FA bring game into disrepute, BBC try to reinvent community

By Tony Attwood A little while back Arsenal Supporters Trust allied itself with the equivalent groups at Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool to write to the FA about the importance of maintaining the rule that says 15% of tickets for FA Cup matches be reserved for away supporters. In Arsenal’s case this means 9,000 tickets, and …

How can we tell when a manager is doing well?

By Tony Attwood Since we won the FA Cup that question has been more puzzling than ever. It used to be that winning a trophy was doing well.  But although the victory over Hull and the subsequent beating of Man C in the Charity Shield gave Mr Wenger some respite, it lasted little more than …

Abusing a fellow Arsenal supporter on a blog is like shouting at your front door because it won’t shut

By Tony Attwood When I was a young writer, trying to break into the business full time, I adopted the tactic of writing articles and books that by and large no one else was trying: different approaches, different styles, different ways of looking at issues. As a result I got a lot of rejections from …

Unimportant Gooners. A rant. A whine. A cry….

Un-important Gooners. A rant. A whine. A cry…. distant gooners. by Arsenal 13 This is what happened during the West-Ham game. Comments section of the Untold. Most people know this. BUT compiling it again to show the person and for the people with similar views where they are wrong. For generalization, lets name him X, and …

After the game, it all depends on what you do with the comments

By Tony Attwood The FA has a section on its web site called “Media comments and Social Networking cases – Charging guidelines” It says in part, The following types of public media comment, including on social networking websites, may be considered to be in breach of FA Rule E3: Comments which are improper, which bring the …

Panic ensues as transfer window fails to open; Zelalem goes US

By Tony Attwood According to the Daily Mirror and several other newspapers the transfer window is now open. But no! Woe!  Woe! and Thrice woe! (which is really only meaningful to British readers who remember Frankie Howerd).  The window is jammed shut.  It will not open.  Pliers, crowbars and ratchets have been ordered. But it …

After a day asleep Arsenal quote us again.

By Tony Attwood Thanks for everyone for the goodwishes.  I feel a bit of a fraud – it was just a bug, and I slept for about 24 hours. Anyway I’ve struggled up to the computer complete with pint mug of water, just to see what new year’s eve holds in store. The papers are …

Barcelona lose their final appeal as dealing in under aged children confirmed

By Tony Attwood The result of Barcelona’s behind-closed-doors appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the charges of dealing in children (often referred to as child trafficking) between 2009 and 2013, has been rejected and it is confirmed that they will not be allowed to sign any players in 2015. Although the appeal …

Calling true supporters “conspiracy theorists”: the classic approach to destroying the club.

By Billy “the Dog” McGraw In my last piece about how outdated views of logic and reason have come to dominate the debate on football I tried to suggest that the contemporary vision of considering evidence and then looking for the simplest most straightforward explanation based on evidence, has been thrown out of the window. Instead …

The red badge of courage

THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE……Don McMahon I have seen so many bloggers writing sarcastic and demeaning comments about the Club, the players and particularly the manager over the years I have followed AFC… and one thing they all seem to have in common is that they are totally blind to one side of the Arsenal. …

Transfers and results, results and transfers. Is there a connection?

By Tony Attwood So where have we got to? One defeat in the last nine 20 goals for, nine goals against in last nine Seven wins,  one draw, one defeat in last nine Five wins,  one defeat,  one draw in last seven league games OK it is not the form of the Unbeaten Season, but …

Foresoothe tis the eastern quarter away. Gadzukes

By Bulldog Drummond Taking his lead from the invidious aaa and their allies within mediaeval journalism (I rather like that phrase) the Rather Large Sam speaks.  Arsenal are weak and so can be exploited.  West Ham, quoth he, are going for Europe – and indeed Europe quakes. A goodly length in times past Europe quaked …

The dangers of the retreat into mediaeval journalism in football

By Billy “the Dog” McGraw. Abuse levels on Untold seem to on the up, which is a bit of a shame, so I thought I would pop in with a couple of comments on a post that was sent in the other day, but not published.  (It is printed below exactly as submitted). “Calling people …

How the players’ psychological state affects their performance

HOW THE PLAYERS’ PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE AFFECTS THEIR PERFORMANCE…. By Don MacMahon   Anyone who has watched football, regardless of the level (perhaps with the exception of very young players) will realise that a team that is losing a match by more than one goal seems to find it an almost insurmountable obstacle in their efforts …

QPR on Boxing Day. Arry’s predictions, Coquelin and maybe Theo.

By Bulldog Drummond. This is one of those games where the journalists hedge their bets, saying simultaneously that Arsenal can’t lose and a shock could be “on the cards”.  (Isn’t it funny how journalists have their own little turns of phrase?  Does anyone say “on the cards” any more, other than journalists?) Anyway, there is …

The causes of injuries: how the press drew false conclusions

By Tony Attwood Koscielny, Ozil, Ramsey, Arteta, Wilshere, Theo, Bellerin, Gnabry… you know the story.  And it is fairly obvious that this is a contributory factor to the club’s current position.  Especially when we think that Giroud, Debuchy, Gibbs, Flamini and Monreal, have all had injuries this season as well as those currently out.  Goodness, we …

What exactly do these results against Liverpool tell us?

By Tony Attwood Looking at the responses to Arsenal’s match at Liverpool I began to wonder if in making the key issue in the build up to this match last season’s result, we weren’t missing the real point. For is being beaten by Liverpool, or indeed any other team, a sign of disaster and a sign …

98.4% of all referee decisions are correct, claim PGMO. And amazingly the Independent believes them.

By Tony Attwood Just two weeks after Untold published its 10 point plan for how an open, honest and honourable referees’ organisation would look, and PGMO allowed a journalist into their hallowed offices for a chat. Coincidence?  Of course it was.  Untold is just a blog run by a few enthusiasts who feel that PGMO …

Football supporting and football journalism in a spiral of decline

By Tony Attwood “Football is fickle” is an old phrase.  And an apt one.  It used to be that one season your club could be great, then next rubbish.  Then it was one month to the next, then one week to the next, then one day to the next. Now the chances are that unless …

How the Arsenal transfer policy works

By Tony Attwood According to those who don’t like Mr Wenger, the Arsenal transfer policy doesn’t work.  Wenger is lazy, won’t spend money, and each time there is a player to get, we let someone else get him. As I have been trying to point out all year, there are some big problems with this …

Liverpool v Arsenal 21 Dec 2014 – The Match Officials. Don’t expect penalties!

Liverpool v Arsenal 21 December 2014 – The Match Officials by Andrew Crawshaw Now Walter has posted his referee review of Mr Dean’s sorry performance in the Arsenal v  United game –  Imagine a ref who only gets half his decisions right: Arsenal – MU ref review here is the updated Table of Shame.  Still …