There was widespread surprise yesterday when it was revealed that Martin O’Neill had been fired as manager of Sunderland with just seven games left in the season.
Surely losing away to the champions elect can’t have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, making the decision even odder.
I’ll admit to liking Martin O’Neill. He learnt his trade under Brian Clough and has had a mostly successful career as a manager until recently. He is an engaging pundit when he does TV work and his passion for football is plain for all to see. I also liked his sense of priorities when he took a break from football to nurse his sick wife.
So it’s a shame that his career has, finally, been knifed in the back.
The question is, whose fingerprints are on the blade?
The simple answer is the Sunderland owner, Ellis Short. But I think we need to look beyond the obvious. The real culprit may well, in fact, be a certain lanky Frenchman with well-documented zipper issues.
Yes, Arsène Wenger – je t’accuse!
When Arsène arrived in English football (famously heralded as “Arsène Who?” by the London Evening Standard), Martin O’Neill was enjoying real success as manager of Leicester City, having already made his name at Wycombe Wanderers.
He was a “bright young thing” and was often mentioned as future manager of England – or of top clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal.
The problem for O’Neill was that Wenger’s arrival betokened the dawn of a new, technical style of football – not just for Arsenal, but for the English game as a whole.
The Irishman, however, was a standard bearer for the old style of English football – a style based on defensive solidity, hard work and direct play.
At the time, O’Neill’s approach was the prevailing one and the struggle between the styles was not even automatically obvious. But in the years since, helped by the increasing importance of the Champions League and the influx of “technical” players from abroad, the old style has become more and more obsolete.
I’m afraid to say that O’Neill, for all his qualities, has now become a creature out of time. A dodo in an age of swifts.
When he took over at Sunderland and we played them last season, it was immediately obvious that he had done what he always does: he got them working hard for each other, got them well organized at the back and made them – as pundits like to say – “hard to beat.”
The problem is, that’s not good enough any more in the Premier League. Arsene’s revolution has taken time, but his approach to how the game should be played is now reflected in a majority of EPL teams.
And it’s no surprise that the managers most associated with the “old” style of play are finding their fortunes on the slide.
Phil Brown has gone; Fat Sam is defying gravity for the time being at West Ham but for how long?; Tony Pulis and his Orcs are heading towards a relegation fight… and now Martin O’Neill is out, leaving his Sunderland team one point above the relegation zone.
Meanwhile the new generation of Premiership coaches – with the likes of Laudrup, Martinez, Hughton, Rogers and Clarke in the vanguard – is claiming the aesthetic as well as the results high ground.
Obviously this theory is a simplification, but it’s one that has truth in it, I feel.
O’Neill and Wenger – only three years apart in age – have both lived through a period of massive change in English football. Interestingly, both have been stubborn and refused to substantially change their styles.
The difference is that Wenger’s style was the way of the modern world game and he was at the forefront of implementing it here. O’Neill’s was the style that served the English domestic game well for a long time but saw us consistently fail at international level and gradually slip behind the rest of Europe at club level.
I’m not sure Arsène Wenger will ever fully get the credit he deserves for changing the English game. Perhaps one day.
As for O’Neill – I wish him well for the future. Where that future lies, who knows? Perhaps back in Scotland. Perhaps in the lower leagues in England. Perhaps this proud man will just decide that it’s time to step away from all the stress and make a comfortable living from television punditry.
RockyLives
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
What a great post Rocky, I hope it gets the readership it deserves on a BH Monday.
Absolutely there is no question that the English game has changed and AW is without doubt the single most influential figure. At times it has been hard to follow his doctrine when ‘buses are parked’ and the opposition employ physical tactics that many (northern based?) refs allow.
Hopefully we are entering a new phase when we have players of the ability and attitude to carry out his vision. I still believe the team needs to be balanced, hard working and cohesive as a priority, but when the system works as well as it did at times against Reading it produces breathtaking football. The next step is to be able to play that way and succeed against the teams at the top as we did pre Emirates.
LAST!
Thank you Rocky.
On Saturday August 18th, 2012, I made a nine hour round trip to watch my team play Sunderland. I didn’t like O’Neil before kick off, and I liked him even less after the final whistle.
However, just because I don’t like a manager who wears little football boots during a game, he does come across as a decent man, unlike Di Canio.
Must dash, back later.
Nice guy he may be but for me it’s good riddance. Worst game I have seen at the emirates this season was against Sunderland in the first game of 12/13. Every time the Sunderland players approached the mid way line MON was frantically waving his players to get back. Horrible negative football, put me off Sunderland good and proper.
I have to admit I’m not a M O’N fan. I found his punditry to be inane at times and his style of football negative. Its sad about his wife’s illness, but I think he will struggle to find another managerial post in the top flight.
Thats a great post Sir
Enjoy your day!
Superbly crafted post Rocky, There are those of course will think this is written for April fools day as any mention that hints as praise for AW is automatically seen as nonsense by these detractors.
However like it or not the opinion expressed in your article simply outlines the truth. It is no accident that both O’neill and Wenger earned university degree’s alongside there football and coaching qualifications and it is this intelligence that makes the conundrum so interesting.
Both men were faced with limited spending and a less than exciting player base,with price being the main criteria they were forced to shop in the bargain basement.
Wenger had an ageing spine which he was able to rejuvenate whilst using his knowledge of the French market to make his pounds go further by converting them to euros and buying unpolished nuggets to fill in the gaps. Whilst augmenting his backroom staff with people of a similar persuasion to himself to help him implement his revolution, not only changing diet and training but their lifestyle’s and by these means prolonging the careers of those older players. Whilst the other building blocks, training facility’s an academy and finally a new ground were added to the mix.
Oneill has not had the time to do any of this. Hamstrung by the quality of the staff he inherited and unable to find the cash to buy in the quality that today’s quick fix demands, he was forced to fall back on the disciplines and methods outlined in Rocky’s post, no doubt having been promised the money at season end to make the changes he deemed necessary. Unfortunately time has caught up with him and it will be interesting to see A) How long he stays out of the game that has been his life andB) How long De Canio and his Latino temperament survive in the cold reality of the dour North East.
You think the sun shines out of Wenger’s bum so much that you even attribute O’Neil’s sacking to Wenger? Give over. This website should be called The Wengerphile
Fine post, Rocky.
It’s definitely Arsene’s fault. 🙂
Sacking O’Neill seemed ridiculous but Di Canio will have a good go at motivating the Mackems to stay up.
I don’t know anything about his politics, but if I was a Sunderland supporter, I would pleased at his appointment.
Womble ? it seems the crazy gang are back.
Wombledin,
You really haven’t got two brain cells to rub together, have you?
* would be pleased…..
Oh dear Wombledin, you need to start thinking with your brain.
Rocky was exercising artistic (journalistic) licence to highlight the difference in styles between the two men and the effect that has had on their careers – obviously he wasn’t seriously blaming AW alone, that was tongue in cheek …. savvy?
Morning chary 😛
I like what Ramsey had to say on arsenal.com …….
“In the past, we’ve been accused of starting slowly and I think that’s something we’ve changed, especially in the last month.
On another day, we could have had a few more early on. It was a great performance. It was enjoyable out there
We’ve started off on the front foot, defended high up the pitch and won the ball back in dangerous areas. We did that plenty of times [against Reading].
On another day, we could have had a few more early on. It was a great performance. It was enjoyable out there.
I think you could see that we played without any hesitation and with the handbrake off. We created a lot of opportunities and we defended well apart from the goal we conceded. On the whole, we’re delighted with the win.
Ramsey made a late cameo at left back on Saturday, and while he is happy to fill in wherever required, he believes central midfield is where he is at his best.
“That’s another position to tick off!” he said. “It was only a quick two minutes there, but there’s not many left that I haven’t played in.
“I’ve been played in a lot of positions this season. It’s difficult when the roles are different. You like to stay in your position and get that consistency.
“Hopefully now I can get a few opportunities to play in my position where I’m comfortable and where I feel like I get the best out of myself. I did well and hopefully I can continue that now.”
Good morning to you all,
Sacked yesterday and already being touted as the next Republic of Ireland manager.
Martin O’Neil has already climbed onto his painted pony and is about to ride the Magic Roundabout alongside the other football manager failures.
@ Wombeldin, sing it with me brother!
‘we love you Arsene, WE DO, we love you Arsene, WE DO, we love you Arsene, WE DO….OHH ARSENE WE LOVE YOU’
😆
Great post Rocky. You seriously are, one talented bloke. Thanks for the great read.
On tonights game: ‘Break a leg Robin’
I like your post PPP, all except the last line.
I despise the Dutch traitor but wouldn’t wish him a serious injury.
Great post RL enjoyed reading it.
The sacking in not deserved, and Mr Millband has resigned because Di cannio is a facist.
Who cares if he’s a facist racist or gay that’s his choice.
He has signed a two and a half year deal at Blunderland I bet Di cannio will be sacked before his time.
If Arsenal appointed some one like Di Cannio I would be disappointed .
Regarding me doing post for tomorrow it’s been done today,cheers RL!!!!?
Ps has anyone else had an e mail from word express of so can some one explain it to me,sorry for being thick
Much love
Sheep Hagger ™
Norfolk,
Its just like in theatre, as the saying goes ‘break a leg’. I wouldnt blog anything unless i was prepared to say it face to face
Sheep – I’m sure you said this morning that you would be writing a post for tomorrow so I’m confused now ……. 😦
Also, if you would like to forward the email from wordpress to arsenalnuts@live.co.uk then I’ll have a look at it for you.
Hi
Sent the e mail peaches HELP ?
Today’s post covers what I was going to write about today.
Thanks
RASP…
Yesterday : “Shame hearing about Rasp by the way…”
Until you turned up and queried my post, Rasp, , nine individuals ignored it.
Here’s the list of your so-called mates who couldn’t give a sick rat’s ar*e about you :
Gunner N5, Norfolk Gunner, brooklynbaby, Hendongunner, VCC, RockyLives, MickyDidIt89, Jamietheleftback, and Gooner In Exile.
There… name and shame ‘em, that’s my motto!
Because nobody seemed in the least concerned about you, my joke was ruined. Here’s the joke :
Big Al : “Shame hearing about Rasp by the way…”
Non-existent mate : “Oh no, what’s wrong… not an accident?…”
Big Al : “Apparently, according to Jonathan, he’s got widgets!”
Morning all.
Well constructed post Rocky.
Personally, like your self, I’ve always liked MON, in particular his unabashed love for the game. His excitement when his team scored was typically an acrobatic leap in the air – full of passion.
He has always managed teams that lacked adequate funding to be competitive, hence the ultra defensive, boring type of football.
I’ve never thought of him as lacking on the technical side, and I question if that is really the case, I also wonder if that would have been the case if he had been in a position to buy players with higher skills.
I hope you can draw a few posters out of their slumber, as it’s a great topic for discussion.
😆 Big Al, not only have I got a bad case of the widgets, my login is also playing up 🙄
Watching Mata play today is a reminder of what a gem we missed out on.
Nice post Rock, i havent had a chance to catch him as a pundit, but in interviews he seems to come acrooss as very thoughtful and sincere. Genuine. I wish him luck.
Looks like Torres has signed for MGM for a remake of Batman.
I have often wondered why O’Neill never got the chance to manage a big PL club. He is 61 now and I wouldn’t be surprised if he became a pundit. Very knowledgeable,affable but according to some who played for him,not the easiest man to get on with.
Big Al…..I knew Rasp was OK……cos I see him at the Tavern. 😉
Hello All
Thanks for the comments.
I always thought MON had a bit more to him than the likes of Pulis and Allardyce, but the way his teams have played recently doesn’t bear that out.
He spent enough money at Villa to have played a more modern brand of football if he had really wanted to, but it seems that he found his ceiling.
So, the Chavs going through to the FA Cup semis supports Micky’s theory that Rafa is more interested in getting a cup on his CV rather than a top 4 finish.
I hope so.
Also interesting to see how the Swans have followed the grand tradition of winning the League Cup and then suffering a huge slump in form.
Afternoon all.
Two trophies even Rocky. That should keep his eye off the ball for us!
Also, interesting comment about MON at Villa, as I had a hunch he spent a fair amount in his time there.
Also, heard on the radio that Cole is out for a few weeks. Can’t hurt.
There was a disappointing lack of spoof reports today, but just to illustrate the way others think they can wind up Arsenal supporters, there was this pathetic effort….
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2013/04/01/3863552/-
Not the work of a genius, eh Rasp! 😦
Yea Micky, not so much a wit, as a half wit 😦
Were you talking about me — again? 🙂
No RA, and you know very well what Oscar Wilde said about not being spoken about 🙂
Turn the other cheek Red Arse 😆
Evening all, shockingly few comments for an excellent post. I have never been a fan of O’Neill maybe it’s the way he dances along the sideline and celebrates like he scored the goal.
He did a good job at Leicester and managed many titles at Celtic, but since returning to the EPL I think he has been found wanting, mainly for the reasons described above, at Villa he had Young, Abonglahor, Barry and Milner, and bought Heskey?!?! Why!?!!
Ok those players were bought from him for a fair few quid, but he didnt reinvest in anything similar.
At Sunderland he has spent money too, Johnson and Fletcher was about £18-£20m which is not small change.
And the simple thing to do is look at attendances at Sunderland and understand that old style if football does not bring ticket revenue when the team have made it to the EPL, Stoke are the same, falling attendances as the novelty wears off.
In all fairness home attendance at the Emirates isn’t doing too well lately and it seems to me is dropping every season.
Adrian,
They are all sell outs. However, there are too many good time Charlies since the move to the Emirates. Don’t panic though, I have plans to flush them out 🙂
GiE,
Some weak men have gone out shopping or doing family stuff on these Bank Holidays 😦
I am developing an AA Seventh Sense, and its telling me Peaches may be along shortly.
Not to panic lads, I have a new theory I could cobble into a post, but keep it to yourselves for now.
Rasp@ 5:12pm
It must be me, but I thought that was a decent April Fool attempt Rasp !. I only found four Arsenal related April Fools and two of them were by me !. hahaha
Boo …….. anyone developing an idea for a post 😆
Really IUF, taunting us about a lack of trophies?? – its hardly original and a tad pathetic that the team 20th in the PL in terms of its balance in transfer spending over the last 5 years, is criticised for a lack of silverware … most PL clubs would love to be in our position.
GIE;
Stoke City have a ground capacity of 27,740 so the attendance figures look pretty good, not much sign of a drop off.
26/08/2012 Arsenal 27,072
15/09/2012 Manchester City 27,101
29/09/2012 Swansea City 27,330
27/10/2012 Sunderland 27,005
10/11/2012 Queens Park Rangers 27,529
24/11/2012 Fulham 26,921
28/11/2012 Newcastle United 26,793
15/12/2012 Everton 27,008
26/12/2012 Liverpool 27,490
29/12/2012 Southampton 26,391
12/01/2013 Chelsea 27,348
26/01/2013 Manchester City 19,814
29/01/2013 Wigan Athletic 24,421
09/02/2013 Reading 26,737
02/03/2013 West Ham United 22,690
16/03/2013 West Bromwich Albion 26,137
I used to be a little comme si comme sa about O’Neil, he was alright, in an intense, Jack-in-the-box sort of way, but …………. then I heard him ranting about ‘Sieur Wenger, and I went right off him.
Shame on you Rock Hard, for liking someone who is not on my Xmas card list!!
Big AL@ 1:30 pm.
I’m so sorry for being one of the spoiler’s.
I think we can smile at a bit of satire on April Fools day, well I can anyway !. hahaha
That man who is normally castigated by gooners for his tongue in cheek digs at Arsenal, the Right Honourable closet gooner Mr Durham played a fantastic tribute to Rocky on Good Friday`s …” The Daily Arsenal “, anyone hear it ?, you can re-listen on talkSPORT.
Any one know anything about a weird e mail I got from word express?
TA
Sheepy
GN5, aka Stato, 🙂
I have been meaning to ask you for some time, and only now have I remembered to do so.
Do you like or follow baseball?
Why I ask, is that many of my British friends are a bit unsure about the game, thinking that there is a lot of swishing of the bat, and frequently very little else. Perhaps because they do not always understand all the rules or the nuances of the game.
But reading your detailed statistical analysis of many footballing related matters, I realized that what American fans love, going hand in glove, so to speak, with the enjoyment of the game, is the statistics.
There are all sorts of stats that are manna from heaven to the committed fan, many of these are shown on TV screens, [batting %, RBI, slugging percentage etc.]
I would have thought you would love it! 🙂
Sheepy, sheep shanks, 🙂
Peaches went to the bother of offering to decipher it for you if you forwarded it to her at arsenalnuts. Clearly you have decided to ignore her!
Did you write it to yourself? Did you mean WordPress?
Speak to the boss lady! 🙂
I sent it RA to arsenal nuts .
Yes WordPress
Copy and paste the email onto here, Sheeper, and someone clever will work it out for you!! 🙂
Ok RA cheers u will understand it as ur brainy brb
GN5 fair enough, must have been FACup (City in January?) I have seen with a lot fewer in ground.
Sheep it’s basically bollox 🙂
Someone trying to get business for us, we don’t rely on ad words in fact we don’t pay for anything to get people here.
Not sure why you’ve been spammed and no one else but just pop it in trash.
Cheers GIE they must think its my site ha ha .
TA for your help
Sheepy
Sheep
Sorry for stealing your thunder today. What were you going to say about O’Neill?
Sheepy, I did not mean for you to show your email address, if that is yours. 😦
I think this was meant for Rasp/Peaches, and is not from WordPress, in my opinion.
This is a cold calling email, wrongly addressed to you, and trying to get your interest, and, if they do, they will charge you for their advice, if you asked for their ‘services’ in boosting your website’s hits.
As, I suspect, you do not have a website, I would not respond to this email, otherwise you may be plagued with future posts.
My own inclination would be to delete it!
The above advice would hold true for ArsenalArsenal too.
But then both of you would be welcome to say I am talking bollocks.
Redders
Knowing your mastery of multiple languages, I can only assume that your “comme si comme sa” was a deliberate mingling of French and Italian to make a rhetorical point: perhaps that you are undecided about MON in a French, shrug-of-the-shoulders way, but with just a hint of Italian passion and agitation. Sitting on the fence, as it were, but shifting uncomfortably…
Apologies if I have misunderstood. 😀
Sheepy
If you don’t want your email address on display to all and sundry I can remove the comment if you’d like…
Ricky Rock,
You know that was just a device to winkle you out!!
Here’s a song that says it all!
Oh la la, la la la la la la
Je suis folle de toi
Please don’t break my heart
But then I look in your eyes
And then oh baby you smile
I can’t resist you and you turn me upside down
And when I feel your sweet kiss
Oh I know that’s what I miss
I get so high, oh I know I never wanna come down
Oh la la
comme si, comme si, comme sa
One day I feel it’s love
next day it’s not enough
it goes
Un, deux, trois
comme ci, comme ci, comme ca
One day I feel so high
next day I wanna cry singing
Oh la la, la la la la la la
Je suis folle de toi
Please don’t break my heart
Sometimes it’s yeah yeah yeah
Sometimes it’s no no no
That’s just the way love goes
I need to know what you feel
Now I am out of the cupboard!! 🙂
Redders
You’ll make me blush like a maiden 😳
Regarding baseball, the Toronto Bluejays have “rolled the dice” this year and are strongly tipped to have a good shot at the World Series.
I don’t understand the nuances of the sport, but it will be fun to go to a few games this year.
Rocky,
I am currently watching the Yankees getting whopped 4:0, at home, in the 4th innings, by the Red Sox.
Boo!!
I am a full time bloody moderator on here,these days 🙂 cleared it now sheep and thanks RA for pointing it out.
Great stuff Rocky.
Never liked Oneil. Hes a big mouth prancing twat who reckons steve walsh is a better player than pele. I always remeber the leicster 3-3 game were Denis got a brilliant hat trick. Oneil had his own geniuss that day, walsh and that big lump matt eliott. A barrage of long ball had Oneil in ecstasy. At one stage i thought his trousers were going to explode
If you think Pele is a better player than steve walsh, then you should be glad that Oneil is toast.
Peaches,
I’ll do something, but my hopes for this theory are slender at best, but a post there shall be.
Ha ha Transplant 🙂
I’m with GiE on this one. Its the leaping up and down in his little football boots that doesn’t do it for me.
Crikey RA, how big exactly is your satellite dish that you can beam in basketball from The US?
RA @ 6:32 pm.
When I lived in Toronto I was a semi-regular attendee at Toronto Blues Jays games, I used to tale my son and we’d sit in the bleachers for a few dollars each. It was a real treat to see some of the best players in the sport play for our club.
We were fortunate enough to see the Jays win their 2nd World Series in 1993 from a private box and witnessed Joe Carter hitting a 3 run walk around home run in the bottom of the ninth when we were losing 6-5.
Tom Cheek the Jays play by play announcer said “Touch em all Joe
you’ll never hit a bigger home run in your life”
After the game my son drove us around down town Toronto, following a procession of cars honking their horns, it wore out the horn on my car.
That season, for the first time in 100 years 3 Jays hitters, Alomar, Olerud and Molitor finished 1-2-3 in A.L. East batting.
So in short I loved following the game but I lost interest after the players strike in 1994/5.
As Rocky said the Jays are touted ro be Series contenders again this year, so it may rekindle some interest.
I’m aBlueJays fan simply because my Dad brought me a Baseball Cap back from a business trip andi have relatives residing in Fergus, Ontario who also follow them (well one does and she was a stat machine).
I catch it whenever I can on ESPN America love the tactics ofit all.
Micky, 🙂
It’s baseball!
No big dish required, ESPN shows one hell of a number of American sports live, altho many are at inconvenient times. (Not sure what will happen next year when they bow out and BT take over their channel! 😦
I am getting up a petition demanding the US falls in line with BST. 🙂
GN5,
@ 8:09, I did not know that, of course, but I am not surprised that you enjoyed watching the Blue Jays. 🙂
Much better to watch at the stadium, unfortunately I have not been to any games for some years.
QPR are 3-0 down to Fulham at 42 minutes. They look like no hopers……
Sheepy, if it makes you feel any better, i was once the victim of an email interweby scam.
A couple of years ago i got an email from this lady in Russia called Yanoushka saying she had seen my profile on some dating site “plenty of sad fish” and that i fascinated her.
Anyway, she sent me some lovely racy pictures, getting me all excited, so i started responding. After a while i realised i was falling in love, and was sure she felt the same. i sent her naked pictures of myself (bar black socks and my best wig) and she couldnt get enough
She told me that things were realy hard for her in Russia, that her mother was realy sick and she needed money so she could pay for medical treatment. She sent me pictures of her mum, who looked amazingly like the queen mother. In one of the pictures i spotted prince philip, but yanouska explained that her mum was friends with the Royal family.
Some people warned me that it seemed a bit dodgy, but not once did she ask me for my credit card. in fact she asked me to use western union and transfer all the money to her uncle, Mr Adewankeneki.
Eventuly, i got a bit tired of her refusal to meet me in person, so decided to surprise her and flew to Russia. I went to the address she had given me, and was shocked to find some fat bloke called Oleg living there. I asked about Yanoushka but he denied all knowledge. After about ten miniutes arguing he got agreesive and hit me over the head with a bottle of Vodka.
I woke up the next day in a Russian infamary heart broken. I realise now of course that My beauitful Anoushka was been used by her horrible uncle, and that fat git Oleg was probably threatening her somehow.
To this day i still prowl the internet for my Anoushka, but to no avail.
I guess what ime trying to say Sheepy, is dont reply to that email. hahahaha
Transplant,
That is so so spooky.
The exact same thing happened to me way back. Three times!
.
Peaches,
Post in.
Its heartbreaking aint it Micky. When i think about how Uncle Adewankeneki and fat Oleg are treating my wonderful Anoushka my blood boils. I wish i could somehow track her down and save her from these two wretches, but so far no luck.
As I said, three times I was boshed over the nut by Oleg. Three times. That’s what love does to you, I’m afraid.
Must off now, work to do 😦
Please removed it TA
It’s gone Sheep.
Cheers RL
Sheep off to sleep.
Another old fashioned manager bites the dust, Warnock leaves Leeds. Altho I have to say I have a bit more sympathy for Warnock, look what has happened to the QPR team he got promoted, I’m not sure he has ever had the chance to continue his work for a full season in the PL.
Peaches/Rasp one in draft for sometime this week.
This from a BBC blog:
“No-one can suggest Benitez is shaping up for a blaze of glory because failure to qualify for next season’s Champions League would undermine everything and would be a wound that could not be healed by any silverware, even though that would not harm his own CV as he seeks his next post.
For all the enjoyment a trophy might bring, it would actually do Benitez more good than Chelsea. The season will be judged in the framework of Champions League qualification but at least there is still the promise of something tangible at the end of this most uneasy of arranged football marriages.”
Seems like Arsene has been right all along.
Morning GiE
Hope she picks your post over mine 😦
I know there are going to be many squeaky bottom moments between now and the end of season, but blimey, its exciting.
Top 4? Above Spuds? Above Chavs? Spuds or Chavs to lose out on CL football. Both ROLFingly funny.
Oh, and talking of Trophies, let’s not forget we also have the excitement of finding out who wins The DidIt Trophy of the photo from Anfield ’89 🙂
Micky Chelsea losing away to Saints certainly upset my predictor as did Swansea losing to Spuds…..so the only way I am winning is Chavs beating Spuds, which would also help our CL qualification.
70-73 points for us it’s touch and go, 74 points we qualify easily, so that means 7 wins from 8…..do-able but Fulham away and Everton home are my big concerns. Hopefully Fulham can get one more win before and be safe and Everton are not too bothered about Europa League.
Morning Micky, 🙂
You talking to yourself, again?
I am a bit com pi, com pa about trophies at the mo’, but I must make a stand for ‘rolling on (the) floor laughing’ or ROFL, which is being taken over by a renegade gang of ‘ roll on (the) laughing floor’ or ROLF — and action must be taken to rebut this sneaky attack on innocent acronyms!! 😀
RA,
Acronyms are selfish bastards and get what they deserve 🙂
GiE,
One thing at a time, and WBA (a) worries me, but I have one of my good feelings.
Off for the day, back this evening, so if its my post today, then the last ROLF is on me 🙂
Morning all, we have a DidIt special in store …..
….. New post …….
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When I originally commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments
are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I recieve
four emails with the same comment. Is there a means you can
remove me from that service? Kudos!
Wow that was unusual. I just wrote an really long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again.
Anyhow, just wanted to say fantastic blog!
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