Monday 22 August 2011

Arsene's Goners?

Watching Arsenal thus far is like looking at a mantelpiece at a country manor. Every time Lord Wenger comes down for tiffin, another sterling silver candlestick has gone missing.

"Mon Dieu! Ou est tout le monde?"

The fledgling season has only one talking point thus far. Well you could bang on about Manchester City’s bright start, but why the fuck bother? A brain-damaged monkey knows that eventually the spending will reach a tipping point whereby there are so many decent players in the City squad that they simply can’t help winning the tile.

Mancini’s doing no one any favours by not picking Bonkertelli to start. Dzeko seems to be following the Drogba route to football stardom. One terrible lumbering season followed by a revelatory second effort – he looks as if he’s swapped his feet with Rodney Marsh’s at the moment. And Aguero looks very good indeed. But there’s summat rotten about the state of the Premier League when they can afford to keep Tevez, brooding like a betrayed Spaghetti Western extra, on the bench and still pay him a four-bed terrace in Hull a week.

Oh and there’s also Bill Kenwright, the Oliver Twist of the division, who can’t have any more from the banks to buy anyone. Everton’ll be all right but only cos Moyes works wonders. I bet if he has to paint a door at home he can do two coats using the contents of one tester pot.

But the travails of Arsenal are the real story. The team aren’t playing any differently, i.e, they keep it very well. But do we really want four midfielders who’ve been cloned from Tomas Rosicky? Van Persie is wafting around up front like a schoolgirl in a ballet class, primarily cos Arsenal have forgotten how to create chances.

The only plus so far is the proof of Vermaelen’s value to a back four that played like a bunch of revolving doors last season. That also suggests that Wenger doesn’t have to take a spotter’s guide with him when he goes looking for centre-backs.

Of course things could not have started much worse for Le Prof. Three suspicions already, the last for the comically-named Frimpong – which appropriately enough already sounds like some sort of fashionable and stupid haircut. Me I wouldn’t let the player on that pitch until he’s taken the gaffa tape off.

Here's Frimpong before his mates played that nasty stag night trick on his bonce

For all that the Frimp is a proper holding midfielder, but as with many of Arsene’s recent selections for that position, tackles like Paul Scholes in a blindfold. His second effort, in which he tried single-handedly to answer Liverpool fans’ dreams and transfer Lucas to somewhere in mainland Europe, was deserving of a straight red.

Nasri’s move to guess where is back on, and at Eastlands he can enjoy rubbing shoulders with the likes of several other millionaires who are content in these times of austerity to warm their arses on a subs bench and do half the work of a proper footballer for five times the pay. You can’t blame him, really.

So Arsenal’s cupboard is looking a tad bare, but there is £35 million to spend on someone and about nine days to throw it around. The Wenger wish-list is like one of them long lists that book prizes start off with. Latest front-runners are a bloke called Yann M’Vila and the lad from Lille who’s named after the serpent that hissed in Eve’s ear – the Eden Hazard.

A partner for Vermaelen should be top priority too and frankly it’s no good Arsene frantically rubbing the top of his head like a cold turkeying junkie, he should’ve bagged Gary Cahill already – and long before Cesc finally went home.

Perhaps this is where Wenger’s been least able to get his head around the new world order. Even Fergie didn’t faff about in the transfer market, such is the draw of the Abu Dhabi dirham. The Emirates is decorated by the shirts of greats that have gone before but the chances of Wenger bagging a so-called marquee signing are nil. In fact the possibility of him getting a beach-tent signing aren’t great.

And while we can indulge in a bit of schadenfraude at the Frenchman’s expense – and even that is difficult to maintain when the poor man looks as forlorn as a rain-drenched kitten – Arsenal’s difficulty in keeping hold of its players is a sign of a deeper malaise.

Wenger’s managed to keep a wage structure of sorts in place, and therefore attracted players who can by and large respect that sort of a thing. He’s had to let go of those that find £55k a week an insult, of course, but then if their sole motivation is money do you really want them hanging around? (It’s the same with them bankers we were told would leave the country if we hit them with a one-off tax on their bonuses – tax ‘em and wave the bastards off at the airport, say I).

Wenger is still a believer in bringing players through the youth system, Frimpong being the latest example. I think this is partly Wenger’s preciousness over the way his side must be schooled, but there’s summat endearingly old-fashioned and honourable about it, too.

And when you look over to Nasri’s next home you see a club that survived on a top-class youth squad now entirely overlooking such resources in favour of the latest arrival on the gravy train (one Pullman carriage each, all magnificently appointed with chunks of bling).

We keep hearing about the Chelsea kids too, McEachran especially, but he’s bench dressing still.
Here's Josh McEachran eager to get on the pitch and run rings round the opposition.

The only plus about Everton’s plight is that we get a 17-year old making a debut and looking tip-top from the start. That simply won’t happen at Chelsea or Citeh.

So I hope Wenger can keep 11 players on the pitch and find a way to turn it round, but if even Arsenal can’t find players who want to stay there, lack of trophies notwithstanding, then the Premier League is truly in the Age of Preposterity.

379 comments:

  1. Troubled times indeed at the Grove.

    Not an apocalypse as some would have you believe.



    I heard a bloke, no older than 25 going on and on about how the team is worst ever in Arsenal's history and Wenger must be sacked, nay hanged, for his failure to bring silverware in the last 6 seasons and how he must spend money on anyone and everyone etc etc.

    Fuck off to City was my reply.

    Yes, mistakes have been made. Not doing the transfer business in public isnt one of them.

    Transfer business should have been sorted out well back in June the biggest of them.

    Team must be ready for the season start. It simply isnt.

    But Arsene still is the man for Arsenal.

    If there is any better available, I am not aware.

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  2. damnit ..second, why Spit why??

    --BeeZee

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  3. Time for trophy-whore Arsenal fans to join the piles of ManUer fans.

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  4. As a Spurs fan I ought to be rubbing my hands in glee at the prospect of the wheels falling off at Arsenal, but I know full well that'll come back to bite me when it's the end of the season and they nick the last Europa League place by a point because they snuck someone into the kitchen the night before our final game and poison the pasta. :p

    Rivalry aside, I'd love to see Arsene win the league by sticking to his principles. It'll be a fine way to give Citeh's zillionaires the Finger.

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  5. I'm still open-mouthed at Wenger's decision to splash out the best part of £15million on an unproven 17-year old who's ONE season as a pro was at League 1 level........

    Deal of the century for us lot at Saints! :-)

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  6. Football is shite........you may well correctly surmise I'm a Toffee.

    On a brighter note, over at the Oval it looks like Sachin is finally going to get his 100th 100. Yesterday he was stumped but Prior forgot to appeal(??!), and today he has been dropped, so the omens are good for the Little Master. My only grouch is that he bears a striking facial resemblance to Punter, the poor sod.

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  7. ''comically-named Frimpong – which appropriately enough already sounds like some sort of fashionable and stupid haircut.''

    ''tackles like Paul Scholes in a blindfold.''
    You have me in stitches! I am Ghanaian though, yet i find myself bemused and amused (at the same time) at ''comical Frimpong'. Top blog!
    ''comically-named Frimpong – which appropriately enough already sounds like some sort of fashionable and stupid haircut.''

    ''tackles like Paul Scholes in a blindfold.''
    You have me in stitches! I am Ghanaian though, yet i find myself bemused and amused (at the same time) at ''comical Frimpong'. Top blog!

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  8. good stuff Robbo but "Three suspicions already..." way more than three!

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  9. India are whitewashed. Lost by an innings and 8 runs. Swann got 6 wickets.

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  10. a four bed terrace in Hull ? Zthry only pay him :£11,000 a week ? ?

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  11. Man u, chelski and citeh are in a league of their own, maybe literally one day - a euro premiership ... arsenal Liverpool and occasionally spurs contend for best of the rest. but arsenal are the 5th richest club in the world so they probably ought to do better really

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  12. quiet series from cook swann trott and Strauss and we still dominated. how good is this team. looking forward to grinding aussie faces in the dust

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  13. It just needs one or two Man City players to throw a hissing fit and the rest of the players (see, I didn't say "the team") stop performing, no matter how much they're paid.

    Easy to buy loads of players if you've got the dish but damn hard to mould them into a cohesive team which performs week in and week out. Who have Man City played so far? Swansea and Bolton?
    ________________________________
    I am not Anonymous, I am Profile

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  14. Ugh, 32 points from my FFL lot .... my H2H oppo's scored near double that.

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  15. blogdignag said...
    quiet series from cook swann trott and Strauss and we still dominated. how good is this team. looking forward to grinding aussie faces in the dust

    -------------------------

    Trott got injured Blogs. Good thing about this present team there's always someone who'll stand up and turn the game.

    Swann had 3 quiet tests and then annihilated India in the 4th.

    Bell and Pietersen blew them away with the bat this time, Cook in the previous match and the tail end dug in and got us a credible score when the batters faltered.

    Can't wait to see them butt heads with SA whenever they play next.

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  16. Go easy on City Profile, they just knocked the league leaders (albeit alphabetically aligned)off their perch!

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  17. Yep I know star the point I was trying to make was those 4 are usually consistent star performers, but look at their batting/bowling averages - they're all way down the hierarchy this time in terms of performance BUT such is the strength in depth that it didn't matter

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  18. In THE sport, tho, I don't fancy your chances at OT star... the record books show, according to john liew .... Spurs at Old Trafford - played 82, lost 58, drawn 24, killed 16, maimed 220

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  19. Im all for workers downing tools and attempting to wrest back a modicum of control of the means of production but its fans not footballers are the oppressed

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  20. Comrades! Throw off your scarves! Let the playing classes tremble at the prospect of revolution. The fans have nothing to lose but their chains.They have a trophy to win.

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  21. I think I need to take a break.

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  22. Good musical supergroup between these two clubs... Young, Townsend, Lennon, Nani from the Stone Roses. Gomes could be the support act

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  23. Though on second thoughts, putting Young and Townsend in the same room could have catastrophic consequences. Where's the book, Pete?

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  24. Starfire said...
    Ugh, 32 points from my FFL lot .... my H2H oppo's scored near double that.
    ----------------------------------------

    I'm sharing your pain Star. 26 points for my lot with just Young playing tonight. My oppo (Tommy B) I think has got 30 with Nani and Bale playing. Times are so bad I'm thinking of using my wildcard in week 3.

    Colch

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  25. 70 minutes gone and Man Utd have had 19 shots with 13 of them on target. How the **** is this only 1-0?

    Colch

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  26. @Colch: 70 minutes gone and Man Utd have had 19 shots with 13 of them on target. How the **** is this only 1-0?

    Happens all the time. Just look at last season when they were winning by a one-goal margin.

    @Trotts they won't be there long (fingers crossed).
    ______________________
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  27. Well played Utd. Gave them a good game for 60 mins, then it all became a bit too much. 17 shots with 12 on target suggests where our problems lie - we need a top striker please Harry. It's as obvious as Arsenal's need for centre-backs. And with Modric now apparently with his head 'not in the right place' (I assume it's at Stamford Bridge) the need for a creative midfielder becomes a priority. What's that? We're signing a 10m defensive midfielder? Oh, problem solved then.

    On to better news. Got a total of 34 points in the FFL with my midfield scoring a grand total of 2 points between them. Luckily, all three of my strikers scored to amass 25 of my 34 points. Even more lucky - my H2H opponent scored 33 this week. Booya!

    Noel

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  28. If Nasri does leave Arsenal for Manchester he'd be stupid to go blue: he needs to go to OT where he'll more than likely get more games, but more importantly fit in with the rest of the team.
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  29. @Noel: And with Modric now apparently with his head 'not in the right place' (I assume it's at Stamford Bridge).

    The "not in the right place" bit refers to his bloody arse. I like the way Spurs play football, same with Man U and Arsenal, and the Liverpool of 20 years ago. I watched Spurs beat United at OT in an FA Cup game (I think) in the Glenn Hoddle days. Do Chelsea fit Modric? I don't think so -- he should either stay where he is or join Man U, who were interested in taking him to OT.

    And talking of Glenn Hoddle, did he used to shave his legs when he played? I seem to remember that he had very little body hair. Eat your heart out, Beckham.
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  30. Arsenal are ready to break the bank to bring Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteiger to the Emirates Stadium.
    ----

    If Wenger pulls this off, I might wet myself with excitement.

    DOnt need to worry though. Not going to happen.

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  31. Hmm..I don't think anyone can stop ManU this season. They seem to be even better than I thought before the season started. The only saving grace is that I thought the exact same thing about Chelsea last December.

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  32. Schweinsteiger and Mertesacker are exactly what the gunners need. You get those 2 and suddenly you are a totally different team. Which probably means that Wenger will get them in January when its too late.

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  33. Going by the Bundesliga rates, Mertesacker should be easily signed up for around 10 million.

    And Schweinsteiger, not that Bayern would ever sell since they dont need to, could be had at 30mill.

    that leaves 20 million that wenger can spend or has already on turd that may or may not be polished to a superior degree.

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  34. Liverpool FC this afternoon confirmed that Sotirios Kyrgiakos had left the club and joined Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg.
    ---------------------------------------------
    And the great clearout continues. Jovanovic,El Zhar,Ngog(?),Konchesky,Ayala, Darby. Poulsen and Cole still to go. Good job by Kenny and team in getting rid of the deadwood and freeing up some wage money. Looks like cole could be on the way to QPR as well. I am not in favour of it, but Aquilani to Milan also looking a distinct possibility.

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  35. "His second effort, in which he tried single-handedly to answer Liverpool fans’ dreams and transfer Lucas to somewhere in mainland Europe, '

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    haha. funny, but no longer true Robbo. He has worked hard to transform himself from a complete waste of space to a good, solid holding midfielder. We would not like to get rid of him anymore, as evidenced by him winning the fans player of the year vote last season.

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  36. Not a bad week at the FFL. Seem to have gotten the better of Ngog in the H2H and a modest 8 place rise in the main league.

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  37. Morning all.

    Returned from the annual jollies refreshed and raring to go.

    Don't take a newspaper whilst away,so last night I was curious to see how well my brave lads had done in my absence.After all,a 3-0 win away first game of the season is bound to fill you with optimism.

    Then found we lost 1-0 at home to Hull,5-2 at home to Southampton and 7 (seven) -1 away at Posh (not Mrs Beckham).

    It could be worse however,I could follow Arsenal.

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  38. Bolton aim to sign three players this week - Liverpool striker David Ngog for £4m-plus and Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips for £2m, while also taking City's defender Dedryck Boyata on loan.
    ---------------------------------

    Trott will be pleased.

    Morning all.
    Colch

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  39. Spurs target Emmanuel Adebayor has told the club they must strengthen their squad, starting with Real Madrid midfielder Lassana Diarra, if he is to join them from Manchester City.
    ---

    hilarious that his own predicament is result of his current club having strengthened their squad.

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  40. Morning all. Whats the weather in blighty?

    We have to brave uncharacteristically warm august week (upwards of 34°C for the third day running)

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  41. Morning fellas.

    Back from my vacation... I had been to Jammu & Kashmir... it was an amazing trip. Beautiful places, nice food and lot of road travelling.

    India whitewashed in test series. Arsenal going through bad phase. 2 bad weeks in FFL and I am in 40th place... all wrong in world of sport.

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  42. still top and smug with it... 4 points for the pool 4-0 to the cricketers just a shame manure keep winning
    bisq

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  43. mornin Lads. Colch, stop it, if we're really getting those two bums we'd have been better off with El Mandy. Never heard of Dedryck Boyata, let's hope that all 3 are poised to bloom into world class talent.

    I have a vision of Zat Knight jumping onto SWP's shoulders in celebration of his first goal and that ends his career!

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  44. finally, a decision:

    http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/terms-agreed-with-man-city-for-nasri

    ---

    on your way Nasri

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  45. City's sale means that Arsenal are set to make 200% profit on his 8mill sign on fee on a player (undoubtedly skilled) that has always seemed to crumble under pressure in big matches and had a 4 month purple patch in a three year term in the team.

    Thank you city.

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  46. Got tons of cash Arsene ... now who the fuck are you going to spend it on?

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  47. steady jacks.

    dont be such a spoil sport.

    let us dream for a while...

    deep down, we know we'll be short changed.

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  48. Personally, I am relieved that the Fabregas and Nasri sagas are over. Hopefully the rest can focus on their feet doing the talking.

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  49. Sorry Spits,I'll let you bask in the land of transfer dreams for a while.

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  50. Dream Time over,

    Some 12 year old lightweight.

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  51. $amir Na$ri sold. Good luck to him for he will be warming the bench. He won't be missed at all.

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  52. that kid that was on MOTD 2
    bisq

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  53. or maybe just maybe scott parker?

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  54. Nice little piece Robbo.

    One thing though, Arsene has never made a marque signing.

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  55. I think there's a lot more then meets the eye in this current "crissis" at the Grove.

    The more I read, the more apparant it's becoming to me that there is a rift between boardroom and management, this piece suggests the same;

    http://www.thefootballnetwork.net/main/s378/st170548.htm

    I think he's taking it up the arse from the directors and it's high time that Silent Stan came out withsome clarifacation. Arsene's got to much class to sell them out, but one way or the other something has to happen and sharpish.

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  56. H,

    sad reading if true, that blog.

    fact is, in today's market you cant expect the likes of Vermalen and Robin van Persie to soldier on for 70k and 90k respectively when
    a) they can get 3 times as much on many other clubs and
    b) they are not winning medals.

    I know 70k is a lot of money but thats the game we are playing.


    Its a damn scandal if the board are being dicks about it.

    Cant trust a bunch of Eton boys with football, can you?

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  57. No Spit you can't.

    It is ofcourse ridiculous money, but it's just the way it is, Nasri turned dow 90k a week and he'll probably make twice that at Citeh. The game as we knew it is dead.

    Players scoffing at 70k pw?

    The "Age of Preposterity" indeed.

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  58. Is your club struggling to fill the stadium? Are there simply not enough fans around?

    Well, here'S an idea from Getafe.

    Its in spanish but I think you'll get the idea..

    http://youtu.be/4hcjjRgvnDo

    In case you still struggle to get it.

    This crazy advert for La Liga side Getafe begins with a fan stood in the stadium and pondering the club’s problem: there aren’t many supporters.

    The man immediately hatches a plan to boost season ticket sales by heading to a sperm bank to provide multiple donations of his Getafe-supporting swimmers.

    To assist with his donation, the receptionist provides a DVD called ‘Zombies Calientes de Getafe’ (Hot Zombies of Getafe). The viral then cuts to scenes from the fictional film (which your IT supervisor won’t want you watching at work).

    Our fan is inspired to continue his plan to father a secret army of Getafe supporters

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  59. Wenger's new suspension delayed so he can be on the bench tomorrow, hope it helps the players...

    --BeeZee

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  60. NORWICH 0-4 MK DONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Awesome result. Time to concentrate on the league then.

    Colch

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  61. Hmmm...why is the FFL site still not updating points for the H2H leagues. Someone there needs to get their finger out.

    Nice day to be on the east coast of the US. A category 3 hurricane followed by a 5.8 magnitide earthquake.

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  62. yeah AH, a plastic bottle apparently fell off our shelf at the office and the building had to be evacuated so everyone could smoke and drink coffee in the Street, it's a fuckin disaster zone I tell ya! Fortunately I was on the golf course at the time and survived in one piece but I think the earth's axis has shifted as all my putts were missing left of the hole.

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  63. perhaps it was america's god trying to shake the buggers back into senses.

    one can only hope.

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  64. nah Spit, if that was the case the earthquake would have been centered on California and the hurricane in Martha's Vineyard.

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  65. Spurs drop their legal battle for the Olympic Stadium and seem to now have planning and funding for the new stadium in Tottenham in place.

    Thank fuck for that. I knew the riots would have done our standing good with the powers that be. Now lets build our nice new 60,000 seater stadium and sell the naming rights for 100 mill to Tesco's or some other naff sounding conglomorate.

    Noel

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  66. Robbo, re Arsenal, you are just repeating what has been said in the comments in the last blog.

    H2, that Arsenal blog article was not totally surprising. The thing is though, we have to make the next step up as far as wages go otherwise we'll end up being a selling club... that's already started. It's no good complaining about the Man City's and Chelsea's, they have the money and will offer top players whatever they want in order to secure their services... Arsenal can't compete with that so we have to buy in the second level players... maybe even third level players and youth and hope the manager is still capable of moulding them into a decent team.

    I would, obviously, like us to win titles and cups but that isn't the reason I follow Arsenal, I love the club, its history and its approach to the game. But I'll say it again, things should never have been allowed to have reached the situation on the field that the gunners find themselves in. Whether it is fault of the management or the board, I don't give a fuck, so long it is sorted out quickly otherwise I may as well follow Spurs and be done with it. Only kidding on that last remark Star, Noel.... sort of.

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  67. It's rumoured that Wenger is after Jagielka and Arteta... Jagielka wouldn't be my first or second choice cb but I think Arteta would be a reasonable signing.

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  68. Arteta is well slow.

    He's the spanish Gareth Barry, innit.

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  69. At least he'll be ready to play immediately Spit, not like the majority of this summer's signings to date.

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  70. Holland the new number 1 team in FIFA's new world rankings. 2nd Spain, 3rd Germany - and England now 4th. So we're better than Brazil, Italy, Argentina. And you guys thought Fabio was overpaid. He's bringing us up to a new found level of respect in world football.

    Or the points system is complete bollocks.

    Noel

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  71. England Football team are apparently 4th in World ranking.

    I laughed.

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  72. Good luck to the Gunners tonight. If you fail to make the Champs League then I think Arsene will come under real pressure (more than he's under already), and I don't think he deserves that. He's having a serious run of bad luck, some of which the club has brought on themselves, but a lot of which is just plain bad timing. Hopefully he can see it through. Lose tonight, and getting the quality of player that they are after may become impossible for this season.

    Now wasn't that a nice message from a Spurs fan?

    Noel

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  73. something nice from a Spurs fan?

    must have nicked it.

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  74. Afternoon all. I know I posted this last night but I think it's worth repeating........

    NORWICH 0-4 MK DONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Colch

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  75. Not sure if any of you guys used the live streaming site myp2p.eu, if you did and cannot reach their site, they have relocated to wiziwig.eu

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  76. ... mind you I am still having trouble accessing the site.

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  77. Uruguay defender Sebastian Coates appears set for a move to Liverpool
    --------------------------------------------
    Liverpool fast becoming a mini-Uruguay. Not a bad thing though, if this coates dude is anywhere as good as his uruguayan mate.

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  78. Coates is a decent defender if his display in the WC is anything to go by.

    See how he deals with the rigours of PL.

    Cant be worse than any number of english or french defenders, can he?

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  79. twat!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vRj1U1PRLc&feature=youtu.be

    --BeeZee

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  80. Looks like Arsenal are going through even if they lose the tie against Udinese as Fenerbace have dropped out, god knows the reasons why?

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  81. Je Suis, it seems that the Turkey Football Federation withdrew Fenerbache because they are being investigated for match fixing.

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  82. not looking very good, is it?

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  83. was coming for a while though Spit, classic Arsene's way of going about defending a lead in europe: attack openly... how many times have we paid for this insane approach before...guess the other teams are idiots for parking the bus when defending a lead away from home..

    --BeeZee

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  84. Spit... when van Persie is on the ball he has 2-3 players on him, when di Natele has it it is usually one on one.

    Weve had our chances but look like a struggling team so far.

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  85. Not sure he could have parked the buss today even if he wanted.

    Sagna is playing out of position and Jenkinson is playing out of his league by a factor of 3.

    We are missing the pinging passes from Wilshere.

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  86. In my mind, we don't have a good enough defense to park the bus BeeZee, it was always going to be about scoring an away goal.

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  87. Their keeper has saved 4 very decent efforts.

    If they manage to keep up the tempo they might score but at the moment its not looking very swell.

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  88. the fenerbache thingie is a no go for Arsenal, UEFA have announced the third placed turkish side (never heard their name before) will replace them...

    anyways would going out of champs league not be a blassing in disguise, anybody who thinks that this team will do well further on in the competition is kidding himself, a team who is struggling against udinese and who think that defending a lead the conservative way is beneath them will get stuffed by the big guns later resulting in the usual breakdown in confidence leading to a collapse in the league. Atleast going out now would help them focus on the top 4 finish.

    --BeeZee

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  89. He may prove me wrong but I don't see how bringing on Rosicky is going to help our cause that much... I guess he gives us a bit more attacking options.

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  90. well seems like Wenger agrees with you guys...why the hell else would he replace frimpong with Rosicky ...i thought the lad was doing pretty good

    --BeeZee

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  91. yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

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  92. Now Udinese need another two... a precious goal from van Persie, good play from Gervinho

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  93. Great save. Fair enough to give the penalty but why was Vermaalen booked? The ball bounced up and hit his hand but it wasn't deliberate so why book him.

    Colch

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  94. Coz he's an Arsenal player Colch?

    there have been atleast 3 dives by udinese that have not been booked, the ref telling them to get up.

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  95. Get in Walcott

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  96. Wouldn't of backked him to score when he was running through though.

    Colch

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  97. Well Walcott's goal should put us through to the group stage.

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  98. Just when we are about to completely give up on Theo Walcott, he goes on and does that.

    Czesney, what a save. This is how legends are made.

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  99. Typical dirty, cheating, cynical Italians.

    Colch

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  100. Whats the fucking point of the two twats behind the goal, I have forgotten.

    ReplyDelete
  101. well I dont know bout how the team does the rest of the season, but the player of the season award will surely go to Czesney, he has looked beyond good and thankfully it doesn't seem like its a temporary rise in form, the kid looks genuinely world class,

    Walcott should play on the left more, helps him get it onto his right foot, and he will try to cut in and shoot more rather trying to cross which he is shite at,

    I know you guys have defended Wenger a lot, and we did eventually win today, but not signing a left back is extremely bad management from him, I know he wants to bring in only quality players but for left back I would settle for anybody, even average, who is a specialist for that position, not signing cover in that position is attrocious, in other positions we have cover, even if average (defense) and crappy (strikers)

    --BeeZee

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  102. Breathe a sigh of relief now. I think Czezny's penalty save was the big moment for us... had that gone in Udinese would have had the momentum... we went from strength to strength after that.

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  103. We have crappy cover at left back BeeZee... probably better than the cover we have for central defence though.

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  104. Arsenal tonight might have been short on quality but they made up for it in mountains of spirit. Some look out of their depth & need help.

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  105. IN other news, our former regular RBA must be dancing in the streets as Aldershot beat Bog Sam's Wet Spammers to get to next round of Carling Cup.

    RBA, if you are reading this mate. Just gonna have a beer to celebrate victories of Arsenal, Boro and Aldershot.

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  106. Jenkinson is a awkward, gangly looking youngster but I was impressed with him this evening.

    ReplyDelete
  107. Seems like the injury ghost is still alive and kicking.

    Now Thomas Vermaelen is out of the game against United on Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  108. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/14654077.stm

    ''Arsenal fans not passionate - Nasri''

    hmm wish you could read my thoughts right now so you could feel the passion with which i am cursing you. Fabregas I am still partial too but such a piece of shit I am happy to be rid of. Everything from him; half a good season, flirting with other clubs, transfer demand.... remind me of Adebayor and I sincerely hope that his career goes down the same path!

    --BeeZee

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  109. That path looks like being down the road to White Hart Lane, via Madrid.

    Noel

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  110. C'mon BeeZee,

    its clearly a wind up.

    Did you see how he was talking of when City beat Arsenal 3:0, how passionat ethier fans were? He obviously conveniently failed to mention the 0:3 the following year when half the stadium was empty well before the final whistle.

    They did it with Tevez re United and they did it with Adebayor re Arsenal before.

    We got good bucks for him so I wish him no ill will.

    Will just say, good riddance.

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  111. Noel said...
    Spurs drop their legal battle for the Olympic Stadium and seem to now have planning and funding for the new stadium in Tottenham in place.
    --------------------------------------

    I'm so glad I believe what the BBC tells me. After reporting this yesterday, they're now reporting we are again challenging the decision. Fucks sake.

    Noel

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  112. well the wind up worked on me Spit, guess it has been an emotional day for us, finally some good news, Lard knows we deserve some,

    and yep Noel I had spurs at the back of my mind when i wrote that, i guess you would be happy to take him though considering he is ex-Arsenal AND a midfielder, probably the only criteria Arry wants in his signings,

    --BeeZee

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  113. Looks more and more like that's the case every day BeeZee. I'm expecting Ray Parlour to make his debut for us this weekend. Perry Groves is still some way from full match fitness so maybe the week after for him.

    Noel

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  114. Dammit..dont know how he managed it, but Arsene seems to have turned me into a closet gooner. I was on the edge of my seat biting my nails till the 2nd goal went in, all the time trying to ask myseslf why I was actually giving a shit.

    Well done to the gooners. That being said, Arsenal beating Udinese 3-1 is not unlike Liverpool beating Exeter by the same score (well, alright, its not exactly the same, but you know what I mean). It's the result needed, but far from signifying that all problems are resolved. long way to go yet for both teams.

    And if TV is out of the Man U game, you lot are in big trouble.

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  115. haha,

    UEFA's seeding system means we could have one of the top 8 teams (and yes Arsenal is still one of them :P) possibly being drawn together with AC Milan (pot 2), Man City (pot 3) and Borussia Dortmund (pot 4). Guess with the way its been going for the gunners a group like that wouldnt surprise me

    --BeeZee

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  116. Its not just Arsenal ex-midfielders 'Arry's after, it would seem anyone from a london team would do. Joe Cole could be on his way to WHL depending on which website you believe.

    ReplyDelete
  117. If Arsenal had a pound for every closet gooner out there, the'd be the richest club in the world.


    They still wouldnt break the bank to buy anyone that would fulfill the requirements or pay their top players tha going rate, mind.

    ReplyDelete
  118. AH, we were in big trouble anyhow. TV alone cant stop every attack. If your troops (and no offence but your attack was ordinary last weekend, most of the signings are vastly overpriced) managed to beat us good then ManU ... mind you we might as well pull a surprise which would be most unfortunate as it will give AW an excuse to not make any more signings...

    --BeeZee

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  119. Szczęsny says he said "something I can't say on TV" to Di Natale before he took the penalty. What a top man.

    O how I have missed the typical bonkers (top quality skill-wise but mad to the bone) character since Jens Lehamnn went back to Germany.

    (incidental to Stuttgart, where i saw him play plenty of times. Including him taking a leak behind his goal, alongside the press photographers while a champions league game was in full swing.)

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  120. Most of our signings were overpriced Beezee? What on earth are you talking about. All we had in our attack was Carroll, Downing and Henderson. hahaha.

    Well all I can say is doesnt matter if they were overpriced, as long as they were the best who were willing to join us. It's not my money, I just want the best players the club could realistically get, seeing as we're not playing CL, and we cant pay to the levels of Citeh.

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  121. The club is debt free so we're not leveraging any debt (dont really know what that means but sounds like a smart thing to say) like we were with the previous idiot owners. NESV have money to spend since the bought the club cheap, and made a decent amount from the sale of torres, so why not pay overpriced amounts, if it means getting the players you want. If they were be sold for lesser amounts, they'd probably be sold to the CL teams.

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  122. I dont think KD has much choice really, if he wants to make Liverpool challenge for stuff.

    I dont think the owners and the fans are willing to give him 3/4 years to let him work with youth products and an odd signing (not odd like henderson) here and there and are instead willing to bankroll improving a rather depleted and average squad.

    The only choice he had to make was buy british and pay over the odds (might offset that by increased sponsorships and shirt sales) or pay a reasonable amount and go for superior quality by signing foreign players.

    He is done what I would do if it werent my money and ticked the box next to 'All of the above'

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  123. KD made a big difference to LFC just by stepping in on a temporary basis. A further small improvement in the playing staff will see a massive improvement in their fortunes, he's a top top man manager and no bull shit, 2nd in the league I tell ya.

    Well done tonight Gooners. The Quadruple is still on!

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  124. @TrotterUSA: 4 truffels. We r gonna win 4 truffels.

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  125. Just wandering around campus on my way to a lecture when I got asked to join a Muslim Awareness Group. I think we're all fully aware of Muslims. No need to join a group.

    Noel

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  126. Jack is actually a closet gooner... and it seems his plan to get more supporters on-side is working judging by the affirmation from all these other closet gooners.

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  127. Bo,

    Jacks is actually kind enough to send a message of good luck before and of congratulation after the game last night.

    top man.

    ReplyDelete
  128. Morning all.

    Well done last night to Ar***al,nervy at times but well deserved none the less.Be nice if that is the first of 2 away wins this week.

    Meanwhile,down in the depths of the championship it seems Jimmy Bullard is on his way to Portman Road.Why that couldn't have been dealt with pre season goodness only knows.

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  129. I do not nor will I ever miss Jens Lehmann Spit. I thought he fit in with the two previous guys (before Czszney) that have stood between the sticks at the Emirates.

    ReplyDelete
  130. Of course he is Spit... never let it be said otherwise.

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  131. Jack, if you drop to league One next season you still wont be playing against the O's.

    ReplyDelete
  132. Morning Bo.

    42 games left yet,still plenty of time.You started like this last season and ended up 7th.

    ReplyDelete
  133. Wasn't quite this bad last season mate, I think we had won one and drawn one in our first four last season... then lost a few more before we started coming good.

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  134. Morning all.

    A huge morale boosting win last night. Even though we got caught on counter many times... I think overall we played better in 2nd half. Gervinho and SZCZ showed brillaint attitude on the pitch.

    Theo got elbowed but ref didnt see.. ridiculous. But what matters most is we won. Let's hope for a kind draw later in the evening.

    ReplyDelete
  135. Harry Redknapp believes he can reignite Joe Cole's career with Tottenham and has urged the former West Ham midfielder to end his unhappy spell at Liverpool and join him at White Hart Lane.
    --

    re-ignite, like in set fire to?

    Seriously though, when has Mr. Cole ever played a consistent season of football?

    ReplyDelete
  136. Former Gunners midfielder Cesc Fabregas has reacted to Samir Nasri's criticism of Arsenal's fans following his move to Manchester City.
    ==========================

    Will these 2 just please shut up? We have had enough of any kind of comments from them.

    ============================================
    In other news, Bellamy to Liverpool?? What the hell is KD thinking..he's not young,he's not cheap and he sure as hell wont be doing anything for team spirit.

    ReplyDelete
  137. Afternoon chaps.

    A great gutsy performance last night to lift the gloom and doom, if only briefly.

    Woj was wciked, actually everyone in a red shirt played their part, as did Wenger who got it spot on by replacing Fred with Rosicky. I'm sure many cursed the decision at the time, I know that I was scratching my head, wondering if it would pay off, but it did, and in spades. I don't think I've ever seen Tomas have a better 45 minutes on the field then that, Well done son.

    It's way to early to tell, and one result doesn't change a season, (although this was a massive result) but I noticed a togetherness that I haven't seen in a while, we will indeed miss Cesc and $amir, but now that there gone the disruptive element is out of the dressing room and we've got a squad of players who actually want and are proud to play for the gooners.

    Re Somemore Cashri;

    Don't let the passionate fans, ambition or trophy arguements fool you, that's all bullshit, he'd already decided not to resign a deal (he had self agread to) long before our capulation last term. He left for one reason and one reason only and that is for all the wonga.

    I can't blame him for that, you'd be stupid not to take an offer that almost triples your income, but if he'd just admit it I'd have undying respect for him. But the way he's carrying on I hope he gets paper cuts from counting all his dough and then ends up with piles from all the time sitting on the sidelines, which get really itchy, but he can't scratch them because the paper cuts get infected and his hands fall off, No class knobhead, shame Adebuymore won't be around to much longer to keep you company, you guys would really hit it off,
    ++++
    Food for thought:

    Last night a club in crisis was qualifying in an away tie at one of the best sides in the Serie A.

    While another team that has cost millions to essemble were strutting their stuff in a CC second round tie at a third tier club.........

    Just saying like.....

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  138. Marseille is Arsenal'spot 2 opponent, not bad! considering we could have drawn AC Milan too (who incidentally got drawn with Barcelona)

    --BeeZee

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  139. Olympiakos from pot 3... so far soooo gooood

    ReplyDelete
  140. now if we can avoid Borussia Dortmund from the last pot, it should be a stroll...well with Arsenal its never a given even then

    ReplyDelete
  141. city drawn in the toughest group i think,

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  142. Frick. Jinxed it. Haha


    --BeeZee

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  143. Would have liked to avoid Dortmund, they're a good team, magnificent stadium though.

    Strange that Citeh, who finnished third in the league and have never played in the Cl were in Pot 3 wheras German champions and former winners were in pot 4.

    But then again, with so many wankers at middle eastlands, I suppose its only to be expected that they were “seeded” higher.

    ReplyDelete
  144. Group F: ARSENAL, Marseille, Olympiakos, Borussia Dortmund

    Group B: Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow, Lille, Trabzonspor

    Group E: CHELSEA, Valencia, Bayer Leverkusen, Genk

    Group H: Barcelona, AC Milan, BATE Borisov, Viktoria Plzen

    Group D: Real Madrid, Lyon, Ajax, Dinamo Zagreb

    Group C: MAN UTD, Benfica, Basle, Otelul Galati

    Group G: FC Porto, Shakhtar Donetsk, Zenit St Petersburg, Apoel FC

    Group A: Bayern Munich, Villarreal, MAN CITY, Napoli
    -----------------------
    Groups F and D will be very interesting, and so might A. I think from the rest its easy to figure out who's gonna be in the knockout stages.

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  145. Don't think Group A is that straight forward either AH.

    ReplyDelete
  146. Happy with the draw. Now it is up to management to bring in players so that squad can be effectively rotated and be fresh for PL n CL

    ReplyDelete
  147. YYEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS! We have a striker!!

    Even if it is AdeByFuckI'mAMoneyGrabbingWhore.

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  148. Hmm got Cudicini between the sticks tonight. Hopefully we'll figure out who's #1 between the sticks soon. Bad enough we chop and change defenders each game without a different keeper to boot.

    That said we seem to have the C team out on the pitch tonight. Ah well at least our fringe players are getting a run out.

    ReplyDelete
  149. Barton has second medical at QPR
    ---------------------------
    A second medical? The first one physical and the second one mental ?

    ReplyDelete
  150. Holloway2Holland said...

    While another team that has cost millions to essemble were strutting their stuff in a CC second round tie at a third tier club.........

    Just saying like.....
    ====================================
    Well H2, Assuming for wild moment that you are talking of liverpool, we spent our millions too late last season to have an impact and hence our strutting our stuff in the CC, but with a reasonable shot at CL next season because of the millions we spent. If you lot make the same mistake this season, the roles could well be reversed come Carling Cup/ Champions League 2012.

    ReplyDelete
  151. AH... be rational man... Wenger spending millions on established players aint gonna happen, early or late in the season. Most of our millions get spent on the future. We are the potential team mate.

    ReplyDelete
  152. Well, not true Bo. If the rumour mills are true (haha) he made a loan move for Kaka, surely would've cost the combined wages of 2-3 players. Unless AW asked him to take a paycut and join the team, which is why the move didnt happen.

    He also, allegedly, wanted to pay 25m for Hazard, but for some strange reason, he doesnt want to come to Blighty. I cant imagine why.

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  153. ALthough we were not treated that badly in the CL draw, I think we may well struggle to reach the final 16 this year. We are going to have to play our strongest 11 in all six games in order to do so which means we'll be fielding weaker teams in other competitions and personally I would prefer to play for the highest finish possible in the PL than the CL.

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  154. I think that is why a lot of potential moves don't happen AH... and Hazard to me is not an established player, he is just 20 years old... why do you think we offered 25 mil for him.

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  155. Bo,

    Hazard is young but he is not a newbie.

    He's a regular for his team for three years running, playing over 150 games in the last three seasons.

    ReplyDelete
  156. If we get him, which I doubt, he'll fit right in.

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  157. And if we dont get him, it wont be for the lack of money on offer, its because its so close to deadline his club would struggle to find a replacement in time.

    ReplyDelete
  158. That isn't a lot of experience Spit and he is playing for Lille... not exactly one of your top teams now. I doubt anyone here had heard of him prior to his name coming up in the rumour mills a couple of months ago.

    ReplyDelete
  159. Fucking Firefox is pissing me off lately... always giving trouble to load and reload pages.

    ReplyDelete
  160. First I heard of Hazard was when he sunk Liverpool in the CL two years ago. He's a brilliant player Bo.

    And he's won stuff. The French domestic double last season and been himself voted league 1 player of the year.

    ReplyDelete
  161. I've no doubt he's a good player Spit and obviously has lots of potential, otherwise we wouldn't be after him but he still is not my idea of a "big name player".

    ReplyDelete
  162. Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has warned regular central defensive pairing Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic they face a battle to win back their places in the first-choice line-up.
    ===============================================================

    That's a good position to be in... arguably the best central defensive pairing in the PL over the past few years having to fight for their place... mind you it's does have the old red nose playing mind games feel about it.

    ReplyDelete
  163. but why do you want a Big name player Bo?

    Adebayor is a big named player, for example.

    ReplyDelete
  164. Why do they insist on putting Scottish rumours in the gossip column at the BBC site... I mean who gives a fuck. There are no rumours about League One or League Two teams, Welsh teams, Northern Ireland teams, why the fuck do they bother with Scottish teams.

    ReplyDelete
  165. Adebeyor wasn't a big name player when he joined Arsenal Spit... not really a big name player now... He is a good player but his main claim to fame is his ability to disrupt teams.

    I would like to rekindle the feeling of having someone like Bergkampt play in the team mate.

    ReplyDelete
  166. I'm just glad there's no other Bolton fans on here that I can moan at.... it'll be alright Gooners, don't worry, be happy! Although I reckon Wenger is doing a fine job keeping his dignity and hiding his frustration as Stan sits in his counting house. It'll end in tears.

    ReplyDelete
  167. agree with that completely Bo. whenever i come to the SPL rumours, I skip over to the "And Finally..," section.

    ReplyDelete
  168. re Scottish rumours: think the beeb does it more out of pity than anything.

    Back to Wenger and big name signings:

    can anyone name a really big name signing that Arsene Wenger has ever done?

    ReplyDelete
  169. It does seem to pose a bit of a problem Trott. The gunners are easily the most represented team in here so at times the Arsenal comments do to dominate the blog. I can understand why Jack spat the dummy earlier.

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  170. I guess Adebeyor is fairly big but nowhere near as big as Zinha-Antônio Naelson Matias

    ReplyDelete
  171. The more you read about Czesney, the more you get to believe he's not the average footballer who's been hit on the head far too often to have any common sense left.

    from the club website:
    "
    The 21-year-old revealed how he gained the upper hand on Udinese's penalty taker.

    "I just tried to get in Di Natale’s head," said Szczesny.

    "I gave him a little bit of stick and was probably not very nice to him but it worked so I am delighted. I told him I was too good for him and that he wasn’t going to score. But in a nice way! I got in his head in the end because he missed the penalty so it worked.

    "He is a quality player of course – he showed that in the first half with his finish. I don’t think a lot of players in the world could have finished that the way he did. So you have to give him a lot of credit. But it makes me even happier to know I saved a penalty at such a crucial moment against such a quality player.

    "I don’t think it's my best save. Someone said once that there are no good saves at penalties – they are just poor penalties taken. I don’t take too much credit – I went the right way and when you do that you have a 50 per cent chance of saving the penalty.

    "I don’t think it was a great save but I’m still very happy with it."

    ---

    adn so are we WS, so are we.

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  172. hello Trott,

    is the esat coast back in order after a simple shiver?

    The yanks are bit touchy, arent they?

    ReplyDelete
  173. Spit, didn't he sign Sol Campbell from Newcastle?

    ReplyDelete
  174. well, not from Newcastle but from Spurs.

    So you have one there. But other than that...

    Besides, how can a Spurs player be deemed a "big name player"?

    ReplyDelete
  175. so manure barca and ac ,milain go thru.... wouldn´t wanna hazard aguess at the rest...
    bisq

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  176. scuse me typing just got back from the pub,(work)
    bisq

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  177. trott,

    the size of Campbells gut: you couldnt sign him all in one go. Had to go to Ocean Finance

    ReplyDelete
  178. Peter Crouch is a "big" player.

    ReplyDelete
  179. "I saved your club in 2005 and 2007 when nobody else would. The rebuilding of Leeds United is a bit like sex. In an age of instant gratification, Leeds United is having a long, drawn-out affair with plenty of foreplay and slow arousal."

    Leeds owner Ken Bates

    --

    thats one way of putting it.

    ReplyDelete
  180. The England and Ghana football associations are battling to land Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong. The 19-year-old - called up to England's Under-21 squad - has played for England Under 16 and 17s but was born in the Ghanaian capital Accra.
    ---

    desperately hope he chooses England.

    After all Ping Pong was invented here in England.

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  181. Finally, the H2h points have been updated and I find myself occupying a respectable 11th spot . Pitted against good ole tommy b this week.

    ReplyDelete
  182. Morning. I beat Jack by just 1 point last week. This week at home to Trotts... Currently 16th place. Better ranked than last year...

    ReplyDelete
  183. Big name player Arsene has signed in the past - Andrei Arshavin. Euro 2004 was his claim to fame...

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  184. Or was it Euro 08? I think after 2004 Euro it was Rosicky who we had signed... had thought he would be a gr8 player then, but unfortunately... Though he won MoM for his performance against Udinese. Hope he does well this season.

    ReplyDelete
  185. 2008 SS ... you got him the round about the same time we got Payleuchenco.

    Seems we've got a second player on loan for the season ... some attacking midfielder from Juventus I've never heard of.

    There's a thought for Arsene ... he hates signing old wise and experienced players, why not get a couple in on loan? Any candidates out there for you Gunners?

    ReplyDelete
  186. Some 12 year old lightweight Star.

    ReplyDelete
  187. Scottish football in terminal decline, no clubs through to any of the European football comps. But not bothered the Mags won again last night & Tim Krull played another blinder pulling off some saves that had to be seen to be believed.

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