Time for a Change

October 18, 2017

Just a quickie…

Last weekend’s 15 minute collapse was horribly painful and worse, a return to the type of loss of control we have seen over the past few seasons.

But

Everything changed in one moment and it was a moment out of control of anyone in an Arsenal shirt. I write of the cheating Watford player and the awful refereeing decision made by Swarbrick. WE NEED VIDEO TECHNOLOGY IN THE PL.

I have no doubt that Arsenal would have won the game had the penalty not been given. We were comfortable and likely to score again, instead 3 points were lost and more worrying the fragile confidence built over the brief run of wins is gone.

And we would have 3 more points has Lacazette not been wrongly adjudged offside at Stoke.

A 30 second delay whilst a video ref assessed the footage and wrong decisions are reversed.

How can this work? Well, it is hardly a new discussion, is it? Do I care whether this technology is not available at all levels of soccer? No, I don’t give a monkey’s cuss. Do you? All I care about is that AFC stop being the victim of rubbish refereeing and diving cheats.

n.b. I am fully aware that Leicester would have been awarded a penalty when Mustafi brought down some numbskull but Cech would have saved it (as if :_D)

written by Big Raddy

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

Winning Run to Continue?

April 26, 2017

A chance to play and beat the Champions. We managed a draw away at a time the Leicester boys were shafting Ranieri, can we do better tonight?

Unknown.jpeg

Since Tinkerman left LFC have done very well and seem a rejuvenated team (shameful), we have won two on the bounce. It should be a good game. Leicester tend to rely on the pace of their attack, in particular Vardy.

Vardy and Mahrez. Both AFC targets last summer, both turned us down, both had awful seasons. Good. I was hoping for relegation but mid-table mediocrity will do.

In the excellent Ian Wright interview with Arseblog, Wrighty complained long and hard about our buying policy. On the whole I agree with him, but the non-signing of two Leicester players who just a season before had been journeymen, shows how hard it must be to land the big fish.

Will we continue with the Back 3? Your guess is as good and probably better than mine.

Will AW put out a second string team with the Spurs game in mind on  Sunday? I hope not. A win in either gives the same points.

My Team

Cech

Bellerin     Gabriel    Koscielny    Monreal

Ramsey   Coquelin    Iwobi

Walcott  Welbeck    Sanchez

Some rotation is necessary with 3 games in just over a week., and for this reason I would revert to the normal back 4. Resting Ozil may be contentious but I want to see Iwobi and Mesut can have a rest on the bench. Welbeck ahead of Giroud because pace could be important.

Of course, the above team will win, Leicester rarely leave Arsenal with points and we must hope tonight continues the trend.

A win tonight puts us back in the mix for an unlikely Top 4 finish. ….

Let it be So

COYRRG

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

Valentines Day. Love Arsenal

February 14, 2016

Valentines Day. I woke up thinking why and who? Do you know? Do you care?

Why would you on such a fantastic day of sport?

I am praying to St Valentine (a Roman Christian martyr) for 3 victories and a draw.., England x 2, a draw for the Northern Oilers and at The Emirates – I am not sure.

Unknown-1

Arsenal vs Leicester: You know the runners and riders, you know the state of the ground (good to soft), the recent form, the health of the stables, the colours, the on-field odds, the background “fairytale” etc etc. So I am not going to spend this post teaching you to suck eggs (whatever that means!)

Instead I would like to briefly explore what football means to you, or more to the point, me.

Valentines is about emotional attachment and appropriately my connection to The Arsenal  and football as a whole is purely emotional based. I love football and I love The Arsenal. Which do I love more? BTW this is a slow build up to my point 🙂

Why do I not really care if we lose today? Because IMO it would be just marvellous for the game if Leicester won the title. And I say that knowing that for them to win it we would have to lose it.

I have been struggling with this all week. Which is more important, an Arsenal victory or a Leicester title win? I find that my romantic nature supersedes my desire for Arsenal glory. The truth is that I love the sport more than my team (I think).

However, if we win and go on to win the title I would be thrilled; my fears are that we could win today and balls up the title run-in. Oh, come on – you know you feel the same!

Unknown

Arsenal: Defensively we have been looking better – could it be the emergence of Gabriel or just we have been playing poor teams? Rumour has it that The Archangel is injured; if he is then our tactics will have to be adjusted to allow for BFG’s lack of pace. Much is made of the pace of Vardy and Leicester’s counter attack, yet we have faced much faster frontlines and coped. It is a question of organisation and concentration.

We knocked 5 past young Kasper up at Filbert Street and I cannot see him keeping a clean sheet this lunchtime. OG must be due a goal as too is Alexis.

I expect us to start with Ox on the right and a return for Coquelin, other than that the team picks itself. I will bet Mrs.Raddy’s Valentines Day gift (a Snickers bar) that OG starts ahead of TW.

What I really, really do not want to happen this afternoon is for us to draw and the cave-dwelling, knuckle-dragging N17 miscreants to win up at The Etihad. That would ruin my day and dent both our and Ranieri’s title ambitions.

I may love football more than Arsenal but if Young Aaron smashes in the third at the Clock End I will be out my seat, jumping up and down and convinced this is OUR year.

And if it isn’t, how great would it be for a top chap like Ranieri to take a team which a year ago was relegation fodder to the title?

COYRRG

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