How Good Is The Premiership Really?

June 26, 2010

Written by peaches

If you were asked who the top ten world class players were in the premiership I’m sure your list would include Rooney, Torres, Cesc, Lampard, Drogba, Anelka, Van Persie to name a few – no spuds of course – yet all these players have failed to live up to their expectations in South Africa this summer.

Season on season they light up the premiership for their clubs and yet none of them, so far, have been able to grab a game by the scruff of its neck and make things happen. Mind you, our Cesc did put though some lovely balls to David Villa last night who strangely didn’t say thankyou for a single one.

The theories for this lack of sparkle are many – playing at altitude, training at altitude and the Jubilana ball are all being given as reasons why the tournament isn’t seeing the best of our stars in addition to the fact that ours is the biggest league and we play more games than anyone else. But maybe when compared to the South Americans the Premiership isn’t as good as we think it is.  I thought England did OK against Slovenia – they couldn’t have played any worse than against Algeria – but I find watching Argentina and Uruguay far more inviting.

How many of the Premierships world class players would get into a Fantasy Argentina Side for example?

Why didn’t Drogba or Anelka do for their countries what they do for Chelsea week in week out?

As an England supporter I want Rooney to do really well (cough, splutter) but as an Arsenal supporter I want Cesc to weave his magic for Spain and Robin to bury a few in the top left-hand corner for Holland to delight the millions that will be watching world-wide. Although its a double-edged sword having Cesc do well as obviously his talents are not really appreciated by Spain.

I want the players that we watch week in week out to be a credit to themselves and to the Premiership that is lauded as the strongest league in the world – its not happening so far. Is that because they’re really not that good by comparison?

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Keeping the Pride if Cesc stays

June 18, 2010

Good for Mexico, France need a miracle now to get out of their group so says their hapless manager Raymond Domenech. He looked almost as stupid standing on the touch-line at a loss for how to improve his team as  Shteve McClaren did under his umbrella.

Make no mistake, the French side is still packed with world class players, but with divisions in their camp that stopped them playing for the shirt and having cheated to get to the World Cup finals its probably right that their journey ends quickly.  What I find worrying is the manner of their departure. Footballers should play for the shirt, club or country, whatever is going on behind the scenes between other players or their feelings about the manager and his decisions.

The management of the French Football team has to take reponsibility for leaving Domenech in the position knowing that he’s failing to get the team to play for him, but equally, the players have to look at themselves for failing to put in the effort. If this can happen at International level, it can happen at club level too.

I’ve moaned about Arsenal players not doing their job properly, not working hard enough, not earning their money on the pitch. I’ve always felt that the relationship that exists between Arsène Wenger and the Arsenal players is very special. They want to play for him, they want to do well for him – the fact that he’s the manager of Arsenal comes second. The young men that he recruits into our team will have a love of Arsenal because of him too – because of the way our football has developed under his management. I feel, when the time comes,  we will need one of his disciples to carry the torch into the future, but thats in the future.

The feeling that there may be disharmony in our camp if Cesc stays is a real one. Certain sections of supporters and the media will be waiting to pounce on anything that looks like Cesc or any of the other players aren’t pulling their weight. Arsène Wenger is going to need all his beloved psychology to maintain a stable club and team. I would be disgusted to think that our players were not pulling on the red and white and playing with pride.

Les Bleus should be ashamed of themselves this morning.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Wouldn’t you prefer to watch the Arsenal?

June 16, 2010

Written by dandan

Having watched just about all the world cup so far, I find myself reduced almost to a state of depression at the dreadful garbage being consistently served up in the name of football, although to be fair last tuesday’s North Korea V Brazil was an improvement. That game aside, match after match have been timid affairs devoid of any risk taking. Unless, as in the case of poor Rob Green a mistake gets made.

Where is the skill, the excitement, and the ambition even to make a telling pass? All the things we were led to expect from supposedly the cream of world football are missing.  Unfortunately dross is dross no matter what banner it is played under.

It then occurred to me that there are clubs in our own premier league who serve up fare like that every week. Long balls, constantly soaring over the heads of an almost redundant midfield, aimed for the big guys in the penalty area in the hope that a knockdown will fall kindly and be bundled into the net. On the rare occasion an attacker does get a ball to feet he immediately goes to ground feigning a foul, seeking a free kick in the hope that their match winner the dead ball specialist can carve something out of nothing.

At the other end busses are parked across the goal as Chelsea’s special one famously put it. Negativity rules it seems, we shall not lose, winning is all.

Well not from where I am it isn’t, football is supposed to be an entertainment, the fare we are being served from South Africa is most definitely not that and deserves the continual giant raspberry being blown by the never-ending cacophony of the vuvuzelas.

Why do I feel like this? Because I have been spoilt in the past decade watching the wonderful Wengerball. Real entertainment this, risks included. Breathtaking movement, sublime goals, annoying mistakes and skilful individuals, whose artistry leaves the watcher mesmerised and amazed at the sheer magnificent’s of this the truly beautiful game. So stark a contrast is this, to that we have watched over the past week as to be almost unrecognisable as the same game.

Our detractors tell me we have won nothing for five years.

Really? I believe we have won over thousands of new fans around the world who would much rather watch us than this daily dose of a non-event that is the world cup. Call me what you will, stick to your negative safety-first style if you must, be bored witless in the cause of not losing.

But we are the Arsenal and win or lose. I cannot wait for the new season and some real entertainment at the home of football.

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Posted by dandan

Lies, Damned Lies

June 13, 2010

“It is understood” …. a euphemism for “the reserve team coach’s hairdresser’s boyfriend believes that…….. ” or even more likely “this reporter is stuck for a story line and has made this up ….”.

Summer transfer rumours drive me mad.  So much of what we read is pure fantasy, a product of a fertile imagination, the addition of two and two to make five. The examples are endless as seen by the rumoured transfer bar on this very site.

One may believe that these fabrications are innocent but they have a direct affect upon the poor saps who read  them, and the reason I am writing this post is because I am one of those poor saps. Today I read a lengthy article on our favourite subject this summer, the will he/won’t he go to Barca saga. In this article it stated that Arsenal were sick of dealing with Laporta and had started negotiations with the incoming Barca President (Rosell) with a view to selling Cesc next summer. My first thoughts were “OK, we get another season”, my second thoughts were “how has this journalist sourced this story?”. I re-read it. No quotes from any one involved, no statement from either club, much innuendo and one “it is understood.” Who understood?

Let us look at the Joe Cole story. Apparently it is almost certain he will be playing at the Emirates next season. Who says so? Admittedly there is some logic to it, the fact Cole is a good player on a free makes him an attractive target for our parsimonious manager, but we are well blessed in his chosen position (AA, TR, Vela) and are we likely to pay €100+k a week to him? Most probably these are stories placed in the press by Cole’s agent to alert other clubs to his availability, using the Arsenal name to strengthen their negotiations. But I am a pawn in their game. I go to work thinking  “How will Joe Cole fit into our current team? Who gets dropped? Where will Arshavin play if Joe signs? etc etc.” I can’t help myself!

May I take a paragraph of your time to go back in history?

Around 2500 years ago a Greek philosopher named Plato wrote  “The Republic”, in which he looked at the perception/nature of justice within the individual and the State (The Greek Republic). Based upon the teachings of Socrates, he notes that one’s viewpoint is dependent upon whether one is “inside or outside,” that is, whether one has direct knowledge (inside) or one’s knowledge is second hand (outside). His point being that unless one has direct knowledge there is always a tendency towards a skewed version of the facts, and that one bases one’s opinions and perceptions based this mis-truth.

We are definitely “Outsiders” and as such base our opinions upon the fallacies produced by journalists with questionable agendas. ( I must point out that The Republic is a treatise on happiness and justice and I have used a small section of the book to make my point! ).

As I wrote in a comment a couple of weeks ago. “Until you see Mr. Wenger smiling at the camera with his shiny new player holding an Arsenal shirt, it is just bulls**t”

On a serious note, I ask myself this – “If the back pages are full of lies and fantasy, is it likely that the front pages are equally fanciful?” Now that is a frightening prospect

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Posted by Erik the Red

Joe Cole for Cesc Anyone?

June 7, 2010

Rumour has it we’ll take £60m for Cesc – I’m not sure how keeping your cards close to your chest during negotiations allows such information to leak out but thats the word out there on the street.

Bringing in Joe Cole shows a certain lack of ambition on Arsenal’s part in my opinion. We get £60m for our captain, the player that this young(ish) team has been built around and we take a 29 year old on a free. Lets take Joe Cole by all means if we can get him to accept our wage ceiling but lets also buy a player thats going to take the team forward.

Gourcuff has been scouted by Arsenal and hand picked by the supporters as a replacement for Cesc, he currently plays for Bordeaux and following our signing of Chamakh the two could team up effectively. He’ll cost us about £22m so we’d be quids in for sure even after spending £10m on a new French centre-back rumoured to be  Laurent Koscielny.

We already know that Arsene will turn these young frenchmen into superstars and Real Madrid, Barcelona or one of the Italian giants will want to tap them up in a couple of years so while Ramsey, Wilshire and Theo grow into their roles let them have some real competition for their places. If Arsene is happy to break up this team by allowing Cesc to go and he’s accepted that ‘you don’t win things with kids’ then lets buy some proven quality and show that he can be flexible.

Maybe we won’t be ravaged by injuries again next season but how good would it feel to put out a top class 11 and have players on the bench that we want to see come on and play.

It seems all the rumours are about who we want to buy but surely we need to sell players to make a bit of room in the treatment room. It seems to me we have squad of players that no-one else is particularly interested in, am I the only one that thinks it’s a weird situation for a top club to be in. Only our superstars are attractive not our utility players?

Arsenal should be thinking about how to butter us up, not adding fuel to the fire that many of us feel is raging about not spending money on transfers. There were reports earlier of a warchest which we wouldn’t even need to be touched if we sold Cesc so the question remains, Where is the ambition? Why are we being offered Joe Cole as a replacement to Cesc?

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Cesc and the Spanish Press

June 6, 2010


Morning all,  picking through the rumours today, it was hard to decide what to use as post as all the stories seem to be equally ridiculous. We are no nearer to knowing if anyone else will be signed before the World Cup or decisions about the future of Almunia, Gallas, Campbell, Silvestre or Senderos – a lot of centre-backs in that list!!

However London put on this interesting comment for us to share ………………..

For all those who are unaware, Spain has two main sports news papers: Marca which is as good as owned my Real Madrid and El Mundo Deportivo (the world of sport) as good as owned by Barcelona.

The Cesc saga doesn’t feature in Marca there simply is no interest but as you would expect our Captain gets top billing in Barcelona’s very own version of Pravda.

On today’s front page they have a big picture of Cesc with his hand on his head and a woe is me expression on his face, above it the headline reads “Vendedme ya” which translates to mean, sell me now. The story goes on about how he has tried to get in touch with Wenger, but to no avail, to plead for his release; he is portrayed as some hard done by Catalan held by those nasty English against his will, desperate to get home.

The other interesting thing on the front page is a poll asking how much they think Barça should pay for him. These are the figures to date.

Less than 20 mil 20%
Between 30 and 40 mil 32%
Between 40 and 50 mil 31%
Between 50 and 60 mil 6%
Between 60 and 70 mil 2%
More than 70 mil 8%

I was quite surprised to see that over 70 mil was as high as 8% but then I thought about it a bit more and came to the conclusion that it must be mostly Arsenal supporters….. I have voted for more than 70 mil five times already.

Well, if we are going to lose him I want to see them be made to bleed.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Could Cesc become a Legend?

June 3, 2010

Posted by andy

This post was written by andy before Barcelona made their offer and Arsenal told them where to shove it .

What makes a legend ?

All this talk of Cesc leaving got me thinking of his standing in comparison to some of his predecessors. Is Cesc a legend ? and what makes a legend ?

I was born in 1972 so my opinion of The Arsenal greatest players probably varies from that of some of the older and some of the younger guys (and girls) on here, but here goes…

I probably really started taking an interest in the team in the mid eighties and can remember Sansom and Anderson but to me then the heroes started to emerge. O’leary as a father figure bringing on the ultimate in Tony Adams.

If I had to name legends to me it would be Adams, O’Leary,  Merse, Rocky, Bergkamp, Pires, Freddie, Bould, Smith, wright, Parlour, Dixon, Vieira, Henry but why ?

Is it just the time that you were at your most interested or is it that they were better than what we have now. My thirteen year old son thinks Cesc is the best thing ever but to me I personally wouldnt put him up there with the greats that I remember. If I think back to the side of the late nineties i’d struggle to fit him in. It may be that as we get older we think of the past greats with far higher esteem than perhaps they deserve and I do remember old guys talking to me as a young man about players of the past who were legends at the time but quite frankly look s**t compared to the players of today.

Maybe its attitude, I’m not great with stats so dont bother to dis-prove me but O’Leary played over 600 games for us, Adams his entire career. Dixon, Winterburn, bould, Seaman over 400 games each.The likes of Bergkamp, Pires. Henry and Llungberg were foreigners who made The Arsenal their club and we made them heroes.

So is it this that makes you a legend or winning trophies?

Do I remember Rocky because he won ‘X’ number of cups? No.  Could I tell you how many winners medals Adams has? No. So is it about being successful?

Is it commitment? Adams = Arsenal, Pires , Bergkamp and Thierry still talk of the Arsenal with absolute love, not for the honours, but for the memories.

In my opinion there is no rule for whether you are a legend or not. It isn’t about success, it isn’t just about time served. I personnally think it’s about belonging. As a fan its about a player looking like he’s fulfilling your dreams (sounds a bit wanky I know but thats the best way i can descriibe it).

If i could have 1 wish it would be to play for The Arsenal (It could never happen coz im crap) but I want to see those there play like its an honour to wear the shirt.

Is Cesc a legend. IMO not yet. But he could be ? Who would be your Arsenal Legend?

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Where did it all go wrong – Cesc?

June 2, 2010

Where did it all go wrong……………………………….

Most football fans are aware of the story George Best loved to tell of how he was staying in a top London Hotel, where having just quit football he had enjoyed a few drinks and a particularly good night at the tables in the Casino,

To celebrate he phoned room service and ordered a couple of bottles of Champagne. The waiter who delivered it happened to be an Irish Man Utd fan. On entering the room he was confronted by a huge bed on which lay a half naked Miss World, surrounded by bundles of twenty-pound notes with the thousand pound bank wrappers still on them.  He looked, placed the tray on the dressing table and as he presented George the bill to be signed asked. “ George where the hell did it all go wrong”

To me that sums up the Arsenal predicament at the moment, having come through some seriously stringent times, virtually owning their new purpose built stadium and training facilities, in the best financial position of the any of the top British clubs with the possible exception of Chelsea and City both of whom owe there good fortune to rich benefactors from abroad.

The Arsenal now find themselves with cash available to refresh their injury ravaged squad and add an experienced player or two to encourage and the lead the phalanx of talented players assembled at low cost by Arsene Wenger.

Yet there is an element of their support that keep asking in whatever way possible, where did it all go wrong?

Every negative that can be found, rumoured, imagined or invented is gleefully dished up, as proof of our imminent demise. Forget the cruel injuries at crucial times, forget some diabolical refereeing that has halted momentum and cost us vital points. Forget that Champions league qualification has been achieved year after year.

Disregard a lazy press, that delights in disrespecting the club for refusing to pamper to their desire for easy headlines, by employing rent-a-quote PR men to fire ten-a- penny sound bites, designed to appease those whose demands that we chase the improbable or impossible, are only matched by there inability to understand which is which.

Ignore all these, along with the fact that our key players have for years been the subject of shameful tapping up, by overseas clubs and affiliated press, designed at the very least to unsettle and destabilise but mainly aimed at enticing them away.

Where did it all go wrong? It didn’t we punched above our weight given the financial constraints, put upon us by the property development so vital for our future. We negotiated all the perils and pitfalls outlined above. We played our way into the hearts of a new generation of fans and delighted a vast army of older fans, brought up on the cynically predictable football, of the Pre Wenger years.

Despite this in recent weeks since the season end and before the Transfer Window even opens, every blog, paper and media outlet has again witnessed an outpouring of opinion as to how soon our captain and playmaker will leave the club, maybe he will, maybe he wont and just maybe if he does, he will do as many of the Wenger boys before him have done, wake up one morning, review his career and say “sod it, where did it all go wrong?”

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Posted by dandan

Why is Cesc Leaving?

May 31, 2010

Morning all. With still no clear answers to the ‘Cesc is going, Cesc is staying’ debate – disastrous PR really from a top English club – I thought we could guage the feeling among supporters by having a poll.

Obviously we know that he has a deep love for Barcelona and that a return to his boyhood club was always on the cards. But why now? Barcelona have come calling but he is our captain and well loved by all at Arsenal.  I don’t believe he loves Barcelona more than Arsenal so we have to look for another explanantion.

We have watched him being targetted by opponents for some harsh treatment during the past season. Of course if you’re playing against Arsenal you need to be able to stop Cesc having possesion and working his magic but too many fouls without retribution must surely anger the young man. Where’s the protection?

Cesc and others in the team have consistently gone public over the need to sign a couple of world-class players to complete the jigsaw.  What has Arsène promised him? Does he believe that Arsène will deliver?

How important is money to our Fab4? Barça can offer him higher wages than we ever will and make him a very rich man. But look what we can offer him ………………

At Arsenal he is loved, he is our Captain. If Arsène can fulfill his promise to add to the squad players that will help bring out the best in this team then we will go on to win silverware. But if he leaves we’ll never know.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Should Theo Be On The Plane to South Africa?

May 28, 2010

I’ve been a bit out if the loop this week what with Chav Flower Show to visit but found myself  listening to the Talksport pre World Cup party yesterday evening on the radio. There was lots of talk about whether Rooney is really fit and who should be his partner, why Cashly is the only real left-back now that Bridge won’t be in the dressing-room with Terry and of course who should be first choice to play on the right Lennon or Walcott.

Now don’t get me wrong, I really want Theo to be a huge success – a huge success for Arsenal that is. Will it be good for Arsenal if he has a good World Cup? Will it be good for Theo if he has a bad World Cup? If we could welcome back a pumped-up Theo brimming with confidence to kick on and fulfill his potential that would be fantastic but a crushed Theo, shorn of his self-belief will be useless.

Theo is unproven in my opinion. He has pace, he has the looks, he wears the Arsenal shirt with pride but what has he actually achieved. It was pointed out during the radio show that Capello loves Theo – loves the fact that Theo scored a hat-trick for England and this fact alone puts him in front of Lennon.  This can’t be a good enough reason to give him a starting berth when his form for Arsenal has been almost non-existent. Obviously his injuries haven’t helped him to play  with any consistency but the way the commentators were on his back from the start of the game against Mexico the other night left me thinking that it can’t be a good idea to send a player to the World Cup hoping he’s going to find some form. I fear for him as the expectations are so high.

The accusations are always the same – fantastic pace but no end product. As gooners we have actually seen Theo whip a cross in –  sadly often to no-one in the box – but he can do that. We’ve watched him race down a defender to a ball or track back to defend deftly. We know that he can do these things. We’ve seen him unleash a precise shot that sweetly hits the back of the net and watched as he’s come off the bench to terrify tired legs with 20 minutes to go. He could be Arsenal and England’s not so secret weapon – the secret would be whether his performance would be a success or a failure on that particular day. Which Theo would turn up?

In addition, if its to be a successful day for him, will the other mid-fielders in the England set-up see the signs as only too often they forget to include Theo in the game. He needs them to know he’ll deliver, I hope he’s shining at the England training camp, I hope it won’t be a wasted journey for him as it was in 2006.

If Theo is on the plane I wish him all the luck in the world but if he’s not I don’t think it’ll be a disaster for him or for Arsenal  although its always nice to have one of our own in the England team.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

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