Untold Arsenal: Supporting the club, the manager and the team
"I believe the target of anything in life should be to do it so well that it becomes an art." A Wenger
By Andrew Crawshaw With the men no longer in the FA Cup this year it is up to our Women to take over the mantle on Sunday afternoon when they have a last 16 tie against Millwall Lionesses. The Women’s version of the Cup is known (this season) as the SSE Cup Final after the …
Read More “Arsenal v Millwall FA Cup Sunday 18 February 2018”
by Andrew Crawshaw On Saturday our Under 18s extended their unbeaten record to 13 matches with a 6 – 2 win away to Reading despite six members of the usual squad being away on England U17 duty. Here is the story of this run. Ref Game Result Competition Goalscorers 1 Reading v Arsenal 2 – …
Read More “Arsenal U18s February Update – 13 Matches Unbeaten”
by Andrew Crawshaw As Tony pointed out in his brief report on our U23s latest win on Monday Night we are really doing rather well this year. We had a 4-0 win over last year’s league winners Everton, with a hat-trick of goals from Eddie Nketiah and assists for Joe Willock. Our matches since the …
Read More “Arsenal Under 23s: the extremely encouraging update”
by Andrew Crawshaw Before I start thinking about our match on Saturday a quick update on the PGMO world in general. Since my last update the PGMO have introduced an additional referee to the PL this year. Following an unsuccessful single game a couple of seasons ago Simon Hooper was given another trial in the …
Read More “A bias of biblical proportions. Spurs v Arsenal Sat 10 Feb 2018. The Match Officials”
by Andrew Crawshaw Our officials are :- Referee – Neil Swarbrick age 52 from Lancashire Assistant Referee 1 – Constantine Hatzidakis from Kent and FIFA accredited Assistant Referee 2 – Daniel Cook from Hampshire Fourth Official – Craig Pawson age 38 from South Yorkshire and FIFA accredited The first thing to say is that with …
by Andrew Crawshaw A quick one this time I’m afraid and a sense of deja-view Firstly a welcome to a new referee for this week’s fixtures – Simon Hooper from Wiltshire making an appearance for the Newcastle v Burnley Game he did a single game in the PL a couple of seasons ago before being …
Read More “Swansea v Arsenal – Tuesday 30 Jan 2018 – on a good day the ref is dodgy. On a bad day…”
by Andrew Crawshaw Our Officials for this match are :- Referee – Chris Kavanagh Age 42 born in Manchester Assistant Referee 1 – Peter Kirkup from Northamptonshire Assistant Referee 2 – Adam Nunn from Wiltshire and FIFA accredited Fourth Official – Andre Marriner Age 46 from the West Midlands This will be Mr Kavanagh’s ninth …
Read More “Arsenal v Crystal Palace Saturday 20 January 2018 – The Match Officials”
The ref preview for 14 January 2018 Bournemouth v Arsenal by Andrew Crawshaw I was asked for a table showing the effects VAR would have made on wrong decisions. I have now had time to go through Usama’s twitter thread where he has highlighted what he considers are potentially wrong Important Decisions I can see …
by Andrew Crawshaw Firstly a brief look at the overall picture so far this year – which referees are over and under used, which teams should be sick of the sight of referees etc. The games this coming weekend form matchweek 23. To date the PGMO have employed 18 referees, each officiating between 19 and …
Read More “Matchweek 23 – Which team gets which referee the most: and why?”
by Andrew Crawshaw As you may have seen, our two matches against Chelsea have been chosen by the FA to trial their Video Assistant Referee system. The first match of the trial was last night’s third round FA Cup Tie between Brighton and Crystal Palace, a game that usually can be trusted to be a …
by Andrew Crawshaw The WSL recommences next weekend and Arsenal travel to Kingston to play Chelsea, on the 7th. Then on the 14th they travel to Wycombe to play Reading in the semi-final of the Continental Tyres Cup (the Ladies equivalent of the League Cup). Neither ground is especially near the Club’s main ground – …
by Andrew Crawshaw Our fourth game in a row with our ‘favourite referees’ and this is the one I’ve been dreading most. We have :- Referee – Anthony Taylor Age 38 from Cheshire and FIFA accredited Assistant Referee 1 – Adam Nunn from Wiltshire and FIFA accredited Assistant Referee 2 – Lee Betts from Norfolk …
Read More “Arsenal v Chelsea Wednesday 3 January 20018 – The Match Officials”
by Andrew Crawshaw Well the PGMO are certainly ensuring that they do everything in their power to ensure that we remain well out of the Champions League places. After Martin Atkinson on 22 December, Michael Oliver on 28 December we have Mike Dean on the 31st. And in case you thought it couldn’t get any …
Read More “West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal; Sunday 31 Dec 2017 – The Match Officials”
by Andrew Crawshaw We have our first three timer this season for this game. Referee – Michael Oliver Age 32 from Northumberland and FIFA accredited Assistant Referee 1 – Simon Bennett from Staffordshire and FIFA accredited Assistant Referee 2 – Daniel Cook from Hampshire Fourth Official – Graham Scott Age 49 from Oxfordshire Michael Oliver …
by Andrew Crawshaw Well the PGMO have been saving him for a special occasion this season and this match is it! Referee – Martin Atkinson Age 46 and still FIFA accredited (but that is to lapse in January I believe due to his age). Assistant Referee 1 – Stephen Child From Kent and FIFA accredited …
Read More “Arsenal v Liverpool Friday 22 December – The Match Officials. Arghhhhhh!!!”
by Andrew Crawshaw For the second match in a row we have a referee doing his first Arsenal match of the season. Referee – Stuart Attwell age 34 from Warwickshire Assistant Referee 1 – Simon Long from Suffolk Assistant Referee 2 – Matthew Wilkes from the West Midlands Fourth Official – Mike Dean age 49 …
Read More “Arsenal v Newcastle 16 Dec 2017 – The Match Officials. Expect 2 wrong major decisions.”
by Andrew Crawshaw After yet another underwhelming performance from a FIFA accredited referee on Sunday afternoon who do we have in charge on Wednesday Night at the Taxpayers Stadium… Referee – Jonathan Moss from West Yorkshire Assistant Referee 1 – Eddie Smart From West Midlands Assistant Referee 2 – Harry Lennard from East Sussex Fourth …
by Andrew Crawshaw Another week and another referee we have had before this season Referee – Bobby Madley Age 31 from West Yorkshire and FIFA accredited Assistant Referee 1 – Stephen Child from Kent and FIFA accredited Assistant Referee 2 – Marc Perry from the West Midlands Fourth official – Graham Scott Age 49 from …
by Andrew Crawshaw It has been a while since I did an update on our junior teams and I thought I would start with the U18s. They have been active on two fronts so far this season – the U18 League and the Premier League U18 Cup. They start in the third round of the …
Read More “Arsenal U18s – early December update, 100% home record, no wins away!”
by Andrew Crawshaw Our Officials for Saturday are :- Referee – Andre Marriner – Age 46, from the West Midlands (his home Football Association is Birmingham County) Assistant Referee 1 – Simon Beck – From Bedfordshire and FIFA Accredited Assistant Referee 2 – Scott Ledger – from South Yorkshire Fourth Official – Anthony Taylor – …
by Andrew Crawshaw Our Officials for Wednesday night are :- Referee – Graham Scott age 49 from Oxfordshire Assistant Referee 1 – Peter Kirkup from Northamptonshire Assistant Referee 2 – Constantine Hatzidikis from Kent Fourth Official – Kevin Friend age 46 from Leicestershire None of them from too far away (which I guess makes sense …
Read More “Arsenal v Huddersfield Wednesday 29 November – The Match Officials”
by Andrew Crawshaw I do a heart exercise class every Friday morning (I had a heart attack just over 4 years ago) and one of the other people in the class is a Spurs supporter. Last Friday I said I was worried about the effect Mr Dean was likely to have on the match as …
by Andrew Crawshaw So we now know the punishment for Arsène Wenger for his (correct) disparaging remarks on the quality of refereeing in the EPL. A visit by the referee who is probably most hated among Arsenal fans – Mike Dean. Referee – Mike Dean Age 49 from Meryside Assistant Referee 1 – Ian Hussin …
Read More “Arsenal v Tottenham Saturday 18 November 2017 – The Match Officials”
Sorry for the delay in bringing you this report – we had a technical problem yesterday. by Andrew Crawshaw Sunday Nov 12 was dry, bright and very cold. Fortunately for me my journey from South London to Borehamwood was clear of upgrade works giving me a simple journey involving only one change of train. It …
Read More “WSL1 Arsenal v Sunderland Nov 12 2017 – The Untold Match Report”
by Andrew Crawshaw There have been 11 rounds of matches in the Premier League so far and the referees have been announced for matchweek 12- nearly a third of the way through the season giving a total of 110 games played. The PGMO have used 18 referees so far so each one should have officiated …
Read More “So what does the PGMO lack of Referees actually do for clubs?”
