Jack Wilshere to save Arsenal a shedload next season.

September 3, 2010

Jack Wilshere has been practising his photography this weekend at a London nightclub, he apparently he is getting so good now that next season he is going to take the team picture.

So now the press are having a go at our Jack for shoving his mobile up a birds frock, well correct me if I’m wrong but he is 18 and from what I know about photography you’d only get a picture if the person’s frock you were clipping was a micro one and had they been sensibly dressed and not attention seeking in a Kensington night club next to footballers on a night out, it wouldn’t have happened.

And suddenly this bird’s name is all over the press, I bet she made sure they spelt her name right didn’t she, I’ve seen these types at clubs, and they only go there to snare a footballer, most of the are just predators, they don’t take their eyes of their target, shame on them.

Look at people like Peter Crouch, would he have a bird like that if he wasn’t a footballer, he looks like Lurch and Rooney’s wife gets masses of money just because she married him, it’s disgraceful, involvement with premiership footballers to some women is now a career.

So Jack should be hailed as a hero and gets a sex pest one instead, very unfair in my book.

Not to mention that Jack can’t give his side of the story either, my goodness the press really hate us don’t they?

We also tried to get Lloris, Given and Begovic on the last day of the window as well, so if those stories are to be believed, then that makes 4 keepers, not sure I do believe it but it’s my job to report.

In the Mail yesterday they reported on the winners and losers in the window, Almunia got a ‘winners’ tag for keeping his job and the Arsenal fans got the ‘losers’ tag because we failed to get a keeper, go figure!

I was thinking about the 56 or so under 21′s we put forward, if you add the loanees to that, it would take it past 60, add the new boys who aren’t even on there, that makes 63, plus the 20 grown ups that makes some 83 footballers at our club, now is that really necessary? And how much does that cost us? It’s like we are trying to stop everyone else buying youth.

Considering how many actually graduate, our percentages aren’t that impressive are they.

I heard that Chezzer is now going out on loan, so it looks like Almunia is it then, I’ll get behind him, of course I will, but you would think that Bob Wilson as an ex-coach would tell him what he does wrong and help him put it right, Gerry Peyton, if he’s the keeper coach, ought to be replaced, as he hasn’t done it.

Spare a thought for Cashley who will be divorced today, he really has no luck in life does he? I feel for him, I also feel for Ade, poor sod went up to Manchester to be loved and all that happens is he gets dropped.

I fancy Jack to play against Bolton, show Coyle what he learned in his time up there, I was also wondering how Jack would fare as a DM, he has vision, a ripper of a tackle, speed and intelligence, why shouldn’t a skilful player be a DM?

Just a thought. Have a great day Grovers, it’s the weekend tomorrow!

P.S. If you want read something different, check out Pedro’s article over at Tatty nut nut.

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Posted by Geoff

Nasri’s back for the Bolton game, good news at last! Squads are announced too.

September 2, 2010

Well it’s nice to start the day with some good news for once, Nasri is back in training, good, he can take Cesc’s place, just kidding, but he was playing well until his injury, in fact he was the player we all saw on youtube clip at Marseille .

There were many sites berating Wenger yesterday for his inability to sign a keeper, but I hear from one of our regulars, it was in fact the negotiating skills of Ivan and his team that messed up that one, still it does prove we went back and tried again, which in turn means that Wenger wanted someone better that what we have.

Some sites unsurprisingly backed the boss, how anyone can think the options we have is good news is beyond me, they must have low, or no expectations in life.

Still we move on, of course I will get behind any player that wears the Arsenal shirt, it doesn’t mean I have to like it though does it.

Other good news is I read we have managed to sign that 17 old Japanese kid with the broken leg, phew, thought we’d lost him, nothing like planning long term.

So Barclays announced all the squads yesterday, here’s ours, have a look at the size of our under 21′s, now we can see why our wage bill is so high, I think it’s a bit unnecessary as 90% of that lot will never see the light of day. The yes and the no bits are home grown or not.

1 Almunia, Manuel No
2 Arshavin, Andrey No
3 Bendtner, Nicklas Yes
4 Chamakh, Maroune No
5 Clichy, Gael Yes
6 Denilson, Pereka Neves Yes
7 Diaby, Vassiriki Abou No
8 Djourou-Gbadjere, Johan Danon Yes
9 Eboue, Emmanuel No
10 Fabianski, Lukasz No
11 Fabregas Soler, Francesc Yes
12 Koscielny, Laurent No
13 Mannone, Vito Yes
14 Nasri, Samir No
15 Rosicky, Tomas No
16 Sagna, Bacary No
17 Song Bilong, Alexandre Dimitri Yes
18 Van Persie, Robin No
19 Vermaelen, Thomas No
20 Squillaci, Sebastien No

Arsenal – Under 21 players (Contract and Scholars)

Afobe, Benik
Aneke, Chukwuemeka Ademola Amachi
Angha, Martin Yves
Ansah, Zak Andy
Barazite, Nacer
Bartley, Kyle
Bihmoutine, Samir
Boateng, Daniel
Botelho, Pedro Roberto Silva
Brislen-Hall, George
Bunjaku, Alban
Campbell, James Andrew
Charles-Cook, Reice Jordan
Coquelin, Francis
Cruise, Thomas Daniel
Deacon, Roarie
Eastmond, Craig Leon
Ebecilio, Kyle Stephen Joel
Edge, James Michael
Emmanuel-Thomas, Jay-Aston
Evina, Cedric David
Freeman, Luke Anthony
Frimpong, Emmanuel Yan
Galindo, Samuel
Gibbs, Kieran James Ricardo
Glasgow, Benjamin Luke
Hajrovic, Sead
Henderson, Conor Alan
Hoyte, Gavin Andrew
Lansbury, Henri George
Martinez, Damain Emiliano
McDermott, Sean
Meade, Jernade Ronnel
Miquel-Pons, Ignasi
Monakana, Jeffrey
Monteiro, Elton Almada
Murphy, Rhys Philip Elliot
Nordtveit, Havard
Oldfield Spence-Neita, Nigel Paul
Ozyakup, Oguzhan
Ramsey, Aaron James
Randall, Mark
Rees, Joshua David
Roberts, Philip James
Shea, James
Smith, Steven Robert
Sunu, Gilles
Szczesny, Wojciech Tomasz
Traore, Armand
Vela Garrido, Carlos Alberto
Walcott, Theo James
Watt, Herschel Oulio Sanchez
Webb, Callum Taylor
Wilshere, Jack Andrew
Wynter, Jordan James Cecil
Yennaris, Nicholas

Well I think that’s 56 under 21 players, goodness me, I didn’t check on the rest, but I’m guessing we’ll probably have the biggest young squad in world football, and with the 17 year old Japanese kid coming and Wellington from Brazil, it’s set to get even bigger.

I would still try the Chezzer / Mannone combo instead of the Flappy duo, I really can’t see what we’d lose, I thought against Fulham last year Mannone had the game of the season for our keepers and Chezzer for Brentford looked a class act, in fact his first action for us against Legia was a double save that neither of our first choice boys could have got near, so all is not lost.

Perhaps we’ll have a new star coming from nowhere this season, perhaps we’ll have a youth team player come good, perhaps Wilshere and Chezzer or Mannone can join the long awaited rank of Ashley Cole. I say rank because he was the only one I can think of that came through the ranks apart from Wilshere, and talking of our little hero it seems to be apparent that he was indeed the peacemaker in his incident, I hope now he cuts out the late night clubbing though, he’ll always be a target.

Have a great day Grovers, at least the speculation will now stop until Christmas and by then we could be running away with it, because however much we haven’t done, the chavs and the mancs have not moved either, the spuds and shitty though hmmmm, we’ll find out soon enough, let’s just hope he doesn’t throw the Carling Cup against Tottenham though.

P.S. Now the transfer window is shut, there is no excuse not to sign up for our Metro Fantasy Football league. Follow the link below for more instructions!

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Posted by Geoff

Flabbergasted, but not in the least surprised, at least his bonus is safe.

September 1, 2010
Bargain Hunt - Starring Arsene Wenger

Even David Dickinson was shocked at the frugal one...

Before all the believers come on and start to bitch, read this, if after you have, you still think I’m being unfair, don’t bother to comment, read a blog that thinks what he’s done makes sense, you’ll be happier there, if of course you find one.

How can anybody be happy with our two keepers, even Wenger isn’t and he was the only person that could have made something happen, a good manager would have, but then Wenger isn’t, he’s a great coach, but managing isn’t his forte.

He knew in May that he wanted to get a new keeper, how do we know that? Peter Hill-Wood confirmed we had bid for Mark Schwarzer, Fulham wanted £4 million, we offered £2 million, why? Because our manager is very clever, Barca wanted Cesc for £29 million, we said you’ll need to pay £60 million. You can ask, but if what you offer is derisory then you’ll get nothing. Ask Barca!

So think about that then, we have a keeper crisis and our leader believes a keeper that is worth £58 million less (in his valuation not mine) than his captain, will do the job, hmmmm. Work that one out.

I have never been a big Schwarzer fan, but over the two we have, I would have him in a heartbeat.

So then we go back in August and bid the same paltry amount for him again, and guess what? Fulham said no, we want £4 million, if you can’t pay £4 million, then sod off, just like you told Barcelona. Fair enough in my book.

Then on the final day of the transfer window, Wenger goes back and says ‘okay, you win, here’s the £4million you wanted back in May.’ However by yesterday, their current keeper Stockdale (stand in) was injured, so Fulham said no, that’s not the fault of Mark Hughes, why would he sell Schwarzer when his other keeper is injured?

No that’s the fault of no one else other than Arsene Wenger.

If we had paid what they asked for in May instead of playing childish games of ‘look how clever I am’ we would have had a decent keeper in for pre season and would have been away. Much the same is had we offered a sensible amount last August for Chamakh, we may have won the league. We didn’t and the striker problems of last season cost us dearly, so what did we learn from that? Nothing, that’s what.

And please don’t tell me he was free, by the time you add salary to signing on bonus there is little difference, there is no such thing as a free lunch, unless of course they are over 30.

Dreadful brinkmanship that failed dismally, so for all the people that said back in June, that I should wait until the end of the window as he knows best, get back under your rock people, because here we go again, only this time, we not only have two useless keepers that regularly commit howlers, we have two keepers that know the manager wanted them out for a 37 year old who could hold the fort until prodigy Chezzers comes of age.

Still another season where the transfer budget has been well and truly saved, many more players have left or been sold so the books have been balanced, the bonus is safe and we have another season of promise that could have been to look forward to.

Arsene, the only sane thing you can do now is to get Shay Given on loan, that business can still be done, or make Chezzer the new number 1, I would sooner watch him making mistakes than the other two jokers, I’ve seen enough of their howlers in pre season. Real Madrid took a chance on a young keeper years ago, he lifted the world cup in July.

I have many mates that are AKB’s, not one of them can understand this, some of them even rate our two keepers, but none of them can understand the manager letting them know that he thinks they are crap.

If we win the league this season I will be delighted, of course I will, I love my team, we ought to eventually, the amount of games this team has played together, but think how much easier it could have been if he had signed a world class keeper, think of the games Cech and Van der Sar have won for their teams, and the worst bit is, Wenger knows it.

And just to add salt to the wound, Harry gets Van Der Vaart, great, and for £2mill less than we spent on Koscielny.

Poor old Cesc, he must have known. Have a great day Grovers, how many times have we said groundhog day before eh?

Ground Hog Day

September 1st 2009

Last year I stayed up late with the Grovers to see if we were going to sign anyone… and we didn’t. This year, I don’t know whether I’ll bother. I still think Wenger is putting the season on the line with a bare bones squad again… I think he needs a defensive midfielder and a centre back… but if he has the confidence to roll with it, we’ll just have to bite our bottom lip and hope the performances continue as they have been.

August 31st 2009

Almunia: Having a shocking opener to the season. If he were a pupil at school and I was his headmaster, I’d be on my second parent meeting of the term. I think it’s gone beyond the last chance saloon and he should be dropped. 4

September 1st 2008

I feel very let down by Arsene because once again I was lured in by his lies. That is why I have created a new term…

A Wengerism: A Wengerism is a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement, especially with the intention to deceive others.

Do you feel deceived? Wenger has lured us in all summer with the promise of signings, the promise of players staying and the promise of being satisfied as fans. He only said this a couple of days ago,

“We are ready to stay up all night if it is needed,”

“This season it is at midnight on September 1 so you never know. We have still a long time to go.

It doesn’t matter though, because you’ve made you bed… now you must lie in it.

You will have no excuses come the end of this season because,

  1. You had the money, despite trying your best to deny it.
  2. You knew about the crocks (RvP, Denilson, Theo, Eduardo, Diaby, Song, JD…etc).
  3. You’ve had time .
  4. You knew the players were young .
  5. You publicly stated you needed experience.

September 27th 2007

I was a big advocate of signing two wingers and a centre back pre-season, still am a bit, but I tried thinking who I would buy come January? Apart from Goofy, there really isn’t anyone and we have £70mil to spend.

Being an Arsenal fan can sometimes be a bummer.

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Posted by Geoff

A new keeper is a must today Arsene, for so many reasons it’s a must.

August 31, 2010

Barcelona unsettled Cesc so badly this summer that the player himself was in two minds, the reason he’ll be back to his best is because both Barca and Arsenal wanted him, so in effect he had two birds fighting over him, only our bird had him tied down to a 5 year contract, so the old slapper from Spain lost out.

All the pundits were giving their reasons as to why he should go or stay but all agreed he was up there with the worlds best, giving the assist in the world cup final merely put the Cherry on the cake.

Now let’s move on to our two keepers, Almunia and Fabianski, they have been bandied about by the press all summer as hapless and guilty of costing us points in many games, we have made 2 bids for Fulham’s keeper and had them rejected, Wenger said in pre season, he didn’t know who his number one was and admitted he was after another keeper, all this will tell even the most stupid of people they are not considered good enough for this team and one would suspect the captain has given his opinion and that Almunia knows it as well.

So what we have achieved is to unsettle three keepers, two of ours and Fulham’s, he can’t now go back to them and have any kind of relationship with their fans, Almunia will always know he wasn’t wanted and isn’t rated, so for many, many reasons we have to get a new keeper today. Giving him the armband doesn’t made it or him better.

What we have done is not professional and that’s not Arsenal, yes we may get a cheap keeper with these tactics but if we don’t, we’ll screw up two careers and for me that’s as bad as Barca and their tactics.

Come on Arsenal, we are better than that, do the right thing and spend that extra £500k, he could win us the EPL and the ECL, maybe even the FA Cup and the Carling, don’t lose out again.

One last thing, let’s put out a proper team against the spuds, I would hate to lose out to them again in this cup, it means a lot to us fans to win a trophy, it means every bit as much to us to beat the scum.

WE NEED TO PUT OUT A DECENT TEAM, THEY DON’T CARE WHAT THE AVERAGE AGE IS OF OUR TEAM, AND NOR DO WE.

Have a great day grovers, we are half a million quid away from having a great team, now we signed Squillaci I am happier at the back, we aren’t far off, getting cover up front would be good, getting cover at DM would be better, but getting a new keeper now, is an absolute must.

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Posted by Geoff

Jack’s a witness, Cesc is miserable because he’s not playing great and Robin’s Ok. Expect Schwarzer to sign today.

August 30, 2010

Let’s first of all clear up this Wilshere incident, someone was attacking a bird in Kensington, he stepped in to save her and now the police want to use him as a witness, he is a hero, so I wish the press will stop the rabid dog headlines and leave him alone, I would make him champ of the week but the way Theo has started, that wouldn’t be fair.

CHAMP OF THE WEEK, THEO WALCOTT! BY A COUNTRY MILE.

Cesc is playing badly by his standards, so when the boss took him off, it was understandable he was fed up, he is our captain, he doesn’t want to go off, let’s not forget he stopped us going one down though, once the window closes he’ll step up, don’t worry about that.

What did amaze me was he handed the armband to Song, who handed it to Vermaelen, who handed it to Almunia, that to me is humiliating him, he has twice tried to replace him, giving him the armband is taking the mick and I wish he would stop doing it.

Pedro said yesterday that our defence was all over the place again, he is right, I wouldn’t say it was Koscielny’s fault, yes he was skinned, but Sagna should have been there, the real issue is that for me he is not the centreback we need, he is too much like Vermaelen and even he is not the Tony Adams type we need, maybe Kozzer will end up as a DM, either way it’s not working at the back. Arsene, you have 2 days, don’t mess about again, go and get a keeper and a centre back and do it today.

I expect Schwarzer to sign today, he has told Hughes he wants away and Given was managed by Hughes, so providing City let Given go, then the merry-go-round will begin. Squillaci has signed already, but I’d like another one. Big strong, no nonsense centre back plus a decent keeper and I’ll be happy.

Other than the same old problem at the back, I thought we looked so much stronger in the middle, all bigger and stronger and less likely to get knocked off the ball by the EPL bullies.

I am concerned about Robin though, is he brittle or unlucky? I now think he is brittle, and when you add Bendtner to that I don’t think we have enough up front, we could do with a forward, we have no one coming through so we need to bring someone in, Adebayor anyone? He can’t get a game at the moment, ha, ha, oh and I am kidding!

The good news is that Robin only twisted his ankle, so he’ll be back, and Chamakh is an able replacement so I’m not too fussed, but we are only in August and I am concerned.

Well no football for a few weeks but I have no doubts we will be glued to the internet until late Tuesday evening, have a great day Grovers, it will soon be over.

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Posted by Geoff

Massive result, but I have some big concerns… Ratings + Review

August 29, 2010

It doesn’t seem to matter when we go up to Blackburn, the heavens open regardless and the conditions conspire against us. Yesterday was no exception as the rain poured down in the middle of August. We fielded a very strong looking team going with the usual back 4, sticking Cesc Fabregas in the middle of the park and going with Robin in the middle relegating Chamakh to the bench.

Blackburn started off as we expected them to, firing long balls into the box. Almunia came and claimed the first one with confidence, you could almost hear the sigh of relief from the away crowd. This was going to be a long day for the beleaguered Spaniard, he needed to impress.

Song was back in his favoured position sporting a new blonde hair cut, he was helping the midfield tick along with his short passing and physical presence. Not long into the game, Diaby lashed a shot at the Blackburn goal after some penalty box ping pong. Shortly after that, Theo was adjudged to be offside after he stylishly chipped the keeper from 20 yards.

The game was surprisingly open considering who we were playing, it was real end to end stuff. Blackburn’s tactics were long balls powered into the box from set plays and throw ins, but they were really focusing in on hitting our flanks and whipping dangerous balls into the box.  Something they were having frightening success with… especially down the left.

Cesc had to clear a powerful header off our line and moments later Almunia had to scramble across his goal to tip a floated header wide. A super save, very worrying that the Northerners were able to beat us to many of these balls.

Our defending was nothing short of shambolic, we were positionally naive and there was clearly no leadership at the back.

Our first chance came when Song found some space in the middle of the park, he made a short pass to Arshavin who tapped through to RvP who laid off a superb pass into the feet of Theo… who absolutely buried it into the bottom corner. He hit it so hard he literally pierced the net! A great finish reminiscent of Mark Overmars.

Our advantage was short lived. A speculative long ball was played out wide, Kozzer just needed to shepherd Diouf outwide, instead, he was muscled out the way then he didn’t have the pace to recover… the Blackburn wide man powered into the box, picked out Diouf MKII and we were level again. A very poor piece of defending and a reminder that I was right when I told you weight and experience matter when you’re a top class defender.

Robin went off with an injury. We now know it not to be serious, but it’s still a shame that we know yet again, we’re probably not going to be able to rely on his services for anymore than 30 games this season. He’s a walking crockbomb and we’ve just got to get used to it. When you throw in the news that Nik B might be out for 2010, all of a sudden, we’ve got a striking crisis at the club! Lets hope Chamakh is made of the same stuff Vermaelen is!

I was confident we’d win the game in the second half but our lack of directness worried me in the second half. For all our possession, we really didn’t seem to work Paul Robinson. We fear the shot, which seems to be something that’s crept into our game over the past few years.

Our second came when Sagna worked hard to keep the ball in play, he flew into the box , picked out Cesc who smashed his ball into a crowd of players rebounding off Theo I think. Arshavin was there to pick up the pieces and he slotted it expertly into the bottom corner. We were winning now… could we hold onto the lead?

Well, our full backs weren’t helping us, Blackburn continued to get the ball in from out wide and sloppy mistakes were creaping in. Vermaelen played Kalinic in with a poor clearance and Sagna had to put his body on the line to block a Diouf shot. Dunn was also given a chance to level the score after more shoddy defending…

Theo managed to have a second goal disallowed for a handball, we weren’t getting luck of the draw going forward. Jack Wilshere nearly scored down the other end, it wasn’t to be, the ref blew up, it was a super win for the boys in red and white!

Ratings:

Almunia: Under the circumstances, I’d say he did very well. He was assertive and he was a safe pair of hands today. I’m going to grade him a point higher than I normally would because of the added pressure. However, I’m not changing my opinion. People forget he’s there to play like that week in week out and we know that over the past 3 years, he hasn’t been able to do that. It’s time for a change, time for some quality, time to accept he’ll never be any more than a 2nd string keeper for us. 8

Clichy: I wasn’t impressed with our left back today. He let Blackburn in far too many times for my liking and I thought he was sloppy. It’s not going to be long before Gibbs is taking his place in the team because his performances have been weak for the best part of a year now! He wasn’t in position for the first goal, but you’ve got to expect that when you want your left back to attack. 5

Sagna: A more solid performance than Clichy and a super assist. He seems to have worked hard on his crossing in the preseason because they’re certainly a lot better than they were last year! He’s a good defender, I’d just like to see a bit more discipline in game when the tactic of the opposition is to hit wide positions. 6.5

Vermaelen: I can’t work out what the problem is here… is it that 23 year old Vermaelen isn’t experienced enough to lead the line and his performances are going to be erratic next to less experienced players, or was it just a one off? He made some poor errors today and he didn’t lead particularly well. 6

Kozzer: I felt sorry for him. It’s not his fault is it? He’s not ready for first team in the Premiership. He isn’t up to speed and he isn’t used to playing in our defence. His weakness is clearly aerial balls and strikers are going to take advantage of his slight frame. If he’s getting into this much of a mess against Blackburn, how is he expected to deal with the Drogba test? He was at fault for the first goal and he was responsible for a host of other errors. Still, why should we expect him to come in and be a world beater? He’s come in from a weak club and he’s only had one year of semi decent football. He’s got something about him… but it’ll take time to adjust and bed in. Keep them crossed Squillaci can be the answer… Kozzer isn’t at the moment. 5

Song: Well, we certainly weren’t opened up down the middle today and there was no bully boy tactics going on from Blackburns side of things. I thought he passed well and he pushed danger down the channels. Hopefully he can maintain last seasons consistency and keep his fitness up to standard. 7

Diaby: Not good enough for me. I don’t care what his passing stats were, he doesn’t do enough for me. He makes wrong decision after wrong decision and he doesn’t really add too much to our game defensively or attacking wise. He’s the type of player who if he were to make the jump, could be immense… it just seems that jump is taking an age to happen. I’d prefer 6.5 in there… sorry, I mean Rosicky! 6

Cesc: Looked pretty moody yesterday. Who wouldn’t after a coach ride to Blackburn? He’s still a cut above anyone else in the Premiership for speed of thought and ability to find space. I thought he looked uncomfortable on the pitch, whether that was fitness or not being in Spain… hopefully he’ll perk up as the season progresses. 6.5

Robin Van Persie: Created the first goal for Theo with a super pass, bar that, I can’t remember him doing too much else bar fall to the ground in a typical crumpled heap. Thankfully it’s only ten days out and he’ll miss international duty. 6.5

Theo: The man is on a mission to become the player we all hoped he would. He had fire in his belly, he has Premiership swagger about his game and his finishing has transformed. He scored a great goal and he had two disallowed. I’m hoping he can score 15 goals this season, if he does, I reckon we could be in with a shout come the end of the season. 8.5

Arshavin: I thought he had a solid game today. For one so short, he sure packs some power. He’s creative and he has that selfish streak our team sometimes lacks. He finished well this afternoon and he worked hard down his wing.  A good showing. 7

Chamakh: I’m not sure why Wenger didn’t have our aerial supremo on from the start. He would have done a better job defending corners than Diaby and he’d give us a physical presence up top. He came on, linked in well and was unlucky with a few chances. 7

Rosicky: I’ll just give him a 9 and leave it at that. I know how you sensitive souls get about player  ratings. I appreciate he was probably on the bench this week because of last weeks score! 9

Jack Wilshere: Only on for 8 minutes. 6

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Posted by Pedro

Blackburn today, we know what to expect, no complaints, just win…

August 28, 2010

I found Wenger’s press snippet about the referees offering no protection to the goalkeepers and football becoming a rugby match a bit girly.

Sure, some teams are too rough. Sure, some teams try and hustle the goalkeeper, but that’s Premiership football for you. By making a statement like that, all Wenger has achieved is to encourage Blackburn to play rough and target one of our weak goalkeepers.

If teams play rough against you, my suggestion would be to play rough with them. If they set their stall out early with a crunching tackle, someone in our team should munch them back. That’s the thing with bullies, they don’t like it up em’!

I was encouraged to read that Kozzer likes the physical game and he’s happy to get stuck in. It seems that since we’ve struggled with the physicality of the game, all we do is buy players who can’t cope. Thomas Vermaelen came over last year and changed that pattern and I’m hoping we’ll have more of the attitude with Squillaci and Koscielny.

Blackburn were the architects of the ‘crowded box’ technique last season.

You don’t know what this tactic is?

Well, seeing as everyone else in the blogging world is trying to craft out a career in football tactics (Arsenal Column being the best if you like to read about the science of the game), I thought I’d join the bandwagon and show you via our intelligent Peroni Sponsored chalk board.

Crowded Box

As you can see, the Blackburn players pressurise one of our hapless keepers and force them into a mistake. The tactical solution to this problem is to buy a good goalkeeper. As we’re yet to do that, I would hope that we’ve been training hard to combat this problem. I would suggest that anything that comes into the box is firmly fisted away and any foul is greatly exaggerated by the keeper. Knowing our coaching staff, I can imagine we’ve employed the tactic known in the business as ‘ignore the problem, hope for the best.’

Realistically, we should batter Blackburn. They are a solid team but don’t really possess too much in the way of fire power. I’ve been impressed with Kalinic at times, but his finishing is poor. Pederson is one to watch out for with his set piece play and penchant for a distance effort. The good news is that David Dunn is unlikely to be playing. It’s mighty selfish that since we sorted his career threatening injury, he’s often the fulcrum of our problems!

Arsenal need to concentrate from the off, we need to start having shots and we need to be aware that this is unlikely to be as easy as Blackpool. As far as I know, there aren’t going to be too many changes to the squad. You would expect to see Cesc back in the team ahead of Jack Wilshere and I’d like to think Alex Song and Diaby will partner him in midfield.

I’m not really sure what the boss is going to do with his front three. Personally, I’d go with Robin in the middle with Chamakh and Theo taking up the wide spots… but that leaves Arshavin out of the side and an apparently in form Rosicky! Which would make sense from a physical point of view…

… and guess what? We might even get the chance to see Denilson today!

Help yourself to a cyber party popper!

I think we’re going to win 2-0. The key to winning these games generally is scoring the first goal because it kills lesser oppositions game plan. If we can do that and come away unbutchered, that will be the first ‘dirty northern ba*tard’ test out of the way!

Come on you Gooners!

P.S. On the goalkeeper front, I fully expect us to make a signing before the window closes. I’ve heard that Schwarzer isn’t playing at the moment because he’s told his boss he’s not in the right frame of mind. If we renege on £2million for a player who could potentially be the difference between winning something and mediocrity, it tells a story about our priorities. After all, if reports are to be believed, we had no problem lining our managers pocket with a further £2million… a story I have no problem believing.

Why we’re in for a 37 year old doesn’t make sense to me… I do wish we’d work on the policy of, if a superstar kid isn’t ready, buy someone who is at the top of their game now. Pepe Reina would have cost £20mill, he is the best in the league right now. If we’d signed him and Chesney had made the necessary jump in 3 years time, we’d be able to sell Reina at a profit when he’s 29 and we wouldn’t need to replace him.

By signing Schwarzer, we’re signing a keeper who solves a massive problem. Name me a keeper in the Premier league who wouldn’t solve that problem? I think people are getting carried away about him. He’s been in England since 1997 and hasn’t attracted a sniff of interest from a top club in all that time. His signing isn’t about quality, it’s about penny  pinching and giving a young keeper we have no idea about a bit of hope.

Everything Arsenal do these days is based on faith and doing things on the cheap.

We’re one of the most cash rich clubs in the world, and we’re still pleading poverty… we’re like the fat girl who got thin and still dates ugly men. What is the point of spending the last 5 years saving money, then not using that money to take advantage of other clubs genuine poverty? If you don’t believe we’ve got money, you wait until the annual report comes out in October… I’m sure you’ll be staggered.

Enjoy the game wherever you are today! An early kick off for once, what a result! I’ll be back tomorrow with a match report!

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Posted by Pedro

Good draw sees Eduardo return and why we should bring back the old style win bonus.

August 27, 2010

I was watching Sky Sports last night, it was the trio of Merson, Smith and Parlour, 9,11 and 13 year Arsenal players, boy they were the days, I remember seeing all three make their debuts, I loved them all and not because they were English, but because they were Arsenal to the core, and still are.

They said there was never more than £50 between the top earner and the lowest paid, but they said they were paid a win bonus that doubled their salary, and that was why they fought so hard to win games, I know we have a win bonus, but perhaps the basic should be lower and the bonus higher, maybe that would incentivise them better, or maybe they wouldn’t sign in the first place.

Parlour also told a story of the squad arriving at Liverpool (I think) the team went to the changing rooms and the rest to the bar, after 4 pints Stewart Housten came into the bar and told Parlour to get his kit on as he was now playing, Andy Linighan said ‘can he at least finish his pint?’ Imagine that now? There weren’t many players playing for us that had Parlour’s passion, pissed or sober!

It seems that we have at last signed Squillaci, but I cannot understand why that business couldn’t have been taken care of in May?

It does seem that Schwarzer is not coming, so go and get Given, we know he wants to come, we want him, what we don’t want is Almunia and Fabianski not least because all these offers we made Fulham, it certainly shows what we think of them and if we don’t sign a keeper quickly, we’re screwed, in which case I would sooner take a chance on Chezzer. We’re also rumoured to be in for the Landreau.

Almunia was still flapping at crosses and had weak punching problems again against Blackpool, so he hasn’t improved a jot, Fabianski must live in a bubble because he thought he had a great game when he shipped 3 against Legia.

So Arsene get out there and get a keeper, Given would do very nicely, but if not, then anyone.

Have a great day Grovers, it’s Pedro for the weekend!

P.S. We still have 3 spares going for Blackburn away, e-mail in sharpish if you’d like those. We also have 4 seated together for the WBA game at home. E-mail in from the contacts —>>>>

Our good freind and long term Grover Rico has changed club and moved over to a new residence at Highbury House, check out her thoughts and drop a comment to say hi!

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Posted by Geoff

Ben Arfa back on the radar but me, I’d have Taylor above the lot.

August 26, 2010

With Frimpong out for the season and Nasri out for a month, Wenger’s midfield plans have gone awry, so there is renewed talk of us having Ben Arfa, and to be fair he was on the cards before Samir Nasri, but if Squillaci, the longest transfer since Koscielny, who was the longest transfer since Nasri takes place, then we are getting way too many French players in my book.

I have nothing against the French, not even the fact that most of them collaborated with the Germans in World war 2 and did shell the Royal Navy when the 8th Army was on it’s way to Egypt and Libya.

It’s because we are in danger of having cliques in the dressing room and that can’t be good, so on that basis I would sign Steven Taylor as a centre back, he isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but he is a classic English hard man and that’s what we lack, a shouter as well, and if we had Schwarzer or Given behind him, then we would have a rugged spine running through the team, more Anglo Saxon than Gallic and it’s what we lack.

I also understand he’s holding Lansbury back (from loan) as he plays DM as well, whether our Henri is ready or not I’m not sure, but Denilson wasn’t and Song wasn’t and he threw them on, so I wouldn’t be unhappy if we kept him around.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Ben Arfa, but do we need him? I would give Vela more time and alternate him with Rosicky out on the left wing, he is starting to look the real deal.

Anyway Wenger has always said no more than 3 and if Schwarzer and Squillaci are coming then he’s already gone past it, so I can’t see it happening.

Not a lot else on, other than the speculation so let hope for some news today, but Arsene, Taylors for sale, we can’t lose there and he doesn’t get injured like Djourou, so go and get him, he also has the bonus of being home grown and EPL tested.

Have a great Day grovers, today could be moving day!

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Posted by Geoff

Harry, you are such a dipstick, you remind me of Del boy.

August 25, 2010

Redknapp said  that getting Gallas was a great piece of business, ha, ha, he’s 33 Harry, injured half the season, disrupts the dressing room, sulks and is only at Tottenham because we didn’t want him, not to mention how many goals he shipped last season.

Now Chamakh on a free, that’s a great piece of business, signing Gallas was as good a move as signing Woodgate, allowing your fans to cheers on our ex and discarded captain is as stupid as thinking you have got one over us, Harry I would throw your shovel away you plonker and keep your gob shut.

Lets hope that Young Boys knock you out of the Champions league tonight, you aren’t good enough to be in there, best you leave before the competition begins.

Still no signings but Maureen has been having a dig at Arsene, saying things like he has been saying this team is young and it’s always next year, he can’t leave the Premier league alone can he? How would you feel if your manager was always looking at being in another league? He’s the managerial version of Adebayor isn’t he!

Still what do you think, has he a point? Or is this our year, I think if we get the players we are being linked with, we will have a real chance, we do need a keeper and a centre back though and I think that will happen soon, I just wish it will happen in time for the Blackburn game.

We owe fat Sam a beating for what his dirty teams have done to us over the years, our boys are getting bigger and stronger, this weekend will be a big test.

A final word for Maureen, Maureen, it’s time to stop the jealousy, time to stop being a voyeur, you will never get the Arsenal job, the board don’t want you and nor do the fans, Arsene, get his comments blown up and paste them on the wall of the changing rooms, then play like you are going to shove it down his throat, get a copy to take to away games too.

Have a great day Grovers, oh and for the couple of knobbers on here yesterday trying to cause trouble, you won’t get on again so please don’t try, this blog is a fun one and in two weeks time school starts again so get your books out and start revising, you’re not welcome here.

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Posted by Geoff

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