I’ve got great news…. Player ratings + review

December 31, 2009

Highlights | Interviews

… we’ve made it to 40 points. We’re not getting relegated this year Grovers. Phew…!

So what about the game? Well, it was a pretty damn fine way to sign off the decade. In true Arsenal fashion we knocked the ball about like a training exercise and conceded a sloppy goal. Vintage Arsenal you’ve got to say!

It’s funny, most Arsenal fans are calling for the coach to sign a striker despite us scoring a record number of goals. I’m not disagreeing, I think with the right signing in the middle we could score even more goals, however, I think a centre back as cover is more essential.

So the team lined up the same as it did for Villa minus Denilson who was replaced by Rambo.

The first five minutes weren’t the best. We struggled to get a hold of the game and after a Song slip we could have been one down as Piquionne forced a neat save from Almunia.

Eduardo had a couple of chances that he failed to snatch at like he normally would. What I found amusing about this was the way in which the commentators were talking about him like he’d just hit 36 and lost his game… it was like they were talking about a dead person, like they truly believe after a bad patch, it was all over for the Crozillian.

Little did they know. Eduardo skillfully picked out ex-Spud Kaboul and smashed a dead ball at him causing the perfect ricochet into the bottom corner, he even managed to use a mind trick to render Hreidarsson inactive on the post he was marking. Two fingers up to the commentary box… Eddy was back. No goals from freekicks in ninety two and half weeks, then three in so many games… like buses, or parking tickets!

It didn’t take Eduardo long to cause more problems for Pompey. He picked up a floated pass from Song, cut it back to Ramsey who laid it off for Nasri who drilled it back across Begovic’s goal. 2-0 and Arsenal were cruising like a 67 year old lottery winner (On a boat, not for sex you dirty perverts).

Arsenal came out for the second half knowing the game was done and dusted. Sky were still trying their hardest to convince us otherwise. Well, it didn’t take long for us to deliver the hammer blow. Rambo won the ball in midfield, cut inside that useless excuse for a striker Pompey have and smashed the ball from 20 yards past the flailing hand of Pompey’s number two.

Arsenal then hit the switch off button. Passes started getting sloppy, we lost a little shape and before we knew it, Belhadj slipped into the box unnoticed and scored.

After that we witnessed Almunia flap at a cross. Kind of an expectation these days, still, he is the captain, we must learn to forgive.

Arsenal decided it was time to finish off the decade with something unexpected. Song masterfully kicked the ball against his foot and played it out wide to Nasri… the Frenchman spotted Song at the back post, floated a perfect cross which was met by a perfect header! Yep, Song scored a goal and a very good one at that.

The game still had time to see the introduction of Rosicky, Vela and Eastmond.

The slight south Londoner gave away a cheap corner which Almunia did his best to concede from… he then went up the other end and nearly scored. A pleasing 9-10 minutes and nice to see Wenger blooding a member of the Brit pack!

So, there we have it, Arsenal football club have just red carded the last decade with a superb 4-1 victory over a team we’ll probably never see in the Premiership again. We’ve bagged over 50 goals in the first half of the season and we’re still in the hunt for three types of silverware. Things are looking good and come January, with some intelligent purchasing, we could find ourselves in the hunt come March. This is an exciting time to be an Arsenal fan and a happy time to mix it in our comments section (if you haven’t given it a go, make it your new years resolution)!

Ratings:

Almunia: Looked like a frightened rabbit as he chewed this inside of his mouth in the tunnel. George Bush used to do that when he was lying. It’s a shame that I’d probably prefer ol’ George in goal at the moment, even after I watched him duck that Iraqi shoe. Sorry, I digress… not a great performance. 6

Sagna: Why oh why do we let him get forward. Watching him cross offends me. It’s embarrassing that after three years of world class training at our prestigious club, he still hasn’t mastered it. He defended ok. I suppose that’s his job. 6.5

Vermaelen: A solid performance from him. He was part of the trio that forgot to track for the goal, but he can be forgiven as he’s my favourite. 7

Gallas: A solid performance from him. Where the hell was he looking when he should have been tracking Bell-boy for the goal? 6.5

Traore: A bit of dodgy game from ex-Pompey legend, Armand ‘Knuckle-duster’ Traore. His passing was as weak as Chinese baby milk and if I’m honest, I think that long ball to Theo went to his head a little. His tackling and concentration were also a little off today. 6

Song: Song, Song can do no wrong. That’s what I sing to myself when Geoff goes to grab a beer. He slipped over once and made few dodgy passes. However, he started the move for the Eduardo goal and I’m pretty certain he scored one of the best headers of the game in the second half. He also showed a few flashy pieces of skill, especially the one when he brought the ball down, turned it inside and duffed his shot. A good game from a man who talks in the opposite way to Adebayor. 8

Diaby: Well, I don’t have a song for Diaby… nothing rhymes, bar Abu Dhabi. However, if I did have a song about him, it would be a nice one. He played very well today. He’s getting the ball out of his feet early, distributing it to people on his own team and boy can this man run! He’s starting to play with consistency, now all he needs to do is prove his fitness over more than 5 games. 7.5

Nasri: It was all going so well for Samir untill he fell on his hand and started bitching like a little girl. What does that magic spray do? Anyone know? Does it cure hangovers? Anyway, bar his whinging, he played solidly. He bagged his first goal this season and he manged to chalk up an assist for the Song goal. Teeing something up perfectly enough for Song to score is almost deserving of 2 assists. A good game away from home. 8.5

Rambo: Again, it was all going well until his interview. I thought he was Welsh? He sounded more confused than one of those illegal cab drivers when I tell them where I want to go at 4 in the morning. A good job he’s a footballer, not a public speaker. A top effort from him today. His passing was predictably erratic but his talent is in no doubt. He’s bulked up so he doesn’t get bullied out of games and he is sharp and incisive when given the chance. The way he took his goal was superb, winning it in midfield, cutting in and smashing home like Stevie Me himself. That’s talent I’m happy to wait for… 7

Eduardo: I’m surprised SSN didn’t run a career obituary for him before the game. Still, it’s nice when the pundits get it horribly wrong in the space of 15 minutes. He’s never going to be great in that wide position, but he’s got an eye for goal and more importantly, an eye for a cheeky pass. He’s feeling his way back into Premiership football and only a fool would write him off. 7

Arshavin: If he wasn’t so amusing to watch on the pitch, I’m sure I’d have more negative things to say about his game. I do love him. He’s got a certain spark only a few players have, but through the middle, I feel he’s wasted. He doesn’t have the chance to run at players and it’s very easy to knock him off the ball. The sooner we can get a big striker in to relieve him of the burden, the sooner we can see the little Russian working some proper magic. 6.5

A word from the admin team…

This is the last post from Le Grove in 2009. I just want to reiterate Geoff’s Christmas message.

This year, we’ve accrued 1.5million more visits than the last, proving Le Grove is recession proof. We’ve registered nearly half a million comments since we went live and I don’t think there has ever been so many Grovers from so may different parts of the world interacting on the site daily.

Le Grove has truly developed into the best place on the web to talk football, bar none… and it’s all down to you, the Grovers! So thank you kindly. We truly appreciate the fact you put your employment, relationships and social lives on the line everyday to engage in football talk and for that we’ll continue to serve up more finely balanced articles and a whole lot more for you in the New Year!

So, it’s that time of year again and without wanting to sound like a nag can I just suggest that you drink yourself stupid tonight… you wouldn’t want to remember how embarrassing you were in the morning!

Happy New year!

Geoff + Pedro

Fireworks or sea urchins?

Fireworks or sea urchins?

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Posted by Pedro

Are ballet dancers tougher?

December 30, 2009

Pedro supplied me with this little piece yesterday via a Grover called John.

Last summer principal ballerina Tamara Rojo suffered a career threatening ankle injury.She was recommended to consult an expert in such injuries in Cuba. In 3 weeks she was back dancing.If one of the world’s great ballerinas can be swiftly returned to fitness to perform in this most physically demanding art form, is it too much to hope that the same can be done for Robin Van Persie?

Program link

It does beg the question, are our specialists rubbish? I have been to the ballet and they jump around far more than our footballers do, perhaps we should explore ballet doctors rather than horse placenta ones in Serbia, just a thought.

One site says we are after 30 year old Craig Bellamy, as a stopgap I would have a punt, my only concern is his ability to disrupt a changing room, hmmmm.

Denilson says he can take over from Song and has just extended his contract, I think Denilson will turn out okay, my question is when, it’s no secret he doesn’t play for Brazil so they don’t rate him yet either. I was heartened to hear he will support England second though, nice touch Denilson. I would love to know what we pay him!

Liverpool won yesterday and that’s pegged Villa back so if we can beat Portsmouth tonight we can put a gap in there, so that is good, if we can’t beat Portsmouth tonight we will never win the Premier league, I expect an emphatic win and I also expect to see more of a Carling Cup side.

We did that last season and thumped them, we need Ramsey to be at his best, it’s him I think will take over from Cesc’s and he needs a big game, Arsenal expect Aaron, and I believe we’ll see it.

Maybe he’ll partner Walcott with Vela instead of Eduardo and Arshavin, mix it a bit, I have high hopes that we’ll soon see the Eduardo we bought, talent like that doesn’t disappear overnight.

In theory if we keep winning we could end January as league leaders, two more days to see if we are going to sign a striker early doors, The Sunday papers should be fun eh!

We are now being talked about as title contenders, first time in a long time, feels good doesn’t it.

Have a great day Grovers, I know you’ll enjoy tonight.

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Posted by Geoff

13 out of 15 points, not a bad Christmas box eh?

December 29, 2009

Had we been offered 13 precious points before the Christmas period we would have bitten Santa’s hand off would we not? The fact the Chavs beat Fulham and we are all disappointed means we are all getting spoiled by their decline and are beginning to expect them to screw up.

Don’t forget, it was only Fulham! I am more concerned about those stacking up behind us than those in front, shitty won last night albeit luckily, the spuds won, the scousers won, in fact the only team that lost was Villa, and that’s only because we flattened them on Sunday.

I’m still crowing over that game! I hope we can continue that second half performance against Pompey, we won’t have Cesc for that game, but we will have Theo, and I think he was almost as responsible for our second half change as Cesc was, he terrified them with him trickery and he laid on a pinpoint pass for Cesc to score his second.

Let’s not forget Diaby either, he is starting to become influential in games, he even topped Sunday’s off with a little pearler, he went largely unnoticed because of the Cesc cameo, but he was impressive, I hope he can keep that up.

So in theory we only have 3 more days to go until we find out if we are getting new players on board, I don’t think he’ll wait until the end of the month because by then he’ll have Bendtner back and will have an excuse not to buy.

Champions league football makes no difference to players joining, look at Barry, Adebayor, Robinho, Tevez and soon to be Torres and Gerrard, so I don’t think we will have problems signing Chamakh or Dzeko, as Bordeaux have no chance of winning the ECL and Dzeko is only cup tied, his value, in theory has gone down because of that but either way, they are both available and we should act, a big front man will make a difference, as will a ready made defensive midfielder.

I really don’t think we need a Cesc replacement, we have Ramsey, Nasri, Rosicky and even Jay Emmanuel Thomas that can slot in there.

Next up Pompey, and don’t forget the last time we played them they had all their spud players before Harry bought them and we played a virtual youth team, we still spanked them!

It’s on live and I can’t wait, football’s coming thick and fast and I love it.

Have a great day Grovers, tomorrow we get another 3 points!


697 Comments | New Review | Permalink
Posted by Geoff

Aston Villa dealt with / Arsene smiling about Cesc’s injury / Ratings and Review

December 28, 2009

We all knew that this match was a season breaker. It wasn’t that we’d be mathematically out if we lost, it was more about being psychologically out. Our problem for many years has been our inability to capitalise on the misfortune of other teams. Lately, things seem to have been picking up. Could Arsenal pick up points against a team that looked fabulous against United a few weeks ago? Could the young guns pick up points in a highly pressurised match against a set of player who hit the wings and fire in this dreaded crosses all day long? All questions we were mulling over before the game…

The starting line up on paper didn’t look pretty. Denilson, Diaby and Song lined up in midfield. A lack of creativity was a major worry. It looked like Wenger has set up with solidity in mind. Cesc had been left on the bench. Up top we had Eduardo and Nasri either side of Arshavin. The back four saw the introduction of Traore which was a huge relief considering how Silvestre struggle with the pace Burnley had on offer.

The first half was cagey affair mostly fought out in midfield. Arsenal’s best chance came early when Eduardo turned in the box and tamely shot at Brad Friedel. Denilson and Nasri went close with a few long range efforts as well. Villa had a few close calls. Ashley Young was nearly on the receiving end of a huge piece of luck when his shot ricocheted off the back of Gallas and nearly looped over Almunia. We also allowed a corner to flash through the six yard box unchallenged and I’m pretty sure Milner had a chance on the edge of our box which he pushed wide.

Villa had a game plan which mainly involved soaking up the Arsenal pressure then hitting us with the long balls out wide to Young and Agbonlohor. The trouble was, both were playing very poorly. A.Young looked a million miles away from being a 20million winger and Agbonlohor was so off his game it was embarrassing.

There were a couple of dodgy moments from Almunia who still looks like a disaster waiting to happen. He did do well with a few of the long balls into the box, but it’s clear to me the defence don’t trust him one bit. Positives from the first half were Alex Song who looked very solid again. His passing wasn’t 100% but he broke up play superbly and made one or two very good last ditch tackles. Diaby also played very well bar holding onto the ball a bit too long. The ingredient we lacked was creativity. The forward three saw virtually none of the ball. Arshavin was having a very weak game misplacing passes all over the place.

The game needed something short, Spanish and very Cescy… and that’s what we got.

5 minutes into the second half, Wenger brought on the puppet master and almost immediately he was pulling the strings. The whole team was lifted, his ability to move the ball around the park in a positive way was clear. He sees every pass a second faster than anyone else and the rest of the players move for him.

Gallas nearly turned an Arshavin shot into Friedel’s net, from where we were sitting it looked in!

Cesc’s first warning shot came when he tried to put a 35 yard freekick in… it whistled narrowly over the bar! Shortly after, Arshavin broke down the left, cut Eduardo in who lost the ball, Cesc retrieved it and fed Eddy back in, only for him to miss. Things were spicing up!

Cesc was at his old tricks again on the edge of the box when he laid Arshavin in who shot and had the keeper at full stretch to tip wide. The key moment in the game came when Dunne pulled Cesc over on the edge of the box. Now, this is the point when I’m sure every fan at the game or sitting at home had something like this to say,

‘Why is Cesc taking it for? He always misses!’

I said something similar,

‘Cesc always chips it, however… this could be his time’… BANG!

Cesc launched a ripper into the top left hand corner! The crowd erupted, what a fantastic freekick!

Theo Walcott was introduced into the game and to be fair his pace didn’t frighten Aston Villa. No one dares to dive in on him, even experienced defenders aren’t sure how to play him. He still lacks the decisiveness to take advantage of this… he dithers with the ball for too long… but he did demonstrate on 80 minutes what he could be capable of. Traore launched a 50 yard long ball to him, he brought it down, powered down the pitch, slid the ball perfectly into Cesc who slipped the ball into the top corner past the keeper. A bitter sweet moment as it was apparent our influential Spaniard had picked up an injury…

Arsenal played out the final ten in exhibition style, knocking it around like a training session. Diaby picked the ball up in the centre, bombed forward twisting and turning between white shirts, then tucked the ball into the bottom corner from 20 yards out. A superb finish to a superb afternoon.

Arsenal firmly stamped their names on the title contenders sheet. We’ve once again capitalised on the misfortune of Chelsea and we’ll now only be one point off them if we win our game in hand against Bolton in January. Manchester United also looked very poor against Hull in the later match and as far as I’m concerned, we’ve got a fantastic chance to kick on in the new year and do some damage in the league.

Aston Villa were very poor today and that is a fact that can’t be denied. Let’s not get too carried away with the result and don’t forget how blunt we looked in the first half. For me, we still need reinforcements if we’re going to mount a long term challenge on any trophies this year because we’re two injuries away from a real problem. We’ve also got a lot of teams breathing down our necks who have a lot of quality.

We don’t have anyone who has the ability to make that central striking position their own at the moment and I think we’re hugely exposed in the middle of the park with Song leaving for ACN and Denilson picking up an injury. Arsene, please don’t blow the season in desperation to prove people wrong. If we have the money in place to make a couple of astute signing, surely that’s a more sensible approach than attempting to wing it on a hope and a prayer.

I’m hoping that Wenger’s smile when talking about Cesc was a smile that said he was ok… not a nervous, ‘What the fuck am I going to do’ smile. Keep em’ crossed Grovers!

I also want to say a big thanks to the folks Geoff and I met before and after the game…!

Ratings:

Almunia: Made a couple of half decent saves but still looked shaky at the back and still hasn’t regained the trust of the defence. Luckily he didn’t have a lot to do today. 6.5

Traore: I thought he has a superb game controlling the pace coming his way all game. He’s still prone to the odd gaff but he has speed in abundance and he seems to have a die for the cause mentality. 7

Vermaelen: Superb game from the Verminator. He dealt well with the aerial threat and used his pace to full benefit the whole game. He has so much drive and determination… a real star of this side. 8

Gallas: I thought he was the best player on the pitch in the first half. He read everything perfectly and controlled the back line in a very professional way. 8

Sagna: His crossing is what McDonald’s is to the good food guide. However, he defended resolutely today and not much got past him. 7

Song: I thought he had an immense game today. He bossed the midfield, broke up play all day and didn’t really allow them a sniff. His confidence is apparent for all to see and I’ll be sad to see him go. Lets hope his expereience away is an injury free one. 8.5

Diaby: What have the coaching staff been putting in his sandwiches? A superb display of power, discipline and passing ability. Diaby and I have always been best friends but we went through a rocky patch recently… I think we’re through all that now and if performances like that continue, I’ll be taking him out for a Peroni or two shortly! 8.5

Denilson: He played ok. I sat next to one of the Grovers and he said he’s a water carrier type player. That’s true… he’s never going to blow you away with his game, but he did a steady job and crabbed away admirably. 7

Nasri: Ahhh, I’m just not sure about this boy. He’s either on his game, or day dreaming about where he could be. Today wasn’t his finest performance. He was anonymous in the first half and only marginally better in the second. He needs to get one of those consistency coaches in to teach him a thing or two! 6.5

Arshavin: A very quiet first half from the Russian which was eclipsed by a much more productive second half. 7

Eduardo: Didn’t really do much for me today. Mind you, he’s a fox in the box, being played out on the wing. You wouldn’t expect a lion to catch many fish would you? Why are we expecting him to excel out wide then? If those sort of tactics don’t tell you something about the state of our squad… I don’t know what will! 6

Subs:

Cesc: The best 35 minutes of the season? I’d have to say so! A superb cameo appearance that include two goals and the lifting of a whole team! Cesc, get on the blower to that placenta woman and tell her you’ll have a double treatment… I’m sure the fans will have a whip round for you! 10

Theo: Came on and caused alsorts of bother and managed to grab himself an assist. Well played son! 7

Rambo: Didn’t really have enough time to merit a write up. I like him though. 6

P.S. Geoff back to his prophetic best?

I won’t predict the score as I know some of you get nervy when I do, however, I think we’ll score 3 more than they do.

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Posted by Pedro

‘You try and find a world-class striker like Robin van Persie, regardless of how much money you have got’

December 27, 2009

I didn’t say that, current Chairman Peter Hill-Wood said it, unfuckingbelievable, here we go again, I hope like hell this isn’t the preamble to our manager spending fuck all in the transfer window again.

PHW, here’s a list. Dzeko, Villa, Gervinho, Adriano, Benzema, Luca Toni, Henry, Keisling, Fabiano, Pazzini, Cassano, Ballotteli, Pato, Gignac, Saha and even Chamakh.

He then said that Wenger had said he wasn’t prepared to go out and buy a player who is not better than the ones we have got.

Here’s another list Peter.

Buffon, Akinfeev, Joe Hart, M.Diarra, G.Milito, Chiellini, Sackho, Hangeland, Toulalon, Gourcoff, Hazard, Silva, Yaya, Shawcross and about to be available Craig Bellamy, shall I go on? Or do you see how stupid that statement was. I wish he would stop making these ill timed comments, I really do.

I’ll get onto the match shortly but I have gone from feeling 100% sure Wenger had at last seen the light, to someone with that same feeling of dread that I get every season. Arsene don’t wait until we are out of it before you do something, don’t wait until we lose key players to the ACN or worse, injuries, act now, this week and for once strengthen the squad and at least let us all believe we have a chance of winning something this season.

Don’t just let Hill-Wood trot out the same old drivel, get the players in now that will give us the success we so desperately crave.

Even you saw the difference Arshavin made, you said it yourself he was the reason we qualified for the Champions league.

Now onto today and the villa game, they will be coming looking for three points, make no mistake, they fancy themselves, they did it at Old Trafford and they’ve done it before at the Grove, but in fairness to the minging mancs, they should have won that game 4-1 so if we have our finishing boots on, I have no doubt in my mind that we will stuff them full of our own special brand of Christmas cheer.

They do have some big boys up front, they have pace out wide and they have the determination of footballs ugliest player since Luke Chadwick, James Milner, as I said before, he and Young are the providers, cut them off and we will stop there supply.

I hope the boss doesn’t go 4-5-1 as a result because they aren’t that good, we need to shut them down and chase every ball like our lives depended on it, you know why? Because it does. The chavs slipped up yesterday as did the spuds, so today we just have to win, after this we can have a breather and if he does sign players, then maybe we can push on.

I have a feeling today will be the noisiest game this season, I’ll be there and singing my lungs out, we’ll be in the S&B or outside the Tavern, whichever works at the time. I reckon we’ll be there from 11am as it’s Christmas so if anyone’s around, we’ll see you there, they’ll be a bunch of us.

Enjoy the game wherever you are, let the team know you are there and if you can’t be there, then pray hard, the team will feel it!

My Villa mate read the post yesterday so I’m now into a bet that involves at least 3 clear goals, ha, ha, I have a feeling my money is safe, go on you Reee-eeeds!

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Posted by Geoff

Andre is saying what we are all feeling, well done son!

December 26, 2009

So Ar, Ar, Arshavin, Arsenal’s greatest love machine, says that when he came here, he expected playing for a top team would mean easy games, but says playing the Burnley’s of this world are as tough as playing the Mancs, he said you get no time on the ball.

He also said that Arsenal have had so many chances to close the gap and have not taken them, against Villa we need to do it and I have to agree.

We need to beat Villa to close the gap, or keep the gap the same, but we also need to dent their title hopes and send out a message, the top four is an exclusive club and until the chavs lose Abramovich, they will have to wait.

A Villa mate of mine is going today with his young son, he thinks his son will start supporting the Arsenal after this game as he doesn’t have a team yet, and he’s making noises, win this one Arsene, and you’ll win us a new fan!

So tomorrow is almost upon us, the inconvenience of Santa’s birthday has now gone and we can once again think about football and the Arsenal, which to be honest is always what we were thinking about in between mouthfuls of Turkey, mince pies and copious amounts of alcohol.

My daughter bought me a fantastic personalised history of Arsenal for Christmas, it shows newspapers through the history of our great club and it has my name embossed in foil blocking on the cover, top present. My boys bought me a match day scarf and a top razor.

And my wife bought me a pair of UGG’s (boots) and yes I will be wearing them for the game tomorrow. We will be meeting in the S&B or the Ché and will be letting you all know which during the course of today, for those of you who are up for a pre-match Peroni.

It’s our Christmas do so we’ll be eating drinking and merrying, so let’s hope the boys trash the boys from the black stuff. Cesc is back, Song makes a farewell performance and he’ll want to impress if the Melo stories are to be believed, I have no opinion, I’ve only seen him once, but I’m sure this will be the last time we see this small forward line appear this season at home.

I really think we are going to send out a message tomorrow, I think we’ll get a Christmas present from the boys to warm our hearts and lift our title aspirations, tomorrow I think we’ll see the Arsenal that we had hoped we’d see last year and the year before, tomorrow is destiny day, tomorrow is the start of the back nine.

I won’t predict the score as I know some of you get nervy when I do, however, I think we’ll score 3 more than they do.

Have a fun filled boxing day Grovers, tomorrow the fun begins!

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Posted by Geoff

Peace on earth to all mankind. Le Grove’s Christmas message.

December 25, 2009

First of all a very Merry Christmas to Grovers around the world, some of you are already well into Christmas day, some of you have yet to have it and some of you are just starting unwrapping your presents.

I’m not allowed to open my three gifts from Arsene until May, and looking at the shapes in the paper, I’m guessing they are the FA cup, the EPL and the ECL.

The other one looks to be 6’3″ tall and I’m hoping it’s Edin Dzeko, but I won’t find out until January!

Today is a short post and contains no real news, save to wish you all a happy and safe holiday and today is the time to put all our differences behind us, whatever your religion remember this was the day that three kings bought gifts for the baby Jesus. All scars were healed all arguments were put to one side and that’s what we should all do.

No I’m not suggesting you hug a chav, smile at a manc or converse with a spud, but we can all have a group Le Grove worldwide cyber hug.

Today I welcome all those LG haters and hold out a hand in friendship, today all Arsenal fans should be one and have a great day. Today we can hope upon hope that we stuff Villa in 2 days and we sign those we all want and need in a week.

Thanks for blogging on this royalty free site, thanks for your support, your debate and your friendship, lets wish the team well and hope upon hope that this is the year.

The year the messiah delivers!

Merry Christmas one and all!

141 Comments | New Review | Permalink
Posted by Geoff

Songs Swansong and Cesc Fabulous will see us over the line.

December 24, 2009

First of all, massive credit for the clever play on words. You won’t but I will, I am occasionally narcissic and patting myself on the back for a positive headline is acceptable.

So I’m thinking the Villa game will be Song’s last at the Grove before he jets off to Africa, add that to Cesc’s return against a team that we haven’t beaten for a long while and that spells an emphatic win in a 6 pointer that’s long overdue.

Villa are a tall team so our defence will need to be at it’s best to keep them out, but last season Barry orchestrated them and he’s not around this time, we have to shackle Milner and Young as those two are the providers, so stop them and we cut off their supply.

I think this game will be about pace, Dunne who I rate is not the fastest and I think if we used Vela or Theo to get past them, we can hit them on the break.

This is also the last game for the strike force to show Wenger he doesn’t need to spend big, however, I think he will, not on a massive name, but one that will add to our team, and that’s why I think it will be Dzeko. If he offered £5mil for Numbchucks they would bite his hand off, but something went off there and it went off in French, so I don’t think he’ll be joining, I would have either though.

One thing is for sure is I believe he has already done a deal and someone will be in early doors, so maybe by the next home game we’ll have someone new to cheer on.

Don’t forget tomorrow is Christmas, we will post but it won’t be busy, I hope you’ve all put 3 players on your Christmas list and if you haven’t been naughty, you may just get your wish.

Have a great day Grovers and stay out of trouble!

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Posted by Geoff

Hazard, Moses, Dzeko, Sakho on my Christmas list but what about Reyes?

December 23, 2009

Okay settle down, wipe up the cornflakes, this is my wish list and I will go through them, but what about José Antonio Reyes? Word has it Everton are about to make a loan move, yes I know he was a homesick pikey, yes I know he only had eyes fro Real Madrid, but like Flamini he made a king size cock up.

I remember watching him on his debut at Highbury, he had something, I would love him back in the team, he could resurrect his career, and don’t forget he was a member of the invincibles, he was a great winger, you don’t lose that, I would have him and Flamini back in a heartbeat.

Onto my more realistic list, first up Eden Hazard, we could have had him last summer for 3 shillings and sixpence, his price has now gone up, but you know what, it will continue to go up, make a move now, yeah, yeah I know he’s only 18, and I hate project youth, but if we could have signed Ronaldo, Kaka or Messi at 18 we’d be laughing now wouldn’t we!

Moses, Ok I’m not really sure where he plays, on the wing? attacking midfield? up front? either way he’s on the radar and at £5mil, we could do worse, so I’d have a punt. Dzeko would be cup tied but like Numchucks, he’s the type of player that would fit right in, so again, worth the money and finally, Sakho, a big imposing lump, but a lump with not only skill, but a footballing brain and pace, which is a big plus for a centre back, again, we could get him at a good price, after the world cup, his value will go up, if of course he plays.

Don’t forget we have at least £40mil we got from our new benefactor Sheik Mark Hughes, before he was so cruelly tin-tacked, and reports are we have already made £45mil from this years Champions league (true including beverage and broadcasting rights) but £40 should do some of that comfortably.

So I have mentioned midfield, the front men and a centre back but not a keeper, why not? well we won’t be dumping Almunia anytime soon, the boss made that clear when he trotted out as captain against Hull, he won’t replace Song either and we now have Diaby who has thrown his hat into the defensive midfield ring.

I think he coulld do it, I really do, he’s certainly big enough, if he could learn to defend, he could be the answer, and don’t forget until Flamini had his wonder season, Diaby was going in there, had he not be injured, he most certainly would have been our DM.

I’m in a positive mood today, I’m thinking if Santa brings us the above signings, it would add to the squad, it would give us cover and we may have 2 starlets for the future that could change our game plan a bit, give us some width and trickery without changing the way we play, there would be no ego’s to contend with and it may just kick us on, and with the business end coming up, it could be at the right time. Don’t forget we have to look over our shoulder this season more than ever before.

I would also blood Jay Emmanuel Thomas, see if he has what it takes to play at the highest level. I would use the transfer window to clear out some dead wood. It’s a shame really because I saw big Phil sitting next to Cesc at the Hull game, I thought, top man, not even in the squad and there he is, watching the team, if only he could play.

One last thought there, what about him as the defensive midfielder? Just an out loud thought, if he made his usual once a game howler, Vermaelen would be there to pick up the pieces, he is solid, he is big and he can head the ball, hmmmm.

That’s it for today and as we are getting closer to Christmas, my posts will become cheerier and more festive, I will give an amnesty to all the people that have been nasty to me over the years and let them on, goodwill to all mankind and all that.

Arsene if you’re reading, and I know you are, climb aboard and let us know what you think to my suggestions, you always liked Reyes, in fact you once broke the bank for him, and I know you like Senderos, and I like his grit.

Have a great day Grovers, today I’m out for another lunch, the last one of the week, and like the BBC we will be broadcasting on Christmas day as we always do, so take your PC’s and Macs somewhere where you can blog in secret, I know we will!.

542 Comments | New Review | Permalink
Posted by Geoff

Empty seats, re-negotiated sponsors and we told you on here long ago. And don’t call me the Grinch!

December 22, 2009

So let’s start on the deal that was done some time ago with the stadium naming rights and the shirt sponsor. You may remember we said here on Le Grove that it was a woeful deal, some came on and said it was money up front and we needed it to finance the stadium and I know fuck all about finance.

It now tops up the money was part paid (up front) and we are still owed some, Dubai are in the shitter, so we may now be able to buy ourselves out of it and get a real deal, good, don’t say we didn’t tell you that 5 years ago, I sometimes wonder why the Arsenal board think they are so clever. (Dubai part own Emirates)

Stan really is buying Arsenal by a thousand cuts, Stan get on the pot and piss or let someone else buy the shares that will make us the biggest club in the world, I can see no earthly reason why buying 12 at a time makes any financial sense. It’s getting boring, it’s like waiting for Beckham to reveal his haircut in Japan.

I read a poster at a main line station yesterday advertising half season tickets at Fulham for £150, well if that doesn’t tell a story I don’t know what does! And I know how much Adshel advertising costs, it’s not cheap. I said last season that unless Wenger bought some world class players, people like me and many thousands of others would think twice about renewing, Arsene did his usual ‘I will buy players’ crap which ensured we would all renew, only to buy one and sell two, it kept the shareholders happy but once again it cheated the fans, the fans have responded by not turning up many times this season.

Wenger told the press the holes around the ground were due to Christmas shopping, bollocks Arsene, we are football fans and shopping doesn’t stop us, project youth and intransigence does however and it seems that the only way fans can tell you that, is by boycotting games.

I also suspect a lot of seasons were not renewed and the holes in the ground are tickets owned by Arsenal they couldn’t sell, to say we had 60,000 fans there was an insult to our intelligence.

Fans are bleeding, fans are losing their jobs and fans won’t put up with bargain basement transfer policies when they are themselves being charged huge amounts to watch, if spending nothing is the way forward, drop the prices to match those of Fulham, they don’t expect to win trophies.

PHW and co may look at Arsenal fans as the great unwashed, but they are the reason we have so much money, heed the warning Arsene and go forth and multiply, before it’s too late.

Yes we beat Liverpool, but not because Wenger threw his toys out the pram, but because we were better than a shit Liverpool team, the first half against Hull was as bad as I’ve seen, we weren’t that good, just better than Hull. Thank God the ref didn’t see the Nasri stamp, or we may well have lost the game instead on winning it, think about that.

Our fans are celebrating Porto in the next round, why? We couldn’t even beat West Ham, Burnley or Sunderland, we are about to lose Song and Eboue to the ACN, where’s the back up? I have seen no evidence of who can step up, on Saturday we kept banging in crosses for the forwards that were going over their heads, where’s the sense in that, yes we did win, and for that I’m grateful, but I think we are papering over the cracks.

We need to spend in the window, if the management don’t think we can improve on our keeper, then I have no idea what they are looking at, really, someone enlighten me, someone out there tell me how good he is.

The Mancs lost, the Chavs drew, Villa and City are behind us, this is the best chance we have had in 5 years to win something, please, please, don’t blow it Arsene, go out and fill the gaps, if you do that the season is ours, if you don’t, we’ll win nothing, again.

I have always said Diaby has more talent than most of the midfield, the problem is, we only see it every 4 or 5 games, we need a forward with height and ability.

We have lost Robin, Bendtner may come back Ok but as we have seen many times, when players come back from injury, they get injured again, don’t risk our season, I bleed Arsenal and it hurts when we win nothing, it really fucks my week up and I keep waking up thinking we had scored, only to be cruelly reminded by the brain cells that are working at 3am that we in fact drew, or worse. So no one tell me I’m not an Arsenal fan.

We lost Djourou for the season in the summer and Kolo was sold, we bought Vermaelen, great signing but we need another, not a kid, a ready made.

If any of you are horrified by my forthright concerns, and see me as anti-Wenger, then go and buy one of the spare tickets and fill up the stadium with your blind devotion. I love the Arsenal and I did when we were cheering a mural in the North bank, I don’t cheer for the board or the manager, I cheer my team, I don’t have an Arsene Wenger quilt, I have an Arsenal quilt, this season we’ll never get a better chance of winning something, next season more teams will have sugar daddies and it will be tougher to win, come on Arsene, get the cheque book out, we are 3 players short of domination or obscurity if we don’t.

For the record I think Danny Fiszman has done a great job, I love Arsene Wenger and think the football he plays (mostly) is the best I’ve seen, so don’t spoil it for the sake of a few quid, you both saw the difference Arshavin and Vermaelen made when they arrived, just think about it, that’s all I ask.

I was right about the sponsors, I was right about the empty seats and I am right about the players we need.

Have a great day Grovers, it will soon be Christmas and you’ll all be getting those presents from the Arsenal shop you know you wanted! Only 5 days to go until Santa gives us 3 points! Which will in effect be 6!

934 Comments | New Review | Permalink
Posted by Geoff

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