An Arsenal Blast from the Past No.6 …… 1947/48 League Division 1 Championship

March 14, 2014

One night during WWII I was lying in bed when the room was suddenly lit up with a nearby searchlight coming on. Thinking it was a raid coming, I jumped out of bed and I started to get dressed. Looking out of the window, I saw dozens of searchlights sweeping the sky and waving backwards and forwards. I went into the front room where Mum and Dad had the radio on and they were just announcing the end of the war in Europe. Our next-door neighbour rushed in and everybody sat talking until the early hours of the morning. The next day nobody went to work and we had an impromptu party down at the corner of the road. People took cakes and sandwiches down to be shared out and a radiogram was fixed up to provide music for people to dance to.

Germany had officially surrendered and Londoners could now try to rebuild their damaged City and lives. Life was still very difficult, good jobs were scarce, food was still rationed, we still used Cow and Gate powered milk, and bomb sites were scattered all over town. But gradually life was returning to the streets and the daily fear of bombing raids, and having to dash to air raid shelters for safety, was now just a horrible memory.

The Arsenal ground in North London was not spared from war damage as the North Stand was extensively damaged by fire and the roof had collapsed, the South Stand terracing was also badly damaged and in need of repair. The debts from the construction of Highbury and the costs of repairing the war damage were a heavy financial burden, and Arsenal struggled when competitive football resumed. The war had cut short the careers of many of the club’s star players, including Bastin and Drake and nine of the pre-WW11 had been lost during the war.. They lost 6-1 on aggregate to West Ham United in the third round of the 1945-46 FA Cup, and upon the league’s resumption in 1946-47 the club finished a disappointing 13th.

allison_georgeAfter close to forty years with the Arsenal George Allison decided to retire from football at the end of that season, and was replaced by his assistant Tom Whittaker, who had been the clubs trainer under Herbert Chapman. So Tom Whittaker took over the reigns at Highbury with Joe Shaw joining him from Chelsea. Arsenal kicked off the1947/48 season with a 3-1 victory over Sunderland at Highbury, an ideal start for the new management team. Leslie Compton, the previous club Captain who had been playing cricket for Middlesex Cricket club, returned to Arsenal and they won the next six games. Joe Mercer had been Arsenal’s Captain in Compton’s absence but Whittaker felt that now Compton was back he should, once again, lead the team but Compton felt differently and persuaded him to keep Joe on as the clubs Captain.

1947 was a milestone year in the life of GunnerN5, I was nine years old and, for as long as I could remember I’d spent endless hour’s playing football on Avenell Road with my mates and kicking a rag football (made by my Mum) about and using the main gate into Highbury as our goal. We were in awe of all the grown ups as they streamed in and out of Highbury on Saturday afternoon’s and wished we had the few pennies it cost to get inside. The different noises coming from the ground always left us wondering what was happening inside but we always knew when the Gunners had scored as that caused the biggest roar of all.

My maternal Grandfather then changed my life and gave me the best present I have ever received, for my 10th birthday he took me to my very first Arsenal game it was November 22nd 1947 Arsenal vs Huddersfield Town and we won 2-0. My memories of the game are somewhat of a blur but we stood, in what was our family section under the Clock, (you see nobody ever told my Grandfather to move – he was a 6”5” local coalman and made of steel). I often feel that the young Paul Ashworth, in the movie “Fever Pitch”, was none other than a young GunnerN5 because after being inside Highbury for the first time there was nothing that was going to keep me out, lack of money, broken glass topped brick walls, turnstiles, stewards, were just mere obstacles to be overcome – I was hooked for life.

arsenal_champions_1947_1948

Tom Whittaker enjoyed immediate success with the club, winning the League in 1947-48; led by Captain Joe Mercer and with goals from the attacking front two of Reg Lewis and Ronnie Rooke, Arsenal topped the table from October and never looked back beating second place Manchester United by seven points. Given the age of the Arsenal side at the time (Rooke and Mercer were both over thirty, as were Denis and Leslie Compton), it was a remarkable achievement however long-term success was never on the cards. In response, Whittaker started to rebuild the team with younger players and brought in Doug Lishman, Alex Forbes and Cliff Holton.

In a remarkable family double Denis and Leslie Compton played alongside each other at football in Arsenal’s League Championship of 1947/48 and at cricket in Middlesex’s County Championship title in 1947.

The highest ever Football League attendance was on Saturday January 17th 1948 when a crowd of 83,260 watched Manchester United play Arsenal at Maine Road the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

gn5 table 2

gn5 table

GunnerN5

72 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Rasp

Vote: Should RvP Return?

March 13, 2014

Rumours are that Van Persie is going to leave that cesspit. Money and the chance to sate his inner child were the only reasons for leaving The Home of Football and now he has won his title he wants out. Should we resurrect his career?

Great players do not have to be great people (Shearer?) and RvP showed his true colours when shafting us just two summers ago. He had the chance to be an Arsenal great and have his own statue but instead took the 30 pieces of silver. This has coloured the way we look at him because he was,  let’s be honest,  fantastic in his final 2 seasons during which time he was the best striker in the PL if not the world.

Positives:

1. We need an additional striker; OG for all his talent cannot carry the attack. The loss of Theo has resulted in us not knowing whether they could really work in tandem as S&S do at Liverpool. Perhaps they can but given Theo’s proclivity for injury, we need back up.

2. RvP is almost at pension age and is doomed to the bench at MU, he needs a gig, perhaps he will accept less money.

3. He remains a wonderful, natural talent with the best left foot (and maybe right) in the PL.

4. Podolski, for all his Goonerdom, is not good enough for this team. He just hasn’t got a fast enough brain. RvP has.

5. Mr Wenger still has a fine relationship with RvP and looks upon him like a son.

Unknown

OK. Now why we shouldn’t buy him ….

1. He is a traitor

2. He is 31 in August.

3. He earns over ￡200k a week and has 2 years left on his MU contract – so we will have to buy him

4. He may not work well with a central striker like Giroud. It would require RvP to play off a CF, and we have plenty of number 10’s.

5. The players must have been very disappointed with his betrayal and he could cause problems in the dressing room.

6. He will never accept being a squad player.

My opinion is that we should let him rot in Manchester of try his luck at Galatasary (where old players with big names but no pace go before they play “soccer”.)

What do you think …..?

Written by BigRaddy

133 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Erik the Red

Arsenal go out, but with heads held high

March 12, 2014
Personally I feel it is difficult to write a review on a two legged fixture when constantly one refers back to key incidents in the first leg.

When one is playing arguably the best club side in Europe comparisons have to be drawn. My overall conclusion is that the tie, for all intensive purposes, was over in the home leg but the team showed a dramatic improvement last night and we should all be proud of the display.

We contained Bayern in the first half which had one fleeting moment when single handily Oxdale- Chamberlain literally walked through the Bayern midfield and defence, and though it came to nothing for one so young he is the future star of this Arsenal team.

When one is constantly pegged back in ones own half and the midfield is pushed back deeper and deeper I wondered if having Giroud as the lone striker was the right tactical decision last night. This is not a slight on Ollie but to counter balance my thoughts we didn’t have the quality or type of player on the bench to change the formation.

Would a fully fit squad have changed things ? I really am not sure, but there is no question in my mind that the gap has narrowed and we still have a major chance to win the FA Cup and a possible chance of The League.

On the downside Ozil, who looked completely out of sorts, has sustained a hamstring injury and when the boss says that he will be out for weeks, that is ominous. The inclusion of Rio who was not eligible to play really needs investigating.

I may be repeating what many have said, but we just are two or three quality players short to strengthen the squad as recent history has been proved to show that we pick up more injuries than any other PL team.

The diving and cheating by Robben has been discussed a thousand times, yet he seems to be getting away with it for years, so to me it’s a pointless discussion.

We gave it our best shot, so one can’t ask for any more and now we have a number of days to regroup and get down to the business end and give Spurs a spanking.

You will all have your opinions on each players performance though to me The Ox was our stand out player. Vermaelen who has played little football this season, played admirably in a position not best suited to him and Fabianski once again was composed and IMO it would be a bad decision to let him leave in the Summer as competition to Szczesny wouldn’t go amiss.

Written by kelsey

97 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by kelsey

Can he inspire us to another win in Germany?

March 11, 2014

One of our own is out there. A solo mission without backup and on his birthday. Can he do it again? Can Didit’s positive energy inspire The Arsenal to another surprise win? It has worked before so it could work again – perhaps he is the lucky charm.

Big Raddy is a logical man, not prone to flights of fancy nor believing in things which cannot be proven …. and yet …. I still believe in lucky socks, lucky wine, lucky mints +++ When I go to The Emirates I have to take a certain route to the ground and drink in a lucky pub. My guess is that you have rituals as well, so why shouldn’t Micky’s presence affect the result?

I could write at length about this wonderful Bayern team – you will have read or heard all the stats – they are the best team ever in the Bundesliga which is some achievement. They have averaged almost 3 goals a game at home and have only lost twice in 100 home games – we know who inflicted one of those losses  🙂

Unknown-1

So, despite Guardiola’s assertions, BM are huge favourites to win the game and the tie. But  ….. we have reasons for quiet confidence. We have won there before, we have just beaten a good Everton side, we were better than BM prior to Szczesny’s sending off and we are The Arsenal. Plus we have our secret agent  ……

It is remarkable that we have beaten both Bayern and Borussia in their own grounds on our last two visits to Germany. Which other team in world football can say the same? I will tell you …. none

My Team:

b v a

Gibbs has a late fitness test and Monreal is just recovering from his foot knack so given the inexperience of both Jenks and Bacary playing left back I would prefer to see Captain Fantastic playing there  – he has done so in the past and it allows us to play the dreaded 3 at the back.

Give Podolski a run on the hour and perhaps give Gnabry a kickabout should we be losing (highly unlikely)  on 75 minutes – just to show the Germans what they have allowed to slip away.

Munchen: In Old German means “place of the monks” (unsurprisingly) because the Benedicitne monks established a monastery in the area. It was officially granted city status in 1175 and was a stopping point on the Old Salt Route through Germany. The city expanded rapidly when Duke Louis of Bavaria was crowned German king in 1314 and Holy Roman Emperor in 1328. He gave Munchen the salt monopoly which brought great wealth into the city and by the 15thC it was a gothic centre for arts and architecture.. By 1506 Munchen had become the capital of the independent  state of Bavaria (later to become a Kingdom) and remained so until the unification of Germany in 1871 .

Pre-match we will be split in our predictions between the optimists and the other less smiley people but come match time we shall all unite behind our team. There is a chance we can recover from an undeserved home defeat and without belief all is lost. A similar scoreline to last season will take us to penalties  …. errrm  ….. we need to score 3 !

A final note …. About now Micky will be climbing Mt. Wank singing songs from the Sound of Music – which song do you think he will sing at the summit? I am going for “High on a Hill was a Lonely Goatherd”. 🙂

Written by BigRaddy

143 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Erik the Red

Oh No!! We’re Favourites…

March 10, 2014

I don’t know about you but as an Arsenal fan of many years (not as many as some who frequent AA) I like it when we are underdogs. In fact some of my best memories supporting Arsenal and winning trophies have come when we were not expected to win, or facing the impossible task.

The first trophy I watched us win was the ’87 Littlewoods Cup, up against the all conquering Liverpool of the 80’s we had not seen a glimpse of silverware since our last FA Cup win in 1979. We went to Wembley with some optimism as George Graham had arrived to revolutionise the Arsenal team, clearing out the old guard and bringing through young talent and supplementing with purchases he had made from the lower leagues, players that were to go on to become club legends. The job was made more difficult when Liverpool took the lead, the fact that Ian Rush had now scored meant that we were now deep into underdog territory, as we all know from the commentary, up until that point Liverpool had never lost a game when Rush had scored. But Charlie changed all that, firstly knocking in when the ball bobbled around the box, and then Perry Groves came on with his pace, skinned the Liverpool fullback who was tiring and teed up Charlie to score the winner.

Then there was that Friday night at Anfield, going to Liverpool with the task of winning by two clear goals, again the stats were against us, Liverpool had just won the FA Cup, they hadn’t lost by two goals at Anfield for over three years. Smudger nodded in a Winterburn free kick, and then we had to wait wait and wait until…well you all know what happened next….Thomas charging through the midfield….it’s up for grabs now. I smashed a light in my living room having jumped high from my armchair. Arsenal heaven.

Was that it for being underdogs? Not really, the English FA hated that we were getting successful again so deducted 2 points and Manchester United only 1 for a 21 man brawl at Old Trafford (Big Dave didn’t like getting dirty or a hair out of place unless it was absolutely necessary and stayed out of it), somehow on the day Nige and the Super Swede got booked for having the temerity to be kicked whilst on the ground by Mclair and Irwin who suffered no punishment from Hackett, and the latter punishment of points deduction probably started our dislike of the FA and theory that we don’t always receive the rub of the green from the officials. Anyway come May we were telling the trophy presentation committee to stick the f’ing two points up their arse, as Manchester United players had to applaud us on to the pitch with a guard of honour in the return fixture at Highbury after Nottingham Forest had ended Liverpool’s title chances earlier in the day.

And then maybe our most famous underdog win, George Graham’s side by 1993-94 had become a dour side to watch, route one football was the order of the day, we were now a long ball side, up to Smudger, get the knockdowns and let Wrighty do the rest. We were a cup team now, this style wouldn’t win any Leagues, the previous season we had won two cups, we were neither favourites nor underdogs, Sheffield Wednesday played a very similar style to us, so fans that attended made their own entertainment whilst the ball was in the air, and in the brief moments the ball actually touched the ground got interested. But Parma, well that was a mother proposition, made worse by the injury to John Jensen and Wrighty’s suspension, the media gave us no chance, Brolin, Zola and Asprilla all featured for Parma, whilst we had Selley, Morrow and Campbell in ours. But somehow Smudger scored probably his only goal from outside the area on his wrong peg in his career, and we held out for a triumphant 1-0 victory.

So what about when we were favourites?

Well I’ll do my lifetime:

League Cup
1988 – Arsenal 2 – Luton 3
2011 – Arsenal 1 – Birmingham 2

FA Cup
1980 – West Ham 1 – Arsenal 0
2001 – Arsenal 1 – Liverpool 2

So am I disappointed Wigan knocked Manchester City out yesterday……well as the draw had been made we were only going to be underdogs for the Semi Final so in the grand scheme of things I guess it doesn’t matter. But I hate being favourites…..can we talk up Wigan please, after all surely the holders are favourites?

Gooner in Exile

114 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Gööner In Exile

Arsenal get stuck into Toffees

March 9, 2014

A quarter final played on a Saturday against a very resolute and good team, always wets the appetite and the main talking point before the game was would Wenger put out his strongest team in a competition that in reality we have a good chance of winning or would he have one eye on the Bayern game to follow just three days later.

There were doubts about Koscielny who has been outstanding all season and his partnership with Mertesacker has usually a telepathic understanding that has been vital to us for most of the season

He wasn’t risked and Vermaelen stepped in and the biggest surprise, and not for the first time in such an important game, Sanogo was asked to lead the line.

We weren’t to be disappointed and the failure at The Britannia the week before was quickly forgotten. Cazorla and Ozil combined perfectly for Ozil with pin point accuracy gave us an early lead. It was an open game and then a rather messy goal by Lukaku nearing half time put Everton right back in the game.

The second half began and there was more resilience and fight by our boys and eventually the persistence payed off with Barry bringing down the excellent Oxlade-Chamberlain in the penalty box and Arteta had the dubious task of having to twice take the penalty awarded.

To me that was the pivotal moment in the game and after some astute substitutions, Giroud came on for Sanogo and scored a brace. The game was done and dusted…..

I make no excuse in naming three players as Man of the Match in fact everyone who played made a significant contribution.

Ozil for the vital first goal and the way he reads the game and put more effort in than lately, especially as he has been under the microscope.

ozil scored v everton

The Ox, as he caused problems all over the pitch, his enthusiasm, directness, and general play improves all the time, a real contender for the England squad but more importantly for us,hopefully for years to come.

Arteta under immense pressure having to take the penalty twice and restoring the lead gave us that extra impudence.

arteta pen everton

Others also played their part and I am sure you will add to my considerations.

Santi who with Ozil ran a good part of the game and was much better than recently and though he didn’t score he is always looking for an opportunity to shoot or play a decisive pass.
.
Vermaelen, hardly played all season, made one slip but generally had a very good game against stiff opposition.

Ollie had a rest, a couple of affairs 🙂 and looked sharp.

Flamini, though prone to get carded always urges the players on.When Ozil scored and a few congratulated him he urged others to join in..

Sagna one assist and one assist to an assist, we would dearly miss him.

boss,per,rosicky

Everyone went home happy, not a day to be judgemental about those who didn’t play or who we should buy in the Summer, so may the momentum continue. Wembley here we come.

Written by kelsey

133 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by kelsey

She wore, She wore, She wore a Yellow Ribbon

March 8, 2014

Wouldn’t it be great to get to Wembley? Just a couple of wins and we can walk up the Empire Way with a song on the lips and hope in the heart, but first we have another difficult task – beating a very good team who are in form.

Last week Everton were cheated out of a result at Chelsea (quelle surprise!). I watched the game and they deserved not just a draw but the three points – they were the better team. What this tells us is that Everton will take to the pitch full of confidence. Another reason for their positivity will be their last game at THOF, a game I was privileged to attend.

gun__1386578706_ozil_everton2

For want of something to write let me review that game in a couple of sentences …. We started well and then Everton took control. Our much lauded midfield was being bossed by the lanky teenager Barkley, who looks a wonderful prospect, and we were struggling to cope with Everton’s attacks. Fortunately, they were lacking a finish and Chesney was playing well. We improved during the second half and took the lead with 9 minutes remaining through an Ozil goal but Everton equalised almost immediately through the excellent Deulofeu.  With seconds remaining Giroud rattled the crossbar with his best shot of the season. Everton’s was the best performance by a PL side at THOF this season – they played with verve, fluency and control. Should they replicate this  form today we will struggle.

But …… neither team is in the form we were back in November.

Everton: Lukaku is back for Everton and apart from Jagielka they have a fully fit squad. With a midfield of Barry, Barkley, Mcarthy or Osman, plus Mirallas and Pienaar, Everton will  swamp the midfield and look to deny us space. An Everton player I like very much is Seamus Coleman whom, if Bacary doesn’t re-sign, I would love to see at Arsenal; he has pace, is a good crosser but above all can defend.

Arsenal: With JW knacked and Ramsey not back until Spurs we will line up with an ancient midfield – Cazorla, Rosicky, Arteta and Flamini  – Santi is the youngest at 29!! Of course, I missed out Mesut and Ox but for sake of argument they are attackers.

Fabianski will continue his FA Cup run and perhaps Jenks will feature after a fine game for England U-21’s. Koscielny is having an assessment pre-match but I wouldn’t risk him and hope to see our Club Captain. It may be wise to give Sanogo another game but I would love us to win the FAC so prefer OG.

My team:

fa cup arse v toffees

I doubt AW will agree with me – he rarely does, but given an important game midweek it may be wise to rest Rosicky. We will have a strong bench.

Looking at the remaining teams in the Cup there is little to be fearful of (apart from one obvious exception), win this and the Twin Towers (spiritually if not physically) await.

written by Big Raddy

p.s. If anyone ever sees Raddy in a bar and watches him move from drinking wine to cocktails and onto beer please take him by the arm and remind him that he is too old for such behaviour. Hopefully this will result in a more lucid and informed AA post 😀

235 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Erik the Red

Bitesize Blasts from the Past

March 7, 2014

Today a bitesize selection of things that make us The Arsenal.

  • 1893-94 – in Arsenal’s third ever League game John Heath scored our very first hat trick in a 4-0 win over Walsall Town Swifts.
  • 1894-95 – following unsavoury incidents against the referee on January 26th, 1895 Arsenal’s ground on was closed for five weeks. The home games against Burton Swifts and Leicester Fosse had to be played on neutral grounds.
  • 1895-96 – while the modern manager might complain of having a couple of fixtures in three days two fixtures in one day was not unheard of back in the 1800’s. That happened to Woolwich Arsenal on Saturday December12th 1896 when they were due to visit Loughborough in the League and also entertain Leyton in the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Cup. The first team travelled to Leicestershire for the League match and lost 8-0 while the reserves disposed of Leyton 5-0 in the FA Cup.
  • 1889-90 – On March12th 1990 Arsenal got their revenge on Loughborough for the 8-0 defeat by giving them a 12-0 thrashing.
  • 1889-90 – Arsenal played away in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup to Thorpe, the game ended in a 2-2 draw after extra time. Thorpe was unable to travel for the return game and Arsenal gained the victory by default.
  • 1900 – Samuel Hill-Wood, Arsenal’s chairman, playing in a county cricket match for Derbyshire against the MCC at Lords scored an incredible ten runs off of one ball which is still the highest recorded for a single delivery.
  • 1904 – On Christmas day Arsenal played against a Paris XI and defeated them 26-1 (our highest ever score) the lone goal scored by the Paris XI was by the only Englishman on their side – it’s reported that the Arsenal team stepped aside to allow him to score.
  • 1907 – on November 7th Arsenal played Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the first ever London derby which Arsenal won 2-1 with a big assist going to the huge throng of Arsenal away supporters in the crowd of 65, 000. Royal Arsenal Works at Woolwich had closed for the day to allow its workers to celebrate King Edward VII’s birthday.
  • 1926 – Dan Lewis, our Welsh goalkeeper, was sent off in a game against Sunderland on April 10th 1926. He was the only Arsenal player to be sent off during the twenty seasons between the two world wars.
    • 1925 – In his first major purchase for Arsenal Herbert Chapman resigned Charlie Buchan from Sunderland, he had left previously over an expenses dispute. Buchan was responsible, along with Herbert Chapman, for Arsenal’s adoption of the WM formation which eventually brought Arsenal significant success in the 1930s. After retiring from football Buchan became a football journalist with the Daily News (later renamed the News Chronicle), wrote one of the first coaching manuals, and also commentated for the BBC. In 1947, he co-founded the Football Writers’ Association, and from September 1951 until his death, he edited his own football magazine, Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly, which was published until June 1974.

  • 1928 – Arsenal manager Herbert Chapman sent his team out wearing the numbers 12-22 while his opponents Sheffield Wednesday wore number 1-11.
  • 1930 – Arsenal wins their first FA Cup on April 26th 1930 in front of a crowd of 92,488 at Wembley Stadium beating Huddersfield Town 2-0. With Alex James and Jack Lambert scoring the goals.
  • 1931 – Arsenal wins their first League Division One Championship under new manager Herbert Chapman.
  • 1932-1935 – Arsenal become only the second club to win three consecutive League Division One Championships, Huddersfield Town were the first club to do so from 1924 to 1926. Herbert Chapman was the manager for the 1932-33 and 1933-34 titles and unfortunately died of pneumonia in 1934. George Allison managed the team for the 1934-35 title.
    • 1936 – Arsenal won their second FA Cup on April 25th 1936 in front of a crowd of 93,384 at Wembley Stadium beating Sheffield United 1-0. Ted Drake scored the only goal with sixteen minutes left in the game.

  • 1938 – Arsenal won the First Division Championship for the fifth time in 1937-38 with 52 points which was only 16 points more than bottom club West Bromwich Albion. It was manager George Allison’s second League title.
  • 1939-1945 – Arsenal lost 9 players during WW11, more than any other club.
  • 1947-48 – Arsenal won the First Division Championship for the sixth time, it was the first title for manager Tom Whittaker.
  • 1950 – Arsenal won their third FA Cup on April 29th 1950 in front of a crowd of 100,000 at Wembley Stadium beating Liverpool 2-0. Reg Lewis scored both goals.
  • 1950 – Arsenal retained their entire professional staff of fifty nine at the end of the season, which is thought to be the largest recorded number in Football League History.
    • 1951-51 – Doug Lishman scored three consecutive hat tricks at Highbury against Fulham, West Bromwich Albion and Bolton Wanderers. Thierry Henry duplicated this feat during the 2002-03 season.

  • 1952-53 – Arsenal won their seventh First Division Championship, the second for Tom Whittaker.
  • 1953-53 to 1968-69 – this was a barren period for Arsenal as they went through sixteen seasons without winning any trophies.

GunnerN5

94 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by Gööner In Exile

AFC Youth Academy – A Look At The Future

March 6, 2014

Over the last few days we have discussed the more recent games and talked a lot about how things are with the club currently so I thought it would be nice to have a little debate about our potential future stars and have a glimpse at what our famed youth academy has in store for us. To me our youth academy looks very exciting but I do have a couple of burning questions that I hope you are able to help clarify.

Now I will hold my hands up and say that I am not the foremost expert on the youth academy but do try and keep a keen eye on it. I am sure that there will be comments today from those who have a more in depth knowledge than me on the academy players. The intention in this post is not to lecture to and to try and educate you on the subject but more to open up a discussion point for the day. I am hoping that the various comments will bring further knowledge so that we all end the day more enlightened.

Before I go further I do have one question that tends to play on my mind regarding our youth academy. It seems to me that we historically don’t see many young players graduate to our first team that have been with us from the very beginning. When you think about most of the youngsters that have (or will) become top class, the majority seem to have started their early youth career elsewhere. I can only come up with Ashley Cole, Keiran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere as top players that were with us from the beginning and wonder why this is so. Are we only excellent at finishing their development after a certain age and is there something wrong with our youth training in the younger age group, or is it simply a numbers game that you are looking for that rare natural gem that could be anywhere, and their early training is only a small part of what constitutes a world class player? I guess it is the nature and nurture argument.

The current squad for me is already very good but I also believe that we will buy significant players in the summer transfer market. There still seem to be a couple of I’s to dot and T’s to cross in the squad to balance it out and bring it up to the top level, and I can see this happening in the summer. The current squad and the potential further quality additions to it leaves me very excited about where Arsenal are heading, but if you then look further at some of the quality young players coming through the youth ranks, that could be added to what we already have and what may be coming in, it becomes more exciting still.

If we are considering potential transfers in the summer for a certain position I feel it is always relevant to look and see if we have the players coming that could take up that role first. That is the Arsenal and the Arsene way and I for one would not change that. Opinions are often flung out there as to how many players we need to buy to make this team fully competitive but, it could be that we have a quality player that is earmarked for the first team in 2 years, so any transfer activity in that position may have to be of the right age to bridge that 2 year gap.

For instance we need a striker but then where do we sit with Benik Afobe and Chuba Akpom. I was very impressed with Akpom in the pre-season games and actually thought he would feature more for us this season but for whatever reason he hasn’t. Do we now need to add a young high quality striker to our ranks or do we already have one and therefore only need an older more experienced striker to bridge a 2 year gap? We may need another right back if Sagna leaves but how good or ready is Bellerin? Some would like to have Cesc back and while I can see that argument have any of you seen young Dan Crowley in action?

So over to you A.A’ers. Who excites you the most from our academy? Who do you think will make it into the first team and when? In the mean time here is some footage of our 6-1 win over Peterborough. Akpom looks good but I think you will all get a little sense of excitement about a certain young Dan Crowley.

Written by GoonerB

149 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner

We’re Gonna Win the League: An alternative realism

March 5, 2014

Following on from yesterday’s “reality check” and Micky’s early morning questions, let us take another (very hasty) look at our situation:

What should Arsenal be achieving? Be honest, completely honest – did anyone really expect us to win the title? Not want us to win it but expect us to. Because if you did I admire your optimism. I hoped for a repeat of 4th and wished for better.

The huge spending from Spurs allied to the development of Liverpool worried me (then we signed Mesut). I didn’t expect MU to implode and that has been not just hugely enjoyable but also a fillip to our chances. I fervently want us to finish the season above the Oilers and the Chavs and we may still do so – but financial doping is effective as has been seen in every league in every country.

We are still in the FA Cup  and could easily win it. We have been very unlucky with our draws in both the FAC and the CL. A Group of Death, which we almost won, and 3 Top 6 teams in the FAC (thankfully all at home) is tough.

A Cup win, a few quality victories in the CL and a top 4 finish – I would be happy with such a season.

Given our wage bill where should we be? The figures say 5th – they don’t lie. We consistently punch above our weight.

Is Kroenke only in it for the money? Of course he is! He is not a football fan, he is American and he is a businessman – where is the doubt? But …. as a highly successful businessman man he knows that to make a profit he has to invest, as he has been doing (crap English but written in a hurry!!).

When buying a club one has to take time to see the core values and then add to them, SK has done that. Not for him the Shevchenko buys  – he doesn’t need to impress anyone. We appear, despite Hill-Wood’s early assessment, to have a sensible owner who will continue to buy players when his manager identifies the targets. I should also point out that last summer was the first summer in many years when we did not sell any of our best players – this is due to planning and not luck.

If there is cash, who is in charge of the risk factor and should it be invested? Here we have an area of contention. In my opinion Mr Wenger’s job should start and end by identifying the player he needs, sadly he is involved in every area of the purchase. Such is the way of a perfectionist and  – dare I say it – a megalomaniac! We have people to do the valuing and purchase so AW should keep his beak out of it.

Should we spend the money? Of course we should – this is a football club not a bank! Does a fan care about a balance sheet or silverware? Not for nothing is football called the Glory Game.

 If SK is not the best type of Chairman, who, or what model, is? You tell me. We are an old traditional club with traditional values, why not keep them or is the Glazer route preferable? I understand why Chelsea and MC fans are delighted that their clubs have been bank-rolled and am sure they don’t consider their silverware tarnished by financial doping – but We are The Arsenal. They will never have a The in front of their name!!

Ask Cardiff/Leeds etc fans what they think.

My opinion is that the club is on the verge of another brilliant decade. We have come through a tough financial time as the club commenced the stadium build just as the financial crisis enveloped the country. We are through this now and have the wherewithal to compete with the big boys – we are one of the big boys and the signing of Ozil proves it.

Arsenal are getting better on the pitch, we have all seen it. When Ramsey was knocking them  in for fun and Theo returned in such strong form we were on the verge of greatness – their injuries have blighted our season.

This season we have been TotL more than we haven’t, doesn’t that constitute an enjoyable campaign wherever we finish?

But it isn’t over, we can take the points from our rivals to win the title. Unlikely but possible and until the fat lady sings I prefer to believe that Arsenal will win the league at Carrow Road.

written by Big Raddy

85 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Erik the Red

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »