It is important for Arsenal fans not to crow at the misfortune of others at a moment like this

46 Replies to “It is important for Arsenal fans not to crow at the misfortune of others at a moment like this”

1. Childish I know.

   But why not once in a while.

2. Nope I disagree NOT childish at all.
   Just summing up how we all feel 🙂

3. The following was published in the Evening Standard on 24 February (i.e. a mere 26 days ago).

   http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o125/goonerak/2012-02-24EveningStandard1.jpg

   http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o125/goonerak/2012-02-24EveningStandard2.jpg

   I had a sneaking suspicion that I would have a chuckle later on in the season, but not THIS soon.

4. Mind the gap

5. OK comical. did not expect that. Got it out your system yet or is there more to come?
   @Walter interesting offside decision against Everton to review.

6. As some of you already know I will be at the game on Saturday.
   And way down at the end of January when all was dark I made a statement on the internet of our supporters club somewhere that when we would come with the supporters club we would be ahead of the tiny tots. I am known as The Optimist and nobody believed me at the time.
   And now look…. well well well….

   So I can only join in with you Tony and say :

   YES YES YES YES…. 🙂

   Tony should I mind any sort of gap when I come to meet you?

7. Adam,
   I have seen a lot of interesting decisions…
   My first impression was: bad, bad, bad….amazingly bad in fact and some amazing great decisions also at times…

   A really strange game

8. As long as they don’t get a chance to return serve.
   we gave a decent,rough squad and its come from the adversity of earlier in the season.
   Two or three top players coming in will mean we can match anyone.

9. Great stuff Tony! Perfect ending to a great night.

10. Yes yes yes!!!!!!! Lol up the gunners!

11. A note of caution. Is it ideal for Wenger to replace Rosicky in the middle with Ramsey given the former’s fine run of late? It could cause a little unbalance especially in the final third. While not oblivious of how good Ramsey is, and of course he’s getting better and better, I think the overall success of the team should be given utmost preference at a time like this. As often reiterated, there is a thin line separating an amazing run like we’ve got not and a slip up. Not converting any of those chances that fell to him could be due to match rustiness which could prove costly in matches like this where the opposition could just nick a point at the death.

    Ramsey got all of next season to continue his progress by which time Rosicky would have become an impact substitute since Wiltshire and Diaby would also be fully back.

12. LOL Andy Kelly, great links 🙂

13. hahaha tony not childish at all..amazing how far we have come
    @walter you are gonna be at the villa match? Great!!give dowd all the stick he deserves cos im sure he will be at his twatish best

14. This is far from the worst Arsenal side ever. This squad has character very few can match. Rejoice!

15. And yes!

16. @ Yommex, I agree with your concern. I felt we struggled more in the middle than usual. Why shift Rosicky out wide when we have played excellent with him in the middle?

    Although we won, and made it harder than it should have been, we played really well only the first 20 min or so.

    On another site, I suggested using Santos on the left in place for AOC as Santos has great attacking qualities and he could help Gibs defensively as well. If one of them got injured or tired, we would still have one LB on the field…

    Furthermore, taking off someone with Walcott´s pace when the other side is pressing surprises me as he would be an outlet and also force Everton to play more conservatively on their left.

17. @Adam, Walter

    Arsenal.com has a slightly different point of view.

    > However, the first half nearly flipped around in the 32nd minute. The visitors were fortunate to retain their lead when Drenthe’s goal was chalked off because Nikica Jelavic was ruled offside after Marouane Fellaini fed the Dutchman on the right. However, Jelavic was in the centre of the area and the Everton crowd vocalised the view that he was not interfering with play.

    http://www.arsenal.com/match-menu/3497027/first-team/everton-v-arsenal?tab=report

18. Great links. English (impatient) press can learn. This is soccer, it’s not over till it’s over.

    And lolz at “how good [Ramsey] is”. He won’t even make the bench in ManUre, or Mansh**ty.

19. i think its stupid when you guys say this is the worse arsenal team since whenever….it really isnt.compare points of last season this time to now.Also we finished with 68 points last season we now have 55 points with 9 games left do the maths and stop looking back at that manu match to judge this team

20. @YOMEX and the first paragraph of T2T…

    …Ramsey was played there for his talents going forward but also his industry in helping out in midfield (ie, tracking back) and his wholehearted performances against a hard, hard working team. Is this not obvious? Rosicky was retained on in the team to add balance but also to help out in retaining posession in midfield with strong striking options in RVP and the pace and wallcot we had enough attacking potency. Also, Rosicky is a senior team member with alot of EPL experience.

    If we were playing at home then i maybe would not understand but we were playing a tough team away. OX is less experienced than Rosicky and Gerv would’ve been too offensive away (good impact tactic for l8er as was shown).

    enjoy the win, jeezo…..

    (oh, loved the game!!!)

21. And its also very important not to slag this team off cause those are quality top players , they are not the worst players or team cause if they were we wouldn’t have come so far in a very tough league ..So lets just praise this team and wish them well cause once we have all players fit we always are up with the best and can challenge for every trophy .Up the GOONERS

22. Great set of results – Chelsea and Liverpool loss as well.

    At least over here we never stopped believing Arsenal would overtake the Tinies. Unlike the AAA and the media.

23. Haha, now do you guys still complain about Star Sport broadcasting the Tinies vs. Stoke game? 😉

    We scored very soon last night, but still managed to torture our fans’ poor hearts. Amazing! 😉

24. Yes oh yes,that’s the appropritate answer to all the Anti Arsenal Arsene brigade and guess what the League’s far form over and the Hate Arsenal campaign had their usual pop at the club before the match led by that elegant annalist Mr,Mark Larason,And I quote “Well last Aprill Wenger was telling Arsenal supporters he would bring in new players and the FOOL was still selling his best players in August. Now I don’t know how others think but Please God Please send us a radio station so we may listen to sound Football based analysis of the match not the constant xenophobia that emerges from some who can’t tell what Nationality they are(sorry but I needed to say it)they envy all others that have more ability and eloquence than they will ever have jurks. lets all thank Mr,Wenger and the Team for their fantastic effort after a disgraceful Media led offensive against the club
    well done the lads keep going it’s there for the taking.

25. Seemed to me that we had another textbook example of what happens to the game when the ref lets fouls go early and doesn’t issue cards. On the one hand, everyone tackles harder because they think they can get away with it. On the other, offensive players embellish their spills, figuring nothing but an aerial corkscrew will attract the ref’s attention.

    As to playing Rosicky wide… I don’t understand how Gervinho lost his spot there — when he first returned from the Cup of Nations, he was said to be worn out, but now it’s as if he’s not sharp enough to start?

26. Oh YES..Loved the article.
    Next weekend there will be big and important matches for Arsenal, Tinies and Chelski. Arsenal beat Villa and we will make gap bigger between us and Tinies or Chelski or both if they draw (which would be better since then both drop points).

27. Nice Tony – I’ll try not to crow ,instead I’ll praise the Lord Wenger and thank
    those who helped us. Misquoting a famous Roman ( who was also named Tony !)- ” I come here to praise ’em , not to bury ’em !”.

    ManShitty 2 Chelski 1 – thanks Samir ,well done ,(in Darth Vader tone) -” AW has taught you well !”

    Spuds 1 Stroke 1 – thanks Jerome ,you’ve repaid us in full !

    QPR 3 Liverpiddle 2 -thanks to all those Million new QPR fans (mostly Malaysians, thanks to another Tony !),who willed their team to victory and widened the gap .

    Everton 0 Arsenal 1 – W00 HOOOOO !!!!! YEESSSSSSS !!!!!!!

28. I guess thats one injustice from last year ironed out. Ironic that Mason was the Ref that allowed the offside goal from Saha to stand from the Feb 2011 fixture.

    Perhaps we just need to wait a year for karma to bite. So, 2012-2013 should be an amazing season 😉

    Also from the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17363141) quote:
    “However, their last six games have seen them take 18 points, score 19 goals, rediscover the confident swagger for which they are synonymous under Arsene Wenger and demonstrate a resilience many thought they lacked.”

    No. It is a resilience that the MEDIA thought the team lacked combined with some truly shocking decisions from match officials.

29. Nice way to start the morning! 😮 Thanks Tony.
    Rumour has it that the chicken living down the road has a bad dose of laryngitis. Cock a croak is the best it can manage.

30. Left for dead in a lost plot, Arsenal’s Turnaround is THE story of the season. (So much for those in lock-step to The [Rednose] Coronation.) The headline: “Court of Public Opinion: Arsene and lads win the hearts and minds!”

31. nd – I rather think you have missed the fact that on occasion my writing has a certain ironic twist.

32. when the squad screen showed up, people on my twitter timeline questioned AW’s idea of moving rosicky to the left and brought on Ramsey.

    But, what a fantastic 30 minutes we had last night? crisp and incisive passing that led to several good chances. Only our profligacy did deny us more goals.

    One thing is sure though; Arsene Knows.
    now he turned things around TWICE IN A SEASON (“august and january crises”).

    Vermaelen header got in – YES
    Jerome tap in got in – YES
    Nasri’s chip got in – YES

    Final Whistle at Goodison, Etihad and Shit Lane stadia – FUCKIN YES YES YES

33. Actually, I thought it was Rosicky who played in the centre, and Ramsey was out on the left. I could be wrong, especially because the Arsenal movement is fluid, but I definitely got the impression (and was happy) that Rosicky was playing in the centre.

    The defense yesterday at one point reminded me of the famous back 4. he way they held the lin and raised their hands appealing for offside. An old style, 1-0 to the Arsenal there. Even if we did get lucky with the Drenthe goal. How often does that happen? Of course we had the obligatory not given penalty. It’s a good thing Eerton aren’t a dirty team, because the way Mason refereed yesterday, I would be fearing a broken leg. He definitely encouraged rough play, and missed at least 2 bad tackles on Rosicky. I think he forgot that Arteta had moved to Arsenal though since once or twice he gave him free kicks a lot easier than the rest of the team 🙂 The only credit I give Mason is that h made the right call to not give a foul by Vermaelen (and red card) for what was a dive by Jelavic. For that dirty play alone, Everton deserved to lose.

    As for crowing over Spurs or anyone else. Not yet. We know, we’re good enough, but we’ve been screwed by referees far too long for me to rejoice just yet. Anything can happen with 9 games to go. It is funny though how the tone of the Spurs has changed over the weeks, including their lovable manager good ol’ ‘Arry.

34. On a more sober note, it is indeed important NOT to crow over an apparent success in football. Like my own favourite sport, golf, football can be a humbling game and for Arsenal, historically, the distance between triumph and disaster is minescule.
    Having said that, the results we have achieved since the early part of the season have been nothing short of amazing and a credit to manager and players alike.
    If we can hold on to at least 3rd place it will put paid to the view that the present team is Arsenal’s worst for many a year.
    The reason for our present success? I put it down simply to a bit of long awaited good luck, leading to more confidence and the gradual return (at a crucial time) of some of our wounded. Plus an astounding run of form of Van Persie. 😆

35. Come on. You’re old enough to know that this is nowhere hear the worst Arsenal side since Alfred the Great. Just think back to the sixties. The current lot are world beaters compared to the teams we had to endure during that decade.

36. You’ve got to enjoy your victories and progress when it comes as it won’t last forever but we should get too cocky, we’re only a point ahead of Spurs and our future is anything but certain. We’ve done our chances of finishing in the top 4 a huge favour though, but lately we’ve not been very convincing on the pitch, we were lucky against Liverpool, scraped by Newcastle and lucky last night too. We’ve done splendidly well with such a weak squad in comparison to those around us but there’s no chance of a let up right now. Chelsea are looking lively again now so there are three teams well in the battle for Champions League football.

37. That’s ‘SHOULDN’T’ get too cocky. Oops.

38. No one is crowing-yet. Only a fool would when we have yet to play the neaderthals away, Chavs and Man City at home. Only good thing is we are better prepared for each game. It aint over yet.
    But this team is fighting.
    Was it a lucky win?
    Did we get lucky with the Drenthe “goal”? Well he wasn’t off side when he put the ball in the net but how can you argue that a man standing 5 yards offside on his own in the middle of the penalty box when the ball was played forward is not interfering with play? The linesman’s flag went up as soon as the ball was played forward-marginally before Drenthe got on to the ball.
    We missed some very good chances-the RVP effort which hit the post was simply unlucky.
    What about the penalty and numerous over-physical challenges not punished by the ref not least by wild man Cahill on Koscielny and Gibbs. No we weren’t lucky to beat Everton.
    Needs to be said- nothing wrong with effort but Everton tried to kick their way back into this game.

39. Shard

    Yes, it was Ramsey who actually started on the left. I think those people we’re simply too soon to judge what’s gonna happen with our ‘gameplan’. They need to wait until they see how the team actually play on the field.

40. I just looking back for consecutive win record in English top division, it was Arsenal, 14 games from Feb 2002 to Aug 2002.

    I hope we will break it now, it means we must win all last 9 games.

41. @One Bing just pulling a leaf out of your book…”Arsenal, 14 games from Feb 2002 to Aug 2002″ which was followed by the incredible seasons thereafter!!! Its good omen for us – a young and prodigiously talented team (can’t wait for Ryo to join the gang) with a never say die attitude, TV5’s leadership, the cohesion they have and even luck seems to be on our side and ofcourse the lord himself!!! We are coming…

    Tony – I guess this sums up what each gunner is feeling at the moment and you have hit the bulls eye. After all the torments that we have undergone this is perfectly acceptable.

42. did anyone catch the early slap head (Brazil) this morning, changed the old well coming 4th isn’t bad for the totts.

43. I’d like to shake Clive Allen’s hand.

44. Tony !
    Nice one as usuall.
    Slightly out of the topic but on today newspapers didn`t see any kind of bashing to the spuds.Not even a word .Immagine if Arsenal was leading by 13 point to te spuds and lost it the way they did.Every jorno would have killed us.
    If this is not a clear anti arsenal agenda by the media what else can be ?
    Oh my God !!!

45. Alex,
    Yes, the deafening telltale silence that speaks volumes.

46. its good to laugh…

    i think us talking about this being the worst arsenal side is more a middle finger at the press because that was what we were called at the start of the season.

    i don’t think any of us seriously believed the side to be that bad. we only lost 2 players – one who was mostly injured last season, and one who disappeared for half the season.

    so heres the middle finger to all the newspapers and haters who are now trying to ignore the fact that the “worst” arsenal side, are above the “best” spuds side…