The Battle of Rorke's drift
So I dreamt all last night about glory in the Camp Nou, the days of being bridesmaids had come to an end, we were through and with only Inter and Bayern to beat the cup was ours, then of course I woke up!
To my astonishment I went downstairs at 5.45 this morning to Sky TV and they weren’t doing a manc or chav love in, they were showing the shitehartlane crushing that we handed out to fat boy Jol, remember it?
We had Lehmann in goal, Cygan, Lauren and Cole, we had Freddie, Vieira, Henry, Dennis, Pires, Reyes and a very young Cesc playing, my how I wished they were playing tonight, how did we not win in Europe that year?
Still we won, it was an omen, tonight we don’t have Van Persie, Cesc, Arshavin, Song or Gallas, but do we need them? I think not, some of those weren’t playing last week and some that were didn’t play great, so this would be my team tonight.
Almunia
Sagna, Campbell, Vermaelen, Clichy
Diaby, Nasri, Denilson
Eboue, Bendtner, Rosicky
And use Walcott as our secret weapon when they get tired legs, you could say put him on at the start and bring Eboue on as the one to terrorise them, you could ask me why the hell I’m playing Denilson at all, well he did well against Barca and Wolves, so maybe the criticism did him some good and put a much needed toe up his rectum, either way that would be my starting line up and the message would be to go at them from the off.
If there was one lesson to take from Wednesday, it was to chase and close down every lose ball, if we lose it, win it back, at least let them know we are going to try, that will stop them showboating, that will make them nervous from the start, they have no centre backs, save Marques coming in and maybe the new guy from eastern Europe and Ya Ya, they will be in front of their home crowd so we will be the underdogs, that will make them cagey.
Maybe even put Theo on from the start with Eboue on the other flank, I would also use Vela, he’s used to playing in Spain, who knows, this could be his night?
I would not use a kid in this one, I may even try Diaby up front or in the hole and drop Eboue back, but I would pick my team from that nucleus, oh, I forgot, we have no choice on account I named the whole squad that’s fit! I would also put Thomas on the bench if he wasn’t on loan at Doncaster, maybe even Watt if he wasn’t at Leeds, but I wouldn’t start them (well I couldn’t could I?) and I wouldn’t have Silvestre in there anywhere.
This is our last throw of the dice and we have been here before, twice in Milan and once in Madrid, and you know what, no one gave us a chance then either, I remember Rodney Marsh said we would do well only to lose 4-0 when we played Madrid, I had the chance that summer to meet with him and laugh at his prediction, he said ‘hands up, Arsenal dug deep that night’ and tonight they need to dig deep again.
Whatever happens Arsenal, I want you to do us proud and fight, that first half at the Grove wasn’t them being awesome, it was us being rubbish, we showed in the second half that we were fighters and as good as them, do that in the first half and we will show them how good we really are.
This reminds me of the battle of Rorke’s Drift in Transvaal, we were away from home when we played them in the Camp Nou of South Africa, we were out numbered 4000 to 123 against the then current world champions Zulu-land FC, we held them in the first half and let them have it in the second, we showed them that the favourites don’t always win and sent them packing, we won every match after that and became Champions, that’s what we need tonight, the spirit of Rorke’s Drift, come on Arsenal, if we want to win this thing we need to beat the best, tonight we play the second best, you know why?
BECAUSE WE ARE THE BEST, THAT’S WHY
Have a great day Grovers, but have a ripper of a night, they don’t come better than this! Eat your heart out Chelsea!
Ethan Arshavin and Fabregas are under long contracts, they won’t go.
If Fabregas goes, so will Wenger, they will be each others excuses.
Predictably Wenger is making noises about signing new players, and he is banging on about how young this team is.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ yes we know that Wenger, that’s why we win fuck all.
i dont value the paper Cesc’s contract is written on .. we all know he will move on at some point , and i suppose over the course of the next season or 2 we had better be ready for it , and i think we will with nasri -rambo and jack ..
i think 1 of them will make the grade , and well AA23 if he keeps on making noises like he is ..
it will be hleb all over again ..
also i thought AA23 was a 3 year deal starting last christmas .. meaning he’s 1/2 way thru sort of … or 18 months in .. ??
maybe im wrong ..
@geoff neither ..I’m a “brown”-indian ..the original type
(from the country in south east asia)
Geoff to me AA23 is 1 ingredient short of a revolt …
and that is a club that shows REAL interest in him …
once he gets real or someone interested in him
we could very well see dramas …
hopefully his age restricts any real interest .
Banging on about how young this team, when it’s HIS fucking choice to field these players! I’m sorry, but was that a statement or an excuse?
Ethan, I’m so fed up I still haven’t renewed my seasons, I am so fed up by the way Wenger treats the paying fan I think I may consider watching Arsenal on TV, going to my mates box and taking out hospitality or going to away games.
During important games they herd up into an area so their corporates can have more room, they treat us like shit and I’ve had enough.
I am pretty sure fab wont be going anywhere soon, while it is without doubt he will leave at some point I dont seem him leaving for at least another 2-3 years if not more ..
Dennis, replace his news conference with the same one for the last 5 years, he should watch them.
Why should a contract at Arsenal mean diddly squat, it didn’t with Anelka, Overmars, Petit, Hleb or Henry and it won’t with Fab4 or AA23……….
It’s quite simple, put up or shut up, buy the players this team needs or lose your true quality players, show some ambition and commitment.
He won’t go Dennis, Cesc was the beginning of project youth, that would be admitting it had gone wrong as Cesc didn’t believe in it any more.
As I said earlier, it would be a perfect excuse for either of them.
yes its a tough call Geoff , but you like the Lad style game day banter , and the odd pint , you wouldnt want to miss out on that !
plus you would pine on here too much so just re-new the fucker
Geoff – I know, it’s almost word for word, yet still some on here will believe him. Like you, myself and my chums are not convinced about renewing. The sad thing is we are all season ticket holders of 30+ years standing…….
im thinking of away games as well..Geoff do you think there would be a chance of loaning out my seasons to someone on LG??..any demand, i don’t think so not after these last few seasons!
I dont know how else do you bring change without taking steps like not-renewing …its a status quo right now, board seems to be happy so there is no pressure on wenger ..
being first IN AU then Thailand i had no options but to use TV coverage’s to veiw the games but i gotta say i like the big green Ariel view, the replays and all the close up stuff you might not see in various sections around the ground , but having said that if you go to a game on match day the experience is the Issue ..
you can soak up the atmosphere ,where as i cant ..
I’ve got a hangover. Still gutted though
I know guys, it’s like debating leaving my wife, I’m struggling but I just feel all I’m doing is making him richer, and for what I get back, I’m resenting it.
Also, I remember all those shit midweek games on a freezing cold night, queueing up to get home, being treated like shit by the staff and listening to Gazidas who is really Arsene’s water carrier, no more.
GoonerT1M email Pedro and we’ll try for you, then we’ll see how many ‘real fans’ are out there, put their money where their big mouths are!
Ethan, fuck the atmosphere, what I miss at games is the action replays.
i couldn’t believe how many empty seats there were in club level, and around the other seats for the home barca game, what does that say?..even the guy who sits next to me didn’t turn up!
My pal has a box and told me that 90% of those on 3 year leases weren’t renewed and Arsenal had to take them back.
I wonder if any of them tell Wenger that people are turning their backs on paying the money.
good point, apparently i’m not a real fan anyway because i dare to question whats going on in our club. sorry AW’s club.
I honestly cant believe how many fucking morons out there are happy with what we achieve or far more to the point what we don’t achieve. I just don’t understand how any fan can be happy at always being an also ran. Why don’t these fans want to win things? Why don’t they want the best players to come into Arsenal? Why don’t they want us to have the ability to dominate the teams that now dominate us?
i dont care how good messi is, barca can be beaten, have been beaten and will be beaten, its pure shit to try and use him as the excuse, we have a sub standard team and he is to blame.
Arsene Wenger has warned Arsenal fans not to expect sweeping changes at The Emirates next season despite seeing his young team outclassed by Barcelona in the Champions League last night.
“We are at a stage where we develop the players,” said Wenger on Arsenal’s official site when questioned about making big additions to his squad in the summer transfer window.
“Today in midfield we had [Theo] Walcott who is 21, [Nicklas] Bendtner up front who is 22, [Samir] Nasri, [Abou] Diaby and Denilson who are 22, 23. I think they have shown some great qualities and will be stronger every year.”
Wenger dismissed suggestions he won’t add to the side at all however: “We have to add something for sure, but we have time to think about that.”
———————-
Wenger is now a disease that is killing our club from the inside, outwards!!
5 more games to go fella’s…Truly is a shit feeling to be on this barren run now. 2006 final, I remember the day like yesterday, 4 years later and we still haven’t even matched that. Wenger will never win us a CL. A lot of managers get let go for that reason alone.
morning all
Wenger say’s Messi is unplayable. Er, now correct me if I’m wrong, but he was kept pretty quiet when we played them last week!!
taig : I think i fall slightly into the above category (which is why I have stopped posting here for a while now), but I dont think I’m a fucking moron either
This does not mean that I cannot see wenger’s mistake or the obvious need for a quality defender, striker and GK if not a winger as well ..
But yes, while I would love to see Arsenal win stuff, it does little for me besides buying me bragging rights. Its a trip in itself to see the evolution of the team, their ups and downs, the development of players like fab, song, vanP, hopefully the next generation with walcott, ramsey and wilshire …
While I would LOVE it if we won the league/CL, just supporting arsenal, and “enjoying the ride” and watching our style of play is fun in itself
But maybe this is because my only real “investment” in Arsenal is via the jersey and other random merchandise that I buy every year and my arsenal tv account …
Cue all the excuses now TAIG, nothing we haven’t heard before. Injuries, refs, unplayable players, developing team etc etc etc.
Simply put, we aren’t good enough. Last term I felt we had a shot at CL but then Utd embarassed us. This term I felt we had a shot at the League and though there are 5 games to go, if we were good enough we would be 1st with 4 pts lead.
indian_gooner – Football is about winning. Its that simple. Its never been about ‘evolution’ or ‘enjoying the ride’. Will you have enjoyed the ride if it ends in a horrific end to Arsenal FC?? And ‘watching our style of football’?????? We don’t have a style of football!! We don’t pass the ball around like we used to. Chelsea, man Utd and others have far better passing rates than we do. Barca made double our amount of passes last night.
We have nothing about us any more. We are push overs. We are soft touches. And worst of all, we dont have the raw ability to make up for those previous two factors.
Indian, I’m an Arsenal nut, I have two Arsenal big coats and one small one, I have an Arsenal backpack for the gym and all my gym gear is Arsenal, winning is everything, I loved the George Graham era, I loved the beginning of the Wenger one, when he spent money, but now we are a joke, and making the worst player in the team captain is just unbelievable.
Oh and I write this blog.
Where the fuck was the great mental strength last night then?
Nik B: “I would rather get beaten by a better team than lose in the last minute or something like that. I don’t like too many excuses. They were better than us.”
Geoff
The money you save on not having both seats, could get you a trip annually to see your sister down in Canberra
…or up in Canberra as it is for me
The worst thing Tony is the last thing Wenger is thinking this morning is if his job is still safe, he takes the piss.
LAzer – There are too many things going wrong for us to win anything right now. My biggest grievances are that every year we rely on our lightweight squad making through un-injured when we know that RvP, Gallas, Rosicky, Eduardo, Diaby and more WILL definitely pick up injuries. The next one is that Wenger no longer has the brain to compete at this level. His philosophy brought us great success, yes, but the game has evolved beyond passing the oppo off the park. Teams have learn’t to stop that style of play from happening. Raw talent is what is getting teams to the top right now. Wenger sent his team out against Barca with no different approach to when he sent his team out against Wolves on Saturday. That means he either a)Thinks Barca are only as good as Wolves or b) Doesn’t have the brain to set up a team to play against Barca.
Gnarley I would sooner spend the money on a ticket, Canberra holds as much interest to me as Blackpool, at least Lytham St. Annes and Royal Birkdale are near Blackpool.
Ronaldo fucked us last CL, this time it was Messi. If you can’t play with the best then you’re no one.
Every year we have won something w/Wenger he mixed it up with some key signings over the summer. Wenger has the ability to sign good players, I won’t deny that. He just has to do it a lot more fucking often when there is an obvious weakness.
Geoff – Is it just me that thinks the list of Wenger’s faults is too big for him to survive at this club?? I 100% convinced I can provide at least 5 points against his staying at this club that simply cannot be argued.
Arsene Wenger is a dickhead.
Everything he said in his postmatch interview highlights this.
He has run his course, at 60 his judgement isn’t what it was, if it was, we would have won something by now.
@geoff I can understand if that is the way you feel and I guess thts the way the majority of “paying fans” feel ..I was just saying that there is a section of fans (however small) for whom winning isnt the only thing and possibly thats because they dont pay/invest that much in arsenal ..but then again i represented my univ back home for 4 years, and while I always loved winning and always gave it my best shot ..winning was never the only thing for me then either ..
@taig – no I would not have enjoyed the ride if it ended in us getting fucked, but we arent getting fucked, we’ve been there or there abouts, competing but decidedly a notch (or maybe three) below the top-rung sides ..as long as we are competing, its still fun to watch arsenal ..
this is not to say i am not horribly distressed when we lose, especially to scum liked united and chelski …
Catch you all later, I have to drive to Cambridge!
WE need a GK, everyone in favor say AYE!
AYE x 20 million!
WE need a CF, everyone in favor say AYE!
AYE x 20 million!
ANd the vote on CBs will not be conducted tonight as it is simply beyond NEEDING a vote.
Players nearing the shop window day by day…Eduardo, Silvestre no doubt. Rosicky perhaps but this was the worst game of the year for him, won’t judge him on one game after the road hes had.
Lets hear the five pointer TAIG.
I might be able to add a thing or two to that list..
said AYE!!!! over a year ago laser , if i had of held my breathe id be dead
Yes Geoff, Canberra is as boring as bat shit, but the point was more your sister
jovetic, we need
Morning all. .
WHAT a shambles. . and No, Messi was not the difference. We brought that on ourselves.
Its all Bendtners fault for giving us hope with that early goal! Ha Ha. .
Seriously though. . even at 3-1 down I still fancied us to get a couple more goals but maybe I am just mad.
Upon reflection it just re-confirmed my beliefs that Wenger has too much faith in average players who time and again fail to show up for the big matches.
Diaby, Denilson, Rosisky, Almunia, Silvestre can all leave in my opinion. I dont care how good you are v’s Everton or Blackburn at home. . Arsenal should be able to get closer to the Man Utd’s, Chelsea’s and Barcelona’s of this world.
Only one man is responsible for putting us in a position where we have had to show up in the QF of the CL with such a team of average players.
We can blame bad luck, injuries, no money etc but in his 13 years with an academy of football working behind the scenes he should have developed a core team of men by now who are competing!
This morning Mr Wenger, you should be ashamed.
We had 5 first team players missing if we hadn’t (or Wenger had bought decent replacements) we would have beaten them even with puyol etc. I think he’s so close but he won’t go the extra few million stubborn plonker
New post!