The Mole. Can Benitez finish the Job?

January 20, 2013

Doesn’t seem that long ago since Terry hit the dirt and watched as Brave Sir Robin danced away from him. Happy Days.

And what chance of a repeat today? Well, we did it against the Cave Dwellers so why not against Chelsea? I know, I know – lightning doesn’t strike twice but in a world of infinite probabilities, it does!

Both teams are going through an inconsistent patch. Chelsea’s home loss to QPR was inexplicable but so was ours at Bradford. We have both lost at home to Swansea. The main difference being that Chelsea have a squad which cost at least double Arsenal’s and a bottomless pit of money to overcome any problems; they also sack managers with alarming regularity.

Benitez. Why? What kind of incompetent signed this man? How can Chelsea employ a manager who a few years previously publicly stated his dislike of the manner in which they do business? Bizarre. But one must be impressed by they way Rafa is doing his best to destroy the club, a loss or draw to us and Swansea will see the Chavs out of the CC and with no chance of winning the PL. Perhaps he is on a huge earner from the Northern Oilers. Fairplay to the man!

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Do you think it is to Arsenal’s advantage to have Arteta injured for a while? Could the midfield of Diaby, JW and Santi function more cohesively? Admittedly, we only have a reduced Swansea to compare and today will be a far sterner test, but I believe this will become our first choice midfield (though how long Diaby can stay fit is impossible to predict). None of them are  defensive players but both JW and Diaby are strong in the tackle. Concentration will be the key and a full awareness of who ventures forward . For this reason I would play and  extra MF – either Coquelin or Ramsey, both of whom played well on Wednesday.

For this reason having Koscielny out is also positive, BFG’s lack of pace requires hime to sit deeper! I must say, I am worried about Ba, he is in fine form and loves scoring against us. Furthermore, the excellent wingers at Chelsea will cause major problems to both Sagna and Gibbs.

Runners & Riders:

chavs v arse

Of course, playing a 4-4-2 is not Wengerball, but I doubt AW will start the game with Giroud upfront and he is unlikely to trust Ox in a game where we will be under the cosh.

Stamford Bridge is a strange place, an uglier ground it would be hard to find, but then it has to house some of the ugliest fans in world football. If one were to make a League of teams with the ugliest fans Chelsea would get a Champions League slot every season, Stoke would win the Prem most years 🙂

Today’s English Explorer is from the Days of Yore, and one of England’s Finest. Sir Walter Raleigh (1552 – 1618). An aristocrat and favourite of QE1, he is best known for his colonisation of North America and the introduction of tobacco to England and the world (how costly has that been?). His first colony was in Virginia where tobacco was harvested  – it got the Royal Seal from Her Maj and thus became the famous Royal Virginia tobacco.

He discovered Guyana and explored East Venezuala. His ship was the first Ark Royal which was a gift from QE1.

Unknown

Top Bloke. Full Set. Knighthood. Beheaded.

Raleigh wasn’t just an explorer he was also one of England’s great warriors.We all know the story of his defeat of the Spanish Armada, but what is less known is that after Elisabeth died and King James came to the throne, Raleigh was imprisoned in The Tower for 13 years for “plotting against the Crown”. Following an unsuccessful expedition to South America in search of El Dorado, he was re-arrested and beheaded. His head was embalmed and sent to his wife who kept it in a velvet bag until her death when it was re-united with his body.

Two defensive errors cost us the game at the Emirates; we weren’t outplayed and had the better of the game. Raddy would be satisfied with a point.

COYRRG

Big Raddy

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Season Low Points Pt.1 Off-Pitch

May 29, 2012

Recently, we were treated to a fine post from Chas filled with vids of the highlights of the season. but what were the low points? I am not talking about on-pitch stuff (was Ewood worse than OT?), No, I mean the off-pitch drama – those things in football which are not the result of the bounce of a ball.

Fans:  One of Chas’s vids showed the superb support of the Dortmund fans, perhaps the best I have seen. Fervent, happy, funny, enjoying their day out at The Home of Football. Compare them to the Stoke fans. In all my years of football fanaticism I cannot recall being so disgusted by the actions a group of fans as when the whole of  the Britannia booed Ramsey’s every touch. Can you?

Yes, we joke about their team of Orcs and we actively dislike both the Orc Leader and his henchmen,they deserve it,  but for their fans to boo a young man who has been seriously damaged in front of them is beyond ignorant. These people deserved National castigation, instead on MOTD the fool Lineker imitated their aping of Wenger ( fairplay to Hansen who condemned their behavior).

Did the Head Orc (Pulis) say anything …. No, of course not. Did anyone at Stoke? No. They silently condone the booing. Have the FA said anything? No, of course not.  Redknapp or Rednose (SAF) get abuse and the media are up in arms – yet  there was nothing was in the press about the behavior of the Orcs, apart from laughing at Wenger.

Fans:  Over the years, my dislike of  The N15 Neanderthals has lessened due to their comedic ability to grab tiny seeds of hope and blow them into successes (“We’re going to win the the League, or Bale is World Class” ).  West Ham and then Chelsea became my most disliked opposition (thanks to their racist and fascist fans), but when T-Shirts are made with “MInd the Gap” on them and they are then displayed at THOF, things have gone too far….. HaHaHaHaHaHa.

Club Action: Can anything be less enlightened than a Club and manager supporting a player who has been judged to make a racist remark? And then to wear t-shirts in support of said player? Liverpool shamed their great tradition and for that alone Dalglish deserved his dismissal. For a club who are rightly so sensitive about their history, this wasn’t just  misjudged, it was an act of madness.  Whether Suareze is a racist or not was not the issue –  he was found guilty of making a racist remark not of being a racist. How could the management of Liverpool get it so wrong?

Management Action:  Capello and England. I come from a generation of fans to whom being Captain of England is the very pinnacle of achievement. To Captain your country at Cricket or Football was not just a job given to the most experienced player, it was a mark of the respect the sport had for the incumbent. The idea that love-cheat, bribe taker and now racist John Terry has worn the same armband as Bobby Moore and Billy Wright is just sad.  That it took the Ferdinand affair to remove him of the Captaincy speaks volumes for The FA’s lack of understanding of our footballing heritage. As to the CL Final appearance – words fail me.

What are your off-pitch low-points? How do you think the Press write about Arsenal, are they even-handed? Do we get worse press than any other club? Do you think the Board of Directors are finally getting their act together or are they ruining our club? And what of the fitness regime’s? How is it that our players were in the Red and Wigan’s weren’t?

Written by Big Raddy

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Woke Up, it was a Chelsea Morning: Preview

April 21, 2012

Remember when you were small (or in Chary’s case, smaller)?  Morning break – out came the football, lunch break, – out came the football, after school – out came the football. At weekends, a game Saturday morning and another in the afternoon, often playing until dark in summer.

Young Big Raddy slots one past a concerned Kelsey

What is the relevance of my opening paragraph? Well, it is the complete tosh talked about Chelsea having to play 3 big games in a week. These men are honed athletes who spend their lives doing something they love and are trained non-stop to do so. If I can play 30+ hours a week as a 12 y.o. then they can manage under 5 hours as adults. Am I right or am I right?

Chelsea have one of the biggest squads in World football. They have a World Cup winner and the most expensive player ever in the PL on the bench! They have Essien on the bench, who IMO has been the best DM in the PL since PV4.  But they moan about how the FA have been harsh. If the FA was harsh Meireles would be banned for being so damned ugly and frightening the horses.

It is true Chelsea will be missing some players through injury but who in their right mind would play Luiz ahead of Cahill against Arsenal?  Ivanovic is banned but they have a  €21m replacement in Boswinga (yes, €21m !!). Rumour has it that Drogba is out, and we all know that Drogba loves to play us, but in Torres, Sturridge and Kalou they have some very expensive and talented replacements.

Playing Barca on Tuesday will certainly be on their minds, however, should The Blues fail to win at Camp Nou and this afternoon they are likely to play a regular Thursday night game. So, this is a huge game for them and I expect nothing less than 100% effort and a full first team.

Knocking 5 past them at the Bridge was great and JT’s slip was one of the season’s highlights. However, under Di Matteo they have developed into the Chelsea of Ancelloti. Hard, physical, highly motivated and disciplined; we are unlikely to score 5 today. That Terry continues playing at all with 2 cracked ribs is a testament to the man. I have broken ribs skiing and could hardly breathe, how JT plays football is astonishing. I hope RvP gives the brute a couple of digs early on and then TV clatters him at a set piece. Actually, give Diaby a few minutes – he will sort him out 🙂

Our problems start and end with Arteta. His absence is statistically worrying (we have yet to win a PL game without him) but we showed against AC Milan how good we can be  if we really attack from the first whistle.  That said, we have shown a weakness to very fast counter-attack and Chelsea are certainly capable in that area.

My Team:

Will Mr Wenger give an out of form Gervinho another start? I wouldn’t. I would start with O-C and tell him to attack Boswinga and then cut inside. On the other wing we have to hope Theo gives Cashley a tough afternoon. Cole has been the best LB in the PL history and it is a huge regret that he took the 30 pieces of silver.

I have said before that if RvP scores today then we will win. In my opinion, he is the key player. His shooting has been a little off recently but he is The Man, and if we are to take 3rd spot Robin has to keep scoring until season’s end.

Today’s Gooner:  With the Olympics coming up and high hopes for Diving medals, it should not be forgotten that the man in the diving form of his life is a huge Gooner: Ashley Young of the Manchester Diving Team. It is hoped that he and Mr Wayne Rooney will represent GB in the Men’s Synchronised 10m Diving team. Given their past record, a podium position is assured.   Vital game for both teams today.

Arsenal must shrug off the disappointment of Monday and play without fear. If and it is a big If, Chelsea do suffer from fatigue we must punish them in the final 15 mins.

I believe we can beat the South West London Ponces.

COYRRG

Written by Big Raddy

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When did the sportmanship die?

June 22, 2010

Written by dandan

Once upon a time I had a hero called Dennis Compton, he was the archetypal sportsman, besides playing football for Arsenal and England, he also played a bit of cricket for Middlesex and England and in between, fitted in 5 years fighting in the Second World War.

Coming from a less than privileged background, he joined the Lords ground staff and played cricket in the summer and football in the winter. Winning League championship and FA Cup winner’s medals with the Arsenal, whilst at the same time being the most loved English cricketer of his generation. An attacking batsman who, devoid of all the protective gear of today, faced the most feared fast bowlers from all around the world on pitches left uncovered and open to the elements at all times. Compton accumulated a vast number of runs and a reputation for his bravery, sportsmanship and the ability, and like Ian Botham, he could party all night and carry on batting next day as though he had spent the night in his bed.

He was the David Beckham of his day, the first man to advertise products as a result of his sporting fame. He was known right up until his death in 1997 as ‘The Brylcreem Boy’ – the hair cream he advertised throughout his career. He never made any real money and had to work in the media after his retirement to keep the wolf from the door.

I met him a number of times in the years prior to his death and he was never less than polite and a joy to talk with and listen to.

I mention this just as a comparison to Messrs John Terry and Nicholas Anelka, wealthy football players who wouldn’t know a sportsman if they fell over him on their way out of whatever nightclub is the flavour of the moment.

These gentlemen, having both been chosen to represent their respective countries in the World Cup. An honour recognised as the pinnacle of any professional player’s career, and the dream of every kid or fan that ever kicked a ball.

They have debased that honour by criticising the team’s management not just within the confines of the team, something that although not encouraged is at least accepted in certain circumstances but deliberately in Terry’s case, in front of the full media circus.

The fact that it matters not to either of them if they never play again, being as they are financially secure for life, does not detract from the fact that these were the actions of two bitter and selfish men.

How should their actions be viewed when judged against the like of Dennis Compton and what does it say about the values of the game we love?

So when did the sportsmanship die, is football alone in its cynicism and love of self?

Does cricket still have it? Remember the actions of Freddie Flintoff and Brett Lee in the last home Ashes series.

Golf certainly still has it, as all golfers report any personal transgression, with instant expulsion from the sport for any failure so to do.

Should Terry and Anelka be treated in such a manner? Anelka was sent home, should John Terry have received a similar response? Capello, ‘the strict disciplinarian’ has come out and said that Terry made a mistake, but maybe his worth to the team makes him less dispensable than Anelka.

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Posted by dandan