Here’s the deal, we charge more than any other club in the world to see a football match, fact. We have won nothing for 3 seasons, fact.
By the end of next season we could be debt free, fact. Will the fans be happy? No. Will more people sell their shares, yes. Usmanov already has 149 more than he had a month ago according to reports yesterday.
So no matter what Wenger does after this season, he can’t stop Usmanov becoming the majority Arsenal shareholder, fact. Even the lockdown can’t stop people like me selling their shares to the rotund Uzbek.
So then what could happen? This could happen. He could come in and loan us £300 million with the remit of win everything, if you don’t want to buy players Arsene I’ll employ Maureen and he will, your choice.
Then we’ll be the most successful club in the world that owns its own stadium, but has a huge debt, will you the fan care? Probably not, will he care? No.
So that’s the future Arsene and the current board, you may well be ‘not buying’ your way into a takeover through your ’stinginess’ and ‘lack of success’ and how many people out there that support this great club will give a rats arse? Probably none, and that includes the players.
Sure, maybe Cesc will go, because he wants an excuse to go home anyway, Song will go because anyone coming in will realise how useless he is and let him go, so be warned Arsenal, the writing is on the wall, and after Saturday do I care? No quite frankly, I don’t.
You summed it up yesterday by deeming it more important to sell me ‘Jumbo Christmas cards’ than to tell me you will be reinforcing this great club in January because your experiment isn’t ready yet.
Arsenal’s mantra is to skin the fans first and worry about winning stuff second.
And you know what though, all this will happen and we’ll have a Kenyon installed because Dein has split with Red and White, so not even a silver cloud.
Unless someone from Arsenal wants to tell me any different?
AKB’s do with that as you will, I’m an Arsenal fan are you?
You want our advice the board? Go make up with Dein, get your cheque book out and tell Wenger to start acting like he’s in the Premiership, not the conference, oh and stop lying to us, that’s not so cool.
Update: Theo is out for up to 3 months after dislocating his shoulder. Theo is just as injury prone as Rosicky… we really are heading up shit creek at the moment…
November 19, 2008 at 9:02 am
1
November 19, 2008 at 9:03 am
Bloody hell Choy you are quick
November 19, 2008 at 9:04 am
Morning GG9… God Bless RSS!!! heheh
November 19, 2008 at 9:04 am
glory
November 19, 2008 at 9:04 am
oh
November 19, 2008 at 9:04 am
least im still in the top 4
November 19, 2008 at 9:05 am
serious post!
November 19, 2008 at 9:06 am
Blind acceptance is a sign of stupid fools who stand in line
November 19, 2008 at 9:07 am
I dont know why u guys keep speaking of more than one coach replacing Arsene. Is it cos u think its a massive task for one person to handle or that the replacements you are recommending are not good enough?
November 19, 2008 at 9:07 am
shit- im depressed after reading that
November 19, 2008 at 9:09 am
Geoff
All we are saying, is please win a Cup
All we are saying, is please win a Cup
November 19, 2008 at 9:09 am
Lol….wicked heading Geoff…..so what now….are we shopping in Jan or what???
November 19, 2008 at 9:09 am
hm…so Theo is out..I don’t agree he is as bad as Rosick though!
November 19, 2008 at 9:10 am
Hi
November 19, 2008 at 9:11 am
Is theo really out for three frikkin months??!?
November 19, 2008 at 9:11 am
Against Citeh, so far…
Fabregas and Walcott are out.
Looks like Ramsey must play, with Diaby and Denilson in the middle.
November 19, 2008 at 9:12 am
cesc and crew arnt gona be botherd about the kids winning the carling cup
November 19, 2008 at 9:12 am
The Club is @ the crossroads. If its Wenger who won’t spend the money then it must be The Board.
November 19, 2008 at 9:12 am
I couldn’t agree more, well said Geoff.
November 19, 2008 at 9:13 am
Geoff, I’ve said it before the football and the business are run as separate streams with no cohesive stratetgy. This has to be sorted with the appointment of a CEO (Dein or someone with equal gravitas) before this club slips out of sight in the premiership.
November 19, 2008 at 9:13 am
If Ramsay & JD20 aren’t in this week, well I’ll be phucked
November 19, 2008 at 9:14 am
Choy he is to be assessed by our doctors..but I guess shoulder dislocation is at least a month!
November 19, 2008 at 9:14 am
I can’t even imagine how brainless can AKB’s be, I had to endure this:
.
“First, thanks to Goodplaya for the blog. Always interesting. The same can’t be said for many of the comments here. For a team who aspire to play - and still can play - beautiful football, we’ve got a surprising number of bottom feeders (in a fish sense) who claim to be Arsenal supporters. Why don’t you take yourselves up the road? That’s the team you deserve and which deserves you.
“Come on. We are the Arsenal. Anyone out there who stood on the North Bank throughout the mid 1970s and early-mid 1980s? After Wenger, as fans, we’ve been spoiled. It’s been a blast. And it still is. Last season was wonderful, until the Birmingham game. This season we’ve had Fenerbahce away, Mancs at home, and the two Carling Cup games, which (for you ‘big time’ fans) were pure joy to be at. OK it looks like this season in the long haul we are going to suffer, but we should still believe there’s going to be some beautiful moments. We’re not going to win the Premiership (and come on, who among us, looking at our squad at the start of the season, really thought we would?) but we could still go some in the cups. If we sort a few problems out.
They’re amazing creatures aren’t they?
November 19, 2008 at 9:14 am
Well yea GG we need both Ramsey and JD in
November 19, 2008 at 9:14 am
the midfield beta be something like
rm dm cm lm
nasri denilson ramsey ljw
November 19, 2008 at 9:14 am
If we win the milk & FA cups this season and give it our best shot in the CL whilst competing for 4th obviously (considering we do shop in Jan) would it be so very bad and doom and gloomish??
November 19, 2008 at 9:15 am
I understand the dissapointment but it is in the long term interests of the club not to be a toy of a rich benefactor. I know its not on the same scale but look what happened to Gretna.
I agree DD should be back at the club he lived and breathed Arsenal FC.
I also believe the funds are there But Wenger wont buy. I honestly think hes on some trip to prove he can put a team together for a minimal amount and then revel in everyone telling him how great he is.
Theo’s out how come nearly all United Liverpool and Chelsea players get withdrawn we send our one player and he comes back injured before the game.
All in all im properly fucked off.
November 19, 2008 at 9:16 am
GG we’re fooked anyway. Small squad, lots of injuries smacks of the last poxy 4 years. Same old same old. And the club keep letting AW make the same mistakes. It’s criminal to the point of downright neglect.
November 19, 2008 at 9:16 am
iceman.. we are not here to finish 4th!!!!!
November 19, 2008 at 9:16 am
shouldnt be iceman
November 19, 2008 at 9:17 am
iceman that would be a good years work, in view of the state of play as we speak
November 19, 2008 at 9:17 am
but choy, it seems as if we are competing for 4th- it seem like we dont want to get out of sight from villa
November 19, 2008 at 9:18 am
Im with you Geoff. I support Arsenal not Arsene. Im addicted to this club like a crack fiend is to crack. My missus cant understand why Im on here all the time discussing my Arsenal opinions. Its cos I love this fucking club, it provides my weekly fix and of recent has got me depressed. I dont really care if Arsene is here in the next one year or two in reality he wouldnt be here for too long more anyway. Arsenal on the other hand is the club I would continue support irrespective and for me winning titles would bring me the most joy. i dont care if our players win individual accolades or play the best football in the world (myth) all i want to see is trophies and glory. If it comes by route one football I would take it. If it comes in a ’shut up shop first then steal a winner’ I would take it. We need get our priorities straight as a CLUB. Milking the fans without any returns is unacceptable
November 19, 2008 at 9:19 am
You see my point is, if the manager and the board continue down this road, they will lose it all and someone else will have what their prudence earned, then they’ll put their own manager in and that will be that.
November 19, 2008 at 9:19 am
That’s really thought provoking post. Superb post Geoff/Pedro. And a gr8 slap to the face of those who think Le-grove talks Anti-Arsenal. Hope Arsene is reading this.
November 19, 2008 at 9:19 am
Spursdozer - that’s what it’s come down to, reminiscing about half seasons and individual games. Fuck me even West Ham or Reading can do that. The prat refers to the 70’s and 80’s like he was there. I doubt it. I was and even back then we prayed for a chance to win something. Morons.
November 19, 2008 at 9:19 am
I think Ramsay, & for that matter @ 16 whiltshire, are bloody good.
November 19, 2008 at 9:20 am
the good luck bit on the right seems to be right! right?
November 19, 2008 at 9:21 am
I’m with you too Geoff
I follow The Arsenal.
Big Raddy
Whats going on in the cricketing world
November 19, 2008 at 9:22 am
iceman, if the results continue the way they do then we will struggle to finish in the top 4, and if we get a good cup run then the 4th spot will be compromised. Shity season and will end that way.
November 19, 2008 at 9:23 am
choy
I know we’re not mate….but given the current situation….I’d take that right now….
……unless we get some ready made players who will slot right in Jan and the teams above us crumble and we sneak in and take honours (pure fantasy obviously)……..
What I’m trying to say now i damage control should be getting 2-3 bodies in in Jan…..
November 19, 2008 at 9:23 am
And what the shite have Egland done to us. Walcot out for 3 months. Great . We’ll have 2 endure another 3 months of Ebue. because Arsen wan’t strengten. Sory 4 speling mistakes guys as i’v fractured my left wrist.s
November 19, 2008 at 9:24 am
There is a fundamental problem with our fans understanding of our situation. What is really the difference between us and Spurs/Newcastle etc. On paper, not much really, similar size stadium previously, good in cups, similar enough spend on players. You assume we are United who will leaden themselves with debt, spend 30-50 million a season without blinking or Chelsea who have spent nearly half a billion on this team. say that figure to yourself again. We are only in the upper echelons due to Wegner. For this period we need to be prudent with money. I can accept that but realise that our future is very bright. A very clever business model and timing has ensured we will be in a position to compete at the very top for years to come and that my friends is a long way from the Graham/Ricoh days pre-Wegner. You comemented - ” Then we’ll be the most successful club in the world that owns its own stadium, but has a huge debt, will you the fan care? Probably not, will he care? No.” Money does not always equal success. Remember Chelsea came up short last year. We did also in the league and lost a European Cup Final. Money helps thats for sure but let the season run its course, I guarantee you they’re will be more good days then bad.
November 19, 2008 at 9:24 am
iceman,hi there.I can’t share your optimism.look who we have lost to,and lucky to get a draw at sunderland.We didn’t play united off the park,but at least the players looked hungry and in truth that could have been a draw.we beat fernabache away 5-2 and are thenwoeful at home to them.a win would have put the cl group stage to bed.
teams have sussed us out and we don’t have the physical players in the team.Most are overpayed and for a start i would just like to see us retain forth by the end of december.as i adi earlier one never knows which team will turn up.we are in crisis,a year ago we were 5 points clear on top,and wenger doesn’t see it.
If football is a business i would be asking serious questions to wenger why he hasn’t stengthened the squad,and keeps crocks on the books for years.
November 19, 2008 at 9:24 am
I really think that, & as my may have to eat humble pie over this, its time to stop off loading good players like Flamini & Hleb. Even if something came out of this season, there is still a question over Cesc.
So who is @ fault, the buck must stop @ The Board/Wenger
November 19, 2008 at 9:25 am
Its hi time we stop feeling sorry for these bunch of reccession proof players. If we got points from players speaking to the press we would have been 9 points clear at the top. Whats going on? It really baffles me. How many rallying calls can players make. Stevie G at this point would have thrown in the towel.
November 19, 2008 at 9:26 am
iceman i woud tak dat happily.
November 19, 2008 at 9:27 am
inside….
don’t get me wrong….I’m an Arsenal fan and not an Arsene one….all I’m saying is fine we’ve lost a couple games where we should have annihilated the opposition but point is they’re done and dusted. Let’s pick our selves up from here….get E9 banging them in in a month hopefully, add some steel in Jan and play our strongest available side for the FA cup. We can still save the season….somewhat……..
Si?
November 19, 2008 at 9:30 am
gg9 - AW won’t play JD20 and Ramsey, he’ll play Denilson and Song!
November 19, 2008 at 9:30 am
Colonel Mustard Money helps A LOT in da titlechallenge. Chelesea came short previous year even afer spending mooney. But they were outclassed by MAN U who also spent a lot. So don’t you think MAN U were helped a lot by their spending in transfer season.
November 19, 2008 at 9:31 am
Hey kelsey…..
Which is why I am stressing we add some physicality (if u wanna call it that) in the window.
It shouldn’t be a choice. AW needs to make it happen. We have been sussed out and if he doesn’t change his thinking we’re down a long fu**in road till the end of the year. What I don’t get is you can sign a player who’s been injured for almost 2 years, pay his wages. We could have used his wages to pay Flamoney what he wanted. Bizarre……..
November 19, 2008 at 9:31 am
The ONLY good thing to happen if AW was to leave (a la a takeover) would be that he’d take all those AKB fuckwits with him…………
November 19, 2008 at 9:34 am
i just read good luck charms section. It made me laugh. Good advice though. BOLLOCKS TO GOOD LUCK CHARMS YOU MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK.
November 19, 2008 at 9:37 am
spurdozer
As much as I rate Big Tony, I really think that Marty K over took him after this http://www.gunners4life.com/images/martin_keown.jpg
November 19, 2008 at 9:37 am
Bendtner its time to step up. You have been an international for two years, you have shown what you can do off the bench last season. Its time to shut up and make good runs and put the ball in the net.
Cesc if u tired. Tell the boss u need a rest. If u want to leave u r going no where. If players arent making good runs tell em what to do. If u are clueless then ask for a wage cut. Set pieces??? Whats going on there.
Nasri u have three months to deliver consistently. we want to see hunger and passion when u play.
Walcott get well soon and on return learn to play away from the ball more. the pass is always quicker than the man. Play one twos with your right back. Pass when u should run, run when u should pass, shoot when u should pass, run. Mix it up u r definitely doing things wrong. Become less predicatable.
Denilson keep up the good work. dont advance forward carelessly. U have a job to protect the back 4. talk to Cesc on the pitch, instill in him the confidence to push up.
Ade u have got ur pay rise now its time to bang in some goals. Chase lost causes like u used to do. Be a bit more greedy and shoot more often
Gallas remember u are a defender first dont push up to much when you know u’ve got Gabby lurking around. A draw is better than a loss. Mourinho would not have been happy about the goals uve let in this season. If Arsene is then we are fucked. U r the leader keep things tight at the back. 10 goals at home is unacceptable
Song u can fuck off
November 19, 2008 at 9:39 am
We beat the Mancs and we all thought great, this is it, maybe the experiment worked, next game we lose to villa, so it hasn’t worked, simple, change the plan Wenger before we win fuck all again.
Flamini going wasn’t down to money, it was down to stupidity and arrogance. Wenger wouldn’t tell you that though would he? Nor would the board.
I’m not saying he should go and they are all useless tossers, I’m saying that if something doesn’t happen in January, they could lose the lot, and that would make them even more stupid and more arrogant than last season, wouldn’t it?
November 19, 2008 at 9:39 am
I really think that The Invincibles year was defined by Martin K against manure Chamone!!!
November 19, 2008 at 9:39 am
summed it up franchise
November 19, 2008 at 9:40 am
I could go on but I believe that if these guys can step up then we would be ok until January as for Song……..
November 19, 2008 at 9:43 am
iceman - I cannot see things changing on the pitch or in the boardroom as Geoff is advocating in his post. I believe we will struggle this season and I really cannot see us winning the FA cup because anyone can beat us (and on our day we can beat anyone too) which makes me loose confidence in the team’s ability to win anything this season.
Pessimistic thinking but I think its more realistic.
November 19, 2008 at 9:46 am
I tell you what,pick any half a dozen of us on here with business and football knowledge and the 75million war chest,unload the injured and hampionship players and they would do a better job than present.
wenger can’t live on past glory forever.
I remember gerald Rattner ruined a multi million pound business with one sentence at a shareholders meeting,saying his jewellery was crap.
Wenger is lying to us the fans who put the money in the boards coffers and they urn a blind eye.our club is not being run as a club wishing to challenge for honours,for fucks sake we aren’t derby county.
November 19, 2008 at 9:46 am
Sagna and Clichy I want you to stay behind after training for an extra hour or two to learn how to make good crosses. Against the teams that play 10 behind the ball you are our lifelines
Toure u are rightly where u should be on the bench. Be ready to make cameo appearances when u r needed
Alumnia what more can I say but that Fabianski is ready to do a Gordon Brown
Vela, Wilshere, Ramsey u might hold the key for the season be prepared to take ur place dont be like Niklas
Song u can fuck off again
November 19, 2008 at 9:46 am
Morning Grovers,
on the surface of it that looks a depressing post, but I see it as a wake up call. Why on earth does the club put flogging Xmas tat above reassuring the fans about how they are going to make our club competitive again ? It seems the short term cash generation from the fans is the priority, perhaps because they realise long term Arsenal’s brand value will diminish as our title credentials fade year on year. If that’s the case we have every right to feel depressed.
Finally I don’t get the title – is an Uzbek a kind of pot ? I can only think you refer to Usmanov the Mankscummer as being pot-bellied however I’m a bit slow today so I could have missed something.
November 19, 2008 at 9:48 am
Arsenal have found a new gear— REVERSE
November 19, 2008 at 9:48 am
inside….
Whatever’s happened has happened. We let 2 first team cunts leave and didn’t replace them directly. We’ve put in some of the worst performances ever this season….till now.
Right now we don’t have a choice till Jan but to use the players we do have….
So let’s buck up and do our thing….like the old times…….
I for one am convinced we have the potential to be great again… Just the attitude needs serious tweaking….
November 19, 2008 at 9:51 am
Colonel you are inferring that we equate our woes with failing to invest wholesale in world class players. This is not so. It goes deeper than that. Your are correct Wenger is largely (but not solely) responsible for getting to where we are / were. However, the journey began with Dein’s vision for this club - the acquisition of Bergkamp and Platt and then Wenger were the start.
Wenger created and sustained a competitive team for 5 (’98 to ‘04) seasons with selected investment but crucially recruiting players who strengthened the balance of the squad. Since ‘04 we have watched the squad disintegrate and being replaced with promising talent and often with sub-standard players. The choice to offload these players was either a financial one or a footballing one. Given that it coincided with the building of the new stadium I would say the former.
Football is a relentless pursuit for success. You can’t afford to miss out on the big prizes for too long as competition stiffens. No-one knows what the future holds. We may sell-off or lose our promisiing talent to other parasitic clubs. Who knows? You cannot pin all your hopes on the future it is now that counts. I’m not prepared to spend upwards of GBP 6K to find out if the team will be world beaters in 3/4 years time. I want some payback now.
November 19, 2008 at 9:51 am
Chary…………LOL
November 19, 2008 at 9:51 am
I am Mr.Angry today.the whole squad say bar three in gallas,fabregas,sagna,are either reserves trying to do a first teamers job,or have straits in their character which doesn’t help bonding or just aren’t good enough at this level or are impact players good for about 20 minutes.
November 19, 2008 at 9:52 am
Sorry I need to know who are these AKB’S ??
WHat do theyu stand for?
November 19, 2008 at 9:57 am
Morning All - love the post Geoff…
My theory is, football is a fix, we are losing so we get written off for everything, odds for us to win any silverware get to 100 - 1, January we buy the three players Michael says we are going to buy, I go to the bookies and put a 1000 pounds on us to win CL and FA Cup, at odds of 120 -1, we win the FA Cup and Cl, I win an awful lot of money, pay off my mortgage - and I am happy!
In the meantime, David Dein puts 1M to win the same I as did, he gets mega bucks, buys out our club, keeps Arsene but gets Messi, Kaka, Essien, David Villa, Silva and asks Le Grove to nominate two CH’s that we would like the club to buy….
Hows that for a theory………….
November 19, 2008 at 9:59 am
nice on rico!
November 19, 2008 at 10:00 am
rico…….
top notch……..except don’t think Messi and Kaka would work……….
Either one and bring back the true no.14…………… how’s that?
November 19, 2008 at 10:01 am
iceman - you are too fussy
November 19, 2008 at 10:02 am
Bischoff scores again for the reserves.. the messiah is on the way lads
November 19, 2008 at 10:03 am
Sarge - yes I agree Dein was instrumental but Wegner was the main man. Dein was his proxy. You say “I want some payback now’ - then for the moment thats seems to be the difference between us. I think we are on the cusp on something special. right now its the confidence and attitude of the players holding us back not acquiring Messi, kaka and Alonso. We as a team now are more then capable of beating any opposition on our day.
November 19, 2008 at 10:03 am
Hmmm….
Alright fine…….we’ll go with your one…………..this time…………
November 19, 2008 at 10:04 am
Alright peeps………I’m off for now……….Be nice……….
November 19, 2008 at 10:06 am
Hi Rico - I didn’t have you down as a fantasist.
November 19, 2008 at 10:09 am
riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiico!
November 19, 2008 at 10:10 am
Guys the simple truth is that until there is a mathematical impossibilty of winning the league, we would keep getting optimistic about winning it. A win against ManCity and the chavs wld push our optimism into over drive. The results wld mean that if we can stick in there until Jan then we should be able to make one or two much needed signings which should improve the weaknesses of the team. I believe the players read fan blogs thats why i adressed an open letter to some players that should be key in this pursuit. If they can play with more purpose, taking less risks and adding that surprise element to their game we should be fine for a while. WHAT REALLY SCARES ME IS WHEN THE MANAGER OPENLY COMES OUT AND SAYS HE DOESNT KNOW WHY WE ARE INCONSISTENT
November 19, 2008 at 10:11 am
I know what our problems are Arsene you can hire me as one of your backroom staff
November 19, 2008 at 10:15 am
Problem is Colonel we don’t seem to possess the ability to deliver enough ‘on our day’ performances to challenge. That’s the same as Villa or Hull stating that on their day they can beat anyone.
November 19, 2008 at 10:15 am
Good Post:
The club appears stagnant & rudderless.
The club lost it’s soul on the 7/4/2006
November 19, 2008 at 10:16 am
Chary I was going to say a Pot bellied pig, but you-know-who’s lawyers have been known to sue for less! I meant the only thing we would win would be a new owner.
November 19, 2008 at 10:16 am
Was that when Dein went or when the stadium was built Double?
November 19, 2008 at 10:17 am
CORRECTION:
7/5/2006
November 19, 2008 at 10:17 am
I’ve had a look at the injury list on Arsenal.com and Sagna isn’t on it, does that mean he has recovered?
With Walcott out, we will most probably need to buy a winger, unless we put Jack Wilshere into the first team on a regular basis, or switch Nasri to right wing and play Vela there.
But it probably won’t happen since Wenger has him marked down as a striker.
Man City predicted lineup?
—————Almunia———————-
Toure———Gallas———–Silvestre———Clichy
Eboue——-Denilson————Diaby————Nasri
———-RVP———————–Adebayor———-
Maybe Song will probably come on as a sub.
November 19, 2008 at 10:18 am
Oh I see Geoff – I get the impression we have a serial litigant on our hands…..allegedly.
November 19, 2008 at 10:20 am
Geoff;
Last game at the old place. I just cannot get ant feel walking or being inside the new place, thats partly my problem but also the fact the club care more about the plastic fan & the fact that the board.club have failed to create any soul by tring to make it feel like a home.
You guys did try & get some dialogue & ideas on board but seems like we are all pissing in the wind.
November 19, 2008 at 10:21 am
sagna is out until mid december according to sky sports and teletext.
November 19, 2008 at 10:24 am
They even fucked up on the last game at Highbury by not printing enough programmes, remember!
November 19, 2008 at 10:24 am
Alternatively;
————–Al———–
–Kolo — Bill —–Sylv—–Clich
—Ramsey —Diaby—Nasri—
Vela
RVP —Ade
A midfield 3 with Vela wide supporting forwards.
November 19, 2008 at 10:26 am
Geoff its also worrying that we get beat in the reserves game silly we lost again to Norwich 4-2 thats probably cos the reserves make it to the first team to early
November 19, 2008 at 10:27 am
Morning chary & dennis - just trying to cheer myself up - our fine club depresses me at the moment, I knda live in hope that someone on the board knows what they are doing!! But I doubt it ….
Catch you later, off to find Terminal 5 - sadly not me flying though
November 19, 2008 at 10:31 am
Why are you agitated about a Jumbo Christmas Card being advertised on the club website? Do you REALLY expect there to be articles saying “We’re definitely going to buy a defensive midfielder and a Vidic type centre back” or “We have £50 million in the bank and we’re going to spend it all in January - even if that’s on one player!!!”.
Get real people. How many other clubs’ websites put articles about who they are going to buy or how much money they have to spend? Not many. Didn’t we all laugh at the way Man United claimed that they had signed Ramsey, and that Chelsea were selling Robinho shirts?
Yes, we are playing rubbish right now, but this is more down to the player attitudes rather than the manager’s team choices. Yes, we lost several first team players and didn’t replace them, but we can’t fix that until January, so what’s the point in still going on about it half way through November?
I have no problem with criticising both Wenger and the club when it is justified (going from having an abundance of central midfielders to having barely enough to play was ludicrous).
Taking out your ire on a Christmas Card for the second day running is a bit strange. I take it you won’t be too happy should one of the Grovers send you in the post?
November 19, 2008 at 10:32 am
i posted this earlier chaps
Selection problems for saturday.
Cesc(suspended)
Walcott(dislocated shoulder)
Eboue (still injured)
Sagna(out until mid dec)
Ade(playing in togo)
Kolo(playing in Israel)
RVP,Nic,song,ramsey song all playing quite local in europe
vela (playing in hondurus)
now pick the team guys.
November 19, 2008 at 10:32 am
DG I think Diaby and Denilson in midfield in a 4-4-2 would do it for me. Diaby ahead of Denilson. Then I would start with ramsey of Vela on the right and Nasri on the left
November 19, 2008 at 10:33 am
Cheers for the info Kelsey. Doublegooner, it looks like Vela would play Cesc’s role in that lineup and on right wing as well? Vela played LW for Osasuna.
Another possible combo should Eboue not be available.
—————Alumnia——————
Toure———-Gallas———-Silvestre———-Clichy
Nasri———–Ramsey———-Diaby————–Denilson
———-RVP————–Adebayor
But this would be my pick:
—————Fabianski——————
Toure———-Gallas———-Silvestre———-Clichy
Nasri———–Ramsey———-Diaby————–Vela
———-RVP————–Adebayor——–
November 19, 2008 at 10:33 am
* Ramsy or Vela
November 19, 2008 at 10:34 am
Judging by past examples, I think you can forget about Vela in any proposed line ups, especailly as a starter as he won’t be back from Honduras until Friday
November 19, 2008 at 10:35 am
It’s the right idea Rico, trying to cheer us all up. Have fun at T5 - that reminds me, less than 5 weeeks till I head off to Lanza-grotty, a la Odub earlier this year. Chamone ! (?)
November 19, 2008 at 10:35 am
Fab, I don’t think Geoff was implying he wanted to see articles like that.
He was saying that Arsenal are having a terrible time at the moment and all the club are interested in is flogging more merchandise. It’s a bit crass, don’t you think?
November 19, 2008 at 10:35 am
Fab4 don’t tell me to get real, that’s condescending, I get pissed because Arsenal don’t miss a trick to squeeze us for more money but they won’t spend it themselves, an irony you clearly missed.
November 19, 2008 at 10:37 am
But that’s the thing Ryan, he will be playing in South America and the Caribbean on all his international breaks, so everytime they’re on, he won’t be picked afterwards?
You are right though, I didn’t consider Vela’s international game and the jet lag.
November 19, 2008 at 10:38 am
Finest I think it wouldnt be wise not to start denilson. we are lacking consistency we dont need to change the team drastically
November 19, 2008 at 10:39 am
My favoured starting lineup v Man City with the omission of Vela:
—————Fabianski——————
Toure———-Gallas———-Silvestre———-Clichy
Nasri———–Ramsey———-Diaby————–Wilshere
———-RVP————–Adebayor——–
November 19, 2008 at 10:39 am
Good post by the way… I got it!
November 19, 2008 at 10:40 am
GALLAS ACCEPTS CRITICISM
——————————————————————————–
Arsenal captain William Gallas has stated that he can accept criticism when it is justified, but feels he has been unfairly targeted this term.
Arsenal and France defender William Gallas believes criticism is easy to take when it is justified, but can be upsetting if you are being unfairly targeted.
Gallas’ form has mirrored that of his club, and he says he is prepared to hold his hands up for Aston Villa’s second goal when the midlands based club visited the Emirates Stadium last weekend.
Gabriel Agbonlahor took advantage of a through ball and accelerated toward goal with Gallas backtracking but not being able to shrug Agbonlahor off the ball.
The Villan then cooly finished by stroking the ball past Manuel Almunia and into the net to seal the Gunners fourth league loss of the season.
“I am not annoyed by criticism if it is justified,” Gallas told journalists at a press conference in France.
“You can blame me for Aston Villa’s second goal last Saturday, no worries. But sometimes I am being criticised whereas the team drew.
“On a personal level, I have been better than during the game with Manchester [United] but as the team lost, people talked rubbish. I am thinking of the game with Tottenham and of other ones.
“But the fact this game was against Manchester, with extra pressure surrounding the game, we won 2-1…people spoke about Gallas’ game.
“I would not say this does not make me happy,” he continued. “But as far as I am concerned, I know when I have done well or not.
“And I have been better than this.”
Arsenal’s problems have worsened in the past 24 hours with the news that pacey winger Theo Walcott could be out for three months should he require surgery on his dislocated shoulder.
November 19, 2008 at 10:40 am
Seriously…I can understand Wengers frustration with the international thing.
Can anyone tell me the point of Englands game, considering that there is no competitive international game for 4 months?
Theo out, plus around another 14 first team players out on international duty, with only Vela (i think) playing a competitive game…..this is a joke. It is so badly organised….and it adds further drama to our cause. Theo is gonna miss some important games, and with the lack of width we have, the team is really gonna have to pull together and put in some massive performances.
Lady luck, where are you????
November 19, 2008 at 10:41 am
Arsenal.com has a bit of a history of putting their foot in it… remember the passmaster?
How to run a website… badly.
November 19, 2008 at 10:41 am
I dont trust Arsene anymore. he lies to us all the time and I dont like liars. I dont trust him to be able to win trophies with this stupid kids policy. he won all his trophies before by buying quality players who had already proven something to him playing elsewhere. He would buy them at 22/23 and sure they might be relatively unknown in england, but these were players, in the main, that were quality without doubt. I trusted him then because he acted in a fantastic manner.
Now wenger has gone to a complete extreme of just trying to develop young players and its killing us. why would he do this when the board tell us we have plenty of money to spend. All wenger spends that money on is mega contracts for players that haven’t acheived anything.
wenger can develop players but he cant win trophies with those players. But Arsenal are a club that needs to at least compete for trophies. the two things dont go together.
If wenger wants to develop kids so much then take a step down and go and do Neil Banfield’s job. we need a proper manager who can select a strong team, fill in weak spots in the squad and make a decent substitution.
I am so disillusioned with the way the club is being run right now and I honestly think we wont even finish top 4. I am not saying that for a reaction, I honestly beleive that if we just carry on as we are then we will finish somewhere between 5th and 9th. we could be a mid-table team with a squad with an average age of 23 and a wage bill of well over a £100m. That is downright negligence.
Maybe finishing low down is what Arsenal need to shake them all up a bit. blindly following Arsene like he is the messiah is just going to make it all the worse.
will the fans re-new tickets if we are in the UEFA cup or not even in Europe at all? Will they when Cesc leaves? Its doubtful. January has become wengers most important transfer window since he joined Arsenal, but I just dont trust him to sort it out.
November 19, 2008 at 10:42 am
im sorry i disagree,
i dont wont to be like manu and chelski with huge debts and big loans just to sign players.
im gutted about the way things are but the talent we have only needs a sprinkle to it and i feel we will be competing on all fronts.
i think wenger has made more mistakes then ever this season,but i think he is smart enough to know he has got it wrong!
i can wait to win a trophie if that means the club are debt free and we can compete with our own funds!
November 19, 2008 at 10:42 am
Yep finest that is what I am saying - everytime he goes away on International duty, unless he can get a flight out immediately after the game and be back in the UK on Thursday and is then deemed fit enough to train on the Friday - I can’t ever see him starting the following league game - well not Saturday ones that is.
November 19, 2008 at 10:42 am
Thanks Pedro, I feel we have a Trojan horse but I’m watching! Michael it’s all bollocks, I agree, but if he let his players go sick like the chavs and mancs do we wouldn’t have this problem.
November 19, 2008 at 10:43 am
Its bollocks Mascherano plays for Pool after international breaks. Arsene is getting too scientific about Football. Jet Lag for an 18yr old intl who has featured sparingly this season. The guy would probably be raring to show what he can offer but u guys are right Arsene wouldn’t play him
November 19, 2008 at 10:43 am
Erik… you’d get nicked!
November 19, 2008 at 10:43 am
Franchise, if you want extra stability include Denilson at the cost of a striker, but Denilson playing the holding role and Diaby in the offensive role playing a diamond would be good. I would like to see Ramsey on, him and Diaby are our two best choices from who we’ve got available for this game imo.
November 19, 2008 at 10:44 am
No.1 Goon… you don’t need to go into debt to sign players.
Spurs are never in debt… ManU wouldn’t be had they not sold out…
What was the point in the new stadium if we can’t compete? We always bought players at Highbury…
November 19, 2008 at 10:45 am
Gazzap good call regarding Banfields job or even Boulds job.
No1 I don’t want it either, I’m saying if he carries on this route, it will happen and all this would be a waste of time.
November 19, 2008 at 10:48 am
Geoff…i feel your anger about the card/squeezing money scenario.
The club and more accuratel, the board, really need to get a grip on things and realsie that the fans are not happy…this, i feel, also extends to the team, and the more i think about it, the more i feel that there are some deeply-rooted problems within.
The talent we have is unquestionable, but morale seems to be so fragile.
This international break is already proving a massive hinderance and, whilst i know there are some doubters out there, i have to cling to the news i have heard re:signings in Jan, to keep myself from - literally -crying!!!
And, while I am definately not an AKB, i do feel that the board has a lot to answer for, and that they need to back and help Wenger in the transfer market as of Midnight Dec 31st….roll on Thursday 1st Jan!!!
November 19, 2008 at 10:49 am
best two doesnt necessarily equate to ‘best two’ finest. The game at ManCity might be too big for Ramsey to deal with. IMO its like throwing him into the deep. If he performs badly and the fans get on his case his development might suffer. I would play Ramsy but not in the middle. Denilson has done enough this seqason to keep even Cesc on the bench. Himself, Clichy and Sagna are probably our most consistent players this season
November 19, 2008 at 10:49 am
Guten morgen Grovers, wie gehts??
Nice post, all i ant for Christmas is to see Santa/ Klass at the emirates. (cruz/-jan)
November 19, 2008 at 10:50 am
Rico…I will see you at the bookies!!!
November 19, 2008 at 10:53 am
I would think Ramsey is ready for the citeh game. He was mom by far against the england U-21s and that has a lot of premiership talentand experience in it. He stepped up there to shock most people and given our shite form and therefore a small lack of expectation, I feel that he has nothing to lose.
November 19, 2008 at 10:53 am
Michael, when you place a bet that we’ll have 3 international players signed in Jan send us a scan of the slip and the odds you got, then you’d really be putting your money where your mouth is.
November 19, 2008 at 10:54 am
finest…..i have no problem with that at all, and I was planning to do that anyway.
watch this space!
November 19, 2008 at 10:55 am
geoff yeah i see where your coming from,
how can we stop the fat jibba jabba getting he’s hands on the club?
why is life so hard at arsenal at the mo?
when the outside stuff happends it normally takes second fiddle behind the results of the side.
im a very worried fan with these state of affairs.
November 19, 2008 at 10:55 am
He might be ready depending on where you play him thats my point Stu. I would be happy to play him wide but not in the middle
November 19, 2008 at 10:55 am
dont know if anyone on here follows the Football Handicap league in betting? It basically shows a teams position relative to where they were expected to be before the season started. Hull are top because they are exceeding expectations, and they are closely followed by Liverpool and Chelsea which shows that they are actually having better seasons so far in points terms than the experts predicted. Arsenal are near the bottom. Only Blackburn, Newcastle, Man city and Spurs are below us.
November 19, 2008 at 10:56 am
England squad: Carson, Robinson, James, Bridge, Davies, Johnson, Terry, Lescott, Mancienne, Richards, Upson, Barry, Carrick, Downing, Bullard, Parker, Wright-Phillips, A Young, Agbonlahor, Bent, Crouch, Defoe.
Funny how that big names from Manure, Chavs and Scouse are all missing, no????
Fucking joke…
November 19, 2008 at 10:57 am
Someone said yesterday that AW did something like this before and wouldnt be suprised if the “new signings” were Rosicky, Eduardo and Senderos coming back. Personally, i wont be expecting anyone coming back or in, but i wouldnt be suprised if in January Wenger announces on arse.com that 3 young’uns have signed long term contracts and its a “major coup for the future of the club”.
November 19, 2008 at 10:57 am
No1- buy some players, win some trophies, get the trust back.
November 19, 2008 at 10:59 am
Geoff - you have hit the nail on the head.
November 19, 2008 at 10:59 am
It seems so long ago that we saw a big new signing posing with his arsenal shirt and wenger on the back pages…..
November 19, 2008 at 11:00 am
I dont know how u see it Stu forget our form at currently. We are Arsenal and our next 5 games are must win to keep us in touching distance. We cant afford any more shit results at least until the new year. Its time we beat who we are expected to beat and beat teams we are not expected to beat. Thats what our season has come down to. If we keep fucking it up we would have Villa and Hull to chase for fourth position. That is unacceptable. If our wage bill was on par with theses clubs then why not i believe there is an astronomical, ginormous difference. If we are overpaying youngsters its time they start overplaying beyond their ability.
November 19, 2008 at 11:01 am
Geoff, you talk about the fans not caring if the club is lumbered with massive debts as long the team is winning trophies and then you accuse me of being condescending?
You talk about bringing back Dein as if he some kind of messiah. This is the guy who wanted to move us to Wembley instead of building Ashburton Grove; who tried to get in bed with Stan Kroenke and then when he got dumped by Stan sold himself to Usmanov instead.
Arsenal have always done their business in secret not in the papers. Who predicted Sol Campbell walking into a press conference supposed to be called to announce the signing of Richard Wrong? Who saw the capture of Eduardo happening before it was up on the club website? If we had succeeded in our last minute attempt to get Xabi Alonso would you be complaining?
I’m not saying everything is rosy at Arsenal or that Wenger never makes mistakes. But when we have half the stadium leaving in droves like on Saturday, it just makes me think that a lot of fans have been spoilt in the last years and believe we have a divine right to win trophies every season.
That I don’t agree with every article you guys post doesn’t mean I’m an AKB.
November 19, 2008 at 11:01 am
surely he will see he’s mistakes and buy?
if not i fear it could be the end for the boss.
November 19, 2008 at 11:01 am
Theo - dislocated shoulder. He should be back in less than 3 months. Seen it before with a friend, and he did not have the physio expertise at hand that Theo will.
Start Ramsey against Man City - he is one of the bright spots of this difficult year to date. I think he has the head and the ability. A good lad.
If Djourou does not start this week, it will be official that our Manager has totally lost the plot and is in need of medical assistance.
Fabianski
Eboue / Gallas / Djourou / Clichy or Silvestre
Ramsey / Kolo / Cesc / Diaby
Vela / Ade
If the above took the field with the right attitude and spirit, 3 points would be ours.
November 19, 2008 at 11:03 am
The “big names” are missing because they always do that. Just before an international break Gerrard, Terry and a few others seemto get niggling injuries and are “forced” to sit the games out. That happened a few months ago and all those missing were playing that next weekend.
Rafa is the worst, he does it with Gerrard and Torres all the time, basically their only good players.
November 19, 2008 at 11:03 am
No1 goon.
Aside from Vela, Ramsey, and Jack W., and maybe Coquelin, who will make it?
Our youngsters are not as good as we think they are. We really lack ambition. Look at Welbeck and Da Silva twins from Manchester. Cammbell is scoring for spurs and this Possebon will also come good. United’s young guns are no worse than ours. They got even more chance to become better, because of the fact that they are playing with many experienced, star players. Take Fabregas out of our team and we are unable to make any danger. WE ARE GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION.
As for the debt issue. spurs are buying and they aren’t in debt, United are in debt just because of Glazers, Barca, Bayern, Lyon……………they are not in debt.
November 19, 2008 at 11:03 am
Michael, we got Silvestre
Nasri and Ramsey were pretty big signings, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the moment, both are very good players.
November 19, 2008 at 11:04 am
Check out the official website
Song - The Olympic Games and me
Alex reflects on Cameroon’s run to the Quarter-Finals in Beijing
Geoff that should cheer you up.
November 19, 2008 at 11:06 am
Ramsey and Wilshere, i feel, are definately ready to be thrown in for the MC game.
There will be less pressure on them IMO, and the way I have seen both play, with hunger, passion, drive and no fear could be a major factor in the game.
Ramsey scored a goal for the u21’s that was fit to win any game.
Wilshere is pure class.
November 19, 2008 at 11:07 am
Finest, I have no doubts about Nasri and Ramsey.
In fact, I am ecstatic about Ramsey…..its just clouded by all of the doom and gloom whihc the first team are inducing!
What has happened???????????????????????????????
November 19, 2008 at 11:08 am
Fabianski
Toure JD Gallas Clichy
LJW Ramsey Diaby Nasri
RvP Ade
I say let the defenders defend and let the midfielders control the game like we all know they can. Ramsey will run his socks off and Diaby can hopefully stamp his mark on the CM position. I only wouldnt play Denilson with Ramsey because the last time they started together was Twente away.
November 19, 2008 at 11:09 am
And when Vela and co. will get better they will be sold. Sad but true. And Wenger isn’t really giving many chances to our young guns, otherwise he would never play Song and Diaby ahead of Ramsey and Jack W. How many chances did Vela get?
November 19, 2008 at 11:10 am
fuck england,fuck the international shit it is time to scrap these shit games there is no need for them.every time there is one of these pointless games it is always arsenal who get fucked the most.why did he not just pull out like every other cunt do you really think gerrard,lampard,rio and rooney were injured???on the weekend rio and rooney convieniently missed the match with stoke that was good management from fergie he knew this bollocks was coming up and pulled them out smart thinking yet again…..wenger really needs to start getting clued up about this international situation
November 19, 2008 at 11:11 am
Vela never gets chances. He gets 10mins here and there and then plays amazingly in the CC only to be dropped again.
November 19, 2008 at 11:12 am
2 MAN CITY SPARES @ FACE
Row 10
Anyone interested ??
November 19, 2008 at 11:12 am
I think Diaby is just the true example of Wenger going potty. He has experimented with him too much. I see Diaby as a CM he can be as good or even better than Paddy play him in the middle. Its so unfair to him. Where players play really matters.
November 19, 2008 at 11:15 am
franchise - agreed. Diaby on the left wing???? I know he was ‘filling in’ but surely that fact alone was enough for the club to get the cheque book out?????
Arrrrggggg!!!!
November 19, 2008 at 11:15 am
Wouldn’t be ironic if Big Yo Yo-a-go-go20 started this week & from then on we didn’t lose till we hit top spot.
ironic in that it has been some on Le Grove that have calling for him to be included, the very place that kops criticism from other sites for being anti Arsenal.
If Johan can be the saviour, hallowed be thy name
November 19, 2008 at 11:16 am
I need a weekend away in amsterdam after all this negativity surrounding our club….
November 19, 2008 at 11:17 am
If Arsenal can get a striker like Bergkamp then we wouldnt be in such a mess. When Viera and Petit played they both were CM. I wouldnt necessarily say Petit was a DM nor Viera. Bergkamp was the damage man, we also had Overmars the wing terror. We have a different set up now anyway.
November 19, 2008 at 11:17 am
Fab4 I let that on even though what you’re saying is rubbish, I didn’t say any of what you are saying. You said who could have predicted Campbell coming, it was Campbell going that I found strange, a player that good walking away for nothing, strange.
I pay a shed load for my tickets, more that the Mancs or the Chavs do, yes I have a right to expect to compete for trophies, to go into competitions knowing we’ll lose is not good management.
Being a manager means buying players, that’s football, not trying to prove you don’t have to, that’s naive. The kids he buys are rarely finds, most of the big clubs know of them, Ramsey, Walcott, Fabregas, he spends loads on them and pays them loads, I would prefer some proven established stars, he didn’t get Alonso because he wouldn’t pay what they wanted, now we’re suffering, how smart was that then?
I think you are an AKB actually, all you do on this blog is pick arguments, perhaps you should go somewhere where they share your views.
November 19, 2008 at 11:18 am
You Reckon Wilshere could start on the right against City? as Eboue is also out.
November 19, 2008 at 11:19 am
Arsenal didnt depend on the Midfield for creativity then it mostly provided stability. the creativity came from the wings and the strikers
November 19, 2008 at 11:20 am
fab
kolo, gallas, silv, clichy
ramsey, denilson, song, diaby
rvp ade
poor but very very likely i reckon maybe he’ll put rvp out wide and put diaby in the middle to tho
November 19, 2008 at 11:21 am
Tom, someone put Song in your team mate, the bastards!
November 19, 2008 at 11:21 am
Vieira was very attack minded when he was Diabys age, the difference was that Paddy used to track back too and AW probably doesnt think Diaby will do that. Vieira has only become defensicve in the twilight of his career.
I get the feeling that AW is literally living in the past. In his mind he is probably still in the 1960s and thinks players can play whereevr they are put. Wenger soeant seem to realise that players have specific positions and that they are thought how to play in a certain way. Effectively Wenger takes a player and tries to make him change his whole understanding of the game by wanting him to play in a totaly different place. Its just a load of bollocks. Whe was the last time we bought a player who now plays his best position?
Rvp- striker to link man
Eboue- RB to wing
Song- DM to CB
Theo- good striker to shit winger
Silvestre- average LB at united to starting shitbag here
Toure- RM to CB
The only ones that worked are Petit and Henry was originally a striker so thats not AW either.
November 19, 2008 at 11:22 am
I would play fabianski in goal and put simpson up front with ade and rvp i