Written by dandan
Martin O’Neill, Aston Villa’s much lauded and universally admired manager, has resigned and walked away from Villa Park.
It is generally believed that he left over money. He has spent more than £200m in 4 years. In that time, the wage bill has increased to 85% of turnover and Villa achieved 6th place in the Premiership. Despite being told he could reinvest some of the money he was about to receive for James Milner (reportedly), he still felt that he could not break into the top four without continuing with that level of investment, to bring in new players of equivalent quality and to replace those who leave with greater quality. It appears that this was something the American owner could not sanction in these tough times.
Villa fans are having to live with the realisation that they are unlikely to step up at all this year. In fact, the likelihood is the reverse and a mid table finish is expected to be the inevitable result for the club.
How then would he have fared under the strictures and restraints imposed on Wenger in recent years? Could he have delivered continued participation in the champions league? I think not.
Yet unlike the Villa fans who are sad to see their man go, there is a highly vocal minority of Arsenal fans who would see Wenger leaving as the very least they would wish for. This for a man who’s insistence on youth and sensible spending has borne fruit, not only in the form of the remarkable facilities the club now boasts, but in the stream of young talent his regime has produced. Many of the emerging players are English. A significant number will be representing their countries this week at all levels right up to full international.
O’Neill is rightly regarded as one of the pick of the home grown managers, a Brian Clough disciple and disciplinarian who has been (with the exception of Norwich) successful wherever he goes. He is shrewd enough to have never been sacked; he leaves when he decides the time is right.
So to you discontented Arsenal fans, I pose the question, is Martin the man to replace Arsène? Should we bite the bullet and replace him now?
But before we do, we need to wish our young guns the best of luck for tonights game. Theo, Jack and Kieron pull on those England shirts and make us gooners proud – tonight we can enjoy watching England again.
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Morning all
dandan you’ll be pleased and surprised to learn that I wouldn’t swap Arsene for anyone – I just want him to be the Arsene I fell in love with again
…….and apologies to those who tuned in for some serious football chat yesterday afternoon while we were having a mad half hour – it was fun though and Lady Jesus Spongebob Gaga Pants will be back at some point today no doubt 😉
no way, he’s sell rvp for heskey, cesc for reo coker and vermalen for davies…stick with wenger thanks!
Swapping Wenger for O’Neill would be like like swapping Cesc for Tom Huddlestone
NO.
Good post dandan,
In short, the answer to your question is that I would not replace Arsene with any other manager!
… actually I think you’ll find MON “only” spent around 120 Million.
The vocal minority of Gooners that want Arsene out are a bit like the racist minority every football club has. They are stupid & should just be ignored.
I wouldn’t swap Arsene for anyone – there is no one who could possibly replace his financial AND football knowledge.
Cesc for Huddlestone….thats a good one.
Morning All.
Ps Spartacus won’t be back today….!
Answer: HELL NO …
You dont go from a top model to a minger or from a rocket scientist to a janitor unless your crazyily in love. So those of you who are either crazy or in love with oneill feel free to pick him.
Peaches,
For my part in a v. naughty Arsenal Supporters, non-footie chat, I apologise. 😦
I can’t pretend tho’ that I did not enjoy the chat from some of the zany folk on here. Especially the Lady! 🙂
Hmmmmm NO THANKS.
Martin O Neill has had more clubs than Tiger Woods
Arsene is the king!! We will miss him when he is gone, o’neil will be next united manager.
Morning all,
Welcome to all the new bloggers.
A rhetorical post dandan as we all know the answer. We should have put in a poll, it would be 100% so far 😉
I hope that O’Neil gets another job soon, tho’ not with us, because I love watching his Jack in the Box antics and apoplectic displays on the touchline.
Especially when we beat Villa! 🙂
No thanks…..200m spent in 4 years, and can only finish 6th….wenger forever!
stupid artcle suggesting O’Neil for arsenal.
Prick
Dandan is spot on in giving Arsene credit (together with Liam Brady and Bouldy) for nurturing a whole new wave of incredible talent in our youth team.
Jack and Keiron are just the start and in a few years time I think we will have a terific English nucleus to our First team squad.
O’Neil, in fairness has had a high number of English players in his team, tho’ not too talented, but he has bought most if not all of them.
Ethio,
The post was not suggesting O’Neil should replace Wenger, it was posing the question.
Morning all, my answer would not be one of the options listed – if Wenger fails to bring in the quality and quantity we need and we implode like last year then my choice would be Hiddink.
About 3 or 4 transfer windows of neglect have sealed his(Wenger’s) fate in my eyes if we go into this season with the GK and centre back situation as it is now.
Fuck off. I just blocked you off NewsNow too.
ethio and Mr B,
One purpose of the article was to allow Arsene supporters to heap praise on him. I assume by your comments that you are both AW supporters, what a shame you don’t share any of his grace or intelligence.
Thanks Jake,
We wouldn’t want you on here anyway.
No chance. O’Neill is overrated and isn’t fit to wipe Wenger’s arse.
The only people who want Wenger out of the club completely are not real fans. The reality is when he steps aside, he will be moved upstairs and kept around the club – and rightly so. This is a man who completely transformed The Arsenal and had a massive influence in getting the Premier League where it is today.
Anyone who doesn’t respect that and treats such a man with disdain and hatred is an ignorant cretin, and should never, ever claim to “support” Arsenal.
Morning all (again)
I think Wenger’s vision will bare fruits but it might yet take another couple of seasons, and for that reason alone i think he would extend his contract to see it through.
There is some disquiet amongst a section of fans(for want of a better word) and i read yesterday on one blog(no not that one0 that if we lose at Anfield,Wenger should be sacked.An extreme view if ever i saw one.
Just put my bikini on and off to the beach with my clan 😉
No. And anybody who thinks we should is an idiot.
Listen there are two sides to this story, sure we love Arsene Wenger for all he has done for our club, but how on gods green earth could we be playing Liverpool in a few day with these goalkeepers and this defense???There is no excuse that you could give me for this, it is completely unacceptable, nothing short of lunacy.
Cesc for Huddlestone….thats a nice one.
Morning All,
Except for a few mistakes here and there Arsene is still the best there is and I wont swap him for anybode! Arsene knows!
At least Martin O’Neil spends money!
The season starts for us on Sunday and we still have not replaced any of our goalkeeping clowns!
Checkbook out Mr Wenger!
how is the weather in Malaysia, jake.
Cesc for Huddlestone….thats a nice one.
Morning All,
Except for a few mistakes here and there Arsene is still the best there is and I wont swap him for anybody! Arsene knows!
A big fat NO – thank you very much for asking.
no way
Cracking post. The stats speak for themselves. AW not only spends far less than the majority of his peers, consistently finishes above them in the league but also his teams play a far better style of football than most.
Wenger over anyone. I hope he stays for many years to come.
Any new manager would not have enough money to make the squad any better than it is now! We finished behind moneybags Chelski and Manure so that isn’t bad considering how much Wenger is able to spend. Honestly, what manager out there could do better against teams that can spend so much more than Arsenal? Answer is none!!
We have to draw a comparison chart on ammount of money spent by the two managers.I believe in his time,MO has spent more than Wenger. In terms of achievement Wenger comes out tops.
However that is not to say Wenger is indispensable. You are only as good as your last game.The red faced cunt could be sacked if he goes at least one to two seasons without winning any trophy.
I think there are managers whose track record is better than MO.Of course we have to leave out the Scottish league which is unable to compete in the cl.Similarly for leagues in the Eastern europe and france.
The leagues that matter are those in Italy,germany and Spain.The top managers in these leagues are the ones the Arsenal board shd seek out to replace Wenger.
idiot
Don’t be so hard on yourself babar – prove you’re not an idiot by writing something intelligent, but do yourself a favour and go back and read the post again so you understand what its all about.
Morning all. When I saw it yesterday I thought someone was having a laugh! O’Neill is great for clubs like Leicester, & Celtic (where he only has to compete with Rangers), but any manager who rates Heskey has no place at Arsenal! Andy Gray was spot on when he said “O’Neill chucked his toys out of the pram.” He lost a lot of Villa fans when he played a 2nd-string in a UEFA Cup tie. He definitely isn’t good enough for a club of our stature.
Do some people actually read the post 🙄
If anyone is interested in loaning a season ticket for this season I’ve been contacted by a student who has just come to the top of the list and won’t be able to use the ticket at the moment but doesn’t want to lose the chance to own it for the future. Its being rented out at face value £1227 and is in the new North Bank area.
Contact me at arsenalnuts@live.co.uk if you’re interested.
Fine post Dandan. I really enjoy it when there is a little irony in a title – it shows up who reads the whole article, though in the impolite bloggers defence, English is not their first language and reading is perhaps a step too far 🙂
MoN – Man City ?? The man flatters to deceive. Poor football ethos but a fine entertainer on the touchline
Morning GG,
Apparently MoN’s disciplinarian style wasn’t popular with many of the players (a bit like Capello and England). I’ve heard that there were some joyous texts being sent round amongst the squad when they heard the news.
im a villa fan and i think this would b a bad move 4 u as fans because u would b giving up the beautiful football for counter attacking football, i happen to think this would work for u as martin o’neill wasn’t always this defencive and this ment we got gd football and a solid defence, and u wud probably win something out of it because he can make players play to new levels and strenghten up ur defence, bt whether ur willing to do this for counter attacking football. is the question. bt one things for certain youll go further than with wenger, and he is also another tht brings through young talent. anyway theres no point asking tht question anyway cz wenger aint leaving
Hi avillian136, welcome,
Thanks for your comment – a lot more intelligent than some gooners we’ve had on this morning.
I agree with what you say. You villains have my sympathy. I hope you find a good manager and can establish financial stability in the Premiership.
Morning all,
I believe our new look line-up is much better than of last season. Wilshere & Ping Pong have really impressed me in the pre-season. Nasri looks to be on another level. Chamakh gives us the aerial threat we lost since Ade’s departure. There are about 7 players coming back to fitness. Add a new keeper and another CB and we’ll be unstoppable…
rasp to further your point.
Luke Young as you know tragically lost his brother last year, and has been disenchanted with what is happening at Villa.Young still lives in Wimbledon, and is prepared to reduce his wages dramatically to move back to london, his preferred choice being Fulham. He is now 31, and if he doesn’t get his wish,he seriously is thinking of retiring from football altogether.He certainly didn’t see eye to eye with O’Neill and there are others who feel the same.So it may not be all about not having funds with O’Neill.
Haha, no one wants O’neill.
Hi kelsey,
Yes I’ve heard that too.
Ashley Young is a gooner (another Stevenage boy I think), He’s a pretty good winger. I hope he doesn’t join the spuds but I suppose we couldn’t accommodate him in our midfield. If the spuds sign him, that will give them Bale, Lennon and Young all with pace and capable of crossing from out wide.
Blasphemy!
He has a habit of doing a runner. He did it at Leicester, Celtic (when Alex McLeish brought his SPL winning run to an end), now he’s done it at Villa. Not a lot of loyalty considering he was schooled under Cloughie! But football’s a strange business, you can fail as many times as you like & still get a job! Former Gunner Alan Ball was the perfect example of that. Five or six teams he took down, & he just kept getting jobs, so O’Neill won’t be unemployed for long. Just as long as he never comes to the Emirates!
Welcome G4L&B,
That’s the point. When you actually start to imagine a manager like MoN at Arsenal (good as he is) it makes you appreciate AW all the more. Managers like Hidink and Guardiola have the gravitas and one day (he says when he’s 65) AW will be off.
i reckon arsenal may win the title this season with young players coming through and some gd transfer moves, and obviously van persie and fabregas hopefully staying fit u shud b a gd team this season
goonerwife, welcome again .. are you married to Gooner4life? you’d make a lovely couple 😆
Dunno why any Arsenal fan would want rid of Wenger…top manager….even if he is a bit one sided and non aplogetic about his players behaviour…..but I would have him at Villa in a heartbeat!!!!
Morning all pretty lively response then, thanks for the edit who ever did it I didn’t dare touch it after yesterdays cock up.
Goonerswife I plead guilty as charged
Morning peoples,
I wouldn’t want MON either, not anymore but I am started to get frustrated with our current boss, big time…
Its funny isn’t it, along the high streets the big sales are usually done on the opening day of the summer sale – with us it looks like its heading for last day bargin hunt again! 😦
Sad news about Swiss Phil, its suggested he’s ruptured his achillies and could miss most of the coming season..
started = starting…
Another gripe I have, Cesc will probably miss our opening game but he is with the spanish squad?? If he plays its utter madness!
rico we got tht every season with o’neill bt they were all top quality buys (well for villa)
Morning rico 😉 ,
I think we’re all in agreement. No ta to MoN, that’s not to say he isn’t a decent manager but he certainbly couldn’t step into Arsène’s shoes.
I think the transfers may start rolling this week. Schwarzer is looking on the cards again, but I haven’t worked out who the mystery CB will be?
Allow me to digress. just read that Arsene puts style before success. This is absolutely/180% accurate.So often in matches the gunners are trying to show off before scoring ie 30 passes .Yes that’s correct 30 passes before a shot is unleashed at goal. What ever for.
The rfc goes for the throat and his attitude is as long as I win i won’t bother with style.You look at some matches . A high ball and two/three/five passes and the ball in the net. Fans will remember the goals and not the 1000 ,yes on thousand pass, before the gaol is scored.
Hi Rico – I wish Wenger would show a bit of backbone and tell the Spanish FA that Cesc isn’t fit to travel; and the moment he lets all the players’ countries FA’s take us from behind after we lube ourselves up.
Finally, have you found a new home for Avenell yet ? 🙂
avillian, what is the general view of the fans about MON quitting? SS’s are suggesting a lot of the players are happy… I thought he was a well respected manager at villa..
i wouldn’t mind last day deals at arsenal if they were quality…
Interesting points dandan my manman. Or irony as BR puts it.
I don’t hold out much hope for 3 points this weekend though. Who will be the CB’s? Do we have 2 CB’s even.
They have both won nothing over the past 4 seasons….so there is no point for such a move.They are both so so managers, riding on past glories.
Arsenal will not win the title this season people.Get real. Not with the 2 jokers between the sticks and no new CD and DM….. Theo Walcott, Gibbs and Jack Wilshere might be talented, but they are not going to inspire ARsenal to the title.The excuse from Wenger will be the usual ” we are inexperienced”.It makes me sick but yeah I have heard it over the past 5 seasons and this one will be no different.
😳 & evening all
Hi rasp,
hope you are right, we need the players before the weekend, i think the CH will be Spahic (spelling)
Hi chary,
ditto, cesc should have not been given permission to travel, wonder what antics the barca lot will get up to this time….
rico
I hope the “antics the barca lot” get up to doesn’t involve putting a pair of Barca jocks on Cescs arse-nal 😦 They appear a bit Camp Nou to me that lot 😆
Hi george 😆
Ian Holloway knows how to buy, four players announced all at once, come on Arsene, follow that 🙂
A bit GG9 !! You not seen the pics of Pique and Ibra then..??
Rico :well every1 is obviously dissapointed because we thought this wud b the season we finally push for champions league or a trophy because he had a five year plan to get us into the champions league and this is the fifth year, so we were expecting exciting buys and our team to go for it. now there is mixed views and they r that we r gonna drift away to mid table mediocracy or that now that o’neill has left we can finally push on because we have some good players and most of the fans know that mon made some silly mistakes like playing players out of position, constantly playing heskey and sidwell, not trying out the younger players and not rotating e.t.c and many people believe if we adress these problems and get a decent manager then we can push on further.
bt every1 is dissapointed because mon is a gd manager and would have kept us high in the table at the least, whearas now we dont know wht will happen.
SS
Alright a lot then 😆
haha great comment MidnightMoor…
Cesc for Huddlestone…
good one…
Spuds can think now whether they wanna swap Rednose Redknapp for O’Neil….
avillian, i guess it depends who replaces him, you have some quality players, maybe a change of manager is just thing to take you up another step?
Moyes has ruled himself out, who do you hope for to replace him?
I like Villa, always hoped you would push into the top four too, 2nd of course with us top 😉
Avillan,
You are definitely upsetting the equilibrium by being reasonable and intelligent in your comments. Opposition fans usually froth and rant when they visit Arsenal sites.
But I suppose some of our fans are much the same.
You are an ambassador, keep up the good work. 🙂
Dude are you crazy? I like Martin O’neil but swap him for wenger?!! Hell no!
avillian,
I like a lot of what you have to say and hope you find a good manager soon, but can you please use vowels as not all of us on these forums have embraced text speak and it makes reading your valid points all the more difficult! Thanks
Hi Rico. 🙂
Hi RA 🙂
interesting post dandan
but reports are coming through that MoN fucked up the wage structure at villa.
thats why their selling.
so maybe not then
See Gallas is interesting The Twitcher… Good old ‘Arry, eh..
Never in a million billion trillion fillion dillion willion………you get the picture. I feel frustrated about the lack of signings, but I’m convinced Wenger will be addressing the situation. It’s not easy in the current climate. Wenger is STILL the rite man for the job. Hope it’s true about the fulham keeper Mark handing a transfer request, he’s not my first choice, but he’s better than what we got to be fair.
CharyB said earlier he hoped Wenger would show a bit of backbone and tell Cesc he couldn’t travel. Can’t argue with that.
Have you noticed how old purple snitch gets away with the Giggsy syndrome year after year? What a cheek telling Fabio that Carrick was too injured to play for England at Wembley, and the plays him 3 days earlier at …. umm, well Wembley, for Manure.
Of course it is always with the connivance of his players. Cesc would probably tell Arsene to take a hike.
goonerpower, City apart, hardly any clubs are spending much – we have money and my fingers are truly crossed that some of it gets spent…. agree re schwarzer..
Red Arse, you are so far up Avillian’s arse we can barely see your feet. I urge you to cease this double cringe-worthy sycophantic behaviour before some seriously vomits over their keyboard.
O’Neil was good but not great. He spent money but not many of his players are truly world-class, I don’t think he is capable of developing such players. He will be missed by Villa fans and I doubt Villa will find a better manager any time soon…also I don’t believe Villa could challenge for a trophy especially with ManC spending to buy success…it worked for Chelsea, it will work for them.
He’s either fit or he isn’t RA, if he plays for spain, then best he start on sunday….
My fingers will join you 🙂
Bloomsbury,
You are so eloquent, I think I will put you forward for the Pullitzer.
Rico, we are going to do it this season I can feel it more than the last 5 seasons!
your right there rico (hi)
Look at Inter Milan, Moratti has said that they wont buy anyone (ie Masceranho) until they sell (Balotelli) no-one has any money -except AFC
Rasp
Goonerwife because when i moved here from the US, my husband was already an arsenal fan (he was living in manchester at the time, seriously). He choose arsenal because of Wenger, I chose arseanl because of him even though at the time I asked him why he didnt pick the team that wins all the time and is a manchester team where we lived. Thank God for that. cos i hated manchester in the end and we now live in London.
Anyhow i have grown to adore the Arsenal and Wenger. I respect him and i love the arsenal boys. Arsenal to win the title!!
TheTruth
I disagree, there are better managers out there who could get your squad further up the league. Look at Wenger, we don’t have a side full of superstars but he is able to get us in the top 4 each season – if, as is being reported, some of the players are a bit naffed off with MON, a new manager could sort that out…
City may be spending big but right now they aren’t gelling well and Bellamy has spilled the beans that a few players a naffed of with their boss…
They will do a Chelsea, that being going through manager after manager as their current one will be out before christmas if they dont hit the ground running….
Hi rsd, someone just needs to make sure we spend all of it…
Thetruth, sorry, i have assumed you are a villa fan, forgive me if i’m wrong..
Hi RSD,
We might have the money (?) but we are certainly showing no signs of spending it.
Now i see, you are a gooner 🙂
Wish i shared your optimism about it being our season, as the squad is at the moment we haven’t got a cat in hells chance, but, if we get a solid keeper, CH then maybe..
Also, i would mind a nice suprise in the midfield… 😉
Wenger does not tend to give much away when dealing in the transfer market, he will be looking RA.
The Truth
It’s odd you don’t seem to like me speaking the truth. Of course you have proven my point beautifully, so thank you.
Please don’t bother responding, I always feel sullied conversing with your type.
Rico, I hear you homeboy but what I was trying say is that wenger gets the best out of the players (not including goalkeepers ;)) and can develop them into exceptional or world-class players…he is a magician.
Red Arse, do we need to spend big? Wenger said it himself, we didn’t need to sell Fabs because we are strong financially.. I do think we need a centreback and a keeper though…we shall see…
I suspect you are right Goonerpower.
In fact I am sure he has tried but not been successful for a variety of reasons. But we can live in hope! 🙂
Fulham have just denied that Schwarzer has handed in a transfer request
The Truth,
Don’t give me that disgusting comment and then try to engage me in sensible Arsenal discussion.
Apologise, or talk to my Red Arse!
Lol every season we live in hope mate 🙂
Red butt-munch, I knew you would bite hard on my comments. Just because you use words like ‘sullied’ and ‘equilibrium’ that you looked up in a dictionary does not mean you know what you’re talking about.
think the problem is everyone knows we’ve got it so are quoting stupid prices and wages
Hi,
I am a Norwegian Arsenal fan (since 1987)- and trust me when I tell you that I know what crap football is all about.
My point is that Wenger has not only built a team – but a najor european club! The Arsenal way is today most entertaining football on the globe – possibly only Barcelona are able to match the “entertainment factor”.
Yes, I would love to see him splash money out for a goalkeeper and a decent centre-half – but I would NEVER want to see any other manager at Arsenal as long as he wants to do the job! Why? Because this game is about playing amazing football – and not all about trophies. My Norwegian club (VIF) won the League for the first time in over 20 years in 2005. However, we defended our way to the titel (a bit like GH’s Arsenal 88 team). Its fun there and then – but nothig to build on.
Greatness comes from winning again and again – WITH STYLE. To achieve this the club needs a solid financial base (i.e. not spend in City style) and have the players that can win and entertain at the same time. And yes – I am willing to wait for much longer becuase even though we might not win the league we can expect The Arsenal do deliver some great performances this coming season. Just think when we can field Cesc, Arshavin, Van Persie, Chamak and Nasri at the same time. Just the thought of it makes me happy!
Dandan,
It was entirely predictable that once Mark Hughes was appointed he would do his level best to screw both Wenger and Arsenal.
He has history with us.
Red butt there you go again trying to write eloquently. I can assure you that it’s not only me who thinks you’re transparent. You have been exposed as a Villa fan masquerading as a gooner.
Kvarme, ex-liverpool player? So that’s where you went, I thought you were a truck driver?
dandan – just seen that too, hope wenger has a plan b for his keeper target, and that plan b doesn’t mean Flappy or Almunia 😉
Mark Hughes = cnut bag
Apologies for the language but when I’m right, I’m right.
Kvarme,
What an interesting appraisal.
Norwegian club teams don’t have as much “status” as other English, Spanish or Italian teams, and yet Norway has more than once beaten England in Championships. 🙂
I agree with much you say about the beautiful football we play, and hopefully we can also win the PL doing so.
You are wrong to thinks minority want Wenger out, in fact so many seasons holder refused to renew their ticket Arsenal had to call people dire tly. Some it economic but majority are fed with Wenger, put these way when hecrnd trophy less at the end of seasons then you would see how people react.
Any manager would win with Arsenal and buy few quality players etc Goalie, CB, Dm then win, win and that time is getting nearer. Myself I am not bothered with Arsenal any more until Wenger goes Au revoir
ManUtd website has Ozil as a member of first team squad http://bit.ly/ddaUf8
7masters, why do I torture myself by reading your rediculous comments. No-one from Arsenal called me you fils de pute! You’re clearly one of those glory hunting fans who ‘supported’ arsenal post 1998. Do you think West Ham fans, or Newcastle fans stop supporting their clubs if they don’t win anything or get relegated?
You’re missing the bigger picture and I can’t be bothered to paint you a knew one. Arsenal have conducted themselves in the right way by not spending millions on overrated mercenaries just to buy trophies. The club is financially secure and you’re a dick. That is all. Salut mofo.
RSD,
I’ve had a look and it does seem odd. Nothing on Newsnow either.
Yesterday the Spanish papers were saying he was on the verge of signing for Real Madrid.
rsd, i thought he was off to barca, that’s a funny one…
if remember right they did it with ramsey an’all
At least Arsenal would have more English talent if Martin O’Niell came in, rather than focusing on helping the French national team.
This new “homegrown” rule thing won’t make a difference, not until it evolves into something that will make more of an impact.
maybe oliz got feed up with love in at barca.
Cesc DNA mantra must have pissed him off
see villa started up now
Rico, I read on NewsNow that he was going to Barca too. But El Sportivo (?) was reporting the Madrid connection.
A lot of smoke and mirrors here I think. That’s the environment old Purple Snitch works best in, so my money is on Manure. 😦
Bobby, i’m bloomin glad Arsenal didn’t have any English players involved in that goings on in SA…
Utter shambles…
Mine too RA, Low wants him to join Barca though….
RSD,
I thought Villa was telling Cesc to concentrate on Arsenal, rather than the usual clap trap about joining Barca.
still i love you cesc and we’re thinking of you tho init
Hey Rico, looking thru’ various sites I have sen nothing of Wath or Erick. I must say I miss chatting to them.
Have you come across them?
RSD,
🙂
Is Mark Schwarzer really our best hope in terms of recruiting a new gk? If so, it’s very depressing! And for £4million?! Man Utd paid £2million for van der Sar from the same club, & he is far better than Schwarzer, even now!
Man U also list Luis Fabiano on their site http://bit.ly/apwIgp
RA erick moved to twitter @toieroz
GG,
I would not buy him frankly. In my opinion, Arsene won’t buy any goalkeeper, but will keep his fingers crossed and hope Flappy or Al won’t screw up on day 1.
What a gamble. 😦
I would prefer Arsene. He has Arsenal in his “DNA”
Thanks RSD. I will try and contact him. 🙂
Fabiano is still a seville player…
Schwarzer will be a major improvement on what we have at present
Catch you another day peeps….
If there’s any truth to it, I would love Reina to come in.
he’s always there radio kenya
really dantes think he’s about the same as almunia if not worse
I’ve been through many Arsenal sites of late. I think I have found the worst two by far. They are:
1. Le Grove
2. Untold Arsenal
Mind you, Le Grove is much worse.
RSD are you talking about Schwarzer or Reina?
Wenger’s doing the same PR bit as this time last year, by talking us up & saying we can win the PL. In May he made no apologies to fans for raising expectations last year, instead saying some of the fans expectations frightened him. He spins better than Shane Warne! Is he saying that we can win major trophies, but that our ambition somehow differs?
I say that about those two sites because they are both extremists. Le Grove is like the Al Qaeda of the Arsenal blog world always gunning Arsene down.
Schwarzer
On many ocassions I had the distinct displeasure of blogging on Le Grove (before I was banned that is). So anyway I was labelled a wind-up merchant trying to cause blog wars. How unbelievable is that? Talk about people taking themselves too seriously.
RSD Im not too concerned which keeper comes in as long as he is reliable. Almunia has major reliability issues.
This post is ridiculous. I know it’s not suggesting O’Neill as a replacement for Wenger, simply raising it as a question, but you have to raise a seriously possible question. It’s like writing a lenthy blog asking if cesc fabregas should be replaced by Stephen Hawking. It’s not like for like. Could you seriously imagine the reaction if the board came out today and said: “We’re sacking Wenger and replacin ghim with Martin O’Neill”. Pointless post.
Even Lehmann at this point would still have been better
how dare you write article like this,arsene wenger is the best football manager ever gunner forever!!!!
Hey 7Masters, do us all and the club a favor by not bothering with Arsenal anymore. People like you are part of the problem. A new manager won’t be able to spend anymore than Arsenal and will face a mass exodus of players who would leave in a heartbeat if they felt Wenger was hard done by. Think before you write.
Hi Edmond Dantes,
Its good to have you on here, but you should know that one of the few rules we have is that we do not use AA as a platform to attack other sites.
LG gets more hits than any other Arsenal blogsite and therefore reflects the views a lot of gooners. We (by virtue of the bloggers we attract) are more pro Arsène, but nobody gets thrown off just for expressing the opposite view.
ArsenalStation has just demonstrated the best way to deal with extreme views – by an educated response.
Rasp, maybe someone should point ‘The Truth’ in the direction of some ‘educated responses’ classes.
Hi Sharkey,
I’ve not been around much this morning. I’m hoping the site is self-regulating and the regulars can see ‘educating’ newcomers who don’t understand how we like to do things as part of their involvement 😉
I only saw his less than erudite comments on a read back. That sort of language and ‘witty retort’ does seem to be de rigeur in blog world these days.
I’m not sure why so many are so quick to play the blog hard man, by hurling insults around so freely. It automatically puts me in mind of weedy youths playing tough at ther PCs
lui @ 12:59, “how dare we write an article that demonstrates what good manager AW has been for us?”…. I’m not sure that is what you meant – perhaps you should read it again.
OK my turn now.
This site was sort of set up by accident, and a lot of hard work is done by quite a number of people,mainly rasp and peaches.
We are getting new posters on a daily basis, and we don’t want to be compared to ANY other site, or behave like others either.
We welcome all opinions and generally we pride ourselves with being courteous to others regardless of their club or standing with regards to our Manager.
Personally I am totally against swearing to emphasize a point, or using swear words about any of our players or manager.
We are all human and enjoy a bit of a “chill” sometimes and why not have a laugh as well.
We have an age bracket between 23 to 73 and that in itself brings us sometimes some good nostalgia about our great club.
We will not go back to the playground type of blog, which is evident on many sites.
I hope those who are not too familiar with us, understand and apreciate that. thanks.
As a man of 50yrs old, most of this is very new to me, the technology etc. and today’s generation are quite spoilt in terms of having an outlet to vent their angst/frustrations. I find AA to be passionate, well-written by well-informed hosts, very welcoming with a good sense of humour, and not in the least bit prejudiced. It is a great site for Arsenal fans all over the world. Keep up the good work!
Afternoon all,
On Martin O’Neill. A mate of mine is a Villa fan and he is delighted he is gone and reckons so are many more. He argued (and had me convinced) that O’Neill’s charisma covers over a lot of what he does wrong – apparently he would have been able to keep hold of Barry and Milner had he spent his money more wisely.
My Villa supporting friend said he bought far too many average players and stuck with them too long, made bad positional and formation decisions and made Villa too easy to play against…
It was an interesting chat I must say.
LOL I love when people just see the title and never read the post – book, cover spring to mind.
Hi LJSGP, though I prefer your previous persona (just easier to write!).
Very interesting points raised here today. Clearly MoN has little support within AV and even less at AA.
I have been away during the bedding in process of the new players – can anyone give me a balanced view of them?
Welcome back BR – hope you had a great trip.
IrishGunner will be back Sunday when the mighty Arsenal get going again.
To be honest I’ve not seen much of pre-season, but what I’ve seen of Chamakh in the team I like him – gets in the box for headers too. Don’t know too much about Koscielny.
Anyone know if the England game is on ITV tonight?? Rep.Ireland vs Argentina has been bought by Sky so have to wait for highlights.
LJSGP – ITV from 7.30pm
Desperately sad to see that we have yet to replace our GK. I can only imagine clubs are as reluctant to sell their valued GK’s as we were to sell Cesc.
But money talks and this is a priority signing.
Furthermore, we still need back-up to Song. I cannot see the point in keeping Denilson who has shown that he has quality not not enough of it to propel us to the Premiership – even as 2nd/3rd choice.
I read that Frimpong looks a fine prospect but at 18 is not yet the answer.
Graeme – Thanks a million, I’ll watch England and hope to see some Gunners on the field 🙂
Yeah, hopefully we’ll get a glimpse of what’s to come through Gibbs & Wilshere.
Hate to be the bringer of potentially bad news but I’ve seen it on the young guns blog that Nordveit’s promotion to the first team was conditional on us being unable to get another CB in.
Now that Havard is in the first team I’m fearing the worst, although I’m not going to slash my wrists, metaphorically, till 5.01pm on the 31 August.
Chary – I saw that too and chose to think “he’ll be a back-up, back-up….”
Koscielny, Vermaelen, Djourou, Song. I think he will start with this as his four centrebacks.
Heffer – if true that’s terrible from AW, especially as we need Song in midfield.
LJSPG – is that you Maire ?
Chary – Yes 😀
you forget nordtviet he just got promoted to first team.
And wenger said he would if we fail to find another CB
sorry missed the your latest Carly
h right, I didn’t catch your name change. I toyed with the idea of changing my log on name but I felt it was unique enough, but I can see why you changed your old log, it being too general.
I know it’s mainly Manks/dippers over in Ireland but I’m sure that we’ve got more than one gooner out there(Martin Keown’s relatives for example.)
RSD – “Carly” ?!
soz mate your what is your acronym
Irishgunner will be back Sunday Chary – kinda a bit stuck with the name now.
Just you missed yesterday where I revealed I was in fact Jesus and since I’m Jesus I can be whoever I want to be and I want to be Spongebob Squarepants and Lady Gaga as well…. so there you have it 🙂
No worries RSD – it seems to be “Chary”, Carly is a bit girly for me, LOL.
Or maybe I’ll change it to “Máire”…. Lady Jesus Spongebob Gaga Pants is too long for me…
i like carly goes with the smooth pic
Jazzzzz
Lady Pants,
I must have eaten some magic mushrooms yesterday as I only have a vague recollection of a surrealistic chat with you.
Thoroughly enjoyed it tho’.
I don’t want to get threaded, as that sounds painful, so I’m being good today! 🙂
Afternoon Heffer thanks for the verbal kicking LOL, we have a facility on this site for guests to write Articles. If you feel so strongly, Why not have a go at writing one and send it to “Be our guests” at the top of the page for consideration, we are always looking for new authors
Dandan,
I am glad you wrote that. I sent Peaches an email with attachment to arsenalnuts or something(?).
Should I re-send it somewhere else?
Actually, I am not sure you were happy about the magic mushroom party yesterday, so take a deep breath and don’t tell me what I can do with it. 🙂
Red Arse – I too am being on on my best behaviour for fear Peaches will “thread” me 😯
How will I save all my people if I’m threaded?
Hi dandan – glad you can take it in the spirit intended. Always looking to stimulate debate rather than get personal. In fairness I agree with many of your points about O’Neill – I just don’t think it, or he, relevant to wenger. Of course, 200 responses says it was indeed something people wnated to discuss. I will consider posting something. Thanks for the information.
Lady Pants,
I am waving a leprechaun around my head, by his left leg, to ward off your blandishments.
Saving your people indeed.
Saving my neck would be more appropriate! 😉
Hi Red Arse, No your post went to the right addy, peaches will be back to you.
No problem Heffer, In these pre start days it pays to put something light hearted on occasionally to get people unwound and talking
Ha ha I think we’ll stick to the footy today, if I start I don’t stop ha ha 😉
I’m with you Lady. 🙂
I will have to try and be elsewhere when you are on.
Our humour will probably get us both into trouble! 😉
An appraisal of Koscielny please.
IMO it was a poor move to allow W. Gallas to leave. At 32 he still has qualities to bring to the team and AW’s intransigence over giving over 30’s a 2 year deal has cost us in the past.
That said, he is said to have been a negative presence in the changing room.
Big Raddy,
If you ask 1,000 gooners what they think about Kos, you can guess how many different answers you will get. 🙂
I watched him in all the pre-season games as well as a couple of games on TV in France last year.
I think he is determined to do well. In the games he played he had mixed success. Sometimes good, sometimes bad and sometimes indifferent.
But allowances have to be made because he is new and in pre-season there are many changes to personnel with subs coming and going all the time.
For the future, I think he will bed in very well, although he needs to put a bit more muscle on.
He could be O.K. for us. 🙂
RA, we don’t have the time for allowances 😦
Afternoon all….
SS’s are running the Sagna wants Spahic story….
Gallas could be a Spuddy by the end of the week…..
You are so wicked Rico. 🙂
Poor old Kos. Well only 998 opinions to go now. 🙂
Hi Raddy,
Its interesting because your level of expectation is where it was before you went away whereas the rest of us have had to readjust our thinking.
Red Arse’s summation of kozzer is about right. He certainly has lacked consistency. At his best he is excellent particularly when dealing with the ball on the ground, but his physical presence is limited by his stature.
Nordveit impressed me greatly as did Frimpong. Peaches describes him as a cross between Chris Ewbank and EE. He has great energy and is a scrapper.
Thanks RA.
HI Rico. Long time etc…….
England not on tonight as Dk are playing Germany. Need a stream which I will find later. Theo to start? Hope so.
RA, thats harsh 😉
I thought he was good in the first game, pants in the second and our defensive unit ( 😆 ) was awful after TV was subbed in one of the games…
I am absolutely dreading Sunday…..
Hi Raddy, too long….
I think Gibbs, Jack and Theo will all start, surprised that JET wasn’t called up aswell 🙂
Hi Rasp. My expectation never waivers. “Infinity & beyond…..”
I too have heard nothing but good things about Nordveldt but once again he is physically lacking. AW said we needed height and yet has not signed it – strange. Unless he plans to start with JD.
Rasp, I think Frim-ping-pong is a young Essien kind of player, the only thing that worries me is he fades in the last 20 minutes. I am sure the pace of the game is much greater than what he is used to but you know are old boss isn’t too good on using the subs at the right time…
tiredness brings on late/sluggish tackles, which brings on yellow and red cards…. 😦
Rico,
I know I’m risking a smack, but I don’t think they will start. Gulp.
I say that with a certain trepidation because I know newspapers can twist things, but, in the Times, Fabio is quoted as saying that he expects them to come on for the 2nd half as it might be too difficult for them at the start of the game(?)
The Lloris stuff is circling again…..
Didn’t Nordveit play for Nurnberg in the DM position, mightn’t matter but will he have grown much as a CB on loan then???
Rico,
I really, really hope not!
He is a good shot stopper, like big Al, but he is a titch, unlike big Al, and he is not good on crosses, like big Al.
Pick and Mix! 🙂
Lady Pants,
I believe Nordveidt had a torrid time in Germany and hardly started or appeared in few games.
My German is only school boy stuff but reading their papers, I don’t think he was too highly rated. Of course in the Jan tfr window they bought in two new defensive players and that could not have helped.
Sorry to be a dissenter but I thought he was poor in the pre-seasons, and I could not relate what I saw to all the “good” reports about him from others. 😦
Raddy,
One of the things that impressed me about Nordveit (seen at close quarters at Barnet) was his strength and speed. He was covering kozzers ass quite a bit, and was good in the air.
Lady,
I should have added, when he was in Spain, he was so poor they could not wait to offload him back to us.
I know I am a Job’s comforter, but that’s what I heard.
Rasp.
That is good to read.
Unlike others I have much faith in JD’s abilities if not his health. Had he not lost so much time to injury I believe we would be seeing a fine player today. An injury free season will tell us one way or the other
Lady (Irish)
I heard different to RA, he did play DM and did well 😉
Red Arse – Can’t say I know a whole load about the kid. All I know was that he played DM for Nurnberg when he did play. If what you say is true, Wenger is risking it big time. Still window is still open 🙂
Rico – Interesting. So who is telling me the truth??? 😆
Raddy,
I wish I could agree about JD but he really hasn’t impressed in pre-season. He appears to be bit of a ‘Diaby’ but in the defence. Lapses of concentration and keeps getting out of position.
I heard that Nordveit did OK at DM. He is a very good 3 position utiliity player and certainly can play comfortably at RB. Like out other defenders he’s around 6ft so not the giant some wish for.
Lady, Rico,
When he came back (early) from Spain, he went out again to a 2nd division league team in Norway, before being loaned out to Germany.
Just read an interesting stat on another blog, that from 2003 until 2010, Arsene made a net profit of £5m on trfs for that period.
Some will say that shows why we have not won anything for years, I think it shows the brilliance of Arsene in keeping us at or near the top of the PL, with no money.
Rasp. A run of games will improve him.
Lady Pants,
Rico never tells porkies!!! 😉
Red Arse – He’s still quite young though, he must be somewhat good to be getting the loans at all?
Look at Randall, keeps getting sent back… attitude problem reportedly.
Red Arse – Would you tell porkies?
Lady Pants,
I really hope he does improve now he is back with us.
In fairness, he has had his share of injuries too, so that cannot have helped.
I rate 6′ 4″ (194cms) Bartley higher than Nordviedt (literally 🙂 ) and where is he? Sent out on loan.
Lady Pants,
I’m known as the Porkie King! Tho’ that is either because I look a bit of a porker to some, or it’s my love of porkies, or I’m just telling porkies! 😉
Porkies all round then …. 😆
Bartley is better out on loan, never going to get much game time with us.
RA. Whilst accepting your point re transfer budget, we are NOT a business but a football club. A club relies upon attracting new support to guarantee a healthy future. The fact that a large percentage of young Londoners are Chavs is a direct reflection upon our lack of trophies.
Having travelled extensively, the vast majority of young fans wear Barca shirts and when I see them I think “it should have been us”.
Think on this. Not many years ago we almost beat Barca in a Final with 10 men (and had TH worn his shooting boots we would have). A few seasons down the road they showed us how far away from their standard we are now. That is down to investment in the team. Barca do not shy away from big name signing, nor do they allow themselves to be outbid.
I realise we have had severe financial restraints, but at what cost?
p.s. Don’t mean to sound negative at the start of the season, but not making big name signing has a reverse effect. A club of stature signs the very best, not Koscielny, if we are to sit at the top table.
Lady Pants,
Before you call me a Porky porker who tells porkies, and lead me to the magic mushroom garden, I am going to bid you adieu, and have my usual preprandial glass of wine! 🙂
( I apparently have a dictionary handy for all words over 3 letters long). 😉
Ta ra (see easy peasy to finish). 🙂
Red Arse – You’ll be back 😉
Raddy – How many of those Barca “fans” will be still wearing the same shirts in 10 years time?
I get your point, but Chelsea’s fanbase grew substantially when Ambramovich came with the cash and not just among kids.
Big Raddy, I have come back to answer you.
Your comment is excellent and I agree with every word! Especially Thierry’s terrible shooting on the night that cost us the CL.
I also think Wenger has done something suberb over the years to maintain our status, just below the top, top.
Both statements are not mutually exclusive.
Like you I hunger for not just one, but two marquee signings to make us fans sing, and to tell the rest of the football world to watch out, and allow us to win the Pl, at least.
We think alike my friend, I think. 🙂
Damn, lady Pants,
You are beginning to know me too well.
But I am definitely gone this time. My beautiful wine is calling me. 😉
No Irish. They became Chavs because the Chavs won trophies. Just like the millions of Southern Mancs.
As to the Barca fans – my guess is they will always be fans. Once you nail your flag to the mast, it stays there.
BTW. I am drinking a fantastic Chilean Sauvignon Blanc, which shows that blogging and drinking beautiful wines are not mutually exclusive! (thanks for the words RA)
Raddy – I beg to differ on that, just a difference of opinion.
A mate of mine from primary school waaaaaaaaaay back when was a Blackburn fan, when they got relegated he suddenly reappeared as a Manchester United fan. Not everyone is in it for keeps… Of course not everyone is like this but there is quite a number.
We disagree LJSGP. Anyone who changes team is not a proper fan. End of ……..
I never said they were proper fans, I just said that some people do that.
Big Raddy,
😉
Me too, I love a really nice Sauvignon Blanc, and the Chilean grapes are excellent, but mine is an oaky New Zealand vintage. Mmmmmmmmm.
I juts acn’t concetnraet on both. D:
Go on Lady Pants,
Have a fight. I’ll hold both your coats! :D:
Oh God I’m still here. Lady Pants’ magic mushrooms are working.
Big Raddy, are you named after that wonderful player, Big John Radford? Where are you based?
I wish he was still a youngster! 🙂
RA. Yes.
I spent some time in South Island NZ just to explore the Marlboro region and sample their wines. Amazingly (to me) they are cheaper in the UK than NZ!
Based in Copenhagen but lived in Norf Larndon for much of my life
The more I hear Big Raddy the more I like.
I have never been to New Zealand altho’ I have family there.
I have a very large extended family! 🙂
Don’t want to be disloyal, but Copengahegen for me anyday. 🙂
I know I’m joining this discussion late, but I’m going to chip in anyway.
Those who thought there was a serious suggestion from Dandan to swap Le Prof for Martin O’N obviously missed the point, it was more a case of being topical in order (once again) to reflect on what we Gooners have. I’m not going to comment on that, it’s obvious we have a magnificent manager in AW. But I did want to comment on O’Neill himself.
While O’Neill is clearly talented, it is interesting to see what shape he leaves clubs in. Yes, he led Leicester to their first piece of silverware ever/in living memory, but they fell long and far after he left. Likewise Celtic – SPL titles won, UEFA Cup Final and memorable CL wins, but what he left when he quit was a very, very poor side – anyone at the CL qualifier game at Ashburton last summer could see that. Of course, one could see this as evidence confirming his abilities, that his successors aren’t up to his mark, but really it shows just how far O’Neill is from Wenger’s philosophy, not only in terms of tactics, but in terms of the need to get the fundamentals of a club right.
And now his departure from Villa, apparently with a shocking wage-bill equivalent to 85% of revenue. Most of the admittedly few Villa fans I’ve spoken to in the last couple of years have been pretty negative about O’Neill, which echoes much of what I’ve heard from Celtic supporting friends. And while I can see he’s had his achievements, I sympathise with the criticisms of him. Plus a manager who quits on the eve of a season opener, effectively screwing the club’s season before it’s begun, doesn’t deserve much respect from any fans.
New Zealand, now there’s a fantastic country. My brother has lived there for 20 years and I’ve been there every 4 years or so since. Love it, recommend it to anyone. It’s just so bloody far away (quickest flight from London takes about 28 hours).
As for wine, I’d also recommend Hawkes Bay wineries and the Pinot Noirs of Martinborough (an hour or so north of Wellington).
Who says Arsenal fans are poncy??!
Actually 26 the idea was to get away from the gloom of the past week, re would we, wouldn’t we transfers, and lack of defensive cohesion aand cover
And get us blogging about something else that patently was a definite no no for most Gooners
3000 plus hits and 240 posts says that it worked.
Big Raddy, you make some interesting points re Barca. But it’s very easy (including for arrogant tossers like Xavi) to forget quite how far they’ve come in recent years – for a few years, they were miles off the pace. In a league generally understood to be two giants plus the rest, for the three seasons from 2000-1 to 2002-3 Barca didn’t even finish in the top three, and were respectively 17, 11 and 22 points away from the champions. In the last of those seasons, they finished 6th and didn’t even qualify for the CL.
So when we look at the undoubted quality at Camp Nou today, and they have won four of the last six La Liga titles, we shouldn’t forget that they fell a long way for a while. But in that time, they were building the foundations of what has given them so much great football now.
In my opinion, Arsenal are in a similar building and development phase now – I’m not saying success is guaranteed, of course, and certainly not at the levels Barca play at now. But we should always keep an eye on longer term trends. Barca, who were already a far bigger club than we were/are before establishing a team based on the Messi-Iniesta-Xavi-Puyol generation, show that things change, and they didn’t even have something like building and financing a new stadium to deal with.
I agree with you about NZ one of my favourite places Christchurch would suit me fine.
Dandan, I see the point, but I have to admit, I’m not convinced about the strategy of adopting deliberately provocative headlines. Yes, it gets hits etc, but today’s more abusive responses shows that it causes misunderstandings. Plus I don’t like some of the headlines that appear from this blog on Newsnow.
Don’t get me wrong though, this is a minor gripe, I really appreciate this being a genuine but intelligent forum for Arsenal fans/obsessives.
What do you mean 26may? Have we been guilty of using provocative headlines – we may use headlines that are entertaining but will always try to match anything provocative with good content in the post – or so I thought.
I agree Peaches. I cannot recollect any misleading headlines. We always try to be entertaining without taking an extreme standpoint.
Bugger. Germany have just scored against Denmark….. soft goal as well.
Thinking of Danes, it would be criminal if Poulsen signs for L’pool for a couple of mill. He is ideal fos us for a season or two. Hard as nails, a good passer and a real pitch leader.
And what happened to Simon Kjaer? We should sign him now before he becomes an expensive superstar
It matters not what you discuss on a blog, there will always be the fool who sees profanity and abuse as intelligent input,
We above most blogs do try to control such behaviour, but we are not super human. We are however i believe well above average in the content of the majority of comment.
As for the headlines if they do drag in some of the more abusive element and I accept they do, they also bring new readers who like your goodself like the atmosphere and stay with us.
That in itself makes it worthwhile
Plus some fools are abusive whatever is written. They are semi-literate and do not read the posts. They invariably leave a one line comment and are never head of again.
But if you do happen to be reading this ……. you should know that when you write on a blog you leave your email and IP address.
Well said DD
Peaches, the “Arsenal in Tatters” one comes to mind but there have been a few, including today’s. And I understood this was deliberate – make an interesting hook in order to get more involved in the debate. No problem with the objective, but speaking personally, the headlines have been a bit strong on occasion. But I’m probably in a minority of one.
And Dandan, very elegant way to disagree with me, I like it!
Well I wrote the Arsenal in Tatters.It was agreed beforehand that it was always meant to be tongue in cheek, and as it so happens it proved to be a very successful day.
The biggest culprits are the Red Tops especially The Daily Mail.Not only do they put up completely misleading headlines, and falsify what was quoted they then follow it up by completely contradicting themselves.
the internet is a powerful tool and attracts all types and without wishing to repeat what I said earlier,I think we do a pretty good job and on the whole create interesting debate without abuse.
Good start from Theo
The Morons are booing England at half time, an encouraging performance I thought, Theo set up a sitter, never mind Little Jack and Gibbs now
I’ve just had the cattle prod treatment with the mention of headlines.
I think it is a far greater sin to have a superb article with a headline that does not attract the readership the post deserves (chary’s last article comes to mind) than to have a cheap headline that outsells the writing.
I would say that all of our headlines have a relevance to the article but unfortunately the tongue-in-cheek ones are often too clever for those who cannot be bothered to read all the way through and are quick to criticise.
Great debut by Kieran Gibbs. I thought he did better than A. Hole – especially going forward.
LJ didn’t really get a chance with only 8 minutes on the pitch. Dawson had a mare and Glen Johnson was poor.
Jagielka looked international quality and Ashley Young was good – I pray he doesn’t go to tonum.
Rasp. If he does go to the Spuds he will do a Bentley 😉
Gibbs startling development has given AW a real headache. How will he keep both LB’s happy? Or will Clichy go to Spain/Italy next season?
I agree Raddy, although its a better headache than “I don’t know which of my two mediocre goalies is best?”
Joe Hart had a good assured game. I was particularly impressed with his intelligent and quick distribution, just goes to show how a keeper can set up an attacking move. Almunia seems to have a talent for finding the opposition with his long kicks.
Morning peoples, something to cheer you up…
Aston Villa want Almunia 🙂
seeing that in any other papers apart from first post rico?
oh morning all
if villa want almunia which i strongly doubt, then why not just make it a straight swap for fridel, that would do me fine! 🙂
Hi tommy, wenger seems hell bent on getting ‘old spice’ sadly…
Almunia story in the Daily Mirror too… Straight swap would do me just fine too 🙂
old spice?
Morning Rico/TommyS – I hope the story about Villa actually wanting Almunia is not just a mirage.
If they do get him I’ll feel a little sorry for the Villa fans as they’ve suffered enough, but I won’t shed too many tears for them after their disgusting Heather Mills songs directed at Eddy.
Shwarzer = Shwarz spices
Hi chary, that’s disgusting for both HM and Dudu, football fans really can be gutter sometimes 😦
Theo was pretty good last night, shame Johnson had to miss such a golden chance, just like Lumpard did a few games back…
Yeah Rico, I heard that when they were singing that after the game at the Grove (in the 2008-09 season)some of our lads gave the Villa fans a good kicking by the north bridge.
Just desserts then chary…
Creme brulee and zabaglione !
Bit too sweet for me chary 😦
Dippers have signed Poulsen from Juve…
Could be to make way for Mashers departure to Spain/Italy.
Shame he isn’t coming to us chary… Masher I mean 😉
We should have signed Poulsen.
Rasp stated that I had “expectations” about signings and he is right. This post-season has been the most disappointing I can recall. I fail to understand how millions of AFC fan can see the gaping holes in our squad and AW can’t.
We need (as we have done for 4 seasons). A GK, a DM and now a CB. Two GK’s would be better – unless Mannone steps up.
We have too much deadwood and too few of them have been sold. The squad is top heavy with kids who will not make the grade.
But that is enough moaning from me…. work beckons, but I will be back later to continue my pre-season bleating
Morning all,
New post by Barumgooner (AKA andy)
There were rumours that we were in for Mashers, but that’s probably just another teasing mirage of hope, Rico.
A bleat with definite basis though Radders; it is astounding how the blatant areas of weakness in our squad are being left unattended, but like I said yesterday I won’t start the metaphorical wrist slashing till the evening of the 31st.
morning charey, rico again
and welcome back braddy. yep its been a well dissapointing (lack of) transfer period but i’m well excited about sunday….
not much chance of gerrard having two good games in a row is there??? hope not!
i thought gibbs and yound looked brill together last night, that for me will be the future of englands left flank.
walcott looked pretty good too.
i hope he rips the dippers to shreds on sunday, one good thing is that liverpool will be at home and wont be looking to play on the break, we have as good a chance as them to get the 3 pts.