Enough of the moping around. The whole world seems to have assessed the game sufficient accurately, so I won't ever go into our team's performance on Saturday again.
As for the coming apology from Keith Hackett for the pathetic refereeing decision re Le Boss's kick out at a water bottle, just go screw yerselves, I say. Who cares. Perhaps read this one Arseblog entry if you feel like it - just for some context.
Elsewhere though, it makes me smile and think of all the wondrous divine powers that must be at work. Now, this weekend, Celtic's Aiden McWhatever gets sent off following a second yellow for DIVING. Yes sir. Of course, Mr Mowbray claims no way was it a dive, but what follows is classic:
"If you take the incident into context with the week we've had - the Eduardo situation - then if that hadn't been blown up so big then 99 times out of 100, maybe 100 times out of 100, never in a million years is there a yellow card shown."
- Who the hell played it up, apart from your own team and the chief of your own FA?
"I think there was a pressure on the referee after the week we've had. He's been influenced by this diving situation."
- Indeed. See above, and who "influenced" this whole diving extravaganza.
"We've now suffered twice in the same week from the Eduardo situation, like a double whammy. We suffered from a penalty on Wednesday night and we have suffered today."
- See, you twat. Aren't you playing up the whole Eduardo Affair all over again? Idiots who can't see the contradictions in their comments two sentences apart should just kill themselves to avoid the embarassment.
And finally:
"Players like Aiden have to ride tackles or he'll never play football. I would suggest he's gone to ground probably because he's knackered after travelling 50 yards and skipping tackles."
- Good reasons, those: "riding tackles", "knackered". Pathetic. But, better get them translated into Croat and Portugese in case Ed needs to use them during the appeal.
Since we're all in a rather bitchy, post-Saturday shits kind of mood, I thought I'd say something about Ade#$!%'s love-in with Mark Hughes, or vice versa:
"There was a lot said about Ade as a player and as a person and a lot of it was negative."
"But he has come in and he is very much wanting to be a success for us. A lot of the things that were said before [about him] … I haven't seen it in him. He is a good vocal voice in the dressing room and he is encouraging his team-mates."
"I have been really impressed by his play and his personality. It's clear to see that he's enjoying what's around him and the fans at City love him. Maybe that's what was missing from his life before."
It's all over the place, but if you're bothered, go here.
Y'know. It's funny. I swear if I bothered, I'd find exactly the same things said when he first came to the Arse. Clearly, he's a friggin' good footballer when he can be bothered, and someone anybody would like to have in their team, when he can be bothered.
All I can say to Sparky is, well, good luck. Let's see what happens when come January, agents get up to their tricks again. Let's not forget there's no issue of him being cup-tied in Europe.
As such, wonder what would happen if Real offered him a £1 increase in his weekly wages, but with the promise of European football to go with his ego. So yes, it'll be interesting, when he realises what had been missing in his life before. (By the way, is it me, or is it only the case when you're talking about chicks, meeting a wife to be, getting laid for the first time, or having kids that people realise "what has been missing from their lives"?)
Finally, with all the goings on the last few days, I've missed the draw for the ultra-important Carling Cup 3rd Round. We'll be at home to WBA, so it'll be nice for our youngsters (ooops, they're our first team now) not to have to travel. Great opportunity for Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Fran Merida, Carlos Vela (if not crocked) to have a run out. I think this season, they will be a force to be reckoned with in the Carling Cup actually.
Elsewhere in the Carling Cup, there's an interesting tie at Elland Road - Liverpool visit. Nice. Should put some money on Leeds. Also, Preston North End v Spurs at Deepdale. For all sorts of reasons, that would be a tie I'd have liked to have gone to support PNE.
As it stands then. A couple hours to transfer deadline, and still nothing interesting happening. Oh well. C'est la vie.
Ciao.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Review: Manchester United 2 - Arsenal 1
God does have a sense of humour; and the footballing gods have a particularly dark and black sense. Nothing much to say that I am still in a state of shock, depression, incomprehension that threatens to draken my moods for the next 2 weeks till we get back on the pitch.
It was a game, as I'd said - was ripe for our taking. A game that we shoul've won quite comfortably; a game where Man U were consistently second best; a game that we gave away and wrecked by the referee and his assistants.
The start of the game was typical Arse-Man U. Cagey, nervous, error strewn. Once that was out of the way, however, we came out on top, with RVP and then Arshavin having near misses in the 25th minute or so. First sign of a crap referee (who over the course of the game would dish out 9 yellow cards that was on the whole NOT an over-the-top game) was when he turned down the Fletcher-Arshavin challenge that could not not have been a penalty. Of course, the Arsh made it all academic when he released a typical Arsh-Henry-esque thunderbolt to deservedly give us the lead.
The start of the second half, and we continue to boss. RVP really should've put the game to bed, but somehow, Foster got lucky with a clearance following some super running again from the Arsh.
Like some kind of nightmare, it all changes in a couple of minutes. A 50-50 penalty. The sheer irony. RVP hitting the bar, and the Diaby fiasco. Don't know what can be said, and what RVP said to him at the re-start thereafter. What he should've done though, was at least hit the target when clear through immediately after. Poor guy seemed shattered.
I'm not going to go into the player ratings. It would be too painful. We played well, far better than Man U, but came away with nothing. In the larger scheme to things, it's not a diasatrous defeat, in that we have the whole season ahead of us. It would, however, have been significant if we'd done. Man U's credentials would be seriously dented, and we would be in great shape. I can only hope that we can bounce back, with City in 2 weeks. The important thing would be get this inexplicable moment out of our systems, and get back to winning ways. The international break could be good and bad. To have a mid-week game now would probably be too much, but I'm sure it would be better to get back to football without having this game linger too long in our memories.
I'm pretty proud of the boys, and the performance they put in. Miles ahead of the displays we had in the Champions League against them.
It's painful to lose against Man U; excrutiating to lose in the manner we did. But it's just three points. We can get over it, and we must. Perhaps on the bright side, it was all for the better that this happened early in the season. All seasons must have their moments of inexplicable disaster. We've had ours. Now let's push ahead. On this performance alone, we're in good shape.
I have to say though - at half time, glowing our our lead and performance, I SMS-ed the guru to say that I had the awful feeling that the ref would screw everything over. Well. Let's just say that the ref and his fourth official put in a truly pathetic performance. The yellow cards - and I won't go into Le Boss's claims of partiality, the missed penalty, and finally, the sending off of Le Boss. That in my mind, just showed to what extent refs are human, and we have placed too much currency on their performances. Why and how Le Boss should be sanctioned for kicking a water bottle. Get a life. Yes, the refs got affected by the game and the atmosphere, but that's the last things ref should do. Pathetic.
For now, let's see what happens by the end of transfer deadline on Tuesday, whether UEFA get Eduardo hung, drawn and quartered, and whether our first team gets injured while on international duty.
In the meantime, I hope this depression doesn't last too long for me. Good luck to us all.
It was a game, as I'd said - was ripe for our taking. A game that we shoul've won quite comfortably; a game where Man U were consistently second best; a game that we gave away and wrecked by the referee and his assistants.
The start of the game was typical Arse-Man U. Cagey, nervous, error strewn. Once that was out of the way, however, we came out on top, with RVP and then Arshavin having near misses in the 25th minute or so. First sign of a crap referee (who over the course of the game would dish out 9 yellow cards that was on the whole NOT an over-the-top game) was when he turned down the Fletcher-Arshavin challenge that could not not have been a penalty. Of course, the Arsh made it all academic when he released a typical Arsh-Henry-esque thunderbolt to deservedly give us the lead.
The start of the second half, and we continue to boss. RVP really should've put the game to bed, but somehow, Foster got lucky with a clearance following some super running again from the Arsh.
Like some kind of nightmare, it all changes in a couple of minutes. A 50-50 penalty. The sheer irony. RVP hitting the bar, and the Diaby fiasco. Don't know what can be said, and what RVP said to him at the re-start thereafter. What he should've done though, was at least hit the target when clear through immediately after. Poor guy seemed shattered.
I'm not going to go into the player ratings. It would be too painful. We played well, far better than Man U, but came away with nothing. In the larger scheme to things, it's not a diasatrous defeat, in that we have the whole season ahead of us. It would, however, have been significant if we'd done. Man U's credentials would be seriously dented, and we would be in great shape. I can only hope that we can bounce back, with City in 2 weeks. The important thing would be get this inexplicable moment out of our systems, and get back to winning ways. The international break could be good and bad. To have a mid-week game now would probably be too much, but I'm sure it would be better to get back to football without having this game linger too long in our memories.
I'm pretty proud of the boys, and the performance they put in. Miles ahead of the displays we had in the Champions League against them.
It's painful to lose against Man U; excrutiating to lose in the manner we did. But it's just three points. We can get over it, and we must. Perhaps on the bright side, it was all for the better that this happened early in the season. All seasons must have their moments of inexplicable disaster. We've had ours. Now let's push ahead. On this performance alone, we're in good shape.
I have to say though - at half time, glowing our our lead and performance, I SMS-ed the guru to say that I had the awful feeling that the ref would screw everything over. Well. Let's just say that the ref and his fourth official put in a truly pathetic performance. The yellow cards - and I won't go into Le Boss's claims of partiality, the missed penalty, and finally, the sending off of Le Boss. That in my mind, just showed to what extent refs are human, and we have placed too much currency on their performances. Why and how Le Boss should be sanctioned for kicking a water bottle. Get a life. Yes, the refs got affected by the game and the atmosphere, but that's the last things ref should do. Pathetic.
For now, let's see what happens by the end of transfer deadline on Tuesday, whether UEFA get Eduardo hung, drawn and quartered, and whether our first team gets injured while on international duty.
In the meantime, I hope this depression doesn't last too long for me. Good luck to us all.
Friday, August 28, 2009
The Eduardo Affair: UPDATE
Shiver me timbers. UEFA have gone and done it. Betrayed themselves to be a thoroughly politicised, inept and partial organisation. They have since charged Eduardo, and will consider punishment on 1 September.
Le Boss: "I find it a complete disgrace and unacceptable. We won't accept the way we have been treated in this case for two reasons. I believe that you can debate whether it was a penalty or not. For me it's a witch-hunt that we see and not an objective judgement of a case."
Spot on. Eduardo's ban for two games (if it comes to that) will be nothing. Standard Liege and Olympiacos. Fine. But UEFA had better be totally aware of the shit they have waded into.
My advice to Le Boss: let's just take whatever comes. We can live with the punishment, and the main thing is to keep our minds on the game. We don't need this ahead of Old Trafford. What we must do, however, is keep a firm eye on all that happens here on in - in both our games and others - that UEFA keeps to a strong single standard, and not (as expected) betray their dastardly double standards. We're not just talking penalties here then. It'll have to be extended to all sorts of feigned injuries, tumbles outside the box, etc etc etc.
What a pathetically weak organisation to fall prey to the gabberings of Celtic FC.
I only have one word left: Ronaldo.
Le Boss: "I find it a complete disgrace and unacceptable. We won't accept the way we have been treated in this case for two reasons. I believe that you can debate whether it was a penalty or not. For me it's a witch-hunt that we see and not an objective judgement of a case."
Spot on. Eduardo's ban for two games (if it comes to that) will be nothing. Standard Liege and Olympiacos. Fine. But UEFA had better be totally aware of the shit they have waded into.
My advice to Le Boss: let's just take whatever comes. We can live with the punishment, and the main thing is to keep our minds on the game. We don't need this ahead of Old Trafford. What we must do, however, is keep a firm eye on all that happens here on in - in both our games and others - that UEFA keeps to a strong single standard, and not (as expected) betray their dastardly double standards. We're not just talking penalties here then. It'll have to be extended to all sorts of feigned injuries, tumbles outside the box, etc etc etc.
What a pathetically weak organisation to fall prey to the gabberings of Celtic FC.
I only have one word left: Ronaldo.
L'Hypocrisie / Лицемерие
Well, for those who don't know, that's French and Russian for hypocrisy. Seems to be a lot of that going round at the moment, and I can't help but put it all down right now.
#1: L'Hypocrisie
It was funny. Read this little bit about Platini (our favouriate fat ass) now wading into the Eduardo Affair. (Let's call it that from now on). Makes interesting points, and I actually thought quite highly of him in the first few lines. See for yourself:
"I know why players dive. I've dived myself. "We did it because we knew the referee wouldn't see it and also because there were no cameras."
Good boy. One of the first few people to be honest about it, put up your hand and say: "I cheated too." And then:
"The first time I simulated a dive, everyone in my team said to me 'Well done'. If we could get away with it, we would. It has always been like that."
Also very good. Then some more:
"It was always my dream to dive and get a penalty in the 1982 World Cup semi-final to make up for the German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher fouling our player Patrick Battiston outside the area."
"If I could have done it, I would. I hate injustice and wanted to put things right. I was just too tired to get into the box to do it.
Yes good, but betrayed his fat laziness already. And then, in true form, comes the crunch:
"There are disciplinary procedures at UEFA and the procedure could be taken to suspend the player."
I think it was Arseblogger would said it best: UEFA will have to explain how a yellow card offence during a match becomes a two match ban off it. Maybe they should just make a dive an automatic 48 year ban without parole, in a US federal penitentiary where everyone's always staring at the boys with glazed-over leery eyes. Then maybe that would sort things out once and for all. And yes, staple those "Respect" badges over their right nipple while you're at it.
Anyways, fatso (aka Platini) has said that there will now be two extra refs staring at the goal lines and looking out for infringements. Guess what, the way they're heading, there'll be a ref for everyone square inch of line/pitch in a few years. Must as well train the stewards to do the same. Or maybe get some linesmen from the world of tennis. Just get on with the friggin' video replays why don't you.
Speaking of tennis, I kinda like the system of the hawk-eye and challenges. We should do the same: Each team would be allowed two. If they get it right, then they keep their two. If not, then it gets cancelled out. Let them challenge penalties, goal-line decisions, etc etc etc. But hey, it's just two challenges.
All in all, it's about time the geriatrics in FIFA (Fat Blatter) and UEFA (fatso) move with the times and stop behaving like emperors over their little fiefdoms.
#2: Лицемерие
Elsewhere, Romano Bloody Bitch ain't feeling so rich anymore, and jealousy over Middle Eastern riches in Manchester has got him going. It's typical. He's had his couple of good years buying the Premiership. Now, clearly, he fears it ain't gonna be quite enough, now that the sheikhs have bought into his game. So he's now the champion of balanced books. haha.
Not surprising that fatso is somehow involved in this, but RBB is backing fatso's plan that will allow clubs to only spend what they earn in revenue, and guess what: any club which does not balance the books in the next three years could be kicked out of European competition. So again, I say to thee: heed the words of Le Boss. Arsene knows. Keep it up, and we'll have ourselves an independent separate European league, and UEFA can continue to administer to the likes of the smaller European leagues.
It's a good idea, mind you; it's just that when you put fatso and RBB together...
Alright. Again, enough bad karma for the day.
Eboue's ebullient, Song's on song, Denilson's...Denilson, Vermaelen's Vermaelen, and Mohawk Billy's scoring goals with his nipple. I'm feeling good about tomorrow.
Come on you Gunners!
#1: L'Hypocrisie
It was funny. Read this little bit about Platini (our favouriate fat ass) now wading into the Eduardo Affair. (Let's call it that from now on). Makes interesting points, and I actually thought quite highly of him in the first few lines. See for yourself:
"I know why players dive. I've dived myself. "We did it because we knew the referee wouldn't see it and also because there were no cameras."
Good boy. One of the first few people to be honest about it, put up your hand and say: "I cheated too." And then:
"The first time I simulated a dive, everyone in my team said to me 'Well done'. If we could get away with it, we would. It has always been like that."
Also very good. Then some more:
"It was always my dream to dive and get a penalty in the 1982 World Cup semi-final to make up for the German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher fouling our player Patrick Battiston outside the area."
"If I could have done it, I would. I hate injustice and wanted to put things right. I was just too tired to get into the box to do it.
Yes good, but betrayed his fat laziness already. And then, in true form, comes the crunch:
"There are disciplinary procedures at UEFA and the procedure could be taken to suspend the player."
I think it was Arseblogger would said it best: UEFA will have to explain how a yellow card offence during a match becomes a two match ban off it. Maybe they should just make a dive an automatic 48 year ban without parole, in a US federal penitentiary where everyone's always staring at the boys with glazed-over leery eyes. Then maybe that would sort things out once and for all. And yes, staple those "Respect" badges over their right nipple while you're at it.
Anyways, fatso (aka Platini) has said that there will now be two extra refs staring at the goal lines and looking out for infringements. Guess what, the way they're heading, there'll be a ref for everyone square inch of line/pitch in a few years. Must as well train the stewards to do the same. Or maybe get some linesmen from the world of tennis. Just get on with the friggin' video replays why don't you.
Speaking of tennis, I kinda like the system of the hawk-eye and challenges. We should do the same: Each team would be allowed two. If they get it right, then they keep their two. If not, then it gets cancelled out. Let them challenge penalties, goal-line decisions, etc etc etc. But hey, it's just two challenges.
All in all, it's about time the geriatrics in FIFA (Fat Blatter) and UEFA (fatso) move with the times and stop behaving like emperors over their little fiefdoms.
#2: Лицемерие
Elsewhere, Romano Bloody Bitch ain't feeling so rich anymore, and jealousy over Middle Eastern riches in Manchester has got him going. It's typical. He's had his couple of good years buying the Premiership. Now, clearly, he fears it ain't gonna be quite enough, now that the sheikhs have bought into his game. So he's now the champion of balanced books. haha.
Not surprising that fatso is somehow involved in this, but RBB is backing fatso's plan that will allow clubs to only spend what they earn in revenue, and guess what: any club which does not balance the books in the next three years could be kicked out of European competition. So again, I say to thee: heed the words of Le Boss. Arsene knows. Keep it up, and we'll have ourselves an independent separate European league, and UEFA can continue to administer to the likes of the smaller European leagues.
It's a good idea, mind you; it's just that when you put fatso and RBB together...
Alright. Again, enough bad karma for the day.
Eboue's ebullient, Song's on song, Denilson's...Denilson, Vermaelen's Vermaelen, and Mohawk Billy's scoring goals with his nipple. I'm feeling good about tomorrow.
Come on you Gunners!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Win, lose or Draw
Our Champions League luck continues with the draw. We amazingly avoid the top second-seeded teams in Madrid, Juve, Inter and I would add, Porto and even Lyon. Our final Group H mates then, are AZ Alkmaar, Olympiakos and Standard Liege. Pretty decent, and most would see that of all the English teams, we've got the best deal. Charlie Nicholas has been ooh-ing and aah-ing, so this basically sums it up. This all augurs well for us to finish top of the table, and again - avoid top teams in the next draw. There'll be more reactions for sure, and we can monitor that as it comes in.
There're way more interesting draws elsewhere - AC Milan/Madrid, and Barca/Inter especially. That's why we all love the Champions League, and further underlines Le Boss's point about the evolution of a European league one fine day in the near future. Speaking of Milan and Madrid, pretty happy to note that they'll be visiting Zurich, so that opens up some interesting options for watching games.
As for the match schedule, the full list is right here. We begin with a trip to Liege on a Wednesday - which is a day after Zurich host Madrid, so there's an idea! Anyway, our trip to Belgium comes after tricky travels to Manchester, so there's a bit to think about as well.
There's some reeeallly irritating shit going on the Arse front, and it all comes from north of the border. First, there was that twat Donati: "If it is clear on television then UEFA must act against Eduardo and ban him. I think he should get a two-match suspension." Then, no less than the chief of the Scottish FA: "We have shown the courage to use retrospective punishment when it comes to simulation and I would urge UEFA to do so in this instance. Everything that can be done to stamp it out must be done - starting right now."
What absolute bags of hypocritical horse manure. I'm sure they would say exactly the same thing if they'd won a dubious penalty as their first goal, and got the aggregate score to 2-1. They'd have said: "No, no thanks, Mr Ref. You see, I have this little "Respect" badge on my sleeve, and we really are gentlemen up here, so while you have made a genuine mistake, I think we should just miss this penalty." I suppose this all just shows what absolute losers they are up there. Tell you what. As a gesture of goodwill, Arse should either (a) deduct two (no, why not three) goals for that act of treachery from Eduardo. We really feel bad about the two shit goals you conceded, so we'll make that three; or (b) let's offer to replay the tie altogether. We'll even start with 10 men, and give you a goal's headstart. Would that make you shut the hell up?
I mean, the head of the Scottish FA (won't bother with what his name is) had to raise Eduardo's injury: "Eduardo is a terrific player who has battled back from a serious injury to resume playing at the highest level. However, last night he showed disrespect to the game by his actions in winning a penalty against Celtic." Now what the hell has that got to do with him being a "cheat"? Epitome of pathetic, this is.
So, UEFA now are looking into it. If they had any sense, they'd forget the whole thing, have a quiet word with Le Boss and Eduardo and leave it well alone. They've got a whole lot more to deal with, and if they are even going to consider a ban, then I'd say they've got other people, games and past games to deal with.
This, though, raises for me what I've always thought might be necessary in the modern game: immediate replays for such decisions in the penalty area. Why not. But that's something I've spoken about on many occasions before, so I'll just leave it at that. My respect for Celtic has fallen to nothing. I suddenly find myself a Rangers fan, and am going to start watching Celtic games to see when they're going to turn down dubious penalties, free kicks, etc etc etc etc.
Alright, enough of these bad vibes, started by the worst of hypocritical low-IQ buffoons. Will look forward to Sunday, when I'm sure we'll have a more interesting game than those losers at Celtic ever will.
Ciao.
There're way more interesting draws elsewhere - AC Milan/Madrid, and Barca/Inter especially. That's why we all love the Champions League, and further underlines Le Boss's point about the evolution of a European league one fine day in the near future. Speaking of Milan and Madrid, pretty happy to note that they'll be visiting Zurich, so that opens up some interesting options for watching games.
As for the match schedule, the full list is right here. We begin with a trip to Liege on a Wednesday - which is a day after Zurich host Madrid, so there's an idea! Anyway, our trip to Belgium comes after tricky travels to Manchester, so there's a bit to think about as well.
There's some reeeallly irritating shit going on the Arse front, and it all comes from north of the border. First, there was that twat Donati: "If it is clear on television then UEFA must act against Eduardo and ban him. I think he should get a two-match suspension." Then, no less than the chief of the Scottish FA: "We have shown the courage to use retrospective punishment when it comes to simulation and I would urge UEFA to do so in this instance. Everything that can be done to stamp it out must be done - starting right now."
What absolute bags of hypocritical horse manure. I'm sure they would say exactly the same thing if they'd won a dubious penalty as their first goal, and got the aggregate score to 2-1. They'd have said: "No, no thanks, Mr Ref. You see, I have this little "Respect" badge on my sleeve, and we really are gentlemen up here, so while you have made a genuine mistake, I think we should just miss this penalty." I suppose this all just shows what absolute losers they are up there. Tell you what. As a gesture of goodwill, Arse should either (a) deduct two (no, why not three) goals for that act of treachery from Eduardo. We really feel bad about the two shit goals you conceded, so we'll make that three; or (b) let's offer to replay the tie altogether. We'll even start with 10 men, and give you a goal's headstart. Would that make you shut the hell up?
I mean, the head of the Scottish FA (won't bother with what his name is) had to raise Eduardo's injury: "Eduardo is a terrific player who has battled back from a serious injury to resume playing at the highest level. However, last night he showed disrespect to the game by his actions in winning a penalty against Celtic." Now what the hell has that got to do with him being a "cheat"? Epitome of pathetic, this is.
So, UEFA now are looking into it. If they had any sense, they'd forget the whole thing, have a quiet word with Le Boss and Eduardo and leave it well alone. They've got a whole lot more to deal with, and if they are even going to consider a ban, then I'd say they've got other people, games and past games to deal with.
This, though, raises for me what I've always thought might be necessary in the modern game: immediate replays for such decisions in the penalty area. Why not. But that's something I've spoken about on many occasions before, so I'll just leave it at that. My respect for Celtic has fallen to nothing. I suddenly find myself a Rangers fan, and am going to start watching Celtic games to see when they're going to turn down dubious penalties, free kicks, etc etc etc etc.
Alright, enough of these bad vibes, started by the worst of hypocritical low-IQ buffoons. Will look forward to Sunday, when I'm sure we'll have a more interesting game than those losers at Celtic ever will.
Ciao.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Review: Arsenal 3 - Celtic 1
A rather funny tie this was, over the two games. All rather comfortable in the end, but which no doubt will be clouded over by what some may call luck (in the two goals in Glasgow), and now controversial in how Eduardo won our first goal through his penalty.
Yes, he fell pretty lightly. He may even have dived. But tell me any professional footballer out there who would not have done the same, and I'd say Celtic deserved to go through. Even if Eduardo were the most honest footballer on the face of the planet, what was he to have done...from a purely physical point of view? Jump over Artur Boruc? Geez.
Anyways then, let's put that goal down to "controversial". On the night though, for lack of some not-so-pretty finishing, we'd have had a couple more. Excellent performances from all concerned, particularly the 4 and first 3 in our 4-3-3. Stand outs for me were Vermalen and Gallas (who really after four games seem more than anything we've had in the last 2-3 years), and Eboue, Song and Denilson. Never thought I'd see the day when I'd write the last sentence about the three. Eboue was...well, ebullient. Have not seen a better game from him in a while, and he clearly enjoyed the freedom he had all over the pitch.
1-0 at half time may have been tough on Celtic - as the likes of Clyde whatsisname had said on ITV - and indeed, for the first 20 minutes or so, Celtic contributed much to the frantic passing and were pretty committed in their all-round running. But as the stats would show, over 90 minutes, they probably only had 1 shot on target: their fluke (okay, excellent) final goal.
Let's chalk off the two goals in the first leg, and Eduardo's penalty then. Who cares. We've still got two super super goals from Eboue and Arshavin. Those two alone should be enough to shut everyone up north of the border. Silky passing, backheels, yum yum yum. Great to see the Celtic fans having a good time after half time; if only the ITV commentators had bothered to do the same and just shut up.
As for the player ratings:
Almunia 7 – Only thing he had to do was (if at all) to pick the ball out of the net in the 91st minute. Poor guy.
Sagna 7.5 - The rest over the weekend seemed to do him some good. Never tired. Excellent runs, crosses, everything.
Gallas 8.5 – Wow. Defensively, a rock. Offensively, he made runs like he was 18. Seems to also be enjoying the same freedoms the rest of the time have in roaming the pitch.
Vermaelen 8 - Was first to everything, first to challenges, headers, tackles, the works.
Clichy 7.5 – Like Sagna, was bursting with energy.
Eboue 9 – Probably the best I've seen him in an Arse shirt. He was right, left, in the middle, made telling passes, had a few cheeky touches here and there. Remarkable. Oh yes, the goal was nicely taken too! Taken off for a rest. Maybe the boss has him in mind to start at Old Trafford.
Song 8 - Another dependable performance as holding midfielder. Nothing spectacular; just a good all round show.
Diaby 7 – His confidence from the weekend was clear. The way we're going, we're going to be embarassed for the riches we have in the latter half of the pitch.
Denilson 7.5 – Showed off some of his Brazilian moves. Super dependable showing again.
Bendtner 8 - Can never be faulted for not trying. His clever backheel to set up Eboue was a thing of beauty. But, may need to work on his timing - when to shoot, and when to pass.
Eduardo 7 - Not his best performance overall. Had a few dodgy misses, and what a pretty dive that was. Something Pires would've been proud of. Nice penalty though.
Need to mention Wilshere. Came on only for a couple of minutes, but immediately, his presence shone through and looked to promise goals every other time he touched the ball. Another sub, Arshavin, had a great game too. Came on, clever turn. Goal. As usual.
So it's on to the draw - in Monaco, at 1700 GMT Thursday. Whoever we get, bring them on. Seems like we could be placed with the likes of Real Madrid, Inter and Juve. Real would be interesting - if only to see our boys whip the billion pound galacticos. Inter and Juve? Been then, done them.
Next stop Old Trafford. Honestly, for the first time since Sylvain Wiltord went there and won us the league, I feel pretty confident. Can't wait.
Yes, he fell pretty lightly. He may even have dived. But tell me any professional footballer out there who would not have done the same, and I'd say Celtic deserved to go through. Even if Eduardo were the most honest footballer on the face of the planet, what was he to have done...from a purely physical point of view? Jump over Artur Boruc? Geez.
Anyways then, let's put that goal down to "controversial". On the night though, for lack of some not-so-pretty finishing, we'd have had a couple more. Excellent performances from all concerned, particularly the 4 and first 3 in our 4-3-3. Stand outs for me were Vermalen and Gallas (who really after four games seem more than anything we've had in the last 2-3 years), and Eboue, Song and Denilson. Never thought I'd see the day when I'd write the last sentence about the three. Eboue was...well, ebullient. Have not seen a better game from him in a while, and he clearly enjoyed the freedom he had all over the pitch.
1-0 at half time may have been tough on Celtic - as the likes of Clyde whatsisname had said on ITV - and indeed, for the first 20 minutes or so, Celtic contributed much to the frantic passing and were pretty committed in their all-round running. But as the stats would show, over 90 minutes, they probably only had 1 shot on target: their fluke (okay, excellent) final goal.
Let's chalk off the two goals in the first leg, and Eduardo's penalty then. Who cares. We've still got two super super goals from Eboue and Arshavin. Those two alone should be enough to shut everyone up north of the border. Silky passing, backheels, yum yum yum. Great to see the Celtic fans having a good time after half time; if only the ITV commentators had bothered to do the same and just shut up.
As for the player ratings:
Almunia 7 – Only thing he had to do was (if at all) to pick the ball out of the net in the 91st minute. Poor guy.
Sagna 7.5 - The rest over the weekend seemed to do him some good. Never tired. Excellent runs, crosses, everything.
Gallas 8.5 – Wow. Defensively, a rock. Offensively, he made runs like he was 18. Seems to also be enjoying the same freedoms the rest of the time have in roaming the pitch.
Vermaelen 8 - Was first to everything, first to challenges, headers, tackles, the works.
Clichy 7.5 – Like Sagna, was bursting with energy.
Eboue 9 – Probably the best I've seen him in an Arse shirt. He was right, left, in the middle, made telling passes, had a few cheeky touches here and there. Remarkable. Oh yes, the goal was nicely taken too! Taken off for a rest. Maybe the boss has him in mind to start at Old Trafford.
Song 8 - Another dependable performance as holding midfielder. Nothing spectacular; just a good all round show.
Diaby 7 – His confidence from the weekend was clear. The way we're going, we're going to be embarassed for the riches we have in the latter half of the pitch.
Denilson 7.5 – Showed off some of his Brazilian moves. Super dependable showing again.
Bendtner 8 - Can never be faulted for not trying. His clever backheel to set up Eboue was a thing of beauty. But, may need to work on his timing - when to shoot, and when to pass.
Eduardo 7 - Not his best performance overall. Had a few dodgy misses, and what a pretty dive that was. Something Pires would've been proud of. Nice penalty though.
Need to mention Wilshere. Came on only for a couple of minutes, but immediately, his presence shone through and looked to promise goals every other time he touched the ball. Another sub, Arshavin, had a great game too. Came on, clever turn. Goal. As usual.
So it's on to the draw - in Monaco, at 1700 GMT Thursday. Whoever we get, bring them on. Seems like we could be placed with the likes of Real Madrid, Inter and Juve. Real would be interesting - if only to see our boys whip the billion pound galacticos. Inter and Juve? Been then, done them.
Next stop Old Trafford. Honestly, for the first time since Sylvain Wiltord went there and won us the league, I feel pretty confident. Can't wait.
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Arsewiper Goes to the Emirates
Wanted to do this earlier, but couldn't for a combination of computer/camera/photo issues. But here it is at last.
The Arsewiper has done the Emirates! On the first home game of the 2009/10 season. Having experienced Highbury more than 10 years ago, this was a long-awaited trip, and I was not in the least disappointed. The stadium is massive! And you can't help but resist getting down on your knees in tribute as you catch first sight of the giant words "Emirates Stadium", and especially the super giant Arsenal crests. Oh man...
Getting in was super easy - just a scan of the membership card, and you're through the turnstiles. And that's when it hits you. I'm in. I'm actually in. You hear the cheers, the muted clapping, and check in. The guys were on the pitch warming up.
Of course, we do so only after stopping by for a beer (in a plastic cup) and a bottle of Arsenal mineral water. Funniest thing was when the lady behind the counter explains that she had to open and throw away the cap to the bottle. Fine by me man, I'm just chuffed I'm drinking water from a bottle with an Arsenal crest. Tastes sweeter somehow. Had to explain to Mrs Arsewiper. Probably so people can't chuck full bottles of water down at away fans.
So this was the first game of the season, and the Arse have graciously placed on every seat - all 60,300 (minus the away section) - a Red and White matchday scarf. Nice!
As we move towards 14.50 GMT, the players troop off the pitch to get changed, and that's when the music starts. Woo hoo! There's the scarf waving, and then there's Elvis' Wonder of You, and tears nearly come to my eyes. When the teams emerge, and it's team line up time...it gets to my favourite part: Manuel...ALMUNIA! Number two, Abou...DIABY!! Number three, Bacary...SAGNA!! Number four, Cesc...FABREGAS!! Joining in the shouting out of surnames would be the start of my sore throat from the rest of the yelling, singing, cursing, etc for the next 90 minutes.
The first thing that strikes you as you sit in your seat high up in the stands, is just how comfortable (and surreal) it is. It was a beautiful day, probably 20 degrees in the shade. The pitch was absolutely pristine, the stadium a uniformly glorious red and white. Just a marvellous sight to behold. It was also great to be near enough to the giant jumbotrons, so we all could enjoy the great replays - which were never an option at Highbury - and could all laugh at Mohawk Billy's goal.
I can see how the experience gets addictive. Thoroughly easy to get to, and even the experience of getting into a crowded tube train with tons of other people in red and white was excellent. One of the things that really gets me is having a tube station called Arsenal. Now that's class. To all my friends out there (especially one, the former Singapore striker), we have to do this together one day soon!
Oh yeah, forgot. Stopped by the super Armoury superstore first thing upon getting to the Emirates, and stocked up on a couple of scarves, souvenirs, etc. Again, to step into a mega-shop with nothing but Arse merchandise was just sweet. Arse alarm clocks, Arse towels, Arse everything-damn-thing save toilet paper, Arse jerseys. Heaven.
Final word then, has to go to the benefits of getting an Arsenal membership. I've already done so, getting a Red membership, and you'll all just see what a great deal it is. The nice little membership pack you receive is in itself worth the signing on fee. And after that, tickets are all open to us man!
All in all, it was simply sublime. Something that has to be done again and again. The atmosphere was simply out-of-this-world. Let's see when this can be done again.
Final pic then, from my little epic adventure. What's there not to like in seeing RVP standing over a free kick. Shame it didn't go in. Enjoy.
The Arsewiper has done the Emirates! On the first home game of the 2009/10 season. Having experienced Highbury more than 10 years ago, this was a long-awaited trip, and I was not in the least disappointed. The stadium is massive! And you can't help but resist getting down on your knees in tribute as you catch first sight of the giant words "Emirates Stadium", and especially the super giant Arsenal crests. Oh man...
Getting in was super easy - just a scan of the membership card, and you're through the turnstiles. And that's when it hits you. I'm in. I'm actually in. You hear the cheers, the muted clapping, and check in. The guys were on the pitch warming up.
Of course, we do so only after stopping by for a beer (in a plastic cup) and a bottle of Arsenal mineral water. Funniest thing was when the lady behind the counter explains that she had to open and throw away the cap to the bottle. Fine by me man, I'm just chuffed I'm drinking water from a bottle with an Arsenal crest. Tastes sweeter somehow. Had to explain to Mrs Arsewiper. Probably so people can't chuck full bottles of water down at away fans.
So this was the first game of the season, and the Arse have graciously placed on every seat - all 60,300 (minus the away section) - a Red and White matchday scarf. Nice!
As we move towards 14.50 GMT, the players troop off the pitch to get changed, and that's when the music starts. Woo hoo! There's the scarf waving, and then there's Elvis' Wonder of You, and tears nearly come to my eyes. When the teams emerge, and it's team line up time...it gets to my favourite part: Manuel...ALMUNIA! Number two, Abou...DIABY!! Number three, Bacary...SAGNA!! Number four, Cesc...FABREGAS!! Joining in the shouting out of surnames would be the start of my sore throat from the rest of the yelling, singing, cursing, etc for the next 90 minutes.
The first thing that strikes you as you sit in your seat high up in the stands, is just how comfortable (and surreal) it is. It was a beautiful day, probably 20 degrees in the shade. The pitch was absolutely pristine, the stadium a uniformly glorious red and white. Just a marvellous sight to behold. It was also great to be near enough to the giant jumbotrons, so we all could enjoy the great replays - which were never an option at Highbury - and could all laugh at Mohawk Billy's goal.
I can see how the experience gets addictive. Thoroughly easy to get to, and even the experience of getting into a crowded tube train with tons of other people in red and white was excellent. One of the things that really gets me is having a tube station called Arsenal. Now that's class. To all my friends out there (especially one, the former Singapore striker), we have to do this together one day soon!
Oh yeah, forgot. Stopped by the super Armoury superstore first thing upon getting to the Emirates, and stocked up on a couple of scarves, souvenirs, etc. Again, to step into a mega-shop with nothing but Arse merchandise was just sweet. Arse alarm clocks, Arse towels, Arse everything-damn-thing save toilet paper, Arse jerseys. Heaven.
Final word then, has to go to the benefits of getting an Arsenal membership. I've already done so, getting a Red membership, and you'll all just see what a great deal it is. The nice little membership pack you receive is in itself worth the signing on fee. And after that, tickets are all open to us man!
All in all, it was simply sublime. Something that has to be done again and again. The atmosphere was simply out-of-this-world. Let's see when this can be done again.
Final pic then, from my little epic adventure. What's there not to like in seeing RVP standing over a free kick. Shame it didn't go in. Enjoy.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Review: Arsenal 4 - Portsmouth 1
(London) A good result, no doubt; highly satisfying, but still some room for work. First, our first 20 minutes were out of this world. Two very good goals from Diaby, and at times, we seemed to be toying with Pompey. The game should have been out far far away from Pompey by half time, but we somehow contrived to allow Pompey a soft soft goal (their first for the season!). It was clear and simple what happened. We had an early two goal lead, started to think ahead to Wednesday and Saturday, and already started to take the foot off the accelerator.
Before our third, the main people to blame then were Almunia (for falling asleep for the goal, and allowing Spurs reject Younes Kaboul to outjump him) and RVP (for still not finding his shooting boots three games into the season). Some of his finishing was really quite awful. At 2-1, the defining moment of the game must've been Billy's "tackle" on Utaka. It was dodgy to say the least, and Billy could very easily have been sent off.
But the star of the game was clearly Abou - who sparkled. His industry was top notch, and we can only guess what might've been (or still might be) if he weren't made of glass. Fingers crossed on that. Elsewhere, there were some not-so-great performances around as well, with Arshavin having another not-so-spectacular performance too. Must say that Gibbs and Eboue did pretty decently standing in for Clichy and Sagna - the boss clearly doing the right thing by giving them a rest.
Speaking of rest, incidentally, perhaps Cesc could've done with some too. He can give Celtic a miss. But rest up for next week, young man.
Anyways - to the game. Guess what. Mohawk Billy's now our top scorer. Three goals. One with his face, one with his back, and now one with his face. Top notch defender, I tell you. Ramsey - what a finish. Now all we need are some of our strikers to score some goals. On this score, Amy Lawrence alludes to our "total football", so who knows. Maybe she means total as in the ability to score goals with anoy part of the anatomy save the hands. In any case, looks like we can wait for our strikers.
Player ratings:
Almunia 6.5 - At fault for the goal, but a few other worthy interventions showed that he was at least half awake.
Eboue 7.5 - Good show, and has proven that right back might indeed be his best position. Assist in the second Diaby goal. May prove to be good cover at the right either in defence or midfield this season.
Gallas 7.5 - Another competent show, master goalscorer, but could very easily have been sent off. Let's put that down as a perfect tackle. ha.
Vermaelen 7.5 - Tony, take your words back. Did everything called upon.
Gibbs 7.5 - The boy continues to grow up. Come to think of it, for all the talk of our defensive frailties, three games in, even our second string covers are doing solidly.
Diaby 9 - Two goals, and was everywhere. Centre, in the box, defence, left, right, Pompey just couldn't manage.
Cesc 8 - Pulled the strings while Diaby shone in the first half. That groin had better rest up.
Denilson 7 - Let's call this the Denilson-esque display. Quiet, nothing spectacular, but was there when needed.
Arshavin 7 - A few tricks, showed some quick feet, but probably still not into the full swing of things this season just yet.
RVP - Oh man. He alone should've had two more.
Eduardo 8 - Great movement to set up the first, and if he keeps fit, will be cornerstone for our season.
Ramsey 7.5 - Hey, it was almost as if Cesc hadn't left. Some very assured distribution, and a classy finish. Yum. Give the boy 90 minutes on Wednesday!
Two games into the season, 6 points, 10 goals scored, GD of 8. Couldn't ask for more. The crunch, though, comes now. Man U, then Citeh. Wonder what the odds would be for Ade£$%&! to score... but shite, let's get to that later.
More to report on the Arse visit and other happenings later. Signing off for now.
Ciao.
Before our third, the main people to blame then were Almunia (for falling asleep for the goal, and allowing Spurs reject Younes Kaboul to outjump him) and RVP (for still not finding his shooting boots three games into the season). Some of his finishing was really quite awful. At 2-1, the defining moment of the game must've been Billy's "tackle" on Utaka. It was dodgy to say the least, and Billy could very easily have been sent off.
But the star of the game was clearly Abou - who sparkled. His industry was top notch, and we can only guess what might've been (or still might be) if he weren't made of glass. Fingers crossed on that. Elsewhere, there were some not-so-great performances around as well, with Arshavin having another not-so-spectacular performance too. Must say that Gibbs and Eboue did pretty decently standing in for Clichy and Sagna - the boss clearly doing the right thing by giving them a rest.
Speaking of rest, incidentally, perhaps Cesc could've done with some too. He can give Celtic a miss. But rest up for next week, young man.
Anyways - to the game. Guess what. Mohawk Billy's now our top scorer. Three goals. One with his face, one with his back, and now one with his face. Top notch defender, I tell you. Ramsey - what a finish. Now all we need are some of our strikers to score some goals. On this score, Amy Lawrence alludes to our "total football", so who knows. Maybe she means total as in the ability to score goals with anoy part of the anatomy save the hands. In any case, looks like we can wait for our strikers.
Player ratings:
Almunia 6.5 - At fault for the goal, but a few other worthy interventions showed that he was at least half awake.
Eboue 7.5 - Good show, and has proven that right back might indeed be his best position. Assist in the second Diaby goal. May prove to be good cover at the right either in defence or midfield this season.
Gallas 7.5 - Another competent show, master goalscorer, but could very easily have been sent off. Let's put that down as a perfect tackle. ha.
Vermaelen 7.5 - Tony, take your words back. Did everything called upon.
Gibbs 7.5 - The boy continues to grow up. Come to think of it, for all the talk of our defensive frailties, three games in, even our second string covers are doing solidly.
Diaby 9 - Two goals, and was everywhere. Centre, in the box, defence, left, right, Pompey just couldn't manage.
Cesc 8 - Pulled the strings while Diaby shone in the first half. That groin had better rest up.
Denilson 7 - Let's call this the Denilson-esque display. Quiet, nothing spectacular, but was there when needed.
Arshavin 7 - A few tricks, showed some quick feet, but probably still not into the full swing of things this season just yet.
RVP - Oh man. He alone should've had two more.
Eduardo 8 - Great movement to set up the first, and if he keeps fit, will be cornerstone for our season.
Ramsey 7.5 - Hey, it was almost as if Cesc hadn't left. Some very assured distribution, and a classy finish. Yum. Give the boy 90 minutes on Wednesday!
Two games into the season, 6 points, 10 goals scored, GD of 8. Couldn't ask for more. The crunch, though, comes now. Man U, then Citeh. Wonder what the odds would be for Ade£$%&! to score... but shite, let's get to that later.
More to report on the Arse visit and other happenings later. Signing off for now.
Ciao.
Friday, August 21, 2009
A Little Itsey Preview
Preston (AP), 21 August 2009 -
AP as in Arsewiping Press, incidentally.
Anyways, one day to go to our first day of the season at the Emirates, so there's lots of excitement to go around. Here in the Northwest of England, with the likes of Burnley, Liverpool, Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Hull, etc to go around, the talk of the last fews days has been on Burnley's little moment in the sun. How nice. Two games played, and both Pool and Man U have already lost one. But dear friends, let's not get into all the crap going around about their chances, Chelski's position, etc etc etc. So Chelski have beaten Sunderland and Hull in their opening games. Big hairy deal.
Frank Lumpar: "We have now got a little bit of a lead over them and Liverpool. It is nice to get your noses in front."
Yes it is. Now shut up. Not really noses, more like nose hairs. And actually, you've still got Spurs (of all people) ahead of you, so more reason to shut up.
The start of the season, with Everton getting whipped, Villa having zero points, Spurs with 6, Citeh winning their first, Pool losing, Man U losing, etc etc has got everyone talking about how "close" this season is going to be. Well. Last season was "close" too, and that did not involve Spurs or Citeh. My prognosis is that we all keep our claps shut. For all you know, Citeh and Spurs will flop at just the right time, and we'll be left with the usual four. The loss of Ronaldo and Pool's dependence on Voronin has probably just made it a tiny bit more interesting.
Ahead of our game, Pompey have lost their first two, and look really poor. Let's hope it carries through to Saturday. Nobody else is injured (shocked gasp!), and we could start with the usual 11 again. Hope we give Cesc a rest if things go well at half time.
Alright then. Hopefully, will report from London tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
Signing off.
AP as in Arsewiping Press, incidentally.
Anyways, one day to go to our first day of the season at the Emirates, so there's lots of excitement to go around. Here in the Northwest of England, with the likes of Burnley, Liverpool, Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Hull, etc to go around, the talk of the last fews days has been on Burnley's little moment in the sun. How nice. Two games played, and both Pool and Man U have already lost one. But dear friends, let's not get into all the crap going around about their chances, Chelski's position, etc etc etc. So Chelski have beaten Sunderland and Hull in their opening games. Big hairy deal.
Frank Lumpar: "We have now got a little bit of a lead over them and Liverpool. It is nice to get your noses in front."
Yes it is. Now shut up. Not really noses, more like nose hairs. And actually, you've still got Spurs (of all people) ahead of you, so more reason to shut up.
The start of the season, with Everton getting whipped, Villa having zero points, Spurs with 6, Citeh winning their first, Pool losing, Man U losing, etc etc has got everyone talking about how "close" this season is going to be. Well. Last season was "close" too, and that did not involve Spurs or Citeh. My prognosis is that we all keep our claps shut. For all you know, Citeh and Spurs will flop at just the right time, and we'll be left with the usual four. The loss of Ronaldo and Pool's dependence on Voronin has probably just made it a tiny bit more interesting.
Ahead of our game, Pompey have lost their first two, and look really poor. Let's hope it carries through to Saturday. Nobody else is injured (shocked gasp!), and we could start with the usual 11 again. Hope we give Cesc a rest if things go well at half time.
Alright then. Hopefully, will report from London tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
Signing off.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Review: Celtic 0 - Arsenal 2
Excellent job well done, last night. Not nearly near our best, but still good enough. Much ado about nothing about Fortress Celtic Park, supporters, etc etc. It seems we're the first "English" team to win at Celtic since 129 B.C., which makes me wonder even more about the much ado about nothing bit. Apart from the first 15 minutes, Celtic weren't really competitive, and came nowhere to scoring. For that, my hats are off to Mohawk Billy and Vermaelen's mammoth performances. I must say: TV's really really looking good. More on him in the player ratings.
As for the game itself, 2-0 is a fair result. The minute your defender scores with his back, you must know the night's going to be good. They all say he knew nothing about it, but if you watched the replays, particularly the one that shows it from Cesc's perspective, you see Billy running straight at the ball, turning his back oh-so-slightly towards the goal, tensing his back muscles for that split second, and deflecting the ball towards goal. Totally intended, I tell you! What else could he have done? If he really wanted to get out of the way, he'd have ducked! By the way, see photo above.
So the first goal was intended. Then, at the start of the second half, we should've put the game to bed. RVP had a mediocre game as far as his finishing was concerned, and Celtic seemed rather upset to have had their halftime of tea and scones interrupted. They didn't really look like they wanted to be there. So it took till the 71st minute, and again, they say it's luck. Of course it was luck, but so what? Nobody ever cried any tears for poor old unlucky Senderos for scoring his own goals, so why the tears for Caldwell?
2-0, and a fair reflection. The goals could've been prettier, but who cares. It's about time we had our share of easy/lucky European ties.
Player ratings:
Almunia 7 - Gave him an extra point for not falling asleep at about 2100 hrs GMT.
Sagna 7 - Not bad, but not spectacular. More than a few stray passes, unfortunately. But looked up to it beyond the half way line.
Mohawk Billy 7.5 - Has started the season like a house on fire. He really has turned in rock solid performances since the captaincy fiasco. Looked in command, and to score such a Ronaldo-esque, Henry-esque goal to quick-thinking skill, man....
Vermaelen 8 - Adams supposedly said he ain't ready. Well, Tony. We love you, we really do. But post Arse, your judgement, especially as manager of Pompey - slightly suspect. Work on that first, okay? Vermaelen in two games - seems to be the man. Good in the air, covers hell lot of ground. Excellent.
Clichy 7 - In defence, did not have too much work, and did well on the flanks as usual. Nice cross to Caldwell for the goal. It should've been RVP's goal, but we'll give it to Caldwell.
Song 7.5 - In his two games, he's seemed a man transformed. His passes are no longer mindless side-ways efforts, and seems to be much more energetic. Good boy.
Denilson 7 - A quiet, not too spectacular, but reliable showing.
Cesc 8 - All over the pitch as usual. No doubt, he's our engine. Put in a few fine moves in defence too. And great pass to Billy for the goal. Another "assist" to put down in his name.
Arshavin 6.5 - Unfortunately, had a quiet night. Strayed offside on one occasion, and his substitution had something to do with the goal.
Bent Nick 6.5 - Tried his best. As tele-pundit, ex-Singapore striker Kumar has said, on the right may not be his best position, and tonight showed it. But at least we can count on 100% commitment no matter what. Which is more than can be said of a certain Predator lookalike.
RVP 6.5 - Was usual out and about, but his finishing, well...on the verge of quite awful on a few occasions. Should've finished the game off early in the second half.
So on to Saturday and Pompey. For the first time ever (fingers crossed), the Arsewiper will be reporting from the Emirates. Now all we need to do is keep other fingers crossed that nobody emerged from last night with more injuries.
What is one to do with Theo? First, that shoulder, then the other shoulder. Now the space between his shoulders. Shite. And he's not even geriatric yet. On this note, methinks Le Boss should've given Ramsey and Wilshere a run out last night, and given some of the boys a short rest last night.
But maybe he's saving them for Pompey. We'll see.
But maybe he's saving them for Pompey. We'll see.
Ciao.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Review: Everton 1 - Arsenal 6 (as in six)
Holy Mary Mother of ….. is all I can say. Who would’ve thought it. I would’ve been satisfied with one point, in a 1-1 draw. We got 5 goals more, and 2 more points. It’s Christmas in August. For that: I would thank (a) Citeh and that #!$%! Mark Hughes for continuing to screw David Moyes and Joleon Lescott’s minds’ over, (b) Everton for pretending to be in a pre-season friendly, and (c) our defenders and defending midfielders for scoring the goals.
Think of it this way: first goal – a screamer from Denilson. Of all people! This might be the beginning of something special. Great assists from Bent Nick and Cesc. Second goal: Vermaelen. Holy shit. What better way than to cancel out the shit feeling that came with seeing Adeba#!$ score 3 mins into his debut. What a free kick, what a header, what crap defending. Perfect. This is really beginning to look like something special. Third goal: Gallas, another super free kick, this time from Cesc, and simple little header from Mohawk Billy following yet more crap defending. Perfecter. Half time. Definitely special. Fourth goal: Cesc. Yummy, yummy goal. RVP influential in it. Fifth, Cesc again, and this time, it really looked like pre-season friendly stuff. Ran half way through the pitch, only having poor ole Fellaini chasing back (from being the last one with a shot on goal), nobody in sight, and a crasher into the corner. Woo hoo! Let’s hear 7, shall we? It would’ve been nice to have subjecter Everton to another 7-0 whipping – this time at home, but alas only another (special) Eduardo goal we got. Let’s just forget that Saha scored. Stupid idiot. I’d have preferred 6-0.
Anyway. Just perfect. Couldnt’ve have imagined it in my wildest dreams. Sets us up really well for Tuesday, doesn’t it? Can’t wait at all.
Now, I’m not going to go all ballistically berserk about this, and I do know I was probably just a tad more pessimistic than I need have been in my post below. But, let’s find a nice balance of taking encouragement, without being either shittily cynical nor retardedly over-the-moon. Everton were crap, no doubt. We took our chances, just like we did in the 4-4 draw at Anfield. Just gotta make sure our defence stays solid. In Vermaelen, it looks like we’re onto something good.
Speaking of which, the player ratings:
Almunia 7 – Didn’t have to do much, and did well with the throw out to Cesc for our fifth.
Think of it this way: first goal – a screamer from Denilson. Of all people! This might be the beginning of something special. Great assists from Bent Nick and Cesc. Second goal: Vermaelen. Holy shit. What better way than to cancel out the shit feeling that came with seeing Adeba#!$ score 3 mins into his debut. What a free kick, what a header, what crap defending. Perfect. This is really beginning to look like something special. Third goal: Gallas, another super free kick, this time from Cesc, and simple little header from Mohawk Billy following yet more crap defending. Perfecter. Half time. Definitely special. Fourth goal: Cesc. Yummy, yummy goal. RVP influential in it. Fifth, Cesc again, and this time, it really looked like pre-season friendly stuff. Ran half way through the pitch, only having poor ole Fellaini chasing back (from being the last one with a shot on goal), nobody in sight, and a crasher into the corner. Woo hoo! Let’s hear 7, shall we? It would’ve been nice to have subjecter Everton to another 7-0 whipping – this time at home, but alas only another (special) Eduardo goal we got. Let’s just forget that Saha scored. Stupid idiot. I’d have preferred 6-0.
Anyway. Just perfect. Couldnt’ve have imagined it in my wildest dreams. Sets us up really well for Tuesday, doesn’t it? Can’t wait at all.
Now, I’m not going to go all ballistically berserk about this, and I do know I was probably just a tad more pessimistic than I need have been in my post below. But, let’s find a nice balance of taking encouragement, without being either shittily cynical nor retardedly over-the-moon. Everton were crap, no doubt. We took our chances, just like we did in the 4-4 draw at Anfield. Just gotta make sure our defence stays solid. In Vermaelen, it looks like we’re onto something good.
Speaking of which, the player ratings:
Almunia 7 – Didn’t have to do much, and did well with the throw out to Cesc for our fifth.
Sagna 6.5 – Surprisingly, one of his letter stellar showings. One or two stray passes.
Mohawk Billy 7.5 – Solid, and hey, he’s one goal shy of top scorer in the league right now!
Vermaelen 7.5 (+1) – Mmmmm. Take that, Ade#!$!%. Must’ve been training on headers with Bent Nick. Looked in command, and reminded me of Vidic on a good day. Maybe’s it’s just because there’s a slight resemblance.Clichy 7 Nothing too spectacular, but the usual of his dependable running and all.
Song 7.5 – He keeps this up, and I might just have to shut my mouth on him.
Denilson 8 – At last, a performance worthy of his quiet but unspectacular work ethic. Good boy. Looks as if he’s grown during the summer too.
Cesc 8.5 – Not a really special performance, but still manages to score two, make one. If Barca wants him, they’re gonna have to cough up the GDP of Spain.Bent Nick – Not bad at all. Showed that he would as good “replacement” for Ade as we could’ve hoped. Has a far more consistent work rate, and just as nifty footwork. (See: Assist for Denilson’s goal).
Arshavin 7 – A relatively quiet game by his standards. Could’ve grabbed himself a cheap goal, but that went to Eduardo instead. He’ll have his day soon.
RVP 8 – Good as-usual show. Typically cultured assists for Vermaelen and Cesc.
Looking forward – let’s just take this as 3 points, and keep watching the highlights just for the heck of it. It’s just great that after 3 months of football-less pain, we’ve got to wait just 48 more hours for another key game.
Elsewhere, some interesting happenings. Forget about Blackburn 0 – Citeh 2. All sorts of people out there to make all sorts of predictions, but we know better than that. Then there’s Villa’s pathetic slump to Wigan, Chelski and Man U’s unconvincing performances at home, and of course….Spurs 2 – Pool 1. Haha. I did say it would be interesting, no? But yay. We’re 3 points ahead of the much-lauded “title contenders”. So there. And Spurs, just like with Citeh, let’s keep our tongues in check for now.
Great having football for a change on the weekend. Now gotta go watch a bit of golf. Nice….
Looking forward – let’s just take this as 3 points, and keep watching the highlights just for the heck of it. It’s just great that after 3 months of football-less pain, we’ve got to wait just 48 more hours for another key game.
Elsewhere, some interesting happenings. Forget about Blackburn 0 – Citeh 2. All sorts of people out there to make all sorts of predictions, but we know better than that. Then there’s Villa’s pathetic slump to Wigan, Chelski and Man U’s unconvincing performances at home, and of course….Spurs 2 – Pool 1. Haha. I did say it would be interesting, no? But yay. We’re 3 points ahead of the much-lauded “title contenders”. So there. And Spurs, just like with Citeh, let’s keep our tongues in check for now.
Great having football for a change on the weekend. Now gotta go watch a bit of golf. Nice….
Friday, August 14, 2009
At last, a preview!!
So here we are at last. One day to go to kick off and a brand new season. And honestly, I'm taking it with more trepidation, niggling fears, than with unbridled optimism.
Take this first game with Everton then. We've got half the friggin' world injured (as usual), and though we'll probably have a strong 3-4 in the Everton half, it's in defence where we'll be short. Here's the deal; reads like a bloody collation of dog tags after some gun-fight in My Lai (no offence intended):
Djourou (knee, blown off)
Rosicky (stepped on a landmine, still bothered by shards left in his wound)
Nasri (leg shot off below the knee)
Walcott (spinal injury)
Fabianski (knee, blown off as well)
Diaby (stepped on Rosicky, stepping on a landmine)
So based on the above, no, we don't need any new signings. No sir. Not at all. After all, if and when they return, they'll be like new signings. At the heart of our defence will be a fit-again Vermaelen and Gallas. All we'll need is Gallas falling awkardly on an uncut blade of grass, and we'll be screwed. So I say again, we do not need new signings.
The only good news I see for the game itself is that Everton seems to have gone through their own battles as well. I'd like us to continue with our excellent record in first games of the season, but I think I'd take one point and run. This is one we could very well lose and screw out first season even before it's started.
Now you may say: why the doom and gloom, Mr Arsewiper? Well, to tell the truth, it's a reaction to Le Boss's brutal honesty. He's basically said, screw it. We need to win the league:
"To talk of winning the league is an audacious statement but I built this team and I want to deliver."
And to tell even more truth, I don't really think this is the year. And to put so much emphasis on this being the year is only setting ourselves up for even greater disappointment. Finishing 2nd or 3rd will be an achievement in itself, and I'm just looking forward to a good run in Europe. Apart from hoping that the kids have learnt something from last season, I don't see how we're going to make up 18 points this time round just by a change in attitude, getting rid of a few players, and buying a £10 million defender. Life would be far simpler if players could be expected to just say: "Hmmm. We screwed up royally against the likes of Stoke, Hull, Man City, Fulham, Spurs last time round. Let's just not do it again." But life and football aren't so simple. I expect one or two more stupid performances. Just not seven or eight, hopefully.
I suppose there's some good news in that Pool, Man U and Chelski do not look very much stronger this season. In fact, Man U looks weaker, just as we do. Let's just see how it all evens out.
But since Le Boss has thrown down the gauntlet, so shall I. If we win jack shit again this season, I say Cesc will go, and therein will lie the roots of our own little revolution. Let's see who we need to expect more from this season:
Song - please, dude. Do something, anything.
Diaby - just try not to get injured. Wouldn't mind getting a Carling Cup game or two out of him.
Rosicky - I'm sorry, and I've said this before. Le Boss has been ruthless in off-loading the likes of Vieira in the past. I love the guy, but it's clearly time.
Eboue - if you're still around, it would be hard to do much worse.
Nasri - please get well soon
Bendtner - I trust you've been working on your shooting boots. You possibly the man, man!
Walcott - Trust you've been working on your shooting boots too, and try not to get injured too often as well. You're too young for that.
And everyone else - just keep up the good work, okay?
Abuot the little thing of a trip up north to Everton. The last time I've felt such trepidation was going in to sit for an exam I knew I hadn't studied for. Not good. *fingers crossed*
Elsewhere, couple of interesting look outs. Blackburn - Citeh, and on Sunday, Spurs - Pool. Would be interesting to see what Citeh can put together, with their version of Galacticos in baby blue. As for Pool, just as interesting a start as ours.
Let's go then.
Take this first game with Everton then. We've got half the friggin' world injured (as usual), and though we'll probably have a strong 3-4 in the Everton half, it's in defence where we'll be short. Here's the deal; reads like a bloody collation of dog tags after some gun-fight in My Lai (no offence intended):
Djourou (knee, blown off)
Rosicky (stepped on a landmine, still bothered by shards left in his wound)
Nasri (leg shot off below the knee)
Walcott (spinal injury)
Fabianski (knee, blown off as well)
Diaby (stepped on Rosicky, stepping on a landmine)
So based on the above, no, we don't need any new signings. No sir. Not at all. After all, if and when they return, they'll be like new signings. At the heart of our defence will be a fit-again Vermaelen and Gallas. All we'll need is Gallas falling awkardly on an uncut blade of grass, and we'll be screwed. So I say again, we do not need new signings.
The only good news I see for the game itself is that Everton seems to have gone through their own battles as well. I'd like us to continue with our excellent record in first games of the season, but I think I'd take one point and run. This is one we could very well lose and screw out first season even before it's started.
Now you may say: why the doom and gloom, Mr Arsewiper? Well, to tell the truth, it's a reaction to Le Boss's brutal honesty. He's basically said, screw it. We need to win the league:
"To talk of winning the league is an audacious statement but I built this team and I want to deliver."
And to tell even more truth, I don't really think this is the year. And to put so much emphasis on this being the year is only setting ourselves up for even greater disappointment. Finishing 2nd or 3rd will be an achievement in itself, and I'm just looking forward to a good run in Europe. Apart from hoping that the kids have learnt something from last season, I don't see how we're going to make up 18 points this time round just by a change in attitude, getting rid of a few players, and buying a £10 million defender. Life would be far simpler if players could be expected to just say: "Hmmm. We screwed up royally against the likes of Stoke, Hull, Man City, Fulham, Spurs last time round. Let's just not do it again." But life and football aren't so simple. I expect one or two more stupid performances. Just not seven or eight, hopefully.
I suppose there's some good news in that Pool, Man U and Chelski do not look very much stronger this season. In fact, Man U looks weaker, just as we do. Let's just see how it all evens out.
But since Le Boss has thrown down the gauntlet, so shall I. If we win jack shit again this season, I say Cesc will go, and therein will lie the roots of our own little revolution. Let's see who we need to expect more from this season:
Song - please, dude. Do something, anything.
Diaby - just try not to get injured. Wouldn't mind getting a Carling Cup game or two out of him.
Rosicky - I'm sorry, and I've said this before. Le Boss has been ruthless in off-loading the likes of Vieira in the past. I love the guy, but it's clearly time.
Eboue - if you're still around, it would be hard to do much worse.
Nasri - please get well soon
Bendtner - I trust you've been working on your shooting boots. You possibly the man, man!
Walcott - Trust you've been working on your shooting boots too, and try not to get injured too often as well. You're too young for that.
And everyone else - just keep up the good work, okay?
Abuot the little thing of a trip up north to Everton. The last time I've felt such trepidation was going in to sit for an exam I knew I hadn't studied for. Not good. *fingers crossed*
Elsewhere, couple of interesting look outs. Blackburn - Citeh, and on Sunday, Spurs - Pool. Would be interesting to see what Citeh can put together, with their version of Galacticos in baby blue. As for Pool, just as interesting a start as ours.
Let's go then.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Hmmm, still no news
Well, it's a couple of days on from the talk on Paddy Vieira, and still no resolution. Fingers crossed that it gets resolved one way or another in the next day or so.
Elsewhere, all sorts of other happenings though. First, the Swiss (of all people, their being so crucial in the overall negotiations) have leaked that Senderos has (already) joined Everton. Somehow, if I were ever to find out news on moves of Arse players, the last people I'd want to hear from are their national football federations.
Second, as is typical of the English tabloid press, the next Dalai Lama has been found, in the name of Jack Wilshere. I mean, yes, the boy's excellent. We've always known that. It's just that Le Boss has had the good sense to use him only in small spurts last season. Now, with two out-of-this-world performances, everyone's going berzerk with his prospects. Oh puh-leeze. Methinks Le Boss will play him against Valencia, then possibly put him on the bench against Everton. Other than that, let's give it a break.
Before that though,for those who have yet to see it - enjoy the highlights of the Rangers game. Pretty nice on all fronts, Eduardo's finishing, Wilshere of course, and the likes of Merida, etc etc etc. Oh yeah, what I liked most of all from these highlights was the really cool Chinese commentary.
Third, there's the really queer news concerning one Salomon Kalou. £6 million? Where have heard that before - us getting hold of loser rejects from Chelski...Diarra? Hmmm. Perhaps. Have absolutely no clue what we'd do with a Kalou - other than use the prospect to get the likes of Bordeaux to stick their fingers out of their $#!% over Marouane Chamakh. Now that Le Boss has categorically said no to that, let's hope that also ends the nonsense over Kalou.
Finally, a word about Le Boss moving to a 4-3-3. Errr...okay then. Fine and dandy. But that really just makes it all the more apparent that we've got problems with our four at the back (especially the centre two), and the holding midfielder in the second three. Song? Methinks no. The attacking three are of course an embarassment of riches. But I'm getting palpitations just thinking of Song being our backbone.
Next stop is the draw for the Champions League on Friday. Before that, let's hope we see something interesting.
Elsewhere, all sorts of other happenings though. First, the Swiss (of all people, their being so crucial in the overall negotiations) have leaked that Senderos has (already) joined Everton. Somehow, if I were ever to find out news on moves of Arse players, the last people I'd want to hear from are their national football federations.
Second, as is typical of the English tabloid press, the next Dalai Lama has been found, in the name of Jack Wilshere. I mean, yes, the boy's excellent. We've always known that. It's just that Le Boss has had the good sense to use him only in small spurts last season. Now, with two out-of-this-world performances, everyone's going berzerk with his prospects. Oh puh-leeze. Methinks Le Boss will play him against Valencia, then possibly put him on the bench against Everton. Other than that, let's give it a break.
Before that though,for those who have yet to see it - enjoy the highlights of the Rangers game. Pretty nice on all fronts, Eduardo's finishing, Wilshere of course, and the likes of Merida, etc etc etc. Oh yeah, what I liked most of all from these highlights was the really cool Chinese commentary.
Third, there's the really queer news concerning one Salomon Kalou. £6 million? Where have heard that before - us getting hold of loser rejects from Chelski...Diarra? Hmmm. Perhaps. Have absolutely no clue what we'd do with a Kalou - other than use the prospect to get the likes of Bordeaux to stick their fingers out of their $#!% over Marouane Chamakh. Now that Le Boss has categorically said no to that, let's hope that also ends the nonsense over Kalou.
Finally, a word about Le Boss moving to a 4-3-3. Errr...okay then. Fine and dandy. But that really just makes it all the more apparent that we've got problems with our four at the back (especially the centre two), and the holding midfielder in the second three. Song? Methinks no. The attacking three are of course an embarassment of riches. But I'm getting palpitations just thinking of Song being our backbone.
Next stop is the draw for the Champions League on Friday. Before that, let's hope we see something interesting.
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