I don’t know… Arsenal players make it tough on themselves don’t they? Last week Gibbs threatened to break his foot for the under 21’s, this week he went through with the threat by smashing his foot into the underside of a Liege players boot. Kieron’s broken his metatarsal and he’ll be out for the next two months. What a gutter.
Will boot manufacturers ever wise up and build more protective footwear? I mean, we are talking about football here. The difference of 0.1 seconds worth of pace on a football pitch over a protected foot? Well, surely it’s a no brainer. So for Sundays game, we’ll either see Traore or Silvestre. Nice…
Onto the game.
Again, it’s a tough one to report on. I’ve got to give it to your straight and I’m worried that if I dish out too many superlatives, I’ll be doing you an injustice. Standard Liege are a poor team. A poor team on the level of Wolves. We beat them convincingly and played some pretty special football at times, but if you take off your blinkers for a second, you’d have to admit that we could have drawn or lost that game last night because of the silly mistakes.
Despite dominating possession for a majority of the ninety minutes, Standard still managed to hit the woodwork twice. More worryingly, a freekick flew into the box, bounced 8 yards out, luckily Almunia wasn’t beaten by the oncoming striker. I can sit here and talk about how we could have bagged 6, it’s true, but we’re playing Chelsea this weekend and those chances that an incredibly poor team carved out, will be goals if we continue to take a sloppy approach to defending this Sunday.
Arsenal started in a hungry fashion. If Wenger let rip with a 4 letter expletive in a press conference, you can imagine the mood in the dressing room. Fair play to the boss, molly coddling grown men is never going to get your results. Song went close early on after he miscontroled the ball and was fortunately let back in by some poor defending. Fabregas and Nasri also had chances in the first five minutes.
Song continued to impress going forward, neatly cutting the ball away from his challenger, releasing Nasri who inexplicably crossed it to the back post. Our next chance… or 4 chances, came from a Fabregas corner which Bolat saved the resulting Arsh header, Vela had a toe poke cleared off the line, Gallas had a double shot saved, before Arshavin nearly had his head taken off by a Verminator thunderbolt! Humorous stuff.
Then came the usual sucker punch. Mbokani, skillfully worked his way into some space at the expense of Vermaelen and let off a rasping shot that nearly snapped the upright! Outrageous how things like that only ever seem to happen to Arsenal.
Our time was upon us. Vermaelen sensing Mulemo was uneasy with long balls, fired a 45 yard looping ball to Nasri, the Liege defender inexplicably slipped over, the ball bounced on the 18 yard box, Sammy followed the ball in and clipped the ball on the bounce into the bottom corner. An amazing finish!
Moments later, Eboue played a poor pass outside our box, Goreux picked up the ball, Gallas shoved him over in pub brawl style fashion and unbelievably, the ref waved play on. Perhaps feeling guilty about not giving Eboue a penalty earlier in the night (Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that. He really has cleaned up his act, hasn’t he?).
The ball went up the other the other end moments later, Denilson looked up and smashed a 30 yard screamer at the goal. The ball moved 3 times enroute and deceived the keeper to give our young Brazilian his first of the season. Denilson and I have a strange relationship… I didn’t enjoy his contribution in preseason, but last season, I preferred him as the holding midfielder. If only he had the bulk…
The second half was a bit of a write off. Arsenal mostly controlled the play and nothing of note really happened bar of course some shoddy defending and another woodwork effort with seven minutes to go. Theo managed a run out and looked powerful and pacey and Cesc was being praised for keeping his cool when Carcela-Gonzalez went for the head butt. The press didn’t mention Cesc slapped his face moments before in the challenge, but fair play to the captain for keeping things under control.
So in conclusion. William Gallas wears a gum shield. Samir Nasri is a sly finisher. Cesc has his temper under wraps. Denilson has promised to deliver us more screamers. Eboue is still a diving cheat. Gibbs is out. Arshavin bleeds for the cause. Willy G looks like the elephant man. Gibbs is injured. Arsenal are going to have to out score the Chav’s on Sunday, because we’re not going to out defend.
Ratings:
Almunia: Hard to rate a keeper who had very little to do, yet still nearly managed to concede 3 times. The ball bouncing in the box was a particular worry. He’ll need to dominate his area on Sunday if we’re to have a chance. 6
Gibbs: I thought he was having a good game at left back, I’m just gutted his been cursed by the same injury Clichy suffered with for so many years. Someone needs to invent foot-pads for defenders… or metal boots. 7
Vermaelen: I love the guy, he is always keen to get forward and defends with his heart on his sleeve. However, we’re still looking susceptible at the back and he is part of that. 7
Gallas: After a nasty collision with Arshavin, it would have been easy for him to go off. He didn’t and he fought on despite looking like he’d just been involved in a nasty car crash. I’m giving him an extra 0.5 for that. 7.5
Eboue: Sloppy passing, loads of running into the opposition half with no end product and a customary dive. We’ll get the old cut and pasters telling us that he’s really improved this season, I’d beg to differ… he’s still the same player. The irony of being a cheat and having a God message on your shirt is not lost on many of us. 6
Denilson: I thought the Brazilian had a pretty solid return to action. His passes in the main went forward, he joined well with the attack and he played in an intelligent manner. Oh, and he even managed to bag his second of the season, first of the Champions league. 7
Song: One of the players steadily moving out of the marmite category, straight into blind love pile. He can do no wrong amongst some of you, which leads to cries of man of the match after every game, tales of spectacular control of the game and comparisons to some of the all time greats. He played well yesterday, but to hear some of you harp on about how amazing he is, is quite beyond me. He’s supposed to protect the back 4, we have the worst opening season defensive record in our history. 7.5
Cesc: Played superbly well, hustling and putting his weight about in defence, creating and crafting out chances going forward. He’s been unlucky on the goal scoring front, but he’s still the form man in our side at the moment. Give him movement up front and he’ll give you chances. 8
Nasri: Drifts in and out of games, but after 3 months out, that’s to be expected. A laboured performance from our Frenchman today and a very tidy finish. 7
Vela: Didn’t really have much of an impact on the game. We have to give him time though, he’s really quite green to the first team. He does have a lovely touch and he knows how to turn his marker inside out. I’ve got high hopes for the new Robbie Fowler. 6.5
Arshavin: Far too much criticism from the fan base over the contribution of Arsh. It’s normally the people telling you Song should take the Balon D’or right now. He is a dream of a player, every person I speak to about Arsenal talks about our Russian green with envy. He is a once in a lifetime player, enjoy what he does and stop moaning when he doesn’t give you 4 goals a game. He’s feeling his way into this season and he’s still managed some powerful, tangible stats (Tangible as in goals and assists, intangible as in Hleb assisting the assister). He even bled for the cause tonight. 7
See you in the comment Grovers!
Le Grove is now smart phone compatible!
Pedro
Geoff
November 25, 2009 at 09:31
Aaaaaagghhhhh!!!!
November 25, 2009 at 09:32
No More Injuries Please!!!!!!
November 25, 2009 at 09:32
pedro
November 25, 2009 at 09:36
boom
November 25, 2009 at 09:36
Late, very late. See me after class.
November 25, 2009 at 09:37
Where is everyone?
We really should be looking to buy a GK in January. I can’t handle watching Almunia stuck to his goal line!! And Fabianski really is no better in his all round game. Almunia being able to command his area is like Fabianski being able to remain focused for 90 minutes. Not gonna happen.
November 25, 2009 at 09:37
Apologies, the dog ate my draft…
November 25, 2009 at 09:38
Traore was decent against Sunderland.
I’d have him ahead of Silvestre for sure!!
Morning all!
November 25, 2009 at 09:39
And we have to let Traore play against the Chav’s!! I’d rather see a kid who’s fighting for his place and has a chance to claim the LB spot as his own than an experienced yet often calamitous veteran like Silvestre. Only one of those two is gonna really put 150% into that 90 minutes.
November 25, 2009 at 09:40
iceman – snap!
November 25, 2009 at 09:40
Song – MAN OF THE MATCH!! haha – i love that guy.
They should have had a penalty, and so should have Eboue. There was contact, he went down, and if he was Stevie G people would be saying it was the biggest injustice since Henry. No need to call our own players names, you wouldn’t call your sister a slut even if she brought a couple of boys home! haha
Next on Chelsea, we will win 2-1.
November 25, 2009 at 09:40
fair post Pedro……although, Vela actually hit the post which he should have done better with.
Oh – Denilson scored vs Everton so its his second goal of the season (unless of course you mean ECL?)
I thought Song was brilliant last night. He is gaining more and more confidence. Even has the cheek to try a bit of fancy foot work an opening. Shame bout the shot but, I think he’ll continue to improve.
Finally, Eboue was clipped. Maybe the previous 20 dives by Eboue now gets us all thinking “immediate dive”. On this occasion, he was clipped though.
November 25, 2009 at 09:41
Can’t expect much from a player we got only to recoup some money from some second rate Spanish club….
:-/
November 25, 2009 at 09:41
man of the match, SONG!!!!
November 25, 2009 at 09:42
Someone teach Almunia to kick, whats the point of kicking the freakin ball all the way to the other Goalie…Denilson looked good on his game back, he played with confidence and took a nice speculative effort.
I love Song!!! (There I said it…hope he plays well on Sunday)
They wont make more protective boots cos anything thicker would dull the touch for footballers. You would think they could handle a bit thicker leather tho
( Gutted for gibbs he is a fine left back, but i dont see it as a disaster like the papers make out, Traore has quality and can easily step up if he takes his chance!!
November 25, 2009 at 09:43
i would prefer Silvestre over traore because chelsea don’t play with much width he would atleast help us defend set plays were we are most likely to concede from on sunday. we will concede from set plays on sunday may i add.
November 25, 2009 at 09:44
Tony…
Silvestre is known to score the odd goal…but you def right about the 150%
November 25, 2009 at 09:44
Wiseman, I would call her a slut… and it was a dive. He didn’t need to go down.
November 25, 2009 at 09:45
Agreed on Arshavin, you gotta love the big-bummed mini wizard!
One thing though, when you say:
“Outrageous how things like that only ever seem to happen to Arsenal”
I have to disagree. They normally fly in the top corner!
Maybe our luck is changing? I might as well say maybe Eboue has stopped diving…
November 25, 2009 at 09:45
The sight of Andrei with blood spilling forth from his £3.99 haircut has prompted me to revaluate my stance on his recent performances.
A player ‘who mentally has already left’ probably would have gone off after Tommy tried to decapitate him, but stood up to be counted and got a head wound for his troubles.
Andrei Arshavin = mini Terry Butcher!
November 25, 2009 at 09:46
not another injury..gibbs oh well bring on the cheski
November 25, 2009 at 09:47
Morning all
Pedro, where is my rating?
November 25, 2009 at 09:48
I disagree on Silvestre/Traore
I would have Silvestre in their for aerial ability and experience.
Chelsea don’t have much pace down the right flank with Bosingwa out, and we need some more strength defending set pieces.
I think it’s a no brainer.
November 25, 2009 at 09:48
So why doesnt Denilson get a mention??!
November 25, 2009 at 09:49
*there not their. Sleep deprivation is a horrible thing!
November 25, 2009 at 09:49
can’t wait for sunday, i’ll be taking a close look on Arshavin, hope he doesn’t disappoint though.
IN FACT WE NEED HIM NOT TO DISAPPOINT IF WE ARE GOING TO WIN THAT MATCH.
November 25, 2009 at 09:51
Geoff I am irked by your stubbornness. FYI i remember song being on the receiving end of alot of fouls yesterday, not the other way round.
DDM I see you have jumped on the the Geoff’s bandwagon of not rating Song. Go on blame all our defensive problems on him. After all if he was Esien we would be top of the league without having lost a single game just like Chelsea.
November 25, 2009 at 09:52
‘The sight of Andrei with blood spilling forth from his £3.99 haircut’
Classic.
The hilarity of that comment is that he flies his barber over from Russia to do it!
November 25, 2009 at 09:52
Team v Chelsea
Almunia
Sagna Gallas Vermaelen Silvestre
Cesc Song Denilson
Arshavin Eduardo _________
I’m guessing that last spot will probably go to Rosicky, but Nasri and Walcott are in with a shot as well…
November 25, 2009 at 09:52
Chipo
MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY. WE NEED SILVESTRE TO DEFEND SET PIECES. IVANOVIC IS NOT THE FASTEST PLAYER. he’ll be the one attacking our left back mind you
November 25, 2009 at 09:53
Song man of the match by far…Eboue did not dive, there was contact and the penalty should have been given. Anywhere else on the field it would have been a free kick.
We are going to suffer when Song goes off to the ACN next year, then people will see how much he actually contributes to this team.
November 25, 2009 at 09:54
He got a 7 gambon.
November 25, 2009 at 09:55
GW1, I hear the foundation of the Emirates are going to crumble when Song boards that flight… I’m not looking forward to it.
November 25, 2009 at 09:55
morning y’all. my favourite take from wenger last night was gallas: “He’s got a sore ankle and a black eye, we hope he’ll be ready for sunday. Arsh: “He’s got staples in his head and will be ready for sunday.” I love arsh (not in that way tho)
November 25, 2009 at 09:55
FINGERS CROSSED THAT WILLY G IS GOING TO BE OK FOR CHELSKI. GREAT POST, KEEP IT UP
November 25, 2009 at 09:56
mimi
good point on essien. they have actually lost two games guys and essien played in all of them. so matter how good your DM is the other team will score through no fault of the DM.
November 25, 2009 at 09:58
Heck of a lot of gaps in the crowd yesterday. Seems like a lot of season ticket holders couldn’t be arsed to turn up.
November 25, 2009 at 09:58
I thought Song played steady last night.
One thing he has improved is the speed of his feet.
he is getting to balls you dont expect him to.
I also thought Vela, whilst he did not score had a great game, he showed good pace, and I would like to see him start against Chelsea.
November 25, 2009 at 09:59
Great point Mimi.
3 goals, one assist, Chelsea playing the best they’ve played in years.
They’ve conceded 8, we’ve conceded 20… they’re 5 points clear, we’re not.
November 25, 2009 at 10:00
I feel bad for Gibbs…but I feel Silvetre can cover well at left back.
I was not at all impressed with Traore against Sunderland, he seemed completely lost/uninterested.
November 25, 2009 at 10:00
Morning Grovers,
Am I the first to gloat about us going through and the ‘pool playing in Europa cup in the new year??
November 25, 2009 at 10:01
Curse of November taking its toll on us.
November 25, 2009 at 10:03
Pedro – labelling Eboue a cheat is a bit unfair. We might as well call every single football player a cheat. Stealing yards on throw ins, stepping forward before the ball is played at a freekick, appealing for a corner which is not yours, pushing the ball forward when taking a free kick, pulling a players jersey…the list goes on and it’s all cheating.
November 25, 2009 at 10:05
Gibbs on crutches is better then Silvestre.
Again Song played well, for me Arshavin is to quiet at the moment, needs to get in the game more.
Poor 2nd half by our standards, at least we can rest some players for the greek game
November 25, 2009 at 10:12
“Gibbs on crutches is better than Silvestre”
Classic!
November 25, 2009 at 10:12
The frustrating thing about Ebousless is that he anticipated the tackle and went down (or dived to you and me) when he was in an excellent position.I know he has no final ball or finish, but with that kind of action he completely negates the attack.
Surely he must have realised that UEFA have a mandate out preventing refs from awarding us penalties because of Eduardo – the nasty, cheating foreigner…
November 25, 2009 at 10:13
GW1, I’d say I was being incredibly fair.
Cheating is cheating… you can differentiate it by how often you do it.
If cheating were measured, Eboue would top the charts.
November 25, 2009 at 10:13
Fuck the fucking banks and their fucking unfair charges that we now CANT fucking reclaim the fucking cunts!!!!
November 25, 2009 at 10:13
Pedro this is an argument I am never gonna win(for now) I will save myself the trouble and just shut up.Case closed.
November 25, 2009 at 10:14
denilson’s second goal of the season! first was everton and that was a screamer as well!
November 25, 2009 at 10:14
We could’ve drawn or lost the game???
OMG! Who worte this? BBK????
November 25, 2009 at 10:15
Wow this article is wrong on a whole bunch of levels, firstly what you said about Denilson was wrong he scored a screamer against Everton and if my memory serves me correctly it was the first goal of the season, perhaps your dislike for him has blinded you to that. Eboue had a great game at right back and was unlucky not to score with a powerful shot, most times he lost the ball he won it back again. What Eboue gives us that Sagna doesn’t is complete unpredictability, he can turn up anywhere while Sagna always sticks to the wing. Eboue gives the team full commitment and is obviously loved by the players because he celebrates everyones goals like he scored them himself he gives a lot more to the team than just his performances on the pitch.
Vela had a huge impact on the game just the final pass to him was just wrong time and time again. Compare his display to that of Eduardo against Sunderland and you’ll see the difference, he made some great runs, deft little flicks, some fantastic passes and apart from that ridiculous shot he was a danger that kept the two centre backs firmly focused on him. The amount of bad passes sent his way was ridiculous. They were always just out of his reach but it seems to me like you only rate strikers games if they’ve scored or provided an assist, I suggest you watch a rerun of the match and focus on all the little things he did, because they add up to a fantastic performance and one that Eduardo could learn from.
Giibs’ injury is a blow but not a disaster, I’ve been waiting for Traore to get a run of games because he’s very good, stronger and more tenacious in the tackle but not as good going forward. Traore has a tendancy to be sloppy at times just like Gibbs had when he got his run last season.With more experience I can see him easily surpassing Gibbs.
The problem with the team yesterday was communictaion, too many players didn’t know where the others would be, I lost count of the number of through balls to players that didn’t make the run. The amount of times players went for the same ball was dangerous too, thats the biggest threat to success against Chelsea, Chelsea are as good as they are because of their bond, in every position we have players comparable to theirs (perhaps not at left back at the moment) but without the amount of changes forced on us and the inevatable communication problems that brings we could be in trouble. I think Vela should start in place of Eduardo against Chelsea, A front three of Arshavin, Vela, Walcott would with SOng Fabregas and denilson behind them would mean victory.
November 25, 2009 at 10:17
A guy returning after three months and play with such composure and efficiency with goal to boot deserves a mention.Denilson looked in good shape and bulked up(?).with Song maybe will give extra midfield D-balance. But as long as Weng keeps on not solving GK situation ,the extra goal or two that a top keeper might have saved in a touch game.. no chance to break the ceiling of semi finals or second best
November 25, 2009 at 10:17
Good result we can only beat whats in front of us,but can see your concerns the same play is a constant flaw in our play and against better teams we will be punished
Gutted for gibbs he really plays with drive and determination, we will miss him.
Think silvest will be of use against chavski, he can defend at corners and set pieces with him and fingers crossed gallas (with a piont to prove still) and tv being just a bloody good defender we should be able to cut them out at the back and offer a threat for us at the other end.
Dont forget silvest played for utd so must be schooled in the kick em and get away with it school, just like chealsea every little helps
November 25, 2009 at 10:18
mango i think geoff’s point is, if we continue to give opportunities like we did last night we’ll get punished by better sides like those xxxxin chavs. see they’re keeping essien and drogbreath on the bench tonight
November 25, 2009 at 10:18
TAIG WHATS THAT???
November 25, 2009 at 10:21
mimi Says:
November 25, 2009 at 09:51
Geoff I am irked by your stubbornness. FYI i remember song being on the receiving end of alot of fouls yesterday, not the other way round.
DDM I see you have jumped on the the Geoff’s bandwagon of not rating Song. Go on blame all our defensive problems on him. After all if he was Esien we would be top of the league without having lost a single game just like Chelsea.
For your information I form my own opinions, I don’t need to jump on a bandwagon as you put it to have an opinion, did I dig you out for your opinion just because you jumped on the “Song is Great” bandwagon…..jog on…
November 25, 2009 at 10:21
song was superb and has been superb for weeks, or maybe months. either way he is protecting the back 4 in open play fantastically well. we are conceding the vast majority of our goals from set pieces.
He is equally to blame for that along with about 8 other players. the goals against column has a lot more to do with the clubs poor organisation at set pieces than any single player.
Did you see that free kick – 3 Liege players unmarked around the penalty spot! this is the sort of thing that will cost us trophies because we have everything else in our game.
November 25, 2009 at 10:21
Nick – This whole unfair bank charges thing and the reclaiming of it. The Supreme Court has decided that the OFT isn’t allowed to apply fairness rules to the banks and the charges they impose. Even the banks thought they would lose this case as the Law Court and the High Court had already agreed with the OFT.
November 25, 2009 at 10:22
The lads had their heads on Sunday. And rightly so.
The champions league group stage has quickly become a seeded farce. Liverpool being the ONLY team ‘expected’ to qualify, not to do so.
What price the injuries? We’ll find out on Sunday. It’s a bonus we’ve got Traore as a rediculous 3rd! But no one could have predicted the loss of our first 2 left backs…
I’m still confindent for Sunday. Although i’m worried that it’s already a ‘must win’ game now. A draw at the Chavs would be seen as a good result. But i’m wandering the response of our boys to that or anything worse… We’re definately a confidence team.
What i’d give for one Ray Parlour. Hmmm… maybe 15 Eboues??? How he’s …. no wait i can’t be arsed to critasise him AGAIN… as you said, it’s the same player as last year, and nothing’s changed.
Roll on Sunday, hopefully we’ll beat the Chavs, the Everscum will beat Liverpool… and Henry will hand ball into the Real Madrid net! hahahahahah
Keep it Goonerish
Richaldo
November 25, 2009 at 10:23
zee;
I think we had some tired minds out there last night. A few players have played too many games and should’ve been rested.
But they have 5 days now to prepare for the chavs and if they cant get themselves up for that one, then we are in trouble.
I also think we have lost a bit of form, collectively and individually. That happens, but we managed to get the win and hopefully the return of the likes of Nasri, Theo and Rosicky will give us the spark to get back to where we were…
I fucking hate Novemeber!
November 25, 2009 at 10:23
Silvestre has no pace at all, even last night against a poor side he looked shaky. Fuck knows why wenger bought the manc in the 1st place, surely their was someone better out their then him.
Senderos is a better option, up against Drogba on sunday he would shit himself tho (along with 60k other fans)
November 25, 2009 at 10:24
We won’t get away with the same sloppy defending against Chelsea. Last night we needed one of those European refs who border on the officious as the one we ended up with let too much go in the early stages of the game and so for the last 20 minutes I was thinking that if we got out with no serious injuries we would be doing well. The No 22 who did Gibbs was at it all night and this pressing of the ball as the player kicks it has taken firm root in the game this year. Van Persie has suffered because of it, I saw Babel injured by a two-footed version on saturday and now Gibbs. It seems to have eluded the referees because there is seldom direct contact with the ankle or foot but it is still very dangerous. As it stands, with the players we have, Chelsea worries me for Sunday. We have no physical presence at all up front and I can see their tedious power grinding us down unless we play on their weaknesses and our strength which is the lack of pace through their central defence. It could be a bumpy ride.
November 25, 2009 at 10:24
Our problem is our GOAL FUCKING KEEPER!!!! Why no one can understand the impact this is having on our defence is ridiculous!! Almunia (& Fabianski) do not create the stability or strength they should. I bet Gallas & TV fucking hate knowing that they have a permanent liability standing behind them and this infects the whole team with a vulnerability!!
November 25, 2009 at 10:24
taig just see it,bollocks that glad i got mine in early
November 25, 2009 at 10:25
FIRST GOAL IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.
Just before anyone else points it out.
November 25, 2009 at 10:26
Agbonglahor linked to us for £17m.
Someone is about to start contract negotiations!
November 25, 2009 at 10:27
Bongo, if you’d read the article, you’ll have noticed that I don’t dislike Denilson.
Vela had a huge impact on the game? Interesting…
November 25, 2009 at 10:27
seen a few posts directed to Geoff this morning bout today’s post !!
Its Pedro’s post. He worte it.
Pedro,
I do not understand one of you comments bout Song in the comments. I think your rating of Cesc and Song is pretty much bang on ! I think it was between those two for man of the match with Cesc slightly edging it……..but you seem to still hate Song in the comments. Your ratings sugest you recognised his good work, strength on the ball, quick feet with FAIRLY decent control and the fact that he seemed to sit back when needed, chase back and break up play and join the attack at the right times.
Can you clarify your postition on Song ??? I think he will be missed when he sods off to the ACN.
November 25, 2009 at 10:27
Pedro – Fucking hell, I know! Can’t people read!!
November 25, 2009 at 10:28
TAIG;
Take your medication fella… And soon, there’s a good patient….
November 25, 2009 at 10:29
hold your hands up Pedro.
“The ball moved 3 times enroute and deceived the keeper to give our young Brazilian his first of the season.”
Your post clearly says first of the season.
We all make mistakes mate but it takes a bigger man to hold his hands up.
November 25, 2009 at 10:30
Lou we will do alright small pacey players for the open play,and at set pieces push up tv gallas and fish face all can get a goal for us.
Chealsea cant kcik what they cant catch play around them and they will soon start kicking out in frustration.
cesc showed a bit of sense last night and with his running battle with cashly bodes well as it goes off with them two every game so hopefully cole will be the one seeing red.
I really am confident
DDM get your own bandwagon this ones full
November 25, 2009 at 10:30
Tony;
How you can lump Fabianski in with your slating of Almunia is daft as fook mate! The fella has played how many times this season? Once? He for me, is the number one and the sooner the better, IMO.##But I refuse to have any kinda debate on this subject as most people are stoopid… FACT!
November 25, 2009 at 10:31
Hey Magitlarge……hope all is well mate !!
I hope you’re right. I like Aby……although, it looks like we are after “the new Henry” for £14mm according to the sun.
November 25, 2009 at 10:33
Lou;
I think as long as we have a ref who will actually have the balls to pull up JT and the others for their persistent shirt pulling, blocking off, handballs and general dirty snide play, then we will be OK…. Shit, I am really worried now!
November 25, 2009 at 10:34
I thought Vela played well too.
His movement was fantastic and it was a shame he didn’t score to cap it all off.
November 25, 2009 at 10:34
Nick – I could soon empty it, I had marrowfat peas last night
November 25, 2009 at 10:35
if senderos goes up against drogba i think we’re fucked
November 25, 2009 at 10:35
these days usually all the teams whom we are playing against have just 2 or 3 shots on target against us and for some teams even less than that,song is shielding back four so credit should be given to him.even oppsoing teams have that much shots on target against chelsea and manure.
if u blame song for opposition chances,then essien is also to be blamed for those.and what about mashchereno?
song is doing much more better than anyone from us could have think of,and i can clearly understand now why did wenger not buy a dm in summer.
November 25, 2009 at 10:35
It’s from the star that story, so take it with a pinch of salt
November 25, 2009 at 10:35
wardo in the post he says first, then in the player ratings goes on to say second but first in the cl
November 25, 2009 at 10:36
i’m happy abt Denilson’s return because it allows Fabregas to play further upfield. whereas when Ramsey plays Fabregas has to sit deeper. my team for the chelsea game would be:
Clown
Sagna Gallas TV Traore
Fabregas Song Denilson
Theo Vela Arshavin
bring on Nasri for Theo later on & Rosicky for Denilson and Eddy for Vela
November 25, 2009 at 10:36
I just have this feeling that we are going to overcome Chelski on Sunday…do not know why but I do!!!
Mark my words…Monday I will remind you guys about this comment.
November 25, 2009 at 10:37
Al is proven averageness, but Fabski hadn’t really been given a proper run in the first team, even Don Vito got a run, so that’s a bit harsh on our Polski bretheren….
November 25, 2009 at 10:38
Nick. I admire your confidence and hope some seeps through to me. But Chelsea are quite adept at grinding out results when not playing well, like they did against Man Utd. We are not. Perhaps our pace through them will be decisive. Personally I would like to see someone like Vela or Walcott play on John Terry’s shoulder so we can knock balls past him. Terry is so slow these days that once a quick player gets a yard on him, he has to pull them down. He is very uncomfortable against pace and Carvallho is not that much quicker these days. It’s those big balls up to Drogba that worry me, with Anelka playing around him. We certainly have to impose our strengths on them and take the few chances that are likely to come our way. I also hope Deco plays because he is a shadow of the player he once was and slows their game down..
November 25, 2009 at 10:39
MG. I am with you 100% there.
November 25, 2009 at 10:39
Mimim you’re spot on. I can’t be sure if Pedro’s response was laced with sarcasm, but it seems that way to me.
Pedro – imho you’ve got yourself calling both heads and tails on this one.
Cos there’s no way that you follow DDM’s theory that if we had Essien we’d be unbeaten’ or is he saying that if we had Essien we wouldn’t even give up chances.
I’m looking out for your response to Wardo’s mail, cos I think he’s implying the same thing
November 25, 2009 at 10:39
ManGoonian Says:
November 25, 2009 at 10:28
TAIG;
Take your medication fella… And soon, there’s a good patient….
What’s that about??
And as for my rating of Fabianski, he’s played 27 times for Arsenal and shown on a lot of occasions that he has clangers in him! They are both shit.
I refuse to have a debate on this as both keepers are dog shit!
November 25, 2009 at 10:40
Nick….i know mate.
Is drogba available this Sunday ??
Is Lamps available ??
November 25, 2009 at 10:40
Vela had about as much impact on the game as Almunia.
First game back for a while though, and he is very much like Eduardo (and disappointingly Nasri) in that he drifts in and out of games but might well bag you a goal out of nothing. Frustrating but useful!
TAIG – that banks thing has put me in a foul mood – they owe me about £1600 the bastards!
November 25, 2009 at 10:41
Oi Pedro, you ’slated’ Vela for exactly the same type of game you praise Bentner for having!! Willing runner/outlet, excellent link up play, excellent touch but shite in front of goal……hmmmmm!
November 25, 2009 at 10:41
Alright Wardo. All good except for broken sleep patterns. Very worth it tho when he loks back at you at 4am as if to say.. “what??”
Shall we file “new Henry” along side “new Vieira”?
Good job we’ve already got the new Zidane and new Hugo Sanchez tho.
And when cesc leaves we’ve aleady got the new Cesc, with the new Liam Brady also in the wings.
Be nice to have players known in their own right. I’m sure they’re the ones who win things.
November 25, 2009 at 10:42
Wardo, how long for you. Was it in the new year?
November 25, 2009 at 10:42
never ever thought i’d say this but is diaby likely to be back on sunday? chelsea are all about power and we could do with extra bit of size in there. hopefully porto will kick the shit out of them
November 25, 2009 at 10:42
Chippo – I could ask for about £3.5k!!
November 25, 2009 at 10:45
I thought Le Grove was where you can have an opinion…?
Guys make comments and give their opinion but make statements like…”I refuse to debate on this as both keepers are dog shit!”
If you make a statement or give an opinion at least afford the other guys a chance to challenge it.
November 25, 2009 at 10:46
lou i cant see theo starting,on the right against cole he would be useless cole is a good defender and the last couple of games from theo have been embarrassing in putting it down to being out so long but all he seems to have in the locker to beat people with is pace
.
Through the middle his lack of awareness for players around him would be worse.
Nasri is the one, again he does drift in and out of games but he always gets stuck in dont take no shit and has the skill to beat players and the intelligence to pick a pass and last night shows just how good a finisher he really is.My team would be..
Big al
sagna gallas tv silvest
song
nasri cesc
eddie arsh rosicky
but think dsenilson will start with nas in for eddie
November 25, 2009 at 10:46
Chelsea for me is an essential win. do or die!!!
if Gallas is injured i dread to think what Drogba will do to Senderos – yikes!
i agree with most of u – we lack a world class GK
however i dnt think wenger is going to dislodge Alumnia so therefore i think it’d be a gr8 idea if Mannone wears the gloves for the Carling cup games and Fabianksi dons the gloves in the FA Cup….at least that way we’l know what they’r all abt.
November 25, 2009 at 10:48
Magit……i could not agree with you more.
I think calling players the New ******* only adds extra pressure. Just say (the press that is) their own name and if you think they are good. Does do my head in……
Aby sounds good to me as he is not ECL cup tied !!
Yeah 7 weeks to go now. Jan 15th is the exact date. Bet it is worth it………tbh, cant wait.
November 25, 2009 at 10:50
Wardo..most are directed at Geoff as this argument started from the previous post. All in all It isnt worth arguing about anymore.
November 25, 2009 at 10:50
TAIG just got this email from a friend who works for the Financial Ombudsman:
“It’s digusting. Work is in a state of shock.
Personally, I think it’s all down to timing. How could the banks manage a further c.£3 billion write off on thier current balance sheets??
The cash would need to be raised from the taxpayer surely?
What’s truely amazing is that the court have refused an appeal to the European Court of Justice. Seems very shifty.”
November 25, 2009 at 10:50
Morning Pedro, Geoff and Le Grovers,
Its true that for all our superiority we still look like we can concede at anytime.
I wonder if its anything to do with the fact we play a kind of Brazilian style back-line?
What I mean is the full-backs are continuously getting forward and that leaves huge gaps in our defence.
Normally always 2 v 2.
Of course this does our attacking game the world of good but we suffer at the back.
I’ve always felt that a full-back’s first priority is to defend. Obviously this isn’t the case with Arsenal’s!
November 25, 2009 at 10:51
Pedro – Can I respectfully ask that you give us your (expanded) thoughts on how Song actually played, not just your thoughts on how you think other Grovers hype him up.
I first read your report whilst on a call to my boss, now I’ve read it again and you haven’t really said anything about how he actually played.
Its odd
November 25, 2009 at 10:51
Wardo, why do I have to hate Song unless I think he’s the solution to the worlds problems?
First of the season… in the Champions league. I can go back and amend it if we’re struggling with that one? It was a champions league game I was writing about?
Song played well yesterday, but to hear some people go on about him the way they do perplexes me. He’s playing ok, exceptional? I couldn’t agree…
People can keep shouting Song is the greatest from the rooftops, it doesn’t make it true. Be as vocal as you like, but he’s not in the same league as Essien.
DDM, I didn’t think he was very involved in anything yesterday?
November 25, 2009 at 10:52
I dont know how anyone can brand fabianski dog shit when he has never had a run in the side. nearly all his appearances have been one offs – rarely followed up by another game for weeks. you cannot judge a player based on that, and whats more was fabianski really that poor in those games? I can remember him having several blinders.
November 25, 2009 at 10:53
Very good post today. I was thinking that myself. I can’t see us keeping a clean sheet on Sunday. Whether they concentrate more when they feel more threatened remains to be seen. Gutted for Gibbs. Vela’s toe poke came off the post Pedro.
November 25, 2009 at 10:53
Commentator on Sky last night was gushing over Song. Literally every time he touched the ball he was praising him to the hilt.
November 25, 2009 at 10:53
I think the “new _____” tag is yet another example of lazy journalism.. Easier to do rather than descibe the players real attibutes and shortcomings.
Nasri is the new Zidane because he’s of Algerian descent FFS.
In that case I’m the new Dennis Bergkamp as my dads sides comes from Holland. Form an orderly queue gentlement!
November 25, 2009 at 10:53
If a player plays in the ECL is he then ineligible for the EUFA (or whatever it’s called theses days) cup?
November 25, 2009 at 10:54
Gunner 1
i agree with ur last post & hope ur feeling that we’r gonna beat chelsea is true
I just think its gonna take a miracle to beat chelsea because they will shut us down ala Sunderland and not give us any room to play our passing game….they can park the bus and hit us on the counter with a long ball to drogba and lo and behold 1-0 ……i know i’m being very negative but i give us a 35% chance of winning.
November 25, 2009 at 10:54
Arsenal are considering a £17 million move for Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor.
The Daily Star says Arsene Wenger has kept a watchful eye on the Aston Villa star ever since he burst on to the scene in 2006.
The Gunners boss was tipped to move for Agbonlahor in the summer of 2007 but the Frenchman plumped for Croatia international Eduardo instead.
But Wenger’s head has been turned yet again by Agbonlahor, who has scored seven goals so far this season but only twice in his last nine games.
And the Arsenal chief remains worried by the hitman’s tendency to blow hot and cold.
November 25, 2009 at 10:56
gazzap – He simply isn’t good enough to play for Arsenal or at least he hasn’t shown he is. You know full well that he has blunders in him and looks very nervy nearly every time he plays. He may well end up being a good GK but right now he isn’t and that is no good for us. I’m all up for having faith in players but that has to be balanced with having good players on the field now.
November 25, 2009 at 10:58
L’pool out hey……pretty funny imo
November 25, 2009 at 10:58
Chipo – It is all very strange. I mean, how can the 2 courts say yes 100% and then the supreme court say no 100%?? And why can the banks keep on appealing and not the OFT? The timing hasn’t helped but neither has the fat cat bankers pocketing their 6 figure bonuses! I think we’ll see the OFT go the European Courts now.
November 25, 2009 at 10:59
Pedro,
thanks – dont think it needs amending. I was just pointing out why people are reading it 1st of the season.
As for Song. He is not the greatest. I do think he has been playing very well though and was shocked when I saw a turn of pace lst night to win the ball back (he got a smack in the face for his troubles also). I do think he is a confidence player and is getting better and better so, if he see’s a fan wearing his shirt in the crowd, he might push to the next level (i’m not gonna be the first to have his name on the back of my shirt tho but, I’ll keep an eye out for one this Sunday).
Lets see how he does vs Essien this Sun. Hope he does well then we know we do have a very decent prospect on our hands.
Finally, did you see Merson’s comments bout Song last night??? He said “he has made me eat my words” basically, Merse said he thought he was not good enough but now thinks he is really staking a claim for the DMF role at Arsenal.
November 25, 2009 at 10:59
Haha if we sign Agbonlahor i will come to the last game of the season in only a Santa hat.
Not a chance.
November 25, 2009 at 10:59
Big Dave,
I’d have thought it fairly obvious why Wenger bought Silvestre – experience. He was bought at a point when we were severely lacking in this department. Also as someone who acts as nothing but back-up I’m pretty hard pressed to think of anyone better. I guess Chelsea have 3 good players there but those 3 are rotating within the team regularly and I doubt any of them would have been happy to come on board knowing they’d just sit on the bench. Genuinely, who do people think we could get who would be happy to be nothing but a bench warmer, especially given that we’re not going to match chelsea’s wages for such players?
On to Eboue, personally I think he’s playing a lot better this season than last and he definitely seems to help with team spirit. However, I’d have to agree that his diving is silly and that his final ball is often non-existent. I find this latter point bizarre as there have been a number of occasions when he makes some great passes or shots but then other times he just seems to forget what to do, walks into a dead end and drops to the floor hoping to get something out of it. I often think that he must have a bet as to how many times he can get away with it.
Song is a good player and I am a bit worried about what we’ll do when he’s away. This isn’t because he’s that amazing (he’s good but he’s not irreplacable); it’s because we haven’t got anyone who seems to be a natural replacement.
Bongo, I’d have to disagree with your assessment of Gibbs and Traore as it seems a bit odd. You basically claim that a 22 yr old with little experience could be better than a 20 yr old with no experience as long as the 22 yr old is given experience. For me Gibbs is the better of the 2 and it would seem that Wenger agrees.
November 25, 2009 at 11:00
Look im not a fan of song but last night he looked good (it could have been the HD
)
so ive decided that Sunday is his final test, if he does well against world class players i will except he has the minerals.
THE FACT THE OPPOSITION WERE POOR could have played some part in this
BUT if he shrinks and makes silly mistakes and puts in anything other then 100% EFFORT he stays in the marmite..thats fair right??
November 25, 2009 at 11:00
# Chipo Says:
November 25, 2009 at 09:52
Team v Chelsea
Almunia
Sagna Gallas Vermaelen Silvestre
Cesc Song Denilson
Arshavin Eduardo _________
I’m guessing that last spot will probably go to Rosicky, but Nasri and Walcott are in with a shot as well…
# namibian gooner Says:
November 25, 2009 at 09:52
Chipo
MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY. WE NEED SILVESTRE TO DEFEND SET PIECES. IVANOVIC IS NOT THE FASTEST PLAYER. he’ll be the one attacking our left back mind you
———————————————————-
Spot on, Traore is bad in the air despite being 6ft 1 and especially with Diaby, Bendy & RVP [tall players] out
November 25, 2009 at 11:02
Gazzap – are you seriously putting forward the arguement that: the commentators lauded over Song = Song played well?!
That might be one of the daftest things I have ever heard!
I know Song played well last night, but I also know his game has weaknesses and I don’t need a commentator or anyone else to tell me.
November 25, 2009 at 11:02
Wardo on the same page i see
November 25, 2009 at 11:04
Count me in on the list that has lost faith in big Al.Glad we kept a clean sheet thanks to the post.
Lou i still think Deco has it in him as the player he used to be but he is wasted at Chelsea.
Drogba is a worry but if the mancs game is the barometer of what he’ll be like Sunday I am less worried. Hope our defense is upto it coz I am afraid of Chelsea’s physical capabilities. They always bully us. I pray that Galls is back by then, Drogba and Senderos against each other gives me nightmares.
November 25, 2009 at 11:04
morning all. I felt reassured with Denilson back in the side, at least i know what he does, unlike Diaby. I thought we wove some very pretty patterns but couldn’t finish moves off. we need someone thick as shit (Drogba) to lump the ball into the net or we won’t win the really tight games. replacing one graceful shortarse with another graceful shortarse does not a plan B make. Agbonlahor anyone?
November 25, 2009 at 11:05
supergunner. I think Nasri will start against the chavniks. I’m not that optimistic about the game though.
November 25, 2009 at 11:07
why doesn’t UEFA step in and ban the thug who assaulted Keiran Gibbs? This team obviously thinks nothing of hospitalising the oppposition, potentially ruining their careers. it’s mind boggling that they are allowed to get away with it.
November 25, 2009 at 11:07
Wardo, I heard Merson. I’m not saying Song shouldn’t be playing the holding role for us, I’m just saying he isn’t the greatest player in the world.
People go far to overboard in their praise of him, in the main, because of how toilet he was last year.
He played well attacking wise last night. His passing was pretty sloppy in the first half and he gave the ball away in a dodgy position… but lets remember who we were playing!
November 25, 2009 at 11:07
I said above, Agbonglahor smacks of contract negotation, thankfully. New contract will be announced sooner I reckon. Dec or in NY
November 25, 2009 at 11:08
Timao, I’ve heard Arsenal are going to take out a civil action against the underside of the perpetrators Nike Mercurial.
I’ll keep you posted on the progress…
November 25, 2009 at 11:09
Nick….@11:00
That is very very fair mate.
I use to think (and think there might be some factual truth in this) we would struggle to selll Song to Fulham/Charlton.
I now think we could get around £5-7mil for him and a club like Bolton, Portmouth, would buy him.
Geoff’s comment on why Barca, Real etc are not making noises bout buying Song or Denilson is cause they have better or just as good is very true.
If he can continue to improve, and handles Essien this weekend, he will increase in value. I still think some of the summer DMF’s mentioned on here are still more valuable tho.
C’mon Song….step up son. I want you to make the next grade !!
November 25, 2009 at 11:09
keeping my fingers crossed for Shava. Russia not qualifying would have been completely devastating for him. Hope he just gets over it, there’s the Euro, eh? moving to another country slash culture to live is tough too. you anglo-saxon lot living in UK wouldn’t know about it
November 25, 2009 at 11:11
Injuries screwing us at the moment. I suppose the only spot we actually have start worthy talent is at LB so in my book Traore gets the nod mixed in with some Silvestre at times.
Could it be possible that Denilson and Song are the partnership Wenger has been seeking all along in midfield? I know I know it was a piss poor team we played but if those two can offer more going forward consistently I could see it working.
That leaves Nasri, Arshavin, Rosicky, Walcott to cover the three top spots. Not the worst group players including a sub I must say.
November 25, 2009 at 11:13
Nick – well siad about Song looking good
People have been saying that ‘lets ee him against’ thing since he set up a great goal for Eboue gainsy Cardiff.
Then it was let see him against Prem opposition, then let see him away from home, then lets see him against a big team.
He’s done all of that…played against them all and done well against them all.
November 25, 2009 at 11:13
Wardo im there as well fully agree
November 25, 2009 at 11:13
LAzer……dont think Denilson and Song should be on the same pitch. Bit Like playing the following back four…..why have 2 left backs
Eboue Verm/Gallas Clichy Gibbs
November 25, 2009 at 11:14
Pedro
People go overboard about almost everything on here positive and negative. It’s human nature. Song is OK. The sky commentator was going overboard about him it was quite funny. Denilson’s goal shows that they should fucking shoot more often. Why Nasri didn’t shoot earlier on is beyond me. Both times they hit the woodwork beachboy was well beaten.
November 25, 2009 at 11:14
“… but to hear some people go on about him the way they do perplexes me.”
Pedro, I bet the ones that agree he is massive for us wonder as much on how people go on and on slating him even when he’s put on a good performance.
November 25, 2009 at 11:15
it’s not the boots, that challenge would have broken a dutch bacon farmer’s foot. but in fact your 0.1 second advantage in a short sprint is HUGE, well worth the risk if it means you outpace your opponent. But i blame AW for not withidrawing Gibbs BEFORE he got injured, since he is our ONLY option at left back while ALL other positions are covered. he was the one that needed looking after more than anyone else. it is so frustrating!
November 25, 2009 at 11:15
sharkey then chealsea is the final exam for me….he either goes to top of the class or stays with the class clown eboue
November 25, 2009 at 11:16
Sharkey, that is patently not true.
Let see him do it away from home? Who said that?
Who said about Prem opposition? He’s been playing against Prem opposition for two years now!
You’re love for Song is so over the top…
November 25, 2009 at 11:16
song was great and we can now see y wenger has renewed his contract. he is just getting better and better. i love the way denilson does a head dance once he scores. could someone put it in u youtube? we should have silvestre for traore. its a big game and we dont want the same thing that happened with gibbs against united to happen to him. so silvestre coz of experience.
that game is a must win if we r 2 keep chelsea in check and not let them run away.
our home record is good and i know we will win it. HOW FAR IS RvP WITH HIS PLACENTA? SOMEONE PLS!
November 25, 2009 at 11:16
I think it could work Wardo, maybe stop leaking some of those goals we have been. We will still have a problem with the set pieces but with those two we have a solid core and Cesc does the setup and quaterbacking for Eduardo, Theo, Arshavin, Rosicky.
And yes 12 months ago I would have never said that Song and Denilson in mid could work.
November 25, 2009 at 11:17
@ Lazer, Traore can only be used on the post or on the edge of the box for set-plays bcuz he is terrible in the air, we can get overlap from Sagna’s side. Silv must play for setplays reason only, our three tallest players are injured.
November 25, 2009 at 11:17
Wardo – £5-7m for a 22 yr old DM with 50+ Prem games, not to mention the way he’s playing at the moment !!
Were you out with yer old man last night or wot
November 25, 2009 at 11:18
Timao, I doubt boots make that much of a difference on a football pitch when someone is jostling you…
Ronaldinho has played his whole career in leather boots and he’s done ok.
November 25, 2009 at 11:19
if denilsong start’s on sunday it won’t be very nice to watch as they will get bullied, horribly
November 25, 2009 at 11:19
losing gobbs and clichy is a massive kick in the teeth – basically we are fucked defensively against chelsea, so we are relying on arshavin to get four – or probably five this time if we want to get anything from sunday.
November 25, 2009 at 11:19
GM thats always been the thing that pissed me off we have 11 men between us and the goal so we try and pass around them,surely you have a pot shot it takes a deflection and goes in or you get a corner far more productive then pretty passes
and as denilson showed some just fly in 
November 25, 2009 at 11:19
Traore will be fine Timao.
November 25, 2009 at 11:20
Right superG but surely Silvestre barely offers anything going forward. Traore has track speed to atleast keep the opposition RB honest and not always be bombing forward.
November 25, 2009 at 11:21
BBK
What options do we have? I think most of our midfield could be bullied. I’m a bit more on your wavelength about Sunday I’m afraid.
November 25, 2009 at 11:23
Pedro – i don’t understand your point about ronaldinho. leather is no guarantee of protection. it depends what kind of leather and how thick it is. i’ve seen ronaldinho’s boots, they’re like fine leather carpet slippers. he’s just been hard to foul, (and tough as nails as well, like most brazilians).
November 25, 2009 at 11:23
Our boys stepped up against them at the bridge no reason they cant do it again!
arshavin can give everything he’s got now for the rest of the season without worrying about the word cup, thats probably been on his mind allot
November 25, 2009 at 11:23
I am not so sure BBK. Song and Denilson might just provide the right rigidness and solidatity in midfield we need to deal with the cunty chavs. Besides I don’t see anyone else really available to play in this sort of a fixture.
If we want to attack then start with Nasri in mid and move him nearer the top after Rosicky puts his time in with Denilson off the bench to protect a lead.
November 25, 2009 at 11:24
they didn’t have drogba or essien when we played the at the bridge
November 25, 2009 at 11:25
Pedro – you really don’t believe that after good games in the FA Cup, people were saying aaah but its only xyz.
Fuck they’re still doing it almost every week now.
Fair do’s I’ve prob made the ‘away games’ bit up…but you know the point I’m making.
I love Song for the way he has convinced almost everyone that he’s a very good player. 99% of the people who were slating him all summer have changed their tune.
Now all I hear is that he ain’t Essien and that’s just a bollox comparison. Here’s some news…Essien ain’t Vieira. And Wilshire ain’t Messi, Nasri ain’t Zidane, and Eboue ain’t Cafu…so lets all give up now shall we…??
Song has exceeded EVERYONE’S expectations !!!
do we really think
November 25, 2009 at 11:25
What do you suggest then BBK?
We promote JET to the first team coz he is tall? Maybe we just shouldn’t bother playing at all…
All problems and no solutions – at least people are atempting to back up their feelings on Song/Arshavin.
Give me strength.
November 25, 2009 at 11:25
untill wenger starts signing players the size of them cunts chelsea have got,we won’t be winning nothing
November 25, 2009 at 11:26
Loved the spontaneous Henry chants as soon as someone, anyone handballed it. Hilarious!
P.S. Sorry Irish Gooners!
November 25, 2009 at 11:26
B.B.K a midfield that played Saturday will get more bullied than the one that played yesterday. FACT.
November 25, 2009 at 11:26
I’m sure a few of our players will do drogbas ribs early on. That is definitely waht the mancs would do.
November 25, 2009 at 11:27
jimmy im just saying them two will get bulllied it’s wenger’s fault,we should go for more powerful players not these little tippy tappy players who always get bullied
November 25, 2009 at 11:27
GM if we try to match chealsea in midfield we will come second, they are bigger and stronger so to put denilson and song in there would be pointless.
They would just get steam rolled as they aren’t big enough.
If we put song in there to add a bit of bite with cesc and naz in there hurrying and pressing but most importantly keeping them on the back foot with their attacking play, we can out score them.
If we try to play there way we will lose we need to keep attacking in our own game not defending in theres.if you catch my drift
November 25, 2009 at 11:27
I think Wengs should go
Sag – WG – TV – Tra
Denil-Cesc-Song
Theo-Arsh-Nasri
Eddy and Rosick of the bench…
November 25, 2009 at 11:27
scratch *the do we really think* bit – typo
November 25, 2009 at 11:28
Help!
Who has an idea what Ivan Gazidis’ e-mail address at Arsenal is likely to be?
November 25, 2009 at 11:28
Spud alert !!!
November 25, 2009 at 11:29
I agree Nick. About coming second. We are going to have to score a few to win.
November 25, 2009 at 11:30
B.B.K and which players the size of the said cunts would you like Wenger to buy?
November 25, 2009 at 11:30
Lazer, totally agree with you, mate. With Song & Denilson controlling the midfield, Fab4 will be free to go forward switching our formation from 4-3-3 to 4-2-1-3 and if needed 4-2-4.
November 25, 2009 at 11:32
Sharkey, the truth is Wenger tried to buy another DM in the summer. Wenger sees him as a centre back.
He’s convinced everyone he is better than shite, was that hard considering how bad he was?
Essien ain’t Paddy… but he’s on the same level and had equal amounts of success.
That’s the point… is Song on that level? Will he ever be? I’m not so sure…
It’s not about trophies for you… you obviously get off more on the development of players… I don’t. I couldn’t care less about the improvement he’s shown… he shouldn’t have been put in the first team if he was that bad in the first place.
November 25, 2009 at 11:33
LAzer… swap rosicky for nasri and otherwise i agree mate,
we beat them away with denilson right wing and a cunty adebayor upfront doing nothing… anythings possible
November 25, 2009 at 11:33
apols pedro just realised it was your post today. great point re the russian wizard
November 25, 2009 at 11:34
preferably players that are above 6ft mimi not below
November 25, 2009 at 11:34
Timao, leather is heavier more durable and offers far more protection.
November 25, 2009 at 11:35
Cheers Zee.
November 25, 2009 at 11:35
g.t.s are you indicating denilsong controlling the midfield against chelsea??
November 25, 2009 at 11:35
REMBER FAT FRANK IS OUT HE MAKES CHAVSKI TICK with out him they are far more cautious imo terry is susceptible too at the moment and cole is carrying an injury their rb is like senderos and corvalio is slowing up.
Cech can be beaten
WE CAN WIN PEOPLE, LIVE IN HOPE, DIE IN DESPAIR
November 25, 2009 at 11:38
Ye of little faith…
November 25, 2009 at 11:38
Sharkey……(morning by the way) it was toward the end of last season that Song really started to improve. And this season we’ve played 11 EPL teams.
Seriously, Chavs, Lpool, Manure, Man Shitty, Spuds would not buy him. So I just think that £7mil is about the umbrella mark for Song atm.
That is not to say that I was very impressed with his performance last night and that I do not think he can continue to improve. If you read my earlier blog I said that it was between Song and Cesc for man of the match and that Cesc prob just edged it hence I agreed with the 7.5 / 8 ratings Pedro gave both players respectively.
I also said that he is a confidence player who is gaining more and more confidence. He produced 3 tricks last night and 2 of them come off. One on the edge of the box which created an opening for a shot. (I actually couldn;t wait for the reply just to make sure he meant what he did. It was meant and it was brilliant imo)
SO, in short. I think he is a good player who is putting in good performances. I am also giving him my support (the crowd sung his name last night also so I’m not hte only one). BUT, he is still not a DMF that would walk into Real Mad, Barca, Manure, Lpool, Chavs, Man Shitty, Inter Meelan etc.
on the basis of my last paragraph, he is just not there yet.
Do you think i’m being fair???
November 25, 2009 at 11:40
pedro – arshavin’s awareness, touch, timing, passing and finishing are all just world-class – he’s my favourite player. He must be quite startled when he sees what eboue does when he gets to the penalty area. i’d love Arsh to have his best game of the season on sunday as he can do them serious damage
November 25, 2009 at 11:41
sharkey @ 11:28
spot on mate !! I’m surprised Geoff/Pedro haven’t clocked on to him being a spud in disguise
He should be with Edmund in the banned list.
November 25, 2009 at 11:41
balack/essian attacking song den gallas tv fish face sagna only one winner and that aint us
balack/essian defending against cesc nas song rosicky arsh eddie we will win
November 25, 2009 at 11:43
LAzer / Gunnersts
I disagree as both Denilson and Song were on the pitch last night and time and time again, Cesc cam back to take the ball off of Verm or Gallas in our own half. When he did this, he was our deepest player bar the defenders……
Cesc likes to play the ball from out of our own half.
I like what you are saying but feel it is more suited to a Arshavin type player.
November 25, 2009 at 11:43
Yes, you are right, Song has exceeded my expectations, I thought he’d be utter shite, but he’s doing alright!
But the way you and manh others talk on here you’d think he was Essien & Vieira rolled into one, fuck me are you related?
November 25, 2009 at 11:45
DDM Hit that nail square on the head there mate
November 25, 2009 at 11:46
DDM….who was that directed to??
I think I was fair bout Song on my 11:38 post.
November 25, 2009 at 11:46
WE CAN WIN PEOPLE, LIVE IN HOPE, DIE IN DESPAIR
Song has really improved and i like the way he shields himself when he has the ball like a Turkey.
WE SHOULD NEVER GIVE UP AND ALWAYS AIM TO BEAT ALL THE TEAMS WE MEET.
For thise of you giving up on us beating Chelsea it seems like you have already decided your destiny. If the spuds beat them then who are we not to beat them?
COME ON YOU GUNNERS! BE REAL MEN!
November 25, 2009 at 11:46
Ha, ha that stopped the Song love in dead in it’s ridiculous tracks!
November 25, 2009 at 11:46
Someone should have told Eboue he was playing in defence last night – useless wanker.
November 25, 2009 at 11:47
we need to keep it tight for the first 10-15 with no major worries then we’ll get into our stride and start passing it around ballack and co, essien/drogba/cole apart their team has no pace.
maybe anelka as well but i dunno if he’ll start
November 25, 2009 at 11:47
Widening the argument to ‘trophies or development’ Pedro. I can see why you’d need to do that in this argument.
Poor move on your part that.
‘Wenger sees him as a CB’ – irrelevant. We’re talkng about he’s playing for the team, not where he shoud be playing. You want him moved to CB do you..??
‘Better than shite’ – another poor resonse in my opinion.
Like I say Pedro, you’re calling both heads and tails on this one.
You can’t consistently give him 7’s and 8’s and the occasional MotM, and then write post’s that suggest you don’t really rate him, or are unsure if he’s good enough.
Do you really think we should be able to go through the whole team and replace each one with the worlds absolute best in each position. ..??
November 25, 2009 at 11:48
song was great last night, MOM in my opinion, no question he’s improved a bundle – but an Arsenal player shouldn’t be judged on how he performs against Standard Liege at home. Get hold of chelsea son.
November 25, 2009 at 11:50
Geoff 11:46
What comment stopped it geoff??
Have you read the comments on here bout Song?? I think all are fair imo……haven’t really seen a “Song is the best” comment yet.
November 25, 2009 at 11:51
arsenal tom – agree with you on no pace chelsea. ballack’s never been that effective against us although he always carries an aerial threat. so dont let him bring any washing powder
November 25, 2009 at 11:51
sharkey you watch him with your own blinkers on he gives the ball away sloppy most of the time when in possession he lacks pace and gives away silly free kicks as much as he puts in good tackles and passes in most games.
Last night the good out weighed the bad but most of the time he evens himself out in games imo.
Great players always do more good then bad,once this is the case for him then we will al shout about him
November 25, 2009 at 11:51
Wardo 11.38. You’re always fair.
I agreed with everything you said….I just thought the valuation was a bit low.
November 25, 2009 at 11:52
Zee
November 25, 2009 at 11:53
Nick 11.45 about DDM wardo. Yes I have and that’s why I’ve stayed away, didn’t want to vomit on my own blog.
November 25, 2009 at 11:53
Pedro I feel for you I really do, trying to keep everyone happy.
November 25, 2009 at 11:54
lol zee. hopefully they’ll get a couple o fminor injuries tonight as well…
and by minor i mean drogba gets decapitated, essien’s leg falls off and terry break his neck
November 25, 2009 at 11:54
Vomit away Geoff, as long as you clean yourself up afterwards shouldn’t bother us too much.
November 25, 2009 at 11:54
i gotta say this blog has been very ’song heavy’ over the past few weeks
November 25, 2009 at 11:54
Nick. I see his mispalced passes, I saw him get caught on th eedge of our box, I know some people are also seeing that.
the thig si taht when he does good stuff, I imagine some people looking the other way.
Its a part of a DM’s job to give away a few sneaky fouls wityhout getting booked. Makelele was the master of it.
Nick. Do you and your HD TV (;-))think Song was MotM last night…or close to it..??
November 25, 2009 at 11:55
Yes BBK, why not? DenilSong will be hard to break on Sunday…
November 25, 2009 at 11:55
Wardo he’d surely walk in manshitty’s DMF,Don’t know about the rest as i havent watched many of their games this season.
November 25, 2009 at 11:56
sharkey – i’m not massively pro song (or any of the marmites) i think he was, yeah – and he was very good at sunderland.
November 25, 2009 at 11:59
BBK @ 11.24, we could say the same about RVP. We didn’t have him against Sunderland otherwise we’d end up winning 3-1.
November 25, 2009 at 12:00
Sharkey he done well against sloppy opposition but still showed glimpses of his play that worry me if im honest.
As i said earlier he/we can only beat whats in front of him/us so i dont want to hold that against him and why i will save judgement and use Sunday as a bench mark for how he has progressed.
I know what you mean about the sly free kicks all players have to some times pull them out the locker but its more his clumsy slow to react ones that worry me…i believe he could be a great cb and i mean that with respect.
November 25, 2009 at 12:01
Great players always do more good then bad,once this is the case for him then we will al shout about him
Nick even when he surpasses the said expectations the naysayers will definitely come up with more for him to prove himself.
November 25, 2009 at 12:01
Add Wolves to that Zee, and both legs v Celtic.
Basically just scroll thru all our games this season, and you’ll find the odd poor spell here or there, plus a very silly challenge at Upton Park.
Anyway….I’m gonna try my hardest to leave this alone now.
November 25, 2009 at 12:02
I’d say we have all slightly diff opinions bout song today.
He did do well last night and was rated as joint second highest player in Pedro’s match/ratings report.
So, I think the best thing is to wish him well (as hard as that might be for some) for Sunday and hope he can take care of Essien. If he comes through this match and we win will you finally consider Song as a potentially decent prospect for a DFM role ???
November 25, 2009 at 12:02
LAzer Says:
November 25, 2009 at 11:23
I am not so sure BBK. Song and Denilson might just provide the right rigidness and solidatity in midfield we need to deal with the cunty chavs
agree with u Lazer and on ur team selection for sundays match which is the same as mine. the duo of song and denilson will give us more strength in midfield and allow fabregas to attack. I pick Theo over nasri & Rosicky because he’s a different weapon to nasri and rosicky who are attacking mid’s like Fabregas and both like to come infield, which makes our game very predictable.
we can bring nasri & rosicky l8r to give chelsea a run-around. i would also play Traore over Silvestre because both are shite defensively but Traore is awesome attacking wise and would give Chelsea something to think abt and Denilson always covers the full backs when they bomb forward. Denilson is very intelligent and and is very energetic and knows his role very well whereas if we played rosicky there, i very much doubt he would help out as much defensively and Denilson is an awesome tackler.
November 25, 2009 at 12:02
Ha, ha you said that on yesterdays post this morning, I told you then, you can’t help yourself!
November 25, 2009 at 12:03
OK Nick, no worries Monday it is then.
But don’t be telling me that it was a weakened Chelsea team when he does well.
November 25, 2009 at 12:03
I’m trying Geoff…but you guys are hard work
November 25, 2009 at 12:05
Nick – Cheers you plc Mungler
Wardo – Not you fella, SS, me and him aren’t seeing eye to eye at the moment regarding young master Alexandre!
November 25, 2009 at 12:07
Its interesting that we have only signed 3 less players than Chelsea and 9 more than Utd over the last few years!! Is Wenger the shrewd buyer most thought he was??
November 25, 2009 at 12:07
Has anyone else read the speculation that Pep Guardiola could be Wengers successor, and that they are in constantly touch etc.
November 25, 2009 at 12:08
Am not convinced by Nasri…He does not take the defenders on even though he has the technique…Walcott is not afraid to take on the defenders..like a headless chicken, If only he knew when to cross. Shava was waiting unmarked in the area and he took one more defender and shot..Maybe wanting some headlines for the world cup…sell the fuck to the chavs
November 25, 2009 at 12:08
oops the link:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/sunsport_columnists/2744507/Pep-can-be-the-next-Wenger.html
November 25, 2009 at 12:09
wenger said on Monday that Clichy is not too far, I think two to three weeks.
So I make that he misses another 4 games – Chelsea, Man City, Stoke and Olympiakos. Back for Liverpool at Anfield. Only two of those games are games he would have played in anyway.
November 25, 2009 at 12:09
mimi he has played better this year i will admit but he could only get better and it has taken a long time for him to get to this point and theres defo room for improvement.
I think most acknowledge this fact but are put off by the ott praise he receives from some.
Arsenal deserve a world class dcm not an ok one.
Remember we have seen and giving patience to a lot of players that when it suites them up and leave,im sure if song stays and puts in the effort he will win many over.
The true judge of a man is not in the hard times but the good times in my book.
November 25, 2009 at 12:09
plc……wtf????
That was supposed to read ‘old’, fucking iPhone!
November 25, 2009 at 12:09
Playing Denilson and Song against Chelsea is the only way we can win the game.
If we went with Cesc, Nasri and Song we would be too vulnerable.
November 25, 2009 at 12:09
I love how Wenger is trying to build up Denilson’s goal! It was an OK strike but if that wasn’t a GK error then I don’t know what is!
But hey, you gotta buy a ticket if you wanna win the lottery!!
November 25, 2009 at 12:11
bnsb – what do you think about that?
November 25, 2009 at 12:11
Now Ritesh, why would want to say a thing like “sell the fuck to the chavs”. On what basis would you make such a suggestion?
November 25, 2009 at 12:12
Haha the irony of the Arsh and Song ratings and comments is almost beautiful. You yourself rated Song higher than Arsh and are slagging people off because they rated him too?
The point is, most people defend Song more than he requires because he gets more flak than required. Arsh is already in the blind love category so criticism towards him isn’t borne out of any animosity towards him.
It seems a bit bitter if you say that people who rate Song criticise Arsh when overall Song has had the better season and Arsh is infinitely more talented.
Just to clarify I haven’t criticised Arsh for any of his performances ’cause I know what impact he can have…
Now that that’s off my chest good post Pedro.
November 25, 2009 at 12:15
DDM when you put plc, just thought you meant big
November 25, 2009 at 12:15
Song probably isn’t at Essien’s level but then again Essien isn’t going to get any better where as Song definately is..he was MOM yesterday easily..we’ll give Chelsea a proper game on sunday even though they’ve probably spent 100 mill more than us over the years
November 25, 2009 at 12:16
Mayank – Don’t expose it, Shhh, Pedro has to keep EVERYONE happy it’s a fault of his he just likes to please.
November 25, 2009 at 12:17
chipo i think the opposite mate denilson dont know weather his arther or martha but chealsea would fuck him anyway
November 25, 2009 at 12:18
bnsb and who be left to succeed him at Barca?
November 25, 2009 at 12:18
bnsb….pep did the worse bit of transfer business last summer.
Eto’d plau €40mil for Ibrohimavich ??
November 25, 2009 at 12:19
Wardo i would go further then last summer and say ever
November 25, 2009 at 12:21
Lets put that to the test,
Pedro it would really please me if you gave up your ticket for sundays game and let me go in your place
November 25, 2009 at 12:22
I just think sometimes when you try too hard to not be on a bandwagon you end up on one by default.
Pedro’s match ratings have always been very fair i’d like if he kept them that way…
November 25, 2009 at 12:23
Nick – You mean big as in Bloater!??
November 25, 2009 at 12:24
Wardo. Nicks right…I ‘m not sure that we’ll ever see a transfer that stooopid ever again.
Swapping your 40 goal striker was bad enough, but sticking 40m on top !!!!!
I actually rate Ibra…but I still think its the worst deal ever
November 25, 2009 at 12:25
Mayank..you summed up what Sharkey and i couldnt manage in the last coupla hrs. Thank you mate.
November 25, 2009 at 12:26
Mayank. 12.22 Good shout that.
November 25, 2009 at 12:26
bnsb, that article is opinion based rather than factual. However what it is suggesting is very interesting. I think we will have to wait till the summer to see what pep does regarding his contract or next move. I cant see Arsene leaving at the end of this season, and I cant see Pep coming in as No.2
November 25, 2009 at 12:26
song for cb and tv at left back
denilson rosicky and cesc in middle
November 25, 2009 at 12:27
Mimi …lol
November 25, 2009 at 12:27
DDM na big as in floated on the stock market.
November 25, 2009 at 12:27
Wardo – do you think it was Pep who arranged that transfer?
I think those fuckers are run just like those corrupt cunts at Real Madrid, i don’t think the manager had much if any say in who the club buys….
November 25, 2009 at 12:28
chelsea get men behind the ball when they dont have possession then when they win possession they get the ball to a striker who normally holds it up for a while until he gets support from the midfield.
Arsenal dont get numbers behind the ball. we leave midfielders in front of the ball thinking about the next attack. part of the reason is because we cannot hold the ball up front, so the strikers need support around them all the time. wenger teaches pass pass pass, not hold pass pass.
I think we will miss Nik B on sunday and obviously RVP, these are players that can hold their own up front. with only small strikers who want to lay the ball off as soon as they get it, its going to be a tough game.
November 25, 2009 at 12:28
iN MY OPINION IT WAS FAIR fucking cap lock
November 25, 2009 at 12:29
I aim to please SS and mimi… Not everyone though
I’m off…
November 25, 2009 at 12:29
Fuck that came out wrong
SS and mimi,
I aim to please..
November 25, 2009 at 12:29
I think DDM is right on that one, Pep was probably asked if he can accommodate Ibra and that was end of discussion.
November 25, 2009 at 12:30
I think eto was being a bit of a bad influance in the dressing room and got to the point where he was becoming a liability so i do think pep sanctioned the deal.
November 25, 2009 at 12:31
Nick – The only big, floaty thing around here is what I left in trap four this morning!
November 25, 2009 at 12:33
bnsb @ 12.08, that’s a load of crap! Sun always gives you a news from nowhere. To support my comments, this is not a news, it’s rather an article. When you read it, you’ll see there are no comments from AW, Arsenal, Barca or Pep himself. I would never believe that Pep wants to come here in England in near future.
November 25, 2009 at 12:33
classy as ever DDM!!
November 25, 2009 at 12:33
DDM thats probably gonna lead to more flooding when that hits the seas i hope your proud of your self
November 25, 2009 at 12:34
Gunner win 1
I am pissed off by some undercommited players…Nasri being another example..I give the benefit of the doubt to Rosicky for the moment..Walcott had his time to learn and he should show some commitment to the club…He could’ve said he would not play in the junior championship and save himself for his club for the opening of the season..But no, he wanted to Superman…Its a joke, the guy is like working
part time for Arsenal just to be in the SA party. I prefer to give a guy like Wilshere his chance in that case..And I bet if Wenger goes with Wilshere, the lad goes to SA and Walcott warms the bench somewhere else.
November 25, 2009 at 12:38
arshavin’s been a naughty boy!!…
Arsenal ace Andrey Arshavin clashed with Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko in the Russia changing room last week, it has been revealed.
The Mirror says the two strikers extended their Spurs-Arsenal rivalry while Arshavin was giving a team talk in the dressing room. Russia lost 1-0 and their dreams of making South Africa next year vanished.
“The only player who protested about Arshavin’s talk was Roman Pavlyuchenko,” said one source. “He told Andriy strongly to shut up.”
Arshavin was named by a leading Russian website yesterday after the Sovetsky Sport newspaper reported another row in the Russian camp – without identifying the players.
“Not many people know about an incident which happened before the games against Slovenia,” said the paper’s football editor Sergei Yegorov.
He claimed that when three players arrived at a team breakfast “one of them was reprimanded.”
He went on: “Rumour is that the leader of the trio replied in his usual insolent manner.
“The scandal was swept under the carpet. Guus Hiddink was not in the restaurant with the team at that moment.”
Later livesport.ru said: “Sovetsky Sport did not name the players, but the trio were Alexander Anyukov, Vladimir Bystrov and Andrey Arshavin.
“The leader was Arshavin who, according to unofficial sources, insulted assistant coach Alexander Borodyuk.”
lets hope he’s banned for life from playing for them
November 25, 2009 at 12:39
sharkey / nick…..ok
worse ever !!
DDM, not too sure mate. He must have had some say in it tho. Perhaps he said get rid of Eto’d cause he’s causing probs and buy Ibrohimivich……….then the idiot did the rest.
But I just dont know……you could well be right !!
November 25, 2009 at 12:40
Good well-balanced post but strange unbalanced headline.
On the Song thing – he’s obviously playing well and improving – I still think he’ll be a CB but his forward runs and passing are becoming much more frequent aspect of his play now he’s getting more confident – I think he even took the ball off fabregas once or twice on Saturday.
Now if only Denilson can step up…….
As for the defending, I’ve got to agree that anyone will go into games against us thinking they can score. Hopefully that’ll leave them a bit more open at the back (as I said after the Hull home defeat last year – but we’re a lot bewtter going forward this year) and hopefuilly against Chelsea the midfield will play a little bit deeper and the forwards hassle for the full 90 minutes – still v worried about the whole tiny frontline thing (Nicky B plays most times when he’s fit for a reason imo)
November 25, 2009 at 12:41
ATom – How ya doing buddy?
November 25, 2009 at 12:42
Atom that story worries me arshavin is obviously trouble
November 25, 2009 at 12:43
Nick – Ot can be used as a raft my friend, you see there’s always a silver lining
November 25, 2009 at 12:48
no theres not BBK showed me that, your just full of shit DDM
November 25, 2009 at 12:50
all good mate, you? keeping my hooter well out of the song chat mate… its seems to have been going on for about 6 fucking months now!!
November 25, 2009 at 12:51
Atom whats your take on song
November 25, 2009 at 12:54
nick… did sound a bit strange to be honest, but then he does speak his mind on every thing else!!
still, that spurs cunt should keep his mouth shut
November 25, 2009 at 12:56
Nick – Just had a 7 fold acca!
November 25, 2009 at 12:57
what come in??
November 25, 2009 at 12:57
Chris, the headline was about Gibbs.
November 25, 2009 at 12:57
lol nick! ill keep it breif on song
much better than he was last year (shit). not world class though which is what we need. he’d be a perfect understudy to a world class player for the next year or 2 then he’d be ready.
November 25, 2009 at 12:58
Atom your so controversial
make you right.
November 25, 2009 at 13:01
Taig i looked but seems to tight to call will wait till weekend me thinks!!
November 25, 2009 at 13:02
Nah, to run……
November 25, 2009 at 13:02
someone’s gotta be nick
November 25, 2009 at 13:02
who you done??
November 25, 2009 at 13:05
Taig on the mid week list i fancy the 1st six as home wins next two away with fulham and everton winning
November 25, 2009 at 13:06
what would the return be on that???
November 25, 2009 at 13:07
hey raj.
i think u summed it up. essien has peaked and will get no better but song will DEFINITELY get better.
November 25, 2009 at 13:07
see Atom you have scared everyone away with your controversial statements
November 25, 2009 at 13:10
I considered Fulham but decided to leave it. Gone Utd, the chavs, Atl.Madrid and Bayern along with djokovic, federer and murray in the tennis world tennis finals!?!?
November 25, 2009 at 13:12
off to play footie……be back bout 2 hours.
Sharkey…you noticed the spud has vanished again ???
November 25, 2009 at 13:16
A fair representation of the game Pedro. Cesc was also my MOTM. I also liked the fight in him yesterday, he seems to have gotten a bit more spirited lately which is good news.
Song played well without really doing that much. He just didnt do the customary f*** up, so he didn’t do anything to cost us a game.
Overall, I think they knew they’d won at half time, and whilst me along with everyone at the game froze their nads off, and would have like to have seen more goals, it looked like they kinda took it easy and couldn’t be arsed to get into gear because of Sundays game.
A solid if somewhat slightly disappointing game, now lets show Chavski how good we really are!!! Lets hope they have a crap result tonight, and come into our game fired up. It’ll be good to beat a fired up team, great for the morale and all that…
November 25, 2009 at 13:19
Not to be overly optimistic but can shall win on sunday but we wont keep a clean sheet.
November 25, 2009 at 13:20
Speaking of Song. I used to hate him, and really couldnt see why he was in the team.
He is without doubt the most improving player we have right now, which means he is listening to the coaching AW is giving him.
I am warming very quickly to his abilities as he is better than he looks (especially with the awkward style he has).
Yesterday proved I wouldnt want to get in a fight with him, as he looks a real toughnut and strong as an ox.
Given his age and comittment, I think he will eventually turn out to be Essien and some. He’s not there yet, so will make regular mistakes (some of which cost us a game), but once he gets rid of that and his positioning, and adds a little more potency to his game (Essien often cracks a screamer in), his value will be up in the lots of money bracket.
At least he is getting better, unlike Sagna and clichy’s crossing ability
November 25, 2009 at 13:20
Taig whats the return
November 25, 2009 at 13:23
Wardo – yeah I did !!
Fucking Spudz eh !!!
How’d he fool these guys for so long…??
November 25, 2009 at 13:24
Nick – About 18/1.
November 25, 2009 at 13:24
thats not bad might have a go myself
November 25, 2009 at 13:24
The draw for the Third Round of the FA Cup, sponsored by E.ON, will take place on Sunday.
It will be screened live on ITV1 from 3.55pm (UK time).
November 25, 2009 at 13:26
Not to be overly optimistic but shall win on sunday though we wont keep a clean sheet.
November 25, 2009 at 13:26
“Song played well without really doing that much.”
Unbelievable.
November 25, 2009 at 13:27
The UK is one of the world’s worst locations to live for expatriates, according to a survey.
Expats enjoy the cultural opportunities that come with living in the UK
Expensive accommodation and long commuting times are mostly to blame for the dissatisfaction.
The findings from HSBC Bank International also showed that the difficulty of finding somewhere suitable to live caused problems.
And while 41% of expats were unhappy about the situation, only 16% found the quality of their accommodation had improved since moving to the UK.
As many as 79% of expats living in the UK said living costs were higher than in their country of origin.
“Not all of the poll was pessimistic,” the HSBC’s Betony Taylor told Sky News Online.
“The UK came out top as the entertainment hotspot for expats, with 58% thinking the quality was great.
Australia was high on the list
“The highest number of expats who responded to our poll came from Australia, Canada, France, the US and New Zealand and there’s certainly a young crowd about so they were keen on the amount of cultural activities on offer.
“Also, they were very impressed by the job opportunities available and quite optimistic about the range of jobs on offer in Britain.
“Overall, although the UK doesn’t rank as highly as other expat locations in the overall league table, it is still clearly a popular choice for expats and is believed to be an excellent launch pad for their internationally mobile careers.”
On the opposite side of the spectrum, Canada was seen as the best destination for emigrating, followed by Australia, Thailand and Singapore.
See expats’ top 10 countries
Expats gave the highest accommodation quality marks to Canada, the US and Australia, while Thailand was the country where it was easiest to make friends.
The HSBC’s David Norton said: “We have seen that there is a distinct trade-off between income and overall quality of life.
“Many of the top performers in our first report, which examined the best places to make and save money, have scored towards the bottom of this report’s league table.
“What is clear is that the locations where salaries may not be as high, such as Canada and Australia, are where expats are really enjoying not only an increased quality of life but are also finding it easy to fit in to their new communities.”
:: The poll surveyed 3,100 expats from 50 countries.
November 25, 2009 at 13:28
Mimi – I’m convinced we’ll beat the Scum on Sunday.
I also think Terry will get a red card.
November 25, 2009 at 13:30
Sharkeys cld you bt any chance be speaking of B****
November 25, 2009 at 13:30
In the case of the uk They were obviously asking the ones with jobs
others have new homes cars given money and generally live the life of Riley 
November 25, 2009 at 13:33
anyone got a link for any good highlights from last night?
November 25, 2009 at 13:35
@raynor…Got it spot on
Song is strong like an ox , shields like an irate turkey.
November 25, 2009 at 13:36
ATom – This should do it:
http://celebrity.itv.com/2009/WatchVideo
November 25, 2009 at 13:39
Hey Nick, they could always fuck off back to their country of origin, there might be more room on the trains and fucking tubes then!
November 25, 2009 at 13:39
Hello Everyone!
Geoff were u in the front row yesterday. I saw a bearded guy with long hair sreeming at the camera and immediatly thought of u.
November 25, 2009 at 13:40
I hope he gets it on the 42nd min and them being 2 goals down.
November 25, 2009 at 13:41
TAIG…. just what i was hoping for!
November 25, 2009 at 13:42
DDM STOP BEATING AROUND THE BUSH AND SAY WHAT YOU THINK MAN FFS
November 25, 2009 at 13:43
ATom –
November 25, 2009 at 13:43
Mimi – B and 4*’s..???
Someone outed BBK as a Spudzyesteday and he quickly disappeared.
He used ‘they’ instead of ‘we’ and Wardo rightly pulled him up on it….
Anyway, Mimi stop trying to get me into trouble naming names and stuff.
November 25, 2009 at 13:50
We’ve only got one SONG !
The 3 players I have been stating for ages had very good games in my opinion.
Song was undoubtingly the Man of the Match. He was awesome. Shame he didn’t score.
Denilson suprised me with a solid comeback and a beatiful goal.
Even good old Eboue had a solid game. Ok, he may have misplaced the ball a couple of times, but some of his runs were pretty impressive.
Gooners 1 Chelski 0
November 25, 2009 at 13:54
Nick – I am the voice of reason
November 25, 2009 at 13:55
nah im not a spurs fan
November 25, 2009 at 13:55
arshavin deserved a 4 at most, he was terrible going forward had no good contributions and when he did, such as the header from the corner on goal, just lead to him blocking another screamer from the verminator, and then later he collides with gallas (his own teammate if he didnt notice) and almost forcing wenger into a double substitution. the player is terrible in the box, gtfo. stay in midfield or not play at all.
November 25, 2009 at 13:57
You couln’t be BBK,
You clearly managed to turn your computer on this morning!
November 25, 2009 at 13:59
BBK, surely u r not a gooner…
November 25, 2009 at 14:00
im only negative because i think we should have a far better team then we have got now,wenger is the one that has taken us from world beaters to women beaters iin the space of 5 years
November 25, 2009 at 14:01
BBK – Not exactly going overboard with the denial are ya
November 25, 2009 at 14:02
g.t.s i am,but i have lost my faith in this club…
November 25, 2009 at 14:02
wenger has bought only 3 less then chelsea and 9 more than manu, what the F… has that got to do with anything..the reason he is shrewd is because he hasn’t spent 25-30 million on players as manu and chelsea have done on numerous occasions and still won and challanged for titles
November 25, 2009 at 14:03
im not going to sit here getting angry that someone has called me a spurs fan.you either believe me or you don’t
November 25, 2009 at 14:05
If you call shrewd making money at the expense of trophys and glory, then that is truly shrewd…….
November 25, 2009 at 14:09
Don’t.
November 25, 2009 at 14:10
Sharkey, don’t call BBK a spud.
He’s here everyday regardless of the result and is completely consistent with his appraisal of the team.
Also a bit of clairvoyant… he said last season that Adebayor wouldn’t have the motivation to play last year and would bag around 15 goals.
Nearly spot on. Respect the BBK and his powers.
November 25, 2009 at 14:11
Oh, and who said that Essien had peaked at 26?
Please…
I read somewhere that men peak when they have children…
Song has 2 at 22…
haha, just kidding on the Song bit, but I did read that men with kids mellow.
November 25, 2009 at 14:11
BBK, I don’t mind you being negative but don’t you ever feel good when the team wins. I’ve seen you many times coming on the blog just to slag the team off even after a resounding win. To make the matter worse, you write off the team before every next game saying what to cheer about, they’re gonna lose the next one. A true fan (even if he/she has lost belief in the team) never says these kind of things about his team and doesn’t go bananas just because we let one goal slip in after scoring 4 or 5.
November 25, 2009 at 14:15
‘BBKs a spud’ weren’t my shout Pedro.
I shouldn’t carry it on though….seeing as I’m a father of four and obviously very mellow.
Anyway you revised those shit ratings yet…?? Put Song in his rightful position as MoM
Don’t respond to that…I’m off to lunch now !! Hows that for a ‘dump and run’ ??
November 25, 2009 at 14:16
i don’t,feel good no because it is always a false dawn with the club at the moment,untill i see a major improvement where we don’t get beat by the likes of sunderland ,man city,throw away points at west ham i will continue to be critical of the team.
November 25, 2009 at 14:17
raj – As DDM pointed out. All Wenger has done of late is make money and made sure we remained trophy-less.
November 25, 2009 at 14:18
Have some more kids Sharkey!
My ratings were spot on, God told me in a dream.
November 25, 2009 at 14:21
Pedro – I don’t like it when you tell people I’m in your dreams!!
November 25, 2009 at 14:21
I’ll be honest Pedro / BBK. It was me that thinks BBK is a spurs fan.
Seems to me that it doesn’t matter how well or bad Arsenal (my beloved football team) does he is always slating us (us as in Arsenal).
I think his comments are so negative because he likes to make real gooners feel worse when we have had a bad result. I can only assume that BBK enjoys doing this as I would love to do the same to Spurs fans on their websites (I just dont have hte time)
Obviously, this is just my opinion.
November 25, 2009 at 14:21
BBK – Will you join me for a beer when we win the league, my treat? Mh you I think my money’s safe this season….
November 25, 2009 at 14:21
Four and no more Ped !!
Kids are expensive….my Mrs hasn’t worked a day in 9 years…
The couple of times when she got close to getting a job she fell pregnant again !!
November 25, 2009 at 14:21
Re: Pep Guardiola,
As someone said ultimately all rumors come true.
Personally I think Pep would be the best suited to succeed Wenger, uncannily similar styles of play, very passionate, very understated.
As to player purchase/sale I believe Barca follow so called European system. Sporting director handles player purchase sale and manager/Coach has much less say.
November 25, 2009 at 14:22
What a player denilson is!!!! We have miss him a lot.
His tachles,passing etc. so good !!! And guys, he plays nasri and rosicky out the starting line-up. I love the players who were shit last year.(Bendtner,song,denilson)These 3 boys have grown very quick.
November 25, 2009 at 14:23
BTW Pedro, whateve happenned to your exclusive?
November 25, 2009 at 14:23
BBK, in other words, you want Arsenal to play 38 win 38 draw 0 & lose 0 in a season? Also, u want us win all those 38 matches convincingly by 4 or 5 goals margin and without conceding a single goal?
November 25, 2009 at 14:25
This cunting iPhone!!!!
‘Mh’ was supposed to read ‘mind’…….fucking Marchod!
November 25, 2009 at 14:25
g.t.s yes
November 25, 2009 at 14:25
He’d stop blogging if that happened GTS…….I am convinced he is a spud.
Pedro, think bout it!
November 25, 2009 at 14:26
Dutchman…….Song was better than Denilson last night imo
November 25, 2009 at 14:28
wardo believe me im not,that’s all i will say on your ”opinion”
November 25, 2009 at 14:28
JohnA -rumor has it that it cannot be published because of libel
November 25, 2009 at 14:28
Sharkey – You alright fella….
November 25, 2009 at 14:29
DDM – I just sold my iShit and bought the BB Bold 9700! Its fucking mustard!
November 25, 2009 at 14:30
TAIG – i went for the bold over the iphone.
Was unsure til I just read your comment.
November 25, 2009 at 14:30
Pedro’s just a Bindipping tease!!!
November 25, 2009 at 14:31
BBK – sorry mate. Sure you’re a nice fella and all but, not conviced.
You enjoy slating Arsenal too much.
Defo a spud…..No “Arsenal Fan” would enjoy slagging off his own club like you do.
You keep going mate. Yeah yeah yeah. Arsenal are sh1t. Wenger is a tosser etc etc………we’re not as bad as w4nkie spurs and that is fact !!!
November 25, 2009 at 14:32
TAIG – I have a Blackberry Bold too!
November 25, 2009 at 14:32
Wardo – The new Bold?? Its awesome! So many more uses than the iPhone and can be set up to be a million times more user specific. I’m happy.
November 25, 2009 at 14:33
DDM – Brag, brag, brag!!
November 25, 2009 at 14:33
whatever wardo
November 25, 2009 at 14:35
TAIG…its the BOLD 9700. I got it bout 2/3 weeks ago so think its the new one.
Altho they said a new bold would be released later this year !! considering we’r ein Nov that can only be this month or Dec !!!
Yeah I really like it……..love the Texam hold em on it. You played that game??
November 25, 2009 at 14:44
Wardo – Yeah thats the one! Wicked phone. Not played the hold em yet but will give it ago on the train home!!
November 25, 2009 at 14:46
BBK, if that (P 38 – W 38 – D 0 – L 0) happens, I’m sure you’d still not be happy. You’ll come on saying ‘it was only a one off, we were very lucky to win all our 38 games. It won’t happen again & we’re gonna win fuck all next season cos we have a shit team’.
November 25, 2009 at 14:48
Anyone heard the rumour that Gibbsy has broken his leg rather than his meta?
November 25, 2009 at 14:49
From all the conversations I’ve had with BBK i just think he’s negative so when the dust settles he can be right instead of just disappointed.
How’re you enjoying your character deconstruction BBK?
Although the ‘they instead of ‘we’ got me thinking too…
November 25, 2009 at 14:54
What you’re forgetting about Song is that most of the goals, we’ve conceded was not b/c of lack of cover from Song – he always runs back and covers! OK he could be stronger in the air but the goals we’ve conceded this season, as bad a record as it is, does not reflect on his lack of cover.
Poor goalkeeping and poor effectiveness at marking players in set-pieces are to blame! If Arsenal played a defensive style of football, we would concede a lot less but we play open attacking football.
What we need to learn, is how to keep the ball better and starve opposition like Barca.
November 25, 2009 at 14:55
And its an opinion very well put Wardo !!!
Right, lunch !!
November 25, 2009 at 15:00
DDM 14.28 Yeah, I’m fne…why’d you ask…?
November 25, 2009 at 15:02
I think this is why SAF has hated Wenger for year, always trying to be the the smartest guy in the room.
“I think he has a typical Brazilian shot. With this floating ball I think they have shorter ankles and it gives a different flight to the ball. It is typical Brazilian technique and I tried to analyse it many times. I could only think maybe they have a bit shorter ankle in front and they can kick the ball high up with the laces.”
Ok then Mr. smarty pants.
November 25, 2009 at 15:03
A piece from Arsenal-mania, worth a read,
There’s every chance that last night was Liverpool’s last CL game for a few years. They’re hopelessly adrift in the league; they have a paper-thin squad that relies too heavily on two players; the manager has lost the confidence of all concerned and will be shown the door before the Christmas decorations have come down. There’s no chance of the new stadium being built and they could easily be overtaken by City – and ever Spurs – in the pecking order of the EPL, thus slipping into mid-table no-mans’ land. Over the top? We’ll see…
One thing is for sure: it puts our achievements in moving to a new stadium, maintaining CL football, securing a successful and promising squad and retaining a world-class manager into stark perspective.
November 25, 2009 at 15:05
No reason fella, just being sociable……
November 25, 2009 at 15:06
Mayank the “they” was the deciding factor if I’m honest. I thought it for quite a while (the last time I use to blog).
I use to think how any Arsenal fan could be so COMMITTED to slating his own team. Doesnt add up.
Both Geoff and Pedro openly criticise Arsenal however, both also praise Arsenal and send rallying calls just before a game. I understand that of recent years its easy to be a bit negative (i have been myself) but, when you take it that far it seems odd.
If I had the time, I would get on a spud website and wind them up also…….would be a right laugh so dont blame him for doing it.
November 25, 2009 at 15:08
TAIG…..be patient with the poker mate. A game can last over a week. No need to stick all your chips down on a bluff…………it can be frustrating when there are only 2 left ont he table and the oponent folds every time you get a decent looking hand !!
top top game though.
November 25, 2009 at 15:08
gts – and, good riddance to bad rubbish I say! What say you to a cheeky January bid for Torres?
November 25, 2009 at 15:10
Wardo, please refrain from labeling people supporters of other clubs. It’s one of the rules we have over here.
Each to there own on their opinions… if you don’t like what he’s saying, challenge him on it… don’t go labeling him a spud.
November 25, 2009 at 15:10
‘Hanuary’………wtf??? For the love of God arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
November 25, 2009 at 15:11
DDM – imo he is the best in the world. A very very worthy replacement of Henry (not Ade cause he did not replace Henry)
I would love to see Torres playing for Arsenal. We would clean up for sure !!!
Can you imagine how many goals he’d get from the chances we create !!!! omg……
November 25, 2009 at 15:12
Haha, nice one Taig!
John, the exclusive isn’t for the net anymore…
November 25, 2009 at 15:13
Better to state that he is a Gooner of Dubious Credentials
November 25, 2009 at 15:14
Sorry DDM…I mis read it.
Yeah I’m just hanging on in here trying to generate some focus for the work I’m supposed to be doing.
Trying but not succeeding !!
November 25, 2009 at 15:14
He’s been coming on here for 2 years… If it was some prank, it’d be the most boring, time consuming prank of all time.
Some people are just negative… he’s the eeyore of Le Grove.
November 25, 2009 at 15:14
LAzer Says:
November 25, 2009 at 11:20
Right superG but surely Silvestre barely offers anything going forward. Traore has track speed to atleast keep the opposition RB honest and not always be bombing forward.
——————————————————————
We dont need much overlapping fullback to beat them thus having him Silvestre in their not a problem, we can get that from Sagna on the other side. We need for Silvestre for setplays.
———Cech————–
-Ivano[6ft 2]-Alex[6ft 2.5]-Terry[6ft 1]-Cole[5ft 8]
–Essien [5ft 10]—
–Lampard[6ft]—Ballack[6ft 2.5]
—-Malouda[5ft 10]–
–Anelka[6ft 1]—Drog[6ft 2.5]—
November 25, 2009 at 15:14
Fucking Hlookups are cunts… I fucking hate spreadsheets…
November 25, 2009 at 15:15
Wardo – I’m hooked already!!
November 25, 2009 at 15:15
You won’t hear any disagreement from me on that Wardo, he’s a top top player….
November 25, 2009 at 15:17
would love Torres at Arsenal. We should buy the nxt one
November 25, 2009 at 15:17
Pedro. I know the rules and you know I respect them at all times.
I just feel that this is a situation that falls outside those rules.
How can you challenge BBK on his comments ??? He just says we’re shit. Everyone is shit. Manager is a w4nker etc etc etc…… even tho I’m calm and dont lose my temper with his (when I have tried) I just lose the energy to keep arguing sensible point when all he can say is. No Sack wenger etc etc…..
I am not calling him names or anything. Nor am i arguing with him then calling him a spud to wind him up (which is what that particular rule is for i think ???)
I am just preventing other grovers from getting p’d off due to some spud on here winding people up !!
You answer me this one question?? How can a true Arsenal fan enjoy slating his club as much as BBK ??? Oh and consider the “they” comment when thinking bout this.
Seriously. He is a spud who enjoys winding up gooners.
November 25, 2009 at 15:18
lol TAIG – its a top game
November 25, 2009 at 15:19
Pedro – You were supposed to make an appearance at The Che when we mashed the Spudz (geddit??) and spill the exclusive beans, and you didn’t, I was crushed you fucker
November 25, 2009 at 15:19
http://www.tribalfootball.com/groves-chelsea-feel-they-can-end-arsenal-title-hopes-467911?
November 25, 2009 at 15:20
pedro, you say he’s been on here for 2 years and it would be boring as a prank.
WTF have Spurs done in the last two years?? Fcuk all thats why we have one of their fans on here winding us up cause we haven’t found the extra 5/10 % to hit the pinnicle of European football.
November 25, 2009 at 15:21
I’d sell all of our first team forwards (with the exception of RvP) to fund the purchase of Torres AND Villa…….fuck me I think I’ve just cum in me pants
November 25, 2009 at 15:22
Wardo, I’m going to start pushing the delete button if you carry on.
DDM, I got fucked by the trains that day… the olympics are fantastic for that…
November 25, 2009 at 15:24
DDM
i’d sell Senderos, Silverstre, Diaby, Eduardo & Bendtner to get Torres – surely that’l be enough?
November 25, 2009 at 15:24
DDM…….how depressing is it to start to imagine Torres up front for Arsenal then go back to reality ??
I seriously think if we had him we would win the EPL and ECL !!
November 25, 2009 at 15:24
LOL @ DDM, now you have to clear the mess you made.
RVP – Torres – Villa
ooops sorry mate
November 25, 2009 at 15:25
just joking – but i guess Villa can be bought for £35-£40m
November 25, 2009 at 15:25
Pedro – you’re doing quite well if you’re even using HLOOKUPs…
My top tips are : Always use a named range, none of this A1:B7 shit,
Always have ‘False’ as your last argument.
Excel Spreadsheets have paid for everything I have over the last 15 years…I fucking love ‘em
November 25, 2009 at 15:28
Pedro I know the exclusive was only for face to face consumption, so to speak, it’s why I asked about the S + B yesterday. I got no response so I assumed no one else was going.
November 25, 2009 at 15:28
Sorry Pedro I cant help what I think!
What exactly have I done wrong?
Plus I’m not the only one to think bout it.
Looks like this is a taboo subject so’ll I’ll stop now.
P.s. BBK, I love you in a unnatural way, I guess that’s why I’ve been teasing you?
November 25, 2009 at 15:30
lol wardo
November 25, 2009 at 15:32
cheers KM – the last bit was just to add a bit of humour to the subject so pleased you got it !!
Also, how old is Villa ?? I think he’s 29 so not sure he’d be worth that much……he is quality tho.
November 25, 2009 at 15:33
Fucking funny that last one Wardo…..
Cheers
November 25, 2009 at 15:35
KM – You gotta be pulling my chain fella, for that lot you’d be lucky to get a leasehold on just one of those two let alone a freehold on both of ‘em!!
November 25, 2009 at 15:35
Well BBK’s criticism is based on the fact that we haven’t won anything for a couple of years!
He probably feels that we don’t have a good enough squad! He is anything but a spud!
November 25, 2009 at 15:35
Wardo, rule one, check it out.
November 25, 2009 at 15:37
Jesus inside! Why did you have to do that, I’ve gone quite unnecessary!!!
November 25, 2009 at 15:38
lmfao Pedro !!
cant believe you did that to my comment.
Gonna check the rules now. There must be one that sais you cant accuse grovers of fancying a fellow grover, regardless of how sexy their comments seem?!
pls see the funny side – dont red card me
November 25, 2009 at 15:39
Sharkey, I’m trying to look up unit cost per unit based on post code.
It’s a vlookup/hlookup crossbreed… rumours have spread of my ambitious plan around the office… but it’s come to a shuddering halt… I’ve passed it on to the excel gods to help.
November 25, 2009 at 15:44
Ped. Send it to me if you must.
I love solving that sort of stuff.
The more I learn, the more I earn. I hardly use excel at all in my curent role. I spend all my time writing up word docs and powerpoint slides.
It just doesn’t seems like ‘mans work’ to me. ;-(
November 25, 2009 at 15:45
November 25, 2009 at 15:45
Villa is 28-29 yrs old.
but not even in our wildest dreams would Wenger buy him. i think we had a chance 2 seasons back when he was abt the £20-£25m mark.
oh well we won’t get Villa because we have Vela
November 25, 2009 at 15:47
Thanks for the offer Sharkey, I think I’ve discovered the problem!
Sharkey, I live for presentations!
If you’re feeling crazy… try a free software package called prezi. It makes amazing presentations.
November 25, 2009 at 15:54
No thanks Ped…like I say it seems like ‘womans work’.
I can’t wait to get back to doing hard core capital calculations !!!
November 25, 2009 at 15:56
Sharkey, check this one i smashed up the other day (with a bit of help from some other people as well!)
=INDEX(C2:F2,SUMPRODUCT((C3:F45=C50)*COLUMN(C3:F45))-2)
I hate Excel though. I’m a Word man through and through.
November 25, 2009 at 15:57
Pedro – are you done with changing my comments ??
you gotta laugh tho.
November 25, 2009 at 15:59
Chipo, index formulas are pretty spectacular… well played son. That’s like scoring from the half way line as far as I’m concerned…
November 25, 2009 at 15:59
Wardo, I’m done if you’re done digging out BBK?
November 25, 2009 at 16:00
in that case im the keeper coz it went straight over my head
November 25, 2009 at 16:01
yes mate……thanks for making me look like a bottom jockey !!!
November 25, 2009 at 16:02
Nick…..they lost me straight away mate.
Dont use excel to flip burgers
November 25, 2009 at 16:02
BBK alright he just is what he is im sure he aint a spud ive never seen him at white hart lane anyway
..
November 25, 2009 at 16:02
Jesus! You bunch o’ fecking geeks
November 25, 2009 at 16:04
ok – i now believe.
not that many people go to shite hart lane so sure you would have seen him if he were a spud
November 25, 2009 at 16:04
well said DDM….
November 25, 2009 at 16:05
wish I knew that shite tho……would actually help me out on a few things.
November 25, 2009 at 16:06
the only numbers i care about are in my bank and most of them start with – in front so dont bother with them much either
November 25, 2009 at 16:06
Thanks Pedro, glad you like it lol
Changing the subject back to Chelsea, I think we need to play the game at MAXIMUM PACE. It’s our biggest advantage over them. Younger legs, fresher legs (they have an away game tonight) should give us the edge in the last quarter of the game.
And of course, we need to take our chances and defend like beasts.
Toughest game of the season by a long way.
I’m still so fucked off that we lost to United. How we lost that game i will never know.
November 25, 2009 at 16:07
Diaby
November 25, 2009 at 16:08
chipo your right we need to keep em on their toes if we sit back they will crush us
November 25, 2009 at 16:09
One can get obsessed by minutiae. Even the worst teams get good chances or hit the woodwork against the best. It is, after all, 11 men vs 11 men (or 11 men vs 10 men and Evra in re ManU.) If I’m a goalie, my ideal is to be positioned so that anything which comes inside the post is mine, and the post is an extension of me — hitting the woodwork does not always mean it would have been a goal if a few inches to one side or another.
Chelsea and Arsenal are very evenly matched. Chelsea shoots more, but scores less — 10% of their shots go in, 15% of Arsenal’s. Chelsea shoots 24 times a game, Arsenal 19. Both teams dominate possession, and perhaps something as simple as who wins that battle will win the match.
November 25, 2009 at 16:10
NIck you mised atrick there mate…get Pedro to edit it for you.
Wardo will confirm that he’s not averse to a bit of are-write
Nick Says:
November 25, 2009 at 16:00
in that case im the keeper/ALMUNIA coz it went straight over my head
November 25, 2009 at 16:10
Thats hardcore Chipo. Prize winner
November 25, 2009 at 16:13
But you then spoilt it with ‘I’m a word man’
Take out the r and the d and all is revealed !!
November 25, 2009 at 16:15
sharky you been on the personality pills again
November 25, 2009 at 16:16
chipe – we can only hope for a few dodgy tackles in that match tonight.
I’ll be hoping chavs get a few broken bones also !!!
Sharkey……what a day !!! You going on Sunday.
November 25, 2009 at 16:19
So is Wanky Lampard out of sundays game?
November 25, 2009 at 16:21
Sharkey – words are so much better!
Give me scrabble over sudoku anyday.
Wardo – fuck broken bones i’m hoping for amputations!
November 25, 2009 at 16:23
for any one who can tell me what the fuck is thanks giving all about??? in the USA
November 25, 2009 at 16:24
Traders are continuously on the hunt for intelligence which can help them work out where the economy is headed and this week they’re hoping Friday will be special.
Why? Because this Friday is different. This Friday we could find what sort of mood the oh-so-important US consumer is in.
On Thursday it’s Thanksgiving Day States-side and many Americans turn this into a long weekend by taking Friday off as holiday. As such, Friday sees a festive shopping splurge – so much it has become known as “Black Friday”.
What makes Friday black?
Black Friday is the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season in the US, and as you may have learned, our trans-Atlantic cousins don’t do anything by halves.
The name was reportedly coined in 1965 by the Philadelphia police department as the Friday following Thanksgiving was usually accompanied (as it is to this day) by major traffic jams and overcrowded streets as shoppers turned up in their droves.
The current media definition of the term relates to the period when many retailers go from losing money (being in the red) over the year to turning a profit, or being in the black.
Buy and sell shares online from £9.95
Early birds flock together
With such a retail opportunity in mind, many retailers open their doors early and a 5am start is not uncommon. More recently some have begun to open at midnight on the day of Black Friday and then stay open for 24 hours to make the most of the shopping bonanza.
This year, there is even talk of some New York shops bringing this forward a day and opening on the Thanksgiving holiday itself.
The bargains to be found are often electrical goods and popular toys. The forthcoming season is often trailed for weeks in advance and as a sign of the times, backed up by an internet offering as well.
According to figures from the National Retail Federation of the US, last year more than 172 million shoppers visited stores and websites from Thanksgiving Day to the following Sunday, up from 147 million in 2007, spending $370 a person on average.
Why we should care
The US economy remains the world’s largest and, over more recent decades, it has become one which has been driven by the consumer. The current state of the US psyche therefore has implications for the world stage.
Consumer spending has been under pressure this year in the US (as with many other countries) amid a strong recession and rising unemployment. But more recent economic figures have been rather more positive and have been one of the reasons for the rallies seen in many global markets since March.
Barring a set of disastrous figures, it appears that the US has left recession and returned to growth, while the rise in unemployment is slowing, even though the most recent figure rose to a 26-year high of 10.2%.
This weekend’s events will therefore take on additional significance. Currently, market sentiment is capricious and market movements are being exaggerated by a lack of underlying volume.
There is little question that investors are now at something of a crossroads following the markets’ recent strength and that they are nervously searching for the next positive catalyst to provide a foundation point for the next leg.
And, strange though it might seem, the images of customers stampeding through US doors in the dead of night as stores open for business – however uncomfortable that may be for the shoppers – could be a welcome sight for investors.
November 25, 2009 at 16:24
Stupid fletcher believing his own hype, bloody fouler
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/fletch-keane-and-scholes-tore-me-to-shreds-not-lampard-fabregas-or-gerrard/
November 25, 2009 at 16:25
Getting pissed and watching gridiron I believe Nick.
November 25, 2009 at 16:26
I love words too Chipo…but MS Word is a right pain.
But I know its only cos I don’t use it enough, although thats changing – I even created an automated contents page yesterday.
Whooopy dooh
November 25, 2009 at 16:27
Oh, and thanking people for stuff… and arguing over where the first one was held is a pretty hot topic.
November 25, 2009 at 16:28
I’m going to ask you ‘Do you fancy it? Do you like getting kicked? Do you like the fact I am going to be at you for the whole 90 minutes?’ As soon as you get the ball I am going to be in your face. You are not going to like it one bit. Are you ready for that because that’s what’s going to happen’.”
TAKE THAT COMMENT AND PASTE IT NEXT TO THE ONE WHERE HE BLAMES WENGER FOR HIM GETTING A BAD NAME, BACAUSE HE NEVER SETS OUT TO INTENATILY KICK ANYONE
THICK CUNT
November 25, 2009 at 16:30
Wardo, a few weeks back I asked BBK what he actually got out of supporting Arsenal. I never got a reply.
November 25, 2009 at 16:31
Peds sounds good we should have one but with out the shitty american sports
November 25, 2009 at 16:32
Nah Wardo. Last game I went to was Brum. I’ve gone less and less over the last 5 years – as we’ve had more kids.
Time, effort, cost !! Grrrrr
I tell you what does get me when I am there though…just how ambivaent to it all some people are. I’m sure some are just going out of habit.
And its funny to contrast some of those guys with the ranting passonate madmen (incl. me btw) on here, some of whom would kill for a chance to get there.
Fuck me, Gnarley’s bringing a crew up from down under in May
November 25, 2009 at 16:32
I agree Nick!
We don’t get enough holidays over here…
The French get more bank holidays than weekends!
November 25, 2009 at 16:33
magit – you wont.
I cant comment much cause I promised Pedro I wouldn’t.
November 25, 2009 at 16:34
*ambivalent*
November 25, 2009 at 16:34
fletcher is a muppet. i dnt mind his never-say-die spirit but he’s a dirty player.
November 25, 2009 at 16:35
come on ped ying and yang they have to be french big down side that
..im only joking my favoured striker is french 
November 25, 2009 at 16:35
I always thought thanksgiving was Americans celebrating the fact that they got out of Ireland and found a new place to live?
November 25, 2009 at 16:36
sharkey…i can really understand that mate.
it is so expensive really……I do at least £100 for every game.
This sunday will be more cause I’m getting there early to get shit faced.
Prob I have is I cant shout too much where my seat are cause the players family sit there. It can cause problems so I’d better not get too drunk !!
November 25, 2009 at 16:36
I know mate. Just back you up some
November 25, 2009 at 16:37
lol chipo
km – second that m8
November 25, 2009 at 16:37
cheers magit…..appreciated
November 25, 2009 at 16:37
In the States isn’t the norm a standard 10 days leave a year?
Is that right?
November 25, 2009 at 16:38
where are you before the game Wardo. I’m heading up too?
November 25, 2009 at 16:39
What the fuck is a yam? Anyone ever had a yam?
Chipo, don’t americans just love telling you they’re American-Irish.
Where are all the American-English?
Oh… just for the record. I reckon Arsenal are going to win 1-0 on Sunday. Just to defy the odds of us keeping a clean sheet.
November 25, 2009 at 16:40
thinking of going to the Rocket. I’m taking a mate who wants to go there……what time you getting up there?
November 25, 2009 at 16:40
sweet potato is the nearest thing too it
November 25, 2009 at 16:41
It is Maqit… 10 too many if you ask me…
November 25, 2009 at 16:43
Pedro, I went to uni in the states and absolutely no one says they’re American
They’re either Irish, German, Swedish, Scottish, Portuguese, Italian, Iranian, whatever, no one actually claims to be American!
Never met one who said they had English heritage either
November 25, 2009 at 16:44
haha Pedro.
USA USA USA!
November 25, 2009 at 16:44
I agree with the view that the gunners are vulnerable to the sucker punch. I’m afarid Chelsea aint going to miss chances with a sloppy defence.
Remember Hull 2008-09? The unners despite havjing been dominant for long periods of the game were undone by a sucker punch.
I seriously hope the defence will tighten up and not go to sleep after taking the lead.
According to stats this is the most vulnerable period when the opposition has good chance of hitting back with a goal.
November 25, 2009 at 16:44
Pedro…think its like a potato dish. Seen it on an episode of friends once (before you all start, my missus was watching it !!)
Prob full of sugar so those fat btards keep their figure.
November 25, 2009 at 16:44
Right, I’m off out guys, have a good night!
November 25, 2009 at 16:45
Pedro they’re all pretending to be Irish!
It’s either Irish or Scottish. I think 50% of Americans claim to be part of a ‘clan’ haha
November 25, 2009 at 16:45
not sure yet Wardo. Possibly Pins.
Depends on my dipsitck bro who lives just off Blackstock Rd, not far from the S+B tbh.
I’ll post sat/Sun am if I know what happening.
November 25, 2009 at 16:45
Pedro….can I say what I want when you go ???
only kidding. have a good one
November 25, 2009 at 16:46
Yams are fucking tasty – like a sweet potato! Good mashed!
November 25, 2009 at 16:46
Wardo, I’m single now… I’ve noticed many things disappear out of your life when that happens… friends, heat magazine and healthy eating being the main ones!
November 25, 2009 at 16:46
we can get back seriously in the title race this week end but i m still angry about the sunderland game. we could have been top of the league…crap, same old same old
November 25, 2009 at 16:46
Don’t pretend you all know what yams are… they only exist in sitcoms…
November 25, 2009 at 16:46
not wanking though eh Pedro!
November 25, 2009 at 16:46
yeah let me know magit……could meet for a pre match beer.
November 25, 2009 at 16:47
most of em are the klo kluts
November 25, 2009 at 16:48
pedro yams are popular here as well mate Africans and west Indians mainly
November 25, 2009 at 16:48
My missus (as you know) is preggers……she seems to think that she gets more time on the TV remote !!!
I will never give up the TV remote when footie is on…..she still tries tho the cheeky sod
November 25, 2009 at 16:49
have a good evening all…….leaving work now !
November 25, 2009 at 16:50
laters pedro and wardo have a good nighto
November 25, 2009 at 17:00
CHeers Wardo, Ped
November 25, 2009 at 17:47
Benik Afobe is in the squad for the reserve game. I think that he stays because he will play reserve football.
November 25, 2009 at 18:19
dutchman he will stay here cos its the best place for him. if he goes to barca the boy has big bollocks but he will get lost in their system.
November 25, 2009 at 18:29
Yeh kingsley, he will stay. But do you know why ayling isn’t in the starting line-up??? Tomas cruise plays as CB. Can he do that job???
November 25, 2009 at 18:38
i personally have never seen cruise play at centre back, have you? I think Ayling has been injured but i’m not sure to be honest. Anyone know?
November 25, 2009 at 18:40
Ayling is a subsitute but he comes back from injury.
Important match tonight. I hope that wilshere scores
November 25, 2009 at 18:41
do u think jet could be playing centre back?
November 25, 2009 at 18:45
No, I think that he is more of a CAM. He is an attacking player.
November 25, 2009 at 18:45
But in Bartley we have our future CB. What a player that is!!!
November 25, 2009 at 18:45
so does that mean eastmond is at left back?
November 25, 2009 at 18:49
I think so. But aston villa is playing with their first team,isn’t it??
November 25, 2009 at 18:52
I think Krasic just scored a screamer for CSKA
November 25, 2009 at 18:55
Cracking goal by Krasic. Poor first touch to set it up though.
November 25, 2009 at 18:59
Theo feels as sharp as ever. Umm, how many games has he played? Our players talk too much nonsense sometimes
November 25, 2009 at 18:59
Can anyone clear something up for me. Watching the Moscow – wolfsburg match on shitanta and the commentator keeps on pronouncing the ‘CSKA’ part as a word (shishka is what he is saying).
What i want to know is ; is that correct or is he being a retard because I always thought ‘CSKA’ was an abbreviation(sp) for a combo of words.
ANyone?
November 25, 2009 at 19:00
*not sure if abbreviation is the correct term here either…
November 25, 2009 at 19:06
yep, it’s an abbreviation, Stu:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSKA
evening all
November 25, 2009 at 19:07
Nevermind. Wiki has answered. Apparently its Central Sports Club of Army (CSKA)
I knew those Shitanta idiots were wrong.
November 25, 2009 at 19:08
Thanks SUGA. Im amazed that they are pronouncing it as a word. I thought they were supposed to be professional pundits.
November 25, 2009 at 19:08
Does anyone want to sell me two tickets for Sunday’s match agaisnt Chelsea? I will pay 500 pounds max for two. Please e-mail me if you wish to sell you tickets for that game.
Arsenal for Ever!!!!
November 25, 2009 at 19:08
is this AV reserves game on arse com live
November 25, 2009 at 19:09
it’s on ATVO…
November 25, 2009 at 19:10
Stu,
it’s just the pundit thing – remember ‘Ebowie’?
we have a pundit in Poland named Szpakowski – one can piss himself laughing listening to this prat
November 25, 2009 at 19:11
evandresmith_71@hotmail.com for the tickets sorry.
November 25, 2009 at 19:12
lol SUGA, i do remember Ebowie. But that was more to do with the guys accent. These idiots are just trying to sound competent but failing horribly. Mis-pronouncing wnames left, right and centre.
November 25, 2009 at 19:14
watching ressies: Wilshere, JET, Fabianski all play…
November 25, 2009 at 19:16
I thought JET was on loan?
November 25, 2009 at 19:18
just came back, first game…
November 25, 2009 at 19:23
good save, Fabianski, shit defending from Cruise…
not a CB…
November 25, 2009 at 19:28
Cruise is playing left back.
November 25, 2009 at 19:31
he usually is…
they just seemed a bit more direct under Bouldy if you ask me…
November 25, 2009 at 19:32
GET IN !!!
November 25, 2009 at 19:33
one nil you Watt
November 25, 2009 at 19:35
delph is so shit, and such a nob! Cruise isn’t a bad left back, he’s grown on me. Not sure about Eastmond playing centre back, certainly interesting!
November 25, 2009 at 19:36
Merida sent off – WTF?
November 25, 2009 at 19:36
ridiculous, delph is a complete dick
November 25, 2009 at 19:36
Does that mean that Merida is suspended for the League Cup game?
November 25, 2009 at 19:37
I’ve got 3 games on: am I mental or what?
November 25, 2009 at 19:38
he could be, A…
November 25, 2009 at 19:39
Does anyone know how rerserves red card works? will Merida now get 3 match ban for 1st team meaning he might miss the CC
November 25, 2009 at 19:41
Villa level…
November 25, 2009 at 19:41
fucking gilbert
November 25, 2009 at 19:43
almost certain merida is suspended for the city game, very unfortunate for him, though makes team selection a bit easier! he’ll just have to play in the semis and final….
jlp you can’t blame gilbert for that goal!
November 25, 2009 at 19:43
Found this on a Reading website. Not sure if it applies.
“For disciplinary purposes, first team games and reserve games are treated separately. The only exception is that a player receiving a red card for violent conduct or serious foul play will be banned from all competitions until the relevant number of first team games have been missed.”
November 25, 2009 at 19:45
yeah chozzer, only chance is if the ref decides didn’t warrant a red, though seems no replay so no chance of that
November 25, 2009 at 19:47
fack…
November 25, 2009 at 19:48
i can and certainly will A…
nah not really blaming him more cussing his name for lack of not knowing the lineman who got Fran sent off
i didn’t see the fight…
.fuck………. gilbert
November 25, 2009 at 19:48
Why did thierry handball it twice?
To be sure,to be sure!
November 25, 2009 at 19:51
Dat’s a cracker Pedro…..
November 25, 2009 at 19:52
Pedro
November 25, 2009 at 19:53
Reserves getting totally outplayed by AV. Merida was stupid, he should never raise his hands, it gives an invitation for the ref to send off the best player on the pitch.
JW is well off the pace. Is he fit?
November 25, 2009 at 19:53
Fookin hell…………..Drogbacunt is fit!?
November 25, 2009 at 19:54
yep…
November 25, 2009 at 19:55
@ jlp, dont be ignorant, when you have less players full back have to tuck bcuz thats were the danger is and thats wat Gilbert did, dont forget they have 10 men.
November 25, 2009 at 19:57
Why not accept that it was a very good goal scored by AV. The pass to Downing was excellent as was his first time cross. No-one to blame. Just good football
November 25, 2009 at 19:57
he’s starting!
November 25, 2009 at 19:58
true raddy. I blame the ref, he was letting delph get away with some really nasty tackles, it was always going to result and a reaction at some point, especially with us getting so many injuries from nastiness like that. Bring randall on to sort him out!
November 25, 2009 at 20:04
ok supergunner i won’t be ignorant
i wasn’t serious like i said…
but thanks for getting my back
November 25, 2009 at 20:05
@ raddy, i was actually defending gilbert, football is all about space and with 10 men overload or 2v1 on the wings like that can happen
November 25, 2009 at 20:07
Besiktas scored, good goal
November 25, 2009 at 20:16
Everton look like they are getting raped!
November 25, 2009 at 20:28
they sure do choy…
shame – thought it would be their season to become the leading force in Liverpool…
November 25, 2009 at 20:29
The Europa league is more of a hindrance isn’t it?
November 25, 2009 at 20:31
it is – more games and more physical…
November 25, 2009 at 20:33
Let’s just hope Chelsea get some injuries
November 25, 2009 at 20:38
Cant see Chelsea beating us without Lampard.
Thing is we need a win. Not a draw.
A draw would favor United. And Fuk that.
November 25, 2009 at 20:43
WTF are we going to do with the LB position now?
Silvestre?
Traore?
Eboue?
Eastmond?
Senderos?
Cruise?
November 25, 2009 at 20:44
Well Avram Grant is taking over pompey.. new manager and all that .. hope he makes something at that game!
November 25, 2009 at 20:54
FT – lost to Villa…
November 25, 2009 at 20:57
that official choy re grant?
utd are an irrelevance, they’ll be closer to liverpool come the end of the season than to us and chelsea
November 25, 2009 at 20:58
Out of order calling B.B.K a spud.
We already found out ages ago he’s a Man u fan.
November 25, 2009 at 21:04
Wish that was the case A
But teams lie down and take it when they play United.
Wolvshampton didnt even put up a fight yet they were up for it against us!
November 25, 2009 at 21:17
If united lose its possible they could also be out of the CL.
November 25, 2009 at 21:28
what David?! we smashed them 4-1 away, and were always going to win! Have Utd played Wolves away yet? not sure they have, but they’ll make tougher work of it than we did! Think you’re thinking of Chelsea playing them at home at the weekend??
It is the case too David, just wait and see!
November 25, 2009 at 21:31
David that is what I was thininkg… why has Fergie fielded such a weak team….
If the lose tonight and lose by two goals away to Wolfsburg then they will be about..
November 25, 2009 at 21:32
2 minutes to go, lets hope the Turks can hang on and put one over the disgraceful sweaty’s team.
November 25, 2009 at 21:33
about…. what Bini ?
November 25, 2009 at 21:34
Oh my god – fucking 5 minutes of fucking Fergie time !!
November 25, 2009 at 21:34
WTF 5 mins stoppage time!!
November 25, 2009 at 21:36
Well that’s 5 minutes or till the Manks score, as it’s at Old Toilet
November 25, 2009 at 21:38
What a fucking save.
November 25, 2009 at 21:38
the turks are nearly there, come on….
November 25, 2009 at 21:39
they’ve already qualified.
November 25, 2009 at 21:40
Up yours Fergie you fucking cunt !!
November 25, 2009 at 21:40
The kebabs are gonna be bigga this week-end!!
November 25, 2009 at 21:41
or not
November 25, 2009 at 21:41
Look how empty the stadium is…and the press slag us off for emptying the seats early at the Grove.
I suppose it’s a long journey home to Surrey and Devon for the Mank fans so they have to get started early.
November 25, 2009 at 21:41
Just think if the mancs do go out ITV will have no one left to show!!
November 25, 2009 at 21:41
Anyone see Chamakh’s goal?
November 25, 2009 at 21:42
Bordeaux 2 Juve 0
Chamakh scored on 90 mins
November 25, 2009 at 21:42
utd are already qualified….
November 25, 2009 at 21:43
not really A
November 25, 2009 at 21:43
Chelsea won 1-0 Anelka goal.
No bloody injuries either
November 25, 2009 at 21:44
They are at 10.
Wolfsburg 7
CSKA 7
November 25, 2009 at 21:44
choy they qualified in the last set of games! CSKA can’t catch them…. Remember – the last minute equaliser, late come back etc. Was a shitty deflected goal that put them through
November 25, 2009 at 21:44
True “A” but it would be nice if the mank skummers don’t go through as group winners.
Reggie – the ITV shiesters will show the Chavs instead anyway.
November 25, 2009 at 21:44
Have they qualified or not?
November 25, 2009 at 21:45
and they’ve already played cska twice, beating them once and drawing once, so beaten them on aggregate….
November 25, 2009 at 21:45
United are through btw.
November 25, 2009 at 21:46
That scottish cunt can’t even stop chewing his fucking gum while he’s doing an interview.
The cunt.
November 25, 2009 at 21:46
Thats as clear as frosted glass then?
November 25, 2009 at 21:47
yeah they have reggie, they did last time! how can people not remember it, people made a big deal about it! and we could’ve qualified in the same week but failed to
November 25, 2009 at 21:47
How is that so A?
If Wolfsburg beat United by 2 or more and CSKA take care of business by 2 or more they dont go by goal difference?
November 25, 2009 at 21:48
yeah it would be chary, we could play them then! I really wanna play them in the champs league and do to them what they did to us. Get a couple of goals ahead in a tight first leg, then when they come at us in the second just totally destroy them
November 25, 2009 at 21:48
WTF are we going to do with the LB position now?
Silvestre?
Traore?
Eboue?
Eastmond?
Senderos?
Cruise??
November 25, 2009 at 21:48
Yeah cheers A its all coming back now!!
November 25, 2009 at 21:49
David it’s not been down to goal difference for a while, it’s on the head to head record, which is why it was massive when they scored the last minute goal against cska to draw last matchday, and they celebrated like mad because they’d qualified!
November 25, 2009 at 21:49
Samir Traore obviously. Imo Traore = Gibbs so it’s not a big deal at all
November 25, 2009 at 21:49
Chelsea won 1-0 Anelka goal. No injuries however
Bordeaux 2- Juve 0 —Chamakh scored one on 90 mins
November 25, 2009 at 21:50
Imo I think Traore has no chance against Anelka…..
November 25, 2009 at 21:50
None of the above, all are shit LBs?
November 25, 2009 at 21:51
Manchester United FC confirmed their place in the last 16 when they recovered to draw 3-3 with PFC CSKA Moskva on Matchday 4. Holding a three-point lead over second-placed VfL Wolfsburg, United can take another step towards winning the group by defeating Beşiktaş JK at Old Trafford. Wolfsburg, who in turn are three clear of CSKA, visit the Russian outfit in the other fixture knowing a draw will secure their place in the first knockout round.
That was the official UEFA.com preview for Utd’s group
November 25, 2009 at 21:51
Did dogshite play for the full 90 minutes??
November 25, 2009 at 21:51
chelsea were really lucky win their match,porto probably had around 10 shots on target,most of them denied be cech,chelsea had only 2 or three of them.both anelka and drogba started for them
November 25, 2009 at 21:52
Traore has more chance than Gibbs imo Samir…. Much quicker and stronger, and Anelka is a pacy player, rather than a clever player, where Gibbs would be better.
November 25, 2009 at 21:52
A, Traore is absolutely pants there – did not like him one bit against Sunderland, I was geniunely pissed off when Gibbs limped off, should have played Traore aganst Liege, he’d do against them IMO…
November 25, 2009 at 21:54
SUGA3 if you didn’t like him there against Sunderland then you must have something against him! Didn’t put a foot wrong defensively, was much more mature and disciplined than he used to be, and made two superb runs going forward that almost resulted in goals! I don’t see how anyone could fault him against Sunderland, even if they don’t rate him!
November 25, 2009 at 21:55
If Gallas is fit we will have a chance however….
I’ll go with:
__________Almunia____
Sagna–Gallas–Vermy–Traore_
Denilson/Nasri/Rosicky–Song–Fabregas_
_Walcott–Eduardo–Arshavin_
Maybe Nasri in Walcott’s position…. And Walcott benched as impact sub.
November 25, 2009 at 21:55
are you fucking kidding me? acres of space for that ex-Spudcunt Malbranque twice in the first half: you know with Anelka there it’s a goal…
November 25, 2009 at 21:56
I consider Traore to be the equal of Gibbs, and if his defensive maturity and discipline showed against Sunderland is maintained whilst he’s in the team now, he’ll be a fair bit better, because he is superior in terms of pace, power, and crossing. Gibbs is more intelligent though.
November 25, 2009 at 21:57
Yes Reggie “Dogshite” played the full 90 mins…
November 25, 2009 at 21:57
he is not a LB – he is a LW for a classic 4-4-2 with conservative non adventurous LB as far as I am concerned, that is why he did so well at Pompey…
November 25, 2009 at 21:57
Samir I’m going for
Almunia
Sagna Gallas Vermy Traore
Cesc Song Denilson
Nasri/Rosicky Eduardo/Vela Arshavin
I reckon 9 of the players are cemented in there, the only variables for me are Eduardo or Vela and Nasri or Rosicky
November 25, 2009 at 21:58
Traore is nowhere near Gibbs defensively…
November 25, 2009 at 21:58
anyone watched cska vs wolfberg match,krasic was fucking good,i definately want to see him in arseanl shirt one day.an ideal replacement for rosicky,he he doesnt sign an extension
November 25, 2009 at 21:59
Gotta disagree SUGA, he’s absolutely a left back, more so than Alves is a left back, and he’s been a left back since before Gibbs was! He just didn’t develop the positional and discipline elements to his game until late, which is why he hasn’t developed that quickly. He still has everything to be an amazing full back. He’s not ever going to be anything other than a left back or wing back
November 25, 2009 at 22:00
It depends what you mean SUGA. Traore has more recovery pace, and is stronger in the tackle and just stronger generally. Gibbs reads the game better and is positionally better. Different but equal imo, both will get caught out defensively in different ways
November 25, 2009 at 22:01
Yer I agree with that line up A.
Don’t know who will play the front-line.
Only Arshavin is a definite if he’s recovered from that head injury fully…
Will be interesting who he picks tho.
November 25, 2009 at 22:02
Front 3*
November 25, 2009 at 22:03
Thanks Samir all that bollox that he was gonna be out for a month was a fuckin smoke screen then!
November 25, 2009 at 22:03
Anyway’s people I’m off….
Have a nice sleep!
November 25, 2009 at 22:05
Yeah I agree Samir, it surprised me that Eduardo didn’t start mid week. Unless he was carrying a knock. He’s obviously lacking confidence so a goal would’ve done him the world of good. Also would’ve said that Rosicky was likely to start on Sunday but Nasri was very very impressive so he might have wrestled that position away from Rosicky now. Vela did well too but didn’t score so I reckon it probably will be Eduardo in the end.
November 25, 2009 at 22:05
well, he may have the ability on paper, but has fuck all defensive discipline IMO…
he is going to leave us exposed – why do you think ‘Arry played Traore as LW? because it was his best position with less responsibility and with safety net – remember 5:1 v Spuds? I do: Traore LB with another clown Hoyte RB – the latter plies his trade in Championship now and is still pretty shit…
November 25, 2009 at 22:09
nite Samir
November 25, 2009 at 22:11
That idiot redknapp played Traore at left back because he was playing in a shit portsmouth team, down the bottom of the table, that needed more defensive minded full backs. Traore is to a left back what Eboue is to right back, both of them are very good going forward from full back, but don’t have the mind set to ever be top quality wingers, but add defensive balance there. Both are attacking full backs though and as such will get caught out defensively at times.
Previously Traore was woeful defensively, against Sunderland he was flawless, he didn’t get exposed, or caught out of position once, and if that’s come with a new found maturity then he could well end up the best left back we’ve got. Hoyte is nothing like Traore, he never had the raw potential
November 25, 2009 at 22:14
in the 2nd half vs SL who slotted in denilsons position when he came off
i thought nasri dropped back
November 25, 2009 at 22:16
sorry – played him at left mid even
November 25, 2009 at 22:16
November 25, 2009 at 22:18
Nasri was only on the pitch for about 5 minutes after Denilson came off jlp.
When Denilson came off though Song dropped back deeper. Before Denilson was actually playing as the deepest of the three midfielders, sitting back and reading the game, which allowed Song freedom to win the ball higher up the pitch. That’s what I expect to see against Chelsea too
November 25, 2009 at 22:20
A,
how can you say he was never exposed against Sunderland? I expect you to offer me the explanation on how the fack did Malbranque get into our box with Al exposed at the near post, where he’s pretty shit…
November 25, 2009 at 22:21
I am not convinced by Denilson’s defensive game, plus he made quite a few dangerous misplaced passes v Liege…
November 25, 2009 at 22:25
you mean when the ball came over from a cross on the left suga?! if you blame traore for that then you have no understanding of football!
Denilson is our best defensive reader of the game in midfield, he’s very important for balance against the big teams imo.
November 25, 2009 at 22:28
Brilliant Franchise
November 25, 2009 at 22:29
er, sure mate, whatever…
as far as I am concerned, if a player get all the way on the right side without being tracked by the LB who happens to be nowhere to be seen, then it is LB’s fault…
our midfield is too small and has every chance of getting smacked to fuck with all this fancy Dan ‘defensive reading of the game’ bullshit without any power…
November 25, 2009 at 22:34
yea thats right A thanks
nasri got subbed off before denilson
tough call who gets the nod upfront
go with pace and energy with theo n vela
or go with experience and class with rosicky and eduardo
i guess the mix is there as well
tough call
November 25, 2009 at 22:34
suga3 you can see the video on 101 great goals, traore was in his position and was on the front post when he shot, exactly where he was meant to be throughout that whole phase of play, it’s literally impossible to blame him for that for anyone looking at it objectively, and just lying to say he was nowhere to be seen or had gone all the way down the right side without being tracked, when he was tracked the whole way!
Denilson’s reading of the game results in his winning the ball back by intercepting, so he doesn’t need power in that respect, agility is more important in fact. His reading of the game coupled with Song’s power will be a very good combination
November 25, 2009 at 22:35
Yep agree with A there.
Denilson and Song are the first choice midfield pairing.
November 25, 2009 at 22:35
jlp i don’t see there being any real chance of Theo starting, he’s not started a game since his return from injury so isn’t going to be full fit. I reckon it’ll be same sorts of player, Rosicky or Nasri, and Vela or Eduardo.
November 25, 2009 at 22:36
Arshavin has never played against the chavs, expect him to be up for this.
November 25, 2009 at 22:36
http://www.101greatgoals.com/videodisplay/3977958
There you go SUGA3, walk me through what Traore did wrong when Malbranque got the chance?!
November 25, 2009 at 22:38
yeah good point choy, arshavin will be big on sunday, let’s hope he’s really focussed. Did people see the story and all the stick he’s getting in russia? Not great if true
November 25, 2009 at 22:39
i thought traore failed to mark malbranque both times as well Suga
but also agree with A he is more than capable of producing on both ends of the pitch…maybe brings more going forward but as the 3rd choice lb my guess is you’d be hard pressed to find any EPL squad with a better option
November 25, 2009 at 22:39
I would definitely play Sagna at left back on Saturday and have Eboue at right back, neither will let us down, in fact our back four will not be any the weaker, I definitely don’t want Silvestre in he just hasn’t got the pace any more.
November 25, 2009 at 22:40
well, he was supposed to be all over Malbranque that very moment (or maybe not, considering what clumsy tackler he is) – Malbranque fucked up twice, as he was expecting just that, while he had enough time for a manicure, ffs…
we shall see whe Song is gone to ACN – did you see Chavs today? I looked closely out of interest and I thank God that Song didn’t get booked on Saturday…
November 25, 2009 at 22:40
one more thing:
don’t you fucking call me a liar…
November 25, 2009 at 22:42
He’s just their scapegoat…
Chavs are going to be a tough game.. but then they haven’t faced Arsenal yet.
Its all about our attack vs their defense.
November 25, 2009 at 22:42
huh SUGA3, I said the combination with Denilson’s reading of the game and Song’s power will work very well. With Song not playing we’ll lack the power.
You made up that Traore didn’t track Malbranque, and was nowhere to be seen! Either just to back up your argument whilst not knowing the facts, or knowing the facts and saying something that you knew to be untrue!
November 25, 2009 at 22:43
looks like fatty will be back for sunday
November 25, 2009 at 22:44
I hope so Choy, if he’s been getting pissed the night before a big game and then impertinent talking about tactics etc then it’s not great at all!
I agree, it’s just whether we can take our chances early on
November 25, 2009 at 22:45
just typical really they have all there team to choose from and we have fuck all
November 25, 2009 at 22:45
I just saw that too bbk, not a massive deal, he won’t be fully fit
November 25, 2009 at 22:45
It was all about that last season too at the emirates, we started really really well but couldn’t convert.
November 25, 2009 at 22:47
yeah choy, theo tore them apart in the first half hour
November 25, 2009 at 22:48
A,
he was not where he was supposed to be, which is doing something not to allow ‘his’ player to have a shot – OK he may have tried to track him, but did not do what he was there to do…
Clichy & Gibbs are class, Traore is not a LB
—————-Mannone—————
–Gilbert—Sendy—Silvestre–Traore-
—————Denilson—————
fucking Keystone Cops defensive part of AFC
November 25, 2009 at 22:50
Fat Fwank fit?
oohhh, what a terrible ‘injury’ that must have been – not fully fit, A?
no mate – rested…
November 25, 2009 at 22:53
Whether you rate him or not SUGA he’s still a left back! He could never be anything but a left back! It’s what he is, though whether or not he’s good there is obviously open to one’s opinion!
Clichy is class, Gibbs and Traore both have massive raw talent, but big deficiencies and areas of their games they need to work on, both have potential to be class.
Denilson is one of the best defensive readers of the game in the premiership, Senderos is a very good player most of the time too, Mannone and Gilbert aren’t premiership class and Silvestre is past it.
Traore tracked Malbranque the entire way, and was goal side of him the whole way, then tucked in when the cross came across exactly as any full back would be taught to do, but because of a deflection it got to malbranque. If the best left back in the world was playing he would have taken up the same positions in that instance!
November 25, 2009 at 22:53
Traore or Silvest?
I think i would take traore!
November 25, 2009 at 22:54
he’s been injured SUGA, so won’t be fully fit, as he’s not played for a few weeks!
November 25, 2009 at 22:54
But whoever plays that side will have to be on top of their game, Arsh is hardly going to be tracking back!
November 25, 2009 at 22:54
If Lampard was fit he would’ve played today to get his match sharpness up as Drogba did, if he starts he won’t be at 100%, Drogba shouldn’t be either
November 25, 2009 at 22:58
A, like I said all this reading of the game counts for shit if you get outmuscled, beaten in the air, etc.
Denilson is 2 inches shorter than Song, and considerably lighter, he may find it hard to hold his own against some ‘in your face’ sides…
November 25, 2009 at 23:02
a few weeks? yep, 3 weeks, out of which 2 were the international break, then some more time, so that it wouldn’t look stupid & obvious…
Chavs can afford to rest players, Drogba was genuinely injured, hence his appearance to day to regain fitness…
but fuck that, we’ll beat them cunts anyway!
November 25, 2009 at 23:06
obviously it counts for shit SUGA, because you win the ball back time and time again with interceptions! When Song is unavailable Denilson will play the deeper role as he did yesterday, and will against Chelsea, but Diaby will play the physical role, not as well as Song but he’ll still manage it and it’ll give us balance
November 25, 2009 at 23:07
Total concentration from the first whistle to the last is what is needed on Sunday
November 25, 2009 at 23:07
SUGA3 if a player hasn’t played a competitive game for three weeks then he won’t be match fit first game back, that’s pretty much a given….
Both Drogba and Lampard were genuinly injured, both were diagnosed by the international physios, not the club physios, and neither have been training
I agree though, we would’ve beaten them even if chelsea were at full strength!
November 25, 2009 at 23:08
Diaby will play physical role – words fail me…
November 25, 2009 at 23:11
do you seriously think that if Lampard asked Lewin to excuse him and the son of the shoplifter from playing some bullshit friendly in another timezone, he’d say no?
don’t be naive…
November 25, 2009 at 23:11
i think we are going to get bullied on sunday and embarresed again,pretty much like last season’s result..
November 25, 2009 at 23:15
all right Grovers, I’m offski
November 25, 2009 at 23:15
lol SUGA3, yes I do think, and pretty much know that he’d say no! He travelled to Dubai, he started training, he pulled up with a muscle injury, a scan showed that he’d torn his thigh and he was released from the England squad as there was no way he’d be available for the Brazil game.
Neither players, and certainly not international physios, would EVER make up an injury, because it would do their careers a lot of harm, and the physio would be sacked!
November 25, 2009 at 23:20
smoke & mirrors, A – how else were they supposed to excuse a few stars missing in a high profile friendly for a lot of money in the middle of the desert?
November 25, 2009 at 23:24
suga3 they WANT the players to play, Capello would never excuse anyone, because he isn’t like that, and the FA would never do that either, because they’d lose money! And they certainly wouldn’t force the players to fly all the way out there, then excuse them! It’s an absolutely ridiculous and illogical conspiracy theory! No one or two players could get preferential treatment anyways! If they let Lampard off (which is ridiculous even by itself) then they’d have to let everyone off who asked!
November 25, 2009 at 23:35
A,
having an opportunity to play your fringe players in the friendly is not a bad thing for Capello either…
November 25, 2009 at 23:35
TBH
I can’t see The Arsenal keeping a clean sheet against Chelski. Anelka & Drogba will be too much to keep scoreless.
November 25, 2009 at 23:51
SUGA3 he doesn’t need an opportunity, he’d play them if he wanted to, regardless of who was fit. The friendly was a money making exercise, and the sponsorship money would be more substantial the more high profile players there were on show. The FA would never allow anyone to not play if they were capable of it.
November 25, 2009 at 23:57
neither can i gnarley, another 2-1 would do me, though 4-1 reversal of last year would be better….
brilliant story – http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Ruud-van-Nistelrooy-will-snub-Arsenal-to-sign-for-Liverpool-article232659.html
did you know papers just make up stories from scratch – fact.
November 26, 2009 at 00:21
BBK how do we have fuck all? I’v told you 70 trillion times stop exaggerating
November 26, 2009 at 00:22
Talking to myself. on that note I’ll take my leave
November 26, 2009 at 00:26
Seriously worried about Sunday. Our defending has defaulted to pants again and I’m nervous with just Vela or Eduardo up front alone. But knowing us we’ll play out of our skins and Arshavin will put on a blinder and score 3 Kanu goals and the Verminator will fire in a long range rocket. 4-0 TO THE ARSE!
November 26, 2009 at 00:32
Well, quelle surprise, Lampard and Drogba are gonna be fit. Just like I said they would.
November 26, 2009 at 00:45
Fucking great all their players get fit before our game while we lose more.
November 26, 2009 at 01:04
Fwank aand Drogba both fit for our game?
I simply cant believe it! I really thought they would both be injured still like we were told…
ha ha
November 26, 2009 at 03:02
Highest rating of the match, so I’m guessing he got MOTM.
Chamakh: 8.5 – Stretched Juve’s defence all over the pitch when he wasn’t on the ball. Ran well when picked out with long balls. Won numerous free kicks and was eventually rewarded with a goal of his own at the death.
November 26, 2009 at 07:09
You could have a great season, get injured at the end of it and miss out. So I am just going to concentrate on every single game until the end of the season and see where it takes me.
Theo Walcott
November 26, 2009 at 07:31
Arsenal star Andrey Arshavin is being blamed for Guus Hiddink’s downfall as Russia coach.
The Sun says the former Chelsea boss has come in for stinging criticism after losing to Slovenia in a play-off – despite earning £9MILLION a year.
Hate figure Hiddink has been branded ‘a kind grandad’ who is unable to control the Russkies’ big-name players.
Reports claim Hiddink lost the dressing room following a string of bust-ups with several of his stars – including Andrey Arshavin and Tottenham’s Roman Pavlyuchenko – over tactics.
Arsenal ace Arshavin is even said to have given his own team talks that contradicted Hiddink’s instructions.
November 26, 2009 at 08:09
What is Walcott still on about?
Concnetrate on your club mate!
Wtf!!
November 26, 2009 at 08:30
The Sun says…
The Daily Mail says ….
The Daily Mirror says ….
Father Christmas says …..
November 26, 2009 at 08:41
What did Father Christmas say Raddy? I love that guy!
November 26, 2009 at 08:42
LOL!
November 26, 2009 at 08:54
Morning All
Santa says – Ho Ho Ho
November 26, 2009 at 08:56
Morning Rico, I think Raddy had a senior moment, he posted, then forgot, he’s probably lost in the park right now!
November 26, 2009 at 08:59
November 26, 2009 at 09:02
That’s if he remembers Rico!
November 26, 2009 at 09:03
New post!
November 26, 2009 at 09:18
In order to draw with Chelsea- we will have to play better than we have for the past 2 years- is that possible yes- but this is very unlikely with an injury ravaged team. I’d rather we lost than collect anymore injuries.
Only Chelsea’s temporary this year manager is a class act- but even he cannot disguise what lies underneath. Very strong no expense spared ageing team granted- but also a loathsome bunch of aggressive egotistic mercenaries. Maybe our time is not yet- but it will come.
November 26, 2009 at 09:40
I’ll predict a 2-2 draw.
Chelsea to take an early lead but Arsenal to finish the game the stronger of the two.