Arsenal sign Baconario Sarnielli

June 29, 2011

Written by Jamie

I am brewing a pot of coffee, steam rising. I have bread product of some kind with Bacon. I’ll be honest, I’ve lost track which one. I still don’t know what is wrong with Bacon between two slices of bread but now it’s all focaccia and ciabatta and I couldn’t tell the difference if you laced one with a month old Estonian herring.

Another thing worth a question is this, when did butter become an optional extra when you are getting a bacon sandwich? Do you want butter? Of course I do, if it’s not too much trouble. No proper bread, optional butter, no red sauce, in future just do me a couple of rashers of bacon and leave it at that.

Of course I want butter, the greasier the better, dripping out of the side mixed with the red sauce.

Today, I dream of Spain, of America, or frankly just about anywhere where sea is lapping to shore. Where I can sit like Derek Trotter in a beach bar drinking more cocktails than James Bond.

Such fantasies while frustrating are slightly more appealing than the alternative. Which is, in reality sitting at my desk getting neurotic about Arsenal’s transfer activity or rather, the lack of it.

If I were on holiday, I wouldn’t be sitting there doing that. I would be in a bar, on a beach, having lunch, exploring an old cathedral, doing a tour of a football ground.

I would even rather be in a Waterpark, Go-Karting possibly even at the same time but I wouldn’t be subjected to this.

If on holiday I would occasionally find myself looking at a two day old report from Steve Stammers in the Daily Mirror while consuming a big cake and cooling VAT looking at a magnificent vista. As if i were some amatuer James Richardson.

Instead, it’s Coffee, Bacon and a Windows vista.

Every TV show yesterday showed a beach, even the Grand Prix.

I look out over London Wall and the day looks lethargic. People move slowly in the heat outside the Museum of London, almost slow motion, Almost as slow as Arsenal’s Summer. A summer of big change, so we are told. Not one player in or one player out by 27th June and don’t give me any of that Jenkinson stuff, i mean players that will definately have an impact next season.

First we are signing Gervinho, then we are not, then we have signed him, now we haven’t even made a bid.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m right behind Le Gaffer but the time it takes for us to sign a player does gives me the ache.

Stars form and burst, giant pandas mate and we still can’t conclude a deal.

We are like a 16 year old geek of the class trying to get his next door neighbours phone number. The President of Lille says we made contact but made no offer. It makes it sound like we rang up and got shy, giggled, said “Gervinho” and hung up.

I watch a lot of European football and I have seen Gervinho play half a dozen times. However despite this and him having the most ridiculous centre parting since “Saved by the Bell” was on TV, a month ago I couldn’t have picked out Gervinho if he, Scott Parker, Chris Samba and Juan Mata had done a conga past me singing “The Locomotion”.

That isn’t to say that he is not a good player.

I watched reports from around the world on the news this morning. War, torture, famine and not one word about Arsenal, Not one word. Selfish BBC.

This summer however for Family reasons, some work reasons and some financial reasons a holiday in June or July or even August is out of the question.

There is nothing quite as frustrating as being told you can’t go to Barcelona when all you want to do is hang out on the beach in Barcelona. Ask El Capitan.

Last year I went away in late November, it wasn’t easy catching the games abroad in November. You invairiably end up in a back street Irish bar sat next to some guy who came for a holiday in 1982 and never went back.

“I had trials” he will say, then you are subjected to two hours of the “I could have been a contender, but the booze, the girls, knee injury, blah,blah blah” speech. By the time Wilshere pops in the fourth at Villa Park you are reaching for the Tequilas.

The overwhelming point is this. Summer is for holidays, Winter is for football.

Holiday resorts in November are full of sadness and storm clouds and sitting around looking at Newsnow in June doesn’t look a lot differnet.

It isn’t going to do you any good come the fixture pile up.

So if you can’t get away and I can’t, then get your sun tan oil and get to your nearest park or pub by the river, or your back garden. Pour yourself a Pina Colada and read a two day old copy of the Daily Mirror and for a moment, just a moment, you might be able to convince yourself that your not addicted.

So Happy Holidays even if they are, only in your mind!

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

Arsenal Pays The Price For Project Youth …… Twice

June 28, 2011

It is widely acknowledged that the strategy of bringing through young players was the only way for Arsenal to try to maintain their prominence at the top of the Premiership whilst paying for the Emirates Stadium.

It worked brilliantly, mainly due to an exceptional balancing act by Arsène Wenger. We did not flatter to deceive – we deceived, and for 5 years we proved the critics wrong. Managers are often applauded for bring their club up a division; well Wenger’s feat certainly ranks as highly.

I don’t believe the term ‘Project Youth has ever been used by AW or the club and is seen by some as an indictment rather than an accolade, but for the purposes of discussing past and future recruitment, I shall continue to use it here whatever your personal feeling is about it’s efficacy.

Arsène Wenger was the architect of the plan and in truth he was just being pragmatic because he had few other choices. He cites many advantages to bringing through young players together, but it is apparent that his growing frustration in the latter part of last season was due to his disappointment that it had not brought all the rewards he had envisaged.

The sad truth about P.Y. is that there is a sting in the tail. Now that we have established a stable financial model, the team built around Fabregas is beginning to crumble and reinforcements are required.

Herein lies the problem. The wages paid and the erratic performances of some of those players has meant that suitors are not exactly queuing for their services, and when they do, the valuation often falls short of what the club would expect.

From past dealings, it does not appear that Silent Stan is likely to throw 30 million at Arsène for a marquee signing and I doubt the manager would spend it if he did, so the club is in the predicament of either hanging on to players who have disappointed or selling cheaply and therefore reducing the funds available for ‘quality’ replacements.

Arsenal is a top European side who perennially feature in the Champion’s League. We generate vast amounts of money on the pitch and commercially but we play a different game from the other clubs and personally I’d rather buy within our means if SK keeps his promise not to saddle the club with debt. If we had debts like Barca or Manu, I’d be more happy for us to spend money we don’t have – what the hell!!,  but when you’ve trodden one path so successfully for so long, why change?

And so we are in a waiting game. Waiting to see what kind of offers (if any) we will get for the likes of Bendtner, Clichy, Eboue, Almunia and Denilson. Waiting to see who of those we have been scouting are still available if and when we sell. Waiting for Barca to come up with the right offer for Cesc …… which may happen sooner rather than later if  recent reports are to  be believed.

There is a world of difference between selling a player who is no longer wanted in which case the buyer knows he can call the shots; and selling a player who you want to keep. In most cases, you are in the driving seat when you don’t want to sell. Unfortunately, when that player only wants to go to one club, even that advantage is diminished.

I expect Cesc’s departure will trigger the purchase of a replacement midfielder, most likely Ricardo Alvarez, in the same way as Bendtner’s sale will create the funds for the possible signing of Gervinho or A. N. Other striker. Balancing (reducing) the wage bill is every bit as important as finding the money to buy players.

The power lies largely in the hands of others. The clubs we are dealing with know this and it gives them the upper hand. So prepare yourselves fellow Gooners for a frustrating summer. Project Youth was the only choice we had in 2006 and it continues to restrict our choices in 2011.

Written by Rasp

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

Arsenal’s Best Signing Ever

June 27, 2011

Who is the best player ever to have been signed by Arsenal?

Last summer I wrote a post about ‘Arsenal’s Best Transfer News Ever’. The point of that piece was to determine which piece of transfer news was the most exciting when it was announced, regardless of how that player went on to perform for the club.

So, for example, Clive Allen was on that list even though he never played a game in anger for Arsenal and so was Davor Suker, who was never more than a bit part player.

This time I want to know which signing (as opposed to home grown player) has been the best piece of business we have ever done.

You may want to weigh up factors such as what they cost, what their impact was on the team, what legacy, if any, they left behind, their achievements versus the expectations we had when they arrived and so on.

I’m not including anyone who has come through the Arsenal ranks from apprentice up, or has been recruited at too young an age to be considered a mature signing (so there’s no room for Cesc Fabregas).

For starters, here are what I consider to be some of the main contenders:

Cliff Bastin

Cliff was spotted by Herbert Chapman playing for Exeter away at Watford. Chapman had gone along to keep tabs on a promising Watford player but was so impressed by Cliff that he snapped him up at the end of the 1928/29 season. It was an inspired piece of business and was crucial to the Chapman revolution that led Arsenal to dominate English football in the 1930s. Bastin’s scoring record for the Gunners was not outdone until Ian Wright surpassed it in 1997.

Ronnie Rooke

Arsenal’s dominance in the Chapman era was ended not by any other team, but by the Second World War. When football began again afterwards we returned as a severely weakened side and narrowly avoided relegation in 1947. But the following year we bounced back to reclaim our crown – and the vital ingredient was a tough, experienced centre forward called Ronnie Rooke. He was nearly 35 when we signed him from Second Division Fulham and he had never played in the top flight – so he was a real gamble. However, his 21 goals in 1946/47 helped stave off relegation and he followed that with 33 more the next season as we marched to the title.

Frank McClintock

Our Double-winning hard man was brought up in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, which explains a lot. He was signed in 1964 after seven successful years at Leicester. Starting off in midfield before moving to the CB role (and the captaincy) he was a rock throughout the relatively fallow years of the late 1960s and, of course, led Arsenal to the Double in 1971.

Alan Smith

Another Leicester stalwart, signed in 1987. “Smudger” was an awkward-looking, ungainly centre forward, but there was no-one better at holding up the ball and bringing others into play – skills that, along with his eye for a goal, proved to be vital in our title-winning seasons of 1989 and 1991.

David Seaman

After winning the league in ’89 most of us were happy with John Lukic between the sticks, but George Graham decided that he wanted the best and went out and got Safe Hands from QPR in 1990. It’s no exaggeration to say that Seaman was an essential ingredient in every subsequent success achieved by the club during his time with us.

Ian Wright

Although he would not win a champions medal until 1998 and the arrival of Arsene Wenger, Wrighty was a mainstay of the Arsenal team in the later George Graham era, when we stopped winning championships and started winning cups and when our flamboyant attacking midfield was replaced by pragmatic journeymen. Arguably, without Wright’s goals during that period, we might really have struggled.

Dennis Bergkamp

I’ll admit to being biased here. Dennis is my all-time favourite Arsenal player – but what a signing he was in terms of ambition and imagination. Bruce Rioch was the boss when Dennis arrived in 1995 but his signing is widely attributed to David Dein. The English league did not have much in the way of foreign superstars at that time (Eric Cantona apart) and Dennis showed the way forward for many of the great foreign players that followed. His touch, vision, passing and reading of the game was a damning indictment of the type of players being produced by English clubs in the Route One era.

Sol Campbell

Sol’s signing from the N17 knuckle-draggers was the sensation of the close season in 2001. The fabled Adams-Keown-Bould back three was near the end of its days and a significant reinforcement was needed. You don’t get more significant than Big Sol, who went on to become an immense figure in our defence, even if he did go a bit loopy at the end.

Patrick Vieira

Signed in 1996 from Milan, Paddy took the EPL by storm and is arguably still the greatest midfielder to have strut his stuff since the Premiership was formed. Arsenal captain, Arsenal legend, fearless, tireless, gifted… what more is there to say?

Thierry Henry

After Arsene Wenger’s first Double in 1998, we were all gutted when young goal machine Nicolas Anelka was persuaded by his greedy agents (his brothers, no less) to walk out on us the following year. But we need not have worried. Arsene went one better, bringing in Thierry Henry fresh from France’s 1990 World Cup triumph. He was a winger with va-va-voom, but Arsene converted him into the deadliest striker the Premier League has ever known.

That’s it.

My choice would be Dennis, because he completely transformed Arsenal and helped transform English football. He also stayed with us until the end of his career and is clearly still a devoted Gooner.

What do you think?

RockyLives

66 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by RockyLives

Arsène Wenger manages the Dream Team

June 24, 2011

Written by Gooner in Exile

Arsenal.com are currently running an all time dream team vote. The problem with this it is often only the young who vote and recent memory can skew the result.

We have a wide church here with regard to ages so how about we all pick our all time eleven, manager, coach, physio and you can even throw in a few squad players.

One stipulation you must have seen them play or manage whilst you’ve been alive. On second thoughts this could put the younger members of the forum at a disadvantage so perhaps we can allow two wild cards for positions where you believe a player from before your time may have added some.

I’ll start us off:

Seaman

Lauren   Adams  O’Leary  Winterburn

Pires    Vieira  Talbot    Limpar

Bergkamp
Wright

Subs
Henry
Rocastle
Ljungberg
Merson
Campbell
Caesar

Coach : Don Howe
Physio : Gary Lewin

Manager : Arsène Wenger

That was tough and I’ve only been watching them for 29 years, good luck to our older supporters.

So just to say I know that’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but hey it’s my fantasy you all get to have yours too.

Admittedly some have been chosen for how they did things on the pitch, they may not all be the best in their positions but in the case of a few:

Wright……his pure enthusiasm for the game, affinity with the fans and love of scoring goals and also because of that goal against Big Nev, the whole of Highbury singing Ian Wright Wright Wright for a good ten minutes after he scored it.

Limpar…..I was there when he beat Hooper from the halfway line and it was probably the best goal I ever witnessed at Highbury.

Caesar…..you have to have an anti hero to have a hero, he was always good for a laugh (unfortunately for him we weren’t laughing with him).

So there is the challenge pick away. Don’t ask me to justify my selections I made them in five minutes and will probably change them every ten.

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

Wenger and his players in street brawl

June 23, 2011

Written by dandan

Imagine the consequences if Arsène actually did do such a thing today, no doubt the sky would fall on his head. But that is exactly what happened to Bertie Mee the then Arsenal manager as he left a restaurant in Rome after an Inter City Fairs Cup, first leg tie against Lazio.

Back in 1970 it was usual for both teams to share a meal after the game and this they did. The match itself had already been marred by an over aggressive Lazio side not only sliding right through the Arsenal players from behind in the tackle, taking  the man out, with or without  the ball.  They were experts also at elbowing or  pinching  under the arm when supposedly helping players to their feet, but worse of all spitting, all the tricks in the book came out that night. The Arsenal side had however kept their nerve and battled to a 2 x 2 away draw and left the field happy that Lazio now had to come to Highbury for the second leg.

The players changed and went to the restaurant for the post match meal by coach, which was then parked outside  in a very narrow road waiting to return them later, to the hotel.

During the meal as the players enjoyed a glass of wine it became apparent that tempers on the Italian side were not calming down, away goals counted double and they knew the task that awaited them in London.

Ray Kennedy was the first of the Arsenal players to leave the restaurant and was immediately set upon by 3 Lazio players. Geordie Armstrong and Bob Mcnab saw what was happening, yelled back to those following and pitched in closely followed by George Graham and Frank Mclintock. The rest of the Lazio team were now also involved and the melee grew bigger as the more of the Arsenal squad left the restaurant and were joined by coach Done Howe, George Wright the physio and Bertie Mee as they fought their way to the bus.

McLintock who lost his gold watch in the punch up,says Mee was not rated very highly by a number of the players as he was a typical stiff upper lip, ex Army PI instructor type, a real martinet and disciplinarian. But the sight of this little guy getting stuck in alongside his players did him no harm in the popularity stakes.

The police helped restore order and the players left for the hotel bruised and blooded but swearing revenge at Highbury, as they sought to hold onto the trophy they had won the year before.  Two weeks later in front of the most hostile crowd I have ever been part of, they duly won 2 0, only to lose to Cologne in a later round before, going on to do the league and cup double.

Lazio’s punishment for their loutish behaviour, a small fine, some things never change it would seem.

Incidentally it could be at this match that an Arsenal institution first saw the light of day, as Dennis Hill-Wood when asked about the street fighting, said I didn’t actually see anything . I wondered where that came from?

208 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by dandan

June 20th Is A Massive Day For Arsenal

June 20, 2011

As Arsenal supporters we have many great anniversaries to celebrate.

There was May 26th 1989 – Micky Thomas scoring in the closing seconds to clinch an improbable title away at Anfield. The sight of 40,000 thieving Scousers whining about being robbed was karma on a cosmic scale.

Or how about May 3rd, 1971, when a Ray Kennedy header made us champions of England – an achievement made all the sweeter by the location of our triumph: that’s right, that large public convenience in N17. Where better to take the piss?

Or Christmas Day 1886, when the Royal Arsenal football team was formed in the Royal Oak pub in Woolwich. Bells rang across South London that day and angels in choirs sang songs of praise. Some people thought they were celebrating the birth of a baby who would save mankind from sin. In fact they were celebrating the birth of an almighty team that would save mankind from T*ttenham. Same thing, really.

But I want to propose June 20th as the most significant day in the modern history of Arsenal?

Why? Because that is the date in 1995 when Dennis Bergkamp joined Arsenal FC.

I’m tempted to say he descended among us in a cloud from on high, but in fact I think he arrived on a ferry at Harwich.

That audacious signing (we snaffled the Dutch maestro away from Inter) came under the stewardship of Bruce Rioch, although David Dein is generally credited as being the mastermind behind the deal.

And, to my mind, it started a chain of events that has led Arsenal to its current position as one of the most successful clubs in Europe.

My theory is that without Dennis there would probably have been no Arsene Wenger. Imagine how much easier it must have been for Dein to lure Arsene to our club with Dennis Bergkamp already on the roster.

Even if Arsene had arrived and we did not have Dennis,  he may well have struggled in his first couple of seasons and his tenure may not have lasted.

And without Arsene we would almost certainly now be a struggling mid table side or a permanent wannabe like the Spuds.

So for me, June 20th represents the birth of Arsenal as a major player in the new Europeanised world of top football.

To you all I say: “Happy St Dennis’s Day.”

RockyLives 

176 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by RockyLives

Revolving Doors at the Emirates…………??

June 19, 2011

Written by Harry

Well, as the summer transfer window widens and the pace hots up with Arsenal supposedly just about hanging on the tailcoats of the rest as they build super squads that we cannot hope to compete with….. What will Wenger do?

Both Arsene and Ivan Gazidis have more than hinted that there will be a good turnover of players: At the recent Q&A with the Arsenal Fans Forum, Big Ivan said:

“It is very clear we had some shortcomings and in this close season we are going to see some turnover of players. Some new signings will be coming in and some of our existing squad will be going out. As Arsène has said, it will be a busy close season for the Club.”

 

In the article I waffled through last week, I ran the rule over the squad and came up with my list of goners, these players have been identified by me {IMHO} as on their way, most agreed, some wanted others to join the list…….

“Almunia, Clichy, Squillaci, Denilson, Bendtner, Eastmond and sadly Fabregas”

But we have to be pragmatic and realise that a greater turnover of players, more than say 7 / 8 would cause too much disruption…….And of the 7 above, only 2 are first team starters…..So for me that would be enough……..

The biggest issue we have currently is the Nasri-Fabregas situations, as I have said before we have to be careful that we don’t lose both of these world class players. Should we concentrate on one? And the let the other leave?

Even though Fabregas said he won’t ask to leave and that it’s all down to the boss, he might as well have said and spoke the truth, reading in between the lines, his inner desire is to play for his boyhood team, which we all can understand. All I want is a committed player; will he be if he stays? Ok injuries affected him last season, but was he totally focused?

For me he is off…….I’d be stunned if he stays…

So in that case, lets give Samir a new contract (long term) and bring some new players in to compliment what we have……..

So what do we need?

Goalkeepers:

Personally for me I would start with Wojciech as Number 1 with Lukasz pushing him all the way. With Almunia off, Vito Mannone would come back in as number 3.  So we don’t need a new one……..Maybe a big call, but truly what’s out there at the moment? Reina is now committed to Liverpool, so lets go with our young poles, competition between them will be good for them and us……..

Defenders:

The priority for me is replacing Clichy, I would bust a gut to get hold of Leighton Baines from Everton. Positionally sound, has pace, can cross, solid tackler and fighter. Cracking free kicks and penalties as well….

The rumour this week has been that Wenger wants Samba and Cahill, that would be a massive surprise, Squillaci must move on, so there is only one place, unless Wenger sees either Koscielny or Vermaelen moving positions, both are capable of holding the midfield anchor slot, so Cahill would add real depth, just cannot see both coming in…..

Out of the two, I really want Samba, has real grit and strength, a powerful dominant beast of a defender, who puts his body on the line, this would be his big chance and I feel he would give his all, would really be a leader when needed…….

And we have brought in already young Carl Jenkinson from Charlton, Wenger sees him as a very good player who is making big strides, so I see him as an understudy to Sagna, with cup games surely  his aim for this season.

Baines would be perfect at Left Back……..

Midfield:

Well hopefully, Gervinho is finally signed this week, like most of us, don’t really know alot about him, but the highlights and reports I have seen lately look promising, he seems to be a typical Arsène signing. Importantly he has an eye for goal, with incisive movement, tends to cut in from the right, and has strength to hold players off, pace with ability to hold onto the ball……

Matuidi has been mentioned again as previous seasons, as has Willian from Donetsk. Both would be interesting signings, but just don’t see that we need them that much, surely we have enough in Midfield, as long as we only lose one of Fabregas or Nasri.

I really want Lansbury to break into the squad this season, the other one would be Ryo, but he still has issues with the permits, so will have wait. Ramsey has a big season ahead of him, really looking forward to him getting back to his best…..

Oxlade-Chamberlain supposedly was close to signing in the mid-season TW, but Southampton refused to let him go. He seems to want to come and his Dad is in favour. I would like to see him come in and would be disappointed if we lost out just by a few pounds……

Attack:

I would give Chamakh another season and let the Danish Pele with his pink boots move on, he might turn into a star at some stage, but I just feel he has run out of chances at the Emirates, although he has been played out of position a lot……

So for me we need a goal scorer, Defoe has been muted this week, unlikely to happen, would be interesting if on form and consistent, but generally he is not.

I would love to see a true superstar to come in, like Falcao from Porto or Vucinic from Roma as more of a statement of intent in a way, but would also be happy if we managed to nab hold of Connor Wickham from Ipswich, he was such a handful in the Carling Cup Semi last season, powerful pacy and a good energy about him, he would be an excellent signing and RVP remains my main man so would a true superstar be too much?

So to sum up the players who should come in:

Baines, Samba, Gervinho, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wickham. If Wenger did surprise us and pick up Cahill as well happy days, but that lot would be seen as some cracking business if all tied up…..would it not?

My starting 11:

Wojciech

Sagna Koscielny Vermaelen Baines

Song

Wilshere Nasri

Walcott         Arshavin

RVP

Bench: Gervinho, Ramsey, O-C, Wickham, Djourou, Samba and Fabianski…….

I would be well happy with that……………….

And just think of the players I haven’t mentioned yet still in the squad……….Chamakh, Jenkinson, Frimpong, Lansbury, Diaby, Eboue, Gibbs, Miquel, Bartley, amongst many others…

Would that keep Nasri and the rest of the Gooner’s out there happy?

Written by Harry

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

DESERT ISLAND ARSENAL.

June 18, 2011

Written by MickyDidIt89

The moment has arrived. Its gloomy, it is Saturday, and the transfer news is slow. What to do? I popped out for a thoughtful cigarette, and I believe, came up with a brilliant idea.

Most of us will know of Desert Island Discs. For those who don’t, it is a radio show where guests are invited to take one or two things to keep them company on said desert island. The idea is to focus the mind.

So, I give you my version: Desert Island Arsenal.

1.      Which ten minutes of your Arsenal existence would you most like to relive?

2.      You can have ANY one piece of Arsenal memorabilia. What would that be?

3.      An hour with anyone from any era associated with Arsenal. Who and Why?

Well then, to get the ball rolling, here are my three:

1.       Here we have a straight fight between my first game with my Dad. Arsenal Leeds, evening game, August 1973, and the moment the majestic arena unfolded before my eyes two minutes before Kick Off. The full house, the emerald green surface and the rest you know. In the other corner is the Mickey Thomas goal. The Long Ball Forward, and again you all know the rest. This is very tough, but I will opt for ’73.

2.      It would be The Marble Halls. Yip, the whole thing. What would I do with it? My dream is to one day build my own classic English Garden. Big style. I like trees, water and follies, so we are talking Stourhead. My folly, Palladian Style, would be set high on a hill overlooking my work and within it would be The Marble Halls, where I could contemplate the Great Arsenal Moments, The Meaning of Life and other stuff.

3.      Again, mighty tough this one. I have always wanted to ask John Lukic what the bloody hell he was playing at when,  a minute into extra time at Anfield, he thought it would be a good idea to roll the ball out to Dixon rather than “hoof” the thing. However, this would not take an hour, so for me, I would opt for an hour with whoever came up with the idea of binning our Club Crest, a length of rope and a blunt knife!

Frankly, change the questions, and we could play this game every time some tool fails to deliver on a quality postage!

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

Arsenal were Top of the Premier League Post last Season

June 17, 2011

Written by 26may1989

A few days ago, someone called JRS put up a link to a Twitter page operated by Opta, the collectors of statistics for all matters football. See http://twitpic.com/4t9shh.  I hadn’t seen it when it was published, but it had a table showing what the Premier League table would have looked like on 1st May had all shots that hit posts and crossbars actually resulted in goals.  And the impact was incredible.

The top six places on 1st May were transformed from this:

P

W

D

L

GS

GA

GD

Pts
1 Man Utd

35

21

10

4

71

33

38

73

2 Chelsea

35

21

7

7

66

28

38

70

3 Arsenal

35

19

10

6

68

36

32

67

4 Man City

34

18

8

8

53

31

22

62

5 Liverpool

35

16

7

12

54

39

15

55
6 Tottenham

34

14

13

7

50

43

7

55

…. to this:

P

W

D

L

GS

GA

GD

Pts
1 Arsenal

35

27

5

3

89

38

51

86

2 Chelsea

35

22

8

5

86

38

48

74

3 Man Utd

35

22

7

6

82

43

39

73

4 Liverpool

35

19

2

14

64

44

20

59

5 Man City

34

15

11

8

66

43

23

56








6 Tottenham

34

14

14

6

64

54

10

56

Of course, looking at the staggering 19 additional points we would have got in this Alice-in-Wonderland scenario of shots hitting the net instead of hitting woodwork, my first thoughts were “If only”.  After all, that magnificent victory over United on 1st May would have seen us crowned champions with three games to go.  But thinking that way, of course, is pointless; this is a completely artificial analysis and United deserved to win the title because, in the real world, they did better than us, and better than anyone else.

However, there is still something interesting about the OptaJoe table, it still says something.  Specifically, it illustrates the significance of luck in football.  Of course, skill accounts for some of the difference between shots that hit woodwork and shots that hit the back of the net.  But the sheer scale of Arsenal’s 21 hits (and Chelsea’s 20) as compared with United’s ten hits take it beyond a question of skill.  The point is only underlined when one looks at the number of goals that would have been conceded (something that must be even less controllable, since it is a question of the opponent’s accuracy): United and Chelsea would have conceded ten more goals each, but Arsenal would have conceded only two more.  Less accurate shooting is one factor but, with these margins of difference, luck must also be an ingredient in the mix.

It’s not sour grapes to talk about luck; anyone who succeeds in sport depends, to some degree or other, on luck.  Last season, United were lucky and we were unlucky, but in the years when we succeeded (remember those?!), I’m sure we got the benefit of plenty of luck as well.  And who can argue that our epic league win back in 1989 was anything other than the pinnacle of good luck?  Beautiful, dramatic, fantastic: yes.  But also very lucky.

Quite simply, there are too many variables that cannot be controlled by individuals for luck not to play a significant part in sporting success.  It is an ingredient in sport, always has been, always will be.  In cricket, there are the dropped catches or even the occasions when a ball hits the stumps without dislodging the bails.  In horse-racing, there are the horses that collapse or trip while clear in the home strait.  The hope is that luck is not the dominant factor in deciding the big issues in sporting competition.  But in the words of that titan of philosophy, Larry King: “Those who have succeeded at anything and don’t mention luck are kidding themselves.”

Many factors contributed to our abject failure in last season’s run-in: personnel, tactics, refereeing decisions and player psychology, all played a part, of course.  But what the OptaJoe table underlines is the importance of luck.  The existence, nature and sources of luck (good and bad) have been the subject of philosophical and religious debate for millennia.  Buddhists, for example, dismiss the idea of luck, saying that there is a cause behind every event, even if that cause is moral in nature (karma).  But for my money, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the US and a five-star general in the US Army, was closer to understanding the capricious nature of luck when he said “I would rather have a lucky general than a smart general. … They win battles, and they make me lucky.”

Perhaps Eisenhower would have shown Wenger the door for being so unlucky last season.  But I’m glad that’s one American who can’t influence our club.  We need the 2011-12 season to be different in a number of ways.  Here’s hoping one of the differences is that we’re luckier.

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

Arsène makes greatest signing of the transfer window – Guess who?

June 16, 2011

Written by Wigan Gooner

I’ll not muck about – it’s Pat Rice.

My reasoning for this statement is as follows, Arsène is facing a summer of upheaval like he has never known at Arsenal. There could be more player movement at Arsenal that I have ever seen in all of my years. Add that to even more expectation, pressure and a new pre-season routine and it is a very different Arsenal for 2011-2012.

The biggest signing was to retain the services of Pat Rice for another year because even if he is known (in some quarters, not my own) as a yes man he has vast experience as No 2 at Arsenal and he has the respect of the squad.

If I can build on that for a second, Arsène is a hands-on coach. He likes to tweak, push and work with his player’s every single day. Every day working to iron out their imperfections on the training pitch and working like that with a squad of 30-odd first-team squad player’s is a massive drain on resource and he would be unable to complete a single training session like that.

Pat Rice and Boro Primorac let him do it because whilst he is working and talking with the player’s they are running the drills and setting up the practice matches. Arsène is their Father, with Pat Rice and Boro Primorac the coaches.

Whilst we can all see the potential improvement a shake-up in the backroom staff might bring, can we afford the upheaval? Haven’t we got enough going on? The settling in period and changes of routine when we are already shaking the Arsenal Castle to the very core foundations? When star players are considering leaving for a few thousand pounds?

He will be buying in fresh players and these players need a steady stable ship to join. Stability aids adaption and London Colney is certainly different to most clubs. Pat Rice is one massive, all-important cog in the Colney machine and without him, I think Arsène would be in more trouble than he’d care to admit.

WG

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

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »