The 2011 Premier League Season Begins!

It's been a few weeks since my last post, I got cramp in my fingers again, for obvious reasons. The last few weeks of August are a complete blur as I'm sure they have been for most of you. What a hangover.

I seem to vaguely remember some football and some new faces coming into Arsenal. Happy happy joy-joy!

'Happy Happy Joy Joy indeed!'

For the princely sum of one Torres and his boots, Wenger managed to transfer a raft of players in to bolster the squad. What with JW & TV out with lengthy injuries it's just as well.

We kick start OUR EPL season against Swansea, the supposed minnows and the first Welsh club to gain entry to the League. Well done to them but my word, we need to hammer them good and proper. I'm hoping for a multitude of 10/10 debuts from the likes of Mertesacker, Benayoun, Santos, and in particular Arteta on Saturday. They're all bound to play if not from the start.

I should imagine the line up will look something like this:

Sczcesney
Sagna
Kos
Mertesacker
Santos
Ramsey
Frimpong
Arteta
RVP
Theo
Shavva

...with Benayoun coming on for Shavva as he's bound to get knackered what with all that tracking back he does to help out the left back.

Felt sorry for 'The Ox' debuting in 'That' game of special circumstance that must never be spoken of. I reckon he could make his real debut as a replacement for Theo on Saturday. He's had an amazing couple of games for the England U21's during the Interlull.
I can see him having a huge impact early in his career, but we know what AW is like, he will be patient and protective as he was with Walcott.

Since the arrival of these new players, inevitably there has been a lot of varied opinion and scrutinising .

Many people have bemoaned the signing of Mertesacker due to his lack of pace but I echo the sentiments of many intelligent Gooners out there with memories longer than 8 years old, that Adams, Keown and Bould all suffered from the same disability but were intelligent players.

Intelligent enough, as is Mertesacker, to read the game well and use that to make up for their lack of pace. Per may be slower than the likes of TV and Kos but he'll give us a lot more than pace. His height (6'6⅜") will be essential in improving on our set piece frailties and of course will give us a goal threat for our own set pieces; something we must improve on.

Once TV is back, what a tough central partnership that will be. The other CB's; Kos and JD will learn from him too, so all round I think it's a fantastic purchase. Plus he's a Gooner!

It's hard to say much about Santos, he's been likened to Silvinho, but tougher, to Clichy but a better crosser. Overall the opinion seems to be that his attacking threat is spot on but he has many defensive frailties. I don't think he does, I think it's his lack of discipline that gives him that record. From what I've seen he can be a bit hot tempered and likes a yellow or red card on a regular basis. The proof will be in the trifle my friends.

As for Benayoun and Arteta, well we all know about them.

Both had injury problems; we're used to that since Gary Lewyn left us with Colin, not that I'm blaming him, but our injury record has been atrocious since Gary left us, the git!

"Come back Gary, we miss you!"

He must have pissed off with all the magic sponges to the England set-up.

Benayoun had an awesome season with Liverpool a few years back, then he moved to Chelsea for €726 million, then got injured long term, then they got another new manager who changed the system and never played him, then he got injured again, now he's with us.

I have to admit i'm nervous about the Yossi transfer but if he can get anything like back to his Liverpudlian best and provide us with assists and goals then i'll be well chuffed, so chuffed i'll do me scouse accent like and go out and nick summink!

Arteta is a player I've rated for years. He's not Cesc lite as some have said, he's more on a par with Alonso who I also rate highly and was gutted not to have got when he left for the other cnuts in the ethpanishth league, the ones slightly less cnutty than Barfa. If he stays fit then he could be a MASSIVE player for us this season.

But I tell you the most pleasing thing about all these players coming in; They WANT to play FOR Arsenal. You can just tell, they're so proud to have joined.

Maybe it's because they are the second tier of quality available out there. But I seem to remember many players of that ilk in the past lifting multiple trophies for Arsenal.

I hope Arsenal FC prove to the sugar daddy, financially corrupted, crazy world of football that trophies can be won with shrewd buys, team work, tactics, togetherness and most importantly, a set of fans and players glued together showing pride in their club every minute of the season.

Elsewhere, a protest is on (or is it off?) outside the Grove at some point?! To be honest, I think it's pointless and am not gonna waste my finger biceps typing about it too much.

People are entitled to their opinions but as I remonstrated on Twitter, there are many other platforms to put your points across to the board. Protesting outside the ground hurts everyone at the club including other fans, not just the board. It's on a par with booing on matchdays and it invites the hoards of media doomers who have thrived off Arsenal's woe's this year, let's not give them more ammunition eh.

It's not the Arsenal way in my opinion, we're classier than that...well I'd like to think we are.

Leave all that alternatively coloured scarf waving and screaming expletives at owners to the likes of Newcastle and Manure, they're too thick to come up with proactive, intelligent, 'outside the box' means of getting their points across, we're not cavemen anymore now are we.

Finally, congrats to the Arsenal ladies who won the Women's Super League the other week!
They could teach the men a thing or two!

Also, a huge thanks to my Twitter followers for the feedback and #ff's and to the Gooner's on my Facebook Group 'Arsenal FC Season 2011/2012' - a great bunch of chaps and chapesses with great banter and intelligent, objective debate and opinion. Please keep spreading the word and join in if you're on Facebook and haven't done so yet. FB may the shittest social network in existence...not quite (Tagged) but It's certainly the best group for Arsenal banter!

So bring on the Welsh, hoping they go 'squelch' under the awesome power of the refreshed and revived Arsenal FC.

The season begins here!

Corrupt UEFA and Arsenal hating media try to spoil positives

We scored and won. We defended and kept a clean sheet. The team achieved their goal. 


Those are the main positives with the main negatives being that we lost some players through minor injuries. Anyone shocked? No. Thought not. 


The performance was nervy as we came up against whom I would consider the hardest team we've ever faced in a qualifier. Udinese were terrific and really gave us all a fright at times. Chezza made a couple of great saves but we made their keeper work too including the arduous task of picking the ball from the back of his net. At least that's something we didn't have to worry about. 


Jenkinson was thrust in unexpectedly and despite a shaky intro, I thought he did well considering he was playing non-league footy only a year ago! What an experience it must have been for him as a Gunner, & as an avid Gooner! 


Rosicky was .. meh... Chamakh was piss poor but I won't get on his back too much at the moment, he's just finished 'fasting' so it's no surprise he's been slowing too. 
Hopefully he'll come good sooner rather than later though. he needs some spinach and steak necked swiftly with lots of milk and tuna (though not at the same time of course) 


Walcott was brilliant and as I said on Twitter at the time, If Rooney had scored that goal, the media would have been cream-cheesing their pants for weeks over it. 




Anyway, we stopped them scoring a crucial away goal and all we need now is do what we do best and score a couple or five at their gaff.


With our 'Flying' Dutchman and newly appointed captain; RVP & England captain to be; JW both back, we should safely shimmy through to the Champions League proper. 

New 'Flying' Captain of the good ship 'Arsenal' and PROUD!

I'm not saying it will be a breeze if Tuesday was anything to go by. Udinese proved a very tough test and will be stronger at home. But with a 1-0 lead they may play a little more cautiously and try to hit us on the break. So as long as TV, Kos, Sagna and whoever else is fit by then manages to stay focussed, I'm positive we'll do it. 


Aside from these factors there should not have been anything much else to talk about. 
But unfortunately Arsenal are the critiques' flavour of the month (for the 3rd month in a row) and their relentless, vociferous campaign to find fault in every little 'crook and nanny' of Arsenal's world is getting beyond obsessive and perverted in my opinion. 


The camera's were CIA'ing on Wenger's every movement of his lips, every pick of the nose (yes we caught you digging for loose change up there again Arsene!), every angle that he leant to on his seat just to squeeze one out after a dodgy mutton tikka was recorded, analysed and then sent to UEFA who promptly phoned him to tell him that he couldn't do what they had agreed he could do before the game. What was this? you ask. 


Well it seems, as AW was barred from the technical area, serving a ridiculous punishment for speaking the truth about last season's ref at the Barca farce, it was agreed with UEFA that Wenger could send instructions to the area via Primorac's mobile. When half way through the game it was deemed by UEFA as a breach of the rules. 


Now this all seems a bit petty and school play-groundish to me. The punishment is ridiculous anyway, it serves no real purpose so why make a fuss of it, I mean, for F@ck sake - Fergie has a special 'Bat-Phone' Installed behind the dug-out for when he is banned so he can ring the bench to give instruction so why the witch hunt? 

"Howard, careful, the brown paper bag stuffed with £10k I gave ya is poking out ya shorts mun"

Are the FA, Premier League & UEFA rules all different for the same punishment or what? And why agree to something then change your minds half way through a game? The Udinese coach gracefully stated that he had no problem with it. Of course he didn't as it hardly changed the face of the game did it! 


UEFA Wankers! Unbelievable, Empty-headed, Fucking, Arseholes!


Well the media had a field day with this of course! 
All the rags, tabloids, broadsheets, blogs and social networks were at it. 
It's like they're on a relentless mission to see Arsenal and Arsene crumble. Of course it's not unheard of. Celebrities have fallen foul of it many a time. It's just pathetic. 


Even as pathetic as reporting on a story regarding a certain greedy wantaway player who apparently told the world on 'his' Facebook page that he will be leaving Arsenal with bitterness and anger etc.etc... 


Now I'm no Journo as you can tell from this shitty blog work, but even I try to check the basics like reliability of source, facts and stats before claiming something to be gospel. But these idiots all fell for some prankster setting up a fake Facebook page, which any Joey Barton (def. Thick cunt) could do, spewing out gobshite. Way to go! 


Even when challenged about it's authenticity by many including myself on Twitter, they insisted it was reliable and proceeded to print, tweet and report the hell out of it all over the country! Anything to get Arsenal some more bad press and promote the negativity which unfortunately has infested many a Gooner this year. 


Yes, some Gooners are negative as a rule, no matter how well we're doing, but the media have really played their part, so far this summer, in making Arsenal the target for ridicule, persecution and the off-field whipping boys of the so called 'big clubs'. 


I say, bring it on, it only makes me more determined to see the fickle 'Joey Bartons' (def. as above) eat their own words when we finally come good. And if I feel that way, imagine how AW and everyone at the club must feel. 


Wenger gave a fantastic interview on Sky before the Udinese game and I was quite proud at his attempt to remind Gooner's and the press of what matters most. Well done to you sir. I am still of the opinion that Wenger should gracefully step down at the end of this season should we not win anything of note again, assuming there is a suitable replacement. But until we reach that time, I shall remain 100% behind the manager and the team. 


Forward


So as mentioned, we should have RVP and JW back for the next leg of the Udinese game next week. This week however, we'll be without Song and Gervinho due to suspension and may have a patched up defence depending on whether Gibbs' bruised foot heals quickly or not. As for JD - who the f@ck knows! 


The speculation around players coming in is still rife but I don't think we'll be going for anyone outside of the Premiership, ie. Mata, Hazard, until we know whether or not we've qualified for the next stage of the UEFA CL. So I shall not speculate on them....though I'd love to see both of them here! 


As for a defender, I'm sure we'll have one of Cahill, Jagielka, Dann or Samba in the next week. maybe even before Liverpool on Saturday! 


So fingers, eyes, legs and testicles crossed, (if you can do that). 


Lastly or as my 'I like to pretend I'm clever' self puts it; Conclusionally: I thought the Emirates were back to their good old faithful self the other day. 


Not a boo, did my ears sting me with! 


It was bliss! Let's keep that going all over the joint and we'll see how much our positivity and support can lift the team forward!

Game One and It's Game On! & Goodbye CF4

First game of the season, nervousness and excitement filled the air, Football was back!


Then I realised who we were playing and it hit me, this is Newcastle, this won't be a football match it will be a spectacle; Joey Barton is playing.


Yeah once I realised that the biggest thuggiest buntcucket in England, aside from the looters and rioters in London ,was playing, it was inevitable that something would happen.

Is it 'Stop' Joey Barton being a **** or Joey Barton 'Stop' being a ****?! Either way, it's relevant.

I won't go over what did happen too much but I do have to admit that Song played his part. What he did was silly, childish and thuggish and tarnishes Arsenal's name on the day. What Gervinho did was get slightly tripped and fell down, convincingly, not over-dramatically, for a genuine penalty. 
What Barton did was lose his rag for no reason, yet again. 
What Peter Walton did, was panic and react like a small skinny child being bullied in a playground. He didn't see it. The linesmen were too far away. He based his decisions on bullying, over exaggeration and lies by the likes of Barton, Stephen Taylor and the crowd.


Barton has since retracted his accusations towards Gervinho about cheating as he's obviously realised he jumped to conclusions. But he's still a C@nt


It also won't remove the stink of embarrassment/shame he must now carry around with him on top of all of his other stinks, for going down like a looters swag bag filed with spurs fans, when 4 of Gervinho's fingers brushed the side of his head.
After reacting so viciously over what he incorrectly deemed to be a dive, he then, in front of millions of people, (I think he forgot there were cameras everywhere at matches nowadays) he went down in the manner he did to get a fellow professional sent off. Hypocrite of the highest order.


Yes Song should have been sent off earlier for (gently) stepping (not stamping) on JB's foot. It was stupid and he deserves the retrospective punishment from the FA that he's bound to receive - Arsenal don't. So stop being a dick Song!


Based on JB's reaction and the fact the ball was in play during the Gervinho incident, If Walton was a good enough referee he would have stopped play and given Arsenal a penalty anyway as his violent actions were inside the box, though an indirect free kick may have been justified as the ball was not in the vicinity of the goal at the time.


But Walton is a terrible referee and his performance doesn't fill us fans with confidence for the rest of the season. For too long, referees have grabbed the limelight by making awful decisions and I am hoping for improvements this season...not looking good though is it.


All this drama took the focus off a tentative first game display. We looked solid at the back, and some of the passing at times was mesmeric, but as it was last season, we could not find that finishing touch.


I'm not going to read too much into this aside from the fact that it highlights the need for a creative midfielder. Not one to replace Cesc, who I'll come onto shortly, but one that compliments the squad, is experienced and has a natural ability to see a move one step ahead. Much like Cesc then really.....but he didn't compliment the squad.
The Squad was built to compliment Cesc and it clearly hasn't worked so far.


Now we know Cesc is gone and the next 14 days will be filled with ever more tension as to whether Nasri will go and who we will get in. There have been many names thrown around by the media. I'm just happy to wait for official announcements now. It's a shorter period, things should get sorted quicker than previously and quite frankly I'm sick of all the unreliable gossip!

Chezza sums up our feelings; frustration, sadness, relief! 

Back to Cesc. I'm sad to see him go, but glad to see him leave. A contradiction in terms but not really. I feel a little disappointed in him in some ways. I honestly thought that he would stay longer just so he could turn around when he did leave, and say "I won things at Arsenal".
I thought he would be so determined to win a trophy be it the Premier League or the Champions League or even a couple of FA Cups before he went.


But sadly he lost faith in the project. He missed his family and friends too much and felt it was time to go. Fair enough.


I wouldn't want a football CV that read 8 years at Arsenal with only one FA Cup medal to show for it. But Cesc clearly doesn't mind. He knows he became the player he is because of Arsene and Arsenal and some of the players he had the privilege of playing with over the years. He knows he's adored at both clubs so as hard as it must have been for him to leave, when the destination is your ultimate dream, It's a win-win situation, even if he is losing out financially!


Aside from the slight disappointment, I mainly hold some great memories of what he did for us at times. That goal from the centre spot against our poor neighbours. The goal vs AC Milan where Wengers' coat must have stunk of onions as it made Cesc cry his little heart out!



There are many more great memories of brilliant performances and although I can't class him as a 'Legend' in status, as he never helped us to win a trophy, I will always appreciate the mesmerising football he often adorned upon our eyeballs. As I have preached many a time, Football is a form of entertainment for spectators and a sport for the players, I can't play for shit, so I watch and I like to be entertained. Thank-you Cesc for obliging for so many years.


You will be missed but we will move on.


So Udinese is next and that one is nerve wrecking but I have faith.


As Wenger has said and as I also have been preaching for months, the team needs the love of the fans, it is necessary for them to perform so lets get behind them, show some faith and get the Gooner family back together, there's been too much bitching among fans, leave that to the spuds and the glory hunters of the Oil baron teams who expect to win everything all the time cos they can buy it.


Let's be proud of our traditional principals. They will bring us glory soon.

New season, New shirt, New optimism..COYG!

Wahoo! After a miserable, stressful summer the Premiership is finally back!


The transfer period is 2 weeks away from ending and we're still in a position where we have 2 players who want away and therefore the need to find replacements as well as a solid CB. 


So who will we get? The names being banded about over the past 8 weeks have failed to materialise. Juan Mata looked a cert and despite Valencia's need for fundage, what with their crippling debts, they insist that there will be no deal for him. Which I'm a little gutted about, but will remain open minded. Until the window completely closes nothing should be written off. 


As for CB's I don't really care who we get in as long as they're solid, experienced and will compliment TV who I think should be our new captain. 


Pointless


My last post was a tirade towards the negative doom-mongers who call themselves Arsenal fans. They still exist without a ball even being placed on the centre spot! Still going on about the past, as if that helps! It's pathetic.  


It just makes no sense booing the team, it makes no sense moaning about who we've signed and haven't signed, no sense hating our manager....it goes on. The most productive and SUPPORTIVE thing we can do is write off the previous seasons. Move on from players that also move on. Concentrate on what lies ahead. 
Take each game as it comes, we have new players and will inevitably have some more soon too. We have another chance of winning trophies. 


Exciting


I'm excited at the prospect of seeing 'Super-Spam' Gervinho, Alex 'The Ox' Chamberlain & Ryo 'Hadooken' Miyaichi terrorizing defenders. Seeing Theo playing in a more advanced position and scoring more goals. Seeing Jack and Aaron coming to the fore and becoming more dominant with Cesc's and Nasri's inevitable exits. Seeing TV back scoring unexpected left foot cannonballs from 30 yards, and many more positive, progressive performances. 

It's no use assuming that with the players we have, that we can't win anything. Players need to hear cheering, applause, encouragement. They need to read it in the media, on their own Twitter accounts. They feed off it like sea plankton on Whale-like Sepp Blubber. Let's do it! It's alot more fun than being stressed and whining all season creating a vicious circle of bad luck, negativity and an utterly un-enjoyable season.  


I'd like Arsenal to be respected and admired for having supportive encouraging fans who vociferously defend and back their team through thick and thin. I want to see this aura surrounding the club again. We want to make the spud fans regret choosing the club on the wrong side of North London again, we all know they used to. 


I want our club to be admired for having amazing, noisy support not just away (as we were last year) but at home especially. It has been embarrassing hearing boos at out home ground, embarrassing reading some of the tripe that's been written by so called Supporters. I have felt ashamed to be affiliated with them. 


Don't get me wrong, I'm no ignorant positivity hippy living in a dream world. I know there have been problems. Wenger has been a little blinded by his project, but the blame for the past really lies in all corners of the club including the fans. Players thrive from atmosphere and knowing that their fans encourage and give them a chance. There are some who had that and no longer deserve it of course, but they're gone, or are going. 
If they're not, what choice do we have but to try our best to squeeze a little more encouragement out in the hope that they will push on take their chances again and have learnt from previous mistakes and lazinesses! (eg: Diaby) 


Wenger in my opinion has this year alone to really show improvement, new enthusiasm and hopefully a trophy of major proportions, if not then at least a very very strong push. Basically, obvious evidence of progression, not regression. If none of this happens, I do believe he should gracefully step down. But only if a replacement of monumental character can be found. Who's out there?


Back to healthy negativity among fans; 


There's nothing wrong with objective, realistic and constructive criticism with the sole aim to encourage new ideas and advice on possible improvements. Remember, we're not managers, we're not board members and we're not players. We pay (alot) to be entertained, like going to a theatre, we pay an entrance fee and hope to enjoy the spectacle. 
But the people that moan about paying, do have a choice, just don't pay! Watch it at the pub or at home as the majority of arsenal's fans have to. 
There are more than 60,000 Gooners in the world you know! 


If Arsenal could build a 500,000 seater stadium, there would still be a waiting list! There are people who are desperate for a season ticket or tickets in general who'd happily snap them up if you don't want to pay for them.


With football, there will be disappointments, it's normal. 
With our lack of silverware recently, the pressure is on. But in a way, with the media, betting world and our rivals no longer expecting much from us in terms of a challenge any more. The pressure should be off. Expectations are lower in some ways. Maybe that will relieve the pressure and with less pressure, the team can relax, play their game to the best of their abilities and if a trophy is the reward at the end then we have something extra to celebrate and new bragging rights to barter with. 


If not, then along the way, with the players we have and the Arsenal playing philosophy, we should still be entertained. 


So I am looking forward to the new campaign with optimism. I'm looking forward to being entertained, frustrated, excited, disappointed then ecstatic again. That's what football is, it's an unrehearsed show at a theatre called The Grove (Emirates doesn't sound right) and we never know what the ending will be like until the curtain comes down at 90+ minutes. Until then, enjoy it the best you can. If it's shit, there's always another show to check out next week!


Come on You Gunners! 


Also, coming soon; New 'Get your Kits Out' feature...............look out for it, it'll be fun! 

Just an Observation

JUST AN OBSERVATION: It saddens me to say this, but i'm noticing more and more 'Gooners' with a very short term...'spend spend spend now and fuck the future' ...'we want a billionaire to buy the trophies' mentality. It's almost like the mentality of the chavs, spuds, mancs etc is rubbing off on Gooners.

We've been a very patient bunch and patience with Wenger and the board has understandably worn very very thin.

But, for example - It seems, in answer to questions like: 'Who would we want to replace Wenger?' Many Gooners stink of the mentality that the grass is greener on the other side.

"Mourinho" someone suggests!...i'm not sure I want that Fergie butt kissing, dribbly, slimey twat managing the club I love, no matter how many trophies he's won.

He IS a great tactician, most players are well motivated by him, but he don't give a shite about the club..he's just like many of the players, MONEY is his motivation, glory, fame, getting the attention.....he won't look to the future as well as dealing with the present, he won't nurture academy talent and give them a chance... he'd come in, win us a couple of trophies and then fuck off...leaving us where? Playing shite boring football with players we don't want anymore but cant get rid of cos their wages are too high (see Man City) ..and we'd have just become another City, or Chavski or Hotspuds...who've had about 769 managers during Wengers' tenure and of whom, quite frankly, I'd be ashamed to support.

I don't know about you lot but despite a 6 year trophyless period, i'm still very proud to be a Gooner because of our heritage, our future, our pride, our traditional values, our beautiful football and our financial stability which has us in good stead for the future.

YES the club is bigger than players and managers but at least the players and managers of the future will have a financially stable, proud club to take over, with an ever flowing conveyor of young talent that has been taught to play the Arsenal way so that we can continue to be entertained as fans. That's ultimately what football is!..it's entertainment, drama, excitement...we don't sit there for 90 minutes admiring how shiny our bloody trophy cabinet is.

I'm not sure about you but I have acknowledged the sheer amount of bad luck and the fine lines during these six barren years... Injuries, bad refereeing decisions, injuries, more injuries, more corrupt refs in the Champions League, an English press that clearly hates us, yet we've always finished in the top four and are still the team that most neutrals would always chose to watch for entertaining football.

That bad luck has to turn around sometime and the young team that has come so close over these years, with a few tweaks by Wenger this summer, will win something.

Yes people will say, he should have made changes last year and the year before, but if RVP, Vermaelen, Cesc, Theo's etc injuries had not existed the last few years, we probably would have won a few trophies by now and all this Wenger hatred wouldn't exist!

That's how fine the lines are and this is why I'm still proud and still have faith in the current regime. I know people can't always look back and refer to previous successes as justification.....or can we?

Isn't that what we all do as a measure of success?! Why are we proud to be Gooners?.... because of our history!....

George Graham won a lot of trophies, he was loved by most Gooners, things then went wrong, he was hated by some Gooners, a new manager comes in, win things,  is loved, things then go wrong, he's now hated, but George Graham is suddenly the bogs dollocks again?! Some people have very selective memories and very fickle minds.

I'm not telling people how to think but maybe, like me, they should base their opinions of a manager on their overall success, mentaility, contribution and their loyalty to the club.

Wenger, Graham, Chapman, Mee ..... many many managers have contributed a hell of a lot or just a little to our fine history, Wenger has already contributed a hell of a lot too and still feels he has more to offer, so do I.......So do MOST Gooners!

Wenger haters are gladly still a minority group and if that's their opinion so be it, but here's a fact:

Wenger is still in charge and there is FACK-ALL you can do about it! So stop fucking whining like spud fans, get behind the man and the squad and maybe with a bit more of a positive vibe at the ground, around the globe, on forums and other media platforms, we'll be glorious again! 

Imagine;

We could be Liverpool fans - without a Premier league trophy - EVER!

We could be Leeds Utd fans, flirting with the Champions League one season and then down in league 2 a couple of years later!

We could be ignorant fucks like the spuds, always in our shadow, yet acting like they're the bees fucking knees all the time and having the audacity to even dare to try and laud one over us about anything to do with football....  but we're not... we're Gooners and have a lot to be proud of and more to come.

A six year period is a long time, but think back and ask yourself this;

"Have I been entertained in the meantime?"

If the answer is no then you're not a FOOTBALL fan, you're a fucking glory hunter and need to piss off to another club.

If, like me, you can say, "yeah, i'm pissed off at missing out on silverware so many times by so many fine lines and a shite load of bad luck but fuck me! it's been a joy to watch the Arsenal play!" then chin up, be a Gooner, squeeze out a little more patience and see what happens cos I reckon our time is coming and in a big way! 

Rant over.

Arsenal misery halts blogging....

Not that many of you have missed it but I still feel I should apologise for the lack of posts here recently. My last, was over a month ago. The reason;...I've been so miserable at our capitulation that my fingers fell off through numbness.

I've grown some more since April 13th so I feel like posting just once more after the last game of the season against Fulham. So look out for that one.

In the meantime, please accept my apologies, if I'd used my toes to type it would have looked something like this:

oawbdva wgf g jefojWAI UBFBAuus832 92093r  wf fuck wed 3rfgwefah   ifwuw82 0ik nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn wef wefawgeewggg.......etc.

Jack the Rare Breed, Supporters lifted, haters silenced and Cheerleaders wanted!

It's been a while since my last post. I suppose I entered a sort of 'blog depression' during 3 weeks of misery, turmoil and disappointment. So I gaffer taped my Netbook's keyboard and left well alone. There were so many blogs, articles, tweets etc throwing opinions around about the doom and gloom and then;
Gooner 'Civil War' broke out.

I did my best to keep my trap shut. I realised that constructive criticism and objectivity amongst positive supporters could not be forced down the throats of fans who have every right to voice their opinions, even if those opinions were utter belly button fluff.

There are more positive Gooners out there than negative ones. Various names have been lobbed about regarding the negative fans and their rants; Plastics, Part-time fans, Fans but not Supporters etc.

I'm leaving people like that to it. I have lost patience with people like that and don't want to waste my time on them any more.

It has been a tough time. Points lost with draws that should have been wins, yet still unbeaten in 2011 in the league & also dumped out of 3 competitions.

Yes it has been disappointing but I simply keep reminding myself of the following;

• We have no RIGHT to win ANY trophy or to EXPECT to win a trophy. Yet we've come so close so many times. There are only 4 of them available amongst 20 teams after all.
• We have been punching way above our weight for years given the financial resources we've had, the age and experience of the squad and in some cases the vomit inducing bad luck we've encountered.
• Our closest rivals have spent and lost hundreds of millions to win their rewards when we've built a new home and shown how a club should be run in a self sustainable, future proof way which is common sense in such a delicate worldwide economic climate. Yet we're the only ones that tend to come away with a yearly profit!
• I've even been able to buy shares of the club I love so much (and certainly intend to keep them; Silent Stan!). 

Maybe it's the way I've been brought up, but I always try to appreciate what I have and enjoy the simple things. For me, finishing in the top four every season, watching beautiful football and the way a young, inexperienced team are slowly learning together, living the drama of the ups and downs with them, is something to be appreciated.

To me, Football is about being entertained and winning a trophy is a reward for the team who does the best within a given season. We may not have 'quite' been good enough, but I have certainly been entertained!

This week has seen the doom clouds lift. A little at least!

We celebrated a win against Blackpool like it was a 15-0 drubbing of neighbours Spuds. (slight exaggeration there) That sums it all up.
Beating relegation fodder, who were extremely unlucky in my eyes, made us all feel fantastic!

News that RVP (arguably our MVP at the moment) had given Diaby a Rollicking Robin at half time over his short tempered, petulant kicking away of the ball, was music to my ears. Finally some fight, grit, and leadership shown from another player apart from Jack!

Lehman's presence was clearly a factor too. Seeing him belching out orders to the team was like taking a step back in time (as was seeing him take out a striker!) and hopefully his presence in the dressing room will inspire and teach #1 WoyChez (pronounced: Vouchers) a few more things for when he returns, hopefully against Liverpool if recent reports from Arsenal's medical team are accurate.

It felt good again with an important win, though I hope Blackpool stay up. They have been brilliant this season and I love watching them play. There are many other teams that should be in their place, Stoke being just one of them.

Then there was the news that tore me in two.

Stan Kroenke takes control of Arsenal.

The amount of times my chest and throat has felt like a boxing ring, when I've had to step in between my heart and my brain as they do bloody battle 'Rocky 2' style over my feelings about AFC being taken over by a sugar daddy, I don't know.

But after 24 hours of mixed feelings, research and inner deliberation, I've decided that Stan Kroenke is NOT a Sugar Daddy and that his increased interest in the club could really be a good thing.

Wenger haters out there may laugh at me for this, but the main catalyst into my positive thinking about this is down to Wenger. When he stated that he was behind the move and backed the man himself, I felt relieved.

"I have worked with Stan Kroenke at board meetings over the past couple of years and I believe he has the best interests of Arsenal at heart............He understands the club's heritage and traditions and our ambition to run the club in a way which protects our long-term future."

This statement alone was enough for me.

There are other details still to be ironed out;

Will Usmanov sell or keep his shares? According to James Olley of the London Evening Standard, he has already refused to, though no official statement has been released by 'Red and White Holdings' as yet.

In some ways, this could be good as it would help protect the 'Fanshare' position by ensuring we wouldn't be forced to sell our shares to make Kroenke the 'Sole' owner.
The AST have already met with Kroenke and made it clear that 'Fanshare' holders, including myself, wish to keep control of these shares. All seems amicable at present though and the consensus is that everyone is working as a team.

The future looks even brighter now me thinks. Wenger's spending policy won't change much but we'll still have our stability plus he'll have the extra flexibility to flex the financial muscle should he need or want to.

Rumours of a promised £40m war chest are just that, rumours.

But I hope if a Premiership experienced prospect such as Scott Parker, who has been immense this season and reminds me of legend Ray Parlour in regards to his work ethic and under-rated technical ability, or if Jagielka or Cahill became available, I'd like to think that despite the fact that they're English and will undoubtedly be over priced, we would still have more room for negotiation if any other money bags sugar daddy plaything clubs tried to barge in on the action.

Off the Field:


I came across an interesting take on the saga by Jeffrey Goldfarb of 'Reuters breaking Views'. Worth a read if you would like an alternative perspective from the States.

I also came across an interesting video regarding Arsenal's use of technology to stream highlights of the game and other features straight to Sony PSP whilst in the stadium! At the time of release it was apparently being considered for trial but I don't know if it's happening now or at later date or even if it's been scrapped as I have a feeling an Android/Ipad/Iphone streaming App. would have been more popular anyway. 


Nevertheless, imagine when you're at the Grove, stuck in a queue for a beer, burger or dump, you can watch highlights of the 15 goals Arsenal had just put past the Spuds in the first half! Awesome!

Jack Wilshere made a bold statement on Twitter regarding his future;

"People asking if im going city? I dont kiss the Arsenal badge then leave <3 this club in my heart!"

All I can say is I never doubted the lad once!
He seems to be a one in a million, a rare breed and possibly the first player since Tony Adams, to be a career Arsenal Player, barring his loan spells of course.

He is definitely a future captain for club and country and we all know he'll wear the armband with pride. He has a lot to learn still and we can expect ups and downs but all in all, Jack sums up the pride and honour I feel in being affiliated with 'The Arsenal'.


Clichy has also apparently quashed rumours of an exit this summer with some telling statements. Welcome news to most Gooners I'm sure. (click on the link to read more)


Next up is a massive game against Liverpool at the Grove. Liverpool worked very hard (take a leaf lads) against albeit a poor Man City and I have to admit after their tremendous performance, coupled with our fluctuating flatulent form, I am a little worried, almost to the point of: Arsenal Performances+Flatulence = Unexpected Poo. Anyone got a spare adult Diaper? (a nappy in English terms but diaper sounds better) 

I'm not thinking about the game after on the Wednesday as that could well be deemed a formality should we not beat Liverpool. It all rests on those boring shits Manure, having one final blip as we reach the tail end  of the season.

Til then;
Positive vibes a must, roaring fans required, both home and away, especially at home (the away fans deserve an award for the best travelling Premiership fans of the season in my biased, but fairly accurate book).

Til next time, here are some of Mr Kroenke's Cheerleaders from Arsenal's sister team and current MLS Champions, the Colorado Rapids:


Do you reckon he'd lend a few of em to us to cheer us up if needed, especially the third one! ;-)

Gimme an 'A'

Gimme an 'F'

Gimme a 'C' & WaddaYaGet?
A Fit Cheerleader!

(*My thanks to YCJ for the images)


Please comment, pass on, and join me on my Twitter page where I will be giving away an Arsenal T-shirt randomly once I reach 1000 followers!

Also join me on Facebook as well as the Arsenal Ranter FC 1886 Daily Edition:

Adieu!

Mass debates: Good for the Soul?

A certain Twitter member whom I admirer greatly as she has served as an inspiration for my blog and twitter behaviours, is @LadyArse.

Not only does she amass great debate and write interesting daily blog posts, she also makes awesome Arsenal t-shirts too!

In fact I shall purchase one to give away to my 1000th follower on Twitter, a promise I made previously and shall stick to as my ArsenalRant is my word.

This little ditty is about debate.

I've joined in with LadyArse's debates this week and now feel the need to share my views on some of those subjects with others who may have missed out.

I know I have certain readers who follow other teams like Liverpool, Manure and Swindon Town! 

They read and feedback to me but I know they are not as interested in my Arsenal only - related posts as they are with posts that include Arsenal and other items regarding the Premiership, England and general football topics which are easier to engage in a universal sense.

So this is for all you neutrals, Gooners and sad jealous followers of other teams to join in with. 

(Of course you still have to bear in mind that my views are NOT neutral and are still tainted with the red of Arsenal, but I know no other way!)

Fergie gets a five match ban (two activated from a previous suspended charge) from the FA this week! Finally they use their power for good! This is probably the best decision they've made for............(you fill in the blanks)

The debate was based around how the FA seem to deem the criticism of a referee as more serious than a broken leg from a dangerous tackle. The following are my opinions on the subject. As you may know, I'm no fan of the (Corrupt) FA, FIFA & UEFA so I never hold back on subjects like these:

......Breaking a players leg either maliciously or by accident deserves a far harsher punishment than a manager/player would get for criticising/demeaning a referee or questioning a ref's integrity.
There is an ongoing issue that when a player has his leg broken or is badly injured from a poor challenge that the punishment doesn't fit the crime.

A player who's leg is broken, has damaged ligaments or head injuries could take him/her out for anything between three games to a whole season or more.
So how is charging the instigator with a measly three game ban, fair punishment?
Why should a team go without an important player for so long, yet the person who put him in that position can still play on after a three game ban/rest which ultimately serves to benefit his/her team.

Ok on occasion, a three game ban for an important player at an important part of the season could affect their teams' results for those three games, but that's it.
They then have them back to help with their season's challenges. Whereas the team who have lost an important player are affected for a much longer period. Arsenal have been regular victims of this scenario.

Oh, where's the ball Shawcross cos it aint down Ramsey's Sock fuckwit!

At this point, Shawcross was walking off crying like a Nani. Thug!

Cynics such as myself could be forgiven for thinking that a team could set out to hurt an opposing player of importance on purpose in order to sabotage their opponent's own season's challenges and in effect, stifle them as a rival.

It wouldn't surprise me if this had happened on many occasions, if only it could be proved.
Oh wait, hold on, I seem to remember a certain Roy Keane openly admitting in his own autobiography that he purposely set out to injure a certain Man City player a few years back. No retrospective punishment for that of course.

Is it possible that one day a rule would be brought in that suggests;
If a player is proven (using video technology) to maliciously/poorly challenge a player which puts him/her on the sidelines for a prolonged period, that the instigator should be banned for that same period of time.

I doubt it.

Some moron/twat/phlegmchewing backwards sewage breath prick piped up about how Wenger and all affiliated with Arsenal had over-reacted about Shawcross' leg breaking challenge on Ramsey a year ago. 

How Shawcross, the poor chap, was unlucky etc. He even dared to compare Shawcross with two Arsenal players who have been a bitey at times but only rarely!......basically utter bollocks, which prompted this rant in reply;

Shawcross, the poor chap?! has a reputation as a very bad tackler. He has a very, very, very low standard of technical ability when it comes to tackling. Luckily for him he's only actually broken one players' leg, that was Ramsey's.

All the other players that have been the victims of the multitude of ill-timed, rash, reckless challenges have been lucky enough to at least play again in the same season.
Putting it simply, Shawcross deserves every bit of the abuse he receives from Arsenal fans.
He will also deserve the abuse he gets from fans of other clubs once he badly injures a few of their players.

Birmingham insist it was a simple mis-timed tackle. I insist he is still a cunt for making it.

Human bones are not supposed to escape the skin and poke through football socks like that. 

I'm looking forward to the day when Fergie and Hughes and the likes of all the fuck face managers who lambasted Wenger for his reaction, will have to swallow their words when they too are slagging off a very poor footballer for injuring one of their players..... hopefully Rooney/Nani......too many to mention.

In regards to Cesc's and Wilshere's tackles, they cannot be compared. One thing our players are good at, when they do it, is making good clean tackles, they are taught how to tackle in a very technical way, the same effort is put into that as it is into how to dribble and shoot.
If they do go in a bit harder than normal 'in the heat of the moment' the intent may be to get the player as well as the ball but in a good old fashioned way, with vigour but not intent to physically damage the player in a malicious way. When was the last time an Arsenal player broke an opposing players leg/ankle/cheekbone/head? I can't remember. 

Basically, frustration can play it's part and we have a poor record in terms of yellow and red cards (mainly for minor/professional challenges or over-reaction in Diaby's case!) but not one player can be accused of a lack of ability in tackling or that he is malicious or dangerous in any way.

IF any Arsenal player was stupid enough to dangerously tackle someone which led to a broken body part, then TRUE Arsenal fans would lambaste that player no matter who he is as we do not want that kind of reputation at our club. 

Stoke and the likes seem to love having that reputation and even boast about it, where are they in the league? How many people go to watch their football? Only their thick inbred fans, that's who.

There has been plenty of other debate which Arsenal fans may agree to be of more importance.

Like what the feck has happened to our season?

But that's for another time. I'd like to see how we perform in our next Premiership game before passing judgement on our prospects. 

Overall, as you should gather from my previous post, I see our current position as a positive and shall remain so as much as possible.

Other debates could surround the hoo-haa about Fabio Crapello's captaincy balls up. 

What's going on there? 

Is Terry being reinstated or not? 

Frankly, I don't give a flying fuck who is Captain of England.

I've been so disappointed in the team as a whole and especially in the manager that I just want to see some decent performances first.......That's it! 

Do away with the Captain altogether and make them play for it. 

Then we'll see who deserves it. 

Anyway, Jack Wilshere is the future of the country and will probably be captain for many years without shagging any of his team mates' wags. 

Now that's how you tackle.

In fact, give him the captaincy now!