Coventry v Arsenal tonight. Preparing for the road trip.

by Bulldog Drummond Fortunately for the two of us going to the game, Coventry is only about one hour by car away, although I am told it can be a nightmare getting out of the area.  So I shall make sure I am fully laden with audio books to keep me going.  However we only …

Coventry v Arsenal Wednesday 12 September – Who is eligible and the possible line up.

By Andrew Crawshaw and Bulldog Drummond Continuing our preview of tonight’s game in the Checkatrade, with a look at the competition and the teams, we find that some League One and League Two club supporters have boycotted matches in the past because of the inclusion of Premier League academy sides – the logic of which …

And just in case there isn’t enough football around, here’s a new competition

by Tony Attwood The problem is, we are told there is going to be a third European competition next year but we don’t really know too much about how it will work, but it looks a bit like this could be the way forward… Part 1: Leave the Champions League as it is. Part 2: …

Coventry City v Arsenal – preparing for the cup match on Wednesday

by Bulldog Drummond On Wednesday this week Coventry City play Arsenal in the Checkatrade Trophy.   I’m not too sure how big the crowd will be but there will be two Untolders there trying to sort out what is going on and of course report back after the match. And “sort out” seems to be the …

If Serena Williams had played for Arsenal she’d be banned for a year.

By Ino Lotz, our correspondent on Certain Things. Serena Williams was fined $17,000 for by and large calling the referee a cheat.  That comes out of the $1.8m she got for being runner up.  So less than 1% of her income.  She is not banned for five matches or anything else. In the media there …

The First Match of the WSL this Season – Arsenal v Liverpool a quick preview

by Andrew Crawshaw Arsenal Women return to League action today in an early kick-off at Meadow Park Borehamwood against Liverpool.  Kick-off was at 12:30 and the game is live on UK television so no excuses not to watch it.  It is on the BBC Sport Online or on television via the Red Button or alternatively …

Brussels court lobs a bomb into football as big as Bosman. And it affects everyone.

By Tony Attwood You may have thought that the days of EU rulings affecting UK football are coming to an end.  Indeed we’ve recently been discussing exactly this: how the FA and the UK government might collude after the EU closes the door on the UK to restrict the right of non-UK citizens to play …

Mass positivity breaks out as fans and writers go for Arsenal love in

By Bulldog Drummond If there is one thing we have known for a long time about Alex Iwobi it is that he was not good enough.  Consider some of these headlines: Arsenal Fans Blast Iwobi – You Are Not Good Enough OwnGoalNigeria, 16 Feb 2017 Arsenal fans have descended heavily on Alex Iwobi over his poor performance in …

How the next three weeks will reveal Mr Emery’s plan

by Bulldog Drummond While the international interruptions (the I I) are a pain in the a. and disrupt my own personal weekend routine of presenting the match previews, they do also give on a moment for reflection and a spot of looking ahead – and it was the latter which made me realise just how …

This week’s heroes and a round up of the bonkers

By Sir Hardly Anyone, celebrating the good guys and the bad in this week of no proper footie. 1:  Nacho Monreal “Nacho Monreal fiercely defends under fire Arsenal teammate” according to Gooner Talk and many other blogs.  It was an outspoken defence of Ozil and a rare attack by a player on the media.   “Ozil and Emery …

Get rid of this jobbernowl, this ninnyhammer, this niddy-noddy, this stookie, this puzzlehead, this dizzard, this doddypoll

by Tony Attwood “West Ham United use their stadium largely at taxpayers’ expense”.    Yawn yawn, you’ve heard it before.  Typical Tony Attwood boring rant. Except this time that sentence came from the Daily Telegraph, a newspaper generally associated with free enterprise,  and read by rear admirals. But not any more it seems for they …

Playing with the rule book, the stupidity of reading body language, the Europa squad

By Tony Attwood Could the PGMO squad of referees actually be getting something wrong? It is hard to imagine there is much they could get wrong since according to their own figures they are getting 98.5% of all decisions right and VAR would add another 2% to that.  (Yes it’s funny, I know, but that’ …

The bleating of the England camp and non-savvy journalists is a danger to club football

By Tony Attwood “More talent, less minutes: English players suffering in Premier League”. That is the headline with no less than 11 Arsenal players are currently gallivanting around Europe and beyond ready to receive wounds which will very much be of their own choosing – after all they don’t have to go.  These players are …

UK leaving the EU: Premier League awakens to the dangers of an FA takeover

by Tony Attwood Untold first raised the issue of the impact of the UK leaving the EU in an article published on 26 June 2016. I’ve run a few more articles since, and the response of some to suggestions that there have been problems with getting work permits and assurances have not met with acceptance. However …

Arsenal shirts – To buy or not to buy?

To buy or not to buy That is the question every time the club launches a new range of replica shirts, for many Arsenal fans, although fans of the Gunners still remain the most loyal when it comes to decking themselves out in their second skin. Of course, the designs can sometimes influence the decision …

The 25 players who have left Arsenal this summer

by Andrew Crawshaw One of the big cries last season was for Arsenal to “get rid of the deadwood”.  The club certainly seem to have addressed the number of players within the club and one way or another have moved on no fewer than 25 players.  Some were well known and high ranking, others barely …

The top of the league predictions across Europe: how are we doing

By Tony Attwood We’re at the international break with the newly fangled “Extragames Country Cup” which from my limited experience not too many people quite get, and since I’m persistently anti-international matches I’m not going to explain. But before the season began we made a prediction about who would win six different leagues in Europe …

There’s something fishy in Arsenal’s official list of 25 players

By Tony Attwood After each transfer window I like to try and wrap things up with the publication of Arsenal’s list of 25 players registered with the Premier League and then separate them into home grown and foreign grown. But this year there is something fishy.  For example Jeorge Bird, who is normally 100% reliable …

Did Wenger lack the nerve to play Aubamayang and Lacazette together?

by Tony Attwood On the Star’s web site today this appeared from Garth Crooks. “The very suggestion Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang can’t play together as a pair at Arsenal sends me apoplectic,” Crooks told the BBC Sport. “The fact of the matter is Arsene Wenger lacked the nerve to play the two up front on a …

How fake news took over football journalism – and it is about to get far worse

By Tony Attwood Fake news needs someone to believe it, otherwise it is laughable and of course completely pointless. In much of life the credibility level people impose on stories can be quite high – for many simply won’t believe the stories they hear because the everyday evidence and past experience suggests they are nonsense. …

How much does the League title cost, and what power do mere supporters have?

By Tony Attwood Over the last 10 years Man City have spent £1.3bn (or for the mathematically challenged, £130m per year.) During this time they have won 3 league titles 3 league cups 1 FA Cup That works out at £429m per league title.  If we include the FA cup it is £325m per trophy.  …

Cardiff v Arsenal; beware Now TV, Sky’s commentary, and Tottenham Nomads.

By Tony Attwood I cancelled my Sky subscription just over a year ago, because of my ever growing frustration at their authoritarian approach of knowing what was right and what was wrong, what I thought and what I didn’t, their patronising of me as a viewer and paying customer, and my frustration at what they …

Cardiff v Arsenal, teams, 9 year old signs, drama at Southend, Eddie, running.

By Bulldog Drummond It appears that Untold is now fully https (whatever that means) and has a new server.   Lots of cheers and celebrations somewhat akin to a Nasa spacecraft entering the magnetic field of Jupiter.  We know how to celebrate! And here’s a thing, since we started highlighting the insanity and arrogance of “all …

Cardiff v Arsenal. It will be 0-3 to Arsenal but Cardiff will score.

By Bulldog Drummond Thus far, as we can see, Cardiff City have not been doing too well.   With two goalless draws and a 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth, plus a league cup defeat to Norwich. In short, they have quite simply been finding life harder than it was in the Championship.   And in a way, to …

Cardiff v Arsenal: culture shock, playing against 10 men, ground size, and no goals

By Bulldog Drummond The story thus far… Cardiff City v fresh orange juice and a touch of the Arsenal How journalists knew Özil was not ill, Mkhit’s travel issues and Cardiff v Arsenal Premier League Matchweek 4 – The Match Officials, the downfall of Madley and Cardiff v Arsenal Cardiff have picked up a couple …