Groundhog day in the media is here again, and again, and again…

April 6 2011 Sammy the snake wrote an article, Groundhog day for Untold.  Earlier this month Jonny Cooper the Deputy Editor of Telegraph Men tried rather unsuccessfully to re-use the story and we covered that on Untold.

Now Groundhog Day stands for the same thing happening over and over again, so today Amy Laurence in the Guardian writes.

On the verge of another Champions League voyage, it is hard to avoid the notion that Arsenal are about to embark on their very own groundhog way through Europe. A familiar pattern has emerged over recent seasons: qualify for the group stage, flirt with topping their quartet, blow a late away game, meet a monster in the last 16 and exit licking some frustrating wounds. And repeat.

What Groundhog actually means for the media is copying Untold, and then copying Untold’s reporting of the reports of the reports of the reports.  One wonders how often this will go on, and on, and on, and on…

But Groundhog Day can be useful, because the score below could be quite happily copied…

Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal

This was Arsenal in the under 21 league – we are top and sailing along quite happily.  Chuba Akpom got both.  Who else?.

Once again Abou Diaby played, this time the full 90 minutes, (over age players are allowed in this league) I guess as an attempt to get him stronger and stronger so he can return to the first team.

Isaac Hayden moved to centre back – a concept we might come to recall in the future,  Here’s the full team.  Some other names are getting familiar too…

1 Martinez
2 Bellerin
3 O’Connor
4 Ormonde-Ottewill
5 Coquelin
6 Hayden (C)
7 Maitland-Niles
8 Crowley
9 Diaby
10 Zelalem
11 Akpom

Meanwhile breaking the groundhog day habit, here’s something new: Tim Sherwood being quoted on Untold, from his column in the Independent.

“When there is pressure on a manager to buy, his own players watch very closely. When a manager says he needs new players it can have a very negative effect on the dressing room. If he says he requires new signings, he has to make sure he can get them. Otherwise, he has to go back to players who feel as if they were previously unwanted.”

It is a fairly obvious point, as anyone who owns a business will tell you.  Managing transfers is complex and very much not a case of buying suddenly, although occasionally it can be that if the opportunity is right.  But it is an aspect of football transfers often ignored.

His view – and of course there’s no reason why we should accept his view, but I still think it worth noting – is

“Arsène Wenger’s decision not to buy a defensive holding midfielder will be regarded inside Arsenal as a vote of confidence in his existing players, Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Flamini, Abou Diaby, as well as Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere.”

He also adds, “There was one position Arsenal could not afford to ignore when it came to strengthening. At £16m, Danny Welbeck was a steal. It is ridiculously little money for a 23-year-old England striker. He is perfect for Arsenal…

“When Welbeck makes runs, he will stretch opponents and that will give players like Wilshere, Mesut Özil and Santi Cazorla the space to play in. Along with Alexis Sanchez, he is also among the best strikers in the game at winning the ball back high up the pitch. Welbeck will be a key player for Arsenal in creating space for their midfielders, but he will also get opportunities to score goals.”

Speaking of Tottenham, or at least their ex…

It seems that West Ham United can’t stop the Tiny Totts from having a chunk of the Olympic Stadium – so we might be able to sing “Fuck off to Stratford north London is ours” again (not that I ever would be so vulgar you understand),

 West Ham only have a veto on a tenant for the first season of their 99-year.  But Tottenham might yet be taken over by Cain Hoy Enterprises, although they have said not.

Tottenham was bought by its current owner for £22m.  I wonder if it is worth more or less than that now.

 

50 Replies to “Groundhog day in the media is here again, and again, and again…”

  1. Write to Amy. She’s on twitter. She responds to other blogs/podcasts. I’m sure she’ll respond to you. On the whole I’ve found her work to be pretty good and has some balance. Why don’t you ask for her point of view? Just a thought. That would make a good untold post.

  2. I’ve never had a problem with Amy’s journalism. Seems a fair point regarding the CL. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, to be credible challengers involves huge investment which we’re doing step by step rather than the City or Chelsea way. I think this year we’ll win our group and after that it’s a cup competition and who knows what’ll happen. This is the best squad we’ve had in ten years and Sanchez possibly the best buy for half a decade.

  3. There is a nasty rumour going around the Emirates, (according to my Gran, who cleans there) that the Board is tending to go up-market and only sign players with double-barrelled names.
    Hence we have
    Oxlade-Chamberlain
    Ormande-Ottewille
    Maitland-Niles
    and there are others too numerous to mention.
    Puma are reported to want to re-negotiate their contract due to making shirts larger in order to accommodate the names.
    The PGMOL are also up in arms with Riley asking that only one player with a hyphenated name should be allowed per team. Otherwise, referees will be ordered never to book more than one such player per game.
    And radio and TV commentators are refusing to use the full names in commentary.
    I’m told that Untold are investigating the matter, led by a certain Anthony-Attwood Esq.
    Walter from Belgium will not be involved because he won’t know what on earth I’m on about.

  4. Yes, our focus now is our away Champions League game to Dortmound. Arsenal have top quality players to play this game. And so too are Dortmound. I think the outcome of the match will come down to who was able to deployed and asserted the superior tactics over the other. In thiswise, I want the boss to seriously please take 3 things into consideration. 1. All things being equal, the boss should start the game with only the players with good Champions League experience. He should not base his selections on just the senior players group. But on fitness, top-form, pace and the capacity of the player. (2) I want to suggest to the boss to please play the formation that will contract that of Dortmound. And change the formation during playing if Dortmound are able to read it and neutralize it. I think the boss has 2 to 3 playing formations. The latest one is the 4-2-3-1, I suppose. I also want the boss to talk to Ozil to adhere to instructions diligently and stop been stubborn. He should play that left wing properly and be tracking back to defend when it is necessary to do so. At £42m plus price, he should be able to adapt and be flexible. The boss knew he can play in that left wing and becomes greater there than the creative attacking midfield he’s become used to. That’s the reason the boss is playing him there. But Ozil is being negatived by saying he doesn’t want to play there. Why saying so? He shouldn’t be rigid, but becomes positively flexible. And lastly, let the boss please use a game plan that will not make the Gunners get tired during the 90 munites + playing time. And thereby cave in to concede.

  5. During the game yesterday Fernandinho kicked the ball away whilst on a yellow, the home crowd as you would expect at any ground asked the ref the question. I think the technical term on Sky and Aunty Bleeb for such stuff is “Banter”.

    What was interesting was the scorn the Aunty Bleeb 5Live plundit used to admonish the Arsenal home support for being foolish (the foul was by Kompany)and stupid. I can think of two reasons for such disingenuous conduct:

    A) he doesn’t like the Arsenal
    or
    B) the plundit has selective vision, maybe he doesn’t understand the rules of association football?

    Which could it be?

  6. Reading this from Paul Merson’s Newscorp match preview made me feel like I was living through Groundhog Day:

    “You see complacency in Man City (why else do they lose to teams like Stoke?) and they aren’t going to kick Arsenal off the pitch.”

    So that explains why City were allowed to make fouls that resulted in yellows for Arsenal players but just stern words were given to the opposition. And, please bear this in mind, Arsenal were the Home team! It is what it is: Uncredible. Imagine if they were away! Probably have two or three goals incorrectly ruled out for offside, or something unimaginable like that. Imagine one unlikely scenario away from the Arsenal home support where an AFC player will be sent off for wearing the wrong colour shirt and having the wrong colour skin. It could never happen, could it? Eh?

    Pellegrini was graceless after the game but after that non-pen not given against Stoke for the foul on Toure he’s still going to be annoyed. I hope he has some empathy, because that foul was not as obvious (and it was fairly obvious!) as the one by Willian on Walcott during the 0-0 against Gazprom last year in North London.

  7. On the point made by Sherwood about how players might feel when new signings are made, I once challenged the near universal mantra that signing Ozil lifted other Arsenal players for the same reason stated by the ex-Spurs manager. Players are human beings with feelings and ambition and the notion that the employment of another player who might take their place will “lift” them or is something to be cheered by them has always been difficult for me to accept.

    When cameras are stuck in their faces with questions about how they feel about the new signings by their clubs, how else are they supposed to answer other than give a big smile and pronounce how great it is having the new guy? Olivier Giroud was given hell for his honesty about not wanting Arsenal to sign another striker sometime last season. Why would he want another guy to come and take his place? Why would anyone want somebody else employed to take their place at work?

    Naturally, the attitude of fans is totally different and that is how it should be. We want the best players to play for our teams. We also want versatility and cover for injuries. But let’s not assume that the players’ desires and ours are aligned when it comes to signing new players.

    It is a small vindication hearing the same from a man who has played and managed the game at the highest levels.

  8. Are you seriously suggesting that newspapers are copying Untold ideas from 2011? Do a google search ‘groundhog day for arsenal’, where you will find posts on forums preceding 2011 by many years. In fact here is one from earlier in 2010- http://arsenal-mania.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=71381

    This is a good, perhaps even ground breaking website with good debate. No need for all the attempts at ‘biggin up yerself’. Besides, self praise is no praise

  9. @Samuel Akinsola Adebosin
    Well said, we all hope for this, but AW is usually pretty OK for CL match(es) selections.

    Hope to see Cambell finally start, but may well have to wait for that other cup matches.

    Lets hope Dortmund starts us off with a win and we can start our run.

  10. Another pathetic result and someone losers on here are celebrating like they have won the premier league. Specialist in failure is a statement whichever comes true this season

  11. Why is this Sean character allowed on here to spout his banal rubbish time and time again.

    It is not opinion, just obsessive hatred.

  12. I think probably players will be a bit torn about new signings. On the one hand, it is competition as Tim Sherwood says, and there is the danger they will therefore get less chance to play.

    On the other hand, a prominent signing – Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, a complete steal like Danny Welbeck, off a hated rival – must make them feel that the club is getting stronger, attracting excellent players, raising its prestige. That must surely do their self-confidence good.

    They will have more chance of winning trophies, as well, if the team has enough top-class cover for possible injuries. Every player loves to win trophies.

    Also, the more great players the club has, the more chance of being able to progress in several competitions at once.

    I feel Arsene Wenger strikes a good balance, making the players already here feel valued while also adding real quality.

  13. @Finsbury Stern words? I know that the officials words are usually organising a unseemly session with a granny somewhere while appeasing Riley. The cheat actually ‘spoke’ to an Arsenal player to show ‘balance’. He gave them free kicks after they fouled us!!! It was a farce.

    The handball claim against Jack was a joke as his arms were by his side. The City hand was up in the air when it made contact with the ball so if anything we should have had a free kick.

    Serial fouling aside, there were several second yellows or even straight reds that the cheat ignored.

    We were awesome and Alexis was incredible. He was everywhere and got kicked and got back up for more for Arsenal. What a fantastic player despite all the crap Clattenberg allowed. Jack was also playing at a new level.

    Pelligrini saw the push by Welbeck!! He must have seen all the fouls that broke up our attacks but like the cheat chose to turn a blind eye.

  14. @menace

    Very true!

    I’ve just had a look at a couple of other Arsenal blogs and both comment on the ref, and one says he was a topic of conversation in the pub afterwards.

    Maybe the good work by Untold in analysing the referees is having an effect.

  15. we are now using an inexperienced teenager to cover centre back and right back spots which is a worry. Being young and inexperienced means we are going to see a few mistakes from Calum but we can only hope they won’t be regular or costly.

  16. @jambug

    Agree with your earlier comment about Sean – he/she seems a hate filled waster.

    Have you noticed that the phraseology used by an past troll (now suspiciously quiet) is very similar to phraseology used by a present “contributor”?

  17. I don’t understand this criticism of Ozil.

    If you want a MOTM performance every week, then look elsewhere. Hez not that player who puts individual performances like Ronaldo. Its not about him. No flashy displays. Hez all about finesse.
    He is one of the best team player the world has ever seen, and may be the world will ever see. He is the Bergkamp of our generation.
    Right now hez learning the movements of his new teammates. And his new teammates are learning how to play with him.

  18. I thought the game as football supporter was very good the technical ability of both teams was of high standard, the referee was premiership standard below average he had no backbone when he was confronted with difficult
    decisions.he is a FIFA ref the explanation must lay in the option that he is bent or at the most generous useless.

  19. It is not really criticism in that sense, what is true, we now have many players straining to play, and if Ozil is not performing, he needs to be made clear that he may be subbed at 1/2 time. I hear he is a sensitive person, but he is also a professional, and will not want to harm the team if he is performing bad, so a go heart to heart with him should clear the air, and get him to start performing.

    Sometimes i get the inkling that our players were not understanding Ozil, but i hope they work on this in training, which i’m sure they do, but we supporters cant help being impatient.

  20. The criticism levelled against Ozil is OTT. Just had an argument with a manc supporting friend who was saying he’s the worst Arsenal player. I challenged him to define that and he goes because he’s not strong, he gets barged off the ball easily. I told him that that’s where the problem lies; Ozil rarely loses possession and players are resorting to fouling him to take the ball away from him, with the refs doing nothing about it. Ozil and Wilshere are the Arsenal players who hold the ball longer than others, to bring others into play, and it’s no coincidence they’re also the most fouled Arsenal players at the moment. Of course my manc supporting friend will only see things as reported by the media, and he will believe Ozil is useless.

    Bjtgooner/jambug
    I think I’ve noticed some similarities too between past and present contributors and might have remarked about it once or twice on different threads. How about naming and shaming?

  21. How many times did Clatternburg warn the same player yesterday? Why should the same player be given two warnings, what purpose did the first warning serve if they’re going to be given a second warning?

  22. @bjtgooner
    ‘Have you noticed that the phraseology used by an past troll (now suspiciously quiet) is very similar to phraseology used by a present “contributor”?’
    It really is difficult to tell one from another because they all come out with the same stereotypical crap.

  23. Mick

    Exactly what I thought.

    Although I totally agree with bjtgooners observation, that the phraseology is very similar, it is difficult to say if it is the same poster, simply because these people seem to regurgitate the same stuff.

    Basically just repeating what the media say.

  24. Just watched the highlights on ‘Player’ and they confirmed exactly what I thought.

    -We played some great stuff and will score goals for fun.

    -City played some great stuff and will be up there all the way again.

    -It was a great game played by 2 great sides.

    As for the ref:

    Hard to judge on highlights but commentators did make reference to yet another foul by Milner, calling it the THIRD bookable offence he had got away with, and as a rule our commentators are pretty fair, as highlighted by the fact they never even mentioned the clearly ‘bookable’ off the ball foul by Fernandinho on Welbeck that occurred right under the refs nose.

    All in all though a draw was probably a fair result.

  25. Well said Menace. If Wishere handled that intentionally, he has the reactions of a fighter pilot…..a Jedi fighter pilot.
    Surprised to hear all that from Pellegrini…..maybe something getting to him?
    Strange…every game, we seem to come up against a player who is given licence to kick with inpunity. The Leicester defender…cannot remember his name, Steven Naismith, Milner yesterday…all good hard British players, though Naismith may not be British by the end of this week. Yes Flam, or Monreal…..one offense, instant yellow.
    There was something odd about the refereeing yesterday. from, normally a decent and fair ref.

    But one thing worries me. Arseblog quoted a guy called Orbinho this morning, who claims that in each of our four Premier League game this season, we have conceded on our opponents first shot on target. That is not good. Taking this at face value, this is a bit of a return to some bad way sof old, I know we have an attacking philosophy, but hope they will be out on the training pitch this week….nipping this in the bud. No desire to go back to the days of ….shall we say slightly worrying…perhaps naive defending again, heart attack material!
    Not blaming individuals…or indeed anyone, but saw a couple things yesterday….and in other games this season that need attention if we are to thrive. Rant over.

  26. Agree Mandy. Last season we conceded fewer goals than any other team in the Premier League from set pieces, this year we are looking shaky, very strange. Given last seasons good performances defending from corners and free kicks we obviously have the know how to do better but for some reason it has deserted us at the moment. Could it be due to the fullbacks both being different to last year when we had Sagna and Gibbs in the main.

  27. @Mick

    Yes, certain individuals do come out with similar crap, but I have looked very deeply at certain phraseology – in some cases the preferred manner of expression is almost like a finger print – never as certain or indicative, but some patterns can be apparent – even when individuals try to disguise their character, pet phrases etc.

  28. Sorry off topic but the idiot Scholes has been having a go at Wilshere and Wenger yet again in the Mail…….
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2754523/Arsenal-manager-Arsene-Wenger-blame-Jack-Wilshere-s-lack-development-blasts-Paul-Scholes.html
    When you hear Scholes talk now you realize why he said so little whilst he played! Oh for the good old days when players retired gracefully and took pubs or sports shops. Now we are subjected to their mainly ignorant drivel on a daily basis.

  29. Scholes is spot on. Why is he a idiot? For pointing out the facts? Truth hurts and only losers on here will not be able to accept it.

  30. @Mandy I’m sorry but I cannot use decent for any PGMOL as they have lost the right. Fair can be argued as they are all white. They seem to ignore the multicultural society we live in.

    It will take a change in the way the FA select officials. PGMOL are a monopoly of cheats and in my view there is nothing more unfair & crooked than privately picked officials when there is soooooo much money involved in the game.

  31. Menace & Mandy

    I think MP was still sore about the not givn penalty against Toure in the Stoke game. If he thought that was bad he should check out Willian on Walcott (which occured seconds after the not given red against Mikel), not to mention the other examples too numerous to mention.

  32. AL, youre spot on by mentioning that the crit.against Özil is OTT. I saw on one blog that said it was all his fault that it was a draw on Sat!Another thing about Mesut is that even if he doesnt seem present he is, many people said he had a poor first half on Sat.-but look at the passes he was delivering.I just don’t think that hes a gregarious player so he seems quite quiet but hes still in the thick of things.
    There could be many human reasons why hes not in first gear,perhaps everything’s a bit flat after winning the WC?How is he settling down in the UK?,perhaps hes sick of the AAA slagging him off and hasn’t heard about UA? Im not sure how much English he speaks etc, these are issues that don’t come up in computer games or in the minds of the AAA,but without him, this is a different Arsenal side, and I think we would miss him. I suppose we’re still in the period of the season where every pass is examined etc.
    I also wonder why people at UA are classed as “losers” and those who frequent other sites are “winners”? Perhaps its the same train of thought that classes Mesut as being “shit”? Even on his worst day,on the grand scale of all things football he isnt “shit”.
    COYG!Aha and Amen!

  33. Finsbury, you may be right, also get the impression he is a man who seems to know the stars may not align quite rightly, it least in the EPL this season

  34. Mick, could well be due to the full backs…..we left a lot of space , especially on the left side yesterday. Think we also miss Girouds titanic efforts in helping out the MF….and at times the defence, though both Alexis and Danny did a lot of tracking back, but new to the set up. Perhaps we have a couple of slightly undercooked Germans ….after their summer…..to add to the mix….and maybe we missed Artetas composure a but…..not the most pacy, physical player…..but very very cerebral.
    Whatever it is, hope they get to the bottom of it. I do wonder if we might be entering another era of all out attack….especially with theo coming back, our squad is very heavy with attack minded players, and light with defenders……if so, admirable but not without risk…..but only a theory in my non ITK head.
    Menace, don’t disagree with you at all on the pgmol as a whole, but shame if they have got to this ref.
    As for Scholes, he seems to be building his retirement career on slagging off all things Arsenal…….how very media…

  35. Maybe Wenger forgot to heed Sherwoods advice when he said to the French media that a, we are short defensively and b,he was quite happy with the transfer business but we lack a defensive midfielder in the Viera or Petit mould. Maybe as Mr Wenger has now said it the ridiculous clutching at straws notion that we don’t play like that so don’t need one will be finally put to bed,and the arrival of such a player cannot be far away. I honestly think that Mr Wenger is beyond the point of caring whether a player has so little faith in his own abilites that talk of new players coming in has to be banned He will not criticise his players publicly though

  36. I think Wilshire got away with a handball. You only had to see his reaction when asked whether he’d handled intentionally. A little playful grin appeared and then he said the ref decided it wasn’t handball. If a City player had done it we’d all be baying for a penalty.

  37. @Kenneth Widmerpool

    You are right about Ozil. I noticed those great passes too. It is upsetting to see the criticism of him, and from his interviews it is clear that it annoys him. I think it stems from a very crude analysis of how football is played. Subtle players like Ozil are not understood.

    Also, none of our German world cup winners had a proper pre-season for us. They are just working their way in.

  38. Ozil’s problem is not when he has the ball. He has the freedom to move inside and get involved in the intricacies of our passing movements . He does this very well. The problem is when we don’t have the ball , by nature he is not a chaser back and has little defensive nous . His first reaction does not encompass going back 30 yards to cover a fullback that has just galloped past him leaving one flank exposed. You will hear the argument that he played wide for Germany but their set up is different to ours , they have Khedira and Schwienstieger patrolling the middle and when their attacks break down they are able to cover the problem. The solution has stared us in the face since Gilberto went . No-one with the brains to cover the back four.

    And you boys need to learn to face people with opposing views if you want a true discussion. Your missives on the PGMOL and FIFA are well worth the read but sometimes your support of all things being rosy at the club goes just a little too far. P.s Hope my phraseology hasn’t upset anyone.

  39. What have you got when you’ve got a pair of nuts on your chest? Chestnuts

    What have you got when you’ve got a pair of nuts on your wall? Walnuts

    What have you got when you’ve got a pair of nuts on your chin? You’ve got a dick in your mouth

  40. Two guys are relaxing on a dock over a lake when a turd, in the lake, floats up to the dock and says to them, “come on in, guys! The water’s great!” and floats away.

    One guy says to the other, “Man, do you believe that shit!?”

  41. We are the world ……
    An Englishman, a Scotsman, an Irishman, a Welshman, a Latvian, a Turk, a German, an Indian, several Americans (including a Hawaiian and an Alaskan), an Argentinean, a Dane, an Australian, a Slovak, an Egyptian, a Japanese, a Moroccan, a Frenchman, a New Zealander, a Spaniard, a Russian, a Guatemalan, a Colombian, a Pakistani, a Malaysian, a Croatian, an Uzbek, a Cypriot, a Pole, a Lithuanian, a Chinese, a Sri Lankan, a Lebanese, a Cayman Islander, an Ugandan, a Vietnamese, a Korean, an Uruguayan, a Czech, an Icelander, a Mexican, a Finn, a Honduran, a Panamanian, an Andorran, an Israeli, a Venezuelan, an Iranian, a Fijian, a Peruvian, an Estonian, a Syrian, a Brazilian, a Portuguese, a Liechtensteiner, a Mongolian, a Hungarian, a Canadian, a Moldovan, a Haitian, a Norfolk Islander, a Macedonian, a Bolivian, a Cook Islander, a Tajikistani, a Samoan, an Armenian, an Aruban, an Albanian, a Greenlander, a Micronesian, a Virgin Islander, a Georgian, a Bahaman, a Belarusian, a Cuban, a Tongan, a Cambodian, a Canadian, a Qatari, an Azerbaijani, a Romanian, a Chilean, a Jamaican, a Filipino, an Ukrainian, a Dutchman, an Ecuadorian, a Costa Rican, a Swede, a Bulgarian, a Serb, a Swiss, a Greek, a Belgian, a Singaporean, an Italian, a Norwegian and 2 Africans walk into a very fine restaurant.

    “I’m sorry,” says the maître d’, after scrutinizing the group, “You can’t come in here without a Thai. “

  42. Isn’t it much more fun here to laugh at crappy ,shitty and foolish jokes, rather than at jokers and fools sprouting shitty crap ?
    Then again , I repeat myself !

    And my last one …
    What’s red and bad for your teeth?
    A Brick!
    ( Especially thrown at you by the Brickfields Gunners ?)

    I rest my case your honour !

    All jokes from …http://www.reddit.com/comments/21is2f

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