So what is wrong with PL refs: a case study Jones

by Walter Broeckx I’m waiting eagerly the moment when we have a referee Smith in the PL. Reminds me of an old series on TV. But for now we have to do with ref Jones. Let us take a look at how the teams do when he is in charge of their games. Again a …

Match Review: Neil Swarbrick – Arsenal Vs Everton (0 – 0) [16/04/2013]

Match Review: Neil Swarbrick – Arsenal Vs Everton (0 – 0) [16/04/2013] If you are new to this site and this is your first visit then please: Read this to fully understand our reviews. Today’s referee is Neil Swarbrick MATCH REVIEW DETAILS – Neil Swarbrick (2013-04-16) Period 1 Min Type From On C/NC Reviewer Comment …

The DNA isn’t always purer on the other side of reality. Cesc back? Mr Wenger to PSG?

Rumours, rumours – by Billy the Dog McGraw The story of Cesc Fábregas was that he had the DNA of Barcelona in his blood. Well some of his blood anyway.  Red blood cells don’t have DNA in them, which is a statement I would have used had Barcelona employed me as a copywriter, during the …

PL refs’ case studies: Friend

by Walter Broeckx Next in our attempt to bring some statistic line in the referee world we will have a closer look at referee  Friend and how the teams are doing in general and when he is around. First let me explain in short the average, under and over thing you see in the last …

Match Review: Andre Marriner – Fulham Vs Arsenal (0 – 1) [20/04/2013]

Match Review: Andre Marriner – Fulham Vs Arsenal (0 – 1) [20/04/2013] If you are new to this site and this is your first visit then please: Read this to fully understand our reviews. Today’s referee is Andre Marriner MATCH REVIEW DETAILS – Andre Marriner (2013-04-20) Period 1 Min Type From On C/NC Reviewer Comment …

Arsenal v Manchester U: what it felt like being there.

By Tony Attwood The whole guard of honour thing passed off in a jiffy – and one started to wonder what on earth the whole fuss was about. The last time I saw it, when the roles were reversed and Manchester U clapped Arsenal onto the pitch, I don’t think there was any fuss made …

Arsenal v Man U. The dog speaks

By Billy The Dog McGraw Dennis Bergkamp and I were able once again to catch up at his allotment just off the North Circular Road it is was in the potting shed that we chewed the fat about Manchester United plans to sign Borussia Dortmund striker Robert Lewandowski. Our issue was not that he would …

Why Robin VP isn’t quite so important as we might imagine

Here’s the league table as we go into the game against Man U: 1 Man United 34 27 3 4 78 35 84 2 Man City 34 21 8 5 61 31 71 3 Arsenal 34 18 9 7 65 35 63 Last season’s final table showed us ending seven points above this having scored …

So have Man United benefited directly from Referees this year and to what extent.

So have United benefited directly from Referees this year and to what extent. By Andrew Crawshaw I have analysed all of the available Referee Decisions reviews of the United games from the start of the season up to the Everton game on 10th February, 21 games in total.  I am commenting on them in sequence …

The best solution to that irrelevant guard of honour

By Walter Broeckx I think that the most used word this week on any Arsenal blog, twitter account, facebook group will have been “guard of honour”. Hell we even wrote about it. I have stayed out of this debate for a while. Because well I think that this “guard of honour” thing is irrelevant. First …

An open letter to Brendan Rogers about Luis Suarez.

Disciplining the man versus the offence by Gordon Haverland Sir, Your recent comments to the press were inappropriate; my hope is that this letter will help you understand exactly why, and how.  I also hope it might in some way help Uefa and Fifa  alter their requirements for professional coaches. While football is a contact …

When Chelsea get a new manager they spend big.

By Tony Attwood Mr Wenger made a comment this week that quite a few newspapers have picked up on.  In essence the comment is that once Chelsea have their new manager in place they will start spending big time. Fernando Torres  said on Wednesday that he thought Chelsea would sign  Atlético Madrid’s Radamel Falcao, especially …

Match Review: Michael Jones – Arsenal Vs Norwich City (3 – 1) [13/04/2013]

Match Review: Michael Jones – Arsenal Vs Norwich City (3 – 1) [13/04/2013] If you are new to this site and this is your first visit then please: Read this to fully understand our reviews. Today’s referee is Michael Jones MATCH REVIEW DETAILS – Michael Jones (2013-04-13) Period 1 Min Type From On C/NC Reviewer …

So what is wrong with PL refs: case study – Dowd

by Walter Broeckx Next in our series is a ref we will see very soon at the Emirates. Famous for the, well, famous game at Newcastle and probably the reason why most Gooners have the “oh no” reaction when they hear that Dowd is the ref. But is this sentiment a sentiment that is backed …

Arsenal reportedly closing in to swoop and splash cash as club linked in race for troubled target switch and chase for eyed hit man

By Billy the Dog McGraw The game was to find all the silly words and phrases that blogs use instead of English when talking of transfers, and then put them into one sentence.  The words and phrases we took were splash cash linked target race switch chase/ chasing eyed hit man shot-stopper swoop reportedly closing …

Calciopoli in England: the evidence.

By Walter Broeckx After the former articles about Calciopoli I want to use this one to give a kind of resumé about what cheating is happening or could be happening, taking Italy as the model. As you will have seen the cheating was not that much that the ref appointers phoned a ref and told …

Deducting points, a coin throwing player, and premeditated crime by a corrupt system

By Tony Attwood 20 October 1990: a little bit of argy bargy was described by saliva dripping journalists as a “21 player brawl”.   Arsenal won 1–0 and went on a staggering run (losing just one match all season) winning the league for the second time in three seasons. The League set up a commission …

Match Review: Howard Webb – West Bromwich Albion Vs Arsenal (1 – 2) [06/04/2013]

Match Review: Howard Webb – West Bromwich Albion Vs Arsenal (1 – 2) [06/04/2013] If you are new to this site and this is your first visit then please: Read this to fully understand our reviews. Today’s referee is Howard Webb MATCH REVIEW DETAILS – Howard Webb (2013-04-06) Period 1 Min Type From On C/NC …

Calciopoli – Can corruption happen in the PL? – Part 3

By Walter Broeckx After part 1 and part 2 which can be read when you click on the links I now want to talk more specific about the referees. I have said on a number of occasions that the referee’s world is a closed world where pressure can be put on referees. They will not …

Why Arsenal fans should applaud Manchester United’s title winning side on Sunday

Why Arsenal fans should applaud Manchester United’s title winning side on Sunday By Drew Gray One might well ask why, especially on a site so loyally supportive of all things Arsenal, should any Arsenal fan suggest that we clap the team that used to be our bitter rivals for the championship? Well in my defence …

Is it football that is mad or the whole of society? Or just me?

By Tony Attwood Consider, if you have a moment, 13 incidents. 1:  A Newcastle fan apparently punched a police horse. 2.  Millwall fans fighting, and the allegations flow in.  It was due to tickets being sold to fans of other clubs who deliberately came along for a fight.  Err, no it wasn’t.  OK it was …

Four games to go, comparisons with last season at this point, and get ready for Bellerin.

By Walter Broeckx As we approach the end of the season it is time to have a look at a few things. After playing 34 games how do we compare to last season? If we look at the most important criteria we see that we have one point less than last season. We then had …

Angelic Albion; sweet home of all that is right in football

Angelic Albion Don McMahon As anyone who has been an  official in a Professional competitive league well know, the political and moral decrepitude and turgidity that officiating at a high level entails is astounding. But then add to that the following: 1)  Top game officials have the potential to clandestinely alter the outcome of any …

Calciopoli – Can it happen in the PL? – Part 2

By Walter Broeckx I hope you have read part 1 and if not please do. You can find it here. Now Moggi and his accomplices Pairetto and Bergamo had a lot of power over the referees. It is said that they could make or brake a ref. One example is Gianluca Paparesta. He was under …