FFP rules: is Arsenal responsible for them? part 1

By Walter Broeckx Whenever Untold Arsenal writes an article about FFP rules we have a few supporters of other clubs who try to shine their light on the subject from their point of view. We have a few of them who give their point of view in a well educated way and I think nobody …

Eduardo II. Carlos Vela is on his way back

By Tony Attwood Last year Flamini, this year Vela. But ooops, sorry, the end of the headline got missed off – it should have been “Carlos Vela is on his way back – according to reports.” Last season when the word first went around the Flamini was on his way back I was disbelieving – …

Football’s Prune of the Year Awards

By my thinking, Arsenal did quite well this year.  OK I have a load of criticisms about the running of the stadium, and I have dealt with these elsewhere, but to win the FA Cup and come 4th in the league, when faced with such an outbreak of injuries seems pretty good going to me. …

The season’s impression: Midfielders everywhere, the little one

By Walter Broeckx The first 6 positions I talked about were rather simple in terms of personnel.  Keeper, right back, 2 central defenders, left back; even a defensive orientated midfielder. The only other position that is easy to talk about apart from that is that of the central striker.  So we have a few other …

This summer’s transfers: Chelsea reveal just how deep FFP is hitting

By Tony Attwood There are now two types of club in each league of English football.  Those that are calculating every financial move from the viewpoint of how it affects their FFP standing, and those who have the view that “we’ll sort that out when we get to it.. Man City and Liverpool look at …

Sepp Blatter accuses Fifa critics of “discrimination and racism”

By Sir Hardly Anyone Our Man On The Spot. If you ask me this Fufa sponsorship lark is a bit of a pesky business, not least when you simply start asking the question: who the fifa sponsors the fufa WC? Read the press, and you will be told that “Sony, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Visa and Hyundai/Kia” …

The season’s impressions: the non-existent defensive midfielder

By Walter Broeckx I think it was in the days of Song that I wrote an article about that illustrious position: the defensive midfielder. I then wrote that well Arsenal don’t really play with a defensive midfielder. Certainly not Song. Song was more a box to box midfielder. He might have been destined to become …

The Emirates Stadium management is a shambles and needs sorting now

By Tony Attwood Arsenal can be proud of the Emirates Stadium. I’ve not been to every single Premier League ground, but I’ve been to most, and most of the Championship, plus many lower league grounds, and even with the Arsenal-tint to my eyes reduced to the lowest possible level I can say it is the …

The season’s impression: Kos the Boss

By Walter Broeckx In this review series of the season where we have talked first about the goalkeeper, then we moved to right back and after a perfect change of wing we went to the left back. Who passed it on to the usually right placed central defender and now we go to the one …

We are the vampires. Football from the heights of elation to the depths of despair

by Tony Attwood . How strong are you? I mean really, how strong? When I wrote an article on the Arsenal History Society site about Paul Vaessen’s life earlier this year I received an email back from a regular reader asking that if I was going to publish something as moving and ultimately tragic as …

What has happened to Arsenal’s under 21s and under 18s?

By Tony Attwood The under 21 league and under 18 league puzzle me and I’d like some help seeing where Arsenal are going with them. I was going to write about this before the FA came along and adapted an old Untold idea of using Premier League reserve teams in the lower reaches of the …

The season impression: One Big F****** German

By Walter Broeckx When I started this series I didn’t know the result of the player of the season poll amongst Arsenal supporters. As I came to the part of the central defenders I just found out that you (that is if you are a Gooner and voted on arsenal.com) have seen what I have …

Could Leicester and QPR be relegated to League one?

By Tony Attwood Sometimes emails to Untold ask why we spend so much time on FFP when the real issue is who Wenger is about to buy. One reason is that this is Untold – Untold deals with the stuff others ignore – and if ever there was something that is largely being ignored by …

Let’s (not) talk about Cesc; the end of season supporters’ meeting

Let’s (not) talk about Cesc Ivan: Arsenal supporters end of season event Last night, as a member of Arsenal Independent Supporters Assn  I went along to the Emirates for the annual end of season Q&A with Ivan Gazidis and a trio of Arsenal legends. Having enjoyed a glass of wine courtesy of the club and …

The season’s impression: two for the left

By Walter Broeckx Continuing our series where we give our impression on the different positions and the players linked to this position we move over to the left. And there we find one player who played most of the matches and that was Kieran Gibbs and his back up was Nacho Monreal. Let us start …

The world cup prelims and the horror show starts

By Tony Attwood Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sustained suspected ligament damage to his right knee in the England draw with Ecuador.  After a season hampered so seriously by injuries that Arsenal, the club that pays his wages, hardly got to see him, Alex has now been injured in what is laughingly called “a friendly.” Alex will have …

England are playing. Fingers crossed – no injuries but quite a few laughs

Please please please no injuries to Arsenal players in foreign parts… Launching the Untold World Kup review analysis and full details, prepared for your delectation by our very own man with a spot, Sir Hardly Anyone. Over to you Sir Hardly… Hello and welcome to the #RioChallenge Live Blog, brought to you by Strongbow. We’re …

The seasons impression: right back but probably not bac(k)

By Walter Broeckx After having looked at Szczesny in goal we now move on to the right back position. A position that seems vacant for the moment. But this article is about the past but I will probably come back to the future later. If you are still with me in the present. I think …

England is the centre of match fixing – Sky focussing on total denial

By Tony Attwood On 30 May 2014 the Sky Sports website ran this headline English football is free from match-fixing, says FIFPro survey and continued, “English football has sent a clear and positive message that it is free from match-fixing, according to Professor Andrew Harvey, the head of a comprehensive survey by FIFPro.” It is …

Clubs to benefit from Man C folly; Premier FFP is next

By Tony Attwood Michel Platini and Uefa general secretary Gianni Infantino are engaged in discussions with Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chair of the European Club Association over what to do with the fines that the clubs guilty of not meeting FFP sanctions are going to be paying. The issue of these fines is one of significance in …

Who Arsenal are buying this summer (the “vapour transfer” phase)

By Tony Attwood, all the newspapers, and a pin stuck in them at random. After all the excitement about all these players we are going to sign, we find that no, they are all going somewhere else. Cesc in particular is going to Chelsea, so we are told, and lots of bloggers are ready with …

CL qualifying rounds talk or transfer talk, the choice is simple

By Walter Broeckx During the silly transfer period rumours that are spouted at a tempo that even would make Usain Bolt look like a turtle we can always try to look a bit further and look at the prospect that awaits us next season. Talking about silly transfer rumours. I went on twitter and within …

Why the British nations should have left Fifa long ago.

By Tony Attwood In England there is a big fuss going on – but some of the facts are of course hidden. The key fact that is mentioned is that Qatar is accused of spending a few million pounds in bribes in order to secure the world cup in a few years time. The other …