This site was set up not for me, or the other blog post authors, to impress people with their knowledge (or lack thereof ),but for intelligent positive fans for discuss The Arsenal free from the pollution of most comments sections in Arsenal blogs. Every once and a while a comment is so well constructed that I just have to publish it as a blog. Below is one such post.
Pedantic George @arseblagger.
The PGMOL are too secretive to be seen as fair and unaccountable, and what fair and unaccountable organisation offers fifty grand hush money.
Arsene Wenger, after the west Brom mike Dean debacle says he has been in the game in this country for thirty years, and he had heard things, and stands by what he said after that game, it later transpires he called mike Dean a f*cking cheat, dishonest or something along those lines, if Wenger said that , I believe him. On the word of an honest man, and what I have seen Mike Dean do to this team over the years, yes there will be convenient exceptions, but we know what we see.
Arsenal are the only top club consistently in a negative penalty balance, year upon year after mike Riley was installed by Fergie and his LMA yes men, including big Sam, a man whose influence exceeds his talent, and integrity. A constant stream of dodgy pens against costs points, Mad Jens said similar recently.
As for the famed Utd bias, it certainly existed under Fergie, two plus seasons no penalties against at OT, Fergie time. It may have abated post Fergie, but during his time, when ex referees have gone on record saying he had the power to select referees, if a manager can select refs, sounds similar to an Italian word I cannot spell beginning with C. The Utd bias, corruption, bullying, call it what you will existed, the media just laughed at it.
Arsenal and Wenger have been systematically defrauded in this league, look at any metric, penalty bias, cards per foul, injuries inflicted on players, media bias, a respected manager called a paedophile from day one, Xhaka’s tackles, the alleged Eduardo dive, referees making false claims against Wenger, LMA manager sucking up to Fergie making false claims against Cesc.
It is all out there. Other supporters of other clubs may claim the same, but I sincerely doubt if Utd , Chelsea, City, Liverpool or Spurs fans could match the charge sheet of injustices against our team and manager, and if they could come close, the media would be all over it.
Mike Riley is a weak and willing foot soldier put in place by those who wanted the English game over Wenger’s continental approach which threatened one influential manager especially. Mike Riley was a poor referee, and is now an even worse administrator and communicator, as ex refs have confirmed. He is only in place as an establishment lick-arse who will maintain whatever status quo those above him tell him. I often wonder if someone in high place has something on him. He has power over referees careers. Wenger was a victim of Mike Riley, and those he serves corruption in a game we all remember, as he has been many times since.
These are not all errors from refs, this is not objective reporting from the media, it is no coincidence so many of our player have been maimed, only for the ” he’s not that sort of player ” to appear next day in the papers, this is a campaign to rid the English game of a manager who has , from day one, refused to play the English game, to his eternal credit
Positively Arsenal 
A very well considered piece. Shame is, no matter how much we all scream about bias, nothing is ever done. All the incidents mentioned and many more to discuss are just swept under the carpet. Take for instance, the incredible incident where Bellerin was knocked unconscious at Chelsea. Not only did they allow the goal, but many pundits – mainly those of the MOTD variety, found it funny and said he was putting it on and it was a perfectly good goal! So, alas my friend, when you have incidents like this, and witness Mike Dean celebrating goals against us, I’m afraid the game is up:)
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I hope Mandy doesn’t object to being pushed into the limelight.
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“Arsenal and Wenger have been systematically defrauded in this league”
Being unable to score goals and defend very well probably has not helped, particularly in the past two seasons. I suppose we could have dived more to get more penalties though.
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I’m absolutely convinced that the PL desire to promote the brand(Mega spending, up and at e’m football and “any team can win using physicality” ) Is reason enough for their to be a bias against the team that does not promote any of these selling points.
I could of course be wrong,
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Mandy always speak her mind and this is no different. It’s exactly what me and so many see too. Of course it will sit uncomfortable with some but that is there problem.
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Just look at the airtime Pep’s demands that referees should give players more protection has been echoed throughout Europe – as if he had a lightbulb moment on how ensure the PL doesn’t credibility.
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** the PL doesn’t lose credibility.
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do you want a laugh, just read this from Neil Ashton, he is a comic genius (what you mean this is not a satire piece from him)
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He is drunk eddy – and at this time of the morning !
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just a little update on Bielik, some reports today that he signed a new contract with Arsenal before being sent on loan to Walsall, so his quotes about wanting to join Birmingham this summer, is more to do with gaining more first team experience at a higher level.
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Thanks Mandy!
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nah Anicol, he is an idiot and to use a term of his own, stealing a living
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George is me at the lowest limit of what I believe, Mandy around the upper. I spend plenty of time around the upper.
In my many efforts to try understand it all, probably the best I could come up with is to call it a perfect storm, with one of the main factors being Wenger’s not playing the game.
A book I read on Wenger covering up to first half of tenure had a quote from a German club official, Moenchengladbach I think, where the guy was flabbergasted by Wenger’s integrity when he declined to push through on a move to become manager there, despite wanting it and it being possible, because his current club (probably Monaco) asked him to stick with original promise. The guy said he worried for him because he was ‘too good for football’. If the Germans 25 years ago, in a surely much cleaner time for the sport thought that, what of now?
Well, he has done pretty damn well despite that. But what a gruelling battle.
Anyway, here’s a recent quote from a refereeing giant. Uefa’s chief Collina.
‘We need to have players playing, so they must be protected on the field.
‘We do not want situations where a player’s future is put in doubt because of serious injury caused by a challenge, whether it is intentional, or is unintentional and the player making the challenge is taking a risk of causing injury.
‘Players must understand that they have to respect their opponents and show the same positive behaviour to them that they would want to receive themselves.’
The contrast is stark between that and how our guys operate, so much so that when our game talks about wanting to see players playing they are referring to trying to limit bookings and sendings off.
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Ryan Mason has retired from football at 26 due to the head injury he suffered two seasons ago. Terrible sad news.
he got the head injury when he headed the ball clear v chelsea and gary cahill headed the back of his head, GC was a little late in his challenge.
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There is no point in trying to change your mind, Mandy, as the views you express brook no disagreement.
If I may, in the spirit of discourse, can I ask you about one accusation you make that might bear clarification.
You say that some people, represented by their cats-paw, Riley at the PGMOL, are against Mr Wenger and his ‘continental playing style’, and would prefer the traditional game style played by English clubs, if I understand you correctly, but a listing of the top 5 clubs in the Premier League, who are managed by ‘continental’ style managers makes interesting reading.
Man City ; Pep Guardiola; Man Utd : Mourhino; Chelsea : Conté; Liverpool : Klopp; Spuds : Pinnochio, and the 6th – Arsenal : Arsene.
In addition, there are other managers of less successful PL clubs who are also continental or Argentinian.
Clearly none of the top 5 clubs are managed by English or British managers, so I am not sure what you mean by the bias towards the ‘English’ game as opposed to the ‘continental’ style, or why with so many continental mangers at all levels of the PL, a special bias against Wenger’s continental methods would make any difference?
Thank you.
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Henry see my comment at 11.52
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Our very own Adrian Clarke was on talksport 2 yesterday, physically laughing out load at Ashton’s article. He called it ridiculous.
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Henry
If I can give it my own go. In case of Mourinho and Poch I believe they have very clearly and directly looked to understand culture, including football and referring style, here and sought to exploit it. They are both phenomenally cynical managers so there’s no issue with fitting in.
The others are slightly less clear cut. Klopp initially had plenty to say about the physicality, dangerous tackles, etc, and clashed with a few managers, but has quietened right down, and had no problem playing Gruljic in some games even when it was clear he could barely manage a game without a dangerous challenge.
I believe it is nigh on impossible, even for the better guys, in top level management not to partially compromise yourself, especially through hypocrisy, in order to get to and compete at the top. (or the middle or bottom, maybe)
How many, who, say, complain earnestly or furiously about a bad challenge on their player can treat an offence by their own anything like the same?
As for managers playing a very different style to the English game- I see no one other than Pep standing out, and that fits perfectly with my belief that his style is one that is only likely to be considered or work when you have superb resources and players.
It requires an abundance of quality everywhere on the pitch. Once you have that- superior resources to the rest- it actually becomes a pragmatic and not particularly brave choice.
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Craig Pawson has been named ref for the CC final
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Rich,
That story was not regarding Gladbach, but of how Wenger turned down Bayern freaking Munich, because Monaco insisted he honour his contract. He apparently only went to discuss breaking it after Jurgen Klinsmann, who was a player at Monaco then, was flabbergasted how Wenger could even have to think about it and urged him to go.
Even as recently as when Guardiola joined Bayern Munich, Rumminegge said that they ALWAYS consider Wenger when they are looking for a new manager.
Wenger of course was sacked by Monaco a few weeks after he stayed. It was this ‘betrayal’ aligned with the match fixing at Marseillle that led to his disillusionment and he moved to Japan. When Arsenal came calling, he refused to break his contract and only joined us in September as a result.
Clearly, Wenger is an honourable man. Also equally clearly, this would not sit well with those who are less so. The football establishment in England has been against him from day 1 and probably resented it even more that he turned to be among the best they have ever seen.
As regards the defrauding that Mandy brings up, as I now view the events unfolding. Arsenal’s move to a new stadium with a young team, and Chelsea’s rise through Abramovich’s millions were threats to ManU at the time, and Hackett was removed to make way for Riley. This coincided with ManU getting some ridiculous decisions their way with incredible regularity (Mental strength this was called, just as Harry Kane’s penalty was) At the same time, Chelsea’s spending opened up a whole new avenue for money making. Including selling the league as comprised of the world’s best players. If Arsenal had won the league in 2008, this would have upset the two biggest draws as the League saw it. How would they urge people to ‘spend some effing money’ if it was shown that not only could you win the league, but win the league in style without that?
I am certain we were robbed of the league title in 2008. (This extended to Uefa with us losing to Liverpool because of two penalty calls, and infamously against Barcelona later) I am also certain we’ve been robbed of points all the years hence. But as for the title, I don’t know. There is however, a knock on effect. If we’d won the title in 2008, would it have been easier for us to keep hold of Cesc, Nasri, RVP etc? Would we have been able to add without subtracting? What of the injuries our players suffered? Would they be less if we weren’t so poorly protected (This goes beyond broken legs)
Honestly, who knows, but there exists a pattern. Yes, like our pattern of poor defending which hasn’t helped. But Arsenal very rarely step onto a level playing field and this has bound to affect us in ways other than simply points dropped.
So I’ll reiterate, Wenger is Arsenal’s biggest problem because he is rightly seen as someone who would never allow the club to spend money on shady activities through ‘super’ agents on his watch. Frenchness and playing continental football are still forgivable sins. But not throwing about money in a league that completely salivates over it? There’s no absolution for that!
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Shard, if I hadn’t just put Mandy’s post up, you last post would be on Newsnow.
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Thanks George. Having the Meerkat’s seal of approval is an honour.
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Shard, I’m well over 90% sure it was Gladbach. I know about the Bayern one as well, though not the Klinsmann bit, but think this was a little earlier.
My memory’s ropey but I can pretty much picture the page saying B Mgladbach.
I’ll have a look later see if I can find the right page. Was a good one with more to the quote than I can remember.
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Wow. I’d love to see that, Rich.
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Shard,
The knock on effects truly are a worry, though one can no sooner begin to entertain them than get labeled delusional. In some ways, I understand. It is a fool’s errand in many ways, and yet it is difficult not to think what might have been.
Your post reminded me of the movie The Immitation Game. I trust all of you have seen it. Those more educated than myself will perhaps know the following from history class. Apparently, the computer to crack the Enigma was only used sporadically. A statistical estimation was used to determine just how often to react to intelligence it provided – just enough to swing the war in the “long run”, without giving away the secret at the same time.
While I harbor no illusions that such intricate planning has gone into Arsenal getting “defrauded”, all the small things, and the big ones, do ADD up. The yellow and red cards, fouls, penalties, dubious offside decisions, rough play, less time for recovery – all said categories, and others, for and against – add up just enough to keep us from developing momentum, but ensure that we certainly develop mental and emotional baggage, both as club and individuals.
Maybe Arsene and the players are having a poor season this term, and maybe you can ultimately level the blame entirely at Arsene. But this poor season still would have been, and ought to be, viewed as but a minor blip in a career which saw him defy all odds with integrity, class and beauty, every step of the way.
I’m still backing the lads to a Top 4 finish, the Europa League title and the CC title. And the PL title next season – with Arsene at the helm.
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Sc
I admire the commitment and hope that comes true. But it just got a lot tougher. Just seen Arsenal announce that Lacazette is out for 4-6 weeks after having surgery on his knee.
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Great opportunity for Danny Welbeck and young Eddie to get some game time with Laca out for a while. 4-6 weeks in Arsenal medical terms could mean anything. I expect to see both heavily involved against the Swedes.
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Sad for Laca9 but as anicoll5 just said, EN62 gets another chance to flash his wares Can’t afford to lose either Auba14 or DW23 before the Caracao final…or afterwards.
Anyone care for a Song?
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Fine by me, and thank you Pedantic George.
And that Neil Ashton article is hilarious!
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That Lacazette news takes the biscuit. 4-6 weeks for City means about 3 but for us it can and often does mean anything. Damn
It near enough completes the sense we have received none of the benefits it was fair to expect from resting most big players from most of the cup competitions so far.
I hoped that would be huge for us and see us with a definite fitness edge on rivals for some games, but it hasn’t been that way at all.
The injury prone lads have still been injury prone. Jack benefited big time from his cup games, Elneny,too, perhaps, but that’s been about it. Though kos would most likely have missed more if we’d been in CL.
Oh well. Some extra involvement for Nketiah and maybe Nelson and Smith-Rowe too(playing fantastically recently) would be some consolation.
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George – there is always tomorrow.
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Shard
Annoyingly, doesn’t seem to be in book I hoped it would be. Have read all ones available on Wenger and, perhaps optimistically, hoped it would be in only one I know whereabouts of in house. Nope.
May have got one in question from library or it may turn up here. Good excuse for a long overdue book-sorting maybe.
None of the books have ever delivered quite what I hoped and some have been pretty mediocre (it may be the man himself who can do it justice, or no one), though with interesting bits and pieces.
This one in question- Xavier Rivoire; Arsene Wenger : The Biography- doesn’t seem bad though, flicking through it again.
There’s loads in there which is in total contrast to the idea of him as a manager not especially interested in tactics. Charming portrait of him as a young manager, living in a disorderly flat with football videos everywhere, not caring about any furniture apart from a good bed. Totally obsessed and dedicated.
[Claude Puel] ‘noted that the new manager boasted three essential attributes : tactical nous, an ability to analyse on the spot, and a willingness to keep things simple’
Tons like that which paint the opposite picture to the one now common. Though I suppose we are meant to believe that along the way he simply stopped doing much of what brought him great success!
This Wenger quote (on Marseille scandal and more) also seems worth sharing:
‘We are living in an environment where only winning counts. Anyone who loves sport knows that when two boxers enter a ring, there can only be one winner. Yet, for all that, for a good fight you need two heroes. Unfortunately, today, too much attention is paid to the winner. I find that sad. Cheats are forgiven, as long as they win.’
Not sure if that’s a quote from the time, or reflecting back later on. Written up as though the former
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Henry, fair point, i was putting a historical context at play on the point you mention, ie my belief at least that Arsenal were so good,even with the stadium payments, they threatened the most influential manager in our league, so he assembled his LMA gimps , Sam, Pulis, and at times, his own Utd to counter out slick continental play by kicking our players off the park, aided and abetted by a change at the top of the pgmol who clearly instructed his refs to let this play go, as he himself did at OT. If our players retaliated, they saw cards. this English style made it a lot easier for Stoke or Bolton to take points of us, though i never saw them try and kick utd off the park. But, Rileys rules would help keep Utd ahead of wenger, and the likes of Sam and Pulis were helped massively stay in the prem league.I know teams were a lot dirtier in decades gone by, and i know some of our own past were no angels, but wengers technical teams were not protected under Riley, at all.
Moving to present day, as you mention, City and to a lesser extent Liverpool play a very slick continental game, Pep is now complaining about the treatment they get. Utd and Spurs,to me at least seem more similar to the tactics of the english way, physical right on the edge of the boundaries.
Of course Fergie is no longer around , as a manager at least, but Mike Riley remains.
Not sure what Wenger at least can do, he says pretty much the refs need to do better, and highlights that none are good enough for the world cup,we get..what -4 soft pens against us in three games?
Anicoll, as for our defending hindering us, can only massively agree, if there is, as at least I believe an agenda against this club, or manager, we sometimes make it easy to enforce, too easy. I cannot begin to understand, our defending in the last year and a half, it has been shambolic at times. If wenger and his coaches cannot, or will not sort it, I cannot see us progressing beyond our current league position, and all that may eventually bring. All I will say is that if we are so prone to having the softest of pens given against us, that must surely play on our players minds.
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Whilst there are data over the years that show bias against Arsenal, for example, four infringements before a yellow card when Pulis’s Stoke needed ten, I do not believe there is a systematic and concerted anti-Arsenal bias. The British main stream football media is just so primitive.
I think that Arsene Wenger is arresting the decline of the mainstream media. It will suffer when he eventually stands down. Arsene Wenger is so interesting, intriguing and open to attack from so many angles.
Most coverage of Arsenal and Wenger is negative because negativity sells. Every so often we get a reasonable piece, just when even many of his detractors think enough is enough!
I’m sure the bean counters in the red top papers have input into deciding football editorial content.
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No disagreement there Mandy. The other ‘penalty’ point is that while we from time to time have players who dive in the box we have never, ever employed the type o systematic cheating approach that you get with Raheem Sterling, Jamie Vardy or Eden Hazard (and I’m sure we could name plenty more eh Harry, Delli and Erik). But I don’t care – I don’t want more penalties if it means cheating.
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Yes, that systematic diving on an industrial scale is cheating, deceiving the officials no matter how the media dress it up to deflect from their darling teams. But for the life of me, i just dont get why any official ever gives Kane,Dele, Vardy, Sterling the benefit of the doubt, ok, maybe Dele getting away with a bit less, but the others!
I find myself sometimes wishing we were a bit more cynical but you are right, there is no need to resort to cheating just because others do, and it seems the whole football establishment lets them away with it.
I do wonder however if Wengers successor, looking for quick wins might be a little more, shall we say pragmatic on such issues, we shall see, and how or if the club react if he does resort to these things.
Strange, Eduardo and Bobby were never termed clever, resourceful, nobody told them they had a right to go down because there was contact
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Jeorge Bird
@jeorgebird
10m10 minutes ago
Arsenal’s Xavier Amaechi and Tyreece John-Jules scored for England U17s in their 2-0 win over Holland. Bukayo Saka, Vontae Daley-Campbell and Trae Coyle also featured.
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so Lacazette had an operation to fix an “on going” problem in his knee. I wonder why did Wenger sub him off so often this season at around the 70 minute mark. If only there was some clue.
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Having one of those days where I can’t work out who I dislike the most\; Tottenham, Arsenal Fan TV or Theresa May.
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It would be nice to get the ones we deserve while not cheating though?
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Even more sorry we let Giroud go now. That’s a lot of pressure on PEA now
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Kane diving, but ref ignores it, really should have been booked there.
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Eds that comment made me L.O.L.
Obviously it’s been fitness related and alas as we now have been informed he’s had a knee knack of some kind at least for a short time.
I hope I am mistaken but I don’t think that any of the Shamtastic PR whizz blaggers proffered such or any sporting consideration (it being a sport and all…) in front of their audiences. I think their lucid musings went something like this: “Vengarrrghhhhhh”
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Sad news for Mason. I didn’t like the instructions his manager gave him but I suspect he was a better footballer then all but one of his overhyped English teammates. Fortately for him Jimmy Hill scratched his chin after looking at the medical data back in the fifties/sixties and managed to look after his fellow pros. Some would say things have gone too far in that direction, if I were them I wouldn’t blame Vengarrgghhh.
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Those Tottingham statisticians will be hard at it
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Douglas Costa, we’ve seen his quality!
Tottenham conceding two pens in the same game? Are our favourite diving cloggers clogging their way outside of the PL?
Higuain? Meh. Good swerve there Arsenal!
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They may be hard at it but if and when they publish their figures and method there won’t actually be much content.
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< unless like our pals elsewhere they also count errors in favour too…
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Amusing line in commentary.
Talking about Juve first potentially being offside by a whisker, one of comms said something like ‘at this stage, for games like this, on this stage, a decision like that can make all the difference’
I twigged where he was going half way through, and was laughing at difference between that and what we so often hear, in relation to us, or when those things are dismissed as influential for the beneficiaries…and then was more abused by the basic idea of it : why would a marginally offside goal or the like, leading to a goal, be more influential on an individual game here than any other game?
Such things are, obviously, important in every game
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Stunning to see how little they have made of Kane’s big old dive, only a week after it was a huge talking point, even before their manager made his comments.
Just a brilliant demonstration that the agenda’s and biases are absolutely real.
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