Hello all.
I this podcast we pick over the bones of our dying CL hopes. Mikel has had some praise recently, but he gets it in the neck for this debacle.
Pedantic George
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Positively Arsenal 
I personally liked the pod and the things that were discussed,and good to listeb to Bysö again.
One thing thought really hit home was George talking about winning the league without Henry and Bergkamp, but what about the CL run to the final, the greatest make-shift defence ever! I often wondered what if..? Weng hadnt changed it for that awful game and kept it the same from the semi?Of course I understood why he put Campbell in, and of course he scored.But then that game was full of what ifs..and the worst gutting pain ever as an Arsenal fan. The worst: no other loss was even close not even the disgusting cheating of game 50( if only VAR was around then, although maybe even that would not have been enough against the forces of corruption)…
Compared to Weng, Artetas a novice, perhaps its an unfair comparison,( and Im a dog turd in comparison if it makes people happy) but perhaps not? Often people will say ” well Arteta knows more than I will ever as a coach”. But is this true? Sometimes it sounds like “I know nothing therefore I will die on the Somme for my superiors “? A sense of or temporary positions of semi- agreed superiority, like all hierarchies can only ever be relative.There are many cooks who are utterly superb who are not Michelin starred,and known only to friends and family? Playing Xhaka at LB was obvious to most that it was going to jeopardise the flow and any potential control of the game,against a supposedly inferior side.But the fact we have no back up for most positions, is surely quite simply, bad management? Is it bad management that a player like Holding isnt selected to play LB (even if hes a CD), than taking out the only really decent midfielder we’ve got. our only natural captain who like many other Arsenal players has been really verbally degraded and is still expect to go out there an carry a game, a player who is shown disciplinary prejudice in games by referees. Oh yes he is! What if leaves, should we hope we buy someone new? Does anyone have the nous and nose to chivvy out excellent potentials the likes of which we were used to in the past? If feels like those days are well over? We can hope?
Its an odd emotion when you have to hope rather than trust? Isnt that how we feel going into most games now? Hope is a tyrannical thought process, and a poor benzine, its as bad as belief ( belief is conjecture, and yes it has its place too). Knowing is much more secure( as our Wenger sides showed), and ok, hope is at times necessary to save you from paths of not functioning too well, but knowing the self and others as a unit supersedes all other psychological systems, it seems the only key to success as XIty and Liverpool well know at this moment, they know how to play.They know each other. They know.
But to have to hope that people set it up right, to hope other teams lose, to hope that players might click and feel intuitively inspired when mostly they seem not to be, thats a wrong turn for me, pure psychological acrobatics without a safety net.
Ehab made the excellent argument that Arteta would need a certain amount of games, but what sort of club have we become to offer such charity to rookies and hoping that it might turn out ok? One that hasn’t played CL in sometime that was mid- table two seasons running. Yes we won the FAC, but with non-Arteta players. To me thats one heck of a red herring.And we feel far away from that kind of win now?
At this moment surely its a fair question to ask are we good enough for the CL? Perhaps to scrape in it? And get thrashed- as I ranted on about last blog. Are we a Euro conference team? It seems closer. And we will all hate it having been spoilt to have to play such unglamorous sides, until maybe we get to the SF ( and lose in the Final).And that sums much of it up for me. They sowed and we’ve collectively reaped.Ignorance isnt bliss, its facking suffering!!!
Of course when does anyone have 20-20 vision,the answer is they dont, We are trapped in flux and context, in cause and effect,bad psychology, endless voices of dissent( like mine) and the eternal flip flop of analysis that comes through this with heaps of joy and relief or spittle- clouds of anger. Even hindsight and stats are dim lights in the darkness of understanding, but they too are only aspects of perception? All of us are trying to work it out, its horrible, but its what makes it interesting? Its all normal too,it really is.
I dont like the sense of shame we carry as a club, of a kind of struggling once was now not club. Shame is a difficult emotion to carry, as the way out of it is mostly anger, which then leads back to shame again.Its a Sidney Viscious circle?
And wheres St Totteringham when you need him? Is he stuck on Kensington Avenue, Philadelphia, with desperate souls there?
If you want Arsenal in a context then check out some video of KA on YT. Ive not seen anything quite like it, its heart breaking and desperate and sad that our collective alienation and fear of one another (and internal feelings of lack) leads to such circumstances rather than helping each other out.The fact that its been filmed and observed for years with no deeper help is mind boggling and depressing as fk. Always I feel like a turd voyeur gawping at tragedy. But this again is us as humans? Its everywhere, all the time in different forms. We cant achieve Universal love as it would become Universal hate, as we need the polarities of this and that to create that and this.And we cant escape the dualities, not even the enlightened: first there are mountains, then no mountains, then mountains again. The only difference is our interactions with dualities once we understand them are not the same as at the beginning.But there can be no one answer, but many answers to many questions. For too long the world has been plagued by the dumb -assed searched for a single solution, and there these shitty ideas lie in ash, blood and ice and million upon millions dead. And realtivity weeps flood upon floods.
But surely we could do more, try and get some sense of benevolence running through the human veins again rather than endless division that may get worse very soon.If only people understood counter support structures it might help some.That we are all sinners or potential sinners? But perhaps we need certain contexts and polarities to move things? And if you do or you dont you get a slagging for it anyway, which isnt exactly inspiring? The price of profit seems eventually the price of failure?
And to witness the suffering on Kensington Avenue makes you feel privileged to moan about Arteta and football. All is real though, not just some elements selected by some attitudes. To know the absurd we must know the context of non absurdity?
“The food at this restaurant is terrible!”
“yes, and such small portions”.
Sorry, its been a long time since I wandered off on one. Cheers to you guys.
COYG!
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Great pod again guys and girls.
I’m am getting very frustrated keep saying this but we were never odds on for fourth because the run in hadn’t even started when people were champion us.
By the same token we can’t say fourth has gone already with eight games to go. I was saying when I looked at the fixture list we weren’t favourites and I still think we have the hardest run in but we do have it in our own hands, quite simply win eight and it’s ours.
Going to the left back problem, Arsene used 7 different left backs in the champions League final season of 2006. Midfielders, full backs and CBs all did a good job there because Arsene told what needed and trusted them. He also would use the Dutch mantra of any player, any position and would teach his team’s to work problems out for themselves.
We have a plethora of different solutions to the left back problem unfortunately Mikel went with the one that would handicap us the most.
Again people are saying Mikel has done well if you compare 2022 ARSENAL to the second part of ARSENAL 2021. This is illogical, it’s saying Mikel at the moment is better than shit Mikel, well I’ve got news for everyone it’s the same fucking bloke and he’s still making big mistakes.
While I am certainly not demanding Mikel’s head I also think every club should constantly assess the every area of the club’s progression including the manager and the succession of that area if needed at some point in the future.
Arsene succession wasn’t planned and that’s why we still haven’t recovered.
It is not just Mikel’s bad judgement for replacements we should be talking about but also the reasons why that is the case. Arsene would constantly give minutes to less experienced players so he could call on them when needed as a opposed to Mikel who flatly refused to try anything in games when were comfortable or in lesser games when he had the chance. Eddie is the perfect example he has consistently played well even on the scraps of minutes he has been given, imagine the player we would have now if he had been given the chance. He should of replaced Laca ages ago.
The first half against Villa showed the spuds are not assured wins for the rest of the season but to grab fourth place we will need to regain our solidity and for Mikel to stop making mistakes.
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villarreal have knocked bayern munich out of the CL
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real madrid back in front in their tie with CFC early in extra time. they were 3-0 down in this game but have pulled it back to 2-3, to take a 5-4 lead on agg
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The Emery scenario is interesting. Was Arsenal the wrong place at the wrong time for him?
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That Uni geezer at Villarreal looks a good manager perhaps we should go for him.
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I agree with Mills Flamini should have played over * but I forgave AW as that flaw was also a strength as explained by Cazorla. And agree with Ian, and likes to all. Classic Emery, and Coquelin eh? Villarreal scoring the winner in the 88th with only their second shot on target in the tie.
Tried giving some props to Mikel and then he goes and dumps the same move which pushed many fans over the line last season, dropping his best midfielder from midfield. the whole xhaka story is a fiasco he should be the captain and Laca should be coming off the bench. It’s not a moan but an observation: The inability to properly manage senior players has been crippling.
Unlikely now but at least Ancelloti made up a little bit for Pep’s blunder against Chelsea last season. Small mercies.
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The comments by Shiels on Woman being more emotional and that’s the reason why they concede goals in quick succession are very interesting.
I expressed, on twitter, my belief that I didn’t understand why he was apologizing and George was of a similar opinion and this infuriated our own Kelly Wood. Actually she acted very maturely and totally in control of her emotion by taking herself away before she said something she regretted and wouldn’t let George and I make her even angryer.
My point was in both Men’s and Woman’s games conceding one goal , especially to a stronger side can very often lead to conceding another quickly after. The fact that it happens more often in the women’s game is obviously a concern for a coach of a woman’s team. The NI coaching staff and players must have looked at this after their decent performance for so long against England in first game only for the flood gates to open once the first goal went in.
Having established it is a fact it happens more often in the woman’s it is only right for coaches and indeed fans to put forward the possible reasons why.
It could be because the professional woman’s game is younger they are not as developed in coping with adversity, although I believe female players are very professional and this would be a naive solution.
It could be a complete coincidence and the there is no real answer but again a very naive solution.
So could it be because of a woman’s make up they are hit harder emotionally and therefore find it more difficult to get back into the normal phyche.
It’s not a definite answer by any stretch of imagination but I can’t see why it’s wrong for any coach to put it forward as an explanation.
I would like to hear what some of our Female positivistas think on the subject.
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Am trying to “Like” the post by Finsbury without success.
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Yes Ian, Kelly did well, despite my best efforts to annoy her.
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Having met Kelly I’m glad the Atlantic Ocean is between us. Her and her husband are Sheriff’s aren’t they? We could of been in big trouble whether she dealt with it officially or unofficially.
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Could be bad news for Arsenal if Leicester and West Ham go on to win their competitions – and would really put the tin hat on if Crystal Palace win the FA Cup too !
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well ian I wonder are the Arsenal players emotional, as for years now we are far more likely to concede a second goal than keep it at one once we concede.
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it seems Arsenals second kit next season will be Black, and third kit will be pale pink
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Ed, firstly nice to see you back.
Is the black kit finally an admission we are in mourning for Arsene.
Black’s and dark blues never seem lucky for teams who start in red. I see Rotherham (who play in ARSENAL colours) lose in their black kit the other day.
As for the pink, that’s normally to raise awareness for breast cancer and while that’s a fantastic cause we seem late to the Partey.
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Shit Dyche sacked by Burnley Jesse that’s incredible.
I’d of thought any chance they had of staying up was with him there. Maybe they want a manager who can get them promotion and keep them in the PL for a few seasons Sean Dyche is good at that….oh wait.
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I bet poor Aubas hiding today!
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New post is up
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