Tag: Arsenal
Wishful Sinking: Why We Should forget van Whatsisname.
Us Gunners are a passionate bunch. No doubt about it. And competitive rivalry between clubs is an essential part of being a supporter. But, in the same way that we run the club with solid principles, and play the game with a sense of style, so should we, I believe, conduct ourselves in an appropriate manner.
The Sting In The Tale
The Arsenal fairy tale du jour is that Ian Wright, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp AND Robin van Persie all opened their Arsenal league goal-scoring accounts against Southampton…
Fools Rule (Part 2) – On Branding
They say we are all dying from the moment we’re born. Likewise: from the moment a player signs for us, he is already heading for the door. I have a solution for this – which may sound harsh – but I do believe that if it is performed humanely, it may solve the problem…
Back on Track
After two goalless draws with Sunderland and Stoke in the first games of the season, Arsenal finally found their feet and got back on track with a convincing win at Anfield against Liverpool. I had my doubts prior to kick off – mainly regarding our third-choice keeper Vito Mannone – but also recognizing that something just didn’t quite work in the offensive department in the past couple of games. Something was missing: probably the best way to describe it is that our new players weren’t “clicking”.
You could see it best against Stoke, I suppose. We had our three new gunners in attack – Olivier Giroud took up the Center Forward role, Lukas Podolski played on the left and Spanish wizard Santi Cazorla played in the hole behind the striker. But in that game something wasn’t gelling: they seemed to be confused about movements off the ball, what each other’s position limits were, and who was allowed to float, where, and when.
Combine that with the fact that it was Abou Diaby’s first full game in god knows how long, and that he was understandably fighting rustiness. This situation led to the fact that two … Read More »
THE TOWER
“Misery, distress, indigence, adversity, calamity, disgrace, deception, ruin.
It is a card in particular of unforeseen catastrophe.”
Hmmm. Maybe I need to find a more optimistic Tarot deck. It’s behaving rather like a black-bag-Gooner at present… The urge to ‘cheat’ and draw another card was almost irresistible, but I guess there is an Arsenal-appropriate lesson to be learned by accepting the hand I’ve been dealt, and making the most of it.
“Misery, disgrace, deception”
Do I wish that our traitorous captain hadn’t issued his foolish and ill-advised Independence Day statement? Yup. Do I regret that he backed his Manager, his Club, into a corner – forcing them to sell him to the only club that showed interest? Yes, sirree. And most of all: do I regret that that club was our sworn enemy? Of course I do.
I would have loved to have seen him be true to his many words, and only win trophies with his beloved childhood club. For a gray-haired, glass-ankled donkey, he sure had a great last season – “dragging us over the finish line” (with a little help from his friends…) But the donkey has joined the Dark Side and gone off to join Shrek at you-know-where. Too … Read More »
Adversity Alex Song Arsenal Busby Babes Calamity Cazorla Champion's League Clichy Deception Dennis Bergkamp Diaby Disgrace Distress Donald Rumsfeld Fabrice Muamba Giroud Heysel Stadium Hillsborough Indigence Leonard Cohen Misery Nasri Podolski qualification Robin van Persie Ruin St. Totteringham's Day Tragedy traitor Transfer window Trophies Unforeseen Catastrophe Wilshere
In Arsene We Trust?
Arsenal’s 2011-2012 season was hell. There is no other way to put it. It was a complete inferno.
It began with months of speculation over three key first-team players: Captain Cesc Fabregas, and the two first-team regulars, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri. The Spanish master went to his boyhood club Barcelona, while the French couple went off to fulfill their futures at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester. Incoming transfers were last minute and unconvincing, with yet another two raw youngsters coming into the squad, and the mandatory Wenger Ligue-1 star signing in Gervinho.
All this was followed by a very shaky pre-season, which saw the team losing its own Emirates Cup, failing to win against lesser sides such as Boca Juniors and New York Red Bulls, and eventually losing to Benfica as well in the Eusebio Cup. After this kind of pre-season, fans already knew something isn’t right.
But even before that, things were not looking very positive at all for Arsene Wenger and the club. The team had failed to win a single domestic or international title for the past seven years, and speculation regarding Le Professeur’s future at the club was … Read More »
VI * THE LOVERS (reversed)
“Failure, foolish designs”
***
Aaah. That magical number, 49… The number of games the Invincibles went unbeaten. A number that is unlikely to be breached in the near future, unless the Man City Oilers or the Chelsea Mobsters, or some other hideously wealthy club decides to buy every top player available and benches all but their Chosen XI, thereby eliminating the competition entirely.
Could happen.
There are a few top division clubs who could field two perfectly competitive First Teams from their 25-man squads, their benches are that ‘deep’. Then again – there’s depth, and then there’s d e p t h…
Looking in from the outside, (as I am), it seems a little skeezy. A bit like having a spare jet. You know: overkill. What with the insurance, maintenance and finding a spare parking spot at the airport… But this new breed of ultra-wealthy superclub seems to subscribe to the “Waste, want.” school of thought, rather than the “Waste not, want not” ideal that binds those of us more financially …um …retarded.
To them it makes sense. Nothing but the best. Actually, that’s not entirely true. Nothing but a few of the best, more like.
Anyhow. I digress. Where was I? Oh yes: 49. That magical … Read More »
