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Showing posts from February, 2012

At the end of the game Burtenshaw sank to the ground in celebration "pumping his fists towards the heavens"

http://youtu.be/b6nO8hCbqG4 At the end of the game Burtenshaw sank to the ground in celebration "pumping his fists towards the heavens" @6:49 There's been some talk about Mike Dean's reaction to 5aha's goal on Sunday. Not sure what he's doing but the Refereee of the 1971 FA Cup final seems to be quite oappreciative of Arsenal clinching the Double!

HIGH FIVE AND HANDSOME

After the streets are clear and hosed down after all good citizens are tucked up in bed and the foxes and owls come out to feast. After the warm glow of a victory in North London sees us safely to bed what is there to say about an extraordinary day at the Emirates? Balances of power, gap minding and new sheriff in town syndrome has to give way to the cold clinical truth. A 10 point gap becomes a 7pt one rather than a 13 pointer. A rival humiliated in the final third of the game. Boasts neutered; they came they saw we conquered. The supporters, we played our part and the players responded to early set backs with character and resilience. Of course it's only three points except it isn't.; It was a big "shut your trap" to the voice of the media lovely Lilywhites, a firm clip round the ear hole of the noisy neighbours. Yesterday we showed that we are The Arsenal we took victory through harmony literally

THE RUSSIAN STEPPES OUT

http://youtu.be/f10BuWPiKSE Back in the USSR-Sigourney Weaver Twelve defining fixtures ahead, an ever expanding injury list, confidence and quality low. Here’s an idea; loan out one of your squad who, perhaps lacking in confidence or form, has quality. Arshavin has underperformed this season and clearly wants to figure in The Euro’s so good old Arsenal are rewarding this underachievement with a nice loan deal to enable this. I Like AA he had character, and in a squad full of blandness he was refreshing. He also leaves us with one or two tremendous memories. http://youtu.be/eGlniREnvcs Back in the USSR-Sue Pollard We need all hands on deck at the moment so to send Arshavin on the Siberian Express is unfathomable. Then again we have Park and Chamakh, who Wenger doesn’t trust enough to give first team game time to and we have Miyachi who is not being bought back from loan. Great let’s just decimate our ranks even further, on the brink of a crucial game. Oh well, I...

SHOW AND PROVE

http://youtu.be/6BLKgVDdDAg   Sp*rs Liverpool (a) NUFC Aston Villa QPR (a) Man City Wolves (a) Wigan Chelsea Stoke City (a) Norwich City WBA (a) 12 games, 36 points up for grabs; a set of fixtures of stunning simplicity. The Arsenal can end the season on a positive note by clinching a spot in The Champions League. The importance of this is not just financial it’s also about attracting the type of players that see Champions League Football as a requirement. Should Arsenal fail to qualify then The Europa League looks like the alternative (although, let’s not take even that for granted), this impacts on the Club’s appeal for top players to join. Should we not achieve a place in either European competition it will be a case of reaping what has been sown. It’s also a discussion point that qualification to the ECL seems to be more about revenue rather than being ‘in it to win it’. This is something of an indict...

QUESTIONS & QUOTATIONS

“All I want is the truth now Just gimme some truth”-John Lennon* There have been many questions in the last seven days, the complexities of which are quite baffling, however, were I able to ask some questions they would be simple ones. Wouldn't it be nice to have some answers that were not in quotation marks? If you can’t afford ‘top, top’ quality players you then have to play in a way which utilises the limitations of the players you can afford don’t you? ‘Cutting your cloth accordingly’ If you can afford top quality players and choose not to; why not? 'Never let your persistance and passion turn into stubbornness' If you believe you have a squad that are of the requisite quality to play a technical game, where is the evidence in achievement? ‘The proof of the pudding is in the eating’ If one answer is budgetary, the other answers must be based on choice, no? “Cybil Fawlty; Specialist subject stating the bleedin’ obvious’ Just bec...

MORIBUND MUSINGS

“A relationship Football Club, I think, is like a shark, you know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark.”-Alvy Singer As Dennis Bergkamp exited stage left held aloft by former comrades, the last remnants of any inherited players said goodbye, leaving Arsene Wenger with his first Arsenal squad that was 100% of his own making. Since that day came to pass Arsenal have bought home zero trophies. Arsene Wenger, given the chance to show the world that his creation, complete and pure, constructed entirely by him, could deliver tangible rewards, has reaped not one victory in that place where fact lives; the trophy cabinet. On 24 occasions Wenger's 100% assembled squadrons have been found wanting when they have had the opportunity to enter stage right with silverware held aloft. These are the facts and they are incontrovertible, no amount of discussion about the merits of the intangible 'fifth' trophy...

from INVINCIBLE to IMPONDERABLE

Last nights defeat at the stadium of light effectively ended another season’s quest for a trophy and the truth of the matter is that it wasn't that much of a surprise. The Arsenal of today is a team that wins a few draws a few and loses a few. A team that are inclined to hamper any consistency with bouts of incompetence. A team that lacks desire. There is something wrong at Arsenal football club and I for one don't know what that something is. Without any insider information you can only judge things on results and performances and neither of these things have constant for a worryingly long time. Is it about quality or capability or is it about something less tangible?   We faced a similar set of circumstances in 2004. Thwarted in the Champions league by Chelsea bested in the FA cup by Man Utd we then welcomed Liverpool who promptly went ahead in the game. The arsenal vintage 04 won the day and fulfilled it's destiny. We face part three of that set of circ...

OPERATION ARSENAL

 Tonight we go forth to compete for the one trophy available to provide a tonic fopr an unhealthy season, and I for one will be willing us on to beat Sunderland for the second time this week. In terms of Arsenal’s current state of health it is clear that antibiotics, alternative therapies and rest are not working it’s now time for major surgery. I contend that a realistic scalpel needs to be applied and the following squad members removed Arshavin-those 4 goals at Anfield seem a distant memory Bendtner & Denilson-one foot out the door already, let’s slam that door behind them Squilacci-simply not good enough Almunia-No present let alone future Fabianski-cannot be relied upon therefore why continue with him Chamakh-forgotten how to score goals and on the margins Park-not trusted by Wenger, so little point in retaining him Djorou-Just signed a new contract so may get a few quid for him When you look at some of these players it is mystifying as to why they are...

A ONE WAY TICKET TO PALOOKAVILE

"coulda been a contender" http://youtu.be/3QsNXd57Ppw Current contenders Lyon 1 v 0 Apoel Leverkusen 1v 3 Barcelona Zenit 3 v 2 Benfica Milan 4 v 0Arsenal CSKA v Real Madrid Napoli v Chelsea Marseille v Internazionale Basel v Bayern The EUFA Champions League now has a combination of fifteen teams standing in Arsenal’s way. That’s technically true but realistically stupidity to suggest. A first leg loss of 4-0 is insurmountable, pure and simple. Was I being realistic when I said I thought we could win the tournament that has eluded us? I think I was. I believed that this Competition was there for any number of teams to win, so why not us? Barca, based on last year and the quality of certain team members are favourites, but what of Real Madrid who currently lead La Liga under Morinho. Bayern are a club who have European triumph entrenched in their roots. The French Italian clash has two teams both of whom are capable as does, ...

VICTORY IN EUROPE

It's fair to say that our record in The Champions League against English clubs is not good, not good at all, however, under our current administration we have recorded memorable victories against Europe's elite. Lest we forget, we have beaten AC Milan Internationale Juventus Real Madrid Barcelona among others Therefore I have my optimists hat on, so I say 'Come on Arsenal' this competition is up for grabs! A good result tonight may be a springboard for progress; A cup competition can be there for whoever dares to win.  

HATE

Then Now Earlier today Captain Kirk sent me the following video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sG1f-v88-kU&sns=em To say it is both disturbing and upsetting is an understatement. We see the beautiful game as something of a mirror to society and try to look on the community of supporters as a positive force. A set of human beings with some values borne out of an understanding of what this great sport of ours can give us. However, it takes a certain amount of myopia from the Football Authorities to proclaim that all is well. The issues that were amplified over the weekend at Old Trafford cannot be trivialised when we see the full extent of hatred; in any form. The violence is shocking as we see people attacked on a basis that is a result of flawed thinking, and the powers that be proclaim all is well; all is not well. So when I look at those images, I have to ask myself this… http://youtu.be/6RVDQgVxprE

arsenalism says

It's easy to forget stuff amidst the maelstrom. All Football supporters heed this http://youtu.be/Y9KC7uhMY9s

ARSENAL CORNER TURNING?

Thick and thin, ups and downs glory and despair; that’s the lot of the Arsenal supporter and today we were put through the mill. In the earlier contentious KO we saw Liverpool lose and given the shenanigans associated with them currently, who wasn’t a bit pleased to see United win? Then it became clear that Chelsea were going to lose just as we were trailing an awfully moribund Sunderland team at the Stadium of dodgy pitch, then cometh the hour cometh substitute Ramsey with an equaliser that had all of us looking to give a positive spin to a draw. But, hold on, the fat lady was far from singing when substitute Arshavin crossed for substitute Henry to claim the spoils. And so it was that we claimed three points exactly when we needed them. We took advantage of those around us slipping. Throw in a couple of great Sczesny saves and you could almost feel our ship of destiny changing course. With the Sp*rs NUFC taking place as I type, the thing is that there cannot be a bad result,...

ENGLAND EXPECTS

So there is an out pouring for an Englishman to Manage the England Team and good old ‘Arry is the favourite. I can’t imagine it’s for his managerial record; 1 FA Cup, so it must be that his credentials are his intrinsic Englishness, his car salesman manner and his ability to be something of a Cheeky Chappie. If those are the criteria here’s a list of potential competitors for the post  Arthur Dailey http://youtu.be/nWlj9ZJkliA Derek Trotter http://youtu.be/94kOY7dmBGs Alan Partridge http://youtu.be/hzSQ3xgoh-w ‘Genial’ Harry Grout http://youtu.be/5xOldHAIXXo Mike Bassett http://youtu.be/ylftUmF-GSw Jim ‘nick,nick’ Davidson http://youtu.be/kwzA5vIu6mY Dave Angel-Eco Warrior http://youtu.be/2M662XNAmcM Terry McCann http://youtu.be/Zz_m9rADGxk Frank Butcher http://youtu.be/Q50mP6Jqd4s Swiss Toni http://youtu.be/Hr3hP0CeiQo Guy Richie http://youtu.be/qX9crnz6vQg Danny Dyer http://youtu.be/zOEHrU9n9eI Tommy Cockl...

ARSENAL GAMES

They say that football is 'just a game'; well it kind of is. http://youtu.be/O1ZGTkDl7qw Call of Duty: MW3-Arsenal v QPR http://youtu.be/jTTvfKdpk0o No its definitely Arsenal http://youtu.be/vp2m8HXqQaY

MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

No need for erudition, analysis or reportage, yesterday those of us emboldened enough (and loyal enough) to brave the Arctic conditions at The Emirates saw the Arsenal put seven past a hapless Blackburn. Goal difference greatly improved, three points tucked away and a morale boosting victory. What more do you want? Here's an appropriate tune. http://youtu.be/2gmXLKQwAfI Cheers

TO BE BLUNT

I've used a lot of words this week when talking about The Arsenal so today I'm keeping it succinct; no smart euphemisms or clever word play, just some blunt opinions and like all opinions, they come in different flavours . Why are we struggling and look unlikely to finish in a Champions League spot any time soon? Why have we declined and faltered? Have a look at the squad Fabianski-shocking Almunia-more shocking Mannone-average Park-not trusted to play/not ready? Chamakh-can’t score Walcott-inconsistent Diaby-always injured Djourou-inconsistent Squillacci-poor Rosicky-best days long gone Benayoun-bit parter Eastmond-god knows Denilson-still paying him; he’s awful Gibbs-injury prone Arshavin-does he even want to be here? Miyachi-on loan. Why?is he or isn't he up to it Frimpong-on loan. Why? is he any less effective than anyone else These players alone are not to be relied ...

CASH FROM CHAOS

http://youtu.be/i-j3xITvYQY Money Floyd Part of what any company relies on is its product and assets. That’s basic stuff yeah? A football clubs product is what goes on out there on the pitch, its ability to entertain and produce results, trophies and success. Its assets are the playing staff; it’s workforce if you like. Investment is needed in any successful business but getting rid of your assets without gaining the finances with which to reinvest is a foolish approach, furthermore choosing not to reinvest after losing assets couple be construed as asset stripping. So far so simplistic. It is a financial fact that the building of the Emirates stadium was a venture that accrued debt. Presumably a plan was put in place to repay that debt with some projections based on future earnings development deals sponsorship and the like. http://youtu.be/1PkxXIsYKFk Money Madness I wonder, was part of this projection on repayment based on possible future ...