‘Ars-zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance’
‘Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance’, by Robert M. Pirsig is one of my favourite books. It is a complicated and challenging story about the concept of and quest for ultimate ‘quality’, and it is full of insights I have been able to use in my personal and working life, ever since I finished reading the book a few decades ago.
The most important lesson from the book for me was Pirsig’s view that most people are either ‘Romantics’ or ‘Classics’. He explains this by pointing out the different ways in which owners of motorcycles view their beloved machines. The Romantics love what the machine can do for them: the exhilarating speed, the freedom to travel wherever you like, the feeling of fresh air in your face; the ability to ‘sense the journey’. The Classics however, love to take the motorcycle apart, and want understand how the machine exactly works; including each compartment, component and subcomponent. They simply love looking after their motorcycles by understanding their machine to the finest detail.
Pirsig believes that Romantics often hate to look after the maintenance side of things, and vice versa, that the Classics don’t really know how to enjoy and experience something to the full (like riding a motorbike). Pirsig points out in his book that happiness as well as the ability to do a job really well (produce real quality), is best suited by combining the Classic and Romantic paradigms.
I have often wondered whether Arsène Wenger tends towards being a Classic or a Romantic:
A few years ago Johan Cruijff was asked by a Dutch journalist to describe Arsène Wenger (prior to a CL game between PSV Eindhoven and Arsenal in Holland). Cruijff said something down the lines of :
‘Wenger always sticks to a system of attacking football with high ball possession/circulation and pressure on the opponent all over the pitch; he will not adjust his system to counteract/benefit any perceived strengths/weaknesses of opponents. He believes in his system and that’s it.’
To me this sounded like Cruijff was indirectly describing Arsene as overly romantic: not much need to painstakingly analyse the opponent and adjust tactics and team-talk, just believe in our way of playing football and we will win. Last summer, Cesc Fabregas is believed to have said something similar to this in an interview he gave to a Spanish journalist.
Furthermore, on Friday 10 June, Red Arse pointed us towards an article in the Mirror, in which Tony Adams was being quoted saying:
‘ No disrespect to Arsene, but George’s [Graham] coaching ability, defensive structure and technical ability, for me, is far better.
“No injustice to Arsene, but it’s his strength, and that was George’s particular strength. They say coaches are the best thieves and I think he stole it off Terry Venables.
“I think Arsene Wenger is a magnificent physiologist and psychologist. Those are the areas where he excels. He’s a lovely man and he has the respect of all the players he’s ever worked with.’
So once again, I wonder whether TA is indirectly describing our manager as too much of a romantic i.e. is Arsène not spending enough time on the ‘maintenance’, the essence, of our defensive (coaching, defensive structure, technical ability, buying the right quality and type of players)?
What do you think: is Wenger too much of a Romantic, and if so what should be done about it?
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He looks so young in that picture
GM: I just watched SS Golden years and it was 98 if you think Wenger looks young you should see Fergie in 98 scary!
TA: great article interesting theory I read Zen on the encouragement of my Physics teacher ( A-Level era) I must say at 16 I probably didn’t get it. Picked it up again in mid 20’s and it made more sense….you have summarised it better.
As for the romantic I guess he probably is, altho I think some of that romanticism waned after the end to the season. Not in the style of play but in the personnel to play it.
Perhaps the club should buy him a golden bow and arrow.
98 WAS A GREAT YEAR FOR THE GUNNERS……..LEGENDARY STUFF
TA- a fantastic article. I think of the roles you describe in even more fractured terms. One of the ways of looking at people’s strengths in their jobs that I use is Belbin’s Archetypes. http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=8
According to the theory we need to build teams that compensate for each others’ natural weaknesses- it doesn’t make sense to focus on your weak areas to the detriment of your strengths- rather we should all focus on our strengths and supplement with other team members in the weak areas. I think Wenger needs a better number 2- and from a cursory glance at the roles, I think he needs someone who combines the roles of “shaper” and “completer-finisher”. Someone to keep the focus high and to pay attention to the finer details (defending setpieces for example) as the season draws to a close.
Currently the momentum that this side builds up in early season is based on optimism- fragile grounds on which to construct collective belief IMO.
TA great article and one wherein I believe you have highlighted a fundamental flaw of Wenger’s philosophy. Cruyff alluded to it and Cesc did via comparing the info that his national team were given on opponents. I dont believe we give opponents’ strengths enough respect and are obsessed with our own game. Even Guadiola obviously worked with Barca to stop us completing more than 2/3 passes which they deemed to be our strength.
Having said all that, we failed last season because of our own ineptitude rather than sizing up the opposition
he just too much of Titanic
Morning, great piece TA,
Obviously Arsène is a pure romantic, I’m sure he envisions every game in terms of the poetic artistry of our football. I agree with Wonderman, his policy of only focusing on our strengths and not paying heed to the opponent’s threat often backfires and may be part of the reason we are susceptible to set pieces and lack a plan B. For AW, its plan A or nothing it seems.
TA Without doubt Arsene is a romantic, he is also to the annoyance of the legions of fans who have joined in the glory years, perceived to be old fashioned.
Old fashioned in as much as his word is his bond and a contract is a contract between two people who have shaken hands on a deal. This in a world where pecuniary advantage is more often the watchword or driving force, rather than honesty, transparency and integrity, the very values he expounds. Does in fact make him appear old fashioned and subject to ridicule and contempt in their eyes.
Nevertheless, his honesty is also sometimes called into question because when quizzed about on field incidents, his default position is I did not see it, or he might make an ambiguous answer to leading question.
The question then is should his loyalty be to the club/players or the fans, because by protecting the players he is proving his loyalty to them. Which is why you almost never hear a bad word about him from anyone who has worked for or with him, all of whom it seems respect and admire him as a man and man manager supreme
On the other hand such loyalty is derided as insulting, dishonest and disrespectful by fans who believe they have the right to know, funnily enough the press although criticising him as stubborn and entrenched, freely admit that they tend to get a straight answer to a straight question. To my Knowledge he has never banned anyone for asking questions he doesn’t or cant answer, unlike a certain knight of the realm.
He is also a romantic in that there is a right way to play and win, who would argue with that when the beautiful game is expressed through wengerball, surely only Barca and they had ten years start on the philosophy preached by
another romantic Johann Cruyff . I can still remember the astonishment when he made that to our eyes amazing turn live on TV, likewise I can also remember the incredulity when a certain team fulfilled their mentors much derided prophesy and went a full premier league season undefeated.
So romantics for ever say I pragmatism to me has all the attractions of a Birmingham v Blackburn blockbuster
OOOPs nearly forgot smashing article TA thank you
I can’t see wenger equaling either morniho fergie or gourdola in his teknkal or tactal ability or in reading game as cruyff said
Morning TA, 🙂
A lovely, refreshingly different way of presenting the subject matter, and an interesting insight into your own character. I think I like you even more! 🙂
Do classicist include those of a curious disposition, do you think?
Ever since I was a boy I have suffered from the need to take apart anything that intrigued me. Watches, gizmos of all sorts, computers and small machines etc they all fell prey to a young boy’s need to know. 🙂
Having dismantled all and sundry, and marvelled at the clever inventiveness of my fellow human beings, the romanticist in me seemed to come to the fore and I then wanted the very best watch, car, gizmo I could afford to buy as an adult, to experience and luxuriate in the sheer ecstasy of driving a fast car — really fast; to glow with pride at the precision and elegance of a prized watch; to wonder at the simple computerized genius of a special piece of technology.
Perhaps, after all, I am neither one nor the other, neither classicist or romanticist, and in this characteristic, I feel, also lies the conundrum of Arsene, a fellow crittur, who painstakingly dabbles in the arcane arts of football mangement, and disseminating his revolutionary training, dietary and organizational theories and vision into producing the very best team possible.
He proudly produced a magnificent team in the invincibles, and then took it apart again to find its core and then set out to recreate and improve on that wonderful achievement.
He cannot possibly be faulted for his astute attention to every detail, he has been assiduously scrupulous in all aspects of team and man management, and yet, like me and my watches, he has, so far, been unable to reassemble the parts into a viable whole again.
The difference, between him and me tho’, is that I believe a man of his genius and determination will succeed in producing a magnificent Arsenal team again, and very soon.
I can’t see wenger equaling either morniho fergie or gourdola in his teknkal or tactal ability or in reading games as cruyff said
Nice one RA 🙂
Morning Dandan, 🙂
I liked your piece too and totally agree with your take.
Hi Rasper, 🙂 We all leave little clues to our real selves, in what we write and the expressions we use.
Reading yesterday’s ‘closing comments’, I smiled at this comment from you
“no other club is showing great interest in him (Gervinho) and lastly, he’s an AW-type player = not an out and out goalscorer!”
Erm, sounds good, I think we should buy a couple of Gervs then!! 🙂
Are you perhaps unhappy about the type of player that Arsene is trying, allegedly, to buy? 🙂
Tegisha,
A couple of hundred million pounds sterling would do the trick.
Ferguson and Maureen are good managers, but they would never have survived at a club like Arsenal because of the lack of money for transfers during the stadium building.
You have to look at managerial ability in the environment they work in.
It’s obvious, isn’t it?
Morning GM, 🙂
I read a story in two papers today regarding Bendy and his hairdresser.
Apparently, while having his hair cut, he told the hairdresser (are barbers now redundant?) that he was definitely leaving Arsenal, and that both Nasri and Cesc were going as well.
If the hairdresser/barber concerned was you, why haven’t you told us first? 🙂
RA dont start pulling at that thread the whole arsenal blogosphere would unravel….. 😀
You are right though of course.
I think he is a romantic.
he believes in his own philosophy and is willing to put his reputation on the line for Arsenal FC.
IN ARSENE WE TRUST
Hi RA,
I pride myself on being honest in my views, which is rather strange because I have repeatedly been accused of hiding my true opinions in my time blogging.
As you know, I get really p’d off with the need to categorise anyone as pro/anti – but as I know, I am never going to win the realist is not a closet pessimist debate, if that makes sense?
RA,
To answer your last point, I agree with Micky that if we spend big in any area of the pitch, it should be to secure the most clinical striker we can find. I think Gervinho will improve the squad if he arrives in place of Bendtner, but like Chamakh, his record thus far does not make him appear to be the lethal striker Micky is hoping for.
Hi Rasp,
Just amused with your assessment of gervinho, that’s all, no offense intended.
Anyway, nothing wrong with being yourself. 🙂
My goal in life is to be universally liked and recognised as a handsome love machine — but for some unaccountable reason this does not seem to be happening.
That doesn’t seem fair, does it!! 🙂
As Oliver Cromwell didn’t say — ‘I is – wot I is, warts and all’ — except I don’t have any warts …….. obviously! 🙂
Rasp,
I like your idea of filtering all potential and actual signings thru’ Micky.
That way, if all or any of them turn out to be crap, we can cheerfully de-bag Micky!
I like your thinking!! 🙂
Afternoon AA’ers. Apologies for not getting back to your great comments earlier (busy with wife booking summer holiday).
GiE – I agree that the end of this season, will have Arsene question his approach more than ever before.
Carlito11 – full-heatedly agree with you on your Belbin/strenghts/team approach views. I know so little about Wenger’s number 2, Rice. However, I never feel they supplement each other, in terms of skill-set. I love your last paragraph, but I wonder whether Arsene can see this himself. I have worked directly for quite a number of Managing Directors but seldom have I recognised in any of them the ability to understand their own weaknesses and subsequently recruit people with the necessary supplementary qualities. They much rather recruit clowns of themselves.
Wonderman/Rasp – it does seem weird we do not focus much on the opponents’ weaknesses and strenghts. I guess Guardiola does not need to do much of it either, but then he’s got Barca playing total football at the very submit of its potential.
RA & DanDan – great contributions: I will respond in a bit.
TA Love it !!!!!! did you mean “Clowns” 🙂
Poor old West Hammers…… Sam is getting Nolan in, no doubt now how the Appy Ammers are going to play….. Bet their fans will love that……. or perhaps winning is everything even in a club with their tradition, Bobby Moore must be turning in his grave.
Thanks RA,
No offense taken I assure you.
We’ve had the debate so many times, and opinions differ based on the parameters by which you judge Arsène’s performance.
As far as I can see, these are the most common arguments proffered.
FOR:
His achievements
His past record
His current achievements on a limited budget
The quality of football we play in comparison to previous eras/managers
His style and panache
His perceived actions in the coming window
AGAINST:
His perceived stubbornness
His alleged pennypinching
His support for players who are not good enough
His perceived reluctance to share his managerial role and take advice
His perceived actions in the coming window
You will see that the ‘AGAINST’ are all perceived whereas the ‘FOR’ are all undeniable.
The last point is the same for both sides ……. I am waiting to see where we are in August, but I stand by what I said the other day, if AW is not receiving the backing from the Board he deserves he should resign as a matter of honour. He is taking most of the flack and he deserevs the support of the club so he can regain the full support and admiration of the supporters because there is real disquiet out there.
TA. Fascinating read. Perhaps, I should re-read Zen & TAOMM, it should make more sense to read it while straight 🙂
RA. I love watches and cars. Unlike you I have absolutely no idea nor any desire to know how they work. As a child couldn’t build aircraft kits, took my watch apart and was unable to re-build it, couldn’t mend a puncture, couldn’t play with Meccano, in fact an all-round duffer when it came to practicalities.
But I adored starting the MGB, or looking at the Rolex second hand!!
Top comment Rasp.
LOL DanDan, I am the Clown – I meant of course, clones.
TA,
I assume for ‘clowns’ you meant ‘clones’. 🙂
Although perhaps clowns may have been what you meant — bibulous demeanour, red noses, huge feet and with scary eyes? 🙂
Rasp is it not conceivable that the last thing he as a man of honour would do is resign, because that would be tantamount to deserting the players who he has recruited, and in all likelihood made promises too that he will feel committed to keep.
As I said earlier old fashioned in this world where self is so often all pervading
Excellent summary Rasper.
Am still thinking of anything you have missed. Will get back.
DanDan @10.44: brilliant comment about loyalty and traditional values and the associated dilemmas re players, fans and press. We both agree about the need to play the beautiful game, but can it be done without a healthy dose of pragmatism?
TA. It clearly can, witness the CL Final.
This is the goal we aspire to and I believe is achievable (with luck, decent refereeing and a bit more discipline)
Raddy,
For a short time I had an old (but immaculate) E Type. Wow, I absolutely adored it, and I am sure it loved me too for all the care and attention I invested in it, when I wasn’t poring over its innards! 🙂
For the sake of clarity, no mechanic am I. My quest was to see the ‘how’, ‘when’ and ‘why’ and what solutions the proper engineers came up with.
My best friend had a fantastic MGB, GT and routinely scared the proverbials out of me!! So I can see how you were in thrall to it. 🙂
He also had a ‘recycled’ Rolex and something it had in common with my current watch is when it went into sleep mode and you subsequently ‘woke’ it up, the hands whizzed around to the correct time of day. At least my watch does, and I think his did too?
I like this article ….
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/13778733.stm
A very, very interesting read TA
I had heard the title of the book before but never really understood what it was about. I am a bit of a cycling nut, carbon bike, dress up as if I am in the Tour de France etc. I think the same idea applies to cyclists, there are the romantics and the classics. I do like to know how every minute detail of the bike works but I do also like the journey as well, hmmmmmm this has really made me think. Probably, the best thing I could do is read the book now.
“I am an Arsenal player. I have been very happy for eight years and I am very happy,”. (Cesc Fabregas 15.06.2011)
Not half as happy as I am.
RA. My days of luxury possessions are long gone-
I once had a Merc 450SL.Great car, always overheating, cost a bomb to keep on the road but I was in love with it and it was a love which was unconditional. Until I bought the next car 🙂
I would love to say I had an E type – it says so much about a man !!!
Had 3 MG’s in my twenties. All good fun, all the mechanic’s friend.
Nowadays the only luxury goods I own are bicycles, guitars, my Mac and my wife 😀
RA@10.55, great comment as well. You really touched on the essence of Pirsig’s quest for quality. You are a humble kind of a guy, instead of saying I am both a Romantic and a Classic, you prefer to say I am neither (so British!!). It is quite something to find an accountant (great example of a ‘Classic profession’) who is also passionate about poetry, philosophy and beauty/art.
It is interesting that you believe Wenger does pay a lot of attention to detail: in your third and second last paragraph you describe him indirectly as a strong Classic. How come than RA, he does not seem to prepare tactically prior to games, as in strengths and weaknesses of opponents? And how come, he does not seem to pay a lot of attention to defence-structure and discipline?
Thank you London. To like both the ‘maintenance’ side and the ‘experience’ side should make you a happier man (according to Pirsig). No need to read the book anymore!
TA – Great Job – Good Afternoon everyone!!
I’m having an awful day, so sorry for the late entrance!! I agree, Arsene is a hopeless Romantic. He is in love with the beautiful game. He see’s football as an art form and Barcelona are his muse.
He buys players who can buy into his vision, who can play with the freedom and joy that he demands from them.
Hopefully, the board will ground him somewhat and get him to tie some players down….the rumour mill is going mental at the moment and I hope something concrete is in there.
WG
For RA as a warning from those of us that know. 🙂
IF MY BODY WERE A CAR…
If my body were a car, this is the time I would be thinking about trading it in for a newer model. I’ve got bumps and dents and scratches in my finish and my paint job is getting a little dull …….
But that’s not the worst of it.
My headlights are out of focus and it’s especially hard to see things up close
My traction is not as graceful as it once was. I slip and slide and skid and bump into things even in the best of weather.
My whitewalls are stained with varicose veins.
It takes me hours to reach my maximum speed. My fuel rate burns inefficiently.
But here’s the worst of it —
Almost every time I sneeze, cough or sputter either my radiator leaks or my exhaust backfires!
London and BR : There we have our news…how the red tops must be peeved, a full on statement in quote marks, he is a happy player and is happy where he is, and as he says Wenger will decide when he will no longer be an Arsenal player.
I also think Wenger should take Keith Dover’s advice (from the Up for Grabs Podcast).
It went along the lines of :
“at preseason training AW should get a Barca shirt and a Real Madrid shirt and [i’ll keep this clean] wee all over them, then if there is any interview given by a player (or their agent) where they express an ambition to play for either of those clubs they will be made to wear the unwashed shirt in training”
Anyone else having “leave a reply” issues? It seems to keep the previous comment in the reply box both on Safari on Mac and Safari on iPhone…..is it a browser issue I wonder?
Mine does it occasionally GIE, I think Rasp has said it is a wordpress problem but am not sure.
Cool at least i’m not alone its just an irritant rather than a system breaker, seems not to do it since i logged in
By the way TA that gravatar is so much better, an Arsenal legend in the making.
Agreed London, he is some prospect for us. The pool of central creative midfielders is something to envy us for across Europe.
DanDan @2.38, very funny.
TA,
You ask, “How come, he (Arsene) does not seem to prepare tactically prior to games, as in strengths and weaknesses of opponents? And how come, he does not seem to pay a lot of attention to defence-structure and discipline?”
Can I first say that my respect for your language skills is well founded. 🙂
You use the really flexible English word “seem” in your question, which has the benefit of not diminishing the strenght of the question, while allowing a graceful ‘retreat’ if necessary. well used, sir! 🙂
Also in English, we have a type of question such as, “Have you stopped beating your wife?” The effect of this is to put the person expected to answer into an invidious position, as to answer either “yes” or “no” undermines his position.
I think the clue to my answer lies there. It might ‘seem’, or the ‘perception’ might be that AW does not tactically prepare the team, or that he is not setting enough stock in defensive tactics or disciplined play.
Where is the ‘evidence’? Has he admitted this? Have the players?
I think we know the answer to that, whatever some fans, not including me, might think to the contrary.
Therefore you are asking me to answer, on AW’s behalf, the rhetorical “have you stopped beating …..” question, which I will politely decline! 🙂
Sorry for the delay in replying, I had to sort out a little problem for a client. 🙂
DD. 2.38 Too close to the truth.
GIE. Strangely it clears occasionally and being a Romantic, I have no idea why ! (Mac/Safari)
Dandan,
Have only just stopped laughing! 🙂
Luckily, I had just put my coffee down otherwise I would look as if I had wee’d myself! 🙂
GIE,
I reported that question retention to peaches, last week.
Sony/Win7/IE9/Chrome/Bing/Safari
(Not showing off, just that I use different search engines for specific tasks. Also a couple of others not used for WordPress) So, it’s them then!! 🙂
RA
How well you demonstrate (using a thorough understanding of English language) that you are able to dodge the question entirely, whilst still replying to it…Are you sure you aren’t a politician 🙂
WG
Hi WG, 🙂
Just as well we are friends — huh — comparing moi to a politicking personage. 🙂
TA,
In my belated attempt to answer your 2:07, I skipped over your “so British” descriptor.
Not sure whether you are commenting on my response being ‘British’ or in just assuming I am British. You could be right on the one, and wrong on the other! 🙂
RA
Don’t pretend to be in a huff 🙂 heheh You remind me a lot of a chap I used to know darn sarf….Mind you he used to work in Broadstairs..so I don’t think that’s you 🙂
WG
Great post, as always on this blog.
I think he probably is too much of a romantic.
But i don’t think he could ever change it. And if he did, it would be all wrong. He wouldn’t get anything right at all if he was trying to do it some other way. He goes with his heart and that’s how he has achieved what he has. I think the very best of Arsene Wenger would be suffocated if he tried to be more Classic, even if the very worst might, too. And then he’d just be another manager like anyone else, here for a year or two, there for a year or two.
In any case, it’s his romanticism that makes me love Arsenal. I think many young players of his and fans who connect with it have learned more passion for their sport because of it, and achieved more as a result.
When you’re born a romantic, you die a romantic. His greatest strengths and weakest flaws have their roots in romance. I’d so love to see him prove everyone wrong, and see romance and ideology conquer again.
We’re so close!
Thanks Roland, very perceptive comment, your company on AA is always welcome.
Great book, TA and great post, too.
My memory of Pirsig’s book is a little hazy, but I seem to remember one passage in particular which advised stepping back and taking in the whole picture before launching into a plan of attack; almost blanking the mind and forgetting your own pre-conceived notions.
Sometimes I forget this wonderful piece of advice and end up banging my head against a brick wall, only to remember (with a sore head ) to step back. With this approach, solutions often come quickly and with a great simplicity that I find astonishing.
Perhaps Arsene has not been able to see the wood for the trees for a little while and this summer will bring some simple but effective solutions. 🙂
Dandan, haha at your 2.38. My exhaust is blowing and my big-end’s nearly shot.
I enjoyed this site when searching for the date of Zen an the Art……..
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/401.Robert_M_Pirsig
Czech REp v Spain 5.00pm and
Ukraine v England 7.45pm
in the u21s for those in need of a football fix.
Thanks Chas, those quotes are brilliant. I have added the link to my favorites.
I agree with you that a summer’s rest for Arsene might bring some effective solutions.
Hi Guys,
I wonder how many of you know about the following info? I have, fortunately never needed to, so I cannot say if it works, or not, but you never know! 🙂
Have you Locked your Keys in the Car?
Does your car have remote keyless ‘Lock’ Unlock’ function? This may come in handy someday. This is a good reason to own a cell/mobile phone:
If you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call
someone at home on their mobile phone from your cell phone.
Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button on your spare key, holding it near the mobile phone at their end. Your car will unlock.
Distance is no object. You could be thousands of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other ‘remote’ for your car, you can unlock the car doors.
[You could get a family member to try this out, at the bottom of the road]
Hidden Battery Power For Mobiles
To activate, press the keys *3370# (remember the asterisk). Do this when the phone is almost dead.
Your mobile will restart in a special way with this new reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery life. This reserve will get re charged when you charge your mobile next time.
This secret is in the fine print in most phone manuals. Most people however skip this information without realising.
How to Disable a STOLEN Mobile Phone?
To check your Mobile phone’s serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 # — Ensure you put an asterisk BEFORE the #06# sequence.
A 15 digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. If your phone ever gets stolen, you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone will be totally useless.
You probably won’t get your phone back, but at least you know that whoever stole it can’t use/sell it either. If everybody did this, there would be no point in people stealing mobile phones.
This secret is also in the fine print of most mobile phone manuals. It was created for the very purpose of trying to prevent phones from being stolen.
ATM PIN Number Reversal – Good to Know !!
If you should ever be forced by a robber to withdraw money from an ATM
machine, you can notify the police by entering your PIN # in reverse. For example, if your pin number is 1234, then you would put in 4321. The ATM system recognizes that your PIN number is backwards from the ATM card you placed in the machine. The machine will still give you the money you requested, but unknown to the robber, the police will be immediately dispatched to the location.
Never let it be said i do not have your interests at heart! 🙂
Chas: Many years ago when first I married we went off to the Yorkshire Dales, the M1 had just been built and my gallant Singer Gazelle was not used like most cars those days to doing a hundred or so non stop miles at a constant high speed.
Imagine my fathers merriment when I phoned him and told him my big ends had gone whilst on honeymoon, it was the only time I ever borrowed money from him as we had just bought a house, set up home and were broke.
In fact when I took the money round to him a few months later to repay the loan, he refused to take it saying, he had been drinking out on the story for months and the debt was paid in full 🙂
Wise words Roland 🙂 I love your comment and in particular your last paragraph. You are probably right: if you are born a romantic, you’ll die a romantic.
Wenger’s number two and other staff are very important to ensure he has all the required skills for success at his disposal. This might be the best answer to Wenger being a bit too romantic, which otherwise is a great strength (see also Carlito’s response @ 10.13). I am just not this is the case at the moment.
Oh so true RA – I judged your response as British. Whether you are in fact British is not for me to know (for certain).
RA @5.40: whatever next?!?!? 🙂
Totally forgot to ask whether you enjoyed your evening/dinner last night.
It has occurred to me that I have not given you a taste of my humour for a while, so stop the groaning and grab this one, so to speak! 🙂
A woman decided to have a face lift for her 50th birthday.
She spends £15,000 on the op and feels pretty good about the results.
On her way home, she stops at a newsstand to buy a newspaper.
Before leaving, she says to the clerk, ‘I hope you don’t mind my asking, but how old do you think I am?’
‘About 32,’ is the reply.
‘Nope! I’m exactly 50.’ the woman says happily.
A little while later she goes into McDonald’s and asks the counter girl the very same question.
The girl replies, ‘I’d guess about 29.’
The woman replies with a big smile, ‘Nope, I’m 50.’
Now she’s feeling really good about herself. She stops in a drug store on her way down the street.
She goes up to the counter to get some mints and asks the clerk this burning question.
The clerk responds, ‘Oh, I’d say 30.’
Again she proudly responds, ‘I’m 50, but thank you!’
While waiting for the bus to go home, she asks an old man waiting next to her the same question.
He replies, ‘Lady, I’m 78 and my eyesight is going. Although, when I was young there was a sure-fire way to tell how old a woman was.
It sounds very straightforward, but it requires you to let me put my hands under your bra. Then, and only then can I tell you EXACTLY how old you are.’
They wait in silence on the empty street until her curiosity gets the best of her.
She finally blurts out, ‘What the hell, go ahead.’
He slips both of his hands under her blouse and begins to feel around very slowly and carefully.
He bounces and weighs each breast and he gently pinches each nipple.
He pushes her breasts together and rubs them against each other.
After a couple of minutes of this, she says, ‘Okay, okay….How old am I?’
He completes one last squeeze of her breasts, removes his hands, and says, ‘Madam, you are 50.’
Stunned and amazed, the woman says, ‘That was incredible, how could you tell?’
The old man says, ‘Promise you won’t get mad?’
‘I promise I won’t’ she says.
‘I was behind you at McDonalds…’
Those old guys, eh? 🙂
Zen and the art of breast fumbling
TA,
I went to Petrus in Kinnerton Street, you know the Ramsey posh nosh place.
Fabulous service, the food was exquisite and remarkably reasonable. Actually, I am still not really able to drink alcohol without problems. Just as well because wine, as you would know, is about £17 per glass. So i saved at least £50! 🙂
Really recommend it!
Thank you for asking. 🙂
RA, vous etes un bon vivant 😉 Sounds fantastic, and great to hear you actually made a saving, as per Cruijff’s wisdom:
‘ieder nadeel heeft een voordeel’ (every disadvantage has and advantage).
correction: every disadvantage has an advantage.
RA. Great stuff
TA
Thanks again, especially for your 6:06. I made a wild stab at it and luckily guessed what you meant!! 🙂
That Cruyff is a character …… and he’s Dutch! 🙂
RA
I’ve been out all day. If I had cut bendys hair I would have told you. I don’t have anyone with inside knowledge. I know someone on the AST board but she either doesn’t know or doesn’t tell. One of my friends is a photographer who does a lot of work for nike and is official photographer for barca. He told me who was at the new kit shoot for Arsenal and I thought that meant Cesc was definitely leaving. Don’t ever listen to me if I have any inside information as I believe everything 🙂 This is my friends site.
http://www.diveraguilar.com/
Hi Barca pictures 2011 are fantastic. He makes them all look like Brando
Shame he’s a manc 😦
That Rocky must still be rockin’ it in the mountains! 🙂
Oh well, tomorrow, TA and Raddy!! 🙂 Everyone else having buggered off. 😦
Top story RA
Hi GM, 🙂
I was only kidding about Bendy’s haircut secrets, of course.
But I am amazed at what people, (women especially) will tell their hairdressers.
An ex-girlfriend told me, without batting her eyes, how she and her hairdresser exchanged info on their respective boyfriends techniques and physical attributes.
I laughed my socks off until it dawned on me I was one of the boyfriends in question! 🙂
Got to go. See you tomorrow — with as much info as you can get!! 🙂
Just read on a Dutch, respectable football website (yes RA this IS possible) that RvP holds the fourth best place in striker effectiveness in Europe. RvP scored a goal for every 98 minutes he was on the pitch, and only Ronaldo (73 min), Gomez/BM (87 min) and Messi (92 min) did better. Obviously assists have not been taken into account for this statistic.
It makes me think again whether I should want him to play in the hole after all…
Great article.
TA RVP for me is all about goals per shots/chance, that should be the true measure of his effectiveness.
Also while I’m here it is amazing how even todays positive (from a Gooner point of view) quotes from Cesc have been twisted for headline negativity:
Sky Sports : Fabregas admits frustration
AFP : Fabregas quiet about Barca ‘move’
Telegraph : Cesc Fabregas: I have not spoken to Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger about …
CNN : Fabregas – My future still to be decided
Guardian: Cesc Fábregas: I don’t know if Arsenal want to sell me or not
Goal.com : Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas reiterates his ‘dream’ to play for Barcelona
Only one or two sites (Beeb and Reuters) have “Happy to stay” in headline on first page of Google.
I’m sure you have all read the article Raddy posted earlier, but if the above headlines don’t prove the narrative Rocky alluded to yesterday nothing else will
Agreed GiE. They are absolutely shameless in trying to attract readers, and they must believe a negative header will be far more successful than a positive one.
Rocky’s post was simply brilliant: it really helps to put things in perspective. I guess we are creating a vicious circle for ourselves by continuously looking at their websites, but it is often hard to resist.
GiE, re RvP’s effectiveness: both measures are valid imo. I’d say that goals per shot/chance would say more about his efficiency, but they both matter.
TA the reason I would prefer to base it on goals per chance is that I think we create a higher number of chances than most and therefore if we could take those one or two chances more per game we would be streets ahead.
I think it was Micky or 26may who said that RvP scores with his 3rd/4th shot on target per game whilst we were watching live and commenting on here (Barca home perhaps). Anyway the point is stick away the first two/three And we are out o sight inside half hour.
I think back to Barca away and how so many Gooners pilloried NikB for his first touch in the 90th minute. It was probably his first touch (and only touch) in the short time he was on, everyone seems so sure RvP would have done better, but given goals per chance ratio I think there’s a fair bet he wouldn’t be.
By the way TA if you hadn’t realised already im a NikB sympathiser.
TA
Been travelling back today but I just wanted to say what a great piece this is.
A really fresh way of looking at the psychology of dear old Uncle Arsene.
My two ha’pennyworth: he’s a romantic who thinks he’s a classic.
PL shots per goal:
Hernandez 3.4
Berbatov 3.9
Tevez 4.3
Bent 4.5
RvP 4.7
Others of note
Drogba 9.9
Rodallega 11.2
Odenwibge 5.5
Gyan 6.3
Rooney 7
Carroll 6
So actually he does better than most over strikers in the PL in terms of goals per shot, and Rodalkega and Drogba prove having more shots doesn’t mean you score more goals.
TA,
I really like your article. Romantic is my answer, although it is my guess that he read Classics at some point !
Some great contributions and comments yesterday, most notably from dandan and RA.
When is the South American Club Final. It would make a very nice transfer spec. distraction.
Anyone interested, just looked it up:
Its called the Copa Libertadores. Second leg is June 22. All eyes will be on 19-year-old Santos forward Neymar, who is being compared with Pele.
Ooops, and its between Santos (Brasil) and Penarol (Uruguay)
Morning GiE, fully agree on NikB.
RvP goal per shots/chances ratio compared to others is very interesting. Are you right in saying though that we create more chances for our striker RvP than others, especially our main competitor MU? I don’t know. RvP has to work very hard to get a chance in the first place, very often within thight space. MU create a lot of their chances by breaking the opponent in midfield and pounch like a lion. Could I be right in saying this creates often better/easier chances for their strikers (therefore less shots per goal)? From your @12.55, we can see that Shrek needs twice as many shots to score a goal compared to Hernandez and Berbatov (almost twice), which again surprises me. Interesting stuff.
Thanks Micky, it could be worth watching that final. Neymar shows plenty of potential but is still very lightweight. If he were to come to Chelsea he might struggle physically.
Morning all, Just a quick thank you AA’s for a positive and enjoyable bloging day after all the chest beating and negativity of recent times.
It felt like Arsenal Arsenal again and has cheered me up no end to feel some smiles back in the posts again.
Cheers guys 🙂
TA,
The stats never tell the full story do they.
I was listening to the radio in the car when I heard about the S. American game, and interestingly, although apparently Barca, City, Chelsea etc are all sniffing aroud Neymar, their south american expert was saying that there is a big problem in that if Santos win, they yhen go to the World Club Final against Barca, and although nothing really to us, it is massive over there and most unlikely Neymar would move this summer. Personally I would love Barca to absorb Neymar together with their transfer budget.
I see your point re Barca’s transfer budget…. they can only spend it once… (;
And yes, stats don’t tell the full story.
Morning DanDan 🙂
I know someone who queued for half a day to get tickets to this years Copa Libertadores (he has moved to Uruguay). He is a Scot from Coatbridge who now lives in Montevido.
Stats dont give the full story but I think it’s interesting to consider the age old navel gazing and believing media myths. We are told we don’t shoot enough…well we do and Drogba shows what a waste a shot can be. We think we need a more clinical striker but we can see we have the 5th most clinical striker in the League and out of the top 5 only he and Tevez contribute more than goals IMO.
It’s a myth I myself believed until looking at the numbers. It was always said of Andy Cole (when at United) he needs 4 chances to score….and was criticised for it. But it would appear that’s quite a good strike rate if compared to current PL strikers.
Morning GiE,
Two things. One regarding your Scot. I remember hearing that about 20,000 Scots travelled to the ’86 Finals in Mexico, of which about 4,000 never came home!
On your “we think we need a more clinical striker”, I think we simply need cover for RvP rather than better or someone who can fill in like our friend from Lille.
Morning all.
Twitter is funny this morning. KeithTheGooner made up a Bramble to Arsenal rumour for fun and some have taken it as evidence of Arsene’s insanity! Talk about looking for the worst to reinforce your own pre-conceived, negative expectations. You couldn’t make it up………..or may be you could.
Do you meand Moussa Sow from Lille? He is also in the Europe top 10 of average-minutes-between-goals-scorers. Gervinho seems a different sort of striker/winger: the sort that Rasp loves so much (-;
TA,
I meant Gervinho. One of my Total Three! He can play anywhere across the front.
I’m on school run. Back later.
Chas, a very reliable sourch, very close to our BoD, told me last night that PV is on his way to us from Citeh –> he will partner Vermaelen as our CB pair for next season…
TA 🙂
Perfect, we definitely need a big lump of a beast who’s over 6′ 3″.
Agree Chas, he has it all: height, experience, mental strength, loves the Arsenal –> just what all the fans ask for! I just checked with my very, extremely, extraordinary reliable source again, and he confirmed emphatically: Pat is a Gooner again 🙂 😉
£220,000 a week?
Morning all.
I saw Paddy V on a list of of free agents yesterday and thought it’d be lovely to get him back. The idea was floating around a few weeks ago but the view seemed to be he’d stay at the Wastelands to trouser more stolen cash from Abu Dhabi. But if he’s returning to us from the Dark Side, that’d be superb. Much better returner than Sol or Jens.
That is not what’s he is on, is it?
26, agreed in which position though: DM or even CB?
Vieira? Vieira? Could this really be true???????
Surely he’d come for the love wouldn’t he? I’d help 😆
I’ve got goose bumps
I love PV, but surely he’d only be enlisted to impart his knowledge to the younger players and for the odd appearance on the bench
………. and Arsene is definitely a Romantic, no doubt about it ……..
I read when he first went there that it was 160,000 per week, but that is impossible now.
Feel the love Paddy, feel the love.
I’m such tart ……………. Vieira and then Henry 🙂 😆 😳
Ok this is getting bad, my eyes are starting to well up.
It seems I am not a romantic, Peaches, but if we meet in September I will make sure to bring a large red rose, a bottle of champers and impart a gentle kiss, if I can only sneak up on your blind side that is! 🙂
Rasp, I just look back at what Ajax did in the mid-90. They got Frank Rijkaard for two more seasons (the last of his playing career). They moved him in CB position and it proved to be the missing ingredient for them (winning everything including CL as a result). There are similarities between Ajax back then and Arsenal now. But it wont happen – I know.
RA – I’m looking forward to that 🙂
Shall we have a New Post so that London can compose himself?
New Post
TA,
I’d love that to be the case, but it seems AW likes his CB’s to be athletic and have pace in which case poor old PV is past his best. He generally came on for City when they needed a cool head in midfield to steady the game. I’m sure he’s capable of playing CB but how would he cope with some of the speedy forwards he’d encounter in the prem?
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