Chile’s all-time top goalscorer.
Salas – 37
Zamorano – 34
Alexis – 33
by the way, Alexis first goal last night, came from his 11th shot of the tournament, all other ten had been on target, but saved, Vargas’s first goal last night, came from one such Alexis shot that was saved, but not held by the keeper.
LikeLike
Giroud and Kos had decent games.
Not much else positive to say about that French team or manager.
2 get out of jail cards played already in this tournament.
LikeLike
Payet is a clever bugger though – the untypical French midfielder among a gang of standard issue
LikeLiked by 1 person
Giroud had a great header that hit the wrong side of the post.
Kane couldn’t even manage to hold up play let alone get a shot of some sort off the other day.
Quite a contrast in the UK coverage.
I’m going to stick my neck out here and guess that one of these players plays for the Arsenal and is one of Wenger’s own (signing, and not a Mendezian Mule).
LikeLike
I thought Olivier did well last night – probably better than the first match and was unlucky not to score.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hodgson’s choice to kowtow to the egos and myths and hype around some of his own players has not and will not end in cheers.
Playing the rookie unproven Sterling in the WC as his ten was bad enough. Considering the persistence when Sterling hasn’t hit he hights that pre-injury Chamberlain did for England is even worse (if you’re planning on watching England play).
So: Kane impressed against the lightening quick Ruskie defence. And then there was the “midfield masterclass” (38 passes) from Rooney….
Anything can happen in a derby game, top three teams will qualify, England will do well to reach the QF.
On France I speculate that DD sticks with Evra for reasons that have more to do with the head then the legs.
LikeLike
Sterling’s agent has been laughing all the way to the Leeds Leeds Leeds(?before they went bankrupt?)
LikeLike
If I held by breath waiting for the Giroud treatment for England’s neutered front line.
LikeLike
< I won't hold my breath
LikeLike
Thought Aaron had a great game today, got through an amazing amout of tackles as well as getting forward and I think he covered the most amount of ground of all the players from both sides.
I felt sorry for the Welsh in the end, after both sides poor showing in the first half I thought they had actually weathered the storm.
I also felt sorry for Woy having got his tactics right he watched stifling spoon foot & Joe wet lettuce hands Hart mess up his first half. If the game had finished a draw then the media would have crusefied Roy when it was quite clear several of his players let him down today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jo Cox murder: Labour MP dies after knife and gun attack near her surgery
14:43, 16 JUN 2016 UPDATED 17:26, 16 JUN 2016
BY STEPHEN JONES
The married mother-of-two has died after the ‘shooting and stabbing’ incident at her constituency surgery.
LABOUR MP Jo Cox has died after being attacked at her constituency surgery.
Police have arrested a 52-year-old man after MP Jo Cox was shot in the face by an attacker shouting ‘Britain First’.
LikeLike
You appear to have found away to get into the spam bin Ian !
A thoroughly enjoyable match from lens with the right result, although very very late. fair play to Hodgson who was getting dogs’ abuse at HT. Decisive changes and he got a reward.
Technically it was no masterclass but every player gave his best, limited as it was in he case of Ali and Kane, and they can be proud of themselves.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amazing performance and result for Norn Iron!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Poor game in Paris between the Germans and the Poles. Neither released the handbrake. Ozil did ok but nothing special. Muller and Gotze very average. You wonder where, in a real game, the German goals will come from?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fabianski was good in the air and made the stop that eared the Poles the draw. Stewart Robson reminds the audience that some cunt Arsenal fans called him Flapianski.
The Germans couldn’t shake off a very good Polish side. Pozdan and Grosicki were formidable. They kept Kroos, Ozil and Khedira quiet through out.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Stuart MacFarlane @Stuart_PhotoAFC 3h3 hours ago
2 lucky goals & 3 points for #England. If we really want to progress play the only world class player we have. #JackWilshere
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yes, it was rather dull and the way Ireland played today, Germany will need to step up their game if they want to progress
LikeLike
Tim Stillman @Stillberto 3h3 hours ago
England have 5 strikers with nobody to pass to them. Germany have Özil with no strikers to pass to.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Squawka Football @Squawka 7h7 hours ago
HEAT MAP: Aaron Ramsey absolutely ran his socks off for #WAL today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ryan Huddart joins Eastleigh on a season long loan from AFC
http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/football/eastleighfc/14564453.Eastleigh_land_Arsenal_starlet/?
LikeLike
reports that both Hull City and QPR are trying to sign Issac Hayden, its not clear if its permanent deal or loan.
LikeLike
reports from Nigeria claim that new Arsenal signing Kelechi Nwakali has been given the no.25 jersey, the number best associated with former Gunner, Kanu.
http://allnigeriasoccer.com/read_news.php?nid=19453
LikeLike
Arsenal are reported to have joined the race to sign Fulham teenager Moussa Dembele.
Dembele is out of contract at Fulham this summer, with clubs queuing up to secure the 19-year-old’s signature. He will be 20 in July.
He scored 15 goals in 43 Championship games last season.
LikeLike
LikeLike
Tomas Rosicky yay!
LikeLiked by 1 person
reports that Rosicky is injured again, and out of the rest of the euros,
he has the record of being both the youngest, and the oldest player ever to play for the Czech Republic
LikeLike
Oooooospina with a decisive save in the penalty shoot out with Peru and the Colombians scramble into the Semi finals of CA. Good lad.
LikeLiked by 1 person
ospina saved the penalty with his foot
link to video of penalty save
http://metro.co.uk/2016/06/18/arsenal-goalkeeper-david-ospina-becomes-the-colombian-hero-with-stunning-save-5952145/?
LikeLike
No need to give that fifty rag any clicks IBSF
http://arsenalist.com/f/2015-16/other/david-ospina-s-huge-save-in-penalty-shootout-vs-peru.html
LikeLike
No need to give that filthy rag any clicks IBSF
http://arsenalist.com/f/2015-16/other/david-ospina-s-huge-save-in-penalty-shootout-vs-peru.html
LikeLike
Blimey. ‘Scuse the double post.
Shane Long to demolish the Belgium back line today? A tough contest for the Oirish today but they could get a result.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reading the match reports on Colombia Ospina put in a couple of match winning saves before the shoot out
LikeLiked by 1 person