Last year was, according to the muddleheaded, the year of going backwards. We entered league match number 3 with and win and a defeat, plus a comfortable saunter into the Bent Cup (as I’m now forced to rename the Champs League).
Match three was Arsenal 3 Newcastle Zebras 0.
Line up was
Almunia
Sagna, Toure, Gallas, Clichy
Eboue (Walcott), Fabregas, Denilson (Song), Nasri
Adebayor, Van Persie (Vela)
This time for the little matter of game 3 it looks like being
Almunia
Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Clichy
Denilson, Song, Diaby
Arshavin, Van Persie, Bendtner
Improvements are clear. Vermaelen for Toure (that is Toure of a year ago) is a clear step up. You could actually say the same of Gallas 09 against Gallas 08, Denilson ditto and Song ditto. And having both Denilson the Older, and Song the Older on the pitch together is another bit of progress.
As for Nasri, VP, and Ade against Arshavin, VP, and Bendtner, I’d say improvement is there too, so overall quite a step up. Last year VP got two goals, Denilson one. Bendtner’s ability to take a ball at height and control and then beat is extraordinary. He keeps looking like he has missed it and lost it, and then he goes on.
What’s interesting is that this is one of the few Sir Alex F-Word years in which we can honestly say Manchester IOU have gone backwards as Mr Dive-Without-Banishment has now gone to be really mad, and no one really seems to have taken his place. Giggs celebrated his 85th birthday last week, and the whole squad is looking a trifle passe.
Arsenal have been greatly assisted by the insane, cretinous, pathetic, stupid, ignorant, inept, ludicrous, bizarre, twisted, warped, dishonest UEFA backed by their lickspittle lackeys in the SFA, and their allies in the media. We cannot but be so much stronger than we were.
If you want to know how close the SFA is to UEFA read on…
On 12 May 2009 the Scottish Football Association lobbied UEFA to allow appeals against referees decisions. I don’t think the papers have gone back and reported this – but the signs are there – it was reported at the time as part of the ceaseless pro-Man IOU feel before the Bent Cup final.
The idea of overthrowing the ref’s rule retrospectively is an SFA plan, long laid and carefully thought through and carefully pushed before its pals in UEFA (pals who have looked after the SFA for years and years, giving it influence way beyond its real position in football). More on this another day.
In this case Darren Fletcher was due to miss out on a Champions League final place because of a sending off in the semi.
Corrupt SFA chief executive Gordon Smith and the even more bent UEFA General Secretary David Taylor (who is also Scottish) used this as a staging board to weedle his way inside UEFA by demanding a change in the rule that would allow the overthrowing of ref decisions.
“I’m on a European football committee and it’s certainly an issue I will raise,” he said (quoted in the Scotsman).
UEFA then said IN PUBLIC that they had a “steadfast refusal” against overturning referee decisions. UEFA’s rules say that only a case of mistaken identity can lead to a referee’s decision being changed.
UEFA also said that there were no grounds for overturning decisions in any case.
A UEFA statement said of the request for appeals prior to the final: “Even if they had been admitted they would have been rejected as unfounded as there were no grounds for contesting the referees’ original decisions.”
There it is: the next piece of evidence showing both the utter corruption of UEFA and the deeply worrying and sinister links with the SFA who are proven through recent history to be so bent that corkscrews come to them to take lessons.
Although it will take me some time to do, I have a feeling my next book will be called “This is Not Football” and will be a revelation of the corruption within the game, covering FIFA, UEFA, FA, SFA, EPL and anyone else I can think of.
You’ll have to wait a bit. though I have only just finished writing “Making the Arsenal” which is out in October. But I have added a new category to my list of blog categories (corruption) so I can trace the stories as they develop.
So, back to the minor issue of the score. 1-2 to the Arsenal – how does that sound? Arshavin to get both.
(c) Tony Attwood 2009
Four reports from this site appeared on Team Talk yesterday – all claiming to be written by other people. Makes you proud to be original, doesn’t it?
2-1 tony? I’m betting we’re keeping the 2 goals+ difference for another 1 or 2 games. Can’t wait.
Read this post hours ago on TeamTalk, can’t you be a bit more original Tony 😉
i am not at all surprised tony. even though i like the whole european thing, we have to accept that levels of corruption in european institutions are extraordinary. why would uefa be any different?
i read somewhere that uefa wanted to put their foot down this year on the issue of cheating and that is why they have charged Eduardo. but as arsene said yesterday, this is the first time a referee’s decision has been challenged and the door is now open for continual challenges.
this seems to be a very dangerous position for them to take. finacially it will impact them because of the high price of lawyers. they are going to be in tribunal almost constantly. and then what about the appeals process, more money spent.
this is also a very good way to undermine the referee. last season the agenda was fair play or some such nonsense about the players having respect for the officials.
this new stance from uefa seems to be a u-turn from respecting the officials.
i do believe a pandoras box is just about to open.
Tony, I hope you manage to write that book about the corruption in football – I would love to read it. A light needs to be shone on the murky places in the game. UEFA has shown itself up as a bunch of fools. The media kicked up a storm and then walk away to the next issue, but they will have plenty of copy from the fall out of UEFA’s senseless decision to take this matter further. I can see the Human Rights Act coming into play at some point in this little drama.
Although the corruption towards the Old Firm in Scotland is palpable, the example of DF is a bit of considering he was innocent. The case of retrospective punishment of Mikolunias vs the SFA (or GFA as there known in Scotland, G being for Glasgow) Miko dived against Scotland to earn a penalty when his Lithuanian team played in a qualifier. Fletcher extended a leg out and miko dived over it, it was a dive no question. The penalty was scored but didnt effect the result. Mikolunias a Scottish based player of Hearts (and here’s the kicker, Hearts are a team predjuidiced against due to the owner not being from these shores, A Mr Vladimir Romanov, off Lithuania via a Russian Submarine) Now Mikolunias got stiched right up with the retrospective punishment, Forget the fact that Gary O ‘Connor, a good Scottish laddie, tried a pathetic attempt at a dive and got nowt. FOrget all the times a Ranger or Celtic player has threw himself to earn his team a penalty, no MIko was public enemy number one, and from this day to the day he left Miko was abused at grounds up and down the country by rabid, fans deluded by our crooked football governing body and there good friend the Glasgow Media. The reason HEarts as a team get so much shite from the GFA is down to xenophobic attitude employed withing Scottish Football and the fact that HEarts can if the act is together could challenge, VLads first season we cost Rangers a Champions LEague spot through our efforts to get to second. The whole league is geared towards either one of those two winning the league and divving up the CL cash between them.
Scottish Football is corrupt to the core from the OF taking the lions share of the tv cash, scooping up the best players from other teams to keep them on the bench to crooked Referees fawning over themselves to reward the OF players cheating and castigate an other teams players for just trying to compete. IVe seem OF captains scream in the faces of Referees after decisions and being waved away while the rest get booked and sent off. Ive seen in the same match, Bobo Balde half our winget Cesnauskis when he was gettin through on goal and not get booked the Shaun Maloney dive over Takis Fyssas challenge and Fyssas got sent off. This was the new year match in Romanovs first season and was the collapse of our challenge. Scottish Fans often chant “you dont know what your doing” to Scottish Referee’s when an obscure decision is given and I shamefully have to accept they know fine well what they are doing.
No one in Scotland will stand up to this tyranny, if you do you are labelled Mad, Paranoid, Sore losers etc. Its ridiculous how biased the GFA are to the OF everyone can see it no-one does anything. Then Celtic have the temmerity to cry out like this when they and Rangers have been shafting the rest of Scottish Football for years and probaly for years to come.
Id be very interested in Reading a corruption revealing book, and hope that it could do some good.
Feeno – thanks for that – I am coming to the issue of the SFA from a very non-Scottish point of view so I am discovering as I go, and need every bit of backup I can find.
Every scap of evidence and info is more than welcome, whether it supports the case or not.
Indeed, anyone kind enough to devote a few minutes to reading these pages: if you can think of any story that even hints at corruption, do write in.
But let us also bear in mind the previous article on this site. We are not talking about refs making genuine mistakes in the heat of the moment. I’ve screamed at refs in the heat of the moment, as much as anyone, but in the calm of the countryside, I know that it is an impossible job.
Tony, would the match be a close one? Your 2-1 score says so. I’m going for a 3-1 score line because our forwards have the capabilities to score 3 goals..
I’m deeply worried. The panel on Soccer Saturday has just been really supportive of Arsenal. Phil Thompson said nice things about Arsenal! The end of the world must be on it’s way.
Tony – Correct scoreline, wrong scorer. RVP to bag a brace! Rooney to dive for penalty and be praised for his intelligent play.
Tony dats unlike you.the scoreline’s not bold enough.if the arsenal lads have some respect for themselves and are really wounded wit black scars from the humiliation manure did them in the CL last season then the scores should b wit a 2goal margin and upwards to that same manure team of last season.considering that manure is much weaker and we are much stronger a 3goal margin is what i’ll go for.
A few hours before kickoff and my laptop is warming up to do his usual matchday job.
Got to get the facts right for the matchreport over here.
And the prediction from Tony is always a good start.
Nerves are starting to come and when you think of the absentees…. wich club could replace so many good players (world class for some) in a team ? Nasri, Rosicky, Walcott, Fabregas… those are 4 names who would start in any team in de PL.
But then again, our young Gunns have improved and today can show how far they have developed.
In predicting 2-1 I am taking into account
a) Manchester tactics
b) The fact that we have repeatedly seen our players kicked to shreds at Manchester without any action.
Do you remember that game when we won the league with Wiltord scoring, at Manchester.
Sit down with the old video of the game and watch the first 15 minutes. It is one of the most shocking appalling and disgusting displays of football ever witnessed. Best to turn the sound down, or you with be in danger of spoiling the carpet as your whole body rises up in revolt at what is being said.
So, 2-1 is cautious, but I know what we are up against. When facing the team bus in the goal approach we can beat it by getting the first goal – and they have to advance. With no ref protection at Very Old Trafford the bruises grow and grow, and it is tough.
But we will win.
Tony
Walter – Who will ManU have missing? Ferdinand and Hargreaves but they have an amazing squad. If you took the equivalent players out of the ManU team that we have missing they would be down to the bones (Don’t even try it with Liverpool). We can still field a strong team with a decent bench. Why does this impression that we have a samll squad come from?
Marc, its just my normal “a few hours before kickoff-nerves” that is bothering me.
A normal match day reaction.
I’ll eagerly await your book on corruption, Tony. It is sad that corruption, favouritism & xenophobia rule football. UEFA, FA & EPL are so annoyingly corrupt and we football fans can’t really do much about it largely because of our bigotry. We really couldn’t careless if it doesn’t affect our clubs. That is really sad. We need to wake up and realise that our own clubs will benefit if we decry a corrupt act against other clubs and expose corrupt officials.
Anyway, I’ll be cheering our boys to victory tonight.
How on earth did we loose that match ?
How on earth did the ref didn’t see the penalty on Arshavin ?
How on earth did Diaby managed to put it in his own goal ?
How on earth did de freekick from Van Persie didn’t hit the net ?
We had the best chances but gave it away. We should have been 2-0 up just after halftime.
Man how disapointed I am.
Well just got to pick ourselfs up and put it right against City.
I am sorry but what means the IOU with connection to Man FUnited?