By Tony Attwood
One of the great things about the start of each season is the doing of it all over again. The journey in the car with my pal from the Midlands on a Friday night (did anyone actually consider what the traffic is like on the M1 on a Friday night when deciding on this type of fixture), meeting more of the gang in the pub, a welcoming hug from the landlady who genuinely seems to miss us through the summer, the walk to the ground, and that special type of pre-match conversation…
And last night I was reminded not for the first time, how much more we get out of the games than the anti-Arsenal Arsenal “supporters”, the commentariat and the Wenger haters and above all the journalists who utterly seem incapable of grasping what the event is about for those of us who actually pay to get in. We actually enjoy it, we laugh, we have fun, we’re seriously positive and glad it is all on once more.
It once more raises the question, how on earth can they report on an event which they singularly fail to understand?
Of course there was the chaos – goodness knows what had caused it, but the queues to get into the game were unlike any I’ve seen before, and the queue for tickets from the collection office stretched back so far that one of the entrance ramps had to be closed off. Not good when 60,000 are trying to get into the ground. But it all seemed to say, “we’ve invented more ways to create chaos than you could ever imagine.” And “you might not make it for the kick off.” Somehow we’re used to it.
Naturally the media, whisked away into their special area, missed all this – it is part of what makes their reporting so utterly irrelevant. They don’t see the game like we do, they have no idea what we are going through to get into the match. They ultimately report something completely different from the actual experience of supporters.
Part of the problem I suppose is that throughout last season Arsenal made the classic communication blunder; for each match we all received the self-same email message about the need to be in the ground an hour before kick off. As anyone in advertising will tell you, if you send the same text message out over and over again, people stop reading it after the third transmission. If you really have good reason for people to get into the stadium early you need to change the message. In fact you need to employ someone who specialises in the job.
That is such a basic bit of communication logic that it is quite shocking that no one within Arsenal’s employ actually knows it. They really ought to be doing better when it comes to communicating.
But after the horrendous queues there is always more fun, seeing one’s friends one sits with in the stadium – friends I never see other than at the games. There is a great joy in meeting up again, indulging in what the press call “banter” but which is so much more than that. Yet another thing they actually don’t have a clue about. We know each other just from these game; it’s like a snapshot of each other’s lives, but no less worthwhile than that.
And that is really the point of it all – we go there because we enjoy watching Arsenal, and we enjoy the whole thing of being with people whose friendship has emerged in different ways from football.
Occasionally I wonder about the experience of those who, no matter what, are decidedly miserable before and after almost every Arsenal performance. Those who seem congenitally unable to share in the fun, the shouting, the laughter and the sheer unadulterated enjoyment of football with your mates, and instead whose only response is to moan about the defence, to predict that the club won’t win a “meaningful” trophy this season, and who want to tell the rest of us what we are thinking and what we are feeling because like the Thought Police in “1984” they know. Oh they are so certain that they know.
What must it be like to have so many people in the stadium screaming, shouting and jumping up and down with sheer joy and exultation while you sit there glumly pointing out that this season is going to be another disaster because of the manager? The mental anguish must be such that alternative realities are created for the individual not to break down in a psychotic heap.
But what must it be like to be unable to share in the fun, to supposedly be a supporter of Arsenal but to be totally incapable of seeing a game like that and not responding by smiling and laughing but instead by giving out dire warnings straight after the game?
What must it be like to be an Arsenal supporter (supposedly) but always to be preaching doom and gloom? Well, rather miserable I guess.
I am not a psychiatrist, but my study of the psychology of perception over many years at university and as part of my job, has shown that it is not the world around you that makes you happy or sad, it is the way you choose to perceive the world. That is the fundamental truth: we have the choice to be happy or sad, and the people choosing the former get a far better life as a result.
A game like last night’s was an opportunity, for those with the ability to take it, to dance and sing and laugh and smile and jump and shout and cheer and above all be happy. To partake of all those emotions which lift us above the humdrum of modern life, above the tedium of the M1 traffic jam, above the inanity of the media, onto a level of pure joy and fun. All the emotions that none of the journalists present were able to reflect in their reports.
I can only thank my lucky stars that I was able to enjoy last night in all its crazy intensity, and not walk away moaning about the manager, the defence, the midfield and quite possibly the paint on the goalposts. Not walking away predicting doom and gloom, but instead with a smile and lovely memories of great times spent with my mates.
And perhaps a feeling of one upmanship on the journalists pathetically sitting there trying to tell us how awful it all was and how awful it will be, utterly and completely unable to understand what supporting is about, nor able to understand that without journalists football would still flourish, but without us supporters it would die.
What’s it like being a supporter?
Enjoy our hilarious Facebook series all gathered together on one page. Well, ok, its our Facebook series from UntoldArsenalToday
From the Arsenal History Society
The rebirth of Arsenal after the move to Highbury: November 1913.
- Arsenal – Leicester : 4-3
- Arsenal v Leicester: the injuries, the line ups, Leicester tactics, and more videos.
- Arsenal v Leicester City: 6th vs 8th (according to the pundits), with added videos and scandal.
- Ref Preview Arsenal – Leicester: yes it’s him
Strange, most decent proper supporters want the team to challenge for the title. To concede 3 goals at home and defend like a pub team shows no change and another season not being able to challenge. Wenger does not get defending at all hence we will fall short. Great we won and some of our offensive football is top quality, but smart football people can see the same weaknesses.
For the media journalists last night must have been a hard kick in the gut.
At 2-3 with the joy of the horror defence lapses written up and revelled in they have to ‘horror of horror’ add to their ‘happy tale of Arsenal woe’
Arsenal won 4-3.
Do I feel sorry for these blind mice having their tails cut off with Arsenal’s carving knife?
No I do not.
Their misery is the cherry on the cake.
An open message to Arsene:
I like cake with cherries. More of the same please Arsene.
Tony,
you really, as usual I ought to say, nailed it.
We were watching it in family on a stream. And we forgot all worries, stresses, etc of the past weeks and just went with the flow of the game.
We were upset at the goals they scored, were elated at ours, angry at the ref (well, I must admit less then usual….which is strange when you think about it), found the commentary in french utterly useless and negative (Vardy, the henchman of Arsenal scores again was one line … just Vardy never won a game against us, never ‘executed’ Arsenal…), went bonkers when Olivier got his header into the net, were amazed by the Tank, and felt totally drained when the final whistle was blown. That was as good as a rollercoaster ride. and this morning we’ve all got a big smile on as we face reality again.
And the most ironic part of this is that Arsenal did the PL a huge favour. This was the flagship game, the teaser for the whole season and one of the most loved and respected PL teams in the world wins a fantastic match, with goals, with gusto, with emotion, with skill, a match with pretty much all of football condensed inside. This was a f…g great advertisement for all the the PL is supposed to stand for, for why it is worth billions in TV fees.
And these idiots, who are NOT really part of the show at all (yet want so much to be), who, as far as I am concerned, look more like people with a shiteload of frustration inside themselves (because they are not in it anymore, because they never won what they wanted, because they never could be in it, because whatever, i guess their schrink knows about it…- but at least he gets paid for it, we must pay to listen to them babble and blabla).
They just remind me of spoiled brats, who when they get what they want just say they don’t want it anymore.
Maybe UA ought to have a funny wall, where the best stupid quotes and comments can be collected, compared a few months down the line, and kept so we can always go back and have a laugh.
But, and this to me is the most important part, I’m feeling great, had fun watching and can’t wait for the orcs game. and I feel good about the team. They have grit, will, backbone, all that everyone says they do not have. And they’ve added to the stats : winning when coming from behind, scoring in the last 10 minutes. Pretty impressive for a team without any backbone.
And saying that, I have this crazy thought that comes to my mind. Maybe in the end PIGMOB did all of Arsenal a big favour. By screwing us so often, they’ve forced the players to adapt, to be stronger, to resist, to keep on going. The Darwinian consequence is that the team is stronger mentally, has more belief in itself, can take a beating and stand up again. We will need that. And we have it.
Have a nice week-end all of you, I will and I don’t think there’ll be many games with that craziness around to watch. Go out and have fun in real life instead.
A very interesting post, Tony.
We habitual non-attenders miss the camaraderie and the background of those lucky enough to regularly attend matches at the Ems. That’s why I enjoy, for instance, reports on the catering, for a change.
Last night’s cliff-hanger was not for the faint-hearted, by the way. Although we came good at the end through the efforts of the often maligned Ramsay and Giroud. I hope their goals silenced some of their critics. 😉
Well Tony, we are not alone….
here’s an interesting piece
http://www.itsroundanditswhite.co.uk/2017/08/12/arsenal-leicester-make-excellent-case-friday-night-football/
Tony you are right, when Man united win their game in such manner the press will praise them to high heaven. But for Arsenal they will make sure they spoil our joy with litany of errors.They don’t talk the good things that happens during the game their joy is to see Arsenal fail A big SHAME to them.
In what possible way is it smart to see the weaknesses? I really don’t get that at all. If I run a business and see that there is a way to make more money without harming anyone, I might feel that I have been smart to spot it and introduce it. If I notice (as I did recently) further evidence which helps clarify the events leading to Arsenal’s promotion in 1919 – and note that no one else has ever noticed these events of late nor spotted their connection with 1919, I might feel smart.
But how is it smart to see weaknesses about which they can do nothing? If I see a child who is tone deaf, is it smart to know the child is tone deaf, is there is nothing I can do about it? No I really don’t get that at all.
tony . . . keep building the ladder and climbing every rung . . .
Just had a (rare) look at Le Grove. There are a lot of angry folk there, no mistake.
Worth a look just to see the polar opposite of Untold.
Russ
Did you notice that our defence was pretty much makeshift? Four central defenders all unavailable, Kos, Mustafi, Mertesacker and Gabriel. A few allowances should be made don’t you think?
Russ has chosen to be unhappy I think. Is that smart? I doubt it…
Mick,
as long as our offence scores one more goal that the defence takes, I’m ok with it.
Then, as the Monty Pyton say : You don’t plan for the spanish inquisition (or something like that).
4 central defenders out…can’t plan for that. But it will not last.
And if it were to last, well, the guys on the field will have to learn.
what a life if would be without a russes of the world!?!?!?
there will be no material for such articles!
the worst thing about arsenal is fans, when the most popular arsenal’s channel on youtube is arsenal fan tv.
MickHazel, I’d suggest you leave ‘LeChildrens’ site alone.
Just taking a look boosts their views which gives them numbers that suggest it’s more than just a kids site (but it’s a 100% kiddy site)…
I was highly delighted to see our beloved Arsenal finally put paid to Leicester City attempt to cause a back to back upsets for us in the PL opening season match at the Emirates Stadium last night. Ah! What a relieve.
I had predicted a 4-0 victory in the game for Arsenal in my own scoreline prediction. Although Arsenal scored all the goals I predicted they will score, but against my final scoreline prediction, Leicester shockingly scored thrice against us. In my comment posting of yesterday night in response to Mr W Broeckx’s article posting on our 4-3 victory over Leicester game review, I had opined Le Prof should not field the same back three that he started against Leicester yesternight at the ems at Stoke next week because of their lacklusterness at dealing with crossing ball which led us to conceding 3 unpardonable goals to Okasaki one heading goal and Vardy who score two heading goals too all for Leicester in the first and the 2nd half of the match. But on a second thought, I think first of all, that our back three of yesternight are not used to playing to together. Maybe yesternight was the first time Le Pro will be playing them together. So, they need to accumulate experience as he continues to play them together in some other games. And secondly, I think the young Holding who last Sunday played a tough Community Shield match against Chelsea at Wembley was a little game fatigued for this our home PL game against Leicester, for which he has played two difficult competitive matches within four days. He is still young, so it’s not surprising to see him getting fatigued. He’ll outgrown that with time.
At the centreback at Stoke, Mert, Koscielny and likely Mustafi will not be available for that match due to some unavoidable reasons. If Le Prof will start that match with a back three defense-line playing formation, could he start Holding Chambers Monreal as his back three in that match and move Kolasinac to left wing back position? Chambers should be able to deal with crossing efficiently, could he not?
What a start to the new season. I prayed hard and God answered my prayers. Not exactly how I would have preferred, but it’s the result that counts at the end of the day.
At times, I thought we were still in pre-season, with all the experimenting going on with players playing not in their customary roles. Then again, maybe Arsene Wenger has thought all this out (thinking on your feet) and made the necessary judgements to get the right result. All these and not highlighting the several individual performances that can’t really be practiced at London Colney.
Well done you Gunners, we are stronger for the season coming out of this game.
I’d like to start an appeal for WOBs and AAAs to help get them the expert support they so obviously need.
In a world which may be blown up at any minute by the likes of Trump and Kim Jong Un, where Britain is heading for economic disaster post-Brexi, where climate change is threatening to burn, melt or drown the planet, if you can’t enjoy a 7 goal thriller where Arsenal’s supposedly sidelined (but totally committed) number 12 scores a late goal to win the game then really…you need to STAY IN more (and by IN I mean in an institution).
So please send money to Save the AAA to:
Dr G.A.LIfe at The Holloway Road Asylum for Mentally Challenged (so-called) Arsenal Fans, London, N5
Every penny helps an AAA/WOB to make a full recovery (or at the very least it will keep them off the streets and out of the Emirates!)
It must have been disappointing for so many pundits and journalists that our 2 late goals spoilt their pre-conceptions about Arsenal’s weaknesses. As others have pointed out, we were lacking 4 senior central defenders and, besides the 3 obvious lapses, we were not really exposed for the majority of the game.
BBC make Vardy man of the match! – what absolute confirmation of their anti-Arsenal agenda. (Like Hoddle last week, saying that Chelsea missed a load of scoring chances in the Community Shield; straight from the Donald Trump catalogue of honest reporting!)
Sounds like the reporting in the media is up to, or should I say down to, it’s usual standards.
To be fair though, Neil Ashton in the Sun wasn’t too bad, preferring to focus on the sheer joy of the occasion, as per Tony’s wish really, rather than too much criticism, which is not to say he didn’t touch on it.
Of our defence he says:
“It would be easy to tuck in to Arsenals shambolic defending, the failure to get to grips with Shinji Okazaka or Jamie Vardy. That is for another time”
Well he may have a point, but where’s the perspective? He completely omits to mention the fact, as pointed out by MickHazel earlier, that it was a makeshift defence with Kos, Mustafi, Mertesacker and Gabriel all unavailable, as well as Kolasinac making his PL debut.
Surely that has at least some bearing on the performance, and warrants at least a mention? But nothing.
As per Russ above, the mere idea that they are prepared to completely overlook the fact that the defence was totally makeshift, with 4 players out and one on debut, is ridiculous.
Wish I was there for that one, looked fun. Any team other than Arsenal, and that would have been reported very differently.
All credit to the team for getting that result in the way they did, through pretty much constant attack when needed, and of course inspired substitutions.
That was a cobbled together defence, things will certainly improve on that front when absentees return.starts to seasons can be notoriously difficult, and hard to read too much into until things settle down.
But anything that gives a valuable win, a dramatic late win, and pisses off the media, and malcontents on their forums egged on by other posters who clearly support other teams, can only be very good thing.
Well done to the team for showing such spirit, and attires quality, and to the manager for making a real difference
Russ – You do realise that we were missing 4 of our first-team defenders? Take away the top 4 defenders of any club and see how they handle it.
I mean, Jesus Christ, just look at all the negativity from last nights game. You do realise that we won the match, right?
Also, your statement about Wenger not being able to set up a decent defence, is utterly unfounded and just plain wrong. Perhaps you should actually look up Arsenals defensive statistics for the last few seasons, instead of just blindly swallowing up everything that the media throws at you. When it comes to defensive stats, Arsenal are usually right up there with the best of them.
Why is it, that people like you, always fail to muster up any substantiated facts, to back up your criticisms of Wenger? 99% of the criticisms thrown at him, are either literally just made-up (i.e he’s a dictator, he panic-buys, we loose out on players because of his penny-pinching ect ect) or they can easily be dispelled with some actual facts and statistics.
One game into the season and already the bombardment of negativity has begun. What the fuck is wrong with some Arsenal “fans”?
According to Carragher, Arsenal looked a complete mess when we changed formation, in the last portion of the game. Well, Mr.Carragher, that’s why you should stick to talking purely in hindsight, because when you don’t and attempt to make real-time observations, you are proven to be the thick twat, that you are.
His constant negativity throughout the entire match (aimed literally only at Arsenal), was so unbelievably grating. He’s got, most probably, the single worst voice, in modern television.
Apparently Leicesters defeat was a “brave” one. Why is it that the team that won, are being slated far, far worse, than the team who lost? Anyone that says there isn’t an anti-Arsenal bias, is out of their mind.
True gunners supporters knows themselves.
I remained faithful throue the match yesterday and the players did not dissapoint me at the end.
it is really appalling and disgraceful how the media and the so called expert commentators portrays Arsenal football club. in my country Nigeria, its the same. overtime I’ve learnt to ignore them and rather enjoy seeing the play.
I’d advice other true supporters do the same.
Jammy J
Well said.
Apparently the ever loyal Arsenal fan that is Amy Lawrence is her usual negative self. I cant wait to hear what her No. 1 fan has to say in her defence again.
He’s lurking somewhere I believe. You never know, maybe he’s finally realised defending the indefensible just makes you look a bit daft.
Spot on Tony. It’s just pathetic that the media (and the WOB/AAA’s) completely ignore the makeshift defence issue.
I don’t want to be mean, but his posts really are some of most frustrating things I’ll ever read haha.
Well said Tony. And thank you for articulating it so well
I follow more than one sport and by extension more than one league. By revenue the National Football League (American football) is almost 3 times the size of the Premier League and they could give the Premier League some lessons on how to present their sport.
When a referee team messes things up, the NFL clarifies whether a mistake has been made or not and they sometimes clarify/change rules mid-season. The commentators DO note mistakes made by referees in their broadcasts but do not harp on them…mistakes made by the referees and the teams. They are NEVER negative with the teams- even the no hopers. They know that the fans of the no hopers buy shirts, too. There are some real-life villains in the league. They let outside commentators castigate them. They do not do that on air. They do not invent villains like Arsenal or Arsene Wenger. The fans and the owners would not stand for it. Perhaps our American cousins are too earnest by half but in this case they have it right.
Try Privacy Badger to stop the advertising crap. It helps by stopping many of the disturbances.
I wonder what people will be saying about Liverpool’s opening match. Watford just keep coming at them. 3-3 in added on time.
Lokking to get screwed.
It was a small town and the patrolman was making his evening rounds..
As he was checking a used car lot, he came upon two little old ladies sitting in a used car..
He stopped and asked them why they were sitting there in the car or were they trying to steal it?
” Heavens no, we bought it.”
“Then why don’t you drive it away ?”
” We can’t drive.”
“Then why did you buy it?”
‘We were told that if we bought a used car here we’d get screwed ……so we’re just waiting !”
GGG
In the US it has been accepted for over a hundred years that mafia and crooks need to be kept away from their sports!
We can think of hundreds of millions of reasons,literally (£), why the agent’s and their hack dwarf hangers on in the funny papers don’t like the Arsenal.
If only such knowledgeable Experts such as the parasite satirised by this excellent article could turn their amazing knowledge of football towards helping the team that can’t defend against Iceland eh?
< …or Watford (it won't happen) lol
Watford 3-3 Liverpool PL match result this afternoon at the Vicarage Road is a huge 2 points dropped by Liverpool which Arsenal have picked up and add them to their PL points bag at the Emirates Stadium in this season’s Premier League points hauliage campaign. Wow! What a 2 points dropped by Liverpool. I enjoyed watching the match.
Look forward to Jamie Carraghers views on Liverpool.
A complete mess defensively ?
Liverpools defending is getting some stick, but they’re still managing to bring us into it, and I still haven’t heard them once mention the ‘makeshift’ back line we had.
I think in contrast this was Liverpools 1st choice back line. Sure I’ll be put in my place if I’m wrong.
This morning went out revelling in the intoxication of the season starting, ninety seconds in Elneny crossing,Laca guiding it in, the sheer speed and precision of the movement, and then the Giroud goal. How different was that? Two great goals in one game.
Came back still high on last night’s game, turn on the football, Liverpool have just conceded a goal against Watford, the co-commentator is howling about an ”unforgiveable” mistake by the Liverpool defence.
”Unforgiveable?”It’s just a goal in a football match.
Well something is strange with refereeing
Gary Cahill was red carded (justifiably I think) after 12 minutes….
And Fabregas yellow carded (justifiably I think) 2 minutes later.
Have we reached the Twilight Zone ?!?
Chelsea seem to have a serious lack of discipline.
If only they had some ‘leaders’ who could instil this much lacking discipline?
Amy’s opening paragraph in her Guardian report last night, bemused me. There’s a point in every game where players start playing everywhere, their focus taking up the space and using it to interpret every possibility. The back four that she finds so difficult to understand has evolved in the game into a set of players on the pitch aiming to get an equaliser and the winner. The squad is a school of players each capable of playing anywhere.
Amy is stuck in 1914, along with Captain Lawrenson and Mr Mannering.
Zedsaunt,
I second your comment. The talent they have shown is that they have got the job done against all odds. The fact that they were in that position has nothing to do with an error (unless you want to criticise Arsenal for not having 3 central defenders…..) but with circumstance.
There is some saying in the US : when life gives you lemons, make lemonade
And I believe this is something Arsenal have become good at. They’ve been in so many bad situations due to bad luck and adverse refereeing decisions that I believe they have learnt to get back up and go for it. Sometimes it does not work, but as stats show, most of the time they overcome adversity.
And seeing Chelsea just taking a second goal I feel confirmed…they are not used to the adversity Arsenal have had to face year after year, game after game since the Invicibles. And it shows.
Wanna bet the press will laud Chelsea’s fighting spirit and say they were unlucky…. No comment on a non existing bench, on the reckless challenge that led to the red card (it will be branded as harsch refereeing), etc.
Hel I don’t care. We overcame yet again adversity, we won. Let them lose
And here comes goal Number 3 !!! This is really turning out into a great week-end
Burnley up by 3 at the bridge in the first half. Chelsea still playing with 10.
Not certain but the Chelsea back line seem afraid to touch Burnley players after that red and yellow. Amazing what early cards will do.
Referees uncertain about the direction of anything with video technology ahead, perhaps? Play it by the book, if they can find the book, and then the page, the paragraph.
Dean sees two handballs and doesn’t see two handballs because to take a decision reveals where he stands and he cannot be seen to be standing anywhere.
Cahill gets redcarded early, he could always get redcarded early. Why today? – it will be on video next seson? Play by the book.
Name a country where referees are trusted.
Well guess who is going to splash the cash in the next weeks….not that there are so many good players around anyway
I do hope that AW and the rest of the Arsenal transfer team have their phones switched off, as I fear that Conte may up his offer for the OX !
And what are the bookies quoting for Fab to get sent off ? I’ll give him a standing ovation if that happens !
Last night’s game was the first of the new EPL season. CBC (Canada’s national broadcaster) didn’t even mention that the EPL season had opened on the Sports/Soccer page.
Looking at partial headlines and snippets at Google, there is no news that isn’t potentially an attack on Arsenal that I can see.
Can we get a Brighton and Hove win today?
And I was hoping that Roman is in incommunicado mode , avoiding his soon to be ex-wife’s lawyers. Bad news is that he just got richer . Drat !
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-4779424/Abramovich-gets-100m-richer-steel-maker-pays-dividend.html
Brickfiels are you standing? 😉
What next in the PL? Tomorrow 5 Totts players getting a red card finally after 2 seasons without one?
And out goes Fabregas. Wonder how long it has been since Chelsea had a read card, speak alone 2 ?!?
@ WalterBroeckx -12/08/2017 at 4:39 pm – I did indeed Walter ! But the bad news is that those two will miss out in the Spuds game . Damn !
I have a quarrel with my son who is a basketball fan. He laughed at me for being unhappy because we concede 3 . 7 goals and we scored 4; first game of the league; we did not start with the first 11 and refereeing wasn’t consistent .
Matter of fact , it is still a win for Arsenal . Everything is about perspective , and the job of the media is to use scandalous approach to attract clicks and viewers. Take it easy .
I’ll stir the pot –
-I thought that the referee had a very good game . He must have got around 98% of his decisions right . Mike Riley should be suitably proud .
– The commentators will be positively gushing by Burnley’s great play and correct tactics .They will heap praise the high level and competitiveness of the EPL .
-There will not be any more advice and calls for to Chelsea to spend some more money . And to further strengthen the team . Am sure at least one of their loyal fans will be soon be around to explain…err ..to explain ..well , whatever !
– They WILL not mention Arsenal in any way , other than to praise us !
Have a good laugh here ….
Walter,
are we seing refereeing being more right then it used to be ? Or some kind of different agenda ?
It did seem to me that at the end od the game, the yellow card against Burnley could well have been red ?
The unpredictable that is the Premier League result is at it again this afternoon at Stanford Bridge as Chelsea have dropped 3 massive points at home to their host Burnley. And once again Arsenal have picked up those dropped points to add them to their own points in their Emirates Stadium points bag just as they added the 2 points Liverpool dropped at Watford this afternoon to their own points to lead these their two title rival clubs by 2 and 3 points in the league table. Wow!
Chelsea had two red cards in our last two games (FA Cup Final and Community Shield). 4 red cards in the last three official games.
It’s funny because they had gone through whole last season without a red card (in the league, that is). In 2015-16 they had 5 red cards (with Courtois picking two for a professional foul, I think). In 2014-15, they got 4 red cards.
A couple of random points;
That is the Nth red card of Conte’s reign, – 4 red cards in 3 successive competitive matches!
Makes a nice change for Chelsea to play with 9 men rather than against 9 men.
I watched the game last night via a online service and the commentary was by Jon Champion and another chap. The over all experience was great with few references to our back line and few mistakes in the passing game and they also agreed we still have players to come into the team. And they were absolutely bowled over by the high scoring game. They even commented that it was the most exciting opening game or something to that effect. The next morning I start listening to the sky pundits, espnfc team and they seemed so focussed on the goals let in, they forgot we won by scoring more. I don’t get why fans or pundits feel we should have scored ten and LFC shouldn’t have scored. The whole point of playing football is for teams to beat our defense or take advantage of mistakes and score. And after seeing the matches played today I don’t get what all the fuss about our game is about.
Refreshing to read untold. So much negativity from the fans gets to me sometimes.
The bottle is half full then, better than being half empty. Or is it the same?
Be the fan you wanna be, and let others be the fans they want to be.
Some of us love soccer because of the constant competition, and because our approach in life is always to win. So if you love soccer because it is picnic, that is you and you are not wrong, like we are not wrong. We watch the same games, but have different views. Shikena!
Absolutely Victor. I’m not saying anyone is wrong. Only that those of us who are positive have much happier lives.
How the media have gone blind is quite surprising. They counted Wenger’s red cards but lost their fingers & toes counting Contes’.
Was sitting in the dentist’s chair at 3pm in Houston TX USA watching the Guardian blog live update every 3 minutes.
It’s hard to get excited reading about a game– but I sure was!
And of course– I had recorded it off of NBCSN.
Could not wait to get home and watch it.
And have watched it 3 times since Friday evening.
What a great, emotional match.
(I won’t be erasing it anytime soon either!)
jw1