Good Morning Positivistas,
I thought I would out pen to paper this Sunday morning as it is weeks since I have had anything to write about on the Arsenal theme, and the past few days have rather rocked the Positive++ in me to their foundations.
I had hoped some Arsenal news might emerge to hang a written contribution on, but so far nothing. The best I can come up with is that we start out season in the Avaya Stadium, San Jose on the 28th July, as you all well know. By then we may, or may not, sign a new player or two. By the day no doubt another dozen names will have been in and out of the sorting hat. Those revelations hardly fulfil my mission to inform and to explain though.
Nevertheless there is international football to look forward to today. The opening group round of the Euros were mostly good games, tight contests with a pleasing number of the under-dogs biting the noses of the bigger hounds, most notably group winners Wales and Hungary.
All our AFC lads did well, Aaron, Olivier and Granit, the three most decisive. Tomas departure was a shame, though not unexpected. At least he played his last game in a fighting 2-2 come back against the crazed Croatians, rather than his career being signed off on the treatment table. And Jack ? I suspect if England are to make any genuine impression in the tournament they ( we) desperately need Jack to start, and to be the creative focus of the team. Not one of the starting England midfield appear to have the nous to open a defence up, to play a decisive ball.
Yesterday’s first knock out round, or what I saw, was a bit of let down, and all a bit cruel. A great goal from Shaquiri worthy of wining a tournament was undone by a penalty contest, and the Ulstermen managed to go out to an own goal. The Portuguese and the Croatians both played cautiously I thought, within themselves, and that was a looooooong 120 minutes. Portugal the lucky winners, though the exit of pouting tart superstar is postponed for another night only as they lack quality.
I trust the French and the Irish will release any metaphorical handbrakes and get down to business early today. Mesut follows that and we shall see if the Germans can beat a way through the Slovak lines any more successfully than England ?
That is it – whimsical musing over. Enjoy your Sunday.
Positively Arsenal 
just a little question for England fans on here
picking from all BPL players, what would your best 11 be
mine would be
Cech
Bellerin Smalling Koscielny Monreal
Kante Ramsey
Alexis Ozil DeBruyne
Aguero
so for me one English player in the starting 11, which for me suggests that English players are riding on the coat tails of the quality foreign players at their clubs.
a second question, which are the more important set of players at spurs, or the more reliable
Rose, Walker, Dier, Alli, Kane,
or
Lloris, Verthongen, Alderweild, Dembele, Erikson,
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FK² @fkhanage 13m13 minutes ago
We live in a world where the media are criticial of footballing maestros like Mesut Özil but hype up donkeys like Dele Alli & Eric Dier.
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AFCPressWatch™ @AFCPressWatch 1h1 hour ago
Jack Wilshere created 2 chances and completed 85% of his passes against #ISL. He made 6 ball recoveries & won 50% of his tackles
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Sam Monjack @sam_monjack6 5m5 minutes ago
Dele Alli lost the ball more times (84) than any other player at the Euros. Good young talent but the hype is beyond pathetic
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has England’s failure been laid at the feet of Jack Wilshere yet
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Tim Lewis @tim_lewis85 2h2 hours ago
This is fucking hilarious. All the pundits basically crying cos they’ve finally realised England are actually shite.
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Danny O’Dwyer @dannyodwyer 3h3 hours ago
The England team giving us a friendly reminder of what the Premier League would be without immigrants.
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not a great week to be English….ok some British may feel better about things. No national football manager now, a PM on his way out, no effective leader of the opposition, no coherent govt policy on europe…
and perhaps the worst England football result in many of our lifetimes.
Hodgson clearly knows a lot about the game….maybe too much, but he clearly cannot organise or inspire some seriously talented players. he strikes me as a naturally conservative, maybe negative manager put under pressure by bosses,sponsors, media or whoever, to play a certain way alien to him.
a man out of his depth and comfort zone like a lot of the FAs choices. seems they like yes men or foreign mercenaries after a pay check. Still remember them not choosing Clough. Roy may also have put too much emphasis on knackered, overhyped and demoralised…by Wenger….. Spurs players.
Hodgson will not be missed by many except Englands opponents in tournaments. the Fa have a choice…..go English,perhaps turn southgate into the next McLaren, or do what the rugby and cricket team have done, go for the best from abroad, with some success. But rest assured,if there is a completely outrageously wrong decision out there to be made, our FA will probably hone in on it, with gusto.
Wonder how the guardians of our national game will explain this one to the sponsors…..on top of our worst world cup performance .
A new , predictable and perhaps deserved low for England, the FA ………but another day closer for some proper football, Arsenal will soon be back.
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No surprise…England did vote to get out of Europe after all. I couldn’t help but feel that England had spent time watching Arsenal on one of our really bad days.. Squillions of passes, all the possession, BUT movement at a minimum and slowly; finding space and standing still. Way to go.
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England has some talented players but did not seem to have a system to bring the best out of them, and to be fair, some of them also badly underperformed. I expect we will now hear that it is all down to the foreign players in the league, but the reality is that the technical improvements in the English players is notable because they are playing with and competing with some of the best players in the world. The Icelandic players were not better individually, but they played with passion and togetherness that seemed lacking from England.
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Sky News Newsdesk @SkyNewsBreak 1h1 hour ago
Chancellor George Osborne says taxes will need to be raised and public spending cut following the UK’s vote to leave the EU
but it will be alright, right
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Daniel Storey @danielstorey85 9 May 2014
UEFA ‘A’ Coaches:
England – 1,178
Germany – 5,500
Spain – 12,720
Cost of Course:
England – £5,600
Germany – €530
Spain – €1,200
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Adam Banks @adambanksdotcom 13h13 hours ago
England team now feel they were misled about consequences of letting goals in, didn’t think other team would actually win
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How many UEFA ‘A’ coaches do Iceland have exactly ?
Seems to me the clubs and the FA want to have a look at the academy system and why so few English youngsters, often promising youngsters, make the step up into playing regular first team football at PL and even Championship level clubs.
That lack of progression does not happen in Spain, France or Germany.
Earlier in the Summer England U21s won the junior version of the tournament – few, if any, of that squad are regular first team players or will EVER be regulars at PL clubs.
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my view on the problem of the England team and manager
its mostly the fault of the media for the failure of the England team, and I’m not just talking about last night, its been the problem for every tournament in the last 30 years.
Hype, hype, hype and more hype.
Media build up the team and individual players beyond belief. I actually think they do it knowingly, its a win win for them, lots of sales for their big headlines when building up the team and players, and even more sales and headlines when doing another post mortem,
We have also got to the point where journos think they know best, and so even when the exact 11 they wanted is picked, and their tactics used, they were not wrong, it was the managers fault.
Tournament after tournament we have the same scenario from the media and team where England is concerned. It goes something like this
Have an easy qualifying group.
Top group to great acclaim
Ignore the lack of first touch among the players
Praise the power and running of some no mark – this time Henderson
Hype at least one big name players as one of the worlds best – this time(and last couple of tournaments) Rooney
Totally over hype a young player in the BPL and demand team be built around him – this time Alli
Whinge and bitch about some no mark players not getting into the squad – this time Noble and Drinkwater
Push for latest flash in the pan to be picked – this time Rashford
Have a scapegoat player – this time Wilshere
Include as many spurs(and liverpool) players as possible in squad
Demand a way be found to fit in all the favorites in the team, even if it means guys out of position – this time Rooney in midfield, Sturridge on the wing, and Kane/Allie/Rose/Walker/Dier on the pitch
struggle in the group stage
go out early in the knockout rounds
Manager sacked or resigns
Demand new favorite manager get the job
Repeat
And certainly don’t ask
why are there so few UEFA garde A coaches in England
why our players have such poor first touch
why we can’t leave big name players out of team or squad like other successful countries do
why do refs in BPL allow things that are not allowed at these tournaments
why do foreign clubs not want to sign English players
why do foreign clubs and the big English clubs not hire English managers/coaches
why do we have so many teams in the BPL, which means no space for winter break
why do we listen to a media who lambast footballing maestros like Mesut Özil but hype up donkeys like Dele Alli & Eric Dier.
but remember
it will be alright in the end, right.
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anicol without knowing how many coaches in iceland, i would bet its way higher per head of population than england.
as for the u21’s, you are sadly mistaken if you think what England U21’s won this summer was the equivalent of the Euros, it was the Toulon tournament they won, and this for the first time in 22 years. the U21 Euros were last summer, and England went out in the group stages.
there is a progression problem with players in england, according to a man with vast knowledge of youth football in England, Liam Brady, the main reasons for this is that for too many of them its all about the money, and stardom and believing the hype, and they lack the right attitude to keep improving, too many hanger ons, wrong life styles. Brady does also admit that the money in the game is a reason too, not only what the players get paid(and so think they are better than they really are, cos they are getting superstar wages), but the money at stake means too many managers will not risk a youth over an older established player, also the premium English players cost, means its less risky for a manager to go out and buy an established international from abroad, than it is to buy a young lad from Derby County, or Brentford etc etc.
Brady has also said the quota system also feeds into the lack of progression of English players, as many are being paid well and being kept in squads just to fill up quotas, and that the players and their agents know it, and instead of working hard to improve, too many are only interested in the big bucks
Brady does say that some of those problems listed above are improving, especially the attitude one, but that a lot of this is down to the fact more and more of the English players coming through the academies are children of immigrants, and have the right desire to be as good as they can be.
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afcstuff @afcstuff 13h13 hours ago
#afc players in Euro quarter-finals:
#POL vs #POR (Szczesny)
#WAL vs #BEL (Ramsey)
#GER vs #ITA (Özil)
#FRA vs #ISL (Koscielny, Giroud)
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Sorry bout this:
https://streamable.com/oe96
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looking forward to the quarters, and the Germany v Italy game looks the standout one, but one interesting note on it, Germany have never beaten Italy in 11 tournament games so far.
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“anicol without knowing how many coaches in iceland, i would bet its way higher per head of population than england.”
I doubt it is any higher than the Netherlands who Iceland put out in the qualifiers.
You are right about the Toulon tournament, nevertheless the point stands – if you look at the winning team;
England: Pickford, Iorfa, Targett, Chalobah, Chambers, Hause, Watmore (Swift 65), Ward-Prowse (c), Loftus-Cheek (Stephens 90), Redmond, Baker.
There are two players regularly playing in the PL last season and the remainder are fringe participants at best. It would be good to think 12 months from now I will recognise a few more of these names, but I doubt it.
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anicol i’ve mentioned Brady’s views on why the progression don’t happen, why do you think it don’t happen.
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by the way Brady once suggested that one way to get game time to young English players would be for the BPL to allow an extra 3 subs to be named, all English and 21 or under, and that clubs could use a 4th sub from those 3 players.
Although Brady’s main idea is that BPL clubs should be allowed either field their u21’s in lower leagues or be allowed feeder clubs. With the proviso that a BPL’s u21 side could not be promoted higher than either league one or championship level.
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Oh I probably agree with most of what Brady says eddy – there is less hunger among youngsters to be footballers today in the professional game. Thee is less incentive to struggle if you are earning even £2k a week in your late teens early 20s while all your mates are struggling down the local Tesco. There is also more choice for youngsters among the different sports. Not everyone wants to play football or box. And as Wenger says there is little or no street football. Academies force youngsters away from any casual playing of the game, no local club games with their mates, or with the school or college from 11 years old onward.
The other contrast among young English footballers, and their Continental counterparts
(many of whom enjoy similar good wages as youngsters on the books of Barca, Bayern etc) is how inarticulate they are in front of a camera. Most appear thick as shit, not to put too fine a point on it, and the notion of any English footballer ( young or old) speaking a foreign language is JUST INSANE.
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Positively Arsenal @Blackburngeorge 1h1 hour ago Blackburn, England
The media is fuming that Roy wont prostrate himself before them and pander to their need for a feeding frenzy on his carcass.
Pricks !
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The media were on good form eddy, when Roy would not play punchbag having already resigned thy turned on Martin Glenn the CEO of the FA and were demanding his resignation
They want a lynching, and they want one NOW
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Arsenal U21’s back in training
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http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20160628/arsenal-under-21s-return-to-training
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BENNACER RETURNS FROM INJURY AS ARSENAL U21S COMMENCE PRE-SEASON TRAINING
by jeorge bird
Arsenal U21s held their first training session of pre-season today, with the most notable news being the return of Ismael Bennacer, who missed the conclusion of the previous campaign through injury.
Several of the club’s talented youngsters attended the session, including the likes of Chris Willock, Kaylen Hinds and Stephy Mavididi, Julio Pleguezuelo, who will all hope to be involved in first-team training over the next couple of months.
Krystian Bielik was perhaps the most high-profile player on show, with Chiori Johnson, Ben Sheaf, Aaron Eyoma, Kristopher Da Graca, Donyell Malen, Reiss Nelson and Marcus McGuane also involved. Glen Kamara, meanwhile, is back from his loan spell at Southend United.
In addition, Edward Nketiah, Vlad Dragomir, Jordi Osei-Tutu and Savvas Mourgos were also present, with the quartet hoping to establish themselves in the U21 squad this season.
There were some notable absentees from today’s session. Tafari Moore and Ainsley Maitland-Niles are set to represent England at the U19 European Championships, whilst Dan Crowley, Jeff Reine-Adelaide, Jon Toral, Isaac Hayden, Wellington and Gedion Zelalem are expected to return to training when the first-team reconvene next week.
Stefan O’Connor and Tyrell Robinson were also absent today. Arsenal U21s face Boreham Wood in a friendly next month before an U19 side heads to South Africa in a bid to retain the Durban International Cup.
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twitter rumor that Tony Adams is to be appointed Arsenal’s new U18 manager
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EXCLUSIVE: WEST HAM SET TO SIGN ARSENAL YOUNGSTER TYRELL ROBINSON ON PERMANENT DEAL
robinson
Zimbio.com
West Ham United are set to sign Arsenal youngster Tyrell Robinson on a permanent deal.
The 18-year-old, who can play at left-back or as a left winger, was absent from training at London Colney today and is set to conclude his move to the Hammers shortly. Robinson will sign a two year professional contract.
Robinson progressed through Arsenal’s Hale End academy system before signing scholarship terms two years ago. He quickly went on to sign a professional deal, but came close to leaving the club last season after falling out with coaching staff as he was frustrated at constantly being asked to play at left-back.
The prospect featured for Arsenal at U21 level last season, while he was also involved in the UEFA Youth League and the FA Youth Cup, but he feels that he is much better suited to playing as a winger.
Robinson is close friends with George Dobson, who left the Gunners to join West Ham last year, and is thought to be encouraged by the opportunity on offer to him.
Posted in Uncategorized on June 28, 2016 by Jeorge Bird. Leave a comment
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TONY ADAMS TO WORK ALONGSIDE THIERRY HENRY AS ARSENAL U18S ASSISTANT COACH
adams henry
Arsenal legend Tony Adams is to return to the club as joint-assistant manager of the U18 side alongside Thierry Henry. Kwame Ampadu, another former Arsenal player, will coach the team.
The Gunners required a shake-up in the coaching department at youth level after the departure of Frans De Kat. Ampadu has impressed in his position as assistant and was seen as the natural choice to make the step up.
Henry is keen to continue working with Arsenal, and has been praised by several of the club’s youngsters for the advice he has given them.
It is the return of Adams which is most intriguing, however, with the former centre-back having previously been reluctant to rekindle his involvement with the club.
Arsenal have had defensive problems at U18 level for a very long time, and it is hoped that Adams will address those issues. A product of Arsenal’s youth system himself, Adams is an excellent leader.
Credit to AFC Glen for breaking the news of Adams’ return to Arsenal.
Posted in Uncategorized on June 28, 2016 by Jeorge Bird. Leave a comment
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Get French Football @GFFN 8m8 minutes ago
Michy Batshuayi will undergo a medical with Chelsea tomorrow. €40m (RMC)
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WhoScored.com @WhoScored 2h2 hours ago
Aaron Ramsey: Has won possession in the middle third more times (22) than any other player at Euro 2016; Granit Xhaka second (20)
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Osman @OsmanZtheGooner 1h1 hour ago
Wenger (Lacazette) “I can neither confirm nor deny interest. If I say that I like the player, it opens up speculation.”
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the new first year scholars
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reports from Japan that Arsenal are signing Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s 21 year old forward Takuma Asano. He is a full international for Japan, and the reports say he will be loaned out. He is expected to be in he Japan squad for the Rio Olympics
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OptaJean @OptaJean 23m23 minutes ago
89% – @6_LKOSCIELNY has won 89% of his duels at #EURO2016 (25/28), best rate among the defenders with min 3 games played. Rock.
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anyone got the feeling that the reason the media are so keen on putting forward Arsene Wenger as the next manager of England, is so that they have a win win situation
if he takes the job they can hound him at any and ever turn
if he don’t take the job they can blame him for turning his back on England at their hour of need
either way, he will be the fall guy
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the 11 scholars, Robbie Burton, Josh Benson, Reiss Nelson, Emile Smith Rowe, Trae Coyle, Joao Virginia, Tobi Omole, Joseph Olowu, Dominic Thompson, Jay Beckford and Nathan Tormey
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Wenger would prefer to eat broken glass than put himself forward to manage the England team. No decent manager would touch the job with a barge pole, and the rats of the media can take full credit for making the job so poisonous.
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Wenger for England, that just won’t happen on so many levels.
If I were them, I would pick his old mate from Monaco days, Glen Hoddle
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a couple of weeks ago twitter land and even many media outlets(probaly just copying the twitter stories) were full of stories that Arsenal were in for Ricardo Rodríguez, well if we are really in for him, then today is the day that his release clause of £19m would have to be met, as Wolfsburg have explained that after today his release clause rises to £30M. Rodriguez has made it clear he wants to leave Wolfsburg, and he has mentioned Arsenal as a team he would love to play for, especially now that his best friend Granit Xhaka is at Arsenal.
The one big spanner in the works of this rumor is that Arsenal have two good left backs, in Monreal and Gibbs, yes the twitter ITK’s had Gibbs anywhere from Liverpool to Newcastle and all in between. But there is no sign of Gibbs going anywhere, the talk of Monreal wanting to go back to Spain has died down too,
I notice that the twitteratti who ran with the RR story a few weeks ago, are very silent today about his release clause, and their ITK status.
Maybe by the time I post this AFC will have announced his signing, but I’m not counting on it
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the weird world of the super agent and his preferred clubs/managers
Osman @OsmanZtheGooner 13h13 hours ago
Kicker reporting that Mourinho wanted Zlatan & Pogba but Mino Raiola insisted they buy Mkhitaryan in order to help them get their targets
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isn’t it always nice when your view of someone is backed up by their actions.
take my view of Paul Merson, as an idiot, yeah I know, I picked an easy target, but his nonsense today over the next England managers brings idiots to a whole new level of stupid.
He says Arsene Wenger has proved he is not up to the job
then compounds his stupidity with his choice of management team
Glenn Hoddle as manager with Gareth Southgate and Alan Shearer as his assistents
how does this guy get work as a pundit, really how, what level of stupid has he to show, to be considered the wrong man for the job.
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Failure knows failure, edu.
Merson is successful. Bet you couldn’t do multiple drugs, drink & drive, talk outta yr arse And keep your job. And for all PM’s ‘whatever’s’, like Wilkins, he’ll remain happily employed, along with their “ilk-nesses”.
Wenger for England is simply about the ongoing destabilisation of AFC. As you know.
FIF report their book comes out Sping 2017. We will see.
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yes ranetta i know merson will keep his job, no matter how much shit he talks, its all part of the dumbing down of society, and especially the dumbing down on tv, i suppose it had to happen with tv, once 24 hour tv became a thing, the odd thing where football pundits are concerned it would cost the tv company the same amount to hire an intelligent pundit as it does to hire a muppet like merson. There is an old boys network in place where hiring football pundits is concerned, and I’m sure one reason intelligent pundits are not hired more, is cos it would show up too many of the good old boys already working for them.
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Southampton have appointed former Nice boss Claude Puel as their new manager, it was reported that Southampton took advice from Wenger over Puel.
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