By Bulldog Drummond
If you missed it please do consider having a look at our last article:
Exclusive: Uefa admit match fixing is now too big for them to fight it.
There is the old tale that the prime sign of madness is doing something that fails and then doing it again, and again, and again hoping against hope that the next time it will work.
And thus having got rid of Mr Wenger the negativists will be dancing in the streets I suspect on reading the headline from Caught Offside
Jose Mourinho could reportedly be back to the Premier League as Arsenal manager.
Ah that old favourite “reportedly”. And not just reportedly but “could reportedly”. Which means a drunken journalist in the Toppled Bollard Public House just off Wapping Swamp was overheard saying to the barmaid something that could have been to the effect that Mourinho is going to Arsenal to watch the match, and this was mistaken as meaning he was going to be the manager.
Back in the real world however… err, well no we seem to have got stuck in a fantasy world completely as the Loose Cannon website follows this up with
“Will Ozil fare better under Mourinho?”
Meanwhile… Meanwhile, meanwhile, trying to move on…
According to Physioroom Arsenal have just the one injury now, Reiss Nelson who will out until mid November. I can’t remember the last time that happened.
Palace have been something of a Tottenham Hotspur type of team this season blowing hot and cold and losing the lower league opposition in the league cup…
| Date | Match | Res | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Aug | Crystal Palace v Everton | D | 0-0 | Premier League |
| 18 Aug | Sheffield United v Crystal Palace | L | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 24 Aug | Manchester United v Crystal Palace | W | 1-2 | Premier League |
| 27 Aug | Crystal Palace v Colchester United | L | 0-0 (4-5) | League Cup |
| 31 Aug | Crystal Palace v Aston Villa | W | 1-0 | Premier League |
| 14 Sep | Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace | L | 4-0 | Premier League |
| 22 Sep | Crystal Palace v Wolverhampton W | D | 1-1 | Premier League |
| 28 Sep | Crystal Palace v Norwich City | W | 2-0 | Premier League |
| 05 Oct | West Ham United v Crystal Palace | W | 1-2 | Premier League |
| 19 Oct | Crystal Palace v Manchester City | L | 0-2 | Premier League |
They did get a win against West Ham in their last away game and scored two – as they did away to Manchester United. So there is a tactical sense there for seeing off wounded creatures – which is of course exactly how the media and the blogs are portraying Arsenal at the moment. Except the wound is terminal, so “dying” would be more appropriate from their point of view.
Despite having played each other for the first time in 1934 in the FA Cup there have been comparatively few games between Arsenal and Crystal Palace – just 45 in fact. Arsenal have won 28 and lost 12, drawing the remaining five.
Between 1994 and 2017 Arsenal went 14 matches unbeaten against Crystal Palace but the last five games have been most troublesome. All have been in the Premier League…
| Date | Game | Res | Score |
| 10 Apr 2017 | Crystal Palace v Arsenal | L | 0-3 |
| 28 Dec 2017 | Crystal Palace v Arsenal | W | 2-3 |
| 20 Jan 2018 | Arsenal v Crystal Palace | W | 4-1 |
| 28 Oct 2018 | Crystal Palace v Arsenal | D | 2-2 |
| 21 Apr 2019 | Arsenal v Crystal Palace | L | 2-3 |
The Evening Standard goes with a line up of
Leno;
Chambers, Sokratis, Luiz, Kolasinac;
Xhaka, Guendouzi;
Pepe, Ceballos, Aubameyang;
Lacazette.
The Guardian has exactly the same selection so that seems to be the key view.
So here’s a little thought to finish with.
Arsenal have scored at least two in each of their past 12 London derbies played at Arsenal Stadium while Palace have scored just eight goals in nine league games this season.
A little ray of hope for Aubameyang, Lacazette, Pepe and (as sub) Martinelli.
wenger and oil back in pliz
OT: Arsenal Women v Man$ity
XI: Zinsberger, Evans, Williamson, Beattie, McCabe, Walti, Little, Nobbs, Miedema, Mead, Van de Donk
Beach: I don’t know yet.
COYWG!
OT: Arsenal Women v Man$ity
Beach: Magnin, Quinn, Mitchell, Maier, Roord, Veje
COYWG!
—-
The only thing known for the Mens game, is that the twit in the middle is Atkinson.
COYG!
Lovely sunny day in London. Cold but sunny -must be Walter bringing the sunshine.
Looking forward to a good game.
I am sincerely align myself to the believers who are believing that Arsenal playing at home this evening in the PL will beat Crystal Palace their opponent team with resounding effect that will vibrate from North London to the South of London.
My predicted Emery’s Arsenal 4231 formation starts and 7 man bench for the match are as below.
Starts:
Leno;
Chambers Sokratis Liuz Kolasniac;
Guendouzi Xhaka;
Pepe Ceballos Saka;
Lacazette.
Bench:
Martinez Bellerin Holding AMN Martinelli Willock Lacazette.
Does Tierney slightly injured his feet in the Guimanaes ELC match at the Ems last Thursday?
A team of Arsenal’s calibre must frame the Sheffield result as a minor blip nothing more.
The Crystal Palace game is one we can and should control.
“There should be no mistakes, no hesitation, no sentiments. This time there should be no mistake”
@ Samuel
Interesting lineup
I’m sure you meant to start with Auba and keep Laca on the bench.
Cheers.
OT: Arsenal Women v Man$ity
It’s that Miedema again, knocking another goal past a hapless goaltender! Assist to Little.
COYWG!
OT: Arsenal Women v Man$ity
That was apparently Miedema’s first goal against Man$ity, and it was the first goal Man$ity has given up this year. It appears that Miedema has scored 9 goals across all competitions this season so far. Hopefully more goals for Arsenal and Miedema to come.
COYWG!
XI:
Leno
Tierney Sokratis Luiz Chambers
Xhaka Guendouzi
Ceballos Pepe
Aubameyang Lacazette
Beach: Bellerin, Torreira, Holding, Martinez, Kolasinac, Martinelli, Saka
COYG!
OT: Arsenal Women v Man$ity
Man$ity have made all their substitutions, Arsenal haven’t made any (I think). About 15m left, still 1-0 to the Arsenal.
COYWG!
OT: Arsenal Women v Man$ity
Typo from the BBC commentary on the women’s game:
The ‘f’ (in wife) is next to the ‘d’ on a QWERTY keyboard.
COYWG!
OT: Arsenal Women v Man$ity
Nobbs was set up by Miedema in extra time, and put it wide. The women spuds are behind 0-1 in the second half, while the women Chel$ea are still tied 0-0 in the second half of their game. About 30m left in those 2 other games.
No, State Aid women have scored against Chel$ea.
How to go Gunners!
Why has Emery in Arsenal home match against Crystal Palace today in the PL done 2 changes to his orthodox Arsenal Premier League starting XI that he even started at Sheff Utd last Sunday in the PL? Is it because Arsenal lost to Sheff Utd? Or he had decided to yield to some Gooners pressure who want to see Tierney start in the PL? Watching Tierney in the last few minutes of the Arsenal match at home against Victoria in the ELC last Thursday night, Tierney looked to have suffered serious strain in his feet. But yet Emery has started him today. And at the same time has also started Lacazette by rearranging his front trio to push Aubameyang to the left side in place of Saka who is starting from the bench today. While Lacazette is starting centrally and Pepe start at right wing.
Step out for a moment, and Sokratis scores from Xhaka (7m) andLuiz from Lacazette (9m). Good work guys!
As of 25m, all the fouls are by Arsenal. Really Atkinson?
COYG!
That’s more like Atkinson, assisting CPalace by giving them a penalty.
COYG!
Drat, CPalace tie it up. Come on Gunners, get that lead back.
COYG!
Only the central defenders are scoring today? How to go Sokratis! Who assisted? Come on Luiz, you need to score again too.
COYG!
Did VAR remove the goal?
COYG!
Fouls are now 17:8 and cards are 2:0. Against CPalace?
COYG!
That game was fixed, VAR is being used against this team.
Let’s hope Raul has a bit more,balls over such things than Ivan did
With Arsenal failing to beat Crystal Palace at the Ems this evening in the PL but played to a draw, but have the Gooners immediately after the match has come to an end pulled out their knives looking for where Emery is?
Personally, think Emery is unfortunately in a tricky situation SAA, alone with his captain.
Raul was telling all who would listen Emery is expected to qualify for the top four this season, if it becomes doubtful he will, I suspect the club may act hoping for a new manager bounce. Perhaps not fair, but the way I suspect the club may operate from now.
But, in mitigation, this game was fixed.
Riley is using VARmto do his bidding, I would say to help Utd, and hand Liverpool the title, apparently Liverpool got another,dodgy pen today, and Utd got two.
Compare and contrast to our boys who have received 1 pen and conceded 4/5 in the league this season. Shocking bias even by Riley’s standards.
Not sure it will save Emery in the lng term though.
I said on here that all VAR would be used for in regards to ourselves would be to screw us over even more, and so it seems.
I have to say I have not seen either decision but according to Arsenal TV, who lets face it avoid being controversial wherever possible, have said the second one is ‘diabolical’.
As far as I’m aware all the talk has been about how high the bar has been set in regards to overturning a referees call.
I have seen dozens of what were in my opinion clear and obvious errors left to stand in favour of the referees call.
Now maybe that’s right maybe that’s wrong, who knows, but either way as long as that bar is at the same height for everyone that’s at least fair.
Today, Atkinson neither gave the penalty or disallowed the goal. Both calls were made by VAR.
With regards to the 2nd call the guys in the Arsenal studio not only said Chambers didn’t foul anyone but was himself fouled so the least it should of been was a penalty to us.
Even the first call, though it sounds like there was contact, was it seems in need of a really close look, again not sounding like the absolute nailed on reversal we’ve become accustom to.
In other words even if, and it sounds like a big if, both reversals were correct, it seems the bar is set considerably lower when it comes to decisions against us, than it is for others.
Even money on Dean next week. PGMOL are a predictable farce. And the media are accessories. I hope there are prosecutions.
Here is a clip of the foul by Chambers which led to our 3rd goal being ruled out.
Video clip from caughtoffside.
https://www.caughtoffside.com/2019/10/27/chambers-foul-sokratis-goal-var-video/
Never have I seen such a corrupt bit of officiating. Atkinson was an absolute corrupt cheat and his VAR colleague was from the Riley school of anti football officiating.
How this passes of for sport is baffling.
@MickHazel I find that one unbelievable. I am fed up of watching matches where fouls are given against the fouled player.
Still it proves that VAR is being used to confirm bias by referees.
The penalty call against us was given as a result of Atkinson’s initial call of no penalty call plus yellow card for Zaha being overturned by VAR.
That is the FIRST,yes FIRST time so far this season where a yellow card ref call has been overturned.
Put another way the first time in 100 games so far this season.
Who could have guessed we would have been the first to have that honour.
Any one, who after seeing these two incidents, now claims we are not unfairly treated by the refs should be committed to a lunatic asylum.
Dour as it may sound, we are just not covering ourselves in glory. So we get shafted repeatedly. As someone has suggested, the AFC matches are fixed or we are just not good enough. Before we go to the match fixing angle why not be sure first that our performances can stand strict scrutiny.
We are, to put it mildly, gifting wins to the PigMob to do as they wish with the Club. Of course they’d as soon kick us in the face than be fair. 2 – nil up is turned into a draw and a goal chalked off by VAR! The decline has finally set in and Unai will, as usual, be at sea. Atkinson looked very disappointed when we scored our second goal and I knew then that from then it would be a matter of time before Crystal Palace was allowed to get s result from the match. I wasn’t wrong.
MickHazel
WTF, I mean WTF.
Bobome
“Before we go to the match fixing angle why not be sure first that our performances can stand strict scrutiny.”
With all due respect lets not.
Our performance, good bad or indifferent, as with the result, win lose or draw, has absolutely no relevance on how we are being treated by PGMOL.
If people want to analyse and ultimately criticise or praise the team and tactics that’s fine, but it’s a debate to be had in total isolation from that of whether we are or are not being screwed by VAR, and todays events suggest we most definitely are.
MickHazel
“Any one, who after seeing these two incidents, now claims we are not unfairly treated by the refs should be committed to a lunatic asylum.”
Oh don’t worry Mick they’re still out there.
@Nitram the whole point of corruption is to “tilt” the playing field. It doesn’t matter what a team does with this PIGMOB crew. They know who they want to win and they are willing to bend the rules to make that happen.
How can you criticise a team when the whole game is stacked against them. The previous post by Tony surely shows that there are major problems with the officiating in football.
Les Williams
“the whole point of corruption is to “tilt” the playing field”.
You don’t need to tell me. I have done many many posts on untold about ’tilting’ or the notion of ‘cheating without cheating’ as I put it.
“How can you criticise a team when the whole game is stacked against them.”
I’m not. You will not find a single word from me criticising either the manager or the players. Doesn’t mean I think they’re perfect I just think this endless whinging is ultimately counter productive.
I don’t think you seem to understand where I’m coming from.
Having looked at that Chambers incident again I have to say I think it is one of the worst decisions I have ever seen.
Now I say that because it was made by VAR who where watching it from different angles and in slow motion and still made that call.
Put simply it’s a disgrace.
@nitram sorry you misread. I was agreeing with you. You can’t critise tactics or team performance when the ref is there to make you lose. Didnt come out rignt
Les Williams
No problem. Crossed wires.
“You can’t criticise tactics or team performance when the ref is there to make you lose”.
Exactly.
I have not seen the penalty incident but it appears the VAR decision to reverse Atkinsons original call was probably correct.
As a result all those who claim no bias against Arsenal will say ‘we told you so, your bias claims are simply nonsense’. They will tell you English refs are above reproach, it’s only in other countries where corruption occurs. We are whiter than white.
However the fact that today’s call was correct or not isn’t the point, and the ostriches who bury their heads in the sand should understand that.
The point is that in the first 100 matches so far this season we are the very first team to suffer the overturning of an incident such as happened today.
Are we to believe that in none of the other 99 games there was not a single incident that warranted similar action by the VAR officials.
That in those previous 99 games there was not a single ref decision that should have been reversed just as ours was today.
The pitch is not so much tilted against us, it is more like a 1 in 4 slope.
From Emery
“They scored the goal with VAR, and maybe it was a penalty, so we need to respect the decision. It was amazing to check that penalty….”
“…..but the last match here against Bournemouth, we deserved a very clear penalty, more clear than this evening, but they didn’t check. OK, it wasn’t important in the final result because we won 1-0. Last week in Sheffield, we had a very clear penalty on Sokratis at 0-0. It was a very important moment but they didn’t check.”
“VAR said it was a foul but I checked it after and it’s a goal…..”
“But our goal, the third goal, he is not fouled. That is not a foul. Who is the person who checked that?”
He’s 100% right.
As I said years ago when VAR was first muted as heading for the PL, they will use it to screw us even more.
I said what happened over these last 3 matches is what would happen.
They will not check if a decision is missed for us but will get their microscope out to ensure our every misdemeanour is punished.
@MickHazel – 27/10/2019 at 7:15 pm I have not seen this happen in the 3 to 4 years that VAR has been in operation anywhere. The ONLY reason to overturn a yellow card is a mistaken identity.
Having watched Spanish, German and Italian football for the past 3 years the law has been made clear ONLY red cards can be looked at. Yellow cards have NEVER been changed
So PIGMOB have changed the rules…again Nice one Riley
MickHazel
Emery says awarding the penalty was how VAR should work. His words were it was ‘perfect’.
But he goes on to say, it’s not the fact it was checked and turned over, it’s the fact it was checked, where as 2 blatant penalty appeals for us over the last 2 matches were not even checked.
And this goes back to this notion of ’tilting’ or ‘cheating without cheating’.
VAR awarding Palace a penalty is obviously not cheating as it sounds like it was a penalty.
Not checking incidents, is in itself, not cheating.
But when you are checking some incidents and not others is that cheating?
When it is the same team involved and especially when the decisions all go against the same team, is that cheating ?
I argue that it most definitely is cheating.
Headline: Atkinson fights back to earn Palace draw with Arsenal
For me, losing or not winning games like today is not UE’s fault. I think the only thing that UE needs to be taken to task about, is this problem he has with Ozil. How a manager cannot work with one of the most gifted players in the world to provide the tactics that we need to win these games even with the horrendous officiating provided by PGMO escapes me.
I am beginning to think that fans at the game should stand up in the 10th minute, and turn their backs to the field. We need to get someone on that field who can make the passes to open up teams.
IMO, both Sp*rs and Arsenal were screwed over by VAR.
Les Williams
That would be amazing and unbelievable if it were any other team than Arsenal who were the victim.
Thanks for the information but it has only made me feel worse.
Atkinson and the VAR officials have broken the rules.
I wonder what the consequences will be.
I will hazard a guess….. bugger all in the way of punishment but more likely a commendation.
I’m writing this as some sort of Catharsis as I just feel so angry and disillusioned at the moment.
Not with the team or the manager, winning and losing, playing well, playing poorly, that’s all just a part of supporting a football team.
I just feel like today, and over the last week, with the way VAR has been used against us, just as I thought it would be, we have reached some kind of officiating Nadir.
That feeling has only been exacerbated by what I’ve been watching at the rugby World cup. The use of VAR within that sport is a joy to behold.
Overt, clear and concise, and most of all fair.
As for today, I bet my bottom dollar that the media somehow turn this whole episode against us, and somehow we’ll be portrayed as the villains in all this.
You know it wouldn’t surprise me if Emery gets in trouble for his comments.
I’ve been pretty despondent about football for some time now and I can honestly say I detest football.
One day even my love of Arsenal may not be enough to keep me engaged.
I’ve got home from the match and believe me there are several morons out there that believe VAR is s different gadget that impacts the game. When I explain that it is Rileys morons manning TV screens in Stockley Park they look surprised.
Yet again our fans were out of order booing our captain. They do not have sufficient intelligence to be Arsenal supporters. Players might make mistakes but booing is not justified. Xhaka on the other hand deserves to be stripped of the captaincy and made to play in the reserves. His reaction was not professional. Fans calling for Unais head are also out of order. There were a lot of misplaced passes but nothing worse than that from Arsenal players.
Atkinson was so blatant in his cheating that it almost started a riot. Fans in England are so damned tolerant of the corrupt officiating that they sing ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’. The reality is he knows full well that he is cheating.
The problem we’ve got – the PGMOB have got their hands on the VAR and they have made it a weapon to enforce their bias. Emery doesn’t know how to deal with it. It might take him another four seasons to come to terms with football in the EPL. He won’t be given that.
The truth is it wouldn’t matter what Emery said about the refereeing. It didn’t matter what Arsene Wenger said. As long as Riley’s referees are allowed to get off with how they treat Arsenal, they will go on doing it. And the only people who could pull them up would be the FA. Anyone see them doing that?
But I agree about Ozil. I cannot understand why an experienced manager is refusing to deploy one of his most talented players and one with a proven ability to create and score goals. It is an indictment of Emery that, whereas Arsene Wenger developed Ozil, encouraging him to add goal scoring to his repertoire, Emery cannot even find a way to include him on the bench.
Nitram, VAR worked well in the last football World Cup as well. It’s just that Riley, or his handlers have been allowed to put their own interpretation on it, ie do what the feck they want, no accountability, and make it up as they go along to suit their given agenda for a particular match. And guess what, we are constantly on,the wrong end of its decisions to a level that is beyond suspicious. Clear pens against Bournemouth and Sheff couldn’t be looked at, unlike the one we conceded today.
Zedsaunt, the way things are, I will be surprised if Emery is given four weeks, let alone four years.
If Raul puts up with this, it is either in his interest, or he is not the wheeler and dealer some think he is, or he wants an excuse to bring Jose in!
it is breathtaking how VAR is used to rob Arsenal. As we know here, you cannot compete properly with this kind of tilted playing field, but today, the var decisions in last games we didnt get and now this: cause its arsenal we overturn the var! , it really is mindboggling. The premier league is a big joke.
The crowd should be booeing the ref instead of our player
The first foul in the “phase” of play leading up to Sokratis “winner” was a shove in Chambers’ chest by Milivojevic, so Arsenal should have had a penalty, unless Atkinson played advantage, which he didn’t signal. So VAR should have awarded the penalty, Interestingly, Richard Keys on Bein Sports has just said that “it really is about time Mike Riley was replaced”. Overseas media are aware of the problems with our referees and VAR. It would appear that the Ostrich is now an indigenous UK species.
Watched MOTD and trust me they cut off more incidents than one can imagine that were an indictment of Atkinsons cheating. His cheating truly beggars belief. That combined with the cheat in Stockley Park, they could rule the world. Even James Bond would struggle to compete with this Pile of Shite called PGMOL, the choice of the corrupt FA.
Like Nitram, I’m beginning to feel lost and may not continue watching this game anymore.
Riley has a very important role in the grand scheme of things, Utd need help, and Liverpool need a league title
the ploy could be: we mess up Var so the public is glad if we get rid off it, the. pigmob have free reign again. Arsenal would ALWAYS be on the loosing end of this ‘experiment’
it s indeed very hard to keep watching this corrupt game…
Menace, agree, but think Atkinson was probably initially correct on both VAR decisions.
As for the penalty, Clattenberg in the Daily Mail saying Atkinson was right not to give it and to book zaha, as he made a clear dive with chambers leg planted. So no obvious clear mistake, the test for over ruling a refs decision.
Atkinson initially gave Soks goal, only to be pulled back by a Mr Gillet…who?? He was the VAR ref, but had never refereed a prem game, and had just reffed nine football league games . But Mr Gillet will have pleased Mr Riley, that’s what will count for him.
Atkinson was fussy, gave them most fifty fifties, but got the VAR overturned decisions right, to often I defend him.
In conclusion, if the ref on the field fucks Arsenal over, fine, if they don’t, the VAR ref will.
As will ever be while Mike Riley lives
What we saw today was corruption.
Daily Mail has an article from Clattenburg about this game. In it, it is said that the referee who moved from Australia to Liverpool was the referee back in VAR headquarters (Garrett?). This is his first year working with PGMO.
Our current points (16) indicate that we are on course for an end of season return of just 60 points at an average of 1.6 points per game. Now imagine if we won our last two games? We would be on 21 pts in third place and just a point behind City and on course for 80 points if we maintained that form over 38 games.
My argument is that the margins are razor thin and a couple of results good or bad at this early stage in the campaign could make a team look very good or very bad.
With 28 games left there is enough time to IMPROVE and put together a good run of results. But we need to be able to score goals that are VAR resistant such as set pieces and that type of “Kompany” goal… you know the one. How does VAR overturn that one? We also need to score on the counter into a less congested 18 yard box.
Emery has to figure this out. At team with Laca, Auba, Pepe and Martinelli should not be scoring just one or 2 goals per game.
Why is it that when we go 2 goals ahead we suddenly get a penalty against us?
I am starting to lose interest in football. The cheating and corruption is becoming too much for me to stomach.I’ll be in support of any petition to kick out Mike Riley and his PGMO gang on change.org or any other similar platform.VAR practically screwed Arsenal over yesterday, and it still hurts this morning. It’s easy to make Emery the scape goat, but VAR has denied him atleast 5 points(games against Sheffield and Palace).Penalty awarded by VAR was a dive, the disallowed goal was a valid goal. It’s obvious the VAR official today didn’t want Arsenal to win, and in any sane organization, he wouldn’t be allowed to be a VAR official anymore.I can bet that both decisions that went against Arsenal today would have been overlooked if roles were switched between Palace and Arsenal.Yesterday’s VAR show(yes! it was a VAR show because the game was all about VAR and no longer about football which the fans and viewers paid money to watch) was a shameful, dreadful and ridiculous shitshow.Arsenal deserve atleast an apology for the daylight robbery, but I wouldn’t hold my breath!
This VAR farce was oh so predictable. As I mentioned above I predicted exactly how it would be used against us way back in July 2017.
I’ve reproduced my comment from the time that was in the following article from Walter:
The Video Assistant Referees are on their way, well in other countries is, but not all….
https://untold-arsenal.com/archives/63110
Nitram
18/07/2017 at 2:03 pm
Walter
You say you are suspicious. Seeing what we see in the PL on a day to day basis, I think you have every right to be. I know I am.
You say:
“In Holland they have been training the refs for a long time for using the VAR in a correct and consistent way”
They train the refs on VAR in Holland do they? Cant see them bothering with all that nonsense over here can you? I mean, they’ve not bothered training them on anything else have they, so why this?
I’m sorry but I see this as being nothing but a disaster, especially for us. All it will mean is any indiscretion of ours the ref does by some miracle miss, will be instantly highlighted to him, and retrospectively dealt with via the VAR system.
Conversely can you imagine them highlighting anything that should of gone in our favour?
Yes of course it will work for us once in a blue moon, but by and large it will be just another tool in the referees armoury with which to screw us.
Yes, suspicious, very suspicious, and some.
This will just make it even worse for us.
—————-
Spooky ay, even if I do say so myself.
Seriously though I’d like to claim I have some sort of mystical powers regarding predicting the future but honestly, did anyone expect anything else ??
And how damning is it that a simple fan such as I can not only predict 2 years in advance that something is going to be used to screw us over, but predict exactly HOW it is going to be used to screw us over.
All so f***ing predictable.
The following from Walter in his article:
“But then…. after a few successful matches I noticed that it looked as if someone had said to make it go wrong.
Now I do admit I am a very suspicious person at times and so it could be just me and my gut feelings but it looked that ….well… some people tried to sabotage the whole thing.”
Maybe I’m not the only one with Mystic Meg type abilities?
John L
Menace
omgarsenal
Go and have a look at what you had to say. You knew what would happen as well.
GoingGoingGooner
Alas your hopes for transparency have not happened and I fear never will.
Leon
You were more hopeful. Has that hope been knocked out of you or do you still think we’re all just a bunch of ‘conspiracists’?
@Nitram I know how you feel. I watch football but I am becoming less and less worried about missing games. The reason is because I have a difficult time believing that the results are real and not just set up for mafia like organisations to benefit from.
My favourite team is Borrussia Dortmund but last year in the derby against Schalke they had a penalty for handball given against then that even the schalke coach said wasn’t. Then in the 2nd half they had 2 players sent off for tackles that Schalke had been doing all through the first half. Amazingly Bayern won the title by 2 points!
When things like this happen you realise that there is a lot of corruption going on and the game loses its appeal.
Thomas Tuchel left Dortmund because he said his players were not being given protection from referees in the league.
I used to hate that Patrick Vieira was dubbed a “dirty” player. He wasn’t – it was the referees who took it upon themselves to send him off for nothing. It was amazing how Roy Keane could end players careers and still not get sent off!
Les Williams
Worrying times, but as I showed, sadly oh so predictable.
I have been preaching Nitram but only for the converted I think…. PGMO and Mike Riley didn’t take notice …. Or saw it as a blueprint on how not to use it….
@Nitram,
My point about leaving, aside for now, the suspected corruption in the EPL, as far as AFC games are concerned, is that if we have our players playing really well we just might be winning more games in spite of the ‘tilting’ that appears to be going on. Which comes first the chicken or the eggs? Should AFC be a formidable team first and face corruptly refereed matches later or never mind how badly we play and keep hammering at corruption which may not be addressed?
If UEFA is now asking for outside help in dealing with match fixing – what that tells me is that the problem is very huge and will take time to deal with. Improving AFC match consistency is entirely within UE’s competency level but dealing with the PigMob or corruption in football is not. Why rail on about what will require a more coordinated effort from a wide circle of stakeholders to deal with and leave the problems you can deal with unattended to?
You may disagree with me on which comes first, but for me UE should be worrying more about how he can deliver on his mandate and let the FA and the football world worry about corruption in the game.
It’s not about what comes first or second.
It’s that they are completely separate issues.
I know we are not perfect, never have been never will be.
“You may disagree with me on which comes first, but for me UE should be worrying more about how he can deliver on his mandate and let the FA and the football world worry about corruption in the game.”
Seriously? Let the FA worry about corruption ? Honestly are you serious?
Whether we are top middle or bottom, being treated so diabolically by the PGMOL and their men in black is unacceptable under ANY circumstances.
Whilst we are being treated as we are it is simply impossible to make a true assessment of where we are.
The corrupt use of VAR this last week alone has us adrift in 5th rather than in touch in 3rd.
A big difference in actuality, a massive difference psychologically.
By your very argument you are admitting that how PGMOL is treating our players is affecting their performances, as you said ‘psychologically’. Of course it is so, yet you want the issues to be treated differently! I didn’t say it was acceptable by any stretch of the words I used. What I said remains that – why worry about what you cannot control or change, while leaving what you can control or change?
I mentioned the FA because they are supposed to take responsibility for stuff like we are discussing in football. If you found that unacceptable is the generic ‘football world’ also inappropriate? Dealing with what is within the Club’s control is not too much to ask of it.
Corruption in football is a given considering the vast amounts involved and it is not something even the mighty FIFA can deal with all by itself. UEFA is already calling for help. Untold Arsenal is doing a bit of that by at least bringing it to the attention of its readers. What happens thereafter is out of Untold’s hands.