The best decision you’ve made since buying Cesc Fabregas.

November 25, 2008

Cesc to be our new captain, fantastic! or should I say ‘Captain fantastic’ he should have done that in the summer but better late than never.

I don’t believe it’s a cynical ploy to keep him this summer, I think Cesc wears his heart on his shirt and always has done, he’s as Arsenal as Tony Adams and his face when scoring against Milan last year and Sunderland this, says it all, making him captain will bring his game back.

It will also give him a say on how we play, who, if anyone we buy, and it gives him a voice on the team for the first time in his career and that can only be good for us, the fans, it may also attract some world class talent in January.

All he needs to do now is tell the boss what he thinks of Song, but enough of that now, lets talk about tonight and Sunday.

I believe that we will win convincingly this evening and if Cesc can convince the boss to let him play alongside Rambo, with Wilshere and Vela out wide we could be unstoppable.

I am going to suggest a line up that is unique to football and if Wenger reads this and follows it, it could unseat the chavs on Sunday as well as Kiev tonight.

2-4-4 what you say? 2-4-4? there’s no such thing, well read on my friends. Injuries permitting.

Fabianski

Djourou Gallas

Sagna Fabregas Ramsey Clichy

Wilshere Simpson RVP Vela

With two of the middle four going back when needed and the same with the front 4.

Pedro and I have always remained faithful to our policy of not commenting on other blogs (save our good friend Wrighty7) especially if they bad mouth us, that way we starve them of oxygen and don’t allow them their 15 minutes of fame, however I’m breaking the rule for this twerp but not so much that I’ll publish his name, I won’t give him that satisfaction.

Yesterday we had a classic AKB on, only this one writes his own blog. People in the past have used their blogs to rant about Le Grove, which we have always found amusing as it’s often the only way they get read, however this particular blog is so dreadful he only got 7 comments for his article all day, in fact I went back and found he only had 28 comments for his last 11 posts and some of those comments were from Grovers telling him what a sad bastard he was. Well pencil dick, if you don’t like Piers Morgan, Myles Palmer or me don’t read our sites, I sure as hell don’t read yours.

If I could have a bet on who this twit is I would go for - never worked, still a student, may even be in the union, lives with his mummy when he’s not at Uni, thinks he’s intellectually superior to anyone who writes a blog and thinks he can do it better than anyone else. Finally because he’s still not a real man yet, threatens people when he’s on the other side of the internet where he’s safe, like the AKB children do at the weekend. Oh and has only been to the Arsenal with a grown up and sure as hell has never bought a season ticket!

Our policy obviously works because almost all the offending blogs now seem to share our view on all things Arsenal, which as you can imagine, we find mildly amusing and incredibly ironic!

Enough on that, we move on, so if Wenger plays this team and plays all these players in their real positions, I can see us taking the chavs apart too, we beat the Mancs, the chavs are no better and they will be super confident, so by my twisted logic, we can beat them too, then we’ll be back in it and that 40-1 bet looks like a good one.

So tonight let’s get behind the boys, let Cesc know what we think of him being captain and tear them three new rectums, tonight we can find Jerusalem, tonight we begin our long awaited season, tonight we qualify for the next round of the European cup we are going to win, tonight we win by three clear goals, tonight is Cesc’s night, go forth Arsenal and multiply!

And for all of us that are there, let the world hear the library has closed!

Have a great day Grovers, have a great night Cesc, pick the right team Arsene and God will do the rest, Whoever your God is!

P.S. Just before I go… Pedro has 2 spare tickets for club level tomorrow (half price)!

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Posted by Geoff

When was the last time we got a DVD Arsene?

November 24, 2008

‘It’s time for Arsenal and Wenger to part company’

No that wasn’t my headline, it was that of big time Gooner and former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan.

I have to say though, it could have been my headline, because that’s the way I feel too, not only crap team selection again and probably the worst display I’ve seen from Arsenal since the days of Glenn Helder, but also hearing that Wenger thought it flattered Man City, and because of that, I think he has lost it. Bad loser.

The players quite clearly get paid too much, much more than their ability warrants, Gallas had a point there and if he didn’t earn around £90k a week for doing what he does, I would take what he says much more seriously.

Wenger needs to spend in the window and get rid of some flotsam too, how the hell did he get Song on an exception talent visa yet have to wait 3 years for Vela? Who clearly is exceptional.

How many games do we have to watch someone that can’t pass, can’t tackle and can’t shoot and don’t say Ade or Robin because they absolutely can, why does he continue to play players out of position (Diaby) and expect a big performance, who is he kidding?

Arsene, you weren’t an Arsenal supporter 12 years ago, I was, you are a great coach, but a lousy manager, yes I really believe I could do a better job, look at Redknap, at least he can get a shit team going, why do you keep saying you have belief in this team?

Yes we beat the Mancs but on another day we would have lost 3 nil, let’s not kid ourselves, your team weren’t good enough last season, then you let Lehmann, Hoyte, Hleb and Flamini go and only brought in Nasri, what did you think would happen?

Regardless of what Gallas said, you stripped him of the captaincy and dropped him, you humiliated him and now you say he still has a future at Arsenal, will you ever learn??? - Get shot of him in the window and bring in 3 world class players, maybe then we can salvage something, you have fantastic players like Ramsey, Wilshere and Coquelin and yet you stick with Denilson, Song, Eboue and Bendtner.

Listen to me, THEY ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH, STOP BEING CHILDISH AND GET SHOT OF THEM.

You probably will do nothing, but heed my warning, the fans will stop coming, the predators will circle and your legacy will be like that of many managers in the premier league that got sacked, won us a few trophies but wouldn’t listen, do you want to be remembered for that Arsene?

I won’t mention Ramos, but at least he won them a cup. He gave them something to cheer about, and a DVD, when was the last time we got a DVD? It was for an ex player Thierry Henry.

I hope not because you’ve been too good for that, don’t spoil the last 12 years because you think you’re right, look at the results, look at the stats, they’ll tell you how right you are, you’re a stat person, well when it suits you you are.

Finally, look at all the other sites, they’re not calling you god now, time to change to plan ‘B’ Wenger or you won’t be getting that statue, and that would be a shame.

Finally if you afforded the same indulgences to English players as you do with Song we may still have Mathew Upson, David Bentley and Steven Sidwell.

Before any AKB’s tell me they hate Bentley, Upson was a crock and Sidwell isn’t that good, look at Sidwell now and think how much better he could have been had Wenger been as patient, at least he won 2 FA Youth cups.

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Posted by Geoff

The pink boot mindset and the worst crop of players seen under Wenger.

November 23, 2008

So Arsenal are 10 points off the pace, we’ve managed to pick up 5 defeats already this season… oh and we are 1 point ahead of Hull.

Crisis anyone?

This situation we find ourselves in is simply not good enough for a club like Arsenal.

I don’t care how close the kids are, I don’t care how much money we make or how fantastic our new stadium is… I care about results, some section have forgotten about that but in fairness, we’ve been spun into thinking that having a good business model and acting ethically out weighs competing on the pitch. Our Chairman told us it isn’t all about trophies, that statement was echoed by the manager… hold the back page a minute… if management are thinking that way, is it a surprise the players are?

I demand my team competes for trophies every year… If you don’t subscribe to those values, why do you support a team in a competition… why buy the most expensive ticket in football? I can’t imagine there was a period when Arsenal fans were happy with average?

Sadly we’ve not been competing for the best part of 4 years. We had a good year last year, but that squad was too light to last the pace… then we lost some key members of that small squad of players, Wenger didn’t deem it necessary to replace them and we are where we are now as a result of that.

This is clearly the worst crop of players we’ve ever had under Arsene Wenger… and I’m not talking about ability, I’m talking about the attitude balance. We’ve been lumbered with a Captain who clearly had mental problems at his old club, we’ve got a star striker who thinks it is ok to head butt a team mate during a game and we’ve got a whole host of other players who just aren’t up to top 4 standards… and you know what summed it all up for me? Nik Bendtner turning up in Pink boots.

For me it just shows a complete lack of respect for the team and the fans… I know you probably think I am going off on a tangent here… but there are certain things you don’t do in football when your team is playing shite… wearing Pink boots is one of them. Let me explain…

It smacks of arrogance that a 21 year old player thinks he is talented enough to make Pink boots look good. It also shows that as a player, he is more concerned about how he looks rather than how he plays. Why else would you wear something that so obviously spits in the face of convention? It’s a completely egotistical thing to do in my eyes… when your team is on a downer, you tell your sponsor to piss off when they ask you to market their new fairy boots, especially when you’ve been playing poorly. Those boots were a complete joke and they summed up our performance yesterday.

This was the line-up:

Almunia
Hoyte Silvestre JD Clichy
Diaby Song Denilson Nasri
Nik RvP

I thought that was a poor selection and I said so in the comments.

Firstly, Diaby has problems breaking into the team because of Cesc… even though he has looked a lot more threatening over the last few weeks. So why not pair him with Denilson? When has Diaby ever shown any sort of ability out wide? A stupid decision in my eyes.

Secondly… Why was Song even playing? I always try and defend players because I want to believe they have something and I hate to write people off. However, if I was an insurance claims specialist… I’d take one look at the wreckage that is Song’s ability and assume there must have been some sort of horrific accident… I’d write Song off and pay Arsenal the sum of his value before the accident (About £27). There is just no hope… no chance of reworking him into a player that can wear the red and white of Arsenal.

I’ve got a good mind contact Phil Woolas (Labour Immigration Minister: woolasp@parliament.uk) and ask how the hell Song was granted a work permit on the basis of exceptional talent. Especially as Wenger has gone on record saying we couldn’t sign a 19 year old RONALDINHO due to permit issues!

I’m sorry, but Song is a walking calamity and he has been since he arrived. The very fact that he is in the first team squad should tell you how low Wenger has let his standards drop since the introduction of ‘Project Youth’.

Back to team selection.

If you move Diaby into the middle… why not stick Rambo in at right midfield? At least he has the ability to play there… at least he has energy and creative flair. He is flying at the moment and has the confidence and ability to change a game… if he tired after an hour (A 17 year old athlete should not tire after 2 games in 4 days), sub him and bring Jack on for 30 mins. Wenger seems to be insistent on sticking round pegs in square holes and it is not working.

As for the striking combo… well… what the hell has Nik done to justify a start? He has been beyond dreadful this season and my patience is wearing thin with him. Rolling onto the pitch with his fairy boots clearly put him into character as he played like Tinkerbell, it was embarrassing. Matt Le Tissier was really quite riled by the arrogance of Nik wearing those boots… he said something like,

‘You simply don’t wear boots like that until you have done something in the game.’

I make him totally right. He hasn’t done anything for the club this season and I am at odds to why Wenger didn’t pick Carlos Vela? At least Carlos looks interested in scoring goals. When he came on late he wanted the ball to his feet and he wasn’t afraid to pull the trigger… unlike the sluggish Dane who is so low on confidence he is scared to shoot.

I thought the team looked rudderless and utterly unimaginative. They played with all the attacking flair of a Sam Allardyce team. RvP was woeful and looked completely detached from the team… he is like the odd piece in the jigsaw… no one seems to be able to read him and to be honest, I don’t know what his game is all about?

Samir Nasri was anonymous and a bit lazy. He just seems to wander around the pitch doing a great job of doing naff all. There is a real lack of productivity in his game when he is off his game. At least Hleb would run his socks off and create openings… Nasri doesn’t have that game yet… but what can you expect after 3 months?

Almunia was back to his dreadful worst. He was lobbed for Robinho’s goal when perhaps he should have been off his line a bit quicker and he was also lucky to get away with spilling a tame shot in the second half.

I think my biggest worry of the day was Clichy. He has gone from being Mr Reliable to Corporal fuck up in the space of 6 months. His mistimed clearance led to the first City goal… but to be honest, it was coming and we all knew it.

‘We lacked the maturity to deal with being in a dominant situation’

I don’t remember being in a dominant postion and If we lacked maturity, whose fault is that? Excuses like that aren’t acceptable anymore… you had all summer to rectify a lack of maturity.

So, enough moaning… onto the solutions.

Well, there really is only one… and that is play the Carling Cup stars. If your first team can’t cut it and your reserve team can… there is only one option. Ship out the under performers and replace them with on form young pretenders who are hungry to take their places.

Bring in Rambo, bring in Jack and bring in Vela. It’s not a top 4 solution, but I’m afraid due to our piss poor strategy this summer… it’s the only solution.

Long term, it is clear what Arsene has to do. He must return to doing what he has a proven track record of doing. He has to go out and purchase £30million worth of ‘nearly world class’ talent. He needs to sign them in January, get them settled and then see where he is in the summer. We need at least three or four 25 year old internationals with Champions league experience. We need a Keita in midfield, a proper winger and a centre back that strikes fear into not only the opposition… but his team mates.

I don’t want to hear that these players don’t exist, because the world is a pretty huge place and we are supposed to have the best scouting network around. Go out and ask about De Rossi, Arshavin or Chillieni… go and raid Madrid’s subs bench… ask Inter whether they’d let Adriano go and maybe help him reinvigorate his flagging career. I’m not saying those players are the answer… just that their are players out there, because everyone else seems to be finding them.

Wenger should do what he does best… make nearly players world class. Give up on Project youth, it’s a dead duck. Only the best players deserve a chance at Arsenal FC.

One more point I’d like to make… players should be judged on ability, not on their date of birth. Flogging players who have hit 30 is poor management. Would we be in the same situation if Gilberto had stayed this summer? I doubt it. He was still a world class player when you sold him and he would have made a great captain.

Arsene… we’re asking you to return to your old ways, because watching this team collapse in front of our eyes is sickening and if you continue to stubbornly pursue your dream… things will only end in one way. I do not want you sacked, but I do want to see a change in club policies. This can only happen by employing a new CEO. The task shouldn’t take over a year and it shouldn’t be decided by Wenger. He shouldn’t even have a say on it and I hope that is the case. Selecting your own boss is a bit counter productive. We want someone to kick the club on… not agree with everything Emperor Wenger dictates.

I’ll leave you with a Wenger quote.

‘In a big club you have to go through these periods, and how we deal with it will shape our future.’

UEFA Cup football, sub standard players and empty seats were never part of the future… and I hope you are the man to keep it that way.

Happy Sunday Grovers… at least all 4 of our rivals dropped 2 points!


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Posted by Pedro

Thanks for your honesty, take your toys, your pram and leave your armband on the side on your way out.

November 22, 2008

Let me start by saying I rate Gallas and I like him but enough is enough, so here’s my proposal Arsene.

Gallas shouldn’t resign, he should be sacked as captain because regardless of where he stands, he brought the team into disrepute and that for a captain of Arsenal football club is unforgivable and unacceptable.

You can’t give it to Kolo, regardless of how much he is liked because he’s not really a first choice anymore and he goes to the ACN every two years, so sorry but that’s not good enough.

Don’t give it to Gael because he is French and I think it’s time for a change, so for me it has to be Alexandre Song, he has the lot and he was signed on the basis of exceptional talent.

Of course I’m f**king kidding. Give it to Cesc, it may keep him, it will certainly fire him up, he is great with the press and stops rumours in their tracks, f*ck the age, if he’s good enough, he’s old enough.

Now we’ve done that to death let’s move onto the big game today, jeez, it’s been a long wait, always of course made longer by a defeat, we got beat, there’s nothing we can do so let’s move on and put it right, by now Gallas may have been dropped so I’m going for a team without him, if he plays drop Kolo and put him in his place, so from the back.

Fabianski, as Almunia was shit last time and the time before the time before that, work that one out and you’ll know what’s coming next.

Hoyte Djourou Kolo Clichy

Ramsey Diaby Denilson Nasri

Ade RVP

Go for the jugular because this lot will, Robinho will want to show Wenger what he could have had, had he offered him more than 17 shillings and sixpence a week a few years ago, but Real got him instead.

They will not sit back, and I can’t see them mixing it, I think they like to play football, so attack boys, attack.

To finish on Gallas, he has said that if he leaves Arsenal it will be to go back to France, but only to PSG, Bordeaux or Marseilles and who do we know that plays at Marseilles? Spot on, Cana, so why not a little player plus cash deal and now, in January, whilst Gallas is still in his prime? That’s win, win then is it not? we get rid of the awkward issue with Gallas, we get in the animal we all crave, he’s not French and Wenger doesn’t lose face by backing down, and we’ll throw in Alexandre Song as part of the deal as he has exception talent, how can they refuse?

The thing is the minute he takes  away the captaincy is the moment the player can no longer play for us and that’s why he didn’t do it last summer, Gallas has a few years left in him but with the emergence of Djourou and maybe even the improvement of Senderos next season, he can at last afford to let him go, bringing in a Cana or a Velosa gives Wenger options, gives us the much needed steel with lost with Flamini’s departure and gets rid of the disruptive influence in the changing room, whoever is at fault, and I take no sides, something is wrong and something needs to be done.

 

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Posted by Geoff

One in, but would you boot the other one out?

November 21, 2008

Morning Grovers!

A couple of interesting stories in the press today.

Firstly, let’s tackle the William Gallas story.

I for on have mixed feelings on it because there was some bad…

“When, as captain, some players come up to you and talk to you about a player … complaining about him … and then during the match you speak to this player and the player in question insults us, there comes a time where we can no longer comprehend how this can happen. I am trying to defend myself a bit without giving names. Otherwise I’m taking it all [the blame]. It’s very frustrating. I’m 31, the player is six years younger than me.”

Some obvious…

“I have to win something this year. I have to. Arsenal have to. It’s nearly four years since we won anything and that’s not good.

“Another season without winning anything would be a kind of failure. But for me, the title is not over. It’s true that we are nine points behind Chelsea, but you have to be optimistic. You can’t give up.

and some optimism…

“Four defeats is a lot but it’s a long season. I think it will be very tight this year and we will have to hope that Chelsea draw a few and lose a few. We will have to see if I will stay if we don’t win the title. We don’t know what will happen between here and then.”

When you read the whole interview from start to finish, it doesn’t come across quite as poorly as it does when you focus on the snippets.

You can kind of understand the reasoning behind the interview. Gallas seems to get the blame for everything that goes wrong with the club… he is merely defending himself. If Wenger had purchased like we’d hoped he would in the summer, we wouldn’t be facing these problems right now. Even the great PV04 upped sticks after a couple of seasons of ‘Project Youth’… as did Thierry. All three captains are/were regarded as World Class and all three have had troubles with Wenger’s recruitment policies.

It’s not good to hear your Captain slagging off the players and the club… but at the same time, it’s exactly what the fans have been doing. It’s reassuring in a weird way to know that the players are feeling the same. At least there is a passion to get things right.

When do you stop blaming the Captain’s and start blaming the manager? In my opinion, too much emphasis is placed on the role of a Captain. A great captain does not make average players better. Do you think John Terry would have been in the Champions League final last year had he been playing with Arsenal’s current crop? You are only as good as the players who are around you… bear that in mind before sticking the knife in.

Anyway, lets hope all this malarkey motivates the players to kick on from here… Starting with City tomorrow. That will be a tough game, but I am confident a sterling performance will go some way to kick starting our season for the 4th time this year

In an interesting snippet, Van Buyten has thrown his hat into the ring if Gallas wishes wants to leave. Finally, a decent defender willing to join the team!

In other news, it appears the wait for a new CEO maybe nearing an end. We’ve identified Ivan Gazidis, the deputy commissioner from the MLS as our new target. I have no idea what he is going to do for Arsenal as a club, but something tells me Stan the man has his grubby little hands all over this signing. As far as I can see, he has no experience in European football… but he has ideas… and big ones at that. Read here for further info on what he has done for the American league

Happy Friday… bring on the jokes!

P.S. William Gallas has a new book out tomorrow, it’s £9.99 at all good stockists. Read more revelations here!


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Posted by Pedro

Theo could win us the league, inadvertently.

November 20, 2008

He really could, I have been quite depressed about Theo’s dislocation and how it could ruin his career, I mean this is what, the third time? and he’s only 19, it doesn’t bode well does it?

So you may ask, how does that help us win the league, miracle cure? Homoeopathy? Acupuncture? No, a Wengerism is what could happen.

I think we could put Jackie boy or Ramsey in there or even Nasri and switch the other two over, but I could ‘as well’ see Wenger using this as the excuse he needs to buy the midfield player we all know we need and he can now do it without losing face.

He won’t be pressured into a signing because he’s so ’silly stubborn’ but with Theo out for so long he can say he had no choice and go and get Alonso or Cana or someone good.

Either that or he’ll put Bitchslap in there and save our money! I have a sneaky suspicion though this could be it, so without Theo knowing, he could be the reason we win the league, he may even shock us all and buy an out and out winger from somewhere. There is probably a centre half somewhere that he can convert.

He may even buy Veloso so that when Theo’s back we have the mobile centre back we also desperately need.

I’m hoping he now realises that the treasured top 4 spot is seriously under threat and will act fast to shore up the side, and with December only a week or so away it’s not a long time until we reach the January sales, so maybe we should start speculating, or at least draw up a short list of talent we’d like to see at the Grove, we know he reads this blog so maybe a suggestion or two would not be a bad thing.

Of course Eboue plays there and Song probably does but with the injury to Sagna and the injury to Eboue that area is hopefully covered.

Good to see an Arsenal old boy scoring for England last night, another one we let get away eh? I rarely watch England anymore but when I knew Beckham wasn’t going to get yet another wasted cap I found a bar to watch it in, I hope that Capello remembers the players that mysteriously got injured and sees if they play for their clubs this weekend, and if they do says, that’s your lot son, you won’t be playing for me again.

Gutless wimps.

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Posted by Geoff

Arsene’s prudence means the only pot we’ll win will be an Uzbek.

November 19, 2008

Here’s the deal, we charge more than any other club in the world to see a football match, fact. We have won nothing for 3 seasons, fact.

By the end of next season we could be debt free, fact. Will the fans be happy? No. Will more people sell their shares, yes. Usmanov already has 149 more than he had a month ago according to reports yesterday.

So no matter what Wenger does after this season, he can’t stop Usmanov becoming the majority Arsenal shareholder, fact. Even the lockdown can’t stop people like me selling their shares to the rotund Uzbek.

So then what could happen? This could happen. He could come in and loan us £300 million with the remit of win everything, if you don’t want to buy players Arsene I’ll employ Maureen and he will, your choice.

Then we’ll be the most successful club in the world that owns its own stadium, but has a huge debt, will you the fan care? Probably not, will he care? No.

So that’s the future Arsene and the current board, you may well be ‘not buying’ your way into a takeover through your ’stinginess’ and ‘lack of success’ and how many people out there that support this great club will give a rats arse? Probably none, and that includes the players.

Sure, maybe Cesc will go, because he wants an excuse to go home anyway, Song will go because anyone coming in will realise how useless he is and let him go, so be warned Arsenal, the writing is on the wall, and after Saturday do I care? No quite frankly, I don’t.

You summed it up yesterday by deeming it more important to sell me ‘Jumbo Christmas cards’ than to tell me you will be reinforcing this great club in January because your experiment isn’t ready yet.

Arsenal’s mantra is to skin the fans first and worry about winning stuff second.

And you know what though, all this will happen and we’ll have a Kenyon installed because Dein has split with Red and White, so not even a silver cloud.

Unless someone from Arsenal wants to tell me any different?

AKB’s do with that as you will, I’m an Arsenal fan are you?

You want our advice the board? Go make up with Dein, get your cheque book out and tell Wenger to start acting like he’s in the Premiership, not the conference, oh and stop lying to us, that’s not so cool.

Update: Theo is out for up to 3 months after dislocating his shoulder. Theo is just as injury prone as Rosicky… we really are heading up shit creek at the moment…

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Posted by Geoff

RVP to Milan, Ade to Real, Vela to Hull but we won’t be buying anyone.

November 18, 2008

I used to hang on Wenger’s every word and when my Chav or Manc mates used to tell me Wenger was always whining, I used to tell them to re-think what they had said as they were surely mistaken.

Everything the boss said had to be right as he would only ever tell the truth, I now believe he’s like so many others I deal with in life, like builders, lawyers and estate agents, he just lies first, because it’s easier to fool us.

The headline reflects the stories doing the rounds at present and whilst I don’t believe them, last year the rumours were Flamini to Milan and Hleb to Barca. The other one was ‘I’m buying no one’ he told the truth there so I’m not sure.

Yes I know he got Nasri, but he replaced Hleb and we were already 4 players short from the year before and don’t forget we sold Hoyte, Hleb, Flamini, Gilberto and Lehmann as well.

I touched on yesterday, that what gets me is the lies that both Arsene Wenger and the board tell, strong words yes, but lies none-the-less.

Edelman and Fizsman say we have up to £75 million, Wenger says he has nothing, who’s lying?

Wenger said we didn’t buy a defensive midfielder because we found no-one he wanted, yet YaYa Toure says he turned us down, Benitez said Arsenal made two 11th hour bids for Alonso and O’Neill says we enquired over Barry. So who’s lying there, Wenger or YaYa, Benitez and O’Neill?

This is serious shit people, we are being lied to and for me that is unacceptable, if you lied to the police you would be charged with obstruction.

We need to sign players in the window and we need to sign quality players, the Carling cup kids were fantastic, but they need help, look at the first team, we beat the Mancs one week and lose to Villa the next, having Gallas and Silvestre in the side doesn’t stop the midfield getting over run, we miss players like Flamini and Gilberto, the invisible wall, we need a Cana, Alonso or Barry, we need a centre back not a make weight like Song.

Who cares if they’re cup tied, with this team we’ll win nothing, at least new signings could get us the FA Cup and a top four place, yes Arsenal, I’m now concerned about the top four, out title odds dropped from 12-1 to 33-1, how does that make you feel boss? It makes me feel like shit.

We all get excited at the thought of Eduardo returning, but how good was he? I remember his awesome finishing but I also remember him not being in games for long periods, I’m not saying he’s not the dogs, I’m saying he won’t change the dynamic of the team, that needs to be done from the back.

And I think it’s time to change the keeper, mad Jens got dropped for two mistakes, rightly so, but how many has Almunia got to make before we drop him?

We have the future, it’s the present we need to address, get the cheque book out Arsene, stop making ridiculous excuses and please don’t keep lying to us, it’s getting boring.

Just one last thing before I let you loose in the comments… it’s nice to see ANR write an piece which could have been cut and paste out of any of our summer articles. Well played Myles, finally an intelligent article. Looking around the web, it’s great to see that Le Grove and it’s Grovers were talking sense this summer, give yourself a pat on the back guys.

See you in the comments.

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Posted by Geoff

We can bounce back by dropping the team, all of them.

November 17, 2008

Interesting you may think, has Geoff completely lost it, 2 comments in two days because he’s having a massive sulk and he comes back and says drop the team, why? well here’s the short list.

1) Because the whole team were shite.

2) Because with the money we collect by not paying their salaries for Saturday we could buy a new team?

3) Because the first team will all be on international duty bar 4 players.

Well 1 is out because that’s too obvious, the AKB’s will say I hate the manager and I’m anti Arsenal, it’s not yet January so 2 is out so that only leaves 3,

It is indeed 3, and here’s why, I think the four players not away are Denilson, as he’s too young for Brazil to pick him, Sagna because he’s injured, Almunia because he’s shit and Song because Cameroon don’t have a game. I could be wrong about Song and if he has a game then he’s shit just like Almunia.

At the start of the season I thought Almunia could make it, but over the last month and Fernebache aside he’s been truly shocking, he himself is now admitting he was crap, so that only leaves Wenger who has an eyesight problem.

After all the good things I said about Wenger, he goes and blows it all on Saturday, why does he make wholesale changes 2 minutes before time against the spuds when we don’t need it and we end up not winning, then not make them at half time against Villa when we do need them and we end up losing?

With all the first team away we have a great opportunity to play the Carling cup team against Man City, they’ll be fresh, they’ll work hard and they’re actually better and more deserving.

Give the armband to Fabianski or better Ramsey. Ramsey for me is already miles better than Denilson and with Jackie boy in there with him and maybe even Randall we have a good engine in their.

Cesc has been rubbish and should be rested, simple, I love him, but he’s not been performing so he needs resting, you don’t become bad overnight unless your name is Manuel and Song was bad the night before so he doesn’t count.

I read somewhere that another team are thinking of making Song an offer, what ever it costs us Arsene, pay it, I’ll chip in.

Not a lot else save this amazing comment from the boss,

‘After defeat to Aston Villa, Wenger snapped, we had no player we really wanted and for now we have no regrets. You cannot explain Gael Clichy’s own goal here by the fact we haven’t an experienced player in midfield. We were not, as a team, sharp enough to dictate the pace and be dominant in the fight’

Okay if there wasn’t a player you wanted then why enquire about Barry and make offers to Alonso and Toure? If we had a midfield enforcer like any of the above or Cana then Gael Clichy wouldn’t have headed into his own goal because the ball wouldn’t got that far and if we had a decent keeper, he would have saved it.

What pisses me off is the lies from Wenger and the board, things like we have no money and there was no one we wanted are clearly lies, as we know there is money and we know he tried to buy two players.

So that’s it, that’s my return from a sulk-up, I’m still hugely depressed and I can’t shake it, and all I seem to read about is we are after another couple of youngsters, we he never learn?

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Posted by Geoff

Message to players: You were terrible and the boo boys let you know.

November 16, 2008

”The big question that needs to be asked is can this team transfer todays form into the minor games? It is ok motivating yourself for the big games, but if you can’t be assed against Stoke… what is the point?’

That quote was taken from the bottom of my Manchester United match report. Unlike some, I refused to get carried away with that result… I said to a Grover before that match that we’d win against the Old Trafford outfit and create a false horizon… then the cracks would appear at a later date. I must admit though, I didn’t expect us to run into trouble so soon after the last two results.

Today, without a doubt is the most disappointing result of the season. Aston Villa are a good team, I am not denying that but we are supposed to be one of the best in the country… plus, we’ve just come off the back of two decent results. The first team should have been brimming with confidence and eager to prove to the faithful that they are indeed, worthy of their places.

Sadly, there was no such determination.

I don’t think you can knock the coach. He picked the same team that beat the Champions, he made his subs fairly early in the game and we didn’t have a Champions league game in mid week. So what went wrong?

Well, for me… it all boils down to desire again. If there is no doubt about the quality and ability, it simply has to come down to attitude and desire.

I’ll list the main offenders:

Cesc: So at the start of the season we knew Cesc was playing badly and we blamed Euro 2008… then he continued to play poorly, so we blamed Denilson… Now Denilson is playing well, who the hell do we blame? He looks lost on the pitch and he doesn’t seem particularly interested in fighting for the club. As an Arsenal fan, I don’t give a rats arse what your name is… if you’re not playing well, you should be dropped in place of someone who will play well. Cesc is playing badly… and he needs to be dropped. Ramsey, regardless of his age would have put in a better performance today. British players are flawed in many ways, but there is always fight in them. I’m not seeing any fight from Cesc this season.

Nik B: I’ve been a staunch defender of the big Dane. Today I felt really let down by him… He was man marked by Davies, but he didn’t offer anything to the midfield in the game. He wasn’t looking for the ball and he didn’t challenge for anything… correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t remember him having a shot? I know the lone striker role is difficult to play at such a young age… but more often than not he had support… be it Diaby or Theo. If you are fighting for a place in the team with Adebayor… you try your bollocks off, Nik didn’t… and everyone in the stadium could see that.

Almunia: He made a great save from a penalty in the first half… but his flapping has started again. If Fabianski were selected you can bet your bottom dollar Clichy wouldn’t have turned that ball into the net… because he would have claimed it. I also think for the second goal, Gallas did everything correctly… and it was up to Almunia to keep the shot out at his near post. The shot was hardly ripped was it? A very average performance from a top 4 keeper.

Theo: Ok, so how long am I going to kid myself about Theo and his contribution? He was terrible today and for me… all this talk of a £60k a week contract is a bit premature. He is living off the back of his England performance because to be fair… he has never done that for Arsenal on a consistent basis. He was poor today… constantly running up blind alleys and making the wrong decisions. If he wants to play in the big leagues he has to start finding some consistency becuase at the moment, Arsenal aren’t getting enough from him. The one positive I will take from Theo today is that he never stop working hard for the team… unlike certain others. He is also playing out of position… but when you’ve been playing out of position for a year… you can’t really have any complaints. Thierry went from winger, to striker… back to winger. The best players adapt.

I thought there were some great performances out there today… I thought Denilson had a stormer. He was all over the park this afternoon… he tackled, he passed and he carried Cesc for large parts of the game. I thought he looked like a bit of a leader today, that of course is open to debate.

I thought the centre backs were top notch as well. Gallas and Silvestre really played well. Silvestre is your no nonsense type defender, his motto would be ‘if in doubt, boot it out’ and Gallas played in a more composed and thoughtful way. He looks calmer with Silvestre by his side.

Diaby looked pretty sparky in a crowded midfield. He is the most accomplished player on the ball in that Arsenal team… some of his on the ball skill is nothing short of outrageous. I’d be quite happy to see him pair up with Denilson in the middle of the park… with 2 inform strikers to feed, he could be a different beast.

Adebayor showed why he is Arsenal number one when he came on… his energy, power and aggression could have been utilised a bit better had he started the game. Eduardo will be fit soon… so hopefully we can find some more potency up front because from where I am sitting… we look pretty woeful at the moment.

On a more sour note… the fans started streaming out early doors tonight. The stadium was almost 3/4 empty by the time the final whistle was blown. I guess the fans think, if they can’t be fucked… why should I? There was a chorus of boos to top off a crap afternoon. I’m not a fan of that… but people are paying serious wedge to see a lot of average, ‘I don’t give a fuck’ type performances.

If you’re not happy as a fan… how else are you expected to express your displeasure? Oh… and before people start… don’t give me all this plastic fans bollocks. In Milan, if the fans are unsatisfied they turn the backs and hold a silent protest. In Spain, if Madrid or Barca fans are upset… they wave white hankeys. No one ever calls their fans plastic do they? They are just passionate about being anti-average.

Any boos yesterday shouldn’t have been directed at the coach (I don’t think they were)… they should have been directed to the players. Many of them were devoid of passion and heart yesterday… and I feel sorry for Wenger because he put his reputation on the line to back that crop of kids. Again… we know they can turn it on for the big games, but when it comes to digging out a performances against the not so glamourous teams… we are found wanting.

Booing isn’t an acceptable practice… but earning £30k a week in a recession and not giving your all for the shirt is also not acceptable. Fans are not stupid, they know effort when they see it… and they’ll always forgive a poor result if the players put there all in… I didn’t feel we saw that yesteday…. what did you think?

So… after a week of basking in the sunshine of a false horizon… we are back where we started, our title challenge is in tatters and our first team squad are not capable of giving 100%. Martin O’neil has a squad of just above average players… but he gets 110% out of them. If Wenger could work the same magic with his kids, we’d win the league. Motivating a bunch of young mercenaries must come with it’s own set of troubles though… they’ve been earning great dough since the age of 15 and they think they’ve made it.

How do you rectify that? Well… I’d kick their ego’s into touch… either by introducing a couple of the kids… or buying some serious talent in January. Nothing like a bit of competition for your place is there?

What to do, what to do….

Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments section!

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Posted by Pedro

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