I book hotels based on the what the lobby looks like, if it looks fancy, I’m in. I found a lobby I liked in Atlanta, the furnishing looked cool, the art looked interesting, pretty pictures of fine-looking southern cocktails… found out as I approached that I was booked above a famous strip club.
I made a bad choice. I’m currently sat in a trashy bar trying to come to terms with the fact I am sharing a building with the sort of people that travel between states for a fave stripper they ‘connect’ with. My room is on the same floor as the kitchen that sells chicken wings. The scene is not what I expected and I’m at the age where this has rocked my world.
I’m not crying about the noise. You are.
Still, we live with the consequences and move on. At least I have a voucher for a cup of tea in the morning.
Arsenal managerial news is still fairly murky, fans are struggling with French newspapers running hit pieces about names that are trying to land a foot in the door with an Everton exec team that seems as clueless as Arsenal’s. The latest name is Paulo Sousa, who is at Bourdeaux. I think it’s a fiction. Well, I hope it is. If you are Portuguese and have kicked a ball in the last 50 years, chances are you know someone that can land you an interview with Raul.
The latest I’m hearing is the same as David Ornstein (convenient) – that the club is pursuing Patrick Vieira and Mikael Arteta. The noises from the shop floor are that most favour Mikael over Paddy, but as far as I’m concerned that doesn’t hold much weight if Edu is a bros before non-bros kind of guy.
Either way, it’s looking very likely that Arsenal will end the month with an ex-trophy winning captain of Arsenal in the dugout. At the very least, that means the club will be treated with sort of tender soft touch we deserve because that touch will come with love. That’s a good start when you consider Nuno was in the running two weeks ago, that’s the touch of an insurance broker pervert on the C2C when you’re asleep.
Patrick Vieira hasn’t really been on the Le Grove radar for obvious reasons… he’s simply not done a good enough job for me to care.
I love him. Truly one of the greatest names to have pulled on an Arsenal shirt. He’d have my backing simply because of who he is. My worry? He’d be the closest hire we could make to Frank Lampard in terms of comparables.
Vieira matches up when it comes to legend status very closely with Lampard. Both managers had similarly average stints before the took a bigger job. Frank took Derby from 6th to 6th. Paddy hasn’t really moved the needle for Nice this season, they’re sitting in 13th, they’ve had a very choppy time of it, he’s only managed 3 wins in the last 11 games (after spending £52m on new players, net £29m). He moved them from 8th, to 7th . Good, but not glittering in a league where Lille moved from 17th to 2nd in the same period (and Mourinho just pinched their backroom team).
My other concern is this: City sent him to America and didn’t put up much of a fight to keep him in the group when he wanted a new challenge. Rumours were rife when he was coaching in England that the sheikhs were eyeing him as a successor to Pep. What happened? (Arteta)
Edu will have to tread a careful line here as well. Anyone in business who has hired in a friend will tell you what a fucking nightmare it can be. You always end up disappointed, they’re either shite and they fuck your rep, or they’re incredible and they push you out of the McDonald’s kitchen onto the tills, which is actually really boring, so that’s why me and Darren stopped talking.
Doesn’t matter if you’re in finance or brick-laying, everyone has a story. It is very difficult to hire a BBF into a job as cutthroat as football because things go wrong so fast. It can also have the negative impact of setting the wrong tone for the culture of the club, every decision can end up looking tainted, because really, hiring in someone because you like them isn’t 21st-century savvy (Ray Dalio has a section in his excellent book, Principles, where he straight up calls it morally corrupt). Worse than that for Edu, if there is deep support of Arteta, it’s an easier pill for everyone to swallow if things go wrong because the failure is shared. If the Brazilian Technical Director goes out on a limb for a manager with an average record and it goes badly, that’s ‘lose your job’ territory.
If I’m given the choice of a bland record I can sift through or rolling the dice for ‘Arteta the unknown’… then I’ll roll that fucking dice. We just hired in someone that won it all in France and it was toxic. I’m not sure what Patrick is offering to the Arsenal party outside a reputation, I can’t even figure it out in theory. The football isn’t special, he’s not growing out world-class players, and he’s not making the Nice team better than the sum of their parts like Favre did when he took Nice to the Champions League.
If Arteta is still in the mix after three years, that tells you something. He must be maintaining his rep in the game because the club aren’t excited about him simply because he has really nice hair and a fan blog dedicated to his potential. Huss & co are obviously getting good intel to back up the hype that follows him about in management books, player interviews, and Pep love-ins.
Here’s the thing: I don’t think the decision is that crazy, even if it was, who cares, we need a moonshot to kick-start this 2.0 project. Safe is not a strategy that correlates with our situation. Safe is literally 14 years of Arsene Wenger and 18 months of Emery. Safe is code for meek, stagnant, unoriginal. It just pushes you further away from taking the drastic steps needed to make Arsenal competitive and relevant on a meagre budget.
If Pep Guardiola says Arteta is an excellent analyst that always comes with innovative solutions, that tells you that he’s looking at problems, formulating plans, then executing them with success on the training ground… for a club that won back to back Premier League titles with record-breaking points.
If the press reports are true and he holds most of those training sessions, that tells you that his ideas are good. It also doubles down on the notion that he’s an elite communicator.
Arsenal needs a coach, I think he can be that coach.
Sure, there are parts that he’s going to have to learn. Being the go-to for managing a squad of egos is going to be tough. He’ll be the lonely one in the dugout, but look, he’s not some nutter tactician that hasn’t managed groups of players before, he’s been a captain at two top-level football clubs. Commanding the respect of fellow professional isn’t going to be a steep learning curve.
I also think the club should be able to build experience around him, just like Barcelona did when Pep took over at Camp Nou when he was exactly the same age.
The most valuable thing Arsenal can spend their money on is great ideas because we can’t afford to unload another £200m on players this summer. We have a great group of kids coming through, we will waste their talent if we give them to Carlo (I don’t think we’d go here, but in a fit of panic, he is basically Emery of 2019 after being freshly fired into a narrowed shortlist). We’ll need to reshape the squad in the summer, likely with young kids. They aren’t coming here for an average coach and boring football. We need something to offer them. With the names on offer at the moment, I don’t see anyone in the pack of managers that has a higher ceiling than Arteta.
Take the chance, the season is lost, there is so much to gain in an environment of incredibly low expectations.
Roll the dice, let’s bet on future football.
P.S. Listen to my podcast and 5* rate that bad boy.
Marc
Alas it’s the snowflakes that will vote for Corbyn. Somewhere along the line, the university educated decided that Labour was for the system. So wrong. So so wrong. Isn’t the point of education and getting a degree a means to an end to get a better job and ergo, more money? And ironically under a labour government, you will be punished for getting that nice job and degree.
The only people I see supporting Corbyn are Stormsy the cunt, champagne socialists and toothless hags from Middlesbrough.
GoH
3 day week was under a Heath Government ..you muppet…
Marc
Really? Only on billionaires. Jesus. So the ones with £900,000,000 etc stay the same.
This is why you can’t take this clown seriously.
Yep, every multi millionaire or captain of industry will be gone. And we will be left with Doris and Stan the inbred northern bastards with their 8 eyed children, fat bellies and broken down Astra.
Oh…and loads of terrorists. Don’t forget the terrorists. They have a special place in Corbyns heart.
Leno: Freddie has made us feel free to play.
I am convinced that Freddie is getting advises from Wenger.
Redtruth
Not sure if that was meant to be an insult, but it isn’t.
Oh and I’m not SLANDERING anyone.
I notice you didn’t have any further comments to make on that article which listed plenty and plenty of things that Corbyn has — FOR A FACT — done. Just skimmed over that, did we?
“Safe is literally 14 years of Arsene Wenger and 18 months of Emery. Safe is code for meek, stagnant, unoriginal. It just pushes you further away from taking the drastic steps needed to make Arsenal competitive and relevant on a meagre budget.“ Totally disagree. Safe isn’t Wenger and Emery. Safe is competent management with noticeably steady improvement across the board. Emery safe? Come the fuck on, maybe in some drunk Senior management ideal after a peng PowerPoint, but not in reality. I’ve absolutely no issue with revolutionary, I’ve long championed Arteta, but I don’t dismiss evolutionary either. Arsenal don’t do… Read more »
Akb detected ?? lol
151 billionaires and still the Country is dysfunctional..
The sooner the parasites clear off the better.
It’s dire how rich businesses always take and never contribute to the Country.
Wasi 30 million for this player was an absolute disgrace. A total disgrace. So predictable that he would exacerbate other injuries. So predictable he would not cut the mustard in England . So predictable that he will go back to Scotland. If you think he is physically able- then you are deluded young man. I am not for one moment stating he ain’t cant play the game.He can. But he is a Crock and always will be. I said at the time – you might as well get 30 million and burn it. I was right then. I was right… Read more »
“DM has just become my new favourite poster.”
Love you too, Guns
DM
The Article is bog roll
The Author is obviously someone with an axe to grind.
Red
Go and get a better education or job and work hard.
Not every rich person was born into money. Most actually go and earn it.
You’re the guy who runs a key down a nice car while you’re on your skateboard heading to a fucking speech by that little madam Greta Thunberg.
Guns
If the consequences weren’t so completely apocalyptic it’d almost be worth having him win to watch the meltdown that’d ensue.
Old Labour didn’t work
New Labour lead to illegal wars and the biggest financial meltdown since the great depression.
Corbyn’s Labour destroyed the country. Might as well vote for Putin.
Guns
Spot on
I was trying to start my business in the 70s.
Every six months there was a crisis of some sort.
Labour put more kids in university to lower the unemployment numbers and fill their heads with left wing crap to get more voters.
When Corbyn goes, Marxist Mc Donnell will step in.
Corbyn is not labour he is communist and a very very dangerous individual even if you are staunch labour you can’t possibly vote for that idiot and his defence secretory Dianne Abbott lol……………………lol can you imagine Putin rolling up with the tanks then we roll out Abbott , the ruskis’s would be like shit shit is horrible run run for your lives
Marc
Voting for labour is voting for Putin. He would roll straight into town and take over. Guaranteed.
3 million unemployed under Tharcher….lol 1980’s made the 1970’s look like nirvana
Spanish
I hope you managed to succeed in whatever it is you tried!
Abbott has been inciting race wars since the 80’s in Hackney and Tottenham. She has always pitted whites against blacks. Poisonous.
Marc
It’s bollock
They all give it that when they are trying to get in
In the fantasy land where Jeremey Corbyn becomes prime minister labour would immediately tax the squeezed middle. It’s what they do. Jack up prices on everything
Increase benefits, increase pay for civil servants and wave in millions more of benefit scammers
We already know 75% of a certain demographic are unemployed so why would we vote for a party who want more?
I cannot wait for tomorrow
Xmas come early
Putin is Trump’s best mate..
Why is that fat blob Johnson sitting on the Russia report.
I tell you why because it’s damning and shows the Tory party is funded by the Kremlin
3 day week was under a Heath Government ..you muppet…
———————–
Ain’t no coming back from that!
Un na naai
The only squeezing will be to your fat gut.
Now jog on lol
Good to see the political views are as dribbly as the football ones from some on here.
Pedro get a deal brokered with Crayola so a few of these guys can put a lid on it.
DM mentioning slander is interesting.
If Corbyn hasn’t done any of the things the so called right wing media have accused him of why hasn’t he sued for libel?
The Telegraph ran a huge front page spread last Friday accusing Corbyn of anti-Semitism with several pages following up inside.
If it isn’t true he’d be able to sue for hundreds of thousands and clear his name at the same time.
Guns I did thanks, it was due to hard work and determination that I enjoy retirement now. I have never received any benefits, never had an overdraft and no mortgage. Some of these guys need to live in a socialist country which most of the EU is. In Spain, they never finish anything, corruption is rife, taxes aren’t collected, the country is a mess. They now turn all the street lights off at night to save money and this has been the case for 5 years now. When the police arrest the Minister of Finance for corruption as the did… Read more »
Dave
What industry were you in?
Hey guys, wassup, apart politic ??
The porn industry
Do we really want a coward for PM
Johnson shits his nappy at the prospect of facing Andrew Neil, what’s he going to do when facing Putin…
David icke is a world leading authority on lizard people…….
Red
Corbyn shat himself when asked if he watched the queens speech.
Personally I think it’s more a coach / manager issue. What’s Edu doing really? Have you heard from him lately? Even high level fluffy philosophical bs? None. Manifested thru the coach? Hope not based on what’s on display. If AFC likes to talk values I seriously believe Raul is toxic to AFC environment on many fronts. The obvious one being scouting Do we scout anymore or some via calls or emails between Raul and Mendes/ Kia?? Absolute bs. If media reports are to be believed can’t have a better example than the Luiz deal. If scouting isn’t done properly what’s… Read more »
@Red : so much more interesting!! lol
Marc
I was an Architect.
Redtruth get a life mate rudeness and slander get you nowhere other than where you are now in the gutter.
Johnson lied to the Queen…
“Have you heard from him lately?”
You mean, what has he done for us lately ?? (Janet Jackson approved)
GoH
Are you still going to vote for the antisemite Johnson, or are you what I suspect you are, a hypocrite.
The irony that neither Boris nor Corbyn are fit to be prime minister is apparently lost on almost everyone
The UK is at risk of being left at the mercy of the EU in its trading relationship in a year’s time after Donald Trump engineered the shutdown of the World Trade Organization’s top court.
The US president’s refusal to approve the appointment or reappointment of any judges on the appellate body has left it unable to function.
From midnight on Wednesday, the WTO court will no longer adjudicate on trade disputes, putting the world at risk of a free trade free-for-all in which the largest blocs have greater freedom to use their economic weight to do as they wish.
China1
Don’t lump Corbyn in with Johnson
It’s clear Johnson is unstable.
“The irony that neither Boris nor Corbyn are fit to be prime minister is apparently lost on almost everyone”
Not lost on me at all. Unfortunately it’s a case of the lesser of two evils. Quite literally.
Guys, not a politics blog.
DM
“Not lost on me at all. Unfortunately it’s a case of the lesser of two evils. Quite literally.”
It’s not though is it, Johnson could fondle your missus and shit in your face and you’d still vote for the buffoon
the amount Arsenal waste on ridiculous over rated players is abhorrent and more importantly totally immoral. ( pre and post Wenger)
Classic ball bag defending by another soggy scrotum. We’ll just forget the hundreds of millions he pissed away shall we
🤦🏻♂️
A Labour government has never left power in it’s history with a lower unemployment rate.
But it has left an enormous national debt several times !
P.s.
There’s no money left !
Wrong website it seems
“Guys, not a politics blog”
No shit ?? lol
Tierney out for up to THREE months.
We signed a player that was not fully fit.
Very disappointing
Plato
Many countries don’t have Royal families and are up shit street. Your point?
If there’s no money left I’m curious how Boris will fund his spending plans
Corbyn hates Arsenal. He said so back in 1998 after the double.
When asked by the local paper if he was happy he had this to say “I hate Arsenal and every single one of its stinking supporters”.
You would be voting for someone who hates Arsenal. I think Boris supports Peterborough or some other harmless club.
Many countries still don’t have electricity or running water, what’s your point?
Plato
That was mental. Really cray cray.
Tierney came to us with a hernia or hip problem and he’s now got a dislocated shoulder injury. They’re not connected in the slightest. Neither makes him injury prone
Yawn, are we still talking politics?
If I want to hear people shouting slogans at each other I just have to turn on the telly. The whole point of frequenting a football blog like Le Grove is to escape generally nonsensical and very poor quality political “debate”.
Pedro, I’m all for free speech, but can you put some Sharia Law in place and shut these sloganeers down – just until the election is over.
What do we want? Arsenal chat!
When do we want it? NOW!
Two different injuries but we signed Tierney injured, okay.
Guns,
For fuck’s sake, cut it out.
Right, I’m checking out, Le Grove is now officially a football-free zone.
Oh yeah I recall that now!
Am I still in moderation?
WOB
Arteta in. Better?
Two different injuries but we signed Tierney injured, okay.
He passed his medical
Tierney passed out during his medical. The twat.
Marko, once again you are drawn into the gravity of my awesomeness. You can’t help yourself.
I think your actually getting famous by being in my orbit. Well done you.
Marko, Guns is an elite mind. Show some respect.
Sharia law enacted.
Let’s move on and talk about Freddie’s grey beard.
Peter agreed.
As a man with less hair than I started life with…balding and a beard is too hard to pull off. One gets that upside down look going on. Not cool.
FL has a good shaped head.
Guns of HackneyDecember 11, 2019 09:15:48
Forget his promises. This country would fall within five years. Sharia law would rule and your freedoms as you know it would cease to exist. He’s a communist.
Elite mind alright. You’re just saying that because he’s incessant about Arteta as well
Anyway on to Arsenal it seems like Arteta or Paddy will get the gig if Poch says no. Don Carlo it seems is too old according to Ornstein.
Ozil and xhakalson are Tories, yet to find acceptance for their diminished status.
Tierney came to us with a hernia or hip problem and he’s now got a dislocated shoulder injury. They’re not connected in the slightest. Neither makes him injury prone
If he’s had several injuries in a short time then he could be said to be injury prone.
Question is whether he is a weak and feeble guy or has a tendency towards certain injuries, such as muscle tears…
Woah.
People get wound up too easily.
Relax. You’ll live longer.
lol Martine.
So much hate. The irony.
I think Peter was having a bit of fun and you have imploded. The hypertension you’re feeling will eat you alive. Get on a vegetarian diet, run, cycle and listen to good music.
Peace.
Xhakalson not available for man c means the worst is a draw theres a chance we win.
You heard it here 1st
Pedro & Arteta sitting on a tree K I S S I N G🎤
Pierre claiming Martinelli’s general play is nothing special.
I’m starting to think there should be a retirement age for football supporters.
Pierre’s football awareness seems to have expired.
Martinelli is the only attacker we have who can press, who really joins in the defensive work and who deploys a positive energy into the game at heights well above others’.
And he scores!
To question such an 18 year old suggests it’s time you started following golf or darts.
@GoH : let it go, she nose best.
“break into your house and have my way with your family”
I’m with you on this, Guns!! lol
Rafa had a good advise to our team during his Monday night football commentary. The defense and midfield have to stay closer together, ie. more compact. If we have Luiz keeps moving back and our midfielder running around to chase the ball, it would open up a big gap in our defense.
DMDecember 11, 2019 12:27:08
“No one is mad at any country. People are mad at people being oppressed.”So you blame Zionism for people being oppressed?Let’s just assume for a second that all your criticisms of Israel are 100% correct.Do you also blame –
Islam for Islamic extremism / terrorism?
Ireland for the IRA?
Football for hooliganism?The latter would be surprising seeing as you’re here on a football blog.Now what if all your assumptions about Israeli oppression are not quite as accurate as you think?
Hooligans not just in football should be called out.
“Oh shut the fuck up Normski/Auberginecunt
You’re not fooling anyone with your name changes, a cunt will always be a cunt, and you’re incapable of contributing anything but insults and idiocy so easily spotted.“
Elite irony.
Pedro
You heard any gossip about potential incomings for Jan?
Atletico having a wobble could open a door perhaps.. no party without a Partey.
Freddie, you need to spend less time commenting on other people.
CC, nothing. I think we are broke, so don’t expect major moves. The fact Edu didn’t have a shortlist tells you how prepared he is for anything at the moment
Gentlebris, Pierre owned you on Emery.
Pedro
That was my suspicion, thought at a push we might be angling to ship out and ship in a replacement for Xhaka/Torreira with the various issues they’ve had. Maybe even binning Auba to Madrid and preying on their desperate nature as a club idk.
New gaffer the whole hog then, that’s fine so long as they get it right.
Somewhere, a 20 year old masquerading as a 70 year old just popped a semi.
Pedro
Ah yes, sorry, should be busy extolling the virtues of Arteta the magic lego haired god so I can have a free pass instead. Smh.
CC, I think that’s likely the only scenario… but I wouldn’t be shocked to see another Jan like the last one. Wait until the summer then see what the damage is
Freddie, just give in… let Arteta happen to you.
Pedro I’m not against that so long as we lay it on the table with a new manager. Do that and the second half of the season is redeem or bust for a lot of guys in the side so we’ll see an upturn to ride out the season. If we somehow managed to win the EL we could in many ways abolish the shower that’s been the last 18 months. Suitable excellent leadership adopted of course after that…err…learning curve. Will 10/10 be excited if we draft in Arteta and he dishes up a genuine outline for the club in… Read more »
As long as we don’t have to let him come into us…
We do love an oddball loan in Jan though, where’s benayoun these days? Get your boots lad..
Pedro I’m honestly not as bothered with who becomes manager, whoever it is I’ll back him until it’s clear he can’t do the job. Even if it is Arteta, one of my least favourite players in the latter Wenger years. I’m more concerned with the rebuild of the squad, it’s only halfway done since the shambles of Wenger and if we don’t buy in January it doesn’t matter who we appoint as manager. Our midfield and defence is relegation quality and with Tierney now out for 3 months it’s looking even worse. Pepe, Holding, Bellerin all doubts for Man City… Read more »
CC, Arteta could be magic.
Not buying the Ornstein latest, no way are we rolling Freddie until the end of the season.
Would be flatlined by Paddy…
Gentlebris “Martinelli is the only attacker we have who can press, who really joins in the defensive work and who deploys a positive energy into the game at heights well above others ,and he scores” If you had said that he also assists then you would be total agreement with me I suggest you have a look back at what I actually said originally and my comment was all to do with being in possession of the ball not in the final 3rd. Martinelli or Pepe receiving the ball on the half way line with their back to the goal… Read more »
I’m still a bit undecided about my vote direction tomorrow. I’ve obviously taken into account what I consider to be the following swaying points on the two main parties. On one hand the Conservative Boris Johnson is a bit of a rascal with the ladies and can bend the truth a bit,he’ also a bit posh. And on the other hand… Labours Jeremy Corbyn. Invited two IRA members to Parliament two weeks after the Brighton bombing. Attended Bloody Sunday commemerationwith bomber Brendan McKenna. Attended meeting with Provisional IRA member Raymond MCCartney. Hosted IRA linked Mitchell McLaughlin in Parliament. Spoke alongside… Read more »
Pedro
“Not buying the Ornstein latest, no way are we rolling Freddie until the end of the season.”
Is that insight or “I’m not sure I can handle 6 months of speculation”!