I don’t want to toot my own horn over here, but I basically learned to mix sound like Jimmy Lovine yesterday.
Yes, I apologise, I made a hash of the volume in the podcast yesterday… but I have just learned how to fix it and combat white noise at the same time.
Go on, listen to the podcast right now and sue me for blowing your ears off because it’s so damn loud and pristine.
It’s nice to learn, but maybe not nice to have to listen to a podcast for the second time in a row… but please, do your job today and listen to it for a second time.
One of the sections of the podcast we talk about modern managers and why some of the older legends of the game are struggling to cut it in 2020. There was a great piece in The Times at the weekend that basically eviscerated the idea that young players care about the history of the club they are at, citing OGS constantly harking back to the 90s to spark something in his United players. It said he takes them to weekly quizzes… it’s so pathetically disconnected, it makes me a little sad.
‘Come on boys, I’ve got a terrific quiz for you today’
‘Don’t tut Pogba, I brought some of that rap music you like.
‘Jessie’
*OGS performs BIG dab*
‘I’ll see you at 5, bring the Wotsits’
The long and short is basically what I’ve been saying on here for a long time. The idea that a reputation for winning trophies in the past as marker for future success is fatally flawed. Players aren’t interested in reputation these days, that’s for fans and journos that think a bollocking fixes terminal decline in football teams.
The currency of modern football is ideas and vision. These young players coming through now want to know how to improve on the pitch and in the mind. You have to engage them with far softer kid gloves than you did in the past, and you have to be able to speak modern football.
The cultural reference is modern technology and what it has allowed these players to experience from their bedrooms.
Growing up was FIFA and Championship manager for me. It wasn’t to the level of complexity it is now, but I distinctly remember wasting disgusting amounts of my time waiting for the PC to load a season of Champ Man. I knew every player in the world, I knew the formations, I knew how transfer windows worked, I knew ballpark wages, I knew dates of birth by memory, I knew every player that was worth knowing in Europe because Champ Man has a legit scouting network. I was hooked, like a Champ Man smackhead. It literally fucked my education.
The thing that was missing through my era of gamification was the ability to watch the players. I knew Saviola, Bobby Pires, Henry and Bakircioglu (if you know, you know) were going to be big, but I had to wait for a World Cup to see them. Or be around for live tune-in on TransWorld Sport.
Fast forward to now, the kids can play FIFA and Champ Man, and actually watch the players they’re scouting in the games. These footballers are growing up experiencing tactical systems in games. They’re keeping abreast of the best footballers in the world because anyone they like has a highlights comp some nerd 14-year-old has made for them. Players have never been so educated.
The same is true of the kid fans. The obsessives can watch 2nd Division Brazilian football with 3 clicks of a mouse if they so choose. The entire world of football is available on Youtube.
So when Jose Mourinho comes into training and asks these players to play a cynical version of the game because he knows what’s going on, they don’t believe him. They don’t want to shithouse like they used to. They want to get better as players and Jose can’t offer that in 2020. The only way he can deliver a Premier League winning side is to buy it, but no one wants to invest in his methodology because it’s horrible.
Now, Arteta might turn out to be a duffer. But he’s getting more out of the Arsenal players than Carlo or Jose would have had out of them. He’s bringing them another level we straight up didn’t know existed. He knows each individual as a person, he knows their strengths and weaknesses, and he knows how to make them better in the context of the modern game. That’s what players buy into in 2020. Nerds.
The casual mocking of ‘this isn’t <insert game>” in 2020 starts to look increasingly ridiculous. Those games are driving up the knowledge of the players, sparking different sorts of conversations on the training ground, and requiring a different type of coach to manage the lust for improvement.
It’s very exciting and it makes me very happy to know we have a manager that probably dabbled in FIFA and Champ Man… because, you know, it basically means I could be a manager, right?
Ok, maybe not, but it’s interesting to see how gaming culture is impacting football in 2020.
Check out Drew. No fucking around. Cease and desist letter in the post from Adidas. Elite wedding attire stealthiness regardless!
Had to do a little something special for my wedding tux #arsenal pic.twitter.com/eIkxaonn6Bh
— Drew (@DrewW13) January 13, 2020
Right, listen to the fucking podcast, leave me a 5* review praising the volume and get to work, there are bills to pay.
x
Marko
Were we supposed to not stand with him though? It’s not like he contributed nothing before he caught fire either, he was well worth persisting with. Scored a lot of very important goals for us in those earlier seasons.
If anything that would make you sympathise with him given how he probably knew he had a very short window of opportunity to win silverware given his body breaking down on him. Combine that with the club making it crystal clear that we wouldn’t be competing anytime at all in the near future.
Charlie Yeah Suarez is in any conversation involving peak ability. Arguably tops it, certainly put together the best individual PL season I’ve ever seen from a player. Do you think that Aguero can touch Al’s record? I don’t see it because he would have to remain Citeh’s starting CF well into his 30s and Gabriel Jesus will take the mantle within the next year or two. His next move will be away from the PL, probably Spain or even Italy. Simeone would snap his cock off for Aguero. He should be sitting in outright third by the end of the… Read more »
” I don’t see it because he would have to remain Citeh’s starting CF well into his 30s and Gabriel Jesus will take the mantle within the next year or two”
Talk about a downgrade in terms of ability. Good goal scorer Gabriel but not really in the same class
Weagle
No I don’t think so because with the greatest of respect to Shearer, Aguero plays for a team that will not indulge a drop in quality. He’ll be moved on while warm to replenish, that’ll put a stop to it imo.
Actually think he’s off this summer with Silva and Fernandinho. Big rebuild.
Were we supposed to not stand with him though?
No we were. Again I don’t blame him for leaving at all I just can’t help but wonder why he didn’t try leaving during any of those injury hit seasons. It hurt but I understood it. He literally had one good season at United too before it was back to niggling injuries.
RH
Jesus isn’t Aguero but he’s quality in his own right. Father time will catch up with Sergio soon, it has to. He’s 32 in June and he’s been playing at the top level since he was 18 and he had already been banging them in one a couple of years in Argentina at that stage.
Charlie
I don’t see it happening this summer, more likely the one after when he’s 33.
He’s still an elite CF. Who could you buy in Europe this summer that’s an upgrade?
Citeh’s problems have been at the back, much more likely we see a huge re-shuffle there imo.
I can see City targeting Lautaro Martínez to replace Aguero. Big bucks in the summer before Barcelona think about signing him.
Just read Arsenal wants aubamayang three -match ban reduced
Lautaro will be special but he’s not ready for Citeh just yet. Not as consistent or technically refined as Aguero is.
He needs to crispen up the passing before Pep entertains a move for him. 57% pass success in Serie A, Pep would dry retch looking at that.
Weagle I think they’ll sell depending on the market, they cant finance themselves to the degree they have forever, and Silva/Fernandinho wont be bringing in heaps. Aguero wont have a superior on the market but they could buy the next thing for similar money that they’d get for him and freshen up the side as a whole. Depends on what happens with their squad in general, they’re at the end of a cycle imo and if Guardiola is staying he’ll likely want a refresh to invigorate the place that looks to have gotten a bit too comfortable. Aguero, Silva, Fernandinho,… Read more »
Arsenal have appealed the 3-game ban for Auba’s red card suspension.
Arsenal believe that replays made Aubameyang’s challenge look much worse than it was.
hmmmm…cough
Is there a penalty for appealing and it doesnt work?
Guns of SF
There’s an extra game ban if it’s deemed a ludicrous appeal
Arsenal wil pint out to the long delay for VAR to make a determination before even calling it a red car to argue that it’s not worthy of a 3 game ban
That and all the other nasty challenges that didn’t go beyond a yellow card over the weekend. Henderson had a nasty challenge on that Spuds debutante [can’t recall his name] that was worse than Auba’s challenge.
Football manager does not make you smarter. Hot take
*Arsenal will opint out to the long delay for VAR to make a determination before even calling it a red card to argue that it’s not worthy of a 3 game ban.
If Auba gets a 4 gamer then we are fucked for sure.
Martinelli needs to rise up
Jordan Henderson English player of the year.
Arsenal believe that replays made Aubameyang’s challenge look much worse than it was.
hmmmm…cough
I mean they don’t want to lose someone who is responsible for 48% of our goals in the premier league they’re desperate. What’s your excuse
we should NOT appeal this.
Auba nearly broke the kids ankle
on accident of course. but lets show some realism here.
DO NOT APPEAL
Marko
Viewing it from an ultra-partisan lenses …a.k.a football fan.
More so one that has seen similar challenged not get as much punishment.
Guns of SF
..Like when Son’s tackle actually led to a REAL ankle fracture-dislocation and Spuds won the appeal to reduce his ban.
Gooners are a precious breed
Hahaha
Ok lets appeal- would be interesting to see what happens….
Arteta needs to be careful in that he doesn’t turn into an Emery clone and puts too much emphasis on work , press and running stats. We have been down this road before when Emery first arrived when fans were over impressed with the tremendous work ethic of the players , and then it all blew up in his face as players couldn’t keep up the pace and they picked up muscle injuries. Being aggressive all over the pitch is all well and good, but it must be done with intelligence. The tackle by Aubameyang at the weekend was anything… Read more »
Viewing it from an ultra-partisan lenses …a.k.a football fan.
Oh so biased and stupid. Not quite a gotcha moment for you Dissenter. As has been said it was a red if it happened to an Arsenal player you’d likely throw your skirt up over your head in disgust. Notice that we’re appealing the length of the ban and not the red itself. Interesting. Something for you to mull over
We have zero chance of winning the appeal.
Hey Pedders am I correct in thinking we’ve missed the chance to buy Upamecano (Barcelona?) and Soumare (Real?) Or do you think we are contenders for them?
Finally some consistency from Pierre. Now to address your issue Pierre. The EPL has changed a who lot in the last two years and it’s flush with cash so lower level teams tend to have a mixture of technical and hardworking players. In the past especially in the early Wenger years, the lower level teams did not have the technical talent except they went the Sam Alladyce route at Bolton of getting technical players past their prime so it was easy for the top teams to get away without the hard work. Can you imagine a player like Grealish at… Read more »
Azed
I’m not sure what you are waffling on about there but it had nothing to do with my comment .
For you to say ” The only advantage the big teams have is squad size.” Is a very naive comment.
Personally, I put it down to the quality of the players that give them the advantage.
Grealish will be gone next season.
Un
It’s a 3 game ban for a red ..unless the rules have changed.
Auba is not a dirty player but he recklessly endangered an opponent. That is a straight red card and I don’t think we are going to win any appeal. I understand why we are doing it considering he has been our only reliable goal scorer but Nobody is going to sympathize with us.
Henry for finesse, Suarez for sheer will, aguero for being a sharp hitman as the best center forwards the league has seen. Shearer Drogba get honourable mentions for me.
..Like when Son’s tackle actually led to a REAL ankle fracture-dislocation and Spuds won the appeal to reduce his ban.
You’re really fucking dense if you think that. Son was carded because of the injury hence it was overturned because the actual tackle caused Gomes to collide with Aurier and get injured.
You’re really doing your utmost to replace Bamford as biggest contrarian and gobshite on here. What was it again Out-Xhaka-rist? Brilliant stuff
“Personally, I put it down to the quality of the players that give them the advantage.”
The gap in quality between the top teams and the bottom is reducing. Teams like Norwich are playing out from the back even though they are relegation candidates.
UTD paid 80M for Maguire and he’s not someone you would class as a generational talent.
I don’t think Auba is a dirty player, he’s not even a physical player. I don’t think his red card tackle was deliberate, but it was a straight red all day long. Why it took so long to come to that decision in the VAR review is due to the clowns employed by PGMOL. Don’t even get me started on the lack of consistency within a match by the same referee, let alone between different officials. VAR is good, the standard of refereeing in England is shite. Where else would VAR pitchside monitors not be used and large screen VAR… Read more »
Ruben Neves at Wolves would be a starter at Arsenal and to get him, we would have to use 90% of our transfer funds.
A few years ago, it would be hard pressed to see anyone at Wolves let alone a midfield that would walk into Arsenal and be a starter.
Same Ruben Neves would be a fantastic addition to the big 6 and this is he’s second season at Wolves.
Azed
Now you are talking
Wolves mids are impresssive.
For me its Diogo Jota. What a player
Pierre
We have zero chance of winning the appeal?
You won’t know that unless you 100% make the appeal in the first place
Marko
Stop yammering about like an utter lunatic
I have the Wenger-brand of lenses. You come apart so easily.
Azed
The elite clubs have always cherry picked the best talent from mid and lower table teams, and always will.
The lower teams do have money , but if a player has a chance of playing for city or liverpool or whoever is the top side , he will leave .
The only real time that Arsenal could have signed any player in the world was after the invincibles year, but we missed the opportunity to become the best club side in Europe due to lack of ambition from the ownership.
Azed
“The gap in quality between the top teams and the bottom is reducing.”
That being the case, why are teams winning the title recently with record points total.
Dissenter
“You won’t know that unless you 100% make the appeal in the first place”
I do know that .
Pierre’s right on this one – it was a straight red and a bad challenge. We need to take it on the chin.
I just hope the FA don’t see the appeal as frivolous and add a match to the 3 match ban.
we are not fighting the red itself but the duration of the ban
So we will say 2 games instead of 3 plus the history of the player, intent, etc.
was this intentional violent malicious play? nah
Guns
Doesn’t matter a jot – it was a bad challenge end of.
Yea Marc- as I said we are to appeal it but lessen the ban.
Most likely will not work – although if it does- Im not complanin!
Arsenal can try but it was a straight red challenge unfortunately.
Was it just me or did anyone else wonder how Ayew wasn’t booked during the Palace game, at least 2 fouls on Torreira from behind and a couple of other fouls in the first half alone if I recall correctly.
Lacazette was then booked on his second challenge I believe. Reffing is still shocking overall in the PL. It is the consistency(or lack of) that is one of the worst things.
IF we are talking about the shitty incompetence of the reffing, might as well throw in the lack of diversity as well.
Utterly shocking in this day and age….
But then again, given the racial abuse being the way it is, I can understand why as well… there is a lack of persons of color reffing.
Chris
Ayew 7 fouls …no card
AMN carded for his first(innocuous) challenge.
Say no more.
Guns
Do you remember Uriah Rennie, great ref but also a black belt in a martial art, not many messed around with him.
Maybe lack of diversity would be a good thing if all refs were at least 6’6 and ex UFC cage fighters who could all give the state like Collina used to. I suspect we would see a reduction in the back chat.
Guns of SF
I’d prefer to look at the lack of refs south of Watford than worry about what colour they are.
Pierre
Yep, thought it was something like 7 fouls by Ayew. Then he goes a gets a flukey goal and man of the match!
Did anyone else notice during the Spud v Liverpool match that the Spud’s were advertising tickets for tonight at £20 for adults £10 for kids?
They are not getting the demand for tickets they thought they would.
I see female line refs but not anyone main ref as non white.
its not like there are no people qualified… so other reasons for sure.
Maybe its the old boys network after all…
?
Marc have they even had a sell out at their new ground yet?
Also a little strange by today’s standards that they haven’t got a sponsor for the naming rights yet
Come on the Boro
Chris
Not that I’ve seen in fact most attendances I have seen are at least 2000 – 3000 below or more. They also screwed their fans in the move by taking the 2 cup credits (we get 7) off of season tickets.
The media keeps playing Levy’s game on the stadium rights – “I haven’t done a deal yet because I’m waiting for a special one” which actually means no one will pay what I want.
There are two potential appeal routes
The first is against the red card it’s very very unlikely that there is any chance that the red card would be rescinded. That said there is precedent this season.
The second is when you admit the red card but appeal against the length of the ban on the basis that the offence doesn’t justify a 3 game ban .
It’s an either or but you can’t use the second route unless you accept the reds card
Few built new stadium to be elite.
We ain’t in top 10 world earners.
We should focus on football then the money will come.
“Arteta feels he has a strong squad, especially when players come back from injury. ”
Gross
Marko
What’s gross about?
The fact remains We ain’t buying shit this window.
So, your expect him to come out and start crying?
What’s left of the season is to find a way of not regressing further.
Oeinsten added that the main buying comes next summer and he expects arsenal will be very active.
Besides, you once made jest of oeinsten that he knows next to nothing when it comes to transfer.
Why has changed this time around or is there any direct quote from Arteta?
*what has changed*
What’s gross about?
That the current Arsenal manager apparently thinks we have a strong squad.
Marko
What exactly do you expect any manager to publicly say?
Your M.O is to window shop and cry out loudly every transfer window.
Auba’s red was a red card all day long.
Let’s stop gaming the system with petty appeals and just accept what was a blatantly correct decision
Arsenal not wanting auba to be banned in no way negates the fact that he committed a clearly dangerous tackle that (if the ref sees it clearly) is going to be a red card every day of the week
Just accept it and move on arsenal. The appeal and moaning feels very petty to me
And whether or not auba is a nice guy who would never do it on purpose doesn’t matter. He did it. And the only evidence you need to see of how dangerous it was was the guy couldn’t even play on from the pain. His ankle could’ve been broken. I don’t blame auba. It was an accident. But let’s call a spade a spade. Terrible, dangerous tackle, injuring opponent = straight red ban for a few games. Let’s stick to appealing the genuinely bs decisions rather than trying to game the system because we’re disappointed or because auba has a… Read more »
Aussie Gooner Thanks for the bush fires info. Many years ago I worked in Brisbane on a short 6 month consultancy contract, but didn’t have time to travel elsewhere although my Thai wife did her Masters in Melbourne. My daughter is on a 5-year double degree program with the remaining 18 months in Melbourne after 3.5 years at a top Bangkok International uni, which she’s really looking forward to. She’s no stranger to travelling after graduating from a West Lafayette high school in the US. Her intention is to end up working in the west in the aerospace engineering field… Read more »
Like I mentioned previously, there is scope to appeal against 3 game ban. Marc said stupid suggestion, he couldn’t look at it objectively. Same tackle at same height, even more rash happens nearly every other game. Difference being it would be on front ankle and they get yellow card. Auba connected in side ankle so Meyer was worse off, so red card for that game was fair enough. FA may reject it but there is scope for Arsenal to appeal. Robertson slide in at full pace after losing control of the ball against that new RB of Spuds and made… Read more »
After watching this I had to ask if it’s Don’s daughter as he’s always going on about being related to the Irish and his love of booze.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-2078062/Video-Six-year-old-girl-pleads-mother-demands-pub.html
And unrelated to Auba incident, VAR shouldn’t be allowed to check fouls on slow motion. Especially while checking for penalty, slow motion always exaggerate contact.
I am glad that the vast majority of Grovers recognise that Auba’s tackle was a straight red; reffing inconsistency aside.
Shows that we have not devolved into something Stoke-ish.
Rumour has it Arsenal are interested in AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie. Anyone know anything about this? And Manchester United have reportedly completed a deal to sign Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly in a deal worth just over £60m but it won’t happen until the summer.
Abu’s was a straight red card, it was not intentional but that doesn’t count. Here in Australia in the AFL if an appeal against suspension is rejected an extra game ban is added on – it’s the risk you take. However previous behaviour is also taken into account and something like that would work in Abu’s favour! If there are no negative consequenses for an appeal then go for it.
Tony
Your daughter is certainly a global citizen! Best wishes for her future.
And “Tottenham Hotspur are close to confirming Gedson Fernandes as Jose Mourinho’s first signing. Super agent Jorge Mendes, who is sorting the deal, was in attendance as Spurs beat Middlesbrough.”
If Robertson did a worse tackle without a red that’s a bad decision in that game and not related to auba’s
The problem frankly is that the officiating is gutter piss and those responsible can’t even be trusted to make basic decisions watching frame by frame slowmo replays for 3 mins at a time
As long as we have human officiating and judgment, bs decisions will remain commonplace
All this talk in the media now about spurs being the richest team in London what a crock of shit lol Revenue is one thing, what about stadium repayments eating into their profits? If they don’t come top 4 (very possible) and don’t win the CL (never gonna happen) they will fall into an immediate death spiral that can only be remedied by selling some of their valuable players. Unless they unearth more cheap gems, they’ll be weaker for it and end up finding it harder to get back into the top 4 next season. Don’t let a couple of… Read more »
Spurs being rich is the same as you buying a £5m house with a 95% mortgage on a relatively short repayment schedule and saying look I must be rich!!!
Spurs will sell to buy and with that comes no guarantees of even maintaining existing levels let alone improving
I really hope Eriksen gets a good free transfer offer for next summer soon so that he does a Ramsey and walks away for nothing
That would be lovely
Aussi Gooner
https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/arsenal-franck-kessie-transfer-milan-21280664
I read this earlier and was wondering why we’d be in competition with West Ham?
As for my daughter, most of my working life has been around the globe culminating with me leaving the UK to live in S E Asia 20 years ago.
My own wife company (oil & gas and Bio fuels) mans she is often in Europe and America as well as Asian countries.
Runs in the family I guess.
Bit like you being a fellow Londoner – and you living/working in West Australia.
Would expect nothing less Don from your wife and your good self.
However from previous posts it would seem that your moral compass doesn’t extend to being racist, hammered, booze, drugs and hookers. The needle goes wonky with those directions.
Did I remember them all or miss any?
Maybe Freddie and Marko could add some.