What a couple of days of football! Who could have predicted such calamity for the top 4 teams? Can we take advantage tonight?
Fulham showed how good they can be a few weeks ago at THOF, a game we dominated but were relieved to get a point. Of course, the man who scored both goals will be missing and he leaves a big hole. Can young Coquelin deputise or will it be Miquel? Having seen the 20 mins Le Coq played on Saturday he would get my vote; he was tidy, showed some superb skills, and was energetic, my fears are that his positional sense will let him down. – JD still hasn’t become accustomed to his new role and has 4 years more PL experience. From his brief showings Le Coq has a big future and I hope it can be at Arsenal
Fulham: I like Martin Jol; as he did at Spurs, Jol has shown he has the knack of taking a poor team and improving them – Fulham are no longer a pushover, they are organized, solid in defence and very strong in midfield. It is good to see Swiss Phil finally get a run of games and alongside Hangeland he has developed into a decent PL CB, but these two are surely the type of CB partnership who should be meat and drink to a fast attacking team like ours. We shall see.
A repeat of poor finishing v QPR will cost us in a game like today – we will not get a chance every few minutes as we did on Saturday and we need to be lethal in front of goal. For this reason I would give Theo a rest and bring him on as an impact sub on the hour. With Leeds in the Cup next Monday, a warm-up outing for Oxlade-Chamberlain could be the way to go though knowing AW he will play him in the Cup game. With TV out and an inexperienced LB we cannot take the risk of playing AA whose defensive attributes leave much to be desired, I would start Benayoun who has shown much promise.
My team:
.
Hopefully we will be ahead early and allow Chamakh to get on the pitch for more than a 10 minute cameo, RvP needs a rest but currently he is so vital such luxury is out of the question, particularly when 3 points are essential if we are to cement our Top 4 position.
Fulham has had many famous residents, one of whom is Willam Spooner, the man who “invented” Spoonerisms – which are plays on words switching consonants and vowels. e.g. Soap in your Hole (Hope in your Soul). Mr. Spooner was a Divinity Fellow at Oxford and his lectures became hugely polar due to his unfortunate but happy habit of mixing his words. Enough of this, I must go and boil my icicle!
Mr. Spooner, who I am sure you will agree bears a remarkable resemblance to Martin Jol
A big game today and one which we cannot afford to lose. Come on Boys, start the year with a win and the World is your Lobster !
COYRRG
Big Raddy
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Ah Raddy, Someone like you makes it hard to live without somebody else…..
Great pre-match, I kept your title as mine may have confused a few, especially those that don’t read the article to the end…
…. Wunners Need Gin for Yew Near” 😆
No Walcott in your team Raddy 😉
Hi Raddy, 🙂
A nicely drawn pre-match.
My gut feeling is that Miquel should fill in at LB, and Le Coq should be a sub to come on at the appropriate moment.
Could be a difficult game.
Lovely, BR.
I think I’d go for Miquel at left back and Le Coq at right back. We need to preserve JD20 if he’s now our back up CB and the team would have better balance with the youngsters playing on their stronger sides.
Cupid Stunt was always my favourite spoonerism.
Big game today hopefully we can solidify in 4th without Wolves doing us any favours….and at the same time apply pressure to the boys down the road to win tomorrow.
Don’t disagree with the line up and altho it comes only two days after QPR we have a fortnights break after today so no need to rotate unless for injuries. Using Theo as an impact sub makes total sense as surely Riise, Hangelaand and Senderos will be dog tired at about the 60 minute mark.
Hi Chas, 🙂
Re your earlier comment regarding my use of ‘sterile’, I meant that there is no chance of arriving at a satisfactory conclusion to the Theo debate.
It was a slightly personal and tongue in cheek comment – no more than that. Sorry if it offended.
Often in debating/discussing/arguing, there is no definitive ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ position, just opinions.
There comes a point when incessantly discussing a footballing topic – be it on blogs; down the pub or wherever, the topic becomes exhausted and it is time to move on before the points become barbed — not that anyone on AA would do that ………. obviously!! 🙂
Nice one Raddy, as we all say, Football is a funny old game, who would have thought that it would go all wong for city at Sunderland.
What I would play today and what the boss does is obviously going to be different………(And I fully agree about keeping JD out for cover reasons as chas stated)
Heres my team…..
No1
Coquelin BFG Kozzer Miquel
Song Arteta
Rosicky Ramsey Gervinho
Walcott (I know)
Subs:
Van Persie, Ox, Benayoun, Yennaris, Djourou, Arshavin and Al
Injuries are biting, we need a win, but we need RVP fit, that team can beat Fulham………
Spot on match preview BR.
GiE 10:27. Great shout, use Walcott as explosive sub at around 60 mins, and tell him to hug the touch line, use his pace and try some crosses hard and low, as opposed to his usual woeful high and over pitched crosses.
Going to be tough today Gooners, keep everything crossed.
COYG
Raddy,
Was it Spooner who in a tutorial set his students a task of evaluating what was perceived as ‘good’ in society and what was ‘bad’?
To which one student responded that it could be encapsulated in a simple anecdote.
“Good and bad can be defined as the difference between a nun in a bath and a prostitute in a bath.
The nun had a Soul full of Hope; whereas the prostitute had………………….. ! (You need to fill in the blanks yourself) 😳
Haha, no offence taken, RA.
I just thought it was a strange comment from someone who posted 2,868,235 words on here last year. 🙂
What a wonderful weekend of football – hopefully it continues on for this week (and a few more 😆 )
Happy new year, Irish.
Right up there with the champions league castration of the mancs. 🙂
Great stuff Raddy,
This is going to be a tough one. On the one hand I agree with GiE about two break meaning no need for rotation, on the other hand, its only been two days and I think freshness could be a vital ingredient.
My team:
….Sz
Coq BFG Kos Miq
….Song
..Ros Art
Gerv Robin Benny
Happy New year to you too Chas and everyone else.
I’m trying to sort out my brick 😆 I think
Mary O’ Shea
Proud Limerick Gooner
DB10 + TH14 = Genius
What do you guys think?
These boys get copious amounts of wedge to play football. Is it really expecting too much that they can’t play two games in three days ?
Get in the ice bath.
Wonder if Rooneys NYE was as boozy as his Boxing Day one. Hope so 😀
RA
Did your dad tell you that joke too? 🙂
Thank you Rig Baddy, great prematch. I also like both Martin Jol and Phillippe, highly intelligent men.
I think Theo will start and Benny will be the impact sub, but what do I know? Or what do I care, as long as we bag 3 points and opposition don’t
I marched my dogs with a lovely young lad, sadly a Spurs supporter. He said he’d be happy if they finished 3rd!!! I should fecking think so!! Spurs 3rd, get a grip young man!
I like it, Irish.
I’m not sure you’re allowed a plus sign, though, for some unfathomable reason.
Great prmatch as always Raddy. Tough game today I think,
Good preview, though I disagree with your line-up, somewhat. Here is my preferred line-up:
1. Szczesny 2. Djourou. 3. Miquel. 4. Kozza. 5. Merts. 6. Song. 7. Chamberlain. 8. Arteta. 9. RVP. 10. Ramsey. 11. Gervinho
Ooops, or an equals sign
Potato and wally flavour apparently.
Chas – yeah just say that as I confirmed it so its now
DB10 & TH14 – Genius
That’ll do ha ha people will get the idea
😆 AA23 in his knitted jumper
Great Pre-Match Rig Baddy 🙂
My preferred starting 11, taking into account fatigue/risk of injuries:
Szczesny
Le Coq – Der BFG – Le Koz – el Miquel
Song – Ramsey
Rosicky
Ox – Chamakh – Gervinho
Arteta, RvP, Theo on bench to make an impact if necessary.
Who are you calling a wally? 🙄
I’d just like to point out that the pass/assist from AA for RvP’s goal was inch perfect with the tiniest margin of error, without that we would have dropped 2 points. In tight games it often takes a moment of brilliance to break down an obdurate defence. I would say that the skill/technique in AA’s pass was greater than that required for Robin’s finish.
Gn5 – if you want to be pedantic about statistics, that’s fine with me. Your glass re Theo is bone-dry empty and you obviously don’t feel much need to support one of our players, and are happy to ignore his favourable statistics against almost anybody in his position in the PL. Instead you just come out with unexplained one-liners. Let’s agree to disagree on this one.
Due to the difference in our time zones I usually miss out on the early morning discussions,
But suffice to say I heartily disagree with those who are still wishing and hoping that the “real” Wally shows up, especially those who create an argument by the misinterpretation of my words.
My thoughts are really very straightforward for the last 6/7 years we have been knocking on the door to hope and nobody has answered.
There are multiple reasons for this but I believe the main reason is what takes place on the field of play.
Walcott along with Chamakh and Arshavin are the current examples of our number one problem, we continue to have unsubstantiated faith in their abilities and make every excuse under the sun to protect them.
The reason that they and Arsenal have achieved less than we should have is simple – unfulfilled potential.
Instead of cracking the whip and making the tough decisions we dwell far too long wishing and hoping that somebody answers the door of hope.
Great stuff Raddy
I hope Theo gets a start today, ime convinced its going to be a match he will shine in. If we can grab the points it will put us in a position were if the team was to maintain its form, we just might mount a late push for the title. I say this in the belief that by late Febuary we will be the best team in the league.
I was in Paris over the New Year and spent a lot of my time asking Parisians what they thought of Arsene Wenger. Maybe its because i cant speak a word of French, even though i spoke in a perfect pink panther accent, but i was met with some bemused and worried looks, just no helping some people hey. Lovely place though.
TMHT. Paris would be a wonderful city if the French left 🙂
RA. Thank you for sourcing the example I used of a Spoonerism in the post. They are very clever those Oxbridge undergrads.
We should be clear that Fulham at CC are going to be a difficult team to beat. Ideally, we will score early which will force Fulham to play more expansively. Worst case scenario is a tight game with Fulham scoring late.
This is pasted from Arsenal.com and IMLNHO is a classic example of wishing and hoping – apparently one good pass is now enough to give us hope – my Arsh it is………….
Wenger – Arshavin proved his quality again
By Rob Kelly
Arsène Wenger believes that Andrey Arshavin demonstrated his enduring class with a wonderful assist for Robin van Persie’s winner against QPR.
The Russian had not started in the Premier League for five weeks before Saturday’s victory over Neil Warnock’s side but played a superb pass to create the Dutchman’s goal.
While Wenger says Arshavin can improve further with game-time, he was delighted with the midfielder’s match-winning contribution.
“I knew he would suffer a bit physically, but Andrey has that quality that at any moment in the game he can give you a ball to score, and that’s what he did,” Wenger said.
“We know he can be sharper than he was on Saturday but that is linked to the fact I do not play him enough.”
This is one of Razor’s stories
Shortly after Arsene Wenger joined Arsenal, there was a security alert in the Highbury area just before kick off in a home game. The players were in the tunnel waiting to walk on but Wenger was still in the dressing room. The announcer had said that there was a bomb alert and kick off would be delayed, so the players stayed in the tunnel. Wenger came out and asked “What’s the problem?” to which Romford Ray (clearly an Inspector Clouseau fan) replied “There’s been a berm.” Arsene asked “A berm? What’s a berm?” The tunnel filled with laughter.
Sad news about Gary Ablett.
Amazing Arsenal Stats:
Most Clearances: Koscielny 91, Interceptions: Koscielny 46, Tackles: Koscienly 46
Chas, hahahaha, brilliant.
Rig Baddy, agreed it will be tough. I am hoping for a win, but expect us to have to settle for a draw.
GiE, Koz has been brilliant, and not just his statistics 😉
GiE, Kos is the new Martin Keown, great defender in the making.
Chas. Top stuff.
G5, did you ever manage a team, and if so, did you have a 360-degree review done and if so what was the feedback?
Total,
take it easy mate.gn5 likes his statistics and if he believes Walcott and Arshavin aren’t good enough, it’s his opinion as he sees it.
I don’t rate walcott but always hope he will put a string of performances together to make me wrong….I am still waiting. that’s not slating a player, if anything its a disappointment.
Arshavin has no doubt in my mind the ability and has proved it time and time again, but he is getting older and either through lack of game time or loss of form or both, I just don’t think he also doesn’t add that much to our team as he should, or he isn’t up to the pace of the PL.Maybe if we had bought him 2/3 years oago it might have been different.
TA;
I played for 15 years and after my knees gave out I both coached and managed for 25 years.
I have not been involved in 360 degree reviews but have participated in a management process which included annual feedback from, superiors, peers and subordinates.
Theo is a bit thick. He doesn’t seem to improve.
Kelsey,
Thanks for looking after my right to an opinion, it’s appreciated.
G5,Theo certainly splits opinion, and its good to hear different views. What do you think Theo is lacking and were do you think he will be say at the age of 26 in terms of level and the standard of club he will be playing for?
Just to change the subject a tad. I was very pleased to hear the report on the radio that quoted replies from Arsenal players in answer to the question “what is Henry like in training?” …….. “amazing, we can’t get the ball off him” was the reply.
We have been lacking the touch, vision and composure of that ‘last ball’ in the box a bit of late. If Henry can not only supply that but teach it to the others, his signing will be pivotal to our season. Those who think that Henry was all about pace and nothing else should have a look back at his old clips and appreciate his technique, decision making and power.
GM – you are something different altogether – Theo is a bit thick 🙂
Raddy – yes, a very hard game. mind you, these days there is no such thing as an easy game. The ‘lesser’ teams have no longer fear and respect of the top table clubs. They know that if they try hard enough, with a bit of luck and poor referring they can win.
hahahahaha, i should have asked GM the Theo question. No messing and straight to the point.
Hi evonne, I don’t know if a team makes its own luck as regards the rub of the green when it comes to refereeing decisions, but I’d say it has about balanced itself out for us so far this season.
How come Warnock can get away with slating RvP in the way he did in front of millions on the TV. If he’d been talking about the ref he’d be up on a charge. No other manager has ever criticised van Persie’s conduct as far as I’m aware. Warnock should be called upon to explain his words and to issue an apology if his case is unfounded …. or am I being too sensitive?
Cheers G5,
What made me ask the question was your statement earlier: ‘The reason that they and Arsenal have achieved less than we should have is simple – unfulfilled potential. Instead of cracking the whip and making the tough decisions we dwell far too long wishing and hoping that somebody answers the door of hope.’
It seems to say a lot about your view on how people should be managed and in my experience it is not an effective way of getting the best out of people. In order to see people fulfill their potential it is important to show you believe in them and trust them, rather than cracking the whip and making tough decision at an early stage (Theo, Chamakh). Wenger’s style is showing believe and trust in players and it often pays huge dividends. When it does not straightaway, Wenger does not jump to conclusions too quickly, but keeps the faith in his players. In my view, this has been one of the cornerstones of Wenger’s success as he gets easily an extra 25% out of most players he has under his wingers.However, if it does not work out over a longer period, Wenger will act and let players go. Plenty of evidence of that.
Time might well be up for Chamakh and Arshavin now, if not in six months. I can live with that. Theo is a totally different story. He is one of the best wingers in the PL, I would not swop him for anybody.
Your view on how players should be managed does not stand on its own: many fellow Gooners feel like you do. I for one, am very happy Wenger seems to take a different approach. In the long term it is best for our club.
Rasp. You are assuming that someone within the FA has the cojones to take on Warnock.
Rasp, Warcock is the biggest Bitch in football, infact he may be the greatest Bitch in England.
On another tack. Is Denilson on loan or is there the awful possibility of a return?
No Rasp, I don’t think you are over-sensitive. If that happened to any red Manc, SAF would not let it go, if only to make sure there is no repeat
Terry
I think Theo could go either way. I thought Bendtner was going to be a very good player. I don’t think he’ll be with us though. I think if he does really fulfill his potential I think he’ll piss of to the highest bidder.
Taddy he is on loan and he may well come back
Afternoon all,
Great to read Biggy, I love Spoonerism`s ( my comment on `26Dec was full of them ), Ronnie Barker was a “mucking faster” at it !.
Tough game today, they are all tough though, but nothing less than a win will keep me happy !
Beautiful day down here , so with the quite sleepy lane`s around here, I thought i`d go for a sort of “naturist run” , “sort of “,meaning I wore my trainers and a “gooner johnny”, just incase it started raining , I didn`t want to get my tackle wet ! I was also wearing my ( I invented it, Patent pending ) Tackle Nav (Sat Nav for Naturist`s) incase I ventured into a populous area, I just put in the postcode and it points me in the right direction ! 🙂
Raddy not Taddy (it’s next to the R)
TMHT,
It’s strange as I was one of the Walcott “wish and hope brigade” until it dawned on me that I was blinded by “what could be “vs “the reality” of his performances.
His games per goal ratio really show the lack of overall improvement -2007/8=5.5. 2008/9=5.8. 2009/10=7.5, 2010/11=2.9, 2011/12=6.0. In 2010 it looked like he had risen to a new level only for him to slip back to his normal performance this season.
To answer your question, he has improved on his defensive play and that is good to see. But offensively he continues to run up blind alleys due to his inability to beat a man one on one.
He rarely looks up before crossing the ball and therefore the majority of his crosses are woeful and wasted – but on the few occasions he gets it right it’s a joy to watch – there I go falling into the wish and hope trap all over again.
Back with my Warnock rant ….. I wonder if he’d have said the same thing about the ‘English’ record goalscorer Shearer who really was the master at backing into defenders and elbowing them in the process
Thanks G5 and GM, very interesting and reasond responses. Ime still with TA on this one and believe Theo will be a great player, time will tell i guess.
Afternoon Cornwall. Is that tacklenav safe, or does it have a mind of its own and takes you places you shouldnt be going hahaha.
My thought of the day,
“If the lucking fazy Arshavin can be carried for 90 mins, why cant the gucking fenius Thierry be ? “
Warnock is English though Raddy. If Wenger (or the Spanish one who used to manage the dippers) said that the xenophobic football “writers” would be all over him. While I’m on the subject all the football “writers” were up in arms about Suarez. How many black football journos are there? Which one of them wrote the “hand of frog” headline about Thierry?
Benitez (remebered it without google)
I don’t like football writers much 🙂
Terry,
My Tacklenav only takes me to places worth going, it has a built in “P***y radar homing device, John Terry has asked to borrow it, it needs a larger strap for his head !
Frimpong is starting against the chavs
TA;
That is a very narrow and one sided view on leadership. It goes without saying that a leader has to both show and give support, but once all else has failed one has to show a steel back bone and make the gutsy decisions that leaders are paid to make.
At Arsenal the pure evidence is that we wait far too long to pull the plug. I will not go to the trouble of naming players who fit into this category but it would be quick and easy to recite them.
Here is a scale known as “Levels of Awareness” which illustrates the different levels of acceptance or non-acceptance of accountability. –
Make it Happen.
Finding Solutions.
Aware of Problem and Own Responsibility
Acknowledge Situation and Take Some Role
……………………………………………………………..
Wait and Hope it Gets Better
Excuses – Reasons I Can’t
Blaming Others
Unaware and Unconscious.
——————————————————————
As one moves from the bottom of the chart to the top one’s accountability and ability to create results improves.
Those above the dotted line are considered ACCOUNTABLE and those below the line are VICTIMS.
My contention is that it takes us far to long to move up the scale and we get stuck at “Finding Solutions”
Oops I forgot that his is a football blog…………
Chas ,
that razor story, lucky i`m still wearing the “gooner johnny”, otherwise i would have made a mess of the carpet ! 😆
I wonder if Wolves are paying all of Frimmers’ wages?
glic,
Razor is a funny fucker. He still blames what he said to Eileen Drewery for Hoddle not picking him more for England
Great stuf chas,
I love Razor, makes Talksport worth listening to !
gn5. I’m in the process of doing an NVQ in leadership. When I fifnish it will be the first qualification I’ve ever done. I’ll be ready to invade Poland
chas ,
What did he say to Eileen Drewery ?
moonergichael,
You mean to say you have no “crimper” qualifiction`s and you acuse me of being evil with my doggy clippers ! 🙂
Why dont you ” invade ” evonne, she`s closer ! 🙂
Well I have just got back from a sumptuous and delicious Dim Sum brunch and I am feeling even more languorous than usual! 🙂
Right, I have had a quick recap of the chat and can see that clearly my ‘subtle’ message about moving on from the Theo snorefest 🙂 has been ignored, and I notice it is now 2 sets all to TA and GN5.
Can one of you wake me when there is a ‘winner’? 🙄
I’ve got no qualifications glic. The UK is the only country in Europe where you don’t need any.
Raddy, Denilson is only on loan………
In line with Gn5’s wish and hope comment, heres a line up to frighten any supporter……..of arsenal………>>>>>>>>>
Wish and High Hope FC
Almunia
Crowe Cygan Stepanovs Luznhy
Hughes Denilson (c) Sidwell Thomas
Lupoli, Bendtner
Subs: Any from this lot……
Taylor, Squillaci, Gray, Vivas, Bentley, Harper, Ricketts, Aliadiere, Carter, Black, Simpson, Baptista
Decided on mine again for later:
No1
Theo Theo Theo Theo
Theo Theo
Theo Theo Theo
Theo
Subs:
Ox Ox Ox
I had a bad calf and Glenn sent me to see her. I sat in this seat, I couldn’t see her – I thought she was going to come out with no clothes on or something! Anyway, she placed her hands on my shoulders – I had long hair back then – and I just said: “short back and sides, please, Eileen”.
In fairness, she laughed. She was quite funny. But she told her husband and it was suddenly in The Sun! I never got picked for England again.
RA;
The 5th set has to be won by two clear games.
GLIC, 🙂
I cannot now remember whether it was you or Micky who was bragging about your ‘pointy thing’, but I hope for your sake it was ewe.
I saw a demonstration of sheep shearing recently and those clippers seem to remove any little appendage lost in the follicular jungle.
I was expecting to hear dire tales of your exploits, or that you would be typing in a high voice!! 🙂
Dim Sum lovely. I’ve just had Oden for the 4th time (not complaining)
I don’t have apointy thing as far as I know
Hi, just popping in briefly.
We’re all entitled to a view of course, it’s one of the reasons we all obsess about this blessed game. But I do find it annoying to be labelled (in this case GN5’s “wish and hope brigade”). We can all play that game, I could come up with some little epithet summarising the failings I see in the analysis of those who seem determined to prove that one of our principal players is rubbish. But just as the use of labels like “AKB” and “Doomer” is a load of crap in another context, permitting little room for real discussion, so pigeon-holing others for having a view you reject is a little bit out of order. If you have a view, state it, defend it and listen to others’ views. But don’t patronise us by putting us all in one pot and dismiss our view without actually acknowledging the points made against your stated opinion.
For this afternoon, I think I’d go for this line-up:
—————Sz—————–
Djourou–Mert–Kos–Miquel
—Ramsey–Song–Arteta—-
Gervinho—RvP—Benayoun
With Theo, Ox, Coq, Park, Arshavin, Rosicky and whichever back-up keeper is fit on the bench.
Going to be a tough game, as has been said, Jol’s built on the work Woy Hodgson did at Fulham, and they have plenty of good pros (Hangeland, Murphy, Schwarzer, Dempsey, Senderos, Johnson) plus some interesting younger players (Dembele, Ruiz). Hopefully this time we won’t switch off to the possibility of Riise supporting the attack. 1-0 to the good guys is my prediction.
Same here moonergichael, 55years ,nothing, never needed them,never will, they dont hand them out for dodgy cockney`s.
Now if you needed a qualification for supporting “the greatest team by far”, then there would be a problem !. 🙂
Dim Sum is all well and good but I just cooked Mrs Raddy and Raddy jnr a toasted BLT. Unbeatable on a chilly afternoon.
Proper English …
Really bad news about Gary Ablett, 46 is a horribly young age to die. Condolences to his wife, kids and family.
Harry,
How could you possibly leave out Aliadiere, 8 seasons 19 starts.
He was a case of Wishing, Hoping and Waiting.
The end result was very predictable – but guess what? yet another lesson that we learned nothing from……………….
Oops that may mean that Walcott will get at least another 2 seasons.
Frimpong’s in Wolves’ starting line-up against Chelsea – come on Manu, get in there!
Good luck with that then GN5! 🙂
My mother used to tell me, when I was being obdurate, “there is none so deaf as those who do not wish hear”.
The other one, when my sister and I were arguing about some meaningless nonsense, was something like “you are both engaged in arguments falling on deaf ears”.
She was some sort of sensei, my mom, or maybe just a mom!! 🙂
My second New Years resolution is – “not to try and come between two willing combatants” sod them!! 👿
So I have broken both resolutions within the first two days of the year! Bugger! 🙂
Thanks chas, classic Razor. 😆
RA, I cant speak to much, there`s too much glass around me ! 🙂
RA
“She was some sort of sensei, my mom”: OK, ignoring the “mom” rather than “mum” (!), do you mean your mum was good for sensi as in sensimilla? If so, your posts would make a lot more sense. 😉
Come on Manu …..
Excellent, 26 is suggesting RA’s mother is a dope smoker. Should get interesting 🙂
RA ,
We are born with 2 ears and one mouth, I use them in direct proportion to one and other.
GM, 🙂
Your pointy thing has probably been worn away by over use! 🙂
Raddy, there is nowt wrong with a BLT (see I’m getting cocky or is that cockney with ‘nowt’ instead of ‘nothing’ – probably bollixed it anyhoo) 🙂
BUT, a dim sum at the Royal China takes some beating. Yummm!! 🙂
BR – is BLT – bacon,lettuce and tomaoe?????
Gn5, I was going to start Ali, but he had an injury relapse so ended up on the bench……
Why do people ruin bacon sandwiches nu putting lettuce in them?
I wish my pointy thing was worn away with over use.
Oh, 26, shame on you!
Rather than rise to the bait, or should I say sink to the level of your lawyerly wit in insulting my late mother, I will content myself with explaining that “Sensei” is a word of Japanese origin meaning TEACHER. OK?
GN5 we are undoubtedly all born with a number of orifices — sadly some don’t use them for the purpose for which they were designed, and frankly self praise carries little credulity in the eyes of others. Therefore you would be well advised to allow others to judge proportionality.
(Those are my words — not my mom’s!)
G5, I don’t think you have understood my view on management, but I am going to leave it with that.
Regarding: ‘At Arsenal the pure evidence is that we wait far too long to pull the plug. I will not go to the trouble of naming players who fit into this category but it would be quick and easy to recite them.’
Every organisation and football club is exactly the same. I am sure, if you ask a MU or Chelsea supporter whether they wait too long to ‘pull the plug’ as you put it, they will say the same. And they will be able to give as many examples as you can. It is a no-brainer. Football clubs cannot and will not get it right all the time: the cream rises to the top and Arsene has provided us with the very best creme de la creme, within a sustainable model. Wenger’s patience has paid off many times and that is one of the main reasons we are as big a club as we are today, and why your expectations have been able to grow so highly. Respect to that.
GM – it is not lettuce I am concerned about 🙂
Warnock should see Lampart’s faul, how was tht not a red card??
Or Cashley kicking Doyle in the face????
There will be red cards at Molleniu today, watch it
Wolves all over Chavs, Frimpong on, AVB sporting his Inspector Clouseau coat looks rattled
Bad Vibrator Item——Dimitar Berbatov.
Saggy Grin———Ryan Giggs
Snide Swine——–Dennis Wise
Had Tiny Nuts———-Danny Shittu
Funeral Sex Go———–Alex Ferguson
Go Get Beers———–George Best
H`ed Shag Dirty Men———Teddy Sherringham
Stay Sick Room———–Tomas Rosicky
Decent game at Molyneux. Wolves should be 2 up.
GM. One day I may have tke opportunity to cook you a BLT. Then you will understand the need for lettuce which is only just a vegetable
GLIC. That is award winning anagramming
Cant take the praise Raddy, only what I found on google, there were loads but I thought these were some of the best ! 🙂
These were your 5 most active commenters:
1 MickyDidIt89 3709 comments
2 Red Arse 3358 comments
3 Gooner in Exile 2594 comments
4 Evonne 2130 comments
5 TotalArsenal 1896 comments
GN5 we are undoubtedly all born with a number of orifices — sadly some don’t use them for the purpose for which they were designed, and frankly self praise carries little credulity in the eyes of others. Therefore you would be well advised to allow others to judge proportionality
RA —and the winner is…………….
I am also watching the Wolves game.Can’t make up my mind who will get the first red card.
OK: I have to agree with Red Arse. enough is enough is enough.)
Shall we talk about almunia .
TA, it looks like we are quibbling about quibbling – so I will agree to disagree.
But, FYI, I was in executive management for over 25 years.
Frimpong not in the game yet – needs to give someone a reminder of his talents
Peter Walton is having a poor afternoon
how do you married people get away with watching so much footy?? I wasn’t allowed
evonne. You already know the answer to that 🙂
trousers v kitchen??
Here it comes, first nag of the year ……………
Who would like to write the match report ……….. pretty please ……..
Hide!!!!
Everyone always loves a 26 Match Report 😀
1 all
Wolves score 🙂
Chelsea are self destructing 1-1 at 85 minutes.
Here, here GIE, yeah I love a 26may match report………
lampard scores
Damn Fat Frank 😦
Sweet Joey Barton sent off for a head butt.
Barton got straight red today, wonder what he will say on twitter about that one.
How did Frimpong play today?
Strongest line up poss is announced…….Lets do fulham
Szcz
JD BFG LK Le Coq
Ramsey Arteta Song
Walcott RVP Gervinho
Um, No OX on the bench……….
Rosicky, Arshavin, Chamakh, Benayoun, Miquel, Squillaci and Big Al
Four away wins inthe EPL today.
Now lets see the Gunners make it five…
I am very surpirsed that Ox is not about, but chuffed to see Theo start, fancy a Theo hat trick today…………
Szczesny, Djourou, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Coquelin, Song, Arteta, Walcott, Ramsey, Gervinho, van Persie. Subs: Almunia, Rosicky, Squillaci, Arshavin, Chamakh, Benayoun, Miquel.
My only concern is djourou, though he played well on saturday.pretty sure all our three allowable subs will play.
now theo keep the crosses low 😉
Gn5, fine with me.
Kelsey, RA, I am sure you had best intentions with your ‘interventions’ today, but I must say I found it slightly patronising. Apologies for boring you today.
Evening all
No Ox on the bench is absolutely stunning. As is Squillaci being there alongside Miquel…especially when Song is also a good CB.
Some pretty odd cals from Arsene today.
I wonder if JD will actually be at LB today, with Coq at RB.
Wenger believes opposition teams tend to raise their game against the Gunners. ‘I am expecting a tough game,’ he said. ‘You can see that everybody finds a good motivation against Arsenal. Everybody organises well, stops us from playing and that will happen again at Fulham.’ Cottagers manager Martin Jol has demanded a more incisive cutting edge from his side. ‘That has maybe been a bit of our problem this season,’ he said. ‘We have played some very good games, but even when we defended well, we could not score at the right times. That is what we have to do. But whatever happens, we will still play our football.'”
How does AW know that, be a bit more positive like Rasp 😉
Is Oxlade-Chamberlain injured?
Total,
no worries. gn5 likes a good rant don’t you 🙂
harry,
Is there ever a game where you don’t fancy a Theo hat trick? 🙂
I read somewhere that the best defence in the PL form book whether 6/8 games is Arsenal. Pretty astonishing given Wenger doesn’t know how to coach a defence 🙂 and we are playing with no recognised full backs in many of those games .
OK. I am wearing the red and white, have a bottle of Merlot and dinner is in the oven.
COYRRG
When he isn’t playing Chas. Would welcome one today tho myself.
AK – Frimoing wasn’t great from what I saw. Wanderdaround almost lost….which could in part be put down to no trainig wih new teammates in new system etc…but at times he was really just jogging back with his team under pressure.
He really didn’t look that interested at times…
Subbed on 60mins at 0-1 down when Wolves needed a goal
@ chas
just watched the game, we win 2-1! Start placing the bets!
Hopefully we unlick the cottage early, they are an organised bunch. Bloody zamora back. Dembele, zamora and dempsey can be tricky
i think it’s only fair senderos makes an error leading to a goal. He did it enough for us!
BR,
It’s only 12:30 pm here so I’ve got 5 year old Welsh cheddar, Carr’s crackers and zine tomato’s – and, of course, a bottle of Australian Shiraz.
Cheers Sharkey.
Think your right, he needs a few sessions training with his new team mates.
Once he’s settled in i reckon he’ll be ok.
Incredibly high tempo so far.
If only Gervinho had a shot on him
sounds good g5. It’s 130 am here, ive got a bottle of water and a kit kat. Not as fancy as yours thats for sure
Late again.
Come on you Gunners
Gn5. Fine combo…
Great energy and movement from Gervinho but woeful finishing.
That was a penalty for the trip on Gerv.
or am I wrong kelsey?
The game is really open, we’ve had the best chances but they’ve all fallen to Gervinho – 3 so far.
17 minutes in and little sign of Walcott getting involved.
i disagree BR, contact was there, but very minimal. I’d be pissed if thaat was given against us.
@ G5
shocked at the tempo, i thought fulham would be alot tighter. Gerv could have finished the game already
Forget how small Craven Cottage is. Very easy for Fulham to make it difficult to breakdown. Cannot commit too many men forward.
Good boy Kozzer… 😀
KOZZER!!!!
Fantastic ball by Ramsey – excellent goal
Good to see goals coming from other depts of the team.
I thought that ball was perfect by ramsey, didn’t realise there was a deflection though. Kozza, is there anything he can’t do?!
😆 never saw the massive deflection the first time round
How amazing ha Koscielny been this season? Another genius buy by Le Boss
holey moley! bloody stockdale, how didn’t that go in?!
How the hell is it not two?
Great defending by Coq.
this ref is an imbecile, his facial expressions and hand gestures are ridiculous
Boy oh boy it’s so good to have a confident goalie.
Yet another fluffed cross from the Wally.
TA,
I am genuinely pleased that you recognised my intentions were well meant.
I respect your opinions and those of GN5, but I thought things were becoming edgy and tried to help defuse any tension.
It is far easier to stand back and do nothing when things ‘kick off’ because I am well aware that an interceder generally becomes the “bad guy” and therefore the target of both ‘sides’.
Your personnel (Human Resources) experience will have told you that too.
And what do you know? that is exactly what has happened!
As for patronising? Well you and many others on here are far smarter than me, but this simple blogger just does not understand your logic.
Either my intentions were well meant, as you seem to have agreed, or they were not, and therefore the charge of being patronising might have merit. It cannot be both.
But then, what does someone like me know?
If I may make an observation in return, I am very disappointed by your comment, and that of 26 earlier, especially as I have considered both of you as ‘blogging’ friends and treated you both with respect.
Respect works both ways. Now I know differently. Adieu.
And another.
Listening to Keown on BBC5Live, and he’s really complimenting Ramsey on his performance today.
Great ball in there by Coquelin
Walcoot should take lessons from the Coq on how to play the wing position.
Don’t you hate it when the opposition GK has a brilliant game against us?
It seems to happen every week
The game is wide open yet we still waste golden oppportunities – so it cannot be blamed on ten man defenses.
Wowee, someone put something in the tea! This is great.
how was that not a foul on djourou. that nearly cost us
Ramsey is having a fine game.
BBC report, that Arsenal say that TH12 deal should be completed in next 24 hours.
i agree G5, he’s fast becoming my favourite gunner, i love how he goes about it, his engine is immense. All round great player
So far so good….
Good game – Ruiz looks dangerous
Cracking half of football. Nonstop action and fairplay to Fulham for attacking us.
If only our wingers could shoot
Kozzer – no one deserves a goal more than him this season
Gerv – frustrating at times, but always a threat. Beats people for fun…
@ RA
which aussie lady was that?
You know Oz a few weeks back I found him to be very disappointing but you’re right he is fast becoming indispensable. Even with that shot in the last few minutes he seemed to be saying to the (non)strikers here’s how to do it!
Maybe it’s just me, but even when they switch wings our players seem to prefer playing down Gervinho’s side.
Few moments of indecision by Gerv and Theo. it’s a different ball game when RvP and Rambo are linking up.
Arteta and Song need to get more hold on midfield altho Fulham are trying to bypass that as much as possible.
At the back Kozzer and BFG look steady, Coq gradually improved, JD having one of those indecisive days.
As for Sky commentator what a twat said Kos was only playing so much through injury, and coming out with all the normal clichés about Wenger wanting to pass into the net when he was looking angrily at Theo after blazing one over…..perhaps like any other manager he was upset that he didn’t hit the target.
Interesting first half, should be more than one. Fast paced game with some good football been played.
Gervinho needs to execute his passes quicker.
Walcott is making runs from within, but not getting the service. Needs to believe in himself more, weak shots.
Coquelin is superb, then I knew that 2years ago.
Kozzer is immense. Great goal.
BFG is so intelligent.
Van persie is sick.
Need to score next and then push on.
yes it was a penalty BR
RA, i don’t think that comment was aimed at you or even me.
Coq is playing great, kos well deserved goal I won’t mention the wingers ;). one more goal should do it.
Great entertaining game.
Ramsey and Coq excellent. Kos, obviously.
GIE – Poor you having to listen to Sky 😆
I’ve no idea what language my stream is in but they keep pronouncing “Song” as Sonk 😕
Nova Sports – any idea what country it is?
@ G5
i noticed that also, but do you blame them. Look what gerv was capable of before the RVP offside. Yes his decision making and finishing has been down but he definently makes things hapen. He is going to be one hell of a player
In regards to ramsey, over the season there has been countless times where he has just missed a pass or shot on goal. Once he pieces that together he will be world class it’s as simple as that. He always gets into dangerous positions, his work rate is outstanding, and his passing is great also. Wilshere and Ramsey will be the best two midfielders in the league, and hopefully will be together at arsenal until retirement
i wonder if TH14 would have put away some of those chances, the answer is an emphatic yes.
van Persie can’t be poorly, surely?
Irish, google says Greece.
van persie is slick would be better
That Sky commentator is the one, in tandem with Alan Smith, who always makes me turn the sound off.
The next goal is crucial I don’t want to get to squeaky time at only 1-0.
Chas – Thanks, I was thinking along that line after seeing some writing appear on the screen.
Did ye see what the Barnsley fans were chanting at Billy Sharp today. He’s the bloke who played after his baby died, scored and goal and dedicated to his son. The big brave Barnsley fans were chanting “Where’s your baby gone?” – fucking inbreds.
Look out walcott arsene has pace to burn also! arsene for striker cover anyone?
Did you see Arsene trying to get his hand in his pocket when it was zipped up.
Cmon you Reds
that is shocking irish, what sort of human being would chant that?!
Oh dear Walcott is a mess………….
Oz – scum would chant that, scum. There is a line and that well and truly crosses it.
Right now it seems inevitable that it will become 1-1 as we are not taking charge of the game.
fair enough walcott needed to be stronger there, but how can you get away with knocking someone over the line like that
I’m really trying to get behind Walcott but he gives me no reason to…….shame.
Wenger agrees – Walcott off –
TR7 ❤
Djourou, hurt his groin?
That’s all we need.
Another defender injured….
We are being outplayed in the mid-field – almost no attacking efforts this half.
Wow should have been 1-1 Dempsey just missed.
what a clearance by coq haha, don’t think i’ve ever seen the flying karate kick clearance.
4 4 2 again….. Squeaky?
one more mention of 1-1 G5 and your banned. That’s sacrilege
Yep allezkev it’s close to squeaky time.
Looks like Benny is coming on.
4 5 1…?
Not to sure i agree with gerv off also because now we have no pace up front. Therefore, fulham can press as we are less likely to score on a counter. Going to be a very tight finish
That’s been coming.
WHAT! that was not a foul, zamora you joke getting up and whinging for a penalty. Should of been a yellow to him for a dive!
Now it really is squeaky time – I’m getting too old for this…………………..
We’ve no defenders left now have we? Squallici will have to play O_O
thank god it wasnt riise taking it, not sure about the logic in that decision
Squidboy!
We should have had two pens …getting excuses in early!
why not coq to right and miquel at LB? suppose lack of experience, but come on…squidge?!
Talking about squeaky here comes Squillacoi.
thats enough of the negatives aswel GiE, 10 men just evens up the game thats all!
SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You jinxed us G5 and GiE
Inevitable.
A point looks really good right now.
atm looks like we are playing with 8 men
Surely Oxlade-Chamberlain was worth a place on the bench?
Bollox
oh dear…
Oh dear.
FFS we never came out the second half – appalling
we sure didn’t Irish. The curse of sidwell again. Once again not converting early on has cost us. Oh how i miss the arsenal that would destroy teams early on and coast the rest of the game
Terrible result. We were second best in the second half and got what we deserve.Walcott is rubbish.and so is Sqillaci
Very poor second half….second yellow was coming. No excuses just very poor did
not play to win second half.
Who could possibly support Wally after that performance, he was absolute rubbish – it was like playing with 10 men from the start.
No, he’s not the reason we lost but he did sod all to help us win.
Wengers mistake was leaving him on for 63 minutes…
what a shit start to the year.
We definitely got what we deserved.
Shame Sir Ches flapped and Squiddly set up Zamora.
At least JD’s ban is against Leeds.
I need to go for 30 mins to calm down because I’m disgusted by that second half. All credit to Fulham, they came out to play from the very start, but talk about letting them own the second half.
The ref was shocking but there is no excuse for being that shite for 45mins.
what a turning point that red card was though,djourou gets sent off even though it wasn’t a foul.
I know we needed to secure the points but i hate the tactic of bringing off gerv and walcott because without them we can’t counter. If a team is pressing we have a good chance of scoring as they commit numbers forward. Walcott off for ox would of been good, why he wasn’t on the bench is beyond me. Oh well another opportunity lost.
Yay work in 2 hours, awesome. Enjoy your day fellow gooners
Many deep breaths needed. Very very poor half.
Good luck, oz, true supporter.
tiredness beat us today and that with a thin back up squad. 5 minutes afrer the break one could see that Fulham would score but to lose makes the heart heavy
We would have lost with 11 men.
I’ve (luckily?) missed most of the Walcott debates these last few days…butu he was at his absolute worst today. Barely doid athing right.
Koz, Mertz and Coq simply did not deserve to lose today. I’m surprised that DJ stayed on once the tricky winger came on with the express intention of getting at our carded FB. Dj got away with one foul on him…
There’s something about DJ that I’m not a fan of…he seems to dither. He played pretty well today though.
Think the whole attack and midfield second half did not play, it only stayed 1-0 as long as it did because of the defence. You cannot expect to sit back and do that for 45 minutes in PL. you have to provide the occasional counter attack and threat to keep the opposition honest. We didn’t so the defence were left fighting for their lives against growing numbers.
Szczesny flapped a bit for the first but Song let Senderos peel off him before Sz had done anything.
As good as Ramsey was in the 1st half he disappeared in the 2nd half.
Our mid-field was over run – where was the desire, where was the leadership?
Complacency due to poor finishing cost us the game. We simply did not capitalize on our opportunities.
That was dire 2nd half. We gave up 4th place a bit easy.
Oh dear, oh dear we forgot that 1 goal isn’t enough. They looked liked they wanted to defend the lead for the whole 2nd half.
Anyone gonna offer to write a match report please ………
absolutely gutted.
dreadful second half performance. maybe the hectic xmas period had something to do with it as i expected a little more rotation from AW over the xmas period.
sending off was an awful decision and ref was poor throughout, but no excuses, we were second best second half.
Walcott was poor, but so was everyone else second half.
its a sickener, but we have done just as well if not better as the other top boys during the xmas period so lets not blow this into something it isnt.
FA cup next week, then back to business.
GM. I agree. It was just luck that Fulham didn’t score before JD went off.
Chesney was flapping at crosses before he gave away the goal.
We ran out of steam at 40 mins and AW should have put on TR and Bennie much earlier.
That was our worst half of the season.
We took 1 point off Fulham this season.
The amazing GK save cost us the game. Had Ramsey scored it was all over.
But chapeau to Fulham, they deserved the win
I was hoping for a draw on 60 mins. It was obvious what was coming. Why did we sign Park? Where was Oxo?
Well that was truly dreadful. Once again we’ve looked brilliant in the first half and poor in the 2nd. I don’t blame Djourou.
We’d have been 3 nil up at half time if Gervinho could shoot and Walcott could cross – the latter did his best to prove GN5 correct today.
Our midfield was absent for the whole of the second half. I thought Song was awful. He was completely off his game and has been under par for some time now. He went for interceptions he had no chance of making and was bypassed with ease and then made little effort to get back. When he did get the ball he gave it away or played hospital passes a lot of the time. I don’t expect either Walcott or Song to be playing for Arsenal in 2 years time.
Agreed GN5. Take our chances first half and its game over.
Wonderman was reminding me of just how clinical the likes of Pires and Ljungberg were from wide positions when chances came their way.
*&^%$%&&**((((****** %$%$£””£%^&&**(((((((>>>>>^%$%$%£”?>??!!!?????????&^&^*&$%£”£”!”!!!
and &^%$”£!”???)(&*^%$£
and %$^£”!”!?>?*&*^??>><$£****
Well thats off my chest, I feel much better…………..
Do I heck as like…………
Not good enough so many wasted opportunities, complacency is again our undoing, in general, in attack and by especially the management…….
Ramsey disappeared in the 2nd half……..? yeah when he was substituted…….and why take him off and put Squid at RB, just put Ramsey in there……..Aaron was outstanding today and didnt deserve to lose.
JD was a red waiting to happen, i could see that…….and yes Sharkey he does dither, way too much…….
Thought Coquelin was brilliant……..
Kozzer was great again, alongside our BFG………
Massive opportunity wasted, whereby I am happy with the way Wenger has brough this club through this mire since 8-2gate and that he must be credited fully with this and his purchases, we are in the middle of suffering just one too many injuries to cope and if he thinks that Henry is all we need, then we are in for a tough time unless some players make remarkable recoveries……..or some players discover some form………
Oh and AW had a very bad game IMO. Walcott and Cesc were both playing for us at the Ox’s age and neither were as good as he is at the same age. If he is not injured he must be worth a place on the bench.
I thought the subs were very poor. Song should have been told to go to CB alongside the BFG and kozzer at RB. Bringing on Benny and Rosicky was daft when we saw how ineffective they were together the other day. It was right to take Walcott off but Gerv always looked dangerous.
I do hope we don’t come out with the excuse that they were tired. Fulham also played 2 days ago and yet they had twice the energy we showed in the 2nd half.
People already are on twitter Rasp. Wenger is blaming the ref. I missed the first 20 mins so haven’t seen our goal or the penalty appeal.
AW is not happy about Djourou being targetted after his yellow card and the referees poor decision about non penalty for Gerv.
So now we need new signings to cover injuries!!? I know it’s a tough loss but sort your heads out!
We have 5 defenders injured, how many should we have at the club just in case? 10, 12, 15!?
Wenger can’t predict those sort of injuries and as much as we all would like he can’t keep 6 world class players in every position happy, just in case!
Ridiculous.
Rasp – I completely disagree (respectfully!) about Song. He was no worse than anyone else 2nd half.
I think Peaches is right about the whole team wanting to defend the entire 2nd half. We simply sank further and further back.
Ridiculous, yes your comment is……….
FGG it is not new defensive signings anyone is calling for we can all see weaknesses going forward to kill teams off that’s where we need options.
http://vimeo.com/34475315
I thought he was poor throughout the game sharkey, his trademark strength to hold off opposition players was still there but his timing of the tackle was way off and he was 2nd best in midfield. Ramsey wasn’t a lot better but he is still young. Song should have been holding our midfield together but he was far too lackadaisical.
Watch Fulahm vs Arsenal Goals – http://vimeo.com/34475315
I am pissed off ……
Harry? – Agreed I thought Rambo was going to RB….or Coq to RB with Miquel coming on. I’m at a complete loss as to why Squid came on.
Switching FBs over isn’t the same level of defensive disruption that we had at Etihad stadium
No worries Rasp…lets agree to disagree on that one.
What sort of defence can we put out against Leeds next week then..??
I guess Yennaris is at RB, Miquel has to play CB, so who goes to LB. Time to scan ‘YoungGuns’ blog for the answer methinks unless GiE or someone else comes up with a name.
Is Angha ready to to play CB with Squid, allowing Miquel to play LB..??
I’m super pissed off ……………… and very sad 😦
Brilliant Harry…..
GIE,
Harrys comment of:
we are in the middle of suffering just one too many injuries to cope and if he thinks that Henry is all we need, then we are in for a tough time
Suggests that some people expect AW to sign players to cover all the injuries we have at the moment. An idea which I believe is pretty ridiculous
Of couse sharkey, there will never be a bad disagreement between us 😛
Whoever we think is to blame, we can have no excuses. However good we were in the first half, Fulham deserved to win because we showed all our old frailties in that 2nd half – lack of leadership, inability to hold onto the ball, indiscipline in the tackle etc etc etc.
What a dire second half that was and there were many players who looked way off the pace today. I do not thing Song made a single ball winning tackle in the second half.
Walcott once again proved that he just does not have the minerals when it matters, he has been poor of late IMHO and it is time to give the OX a go.
Gutted with that display today, but at least our support was good and could be heard all game.
Four points from a possible nine from three very winnable games is not a good return at all.
I’m afraid the only AA’er happy tonight is Gn5.
Got to agree Walcott was abysmal.
Hi VCC, great to meet you the other day and thanks for the CD.
We have to treat today as just another reality check. We have a hell of a fight ahead of us to make top 4 this season, let’s hope we’ve learnt our lesson after that performance.
VCC,
No Arsenal fan Is happy.
If anyone is cheering Theo playing badly then they belong on Le Grove.
You don’t get anything for being top 4 in January.
We still have half the squad to come back and 18 more league games.
i don’t rate theo and I’m not happy. i want him to prove me wrong. he’s not musc better than Denilson or bendtner maybe he should go out on loan.
Thats twice now, not happy with the game as it is, but the patronising undertones are reverberating right up through my nostrils so I am off to calm me self with a cup of Hot chocolate and a rerun of Feverpitch, before I misinterpret someone else’s considered and detailed opinion.
I would’ve taken a draw before kick off as it still would have been a good return over the 4 games and none of the others could have achieved better than 8 from 12.
However before we go in to disaster mode we do have to look around us and say relatively it’s been an average Xmas period. No one got away from us and we didn’t lose ground either.
On top of that only ManUre are playing with as many forced changes as us…but we need players back and soon to kick on.
As good as our away support was today consider being a player on the pitch hearing Thierrys name sung for 45 minutes…..I’d be a little peeved I think.
Performances like today would make some worry that the Spuds will become unreachable 😕
patronising…one of your favorite words harry. look we are all upset mainly with the second half performance as a whole. IMO no one should be singled out except to say some of the more consistent players didn’t produce it today.
i agree with an earlier comment that it was a mistake to take both wingers off. Shit happens and not for the first time we couldn’t put the game to bed within half an hour.end of.
Very poor second half and its probably not a good time to post when emotions are running high. I do feel we need to keep things in perspective. When you consider were we are compared to a few months ago weve made good strides. The reality is that there will be more games like tonight this season, but hopefuly they will be few.
We have a good basis going forward, will fight for top 4, and have a pop at the champions league. With some tinkering we could go from been a good side to a great one. Some may not agree, but i feel most of the ingredients are already there and it now rests on Arsene and the board to complete the jigsaw.
One thing is for sure, football is lived in the moment, and in a couple of weeks time we wont be talking about the Fulham game.
Evening all.
Where do you start?
Tired team, tired predictable tactics, tired lazy substitutions, tired management.
Djourou and Squillaci have no business wearing an Arsenal shirt.
Is this really an improvement on last season?
Herb…can I respectfully ask that you tread carefully tonight..??
Leaving at least one pacey player on does keep the opposition on their toes. With so little possession as the half wore on, was RVP not the best option to be subbed. He’s never going to run away and score is he..??
TMHT. You are right. It’s probably the best thing, not to post after that performance.
I’m going to open a bottle of Red Wine and watch a DVD. Nite all.
VCC, That’s unfair mate, I’m not the least bit happy to be proved right about Walcott, I would far sooner have egg on my face and be proven wrong.!!!
I’m not looking to irk anyone Sharkey, 4 points from a possible 9, against Wolves, QPR and Fulham is poor fare.
If you don’t agree with anything, I’m sure you’ll let me know.
gunner5, I’m sorry you took it that way. I did not mean it in that context. Thats the trouble with blogging/email.
I merely wanted to state that after todays debating, you may have been proved right about Walcott.
With respect GN5, I don’t think VCC was suggesting you were, I think he was referring to an earlier comment.
I’d like to declare an amnesty on fellow bloggers comments. The depth of feeling is just a measure of how badly we are affected by performances like today’s – but hey ho, no-one died, its only football……
No I won’t Herb !
7 from 12 anyone? 🙂
Harry,
If that was aimed at myself then the end of an 11 hour overtime shift concluding with the Arsenal result makes for an UnhappyFatGingerGooner, so apologies if I was coming across as patronising.
Before the game started I said that I would’ve taken a point. I expected a tired performance today and the second half was definately that. We started the half playing too deep and never rectified it. The midfield sat on top of our defence and invited crosses and pressure and in the process isolated the forwards.
I think the FA cup break will do us some good and hopefully one or two will be on the on the way back from injuries in the coming weeks. I’ve said previously that if we are still in touch at the end of Feb then we are only going to get stronger with players returning.
Rasp 8:34. Such a poor performance tonight.
Everybody at my local could see it coming, all except Arsene Wenger.
What annoys me is, he shouts at the officials as if it’s their fault.
I say = Get rid of the dead wood and spend some money.
GiE,
Based on the opposition, no.
Based on the amount of injuries we have, other clubs results and the fact these games were played in such short space, yes.
If you don’t care for my opinion, why suggest that I tread carefully?
Will Djourou only miss the Leeds game?
GiE,
Against the teams we were up against I would say NO, but considering the amount of injuries then maybe Yes!
VCC,
Peace, enjoy your red wine, mine is evaporating at a very fast rate,
I blame it on dry air.
This might cheer ye up – AW so angry he can’t find his pocket
The funny thing is that Kozzer completely and totally dominated Zamora (who I rate) from start to finish.
For all our thoughts/ideas on who played well or didn’t…we have been undone by some pretty poor errors on both goals.
I still can’t quite believe that I like G.Neville as a pundit, but his post game analysis highlighted (for those who never saw it*):
1. Rosicky for the first goal, simply stands and watches as Sidwell walks past him. He’s a very experienced player who picks up absolutely nobody when defending a corner in the 8? min, when his team are leading 1-0 away from home. Chesney did not do well either.
2. Coquelin switched off completely once the cross goes on from his side. No attempt is made to get into his own box and he simply stands as though waiting for a bus. Zamora executes a very difficult volley under absolutely no pressure at all. All Coq had to do was be close to him and he doesn’t score.
Fair do’s Fulham had other (half?) chances…but I do think we were heading for a 1-0 finish
I agree fgg, we seemed to want to sit on our lead, which proved to be a horrible mistake.
These boys have good charachter, and we will bounce back quickly and strongly.
Hi again VCC,
I’ve never been one to suggest we spend our way out of trouble. My beef has usually been that we don’t tend to make the most of the resources we have and often fail to learn from our mistakes.
Harry summed it up at the pub the other day, we often field a side that is not balanced. I cannot understand why AW removed all the width and pace from our attack. Theo was not having a good game so it would have been a perfect time to bring on the OX if he was available. Taking Gervinho off as well was perplexing, and putting Squillaci in the defence when pinning Song at the back would have been a double whammy seemed the obvious choice to me – but what do I know?
It is on days like this that I hate my obsession.
Poor Mrs Raddy will have to put up with my bad mood for a week. I have tried the Merlot cure and it hasn’t worked.
Having seen the Chavs get a lucky victory made the evening even worse.
Bum,bum and Bum
I actually thought we would be improved by TR7 and Yossi coming on because I thought we would retain the ball better. Unfortunately they didn’t and it was very un Arsenal like stuff of just giving the ball back to then to have another go and not getting set up properly again.
Rasp 9:09. The trouble is it”s more than life itself for me (lol)
I agree with your comments about swapping like for like with Walcott going off and Ox coming on. I’m sure that would have had a different outcome!!!!!
gunner5 9:23. I’m off now and settling down with a bottle of shiraz and several biscuits smothered with Roquefort, = happy dayz.
Peace to ALL GOONERS. XXX
For the sake of the others and the blog Herb….emotions were running quite high just at the point you entered. In all honestly, you had just passed thru my mind as someone I hoped wouldn’t appear. Thats pretty harsh I know..but I can only be honest.
Its not so much that I don’t care for your opinion, I just feel that your style/approach is simply one of trying to change other people’s opinions thru repetition.
I also feel that what you ‘opened with’ at 8.56 was a bit of a cut and paste job, save for updating the names of two players.
GIE,
For the second time in 5mins I’m going to have to agree with a blogger (TMHT being the first)!
I think AW felt that keeping the ball was the best way of getting a result, and YB and TR should have brought that to the side. Unfortunately neither of them could stop the panic that had set in and we all saw what happened.
Raddy
My wife just ignores me.
Why does anyone blog after shit like that?
No good can come of it.
Herb is pissed off like everyone else. look on twitter (or lg) to see how the real moaners are bitching.
You might have a very valid point there Chas.
On that note….
Night all…..
Chas you calling our peformance shit? 🙂
No problem Sharkey, I’ll reflect and learn from your words and bid you goodnight.
In future I shall endeavour to be more creative and less repetitive with my writing.
There’s little point in having a pop at each other …………….. none of us was at fault nor responsible for todays defeat ………. some of us see things that others don’t and some of us are affected more deeply than others.
We’ve had a pretty good run considering our dreadful start but changes need to be made. We’ve looked pretty jaded for more than a month except for the game against citeh and we’ve discussed at length why only Robin seems able to score for us without really finding any solutions.
AW needs to find those solutions quickly.
Shut up Peaches, I blame you!!!! Only joshing.
Tbh peaches, I think the answers are laying in our physio room. I think the players deserve an amazing amount of credit for getting us back in the fight whilst having a different back 4 every single game (or so it seems).
The squad can only take so many injuries. The quicker we get some of these boys back the better.
I thought I’d gone…but its so true FGG. We win today with Verm on the pitch.
Frankly given the nature of our loss and the natural emotion of a devoted supporter I surprised at just how civil the discorse has been.
I think everybody deserves a pat on the back.
An oh yea – Walcott deserves a kick up the Arsh,,,,,,,,,,,,
At least Robin didn’t get injured. now there is a positive
G5,hahahaha.
Any way, we will still finish 3rd and win the champions league…..good times ahead.
And TH12 is back……
I agree fgg, our play has suffered so badly from being without recognised full-backs that I’m thrilled we were able to push up the table the way we have.
I just hope we don’t fall futher behind before we start getting players back. Our next five games in the premiership are:-
15th Jan Swansea away
22nd Jan Manchester U home
31st Jan Bolton away
4th Feb Blackburn home
11th Feb Sunderland away
Plus Leeds at home in the FA cup and another FA cup round if we get past Leeds.
And don’t forget Santos to come back.
I miss him!
🙂 TH is back and Robin is still fit 🙂
Reasons to be cheerful part 7,463 😆
And Coquelin – although taking a bit of flak for his positioning – is fabulous 🙂
I thought Ramsey was much better than of late first half 🙂
Szczesny looked really unsettled today but I’m sure he’ll give himself a good talking to 🙂
Phillippe nearly scored 2 goals against up – I used to love Phillippe 😦
We’ve got the biggest BFG 😀
I still love Big Phil.
He had just about the best game face I have ever seen.
In The Forest
HERE, O my heart, let us burn the dear dreams that are dead,
Here in this wood let us fashion a funeral pyre
Of fallen white petals and leaves that are mellow and red,
Here let us burn them in noon’s flaming torches of fire.
We are weary, my heart, we are weary, so long we have borne
The heavy loved burden of dreams that are dead, let us rest,
Let us scatter their ashes away, for a while let us mourn;
We will rest, O my heart, till the shadows are gray in the west.
But soon we must rise, O my heart, we must wander again
Into the war of the world and the strife of the throng;
Let us rise, O my heart, let us gather the dreams that remain,
We will conquer the sorrow of life with the sorrow of song.
Sarojini Naidu
A little bit of defence for Szczesny today. I would have done exactly the same in his position and probably ended up flapping too. In my opinion he was trying to hard to help out his defenders and also to get ball in hand (and regain solid possession), therefore came for balls when he should have stayed at home.
I also think the delivery from set pieces was very good and our defence played a little too deep from free kicks.
That said he still made a couple of top saves.
For me they won the battle in midfield and didn’t give us any time to settle second half. Arteta and Song both were off their games second half.
As others have said the defence didn’t deserve to be on the losing side and yet again a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal did not give us the cushion we needed. The Wolves draw was “one of those games” today we didn’t earn it, but that’s the first time in a while I can truly say that.
TA that’s the best match report ever!
The Wolves draw was “one of those games” today we didn’t earn it, but that’s the first time in a while I can truly say that.
GIE,
Snap.
Redders, apologies for upsetting you earlier. I did not think there was any need to intervene but I understood then, and now even better, that your intentions were simply good. 🙂
Apparenytly Mirror exclusive tomorrow is we’re looking at Kieran Richardson at Sunderland.
We need a post for tomorrow, it doesn’t have to be a match report but maybe something a bit uplifting from one of my favourite ‘glass half full’ bloggers.
I suppose I could just use the ‘Wolves’ one again 😳 was that really only a few days ago 😦
Maybe we should just move staight onto the transfer window ……..
13Szczesny13 Wojciech Szczesny
Poor result for us,poor goalkeeping by me for the 1st goal, poor day all around! Let’s move on and win the next one!
I love him
Five FB`s out and now another suspended, plus no Jack, I think we all expect too much from some tough games, we have to be realistic, we are a good team missing some great player`s and 4th is going to be a massive battle. Stop thinking were as good as the top 3, in our current shit luck state were not !.
I agree with a lot TMHT said @ 8:54, most of the ingredients are there and it rests on Arsene and the Board to complete the jigsaw. In that I hope he means bringing in some “Super Quality”. If anyone says we dont have the money, I think I`ll smash my “tacklenav” with a sledgehammer whilst wearing it !
I’m not sure we deserved the Villa result really
there is a seroius problem that need addressing. In the past we had midfielders and wingers who could score; Pires, Bergkamp, lumberg, Fabregas, Nasri, Viera, ..the list goes on now we have one man who can score and the rest all misfiring. Walcott and Gervnho scored 7 or 8 goals between them. that is piss poor. Even Arshavin has gone off goals now. A natural finisher is needed for the long term. Henry will do his bit but he is not the answer
Some fine comments being made tonight. How come we had such a good first half: dominant, full of verve and attacking intent, followed by such a totally different second half? That was the worst second half performance since the Blackburn away game. There was no lack of endeavour, but we just had no shape to the team and could not put three passes together. Wenger was unable to change this round. I thought Murphy and Dembele played fantastically for Fulham today, and in the second half they were twice as fit and eager than our sorry-looking ARS. Losing today is not good enough, but it does not come as a surprise to me. This team needs a mini-break, a few refreshments (TH2012! and one more signing please), and to re-focus on the rest of the season.
Thank God this rediculous festive football marathon is over now. Whilst the rest of Europe takes a break, we play 5 games in 15 days. I love it that football is played during the Christmas holiday, but why so many games in quick succession?
Lets not forget – Fulham had a fantastic 2nd half (as alluded to by GiE)
Night all…
Off to a job interview tomorrow am…for a job I don’t really want (long story)
Night all
Just for balance Peaches, somebody with a glass half empty approach, or neither full – nor empty approach, should write a post for tomorrow. I think that would be appropriate after that second half performance by the team/management.
Sounds painful Cornwall. hahahaha,
TA,
We should all be in the same boat though, as far as fitness and games go, You`ld think we would be on an adrenaline buzz after climbing to 4th and going 1-0 up !. If teams are/look fitter than us, maybe there`s something wrong behind the scene`s ?
Terry,
I was half expecting someone to say we dont have the money, so that I carried out my threat ! 🙂
EliC, we are in the same boat, yes! It is no excuse but simply an observation. In the second half the boys were clueless, shapeless and knackered.
I was thinking about it, but i wouldnt do that to you hahaha.
Phew Total !, for a second there, I thought you was going to say, “we dont have the money”
Thanks Terry, your a true friend ! 🙂
fantastic assist from Squilacci for the Zamora goal. he headed it right to Zamora’s feet. Second half we dropped so deep it was scary. last year we playeed that dread high line we scored lots of goals but it was vunerable. this year we tend to play a bit deep maybe to suit Mertsacker’s lack of pace or simply can’t hold the line because we haven’t had the same back 4 for a long time
Night all!
Jamjam,
I honestly thought Squilacci would never play another top flight game for us again, but what do I know, nothing, If you listen to my ” trouble” 😦
After digesting our latest financial figures, i can say without fear of contradiction, that we have shed loads of dosh, which we will no doubt use to procure super qualatee.
I fancy some ZZZZZZZ`s aswell, nite ,nite.
I was just counting sheep ( yes ,I was just counting ), when I heard Terry counting Arsene`s Wonga, So now I can start dreaming about who we should get in. Nice one Terry ! 🙂
GLinco- I’m with you on that. When I saw him getting ready to come on I was really concerned. I thought we are in trouble how is he going to make a difference. I would rather play arshavin idefence 🙂
Let’s be honest did Squidgy cost is the game? Would any other right back (makeshift one) have even tried to make the header. Answer is no in my opinion.
I do love how we like a scapegoat.
How’s this “the team didn’t perform second half”. As others have said where was the leadership today?
Exiled gooner; I wasn’t making him a scapegoat. We were in trouble before him coming on and to see him on the pitch after, just highlight the desperate state we were in the second half. the whole team looked lost. it was shades of the 8-2 defeat at times. We couldn’t hold the back line or the possession of the ball. Few defensive errors cost us aswell. how the heck Zamora was allowed to stand in the box unmarked?
So far we have blamed Szscesny for flapping, Squillaci for actually being allowed to play, Djourou for getting sent off, Walcott for being poor, Arteta for being lacklustre, Song for being below his best, Rosicky and Benayoun for being rubbish when coming on, Coquelin for switching off and Wenger for making bad decisions.
Based upon that, I think it’s fair to say that pretty much the whole team was shite second half!!!
Maybe, as has been said previously, we should stop looking to blame individuals and just accept that the team cant fire every half of every game. As has also been said before, that was the worst half since Blackburn, which is a good while ago now, so we ain’t doing too bad.
I’m drawing a line under this defeat for my own, and the future MrsFatGingetGooner’s sanity.
New balls please!!!
Morning all.
on reflection these are the main issues for Arsenal at the moment and were highlighted last night.
Bad refereeing decisions also don’t help.
No one could envisage losing all 4 recognised full backs and still keep up the moment with 10 men as it is hard enough with 11.
The failure to kill games off has come back to haunt us yet again.
The reliance of RVP had to come to an end as he and others looked jaded, but then again goals change games and possibly if the other attacking players who are all firing blanks, or making crucial wrong decisions or are just woefully out of form, was addressed we could have ben 3-0 up inside twenty five minutes.
What actually happeened at half time remains a mystery that nearly all the players just didn’t seem to be at the races.
Picking out individuals is a tad unfair but as I said before the game Djourou looks the least comfortable ar RB and that is nothing to do with his sending off, which seemed harsh.
Regardles of how they played taking off both wingers and therefore having no width was a strange decision and invited more pressure on our defence and the midfield trio couldn’t get out of their own half for most of the second half.
There’s not that much wrong with our defence it’s a failure to score goals which has been apparent in most of our matches this last month or so.
We can all play football manager but AW thought he had made the right subs but it proved to be wrong.To try and sit on a one goal lead is a dangerous game to play and not generally in Wenger’s thinking.
I have lost all interest in football. Good bye my friends.
kelsey. Good summation Could have been this mornings post!
Evonne. I don’t believe you but if what you write is true – you will be much missed my friend 🙂
Morning Glum Peeps, 🙂
I have read all last night’s stuff and despite the natural disappoint everyone was really struggling to rationalise and work out what went wrong.
I cannot contribute anything meaningful because I simply do not understand what happened.
I am going to be boringly repetitive and trot out, below, my usual mantra;
It’s life; it’s football; it sucks; shit happens!
e va va vonne get back here now, or the tacklenav will find you ! 😆
Hi Evonne, 🙂
When football kicks me in the teeth, I always feel much better to read your early morning comments. I am sure others feel the same way!
So — no nonsense about ‘goodbye’ because the AA regulars need you — it is better to stick together — get your ass back on here and get the Evonne/Micky show on the road — you know I am right!! 🙂
GLIC,
“the tacklenav will find you” what a treat you are offering 🙄 if that does not frighten her away, nothing will. 🙂
Now Micky on the other hand …………………..
Nah – she’s a girl, she’ll be back 😉
Hi redders,
The tacklenav also has it`s own built in weather forecast detector, it`s wet,windy and freezing out there, my tacklenav has shrunk !.
It works better in the hot weather, `coz it also doubles up as a ring donut stacker, incase I get hungary on my run !. 🙂
Morning all,
Here are the bad ‘un’s:
Fulham h 1-1
Wolves h 1-1
Fulham a 1-2
That’s Goals For 3 : Goals Against 4
The problem is the attack. Simple.
Let’s go and get what we need to sort out the problem. The window is open now, which is absolutely perfect timing. Then go and kick some ass!
No feeling sorry. Results not excuses.
What is Evonne’s address? We’re coming round.
oops, should be “hungry”, I`m not going to invade a country with it !
Yes micky, whats the postcode I`ll tap it in!. 🙂
Micky
“There’s not that much wrong with our defence it’s a failure to score goals which has been apparent in most of our matches this last month or so.”
kelsey,
lucky we`ve had RVP fit, we could have been in an exciting relegation battle ! 🙂
GLIC,
Christ don’t let evonne see that 🙂
These are my ratings and I assume everyone starts with a 5 .
Szczesny 6
Mertesacker 6
Koscielny 7.5
Djourou 4
Arteta 4
Walcott 4 (Rosicky 65) 5
Ramsey 6(Squillaci 81) 4
Song 5
Coquelin 7
Gervinho 6
RVP 5.5
GLiC + Micky = Evonne/s postcode is SW1A 1AA
Hi Kelsey, 🙂
Not wanting to give you extra work while you are moving into the new Kelsey Mansion, but can you break those ratings down into pre and post half time?
Champion (ish) performance in first half:
Eeeek in second half:
GLIC, Unfortunately for you I have a good memory, and I recall your admission that Mrs GLIC said you have a 2″ -er. So, singular doughnut holder then!! 👿
Whereas I …………………… 😳
Hi VCC, 🙂
I hope that Postcode is makey up, or else the lovely Evonne will be flooded by West Country weirdos. Oh, that’ll be Micky and GLIC then?
To say we would have won with TV is a valid point. What I found concerning was the way ARS got so swamped and furthermore that their passing out of defence was so poor. Not once did a ball find RvP in the second half (that I can recall).
RA- Of course you are right that “shit happens” but it is also true that to discuss the “shit” leads to a relieving of the pain caused by said “shit” !
RA. Google it ….. 😀
Raddy,
I had already done so! 🙂
I also knew Evonne lives in north London as she allows itinerant AAers to use her car lot on match days! 😉
The lack of fullbacks is key, but our midfield hasn’t been functioning well for several games now.
Yesterday Arteta looked knackered, Song was the one who should have stamped his authority but instead gave the ball away and sold himself short repeatedly. Ramsey was the best of our midfielders but as a collective unit they failed to link the defence with the attack.
Taking off both wingers and robbing us of width and pace was ridiculous – 0/10 for AW on that one.
Bringing on Squillaci was a mistake, Song should have been sent to sit at the back then at least he wouldn’t have been bypassed in midfiled which happened repeatedly.
If AW was worried about Djourou being targetted he should have taken him off not wait for the inevitable to happen. It reminded me of the time we all knew that Eboue was going to get sent off against totnum and Wenger just allowed it to happen. Very bad management. AW gets the lowest rating of all from me.
RA I’ve not used her Carlot, sounds interesting, she must be a very obliging lady.
Didn’t know she was into that “Cherr Alot”
VCC,
I have never met Evonne, but I have a lot of time for her as her personality shines thru on AA.
I am going to shut up now, as she will, quite rightly, tell me to mind my own business! 🙂
I do hope that the staff actually allow our players to rest for the next 10 days and don’t train the hell out of them. We are lucky to have this period of respite, hopefully it will be an opportunity to recharge the batteries.
I’ve been saying for weeks that key players are in the mystical red zone and we were one extra injury away from implosion. Chelski are the side we have to try to finish above.
We need lady luck to be on our side for the next 5 weeks. If we can maintain 5th place by the 2nd week in Feb we will still have a chance of top four.
RAsp. Snap.
It is surprising that a man as analytical as AW cannot see the obvious (to us) solutions. I would also have brought on Chamakh in place of Theo or Gerv to help RvP retrieve the long balls out of defence.
Do we prefer MC to beat L’pool and thereby cement their top place o allow L’pool ago go above us prior to making their customary collapse down the table?
I agree with Kelsey regarding Djourou at RB, he is not at all comfortable there. I used to play there myself some years ago for my town.
He (Djourou)is often caught out of position, he dives in too easily and has no idea how to push (jockey) a winger where HE wants him. I watched him intently during the Wolves game and he kept wandering into his usual CH position, leaving Jarvis plenty of room to plunder into. I kept shouting at him from my seat just behind the home bench to ‘get goalside, watch Jarvis FFS!” To my surprise, he did not listen! 🙂
I am not blaming him for our loss last night mind, it was a whole team thing, but he needs to learn and fast, as we are not exactly over indulged with RB’s right now.
Rasp, I agree with you. The players need a rest, and they should get one. 6 days off until Leeds, then another 5 until Swansea then another 6 until the big one.
By the 21st we might have a couple of players coming back to ease the playing time.
Hi Raddy, I think AW is too close to see the obvious sometimes. He needs to take a step back. His total autonomy on all football decisions is not healthy.
Moaning about the ref for yesterday’s result just enhanced his reputation as a manager who is always looking to blame someone else.
MC win for me.
Let’s not forget that MC and MU are in the Uefa Cup now and will rest key players for those games, no matter what they may say. Also,one of them will be going out of the FA Cup so will only have the league to fight for. Whilst we are in both FA and CL then top 4 is a realistic target. If we drop out of those early then maybe we might be able to sneak behind the top 2, but that’s still a long shot.
BR. I’m in the ManCity camp. I want them to beat Liverpool for two reasons. One being I would prefer them to win the Title rather than ManUre ( as we can’t manage it this season) Two it would keep Liverpool further away from us. Not forgetting they have a game in hand over us and only 2 points adrift.
Yes Raddy, we want city to beat pool and every other team than ourselves. Any thought of us winning the league is preposterous.
We can forget catching United too. We will only finish above totnum if they have a serious loss of form, so that leaves pool and chelski in our way for CL qualification.
FGG. You are right, an MC victory then
This is getting boring Rasp, me agreeing with all that you say. I think Wenger should have a look in the mirror sometimes.
Rasp. We had our November in the last 3 games. We can and will improve given some rest of the players.
The loss of the FB’s and Sagna in particular has been costly, not just defensively, because without him we lose both width and the much needed support for Theo.
True about the rest Raddy, but we’re not going to get any fullbacks back for a month so that situation is not going to improve – so I don’t know how you can assert that ‘we’ve had our November’
We need to be lucky for the next month and then hope that the missing personnel can come straight back in and perform which is a hard ask.
In the long term, we need to allow Diaby and Gibbs to see out their contracts if we cannot sell them as their games per season is not going to improve.
If you accept the theory exploited by city that what strengthens us weakens others, how different our relative seaons would be if we’d signed Mata? He has consistently been chelski’s best player and has goals in him – just what we need to assist the attack and without him they’d probably be 6 points worse off.
Rasp. Glass half full …….
Morning all
I’ve cobbled together some thoughts into a post although Rasp has already covered most of them 😉
New Post ………….
After a good nights sleep i have come to the conclusion there is absoloutly no need to panic. Every team has a bad day now and again, and in fact it was just a bad half, we should have been 3 up before the break.
I am still very confident of top four and we have a great chance to finish 3rd. Nearly all the big teams have to come to our place and our fate will be decided in those games.
We have Wilshere to come back and hopefuly the Ox will have a big impact. It will also be nice to get some full backs fit. Lets also hope TH12 has a role to play and that we dip into the transfer market and procure a top player who can play wide and up front.
Lets also not forget we are still in the Champions League and have 2 glorious games against Milan to look forward to. We usualy get done by Barca and English teams in Europe and this time the 2 Manc clubs are out. We have a great chance of going all the way this time.
My only gripe with the Club is that in the last few years we seem to be making profits in the transfer market and are generaly slow to move when we are interested in a player. I am not asking anyone to spend out of there own pocket just that all funds from money coming in should be made available to the manager to purchase players. The purchase of a player in the Poldolski mould ticks all the right boxes. a guy who can replace the failing Arshavain and Chamack and in no way will hinder the development of Ox and Walcott.
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