By Tony Attwood
There has been a little agitation in some quarters concerning our league position at the start of the season. – won one, drawn three, lost nil. And it made me ponder what other season starters had been like.
It is hard to think about the opening to seasons, once the season is well underway simply because when 20 or more games have gone you start to get a flow off matches, and nothing from the opening few games lingers on. But at least we have record books to help jog the memory
At such times I tend to think back to 1970/1, not just because it was a good season, but also because it was the first league winning season I saw. You tend to remember stuff like that.
But even so all these years later I would have been hard pushed to remember the start to that season if it weren’t for the fact that I chair the Arsenal History Society and so these days tend to remember one or two things like this.
The first four games of the 1970/1 season look better than our first four games – giving us two wins and two draws. The two wins involved beating Man City and Hudddersfield Town at home, while the two draws were both away, to Everton and WHU. But then in the fifth game we lost away to Chelsea and that was followed by a 0-0 draw at home to Leeds. Talk of winning the league at that time would have caused derision.
But tat season we won the Double – but given that at the time we had not won any domestic trophy since 1953 we were not expecting to. True we had won one trophy in all those years – the Fairs Cup, but winning was hardly our thing (not least because we had also lost two league cup finals to Leeds and the mighty Swindon Town).
But back to the comparison – after five games in the 1970/1 season we were seventh. It didn’t mean much in the end, and indeed our start doesn’t mean too much now, only that the comparison helps show that openings to seasons don’t mean much.
Of course it doesn’t stop the screaming and the ranting, and oh how the press are lapping it up. Sometimes I am asked if Arsenal pay me, and I have answered that question fully. Sometimes in my wilder moments I wonder if the press pay some people to rant against Arsenal and Mr Wenger in the way that they do.
Certainly I wonder if the Guardian funds Piers Morgan, in that they have given him today a blockbuster headline style font to reprint his rant. “Why would you not buy a world class CDM when every single Arsenal fan was screaming for one? Just madness.”
Unfortunately they don’t bother to give an answer to that question – which is of course that the players who would have been welcome at Arsenal, didn’t want to come to a club where attacks on the club, its players and manager have now become a national sport occupying journalists, pundits arm chair supporters and those down the pub.
What was particularly interesting was to see the headline in the press at the same time saying, “Gervinho inspires Roma rout of CSKA Moscow and Barcelona ease home” and also the commentary that the “Ivorian forward striker is unrecognisable from his days at Arsenal. and put in another terrorising display”
The question is why – why would a played who was booed and jeered by a section of his own club’s fans decline when playing for Arsenal and then shine as soon as he moves? The answer of course is in the question – he was booed and jeered by a section of his own club’s fans.
It was interesting to see a piece in which Billy McGraw suggested that attacking the manager of the club you are supposed to support over and over again, without it having any effect, for years on end, and then doing it again, is a bit of a silly (and potentially very destructive) way to continue. Interesting not just for what it said, (for doing anything simple that fails over and over again is a bit silly) but for the response it got – much of which was not published because it was just more attacks and often quite abusive.
Billy argued a decent if complicated point, and the response from a few was to indulge in the same simplistic attacks on the manager that he clearly showed were pointless, which perhaps says something.
Anyway, as the record books show, all is not lost neither in the Champions League nor in the Premier League. What is lost among some is a sense of perspective and rationality.
But if you would like to know what the crowd at Arsenal was like in the very early days, might I suggest “The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal” as a starting point.
—-
There is an index to recent posts, a guide to today’s anniversaries, and details of our other sites on the Untold Arsenal home page
- Woolwich Arsenal: The club that changed football – Arsenal’s early years
- Making the Arsenal – how the modern Arsenal was born in 1910
- The Crowd at Woolwich Arsenal
It always seems obvious to me how upset a footballer gets if he gets booed by fans, home or away. That’s why it makes sense to boo the away players but never boo your own players – they just won’t be able to play properly
Hi,
Often a reader of this site, but tend not to get too involved in the comments section, mainly for timing reasons and also the fact that the comments sections can degenerate quite quickly.
I always admire the positivity on this site, its a commendable quality, and I think we are all quite clear on what the club constitute as success, whether we agree with that or not is obviously a completely different topic entirely. However, I am really intrigued by people’s opinions here, of what actually constitutes failure? Contributor’s here are very much big picture and silver lining and based on the parameters of success, that is the correct approach because by that success definition, that approach and belief has been proved correct for every year that AW has been at the club. However, like I say, really interested in peoples opinions on the tipping point, when a season or part of a season actually becomes failure?
The point about the start of the season is an interesting one, because the start really has been a glass half full, glass half empty scenario. Do you go with – “bedding in new players, unbeaten in the league” and even extend that back to the spring or do you go “2 wins in 7” ?
The point about the start to ’71 is also quite an interesting comparison, but equally football has changed a lot, the seasons now feel like a long sprint as opposed to it’s a marathon not a sprint and unfortunately I think that adds to the fickle nature of some peoples approach. Championships are now won with record points, so their is often a sense that you can no longer drop too many points, equally Championships used to be won by the best defence. But I understand 9 of the last 10 champions have been the highest goalscorers (haven’t had a chance to check that, but it’s something I heard, so don’t shoot me on that) and I think that is actually 8 in a row on the topscorer front.Even the exception in that situation were the second highest scorers. Like I say, unfortunate as it is, I think that type of evolution of the game feed;s the must have now mentality, which is a shame.
Right that’s off my chest, thanks for reading. Interested what other people think.
Early in the 70-71 season, we also suffered a 5-0 defeat at Stoke, (who used to play football in those days) and the predictable press comments, writing off our chances of winning anything, followed.
That result was the outcome of a poor performance, when the whole team had an off-day. In the following weeks, we beat Forest 4-0 and Everton (current champions) 4-0, as we put a winning run together.
I recall that after 10 matches, we had 13 points (2 points for a win) and were 5th or 6th.
Let’s hope that the Dortmund game can come to be seen in the same context.
Rationale…..Man City have played 6 competitive games this season Won 2 Drawn 1 and lost 3. Arsenal have played 7 won 3 drawn 3 and lost 1. Is anyone on this site writing off Man City?.
Super read again Tony, and goes along with a few of my comments about Bias from journos (if one can call them that any longer) on another thread here on Untold. We (not all of us of course) Keep ‘bashing’ our manager and players continuously for many years without consideration of consequences – worst of all putting up alarm bells for potential signings and easiest of all – THE BIAST MEDIA!!
Last year this time we were sitting at the top of the table and ManOil (who eventually won the league) were sitting where we are sitting today!!! does that mean we might win the league this season?? 🙂
Sorry ManOil were 4th…but you get my point!
Guardian reporting:-
“Arsenal inadequacies exposed by Dortmund”
“Man City denied a point by late Bayern goal”
Mr John, be rest assured that as long as Arsenal is involved, everything is going south for us. No matter what our performance or otherwise is. so, please try and get used to it. Thanks.
However , we can have victory over them through our harmony . isn’t that the club’s motto?
Hi Tony
Great piece of writing..I just checked for Denilson today and he is doing wonderful in Brazil.. Now only if some people had patience who knows we might not have lost him..
@Andy I think the gut feeling is Chelsea are the dominant club right now, so Man City’s progress isn’t so interesting.
Was watching Bayern last night, and thinking what a good team they were. Boateng particularly good. (Like Schalke, losing key personnel doesn’t hold them back).
Arsenal are blighted of course by being despised for some reason, both by the establishment, the men in black, and the media.
But there is no way this team is a serious force.
Up front Walcott is good, Giroud quite good. But realistically you need a more predatory frontman; a Muller or a Negredo, even if you cannot afford top dollar. Borussia had a 10m million man with an unpronouncable name who I am afraid looked way better value than Arsene’s 16 million purchase. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. There was a time when he would have been an Arsene signature signing.
There was a time when Arsene could have bought Christian Bale. A front three of Bale Negredo Walcott would make Arsenal a serious force, domestically and in Europe.
In the middle, Wilshire and Ramsey are like colours that clash. Arsenal need one fancy man operating behind the front three, and I think Ramsey has more or less claimed ownership of that position, which leaves honest Jack in no man’s land.
Flamini and Arteta are quite good, but Schweinsteger and Khedira, for instance, is a more potent force. Or Fabregas and Ramires. Arteta seems to be getting on a bit.
At the back Arsenal have been very good recently. Losing Sagna wasn’t so great, and I suppose a cold analysis would show you that there are better players than Mertesacker, even if he is a very good player in his own right.
Overall then, Arsenal are a pretty decent side, but nothing more. Way too impotent up front to frighten anyone in my opinion, and certainly way to impotent to really threaten to win the league, let alone in Europe.
Surprised that people are still not looking at the big picture.the issue with this season is not weds we won,lost or draw.the issue is how badly we have been.dortmund was the height of it, no organisation on the pitch.i have never seen arsenal that bad.dortmund and the others we have played ain’t fantastic , we have been woeful.and the fault is 70% manager, 30% players.
Please will someone explain why would everyone ( media refs neutrals and Uncle Tom Cobley ) have it in for and despise Arsenal .
If the AAA are happy to copy and paste, can I too?
anicoll5
September 18, 2014 at 7:33 am
According to the Guardian Chelsea were ‘overpowered’ in midfield
At home, by a team sitting joint bottom in the Budeslegia
Who would have thought it ?
And all those CMD beasts in blue !
merlot
September 18, 2014 at 10:21 am
People on here don’t seem to understand that a 2-2 draw followed by an away loss to a top European side is a disaster demonstrating irreparable weakness.
Without getting rid of the manager and spending large amounts of money, I can’t see how ManC are going to survive.
Wise words. Wise words. I know just the agent the new manager should go to for any new players…a special agent…
Not forgetting Schalke were down several first team players.
That Dortmund have recently beaten Munchen etc.
Abu Dhabi City have one and a half fit strikers/forwards.
Terrible management. Terrible Dithering. By the spirit of the Holy Rupert, they need to spend some money! Quicktime.
Toure needs to put some effort in and stop showboating, show some grit. Never mind he’s not fully fit! (What does that have to do with anything?)
which is of course that the players who would have been welcome at Arsenal, didn’t want to come to a club where attacks on the club, its players and manager have now become a national sport occupying journalists, pundits arm chair supporters and those down the pub.
And you know this for a fact? I don’t think so. We all speculate, sure, but that is only speculation not fact. Apparently Real Madrid fans have been booing Bale and co. because of their poor start but I doubt their players will all put in a transfer request.
But yes I agree you can’t write off a season after four games, even if we’d lost all of them. We’ve had some tough games, there are very few easy games in the league, and were unlucky not to beat Leicester considering how many shots we had and we showed pluck to get a draw at Everton where last season we were brushed aside. No reason to panic, Arsenal is not the Titanic and we are not about to hit an iceberg.
COYG, let’s arrest the Villans progress this weekend.
@Marcus, why would we buy Christian Bale? To act out fowls on the pitch maybe. Gareth Bale would be a reasonable purchase though.
My previous post should have had the first paragraph in quotes.
Hi Ryan,
Success is what you make of it. for some its trophies for others its managing to stay afloat, or stay in the EPL or respective leagues, getting into playoff spots, not getting relegated etc. From my view, Arsenal is successful in fact very successful given the circumstances we have been through and staying with our business model. We still have a way to go. Ultimately, for a club of Arsenal’s stature and when with everything’s in place, trophies will measure success and it should.
I enjoyed the lack of gr*t and effort shown by the F Word as he dilly dallied and dithered before losing the ball that led to the Arsenal hopeful’s run to set up the Arsenal reject to score against Gazprom. Good stuff. Not quite as good as a back heel on the edge of his own area to set up a future teammate, but he’s working his way up I think. Finding his true ‘form’ as the Schalke reserves “overpowered the Chelsea midfield”. At home.
Is the F Word is nicking an’ F’ing living? Or is he an forward thinking midfielder not known for his tackling and ‘tracking back’. Which could it be? Maybe some of those 24/7 football broadcasters will be able to help me out? Maybe not.
The same broadcasters that Rafa Benitez say never asked him about tactics! Such as, you know, the variations and tweaks we see in the Arsenal Midfield? Remember this is a state secret, as according to the AAA and their allies in the meedjah (allies ridiculed by top level football managers such as Benitez) many are asked to believe the mantra that “Vengarrhggghhh doesn’t do tactics”, which tells us more about the idiots that the repeat this meme then anything else.
I guess, based upon the culmalitive evidence before us all that it is fair and rasonable to conclude that the 24/7 broadcasters are more interested in what the agents have to say. Never mind the football.
@finsbury
If the Rupert you are referring to is our part time troll, neither he nor his Ghost are Holy! 🙂
Marcus has been ambushed by the evil Autocorrect! 🙂
BTJ
The Daily Rupert
🙂
Arsenal never have a good start to a season. As soon as we fail to win the first 3 games by at least 6 goals each time, out come the fickle types with the same format every season.
1. We bought the wrong players in the Summer Window.
2 We didn’t buy enough players.
3.We are using the wrong tactics and shape nearly every game.
4.We must buy heavily in the January Window.
5. If we fail to win some silverware this term (we’ve not done so for 16 weeks) Wenger must go.
6. Ditto if we fail to qualify for the CL next season(and it already looks like we are in real
trouble after Dortmund).
7. We haven’t yet played in the FA or League Cups but our future looks black indeed, the way we are playing.
8. Our injury list continues to mount. Chambers has tonsillitis as a direct result of rotational fouling.
What a great time we will have……
Manager sacked, team relegated, out of Europe. At last the doom and gloom can be enjoyed by all.
And Christian Bale will be running around at forward in his Batman suit.
Daniel – “I have never seen Arsenal that bad”…
Are you sure? We were a lot worse against Liverpool(A) last season for starters!
It was a bottom quartile performance – but not a bottom decile performance. Dortmund were actually very good – need to give them credit too.
Neil Ashton spoke on the radio (BBC) last week. He said his “nicking a living” quote was incorrect because at the time he did not realise that Özil was not fully fit that game. However it was obvious to all as in all watching that the player was niggled, alas even Gnabry was out by then! No option but to play with a niggle (see Toure last night – maybe MP had other options on the bench, if not he needs to spend spend spend!). So in effect what this sports plundit was saying was that:
A) he doesn’t really understand what sport is, or what an athlete is
or
B) he can nick a living trolling gullible Arsenal fans with the aid of the even more gullible & sado-maschostic AAA
According to his own words, not mine.
finsbury
hahahahahaha perfect!!! Rafa Benitez (The master tactician…spendthrift magician of the century) 🙂 🙂
I think I said in an article 5 years ago that we would not win another trophy under AW. Well, to my astonishment, we did, but only because we played all our matches at home or at Wembley, and only because all the other decent teams were knocked out at the quarter final stage, and despite thoroughly inept performances in the semi final and final and a considerable slice of luck in both. But nothing has changed in substance, has it? We can bring in a motley collection of talented individuals, but we do not build a team or play as a team or even understand how to play as a team or how to go about beating other teams. I thought our first 30 minutes against City was very encouraging, but since then we have reverted to type. I was as delighted as anyone else to have been proved wrong last May, but anyone who thinks that that lucky win is going to change things for us is sadly mistaken. Angry and Frustrated is right: all it has done is guaranteed us another 3 years of the same, though this year I fear that we will be even luckier than usual if we scrape 4th place
Exactly Apo
When someone who is happy to splash the cash can critise the plunditry for their poverty, the shrill AAA’s attempts to defend their uncredible and discredited allies are just a waste of time!
Sterling was actually Benitez’s last gift to Liverpool. A good manager. No wonder the meedjah attacked him. For challenging the PGMOB. Unlike Mourinho winning with Gazprom without signing bucket loads of players from his special agent friends because he is not a specialist in signing players from specific and indeed special agents.
“A lucky win” with four clear and unmissable non-pens not called by the stooge Probert.
The AAA certainly are ‘specialists’ in giving the impression that they know nothing about the game! It takes effort to try an ignore such things. As the troll who trolled himself said when failing and attempting a slur upon Unrold wrote: “what a turd” (that was Comedy Gold!)
Btw
DNFTTs 🙂
Ankle stamps against Areta and Debuchy so far. No protection. No cards.
Do we think the self-declared Redzone™ Experts will reflect upon these causes of injury to the squad? Being experts and all?
It’s almost as if with every recent attack upon the club that the AAA are only exposing their own incongruous posture further. Strange behaviour. Carry On?
We did NOT have a good start to this season. Not a disaster, but not a good start nontheless.
Our best game was against City. We did not win that game. It’s not a disaster since they are a very good team + the ref let them kick our players constantly. We did not win vs. Everton away, which is also not a disaster. Not winning against Leicester was not good, and we did not play well there. The win vs. Palace was not convincing either.
So all in all in my humble opinion we did not have a good game YET which in a way is actually positive. The negatives are: (a) too many injuries, to key players, too soon (b) Ozil’s confidence and the amount of time it will take to heal (c) the total lack of desire shown vs. Dortmund.
Obviously it’s really premature to make any conclusions at this stage.
Sean, you remind me of Surfer X,basically nothings ever going to be good enough for you.Ever.Enjoy your suffering mate, because you don’t seem to understand even the basic polemics of the structures of football and its probabilities, so expect lots of pain.
You seem to have some perverse idea that you have every right to see Arsenal win week after week because you’ve supported them since you were five and spunked off loads of cash, well thats youre decision, not ones forcing you.The other clubs in the league and their fans also have the right to win and see their club also get results.Thats why its called a completion.
You also cant see into the future anymore than anyone else, so your speculative comments are just simply a bet,but isnt it ironic that you come here spreading doom and fucking gloom.(yawn)
You come across as a typical smart arsed know it all.You probably think that you could do a better job than Arsène…
We always, always play the same way and we either get lucky and snatch a draw or (as in Dortmund last year) do the occasional smach-and-grab. More often than not though they end up like last night. The first 20 minutes they were like rabbits in the headlights and as is pointed out in the report, a more clinical team (i.e. Chelsea) would have properly embarrased us. What is continually embarrasing is the manager’s lack of tactical preparation and his continued belief that our style of play will win out. It never has against opposition of this calibre and necer will. last night called for 2 banks of 4 inviting Dortmund to try and get through. Instead, against a team that is renowned for fast direct attacking, we find ourselves with 7 players in their half. In that situation it only takes one mis-control (and there were plenty of those last night) and Dortmund have space to attack that they only dream of. I lost count of how many times Gibbs was caught upfield. People will say “if only we bought a proper defensive midfielder”. What use would said player have been last night if the team, collectively, cannot defend. 5th October will be very painful viewing. That said, there are the small matters of a trip to an in-form Villa and the NLD before then. Things could get very ugly very soon. Still, only 3 more years to wait……
Speaking about past predictions made on a blog by an inconsequential blogger, when RVP had won the league with ManU, I had said that within the next 5 years, we’ll win more PL titles than them, and would win at least one CL title. None of those have come true yet, but I still have 4 more seasons including this one 🙂
Hahahahahahhahahahahhahahahhahahahhahahahahahahahhahahahahahhhahhahhahahhahaha…..
Sorry Tony,
This Sean guy, sorry can’t stop but go hahahahahahahaha..
You don’t remember that we beat Liverpool and Everton and tiny tots to progress into the final of the FA Cup.
Some of the analysis that people do.
Rabbits headlights insects… You remember only the loss. We lose cause we are shit. And when we win against Bayern or Milan or Dortmund, well because the game has no importance. It’s either we are shit or they just didn’t care.
Sic.
I don’t think Szcz had to make more than one or two saves in the first half!
Looks like it could be Grounhog Day for City in the CL groups!
Why do they bother even qualifying? With just one and a half fit strikers in their billion pound squad perhaps they should just focus on the domestic cups? Don’t mention how much they have spent! Ever. Not if you want to keep our gig…
Will we get an exclusive from various knowledgable and respected plundits repeating this meme?
Your > our
@daniel
True words.
I will repeat them.
IT IS NOT THE FACT THAT WE LOST, BUT HOW WE LOST. Embarrassing i’m sure for the players too. And rightly so.
The trouble is everyone bar Wenger could see this coming! You think that as you don’t work in football you must be missing something and can’t see the bigger picture but it has been four years since the 8-2 at Old Trafford at nothing has changed. Away from home against the top sides we are so open it’s untrue! If, as it seems Wenger is unwilling to scarifice his principle the board must act now and remove him from his position. This is not a knee jerk reaction it has been four years in the making! Ps Cesc or Ozil you decide!
Jeezes Sean are they paying you to keep writing this?
No Walter. But you simply would not see a Mourinho side play as bad, as clueless, as gutless, as that totally inept ‘performance’ as Arsenal’s last night. Therein lies the difference. Winners. Losers. We have learnt nothing in the last 5, 6, 7, 8 years under this gormless tw@t. No leadership on or off the pitch at EVERY level within Arsenal F.C. Wenger – you are an embarrassement to the club now. Just GO! –
don’t care how (seemingly) poor Ozil has become or how great a player Gervinho has developed into, the only one thing I want for my club to progress is for that stubborn, idiotic and useless manager to leave! We really need a change now, regardless of whether we win another FA Cup or if we finally beat a top-4 team this season. All of the big 4 (incl United) have changed their managers, despite having achieved worthy success with those managers. Wenger was great for us up and until 2005 – he’s struggled ever since, and it could have been so different had he invested wisely when required (bringing better defensive players), and had he grown a pair when required to hold of buyers for the club’s players that could have seen us dominate this league, and probably Europe (Cesc, Nasri, RvP, Sagna, Clichy, even Viera for a another season). Any other great manager would have done the latter, because they know that if they don’t, they’ll get shipped out of the club. It’s only at Arsenal, where the manager can make a world-class team look so ordinary, and under-achieve by this level. We, as fans, need to be heard now. Bring out the placards and posters lads.
Sean- “Chelsea would have properly embarrassed us”
Is this the same Chelsea that almost lost to a Shalke team playing Kevin Prince-Boatang as a holding midfielder and a holding midfielder at CB next to a 19 year old making his Champions League debut? A team whose manager is on the ropes and looking over his shoulder at his replacement? Yes Chelsea are clearly unstoppable.
Don’t anyone mention that Chelsea have for their strikers; an injury prone flash in the pan with one good season, a 36 year old with no legs, and and injury prone also ran.
Don’t anyone mention that City have for their strikers; seriously good but injury prone, unproven and injury prone, and a “big lump” who scored as many as Giroud.
Don’t anyone mention that Liverpool have for their strikers; a young player with one good season feeding off bitey’s scraps, a locker room cancer waiting to spread, and an aging journeymen.
I could keep going then move on to defense etc…etc… but I think you get the point.
Walter, sincerely hope they are not paying him, because as usual, all he can do is copy and paste the work of others, this time, the work of Dazzy 90 (posted 10.48 17/9/14) in amongst some suspiciously Chelsea loving types that inhabit the forums, if not the lead articles of Online Gooner.
http://onlinegooner.com/article.php?section=editorial&id=505
Worth remembering that as things stand, Wenger has two trophies in his cabinet, Jose has…erm…none….Not a great result at home against struggling Schalke either
@Blaise, Chelse wwill come good. You watch. They have a manager who will changethings pronto unlike the joker we have in charge. Vince absolutely bang on the money. Theloss on sSaturday will be another nail in the coffin until this nuisance is removed.
I post under many names my dear.
Cesc scores for chelsea and we are weighing up a move for another freebie lassana diarra. Honestly you couldn’t make it up. Why don’t we bring back gallas as well!!
Mandy what are you doing trawling such wicked sites!
AB, always good to check out these forums to see how Chelsea fans are viewing the world!
Sean
Watch Chelsea then. No ones making you “support” Arsenal. And that was pretty much Chelsea’s best XI, besides going back to bus parking what are these magical changes that the eye gouger will make. The first half way decent opponent they face and they escape with a draw. Not really that impressed.
The thing that really makes me wonder about these “aaa” types is this. No amount of moaning is going to get Wenger fired so what are they really trying to accomplish? They reek of hidden agendas to me. Wether you like him or not (and I do) Wenger is here for three more years so deal with it.
Mandy
– They want the club to be owned by a oligarch, like Chelsea.
– They want the club to sign the same players from the same agents, like Chelsea.
– They want the club to play crap football with the most expensive squad in the history of the game. Like Chelsea have done most of the time (with blips of good footy here and there).
– They want the club to treat players like Chelsea do. Relegating key title winning players like Malouda to the reserves instead building them statues or putting their picture up on the stadium.
– They want the fans to be at war with their club, like Chelsea. Which is why the never refer to the stand off between the people that own the pitch at Stamford Bridge, and the person who has leveraged ownership of the club (i.e. Dickensian debt peonage. No wonder the pensioners aren’t impressed!)
– They seem to exhibit xenophobic tendencies as exposed by 7am and others in their online abuse/arguments. No comment on Chelsea’s history!
– They cannot accept or agree with those who know like John Gregory that “Arsenal exhibit the best in English Football”, his words not mine. And he supports Tottenham.
– They attack the manager but never acknowledge the policies of the club they say they support, such as the reasoning behind the sacking of GG. Which is only slightly disingenuous. Therefore they are in denial the club and manager work closely together. Like in any healthy marriage. Instead they prefer to make themselves look as bad and stupid as Blackburn fans. Not a good look and I wouldn’t recommend it.
…
…I think I can spot a pattern here 🙂
@ finsbury, I whole heartedly second your request for dnftt. The sad thing this site is the equivalent of a troll manger…
I simple terms the AAA are like a real life version of Alan Partdrige.
Steve Coogan was ahead of his time!
Nice one Finsbury…sums a few things up there!
exempting of course our own Mike T from any association of such things.
But having said that, not sure who mas the most love for them, a true fan like Mike T …..or the AAA Chelsea boys, probably a very close thing…
I always love people who can tell the future. Come on Sean give us a helping hand as I have to pick my winning numbers for the Euro Millions in the next 24 hours. 😉
We are not the first team to been overrun at Dortmund and we will not be the last one either. And if it wouldn’t have been for a lucky goal we would have gone in at 0-0 and it would make them feel uncomfortable. As we did last season
And Sean it wouldn’t happen to Mourinho you said?
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/22270453 or http://www.uefa.com/news/newsid=1941789.html
Dortmund 4 – Real Mourinho 1
wouldn’t happen to him….
Nice troll spot Mandy, maybe now Walter/Tony will eliminate the obnoxious git.
the big question every single gooner must ask themselves is how much more can we take from the lies and beatings we always get season after season. before you look at your opinion look more at what the facts tell us,not what you want to believe.personally i’m getting tired of being beaten 8-2.6-1.5-1.6-1 by some of the big sides,let alone other hidings we have had in games.why did wenger not replace vermaelen when he said he would. why is it after being mauled in games he makes excuses about our defending time and time again.why is it he hasn’t got a scooby doo about stopping our opponents before we can start to impose our game on them. he’s got this cavalier attitute thats too old school in games whereby we just back off without any structure whatsoever in how we press both individually and as a unit in getting that ball back.all we do is regain shape without any purpose to what we are going to do.why does wenger never address these issues that leave us open against the big sides,that just walk over us time and time again,beating after beating. as much as i repsect the man for what he’s build and done for afc but there comes a time when sentiment goes out of the window and a big slice of reality kicks in.i think we need a change because i can never see wenger winning the prem lge in these 3 years he has with us because he’s proven he can now only take us so far.i am a massive wenger fan and always will be,but i’m a far bigger afc fan and it’s welfare ATM. when results stay the same and don’t change then theres only one person to blame,wenger.no more excuses for him,please.
Sean,vincelorne; since you seem to think you have a ‘pair’; why don’t you go ahead and put up the banners as you say??? Could it be that you would look silly holding them up together with a couple others and look as ridiculous as the continuously monotonous posts you put up here day in a day out??? Do whet you think is best then – in the name of your beloved club – staring with posting less of the same ol same ol here!
Apo, I wanted wenger to succeedas nmuch as any other fan. Stilldo. But tthis guy is not going to change. That’s where I am deeply frustrated
Sean I notice you ignore “the wouldn’t happen to Mourinho” score at Dortmund
Walter, I see how you have ignored how we gotaa split open by a minimum of five goals per game against the top teams. Yes Maureen lost that, a one off, do you really want me to remind you how we were humiliated by the others last season? Don’t forget wenger still can never beat Maureen. That won’t changes anytime soon
Walter shame on you for forgetting this thrashing.
Barcelona 5 Real Madrid 0
November 29th 2010
Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho: “One team played very good, one team very bad. Deserved win, deserved loss. Humiliated? No. It’s easy to deal with this loss, we just weren’t good enough.”
Sean, your words, whether yours or someone else’s ……are not going to turn any of the regulars on here…..may be worth sticking to the two or three Arsenal sites where a suspiciously large number of visitors to the forums revere Chelsea, and their manager. And will do the same to Utd and LVG should they go on a run.
Walter, surely the tactical defensive God that is Jose could never suffer such defeats?
It sometimes is amazing to see how the computer attributes those avatars and the computer who picks these things randomly I have been told surely knows how to pick them sometimes
Troll is paid. Or really, really bored with its life. It can only be one or the other.
LOL @ Walter RE: avatars. Too true.
Correction – we are the worthy champions lg winners.
@Walter – I think the reason why a lot of people blame Wenger is because he picks the team, decides who gets a new contract, coaches them, decides on tactics and motivates them. He is paid £8m a year and with that comes the responsibility. He has made so many mistakes over the years and has presided over too many embarrassing performances. At any other top club he would have been moved on. The situation this summer is again evidence of how bad a manager he is now. You see he is in charge so therefore he must take the blame – its simple. Please don’t come out with the “no money” excuse as it has nothing to do with putting out teams that embarrass themselves and us.
Wenger has no idea how to be tactically aware as games progress. Remember Dortmund at home last season and the kamikaze attacking of Sagna at the end that caused the loss ( something Chambers did yesterday as well!). No, we should have taken the sting out of the game when we went ahead, as Barber says, but no we never learn. You say Flamini shouldn’t be here. Yes, he tracked Aguero and then lost him. Arteta wouldn’t have even got back into the box, so hopeless is that Spanish snail. The real culprit, however, yet again was Monreal, who for 90 minutes played like a left winger- hopeless, useless player. Pellegrini knew what to do from the moment he saw the formation with our lazy,luxury £42.5m German and the equally,clueless “left back” on that side of the pitch. Wenger obviously hasn’t learned how to play the big boys, or even how to protect a lead- naive in the extreme. We’ll hear people say soon -Diaby is back! By the way, is it possible for Mertesacker to be even slower than before- yes! At one stage, he seemed to be walking in the box when City attacked- no way will we win a major title with this defence, Arteta/ Flamini in the defensive midfield position and the inability to stop counter attacks, which our genius of a manager hasn’t fathomed out how to stop since United and Chelsea started this and beating us 7/8 years ago. Please Wenger, go at the end of the season, you’re a busted flush.
Dude forget it mate. Wenger is one of the highest paid managers in world football – he gets paid twice as much as Mancini. It is the most expensive place to watch football. Yet we are all fooled by this guise of stadium debt. Let’s look at Manchester United – American owners, debts, world class players leave such as Ronaldo – but the difference…Ferguson never settled for defeat and tried to use intelligent rationale to fool his followers. He is a born winner and would look to win at any costs. We are a bunch of girls mate. There is no spine. No backbone. No pride. No passion. There is no self-respect or dignity. Wenger could not convince a child to eat a sweet! He will win a few in a row and everyone will think what a legend he is. He gets us into the CL every season – so what? Do you ever think we are going to bridge the gap? Remember it is a vicious circle – the more the rivals win, the more money they get and the more top players will want to go there. Let’s forget the money – let’s just look at the man – one heavy defeat for Arsenal would mean a disaster – devastating consequences. It is part of our staple diet – get the top four and let’s forget how humiliated we have been. Football is also about pride, about heritage, about identity – about winning. Not a bunch of poor-man’s Barcelona pansies. We are an absolute disgrace guys – let’s just face upto it. Forget formations – if you don’t have a will to win what use is anything else?
Oh look its Friday evening and Thatchers/Blairs lonely attention seeking children have come on to fight for the UA award for the “latest cockerel to climb on the dung heap and spout off kack”.
Isnt there some dogshit computer game you should be playing?Im sure Macdonalds wants you as a moonbeam.
Stupid reply from Kennethmont
Husband (a doctor) and his wife are having a fight at the breakfast table.
Husband gets up in a rage and says, “And you are no
good in bed either,” and storms out of the house.
After some time he realizes he was nasty and
decides to make amends and rings her up.
She comes to the phone after many rings, and the irritated husband
says, “What took you so long to answer to the phone?”
She says, “I was in bed.”
“In bed this early, doing what?”
“Getting a second opinion!”