Watching the Cup with one eye closed

By Tony Attwood Getting older is a bit of a pain, especially when bits of you start going wrong.  With me of late it is the eyes – but fortunately all can be fixed with cataract surgery. Thank goodness I live in the 21st century. Except, there is a period after the operation is done, …

Fa Cup : Mu – Arsenal 1-2, we are going to Wembley! Again

By Walter Broeckx A lot of changes compared with the team that beat QPR last Wednesday. Szczesny came in the place of Ospina and Koscielny and Monreal came in the place of Gabriel and Monreal. Oxlade-Chamberlain came in the palce of Rosicky and up front Welbeck came in the place of Giroud. The starting line …

Scholes joins the no-evidence “its true cos I say so” gang.

By Tony Attwood Paul Scholes has now set himself up as a spokesperson for the “Arsenal is in decline” movement claiming that “Over the years, the big players who were really ambitious – Vieira, Thierry Henry, Cesc Fàbregas, Robin van Persie – have all left, “They left for the simple reason that Arsenal are not in …

Arsène Wenger is more than a manager, he is part of the soul of our club

By Walter Broeckx From time to time I get interesting mails from people who send me links or extracts to things they have read on the internet. And I am grateful for this because I do tend to stay away from the serious media as much as possible but in order to be able to …

THE FA Cup Weekend – Match Officials

THE FA Cup Weekend – Match Officials by Andrew Crawshaw Taking the games in the order in which they are to be played Bradford City FC v Reading FC 12:45 Saturday 6 March – Live BT Sport Referee – Lee Mason Assistants – Michael Mullarkey and Marc Perry Fourth Official – Michael Jones Lee has …

Ref Review : Arsenal – Leicester

Ref for this match was Mike Jones Mr. Jones certainly wasn’t at his best in this match. After two early fouls not much happened till Upson pulled Alexis down with a holding offence around the neck when he could have gone one on one with the last defender in the middle of the goal was …

QPR and Everton, looking back at some good wins

By Walter Broeckx Before the match some people might have said that we should beat QPR with our fingers in our nose (as the expression is in my mother language). Meaning it should be an easy win.  One you don’t have to make any effort, just turn up and you will get the 3 points. …

The Lies the Media Fabricate and The Gullible Fans Who Spread Them

By Bootoomee I chuckled as I read Tony’s epiphany giving up on engaging the AAA in debates about the running of our beloved Arsenal Football Club. I have always gone with the less conciliatory approach of mocking when necessary because as an avid Internet comments reader and poster, I know for a fact that people who …

QPR – Arsenal, a story of two halves

By Walter Broeckx A few changes as one could expect but maybe not the changes one expected. Per Mertesacker comes back in the team in the place of Koscielny and so Gabriel stays in the team. I wonder if it has something to do with the tendonitis that Koscielny has and that maybe makes it …

All tonight’s results before they happen and QPR v Arsenal.

By Bulldog Drummond So here we are, nine points behind Chelsea with 11 games to play.  On the same date in 1998 we were 11 points behind with 12 to play.  And just like now, still in the FA Cup. In 1998 we’d had a fairly awful late autumn, winning two and drawing two league …

1984: it is forbidden to talk about referees. Part 2 – why it is wrong to stay silent

By Walter Broeckx First article on this can be found here In the previous article I looked at how one journalist in the Guardian was arguing that no one should be criticising referees. Continuing to look at that article I have to go to his words on saying that referees are needed just as crossbars …

QPR v Arsenal 4/03/15 – The Match Officials. “Pathetic one sided refereeing”

QPR v Arsenal 4th March 2015 – The Match Officials   by Andrew Crawshaw With this game so soon after the weekend, I have not been able to update the table of shame so it remains the same as for Sunday. Wrong Important Decisions Favouring Arsenal Favouring Opponents 2nd Yellow Cards 0 15 Red Cards …

1984: It is forbidden to talk about….referees – part 1

By Walter Broeckx I think I have mentioned the book 1984 before. As Tony has done many times.  It is not the best book I have ever read. But it is a very intriguing book. One that makes you want to look further than what the mass media are shoving down our throat. And one …

The evolution of Alexis and the evolution of the team

By Tony Attwood Is it all over for Alexis Sanchez?   He scored 12 goals in 24 Premier League games – but none in the last six.  Why’s that? It is worth looking at because there are early signs in the pubs outside the offices of our national daily papers that Sanchez has had it, he’s …

Beware this story about Arsenal support is boring and you’ve probably heard it before.

By Tony Attwood “That facts that nowadays the manager clearly hasn’t got a clue about how to set up a team tactically, that his ability to motivate his players is conspicuously lacking and that his Midas touch has gone into reverse, when it comes to developing talent, count for nothing when you consider his stellar …

Arsenal fans at home and away.

Arsenal fans at home and away.by pararealist. . Arsenal fans are a strange bunch. . First there are the away fans.  . They sing their hearts out for the team and give vocal support whatever is happening on the field. . Then there are the home fans. . Now, the home fans expect to be entertained …

Arsenal’s win ratio, two assists from Ozil, and the trick of body language

By Tony Attwood One of the things the children who run the mass media and lead their little camp of followers never quite understand is the essence of support.  It is emotional, tied to one’s tribe.  But us fans also tend to know our statistics.  And some of us have actually read a book or …

Arsenal – Everton, the match we had to win

By Walter Broeckx A few changes compared to our last match. Gabriel comes in the team and Mertesacker drops to the bend and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain comes in the place of Danny Welbeck. Cazorla will be the captain for this match today. So the team was : Ospina, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Gibbs, Coquelin, Cazorla, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil, …

Arsenal v Everton. Teams and recent stats compared. (And Chelsea)

By Bulldog Drummond And so it goes.  The world as two groups of people.  Those who understand the notions of context and history, and those who think that the only thing that matters is what has just happened. I’m reminded of a few acquaintances who I had earlier in my life, who on hearing some …