Good morning Grovers!
So, firstly, the fantastic news that JD is back from injury eight and half months earlier than he normally is. Amazing or what? They must be putting something in the water at Arsenal these days because you have to say, this season, our injuries really haven’t been as bad as they normally are.
Is that GPS tech in action? Is it magic water? Maybe it’s the positivity this Arsenal blog sent his way? Who knows… all I care about is that our best centre back, who has the longest unbeaten streak in the premier league (26 games), will be back in the frame next week. As will Song! It’s also great news that Nasri is back in training!
Last nights bore fest in Denmark was met with the same sort of enthusiasm I have when I have to clear out the cat box. About 1500 fans turned up to greet the superstars of English football. I’d imagine we’ll see similar excitement from the Qatari population in a few years!
Anyway, the good news is Theo Walcott set up the first goal with a great pass across goal, his eye started bleeding when he saw Bent slip the ball into the empty net… as did mine when I saw a Wayne Rooney gurn in HD. Jack Wilshere took up the holding role for 45minutes, he made some crunching tackles, he distributed the ball well and he had a pretty strong game playing a slightly less creative role in a 4-4-2. He could develop into an Alonso type player… imagine that combined with Gattuso like aggression? Could be pretty awesome!
I also took time out to watch some of the France vs Brazil game. The French kit was superb, if Arsenal land a similar style shirt next season, I’ll be very pleased! Anyway, Kozzer was on the bench, but Sagna started and he looked pretty solid. I loved watching Hernanes nearly take Benzema’s head off with a high boot. I thought that sort of stuff only happened in the Premier League?
I guess the main difference being that sort of stuff only goes unpunished in the Premier league!
It was interesting to see that Mexes started. He was available during the window. He was selected by Blanc over Kozzer and he has lots of experience. I’ve never been bowled over by him, but when you’re desperate for a centre back, ask yourself this… is he better than Squillaci? Arguably yes… Stephen Hawking on a low battery day is better than Squillaci.
The AST are all up in the news of late with their spanking fanshare idea. Apparently this is the preferred business model of the MP select committee on football governance and it’s something Arsenal are leading the way in. Giving fans ownership of the club is a powerful idea and it’s something Geoff and I have discussed on numerous occasions.
Why do Arsenal need a sugar Daddy controlling what we the fans have helped to build?
We have the perfect footballing business model and for me, the most dangerous thing that could happen to the club is the instability of a controlling wild Eastern Oligarch or a Basketball loving pauper of the Billionaire club. It’s great that Arsenal out of choice have given the AST a voice and as Geoff has said on many occasions, owning a share is not about monetary value, it’s about owning a piece of your passion. You know, like how I feel about those Megan Fox dandruff scratchings I bought on eBay.
So why do I think this scheme is important?
Well… the Fanshare scheme gives every supporter a say on the takeover.
If a takeover attempt is made for Arsenal then a formal offer and proposal has to be made to all shareholders. In this scenario all members of the Arsenal Fanshare Society will receive a crucial vote on the future of the club. If the takeover offer is accepted and the club is taken into private ownership then the purchaser will need to buy all the shares including those in the Fanshare scheme. This means that you will receive the offer value made by the person or institution making the takeover bid and you will have the value of your Fanshares at the time returned to you.
The Arsenal Fanshare Board would ballot all members, then they’d use the shares the society owns to make a vote. Basically, it gives us, the fans more power over how things are run. If 10% vote against a takeover bid, we could potentially stop the club going private. If 25% are against the vote, it means the club is still plural. Do I know what plural means? Not at all… sounds pretty serious though.*
Perhaps the idea is a little idealistic, I’m certain many won’t believe something like this could work, but for me, if we can shift 850,000 shirts a year at £60 a pop, why couldn’t we shift a half as many fanshare options? It’s only £20 to open an account and you can decide what contribution you make yourself. The scheme has already kept 40 shares in the hands of the fans… how many more could we buy with a little help from people like you?
I think this is a good idea and it’s something the MP select committee is going to recommend when their enquiry into Football Governance ends. Fans own the game and the site of club Guardians battling against the people who love their team is an all too familiar ugly site these days.
Select Committee last week at the Grove
It’s great to see Arsenal and their fans are leading the way. We dominate the blog world, we’re dominating the business side of things, we might dominate on the pitch… but wouldn’t it be great if our fans were a dominant voice off the pitch that the club took notice of (See this Ivan Gazidis video for proof our voice matters)?
Arsenal proving they're so liberal, they'll let a female lino into the men's changing room
You have the chance to be part of one of the most inclusive schemes in football… the chance to make real a difference to the clubs future. That’s pretty exciting…
Let us know what you think in the comments!
*Plurality of ownership means lots of people involved in club and equals custodianship. Not one persons plaything and checks and balances. Involvement of supporters means long term thinking. See custodianship section on Fanshare website.
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P.S. West Ham have probably won the Olympic Stadium bid. Tax payers logic say that outcome is a waste of my money. They won’t be able to fill it, they’ll probably be a Championship team and no one deserves a 60,000 seater stadium for free. If I was looking at it from a purely logical point of view, I’d say the ground should either have been shared or it should have gone to Spurs. At least they are a well run club who could continue the legacy.
Nothing is more ugly than an empty stadium. Well, bar Luka Modric… he’s pretty hideous.
On the flip side, it’s amusing to think that Spurs will now have to go through the same off the pitch pain we did if they want to have a business model to rival ours. Long term, we’re still the biggest team in North London and I think it’s hilarious that Spurs have been slapped down. Good luck financing that stadium move with Harry at the helm. I don’t think the word budget is in his vocabulary!
A,
sorry mate, but I can’t trust you to voice an informed opinion on AA, as you are the author of the pearler, stating that we should sell him, and keep Rosicky and Denilson for experience…
he has put his head down and is once again hitting some form, it’s called class…
not exactly THE STIG is he A!
Nor his assists either! nor his flash of brilliance which could turn a game in a instant!!
Rohan
Yea, we know you like all things Bendtner.
A
Heh! Exactly….
eye candy.
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=8008297&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=1&color=&fullscreen=1&autoplay=0&loop=0Jon Hopkins – Insides from Javier Miranda on Vimeo.
Yeah he’s had two good games SUGA, and looking better certainly, hope he keeps going that way and he could be a big player for us in our push for the title.
However it’s impossible not to question his attitude due to both his laziness and lack of fitness at times this season
Here’s Levy’s plan B
http://www.arse2mouse.com/post/3217140465/exclusive-spurs-new-ground-revealed-heres-one
17 assists and 8 goals… Arshavin is a little genius.
Arshavin is an absolutely brilliant player with incredible talent.
However “he was nothing but professional since he signed…” is a load of bollocks imo. If that was the case then he’d be one of the best players in the world, he has the talent to certainly not be Messi like, but the best player in the Prem, rather than the flashes of brilliance here and there
try: lack of form, frustration, being played out of position, etc.
no?
and please dude, he was 27 when he came, it’s something of a pension age at Arse…
too late to become the best in the league, however, one of the stars if he applies himself…
thats no excuse for not putting in a shift though Suga. interesting how the moment he upped his workrate his form started to return…
Lurch,
hard work or no hard work, 17 assists and 8 goals, you can hardly argue with that…
by professionalism, I understand realising one’s shortcomings and doing something to get his shit together, something like Szczesny improving his kicking by a mile…
What on earth does age have to do with it?!
Arshavin has more than enough ability to be the best player in the league. It’s just lack of application/professionalism that has prevented that!
The being played out of position thing is laughable, except for last season when he had to play through the middle. He was even worse for Russia in his supposed best position during his poor form than he was for us!
Yeah Lurch, effort has suddenly increased and now he’s gotten his touch back, if only he really worked on it the whole time he could be a legend
Good point A
and besides, the subject of the day is Diaby moving to RM/Barca right after winning Ballon d’Or
professionalism would be putting the work in the entire time, not just when his laziness has resulted in his form dropping to such an extent that he’s getting stick
A,
8 goals, 17 assists, please sir, can I have some more?
Still if he applied himself like bentner,diaby and co he could be a world beater!!
for some reason, you are just biased, as you are much more forgiving to some other players who don’t contribute anywhere near as much as ‘fat and lazy’ Arshavin…
haha using stats to get out of a hole Suga!?
carefull I might confuse you with david in a sec.
sspose you rate denilson now as well?
bendtner
Lurch,
first things first, I am not in a hole, as I am right
goals and assists are the only stats that really count, fuck completed three yard sideways passes!
If he was more professional you would’ve had alot more SUGA!
deeper and deeper…
blue pill, red pill…
can I have both please?
admit your wrong and you can!
yes hes a litlle genius blah blah hyperbolic blah blah…
but he leaves a lot to be desired in team ethic and ‘professionalism’ what ever that really means…
I don’t question Diaby’s desire ever… just his capacity to make the right decision.
IMO, Arshavin has been a bit mis-handled, all started with the exclusion from the FA Cup semi starting XI when he was in shit hot form just to prove a point that ‘we’ can win the game without ‘him’…
becoming a bit disillusioned and frustrated after being asked to play in the role that was completely not ‘him’ did not help either…
and I mean CF last year, not just bullshit wide left, where he is wasted, IMO…
oh didums. payed 4.5 million a year to play slightly out of position…
how do you say ‘do me a favour love’?
‘just his capacity to make the right decision’
would this be an euphemism for ‘thick as pigshit, wants to dribble through everyone and can’t pick the right pass to save his life’?
that’s our Diaby
yes that an accurate translation.
dont matter about his work ethic the guy’s a match winner on his day be happy that we have got him …………
Lurch,
playing CF in 4-3-3 when you are 3 feet tall does not feature in the ‘favourable’ bracket
and that is exactly what he was asked to do more or less a year ago…
you just shot your professionalism argument in the face – close range with buckshot!!
a professional puts the graft in even when conditions aren’t optimum – or are you just ‘blaming the tools again’?
Lurch you are a poor wum
im not talking about last season. fact
sorry reggie? seeking clarification?
wum??
reggie, im stoked we have him, fear not.
but he DID try, with some degree of success, but that is not what he should be doing, but when you are not used to your best abilities, then you can become a bit frustrated…
square pegs, round holes, same ol’ Wenger
Reeled anyone in today?
Il get the landing net!!!
Keepnet is ready!!
Shit forgot the unhooking mat!!
Suga, are you telling me we imagined pretty much the entire LG community winging about his workrate previous to the last 6 weeks?
remember, there is no spoon.
explosives are best used when fishing for sea cow’s reggie.
i geddit now…
Lurch,
in my case it was more of a concern about his form, as I always knew he was class…
once again, as far as his overall effective contribution, he hardly has an equal in red & white, and that’s it
and I know there is no spoon…
*as far as his overall effective contribution is concerned
lurch bit slow on the uptake then
i know reggie im getting almost as old as you
i wasn’t on a wind up. i stand by those statements.
Yeah alright you are much older!!
no grey teste hairs!
hardly has an equal?
dear god.
you seem to have a problem with AA, he scored 8 goals and clocked up 17 assist and the season is about halfway through, and he played shit by his own standards, I admit that….
Arshavin on fire and played with the right players is lethal, easily capable of scoring 20 goals per season, IMO…
funny i remember him scoring 4 goals once. singlehanded, well almost.
nothing to do with ‘the right players’, more to do with hard work and killer instinct – which are distinct from form.
just looked at the table, our GD is 4 goals worse than Manure’s…
Diaby, Rosicky, Squillaci, Dowd…
grrr…
yeah, I know what you mean, but at least he is able to get his shit together, and has that something, unlike some…
we’ll overhaul that.
esp if rio’s crocked.
we’ll overhaul that.
esp if rio’s crocked.
Diaby to Barca? Ahahaha. The guy is such a joke it’s untrue.
speaking of which, rosicky’s goal last night wasn’t half bad…first strike volley bosh!
yep, not too bad, he could come up with a few of these!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrRE_7Am49E&feature=player_embedded
if we stand by the permacrock that is RVP surely we stand by the permacrock diaby…
RVP’s said in the past he wants to play at feyenoord again – how is that any different to diaby wanting to play in spain??
he never gets in those positions around the box any more, thats half the problem.
Lurch,
this one is surely a windup?
you don’t believe that RvP thinks of playing for Feyenoord in the same categories as Diaby of playing for RM/Barca, do you?
rumbled.
Rosicky seems to be hiding on the pitch, let’s hope this one goal will give him a boost for some nice shop window performance until the end of the season…
Is Rosicky’s contract up this summer or next?
I think it’s next, signed 2 year extension about a year ago…
i missed the geordie capitulation, couldn’t bring myself to watch it on atvo…
the blame at rosicky’s door was it based on pace? poor decision making or…
his legs could be ko’d – his tendons must be pretty mashed up after all that surgery.
Yeah same as me lurch cant stomach seeing us roll over like that!!
chillax, it was just a case of the best squad ever setting a new league record
and on that note, I am off to bed – nite!
Talking of rio he’s due to go to gary masons funeral tomorrow along with ian wright,lennox lewis in carshalton…
i know reggie,
im sure – like you – i’m in a ridiculously foul mood for at least 6hrs after any loss…
couldn’t voluntarily expose the poor unsuspecting innocents in close proximity! wouldn’t be fair.
nite. pleasure as always.
only for six hours it lasts the whole weekend for me till almost the next game!!
sorry, couldn’t resist:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlq0fIoOMaQ&feature=related
well there’s levels aren’t there…after 6 hrs i can hold a polite conversation that isn’t arsenal related.
maaahaaaadasada!
give me this commentator over Clive Tyldesley any day
Thats why this site is the best! you can rip the shit into the team with out killing some one
‘a commentator and a cunt’
priceless…
the website got pulled down tho
well put reggie, i was about to lay praise for stress relief firmly on LG’s doorstep.
Its no wonder LG is the worlds biggest blog, with the amount of frustration we are subjected to!
dam straight Suga, don’t know what it means but i want some more.
translation – posted by the dude who posted the video, so may be accurate:
really off, can’t see shit
only thing that vid lacks is a closing shot of twitchy’s ugly bewildered mug.
that would make it oscar material.
laterz. me too. nite reggie.
Thats why i laugh when people get called doomer’s!! they are just passionate supporters who care greatly for the club who vent their anger through this fantastic web-site who otherwise could become mass murderer’s !!
Yeah nite mate! im gonna sharpen me axe ready for the week-end!!
ddddddoooooooooooooommmmmmm.
Hahahaha!!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1355726/Xavi-Scholes-best-midfield-player-20-years.html
Save Diaby some sticks. There is nothing wrong in someone expressing his aspirations as long as it doesnt show dissent to the present. At least we were all happy when Villa and Eden Hazard said same.
If the United takeover by Qatar holdings goes ahead then we are fucked big time.
NEW POST!