Well hello there, how are you?
I looked back on the Thomas Partey performance. My word. Have we finally found the player we’ve been looking for for 18 months? I think we might have. What a sensational performance. If you can do it against City, you can do it against any team in the world. He was so dominant. People have showed me the rage when I’ve said he’s like Patrick Vieira in the past, and sure, I’m just a bum on a keyboard… but when Gilberto Silva is saying it, stfu and pay attention. That man is a god, what he says, goes.
The shame is we’ll be missing him for Spurs. Sambi has to step in a do a job there. A great young player, but it’ll be hard to truly replicate the form of Thomas. Still, it is what it is, at least we know we’re getting a world-class player back. Let’s hope Ghana have a poor tournament despite OUTRAGEOUS goals and assists from our guy.
I think it’s kind of outrageous that teams like Watford and Napoli are trying to catch out countries on technicalities when it comes to losing their players. AFCON is a pain in the backside because they play it midseason, but when you buy African players, you have to price it in. Taking away a players call-up privilege is cruel, disrespectful, and for me… I’d say it’s basically cheating. There’s no class in it. The press should report on it the same way they would if Spurs pulled Harry Kane out of a major tournament.
You know what else I find outrageous?
That every Premier League ref is white.
‘but that isn’t the biggest issue’
Sure, shit standards is the biggest issue, but the fact there is no Black or Asian refs in the elite is a symptom of a very sick organisation. Why? It shows a total lack of awareness. The Premier League from a players perspective is 25% to 33% depending on where you find your stats. How can there be ZERO refs that are non-white?
… because refs are NOT accountable to anyone. They don’t need to care.
Don’t trot out the ‘well maybe the quality isn’t there’, because I’ve been looking at collection of bums running games for 20 years. If you can have inept white men reffing games, why do we need to have exceptional non-white people in the mixer? That’s the wrong way to look at it. Why can’t we have exceptional refs that reflect the UK? It cannot be that hard.
Back to it. The lack of self-awareness is the biggest issue with referees. Look at that Chelsea game last night. How does Mane get away with a vicious elbow to the face… again? Why do referees not understand the players they are managing. Mane behaves like that all the time. Why do refs not have a dossier that says ‘keep an eye out of faux Mane accidents, and send him off if he does it.’
Because when you aren’t accountable to anyone, you don’t need to worry about improving. Referees don’t get sacked. Consistent poor performances that spotlight names actually seem to enhance their post-game careers.
The whole setup needs burning down. It is rotten. Average. Unfit for purpose.
The Premier League should create a Premier Referees Association.
If they can consider a breakaway league, burn PGMOL to the ground and create an elite entity. How hard can it be? If the compensation was £10m, it’d be worth it. I’d chip in, you would as well.
Here’s some ideas for what do do when you build it back.
Raise the pay of all referees so the money is elite.
Why is the cash £100,000 a year? That is peanuts compared to the players. Only a real weirdo takes 10 years of pure abuse for a payout that low. We get shit politicians because the money is poor. When you up the cash, better people compete, standards rise. Make it a career worth engaging in. Also, I don’t think refs are corrupt, but I do think bad pay in a rich game makes refs very, very easy targets.
Make the Premier League starting salary £500,000.
Create KPIs based on being anonymous and making GOOD decisions. Create a bonus pot of £250,000.
Then do something wild. Give the best referees higher wages. Go up to £1,000,000. The better you are, the more money you earn… and being great is all about making the best decisions.
Ok, so we are all wanting to be a referee right now? How about some other basics.
- Make it easier to get into refereeing. Have Pierluigi Colina create a University course you can go on. Build out standards at grassroots level. Show people a simple path. Someone tweeted me yesterday that is it really hard to know how to get into it because the process is so opaque.
- Open refereeing up to foreign refs. How can we honestly say there’s no bias in the game when refs mostly come from the north? The Premier League is the best because we embraced the idea that foreign talent lifts the standards of everyone.
- Punish poor performers. I don’t want to see the same refs fucking up big games every season. Sack people. This is elite level sport and the people running the game face zero consequences for being shit.
- Make all refs speak to the press after the game and turn their microphones in-game on so we know what is going on. If you never have to explain yourself, it’s easy to be a show pony. Mic them up to fans IN the ground can here what is going on. Accountability to a microphone is a behaviour controller.
- Create a ‘no drama’ policy. Too many elite refs think they are part of the show because they are egomaniacs. I don’t want to know the name of any ref, ever. I don’t want their shitty decisions to ruin games. I don’t want to look at how certain refs treat us poorly and think there’s bias. I don’t want to read a player say refs shit talk about players weaknesses. The lack of professionalism some of them show is truly staggering.
- Encourage explayers to join the game. Our refs don’t get gamesmanship and it’s a painful, painful blindspot. Expros know. Put them in the game. In the VAR room.
- Have Sky feed the replays in. I read that the VAR refs didn’t have all the angles for the Xhaka foul. Why? Because refs are running the camera angles and they have no clue.
- Improve tech. Do they have an in-game Opta for refs? Is anyone keeping a running tab of rotational fouling? Someone tracking the severity of a challenge? A tool that could indicate the severity of a challenge based on where it happens and how hard it was using historical data? I shouldn’t have to ask questions like: Why do big clubs get better decisions? Why do big players get better treatment? Why does reputation impact a decision? Why did United get so many penalties? Why do Arsenal have so many more red cards than other clubs? If data says certain teams and players get better treatment, that should be drilled into refs heads.
- ‘Do not let Harry Kane cheat’
- ‘Check all Mane fouls because he’s a consistent aggressor’
- ‘Double check every United penalty, we are too soft with them’
I’m a basic bitch and I know that all of these ideas would all improve refereeing. Who is pushing this agenda?
Don’t tell me it’s not possible. If all the mega clubs could club together to destroy football this summer, surely it wouldn’t be that hard to rip down the shocking mess that is the referee association.
Right, short one today. Listen to the pod or watch our video. Thank you! x
CG
“After the players have done a minute on their knees for BLM, I suggest they do another minute before each match and remind themselves to try and play the game without cheating/diving and maybe the ref can have an afternoon off for once.”
Exactly, and sadly the Arsenal players are being encouraged to cheat as much as the other teams.
Even last week when Martinelli was injured off the pitch, Arteta pushed him back onto the pitch and told him to go down injured….do we really have to resort to the jose Mourinho way of playing the game .
DevineSherlock
It’s seems Lukaku;s beef is with Tuchel, not Chelsea
Had he been.a £20 million signing they can easily shift him on but not even Chelsea can ditch a £100 million signing just like that.
Like that old saying, you owe a bank 1000 bucks, the bank owns you but when you owe the bank 1 billion, you own the bank.
If you can’t beat them.. join them
Taylor, so sorry for your loss x
Pierre ‘ Even last week when Martinelli was injured off the pitch, Arteta pushed him back onto the pitch and told him to go down injured….do we really have to resort to the jose Mourinho way of playing the game .’ I though that was elite coaching by the way. It delighted me that Arteta was methodical enough in training a young player that he’s not neglecting gem management. Martinelli was naive to not fall down in the field to hold us play, Arteta promptly reminded him. Mourhino didn’t invent those tactics. Go watch the Italian team that won the… Read more »
Dissenter The Lukaku situation just hi-lights the ego problems you can get with big players. They think they have a divine right to play & are bigger than the club. Lukaku throws a tantrum & invites the media into his house so he can moan, the precious big head. I don’t like Tuchel but he was right to follow Artetas lead and show who the boss is. I watched Man Utd play today and haven’t changed my opinion that they have ego problems. Ronaldo is a problem. From his strolling around and his arm waving to walking off ignoring the… Read more »
Taylor
Condolences mate.
Yes Chelsea are in crisis and could come
Right back into the CL top 4 dogfight. Only 5
Ahead of us if we win our game in hand.
Could get very interesting .
Pierre “Even last week when Martinelli was injured off the pitch, Arteta pushed him back onto the pitch and told him to go down injured….do we really have to resort to the jose Mourinho way of playing the game .“ That’s called being smart. It’s a key part of game management. If he hadn’t done that we would be playing with ten men. It’s a game of small margins mate, you need to play the game with the san rules as everyone else. I’m pleased to see Arteta doing what every other professional does. Look at Man City and their… Read more »
AFC “That’s called being smart. ” https://youtu.be/wjxPqYxDt-o Nothing smart about pushing a player back onto the pitch to make it obvious to the world that you want to waste time …i would call it naive. Smart would be to educate the players beforehand want you want, smart would be to get on the right side of the refs , smart would be to not antagonise the home support if you are playing away, smart would be to tell xhaka not to give away soft penalties and then encourage your younger players to complain and then lose focus leading tona red… Read more »
Dissenter, Wolves’ recruitment is proudly agent-driven, this is something that we’ve complained about at Arsenal in recent seasons when we signed multiple clients from Kia and Arturo Canales Just look at this list of Gestifute clients at Wolves: Bruno Lage Jose Sa Rayan Aït Nouri Nelson Semedo Ruben Neves Bruno Jordao Joao Moutinho Pedro Neto Adama Traore Daniel Podence Francisco Trincão Raul Jimenez That’s an entire starting XI represented by the same agency. To make matters worse, Fosun International, their parent company also owns a stake in the Gestifute sports agency. No doubt many of these players are good but… Read more »
Does anyone really think a Brazilian striker even at a juniors level doesn’t know to go down when injured to give potential subs a few extra warm up minutes?
Or the 27 yo Partey who spent four years playing in Spain under Simeone, the ultimate master of dark arts?
Ha!
Maybe they felt the need to check with Arteta first because he’s such a micromanager.
Probably a coincidence that the best attacking , free flowing football Arsenal have played under Arteta was when he wasn’t barking out directions from the touch lines.
I’m putting on my crash helmet now.
Pierre
Agree 100%.
Tom.
Agree 100%.
“Maybe they felt the need to check with Arteta first because he’s such a micromanager.”
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Just a couple of things Pedro as per your post. What has race got to do with the current referee situation? What about finding the best people for the job. And besides, I really don’t think woke, leftie, snivel libertarian & white apologist world would be able to handle the abuse a “Black or Asian” ref would cop week in week out, who was not up the the job in the first place & who only got the gig because of equal opportunity. Just saying. Also, I really, really, really enjoy watching Optus 3 minute highlights on YouTube when Manchester… Read more »
Great result this evening!
Back to the blog, last black (and only black) referee I remember was Uriah Rennie.
We’re all talking about refs now but actually one angle replay showed Emerson getting the ball and Xhaka gave away the pen by pulling his shirt, even though he went on to dive. Experience wins over clumsy mistakes. I think ultimately the ref got the two penalty decisions correct. What was disappointing for me was the lack of consistency with VAR which continues to be shambolic Gabriel was naive but will learn. He’s been absolutely outstanding this season. The second yellow was harsh. Performance on Saturday was beyond my expectations, still buzzing despite the result and key moments of the… Read more »
Less sure about the monumental pay structure. Definitely sure that the mic needs turning on. It would stop ref haranguing straight away because players would look like whiny little dickheads. I want to hear what the ‘dissent’ is. I want VAR on every card decision and I want the same replay the red is watching to be shown on TV and the whole stadium.complete openness. Using the Sky footage. Very hard for the ref to go against what we would all be watching. All for allowing ex players to ref… the career of a footballer is pretty short. Would give… Read more »
Bamford
Big money attracts crooks and monopolies. Even w wolves locked up example they still struggle in the prem…
I thought I was the only one who thought mane being an angel was a myth. He’s in the dirty pile with Kane and Fernandinho
Funny how trippiers fee has gone from
Modest to 25m
Hope we can get some of that blood money from a bloody mf
For*
Gnarly, Libertarianism has historically never been a left-wing political position. Yourself, Rich and some others seem to be competing to prove who is the most oblivious among you.I am sure you. You are just using any old jargon you can find without knowing what the phrases even mean. Imagine lacking that much perspective that you think barriers to entry will just correct themselves on their own. A phenomenon that rarely happens in human history. 100 years ago in the UK, people like you used to make similar arguments about women’s suffrage. If the Suffragettes had actually listened, they’d have gotten… Read more »
I enjoyed the posts between the BJP guy and samajwadi guy
Supposedly fiorintina are willing to pay the 12m release clause for torreira I hope it’s true. The sooner we get some sales the sooner the club may be tempted to get a real CM. Now over to Guen, Xhaka, El Neny, AMN to be sold as well please!
Taylor
Sorry for your loss, may she RIP
My condolences to you and your family, Taylor.
Pedro tweeted that missile ball that Ramsdale sent directly out to Martinelli that he took all the way and almost scored. The tweet said that we’re starting to get used to balls like that from Rambo, and take it for granted. I never will. Every time he has the ball, there’s a chance he’ll go over the top to start a big move, or he’ll suck in the pressing defenders and give our guys a chance to move through a more open midfield to the final 3rd rapidly. What a weapon to have behind us. Best distributor that I have… Read more »
Luke Shaw post match interview was pretty great…. for us.
I like the kid. Seems to really be genuine.
Interesting read Pedro, Uraih Rennie, the only black referee in the history of the PL was just as incompetent and inconsistent as the rest of them, but he also received all the racist abuse from certain section of fans that didn’t agree with his calls He had one really bad game and i believe he was forced to retire ! I think that why many from the ethnic minorities would rather avoid the whole thing , its just not worth it. Sad really ! On other hand SAF used to bully all referees and they were all scared of him… Read more »
Re – Referees. They’re crap because no sane person would want to start on the road to becoming one. How much crap do they get from the sidelines from ALL levels of the game? Kids games with parents shouting obscenities at a 17 year old just starting out. It’s ridiculous. i agree that more ex pros should take to referee-ing post retirement as their understanding of the nuances of a game and how to let it flow would be so much better. Also like the idea of the pay scales and having overseas refs. It’s weird to think that this… Read more »
Transfer Predictions Aubameyang – Newcastle on Loan with obligation to buy at GBP 20m (if they stay up) AMN – Roma on Loan with obligation yo buy (GBP12m) Torreira, Guen, Mavropanos, Kolasinac all to go too (frees up more salary and provides transfer funds for the BIG summer ahead. No Striker – Lacazette and Nketiah to see out the season leaving us with 3 striker slots to fill and plenty of wage bill freedom. Summer will be BIG Wilshier to sign a short term contract – WHY?? he has been training with the first team for the best part of… Read more »
The only way auba is going to Newcastle is if they offer him 500k a week.
Newcastle are now in the position where they will have to over pay players to join. Till they get a foothold on the league positions, I.e, start finishing inside the top 6
Martenelli should learn to pass when a colleague is in a better position to score. The long ball from Rambo? 2 to Arsenal if he had passed to Saka for a tap in
Has Edu been sighted on any agent’s luxury yachts yet?
Is Edu still on his Xmas & New Year’s holidays?
27 days to go before the window shuts.
Xhaka to Accrington Stanley with us paying them to take him would be worth the money well spent.
Looks like AMN to Roma. Another Duzie by Arteta and Edu moving AMN out when the AFCON is just starting.
We play 2 games in the league while AFCON is on. One is Burnley at home. It would be good to add 1-2 players. But not offloading players that want out and aren’t considered part of the future should never be delayed because we play 2 games in 3 weeks. FWIW I think we will add 2 players that can contribute over the next 3 months. The club seems serious and clearly they see we are ahead of schedule and we need to push on. But we need to get away from the perception that AFCOn is a huge issue.… Read more »
Just read the entire Rangnick bio after watching United get outplayed and lose fo Wolves, and I have to say his CV is pretty underwhelming.
United look probably worse than anytime under Ole….. early days of course, but what is the reason exactly for such a high esteem Rangnick fanboys keep him in ?
It’d be one thing to struggle if he took an axe to their squad trying to reshape it, but I’m not really seeing that happening.
More like tweaking it around the edges if anything.
Trust the process, Ragnick needs his own players
Ragnick would be better suited to a team like Arsenal. Low on money, enough time to groom youngsters and produce one’s own superstar.
With Manure, it’s all about buying talents and favorites. And every manager needs their own playing xi.
I’m surprised Rangnick took the Manure job, as short short term manager, as he’s more suited to the TD or DoF roles working with young managers and players. Manure are another rudderless ship with few on the same page where it matters, same as we’ve been. People in the corridors of power at Manure probably thought the Super league was a given and had no plan B. Long may it continue, Rangnick will need more than half a season to repair United. Nothing to back this up, but just observing Klopp this season makes me wonder if it’s his last… Read more »
Rangnick has free riders such as Ronaldo, Bruno, Pogba etc. in his team, players he can’t even drop out of his starting 11. I said it before the likes of Bruno and Ronaldo will become massive problems for United notwithstanding the hoopla around them. Anyway it is fun to see United struggle.
Would be great if he could nick Greenwood from them to replace Pepe if he is feeling unsettled there.
Newcastle are going to be a threat in a season or two. They are spending like a fat kid in a candy store. Trippier is going there for £25 mil. That is too much for a 30 year old. And they are offering €35 mil for Sven Botman. At least he is a long term player. And there are rumors they want at least 4 more players besides those two. Not even city have spent a 100 mil in January. They are doing everything to stay up.
Weagle,
I’m lagging as usual but this is one of the funniest comments I’ve read 😂😂😂
“Could never decide who kicked the ball and ran more like a sissy- Chamakh or Gervinho.
Or who looked more of one, Chamakh rocking that brylcreem wet look comb over to the death while his hair was a stage 4 terminal case or Gervinho’s offensively poor attempts at concealing his all-powerful fivehead with the hairband.”
And peds, totally agree. The ref standards are appalling, especially considering the pedigree of the league, the money they make and what’s actually on the line for all clubs in the pl not just making sure the money bags or scousers or manure Kents get the leeway.
I’m sorry but time wasting is not cheating its game management. Its one of the factors that can win u crucial points. If its legal then why not use it? The problem with us over the past couple years is that many teams have employed these so called dark arts into their game and we haven’t and honestly it has stifled us being the clean team. Despite all our efforts we still get robbed. I remember before when players go down we would kick the ball out, now we play to the whistle which is how it should be.
Other teams don’t give a shyt and they win titles
Lol Gervinho is a club legend boys…
Nigel Tufnell
“Pedro tweeted that missile ball that Ramsdale sent directly out to Martinelli that he took all the way and almost scored.”
Actually the ball from Ramsdale led to the penalty shout, Martinelli didn’t go all the way, he cut inside and laid the ball off…
But i get the point about Ramsdale’s kicking giving us a new dimension and it will stop teams pushing up too high as he can deliver a superb long ball.
Arteta does deserve credit for first buying him and then dropping leno to replace him with Ramsdale.
Havyn
“Martenelli should learn to pass when a colleague is in a better position to score. The long ball from Rambo? 2 to Arsenal if he had passed to Saka for a tap in”
Refer to my comment above , he did lay the ball off.
Manchester United should never have brought CR7 back.
Detrimental for the likes of Greenwood, Rashford, Fernandez etc
Detrimental for the team dynamics.
Anyway, it’s wonderful to see them suffering.
Wolves are a very good team.
AMN waits years for a decent opportunity to convince manager and fans that he can play in midfield, he finally gets that chance to prove himself with partey and Elneny going to the AFCON……..AND WE DECIDE TO LOAN HIM OUT….how bizarre.. Something tells me there is an element of the non negotiables involved in this as it doesn’t make sense, and normally anything involving the non negotiables doesn’t make sense.. So with AMN loaned out , will it mean we are in the market for a central midfielder or will Arteta shuffle the pack… Lakonga is more than capable, xhaka… Read more »
Graham
“Wolves are a very good team.”
Can see them qualifying for Europe , a team full of quality , Semedo at right wing back was outstanding last night , as was podence.
Wolves and Brighton play some excellent football
I really don’t get the AMN saga.
Probably too friendly with Aubamayang as he was with Ozil …hasn’t done him any favours.
Unlike 12 months ago ,I would imagine that potential signings now look at Arsenal as a club that has the potential to compete at the top.
This makes it so much easier to bring quality players in .
AMN played well whenever he got a chance unlike Xhaka. Arteta is really irritating when it comes to his shitty non-negotiable plank.
No Partey, Elneny and AMN, hopefully we get a quality CM in. We need someone so good that Arteta is forced to sideline Xhaka.
Ozil,auba and niles all have one thing in common. They are all lazy pros. Good riddance. Eddie on the other shouldn’t be allowed to leave arsenal. Ever. Another andy cole situation incoming.
Wijnaldum on loan could do a job hopefully.
Ozil,auba and niles all have one thing in common. They are all lazy pros No don’t agreed with this comment. Very laid back yes, but lazy no. E.g. of Ozil when he played for Wenger Arsene Wenger, meanwhile, insists Ozil’s body language is deceptive. “He is a guy who works much harder than people think, but his body language goes against him sometimes,” he said last season. But what do the stats say? According to Premier League tracking data, Ozil covered 329km last season – second only to Nacho Monreal at Arsenal. His total of 1759 high-intensity sprints was only… Read more »
Xhaka will never be sidelined unless he leaves. Arteta threw him in as soon as he could following injury and he’s played every game since.
Roma are such cheap cunts. We shouldn’t entertain any offer from them for AMN if they don’t meet our valuation. €10 mil euros with an option isn’t a good deal for us. It isnt even an obligation. Offer him to Newcastle on 15 mil pounds now. If Roma want him then they can pay the fee. Niles may want to go Roma, but they haven’t offered a reasonable fee. So he will have to go to somewhere that can afford him.
samesong ozil is a lazy pro. He had issues re professionalism at all the clubs he played for same as auba. Niles is a cm who looks like he doesn’t give a fuck and he hasn’t improved since he broke thru.
The next 5 games look like proper slug out results games.
Tot-mugs
Burnley
Wolves
Bre
Wat
What you say a few draws? 11 points I predict up for grabs here.
We dropped 9 points against United, City and Everton. Except against Tottenham, we need to get 3 points against Wolves, Burnley, Watford and Brentford.
Niles is a cm who looks like he doesn’t give a fuck and he hasn’t improved since he broke thru.
He was man of the match at Watford.
TR7
Tough away games vs Tot and Wolves.
Even Brentford at home is a tough one. These guys don’t give up
€10m for AMN ?
Didn’t someone offer £20m for him last season or so?
“Niles is a cm who looks like he doesn’t give a fuck and he hasn’t improved since he broke thru.”
That is nothing but your preconceived bias against the player or a usual attempt to justify an Arteta decision. Not only AMN works hard but also has shown improvement in his game.
Samesong
Tough games for sure but we need to win such games to get top 4. Wolves don’t score many goals. If we can go there and keep our shape and discipline our attacking players will create a few chances.
Samesong We need minimum 10 points from those 5 fixtures, Spurs is a 6 pointer, a point away would be a good result for us, and a bad result for them We’re usually pretty good at home, other than 2 points dropped to Palace, we’ve looked really strong there It’s away from home we need a slight uptick I had us down for 69-74 points and 5th, but I was working off the assumption that the top 3 would all get 80 points,, and United would at least match their 74 points from last season Football can change very quickly,… Read more »
Let’s see how it goes for niles. If he’s as good as you and val claimed he is he’ll get his big move and prove me wrong. Don’t forget he was in the england set up under arteta, i’m sure that’s as far as he’ll ever get but i hope to be proved wrong. P.s tr7 you’re the last person to talk about agenda. Arteta and our new signings made you look like a total plank after all your hilarious hysterics earlier in the season.
Rich
Losing Partey concerns me a bit. A man who is picking up some good form./ Hence why I think we will draw a few matches. I am happy to be wrong though.
Let’s hope our boys at the AFCON don’t get get injured or pick up niggling knocks. I would think a smart manager would use AMN while Partey is away with Lakonga, but I’m guessing Arteta wants to play Xhaka and loan or sell AMN; the more athletic player. I watched the City game again today and Xhaka spent most of there game tackling no one and filling the space he’s been told to occupy. When he’s not having a rush of blood going needlessly to the opponent’s right corner area with the ball lost before he gets there, leaving a… Read more »
Pedro – Perfect summing up on the refs. Can you please lead this new organisation – I’m sure you can prepare a presentation and send to all PL teams for consideration.