By Walter Broeckx So there we have it… just as I predicted. I know it is getting a bit boring. But it is a fact that I predicted it would happen. And it happened again. Another player injured because of the PGMO referees not doing their job. And as the media always tells that it …
Read More “When Dean is ref the chance of an Arsenal player being out for months is 300% more than with any other ref”
By Walter Broeckx So who can we meet… and who not if the CL groups as they now stand were to be the final tables in each group? If that is the case Arsenal would be second in our group so we have to see at the other top teams in the group to see …
Read More “Champions League update and possible opponents”
By Walter Broeckx I will not deny that we had a poor start to the season. I will not deny that the matches since Anderlecht were not idea in terms of the results if nothing else. Because I thought that we played rather impressively against Manchester United but we were wasteful with the chances that …
Read More “After a match like this it is easy to be a supporter”
By Tony Attwood Chris Bascombe writing in the Telegraph has said that, “We live in an age where the default position is to be offended by the continued employment of those we don’t consider to be as complete human beings as ourselves. There are now offices full of recent graduates dedicated to a daily web …
Read More “15 consecutive years and we are getting worse”
By Walter Broeckx Well, well well. This must be a dark night for the dark siders. How on earth did the impossible just became possible. The setting before this match was: Wenger is clueless. Klopp is a master tactician who would bring Arsenal to another level. Possible but not really their current Bundesliga level if …
Read More “This can’t be possible… well it is actually”
By Bulldog Drummond In the past we used to have specialists, like brain surgeons, bricklayers and baby minders. Now it seems everyone knows and can do everything. So after weeks of all those people who have never managed even a little team, knowing more about tactics than a man who has won eight major trophies …
Read More “Yesterday everyone was a tactician, today they are all psychologists”
By Tony Attwood So we have an interesting duality. On the one hand we can show that Dean made some terrible decisions in the match last weekend. One the other hand we can see that the TV commentary did not reflect this terrible performance by the ref. On a third hand (clearly there are aliens …
Read More “That difficult question “why?” and a lot of rumours”
By Walter Broeckx In their haste to blame Wenger for: 1. Welbeck missing a first chance (AWshould have bought Falcao instead of Welbeck 2. Welbeck missing another header seconds later (see it’s AW his fault should have bought…. 3. Welbeck shooting to weak (see AW should have….) 4. Jack Wilshere missing the easiest of chances …
Read More “Dean Did It Again. We present the proof of his “errors””
By Walter Broeckx Let me start by saying that I would love it if the ticket prices at Arsenal would drop. I would be very happy with that. As for most people it is expensive. And as most of Europe is in not the best economical conditions (certainly my country is doing badly we are …
Read More “It’s cheaper at the Emirates. Arsenal ticket prices and the hidden facts”
On Saturday I eschewed nearly all of my pre-match rituals and we lost to the worst United team since the dawn of time (or sometime in the 1970s I think). Why did I stop? Well because for most of the season they haven’t worked and frankly I’d reached the point (it was Anderlecht at home …
Read More “A confession: when we lose it is all my fault. Football rituals and me”
By Tony Attwood An Arsenal match is, for journalists, a moment for making stuff up… or if not that then a moment for exaggerating and giving undue emphasis to some events while ignoring others. I’m wondering what we can do to stop it. For example the David Hytner Guardian piece today says: “An Arsenal supporter …
Read More “Football Betrayed: would public flogging be a fair punishment for football journalists?”
By Tony Attwood Last season there was mass wild ravings from the AAA and their backers in the mass media, to the effect that Olivier Giroud was no good, useless, a waste of space, tedious, pointless and various other things that I’m too busy to mention. I replied once or twice with an analysis which …
Read More “Giroud on the button”
By Walter Broeckx As I had other obligations this evening to which I had committed myself I had to stop watching the match at half time. We had booked tickets for a stand up comedian who not just was telling jokes but who also talked about some not so happy things in her life. And …
Read More “Bizarre… the game, life, my feelings….”
By Bootoomee I have not written any article for a while now because I have had no issue that I feel strongly about enough to spur me into writing one….well, until I received this from a friend in London. This is attention-seeking stunt from a group of individuals about some nefarious act that a PRIVATE …
Read More “Maybe AST Should Be Running Arsenal Football Club”
By Tony Attwood, Quite often it seems that football moves at an extraordinarily slow pace. Or at least that is how it seemed to me on returning to England from Australia to find a bit of a broohaha exploding about the fact that a group of the worst musicians in England played (I use the …
Read More “Being ahead of the game, behind the time and raging against the dying of the light.”
By Andrew Crawshaw Before I go into this weeks officials, here is the table of wrong Important Decisions extracted from Walter’s referee reviews. Three wrong Important decisions from the Swansea game, matching not given penalties and a not given red card to Ashley Williams at the start of the second half, a game changer if …
Read More “Arsenal v Manchester United 22 November 2014 – The Match Officials: Mike Dean, Pilchard or Sardine?”
By Walter Broeckx On the website arsenal.com on Thursday we could find some good news. The first good news wasn’t mentioned at all and that I think is good news. Some have said that Welbeck got a knock against Scotland in the international match and hobbled before coming off. Hodgson said afterwards that there shouldn’t …
Read More “Giroud and Walcott back, a whole backup attack available”
by Don McMahon Inspired by an article that Tony recently penned and as a follow-on to my recent articles dealing with the ins and outs of refereeing, I felt it was apropos to present a brief overview of more of the tricky and difficult path an aspiring referee has to travel to get to the …
Read More “ON BECOMING A REFEREE…….”
By Walter Broeckx In an article in the Daily Telegraph yesterday under the header: “Jack Wilshere: I want to play in holding role for Arsenal like I do for England, but Arsène Wenger will not let me”. Now that is what I call an interesting question. Could he? Would he? Can he? Will he? Playing …
Read More “Playing Jack as DM midfielder: is he the beast?”
By Bob MacDonald Van Gaal has followed on from Fergie and Moyes in playing quite a strict 4-4-2 formation, though he has changed slightly to a diamond midfield, not that you can actually notice. The basis in their system is that the wide MF actually play as wingers (here come the Dinasoars) attacking and defending …
Read More “The Untold tactical preview: UNITED – AND HOW THEY WILL PROBABLY PLAY”
By Walter Broeckx As far as I could find out all the Arsenal players have played their matches for their national teams and weren’t injured! An unseen achievement for Arsenal. Probably Wenger’s fault…. And when looking back at their performances one can say that in general they did rather well. Jack Wilshere was again voted …
Read More “No reports of any injuries for the moment”
By Tony Attwood If anything seems to represent the style and approach of Professional Game Match Officials Ltd company which employs Premier League referees, it is a combination of complacency and secrecy, with a side order of arrogance thrown in. This is a most dangerous combination, because the secrecy inevitably leads to a lack of …
Read More “The extreme danger we face of PGMO doing nothing”
By Walter Broeckx We all have probably seen the headlines in the media that provoked a firm reaction. Headlines saying: Wenger will offer Diaby a new contract. One of them said: Abou Diaby will be offered new Arsenal deal if he regains full fitness, confirms Arsène Wenger. With an accent of course but I …
Read More “Offering Diaby a new contract or not, what Wenger really said”
By Tony Attwood Although I don’t want it soon, one day it will happen. Mr Wenger will leave Arsenal. So who will we get? Will Arsenal do a Man U, and appoint a seemingly decent manager, fail to give him the proper support he needs, and then chop his head off after a year, wasting …
Read More “13 men who might or might not take over after Arsene Wenger”
By Walter Broeckx I think it was halfway September that I for the first time predicted that we would have Dean for our match against Manchester United. And who did Mike Riley appointed for this match this Monday? Yes, the Untold prediction on referees once again was spot on. Mike Dean it will be. In …
Read More “As predicted by Untold months ago… the ref for Arsenal – MU”