Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Supporting the Lord Wenger in all he does » 2009 » April

Is it now or is it the future?

There is a comment on this blog which reads thus…

If Arsenal is very business like and is run like a business, then I think it’s time for Arsenal fans to think in business terms. What have we won in the last four years???? Is it okay for a business to have a good boss for the first 4 years but then go way off mark in the next four years????? WENGER HAS DONE NOTHING IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS, HE HAS CONTINUED TO SAY WE WILL TROPHIES AND HE HAS FAILED TO DELIVER. Surely in business you would be fired, regardless!!!!!!!

(The italics are mine, not the writer’s.)

Ever since I saw that comment I have been thinking about it. I am not within a billion miles of the Lord Wenger in terms of knowledge about football, but I do earn my living as chairman of a plc, so when it comes to business maybe I know one or two things. Not many, but one or two.

This year my company has lost in one year more than we earned in profits in the last four years. I have not got the slightest idea if we will be back in profit next year or the year after, but I know we will be eventually, and we will survive and come out back on top.

But (as far as I know) there is no pressure to have me removed, because those with an interest in the firm think mostly about the long term. (You’ll understand we are not in the financial industry, so we do think beyond 6pm each evening).

For more years than I ever care to remember we have brought in modest profits, raised salaries, had a good time, and survived through two previous recessions.

Let me try this from another direction: I can’t recall anyone ever saying “hey that Gilles Grimandi – bloody brilliant player.” The opposite in fact. But he did a job when playing, and more than that he also then became the most important regional scout we have ever had – the scout for France. Without him some of our greatest players would simply not be there.

The Grimandi situation was long term – and it has benefited the club. The notion that Wenger should go now is short term.

There is also the story about Sir Alex F Word who had a really bad start with Manchester Bankrupt where the club was on the verge of sacking him – but he won a cup game and survived. If the supporters who wanted him out had been believed he would have gone elsewhere.

The timing is not the issue – Ferguson was early on in his era, Wenger is trying to build another successful squad, in my own small way I’ve been with the company for years and years and am trying to invent a new solution to our current downturn.

The issue is simply long or short term.

There is a story which the Lord Wenger himself tells about his early days in Japan. It goes something like this.

He wanted to change the club dramatically and change the style of play. He did it – but the results were awful, and the club lost game after game. Eventually the chairman called him in (after something like six successive defeats) and said, “There is a problem”.

The Lord Wenger said, “Yes there is – I am having trouble putting my ideas across to the players. They don’t understand what I want.”

The chairman said, “Yes we must make a change.”

The Lord Wenger said, “Do you want me to resign?”

The chairman said, “No – I thought we might need to sack your translator.”

So it goes – short term or long term. I have watched Wenger give us two doubles and the unbeaten season. I am seeing a magnificent new team develop. I see the speed and pace and belief return. I have watched most of the 20 games unbeaten. And I think, “yes – more please”.

Others want a trophy today – or else change. Each person to his own – but I stay with my belief.

So what did Man U & Arsenal get for their money

Watching the match between the Bankrupts and Arsenal suddenly led me to think of two very contrasting transfers. On the one hand in the summer of 2007 the arrival of Nani and Anderson to Manchester B for £30 million. On the other the arrival of Nasri to Arsenal for around £12m last summer.

The Nani and Anderson buys were quite shocking in one way, not just because of the cost, but because they were done virtually on the first day of the transfer window, as if the Bankrupts were saying, “Beat That”. The Nasri deal however seemed to go on and on and on, and when it was concluded it hardly caused a ripple.

So what did Manchester get for their money? I am not a detailed follower of the affairs in the north, but I am not 100% sure these two have made £30 million worth of impact since then. Nor to me is there much sign that this is happening.

Nasri on the other hand does impress. Starting as a winger he is turning into… well what? There was a moment just on the hour mark in the Euro Semi at the 99 year old Trafford when he reminded me of Robert Pires.

I know that’s odd, because there’s not too much similarity between the two, except that Nasri did something that Pires used to do – he went for a wander across the pitch from one side to the other, shrugging off attempts to remove the ball, and just waiting for the right pass.

Pires did this at the start of his second year with us, and from that point on there was no stopping him. The difference with Nasri is that he can tackle as well (Pires only tackled once, when he disposessed Vieira in the Euro Cup game).

Nasri is looking something of a bargain at this moment – remembering it is his first season here, and the players that do very well tend to blossom after the first year. Nani and Anderson looked like wonder signings at huge expense, but…. would they still command that combined figure of £30 million? I am not sure.

But a player who plays out wide in midfield, and can then go for a wander, and can on occasion play centre midfield, now that is someone who seems to be worth his weight in the yellow stuff.

Tony Attwood

We’re under attack

It is interesting that there are occasions when it seems to me that the FA and EPL ought to do something (to maintain the balance as it were) and they don’t. For example there are the regular attacks by clubs such as Manchester Bankrupt and the Tiny Totts against refs. We heard a lot of this over last weekend, but rarely, if ever, do they get called to account.

This was brought into focus when I watched the film of Arsenal winning the league title at Manchester Bankrupt’s ground. If you watch the opening ten minutes of that game you see the most awful assaults on Arsenal players and yet the ref does nothing and I don’t recall the EPL taking the tactics up.

I’m tempted to take the issue back to the early days of Arsenal as a professional club, when the FA forbad other London teams (all of them amateur) from playing Arsenal in any competition but the FA Cup.

Woolwich Arsenal brought professional football to London, and indeed Henry Norris (who bought the club 99 years ago) regularly called them “London’s senior professional team”.

I’m not going to suggest that the original feud still goes on, but it really doesn’t look like a very even playing field in terms of the way in which different clubs are treated by the powers.

On a different matter… my apologies if you have written a comment to Untold Arsenal and then found it did not appear.

I would reassure you, all pieces that debate or discuss concerns of this site do get published. The problem is that in the last week the site has come under attack from a group of people who have worked out a way to get through the usual sort of wall that sites have in order to post inappropriate pieces.

For the moment, if you put a link anywhere in your post, it will be held for moderation, no matter how many posts you have sent through before, just while I work out the best way to fix this. I try and moderate fairly regularly, but there is the small matter of work and family affairs to get on with, so there can be delays. Sorry if it causes a problem – I will get it sorted.

Tony

We simply can’t go on like this

You would think that with the team scoring a fair number of goals, winning almost every game, going 20 unbeaten, regularly putting out half a reserve side, being in the semifinal of the Euro Thing, and all with a very young team, people might be ok about that.

You would think that as the records start to tumble again, people would like that too. I am not at Attwood Mansions at the moment of writing, so don’t have access to my great library of Arsenal stats, but I have heard whispers that we have just equalled a 19th century record for home games without letting in a goal, and we have also beaten the EPL record for home games without letting in a goal.

You would think that…

But if you start reading some of the blogs, there are comments around that say that “next season is going to be as bad as this,” and that “all Wenger can do is promise more of the same – and that is not good enough”.

The fact is we had a not very good start to the season, and then had the midfield torn apart by injuries. We had a team that is getting better and better (compare Song, Denilson, Theo, Cesc, Nasri with how they were before). We have Eduardo and Arshavin who were missing earlier – ok I know Eduardo is not playing at the moment, but when we have seen bits of him it has looked brilliant.

We will have one or two come up through the ranks. We might even have a purchase or two.

What the Lord Wenger did this season was sort out the defence. He then sorted out the attack. Now we can have matches like today’s in which we don’t have Eduardo, Ade or VP (at least two of whom must be considered first choice), we don’t have Gallas, Clichy or Sagna. We’ve never had Rosicky. We didn’t have Song (although I find it amusing now that this is being commented on, when it was not that long ago that he was top of the “must sell” list. Such is life.

Anyway once again we have a shut out and stroll in the park.

Of course everyone to their own opinion, but for what it is worth, I thought today’s display was brilliant. OK, no one was going at it big time because of some little thing or other on Wednesday, and Middlesboro are not up to much, but even so. The style, the approach… it was all good stuff.

And if I am offered more of the same next year I will say, yup, please, here’s my money.

Incidentally, today’s outing in the park reminded me what a good full back Eboue is. And after Liverpool it was good to be reminded that Arshavin can also kick the air and hit the corner flag otherwise we might think him invincible.

Anyone know about these records, ancient and modern?

All the reasons why Cesc is guilty as charged

FA Regulations are quite precise in these matters, and sadly Cesc Fabregas is clearly guilty on a number of issues…

Regulation 28 (4) iii

A player who is not playing shall not enter on the field of play after the game is over for at least 30 minutes after the game. For clarity it should be noted that this regulation does not apply to the manager of Manchester United who is allowed to enter the field of play immediately after the conclusion of the game when playing Arsenal and rush across to the referee. The standard punishment for breaking this rule is the depositing of a barrel of seedless grapes over the head of the offending player.

Regulation 59 (21) iv

Players who are not playing in a match must be dressed at all times before during and after a match in a manner which is in keeping with native costume and tradition. Where there is doubt as to the interpretation of the rule, players should only wear costume in which they have been seen in public for more than 38 minutes during the past 17 days. The FA reserves the right to rule on the appropriateness of any costume, in order to fit its own whims, wishes and desire to annoy Arsenal.

Regulation 97 (2) ix

Players must not at any time show their teeth. Players may not smile. Players may not look. Players must not be pleased about anything. Anyone who breaks this regulation must sing “Life is just a bowl of cherries” in Flemish.

Regulation 183 (82) iii

The FA reserves the right to make up new regulations as and when it pleases and to apply them retrospectively.

Regulation 188 (1) iv

Players can be on the pitch at any time, providing they are not playing for Arsenal.

Regulation 284 (835) IX part 14

Any attempt by any player to suggest he (or she) is not guilty of any charge made up by the FA will result in the player being found guilty.

Regulation 388 (2) CLXXXi

There is no regulation 388 (2) CLXXXi and any suggestion that there is, or that there ever was, will result in the standard punishment.

Regulation 289 (1)

No one in the stadium may throw a coin at any time. Failure to abide by this regulation will mean banishment from all grounds for four years. This regulation does not apply to J Carragher of Liverpool who can throw coins at people in the crowd in a dangerous manner as much as he likes.

Regulation 399

The FA has a statutory obligation to waste millions upon millions of pounds on building a national stadium, which must be 3 years late in completion, and cost twice as much as budgeted. It is however strictly against the covenance of the FA for any money to be spent on the pitch prior to Arsenal playing there.

Regulation 399 (part 2)

Any Arsenal player who trains with England must be knocked around until he is so injured he has to miss the next four months of the season.

Regulation 399 (part 3)

Any player whose first name begins with C and whose last names begins with S and who is of Spanish persuasion, is guilty as charged.

Regulation 999

No player may bring the game into disrepute. There is no definition as to what this means, and the FA will decide exactly what it means as and when it likes and find Arsenal players guilty accordingly.

Regulation 9991.1

A player may play for England if he is born in England, if he has lived in England for five years, if he is a naturalised British citizen (even if he has never been to England), if his father was born in England, if his mother was born in England, if his maternal grandmother was born in England, if his maternal grandfather was born in England, if his paternal grandmother was born in England, if he paternal grandfather was born in England, if his mother has become a naturalised British citizen (even if she has never visited England) if his father has become a naturalised British citizen, if his paternal grandmother, paternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, or maternal grandfather have become naturalised British citizens (although no visit to England is required), if his father lived in somewhere in the UK but not necessarily England for more than five years, if his mother lived somewhere in the UK but not necessarily in England for more than five years, if his maternal grandmother lived somewhere in the UK but not necessariloy in England for more than five years, if his maternal grandfather lived somewhere in the UK but not necessarily in England for more than five years, and ditto for the paternal grandparents, if he was born in the Channel Isles or Isle of Man, or has right of residency there, or has parents or grandparents who live there or were born there.

Footnote

Some of these regulations are actually true although the numbering system has been changed because I couldn’t be bothered to look the real numbers up.

Pele, Bobby Moore, Perry Groves

I once described Eboue as a clown, and got lambasted like mad for it. What I actually meant to say was that I thought he had a wicked sense of humour like the best clowns – but no one wanted to know about my excuses and I was denounced repeatedly as a racist.

Perry Groves is another guy I’d describe in the same way, and fortunately he’s white, so I’m on safer territory here. But calling Perry a clown really annoyed my mate Roger, who thought there was no room for humour on the pitch, and by and large thought P Groves to be a prat. I would argue that we won more games when he was on the pitch than when he wasn’t – Roger accused me of including days when Arsenal weren’t playing in my calculations, just to boost the numbers.

I’m not sure when the song “We all live in a Perry Groves World” (to the tune of Yellow Sub) actually started – I obviously went to the wrong pub because I never heard it in the Duke of Edinburgh – but it suddenly started happening at the away games and I thought, “yeah – other people recognise him as a clown too,” and I meant it in the best possible meaning of the word.

Then a while back he made a revelation: when he was brought onto the pitch 20 years ago for the final game against Liverpool, George Graham gave him a detailed team talk which basically was: “Go out there and run around a lot”.

Perry did that very well – especially after the second goal went in.

Since then he has turned up on my radar next on two fronts. First his “We all live” book, which rightly was the football book of the year, and second his appearances on Arsenal TV, where instead of him burbling incoherently as I had expected (I just somehow never thought of him as an intellectual) he turned out to be one of the most astute analysts of the game in motion that I have ever heard.

Not knowing his voice I listened to his co-commentary and thought “bugger me” (not literally you understand) “who is this guy? He’s bleedin’ brilliant”). Step up Mr Groves.

So now we have a new book: Perry Groves’ Football Heroes. Subtitled “Twenty of the greatest goal-scorers, hardest tacklers and biggest rogues ever to grace the game.”

Having myself just finished writing “Making the Arsenal” (due for publication later this year, roll up roll up) I look on all new football books with disdain, proving to myself endlessly that I would have writ it better like.

But P Groves is fun. More, he’s funny. More still, he’s informative, and he brings back great memories. Take the chapter on Anders Limpar. Talking of the summer after beating Liverpool 2-0 in the last game Perry says, “George Graham realised he had to bring in new players, so he made three £1 million signings in the summer of 1990: David Seaman, Andy Linighan (neither of whom were going to keep me out the side) and Anders Limpar).”

In that little sentence you get the essence of the book. Maybe you remember that Linighan cost the same as Limpar and Seaman. Maybe you realised that Limpar arrived just when Groves was establishing himself as a central part of Arsenal. If so, clever you, cos I had forgotten.

There’s bits I am sure you won’t know though, even if you know everything. When the handbags game at Manchester came along and Arsenal got docked two points for pushing and shoving, lots of players got fined. George Graham (according to Perry) persuaded the board to fine him (George) too – to send out the right messages. Now that I definitely did not know. Nor did I know that when Limpar was at Everton he was idolised by one Wayne Rooney.

Tiny details, just bits and pieces, but that is what P Grove, writer, does as he tells you his story. He gives you the details that you missed in a way that very few footballers ever managed to. It’s good stuff.

Of course I hope “Making the Arsenal” outsells “Football Heroes” 10 to 1, but maybe you can afford to buy both. And “We all live in a Perry Groves World” as well. He is, as they say, the proverbial breath of fresh air.

Good on you Perry. I enjoyed every word.

“Perry Groves Football Heroes” published by John Blake Publishing £17.99 hardback.

Our magnificent defence, our magnificent youth team

In the last 2 years football has changed in the EPL.

There have always been teams that would try and play for a 0-0 draw, but the last couple of years has seen a huge rise in this tendency. This year in particular we have had team after team after team turn up and from the first second indulge in rotational time wasting, and related tactics.

We’ve even seen it at away games, when in the old days, the smaller clubs would at least make an effort.

As a result the four teams in the EPL (and there are only four) that go out to play, entertain and win, find that they end up playing only six or so games a year against a team that actually wants to win against them. (Actually you can’t call them the Big Four, because one of them has never won the EPL, isn’t in the Champs League semis, wasn’t in the Cup Semis and has got a hang-up on walking alone).

So, clubs like Arsenal have started to evolve new methods of trying to break down the “park the team bus in front of the goal” approach.

As a result, football has changed – particularly in terms of defence.

Football originally meant going out and trying to win. Now that is not the case, the four teams that try to win all their games are placing a greater emphasis on players who can do something against a packed defence. In terms of Arsenal that includes Theo with his speed and crosses, Ade with his ability to take a ball down in the midst of the crowd, Cesc with his incredible passing, VP with free kicks, and Arshavin with his sudden shots, and so on.

This change includes the further development of the overlapping full backs, and a more attack minded midfield (Diaby and Cesc sometimes turning up as centre forwards for example).

Which leaves the defence isolated and struggling.

The weaker teams in the EPL accept this, because they go for the 0-0 or even a goal on the break, as per Fulham for example.

And that’s why when you see games between the top four clubs they can be rather exciting affairs. Not always of course, but quite often. Arsenal against Manchester, for example. Manchester against Liverpool. Chelsea against Arsenal. And Liverpool against Arsenal – plus many more. But it is also why Chelsea against Everton, and the Manchester Everton cup game were so dull.

Defences left on their own as the rest of the team look for the opening to get the game going are bound to let goals in sometimes. The simple answer is to score more at the other end – and that is the emphasis now, especially at Arsenal.

Asking for Arsenal to sign ever better defenders is, to my mind, not the answer. There are always better defenders around, but not everyone can work the new system of holding a two man line against a team that gets in your half of the pitch four times in a game. And besides I’d sooner see us win 4-2 than 2-0.

On another matter: who will make it through from the yoof team now in the Yoof Cup Final? (We got over 9000 at the Ems for the semi – which is not that bad).

Suggestions are that Luke Ayling, Tom Cruise, Sanchez Watt, Jack Wilshere (of course), Francis Coquelin, Emmanuel Frimpong, Jay E-T, and Gilles Sunu all look good. But they can’t all come through the ranks can they? It would be a turn up and a half if they did.

Finally, a million thanks to our friends at GoonerNews for helping get us back on their listings. I changed the settings on this site, and they’ve helped restore the feed from us to them. There’s a link to Gooernews in the side bar of this site, in case you don’t know about them.

Next time: Perry Groves’ new book.

The Red Action flag & where the bloggers go wrong

Links to the Red Action flag at the end, as requested.

Meanwhile I am irritated, not at the fact that other bloggers have different opinions from me (that would be an odd thing to be irritated about), but rather at the fact that there is still rampant negative blogging about Arsenal all over the place.

I suppose what annoys me most is the stuff that pronounces that “Arsenal fans worried by…” and variants on that. My answer is no, I am not worried, and nor are quite a few people I know, and anyway who are you to tell me that I am going to be worried or ought to be worried. Some fans might be worried, but not all.

Take the defence. Silvestre’s no good apparently, Fabianski’s no good, Gibbs isn’t the finished article, and so on.

But imagine we had gone out and bought a completely ready to use second defence to step into broken shoes. What do those people do all season when no one is injured? Do they put their entire career on hold? Do they keep their form?

The reason that we have Clichy (for example) is down to two things. One Wenger’s ability to spot the talent and his persistence in buying the guy in when apparently his parents were worried about the move. The other is that he was willing to wait out his time because he was a teenager. Eventually A Cole got himself sent off at Leicester (flying Gilberto header down our end, remember that?) and Clichy came in and got some games.

But no seasoned pro would be willing to hang about as Clichy did. So we buy in young players and want to be at Arsenal and learn the trade.

What has happened this season is that we had a run of mid field injuries, and now a run of defence injuries. Both are unusual, (most seasons the injuries are more widely spread) and to get both in one season is virtually unprecedented.

As such, multiple injuries in one part of the team are unlikely to happen again, and we will be able to cope perfectly well. To suggest that our defence is going to be awful next season is nonsense. We will have our first team defence back, we will have one or two players stepping up from the reserves and the Carling Cup team, and of course there is always the chance of one transfer. If that transfer is of the quality of Arshavin, then we’ll probably be ok.

Meanwhile, it looks like being Liverpool again in the Yoooof Cup Final, after the slaughter of Manchester City (now that yoof team does look like one hell of a team to me. I’d be surprised if we didn’t see several break through from there.)

And finally, the flag.

I was asked to find some pictures andI am most grateful to various people at Red Action for supplying these links to the Red Action flag

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/9782/faflag.jpg

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/8537/clflag.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/b61ul4.jpg

Wenger’s greatest dream still not quite ready

Arsene Wenger’s great dream of producing a reserve team that can regularly beat Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United’s first team is almost ready to be unleashed on the world, but not quite.

Last night we went out with no Almunia, no Gallas, no Djourou, a clearly only half-working Sagna, no Clichy, no Van Persie, no Rosicky, no Eduardo, no Theo, no Ade.

In their places were a few first teamers and a bunch of reserves, and we took Liverpool to a 4-4 draw. The dream is almost there, and with luck we will make it happen next season. Two Arsenal teams, both capable of winning the title.

My friends and I went to the ground in our body armour, as befits a visit to Liverpool, and were turned away at the gate. Fortunately we had taken a translator with us who speaks “Wak” (the local lingo) and she pointed out that the man Carragher would be there, and that he had a track record of missile throwing from the pitch into a crowd of Arsenal supporters. But Liverpuddle people are not known for their ability to negotiate and so we had to divest ourselves of our gear before entering.

In the ground what struck me about the supporters of this team is their limited knowledge of tactics, and the finer points of off side rulings, but I suppose they are happy in whatever way people in the north west can be happy.

Fortunately we remembered to park ten miles outside the area in order to preserve the Rolls, but it proved to be impossible to get a taxi into the Anfield area (which is a very run down part of town) – it seems the cabbies have found that their hub caps and wheels can be removed in that area while they letting out their fare, so they don’t go there any more.

So we walked in, dodging the muggers, and eventually had a very jolly game, and we left to find our car safe and sound, and to ruminate on the issue of what might be next season. General consensus was that Arshavin played quite well.

(The truth is I have lost my voice and have injured both legs from jumping up and down, but one must put up with such minor matters as one endeavours to deliver a balanced report).

One other thing – I thought that Fabianski was bloody amazing last night. After being tortured by the slow running bumpy ploughed field at Wembley and by the commentators who don’t know anything about grass formations, he showed astounding guts, determination and style last night. Good one.

Rangers at the Emirates

I suspect I was taking one of my usual vacations on another planet when the news came through that this year’s Ems Cup will include Inter, PSG and Rangers.

I don’t support any particular Scottish team, and as I am not a Christian, I don’t fall on either side of the sectarian divide, so I don’t have a natural allegiance for or against Rangers.

There’s also no firm evidence on the matter, but I do hear regular comments to the effect that there is a extreme right-wing element within KGB Fulham’s support that also travel to watch Rangers, and would love to get access to a fair chunk of the Ems in order to cause mayhem. (I certainly have met a few right wing KGB supporters in the tube on occasion – not very nice people in my view).

Plus of course the people who went to Manchester for the last Diddly Widdly Cup final to support Rangers. I know that many people think that mass drunkenness in the streets is fine, but I’d sooner stay with what we have at the Ems at the moment.

Maybe I am exaggerating the problem – I had a look around to try and find some neutral commentary on this matter, and of course that is tough, but the same stories come up over and over, and by and large they are not happy reading.

So as I ponder tonight’s jolly jaunt to the Insolvents, and the equally jolly time to be had in the Yoooof Cup tomorrow, I just wonder what the thinking was of inviting a club like Rangers, that at least has an association with problematic behaviour.

What was the thinking? Is it money? (Rangers will buy as many places as they can). Did they ask to come? (Celtic are playing in Wembley) Did no one at our end look and ask about what happened in Manchester? Or is it just me getting all steamed in my old age?

Still, it is good to know life goes on as usual. One of the blogs I read this morning has a piece about Wenger having finally lost it because he is talking about the fact that we could still win the league. I seem to recall the same situation with the Unbeaten Season – indeed I still have the picture of him holding the grey t-shirt that poked fun at him; in fact I have still got one myself.

I like the Lord Wenger making all sorts of suggestions about future success. If he had never delivered it would be different, but he has, so he has earned the right. The Lord Wenger says that next season we should play on Pheobos (a moon of Mars) and I say fine, where do I buy my spaceship ticket.

And he’ll include Alex Song tonight – one of my two nominees at the start of the season in Highbury High as a player who will shine this year. Everyone thinks he’s ok now. No one goes on and on and on and on about Flamini (currently sitting on benches in Italy). Such is life.

Last thought: lovely piece about the owner of Fulham circulating today. He called the leaders of the FA and EPL a load of donkeys so one up to him. Interestingly he’s calling for a new maximum wage – which one of his predecessors (Henry Norris) spent most of his time as chair of first Fulham, then both Fulham and Arsenal, then Arsenal, trying to get rid of. (Norris believed that if you got rid of the maximum wage, salaries would go down).

Right, hat, scarf, boxing gloves, defensive helmet, hub cap security device, armoured car, tank, support vehicles… yup, it’s time to go to Liverpool.

MPs and FA hold Arsenal in contempt

There are clubs that owe an uncontrolled unmaintainable fortune, and those that don’t. Arsenal have a debt that declines year by year with the mortgage, the rest have debts so huge they can’t be refinanced and interest can’t be repaid.

And there are Arsenal supporters who think Arsenal should join these manic clubs, should buy and buy again, should play the best team every time, should never bring through youngsters and should not care a toss about preserving our team for the future.

The Lord Wenger does care about the team, but even he, with all his protection is faced with putting another reserve team out against Liverpool tomorrow. Keeper, two defenders and two centre forwards all out.

Next time the maniacs at the FA / EPL / FIFA et al start asking why we have a large squad we’ll just tell them: blame the internationals, blame the Wembley pitch.

As to the finance, the normally Neanderthal sports MPs accused three of the top four of “financial doping”.

They came up with 27 recommendations after a year long booze up which demand the end of the “ludicrous levels of borrowing”.

And the means by which they will enforce this perfectly reasonable measure? None. Nothing. Zero.

Instead they joined with that most corrupt organisation Fifa (corrupt as in “if you ask a question about my salary you will lose your press pass” (said by Blatter) and corrupt as in “FIFA lie and lie and lie” (said by a senior judge in the US)) by asking for scrutiny of business plans ahead of any club takeovers.

My goodness, they’ll be quaking in their boots at Very Old Trafford (build 1910).

And then just to show how utterly insane they are they go all racist and demand that “six-plus-five” is introduced in order to destroy Arsenal – the only top club that is not ruining itself with debt.

“The financial world has learnt a serious lesson in the last year that living by the old adage ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ can lead to catastrophic results.” (Labour MP Alan Keen).

Gibberish, sunshine. The financial world has learned nothing. While my company that has made a profit for 26 out of the last 30 years is asking for a very small overdraft facility from its bank, they are making a fuss about what we plan to do about the debts. As I said to them, “the question is, what you plan to do – you are the stupid fuckers who caused the problem.” (They told me it was improper language to use in a meeting between the board of a plc and its bank. I said that when talking to a bank it was the only language that might make them realise they were in the wrong.)

I thought Wenger called the game on saturday excellently, and I have to admit, hard though it is to say, Sir Alex F Word did too. Protect as many players as possible. The pitch was impossible, and as Talk Sport admitted today, had the pitch run true, Arsenal would have strolled out easy winners.

We should be grateful to Wenger that we have even half a team for tomorrow night, and we should be grateful to him that we have any sort of financial stability.

Liverpool don’t know where the next £350m will come from and one owner is bankrupt. Manchester B can’t repay the interest on their debts once again. KGB Fulham are dependent on the whim of a Russian whose fortune has just collapsed. West Iceland United were about to be given to the banks, and now the banks have said they don’t want a second rate football club, but they would like their money.

The great thing about tomorrow is that we have six players who can play forward (Eduardo, Theo, Vela, Bentdner, Arshavin, Nasri – seven if you include our number 2) and a similar choice in midfield. We are short at the back, true, but Gibbs is looking good, Sagna is available, Kolo is there, and Silvestre although not with much pace is solid. Not our first choice, but it can happen.

As for Fabianski, his performance before playing on a bumpy playground was fine – one bad game does not define a club, even though some newspapers on Sunday suggested it does.

If Arsenal are allowed to do it, I would like to see us pull out of any competition that ends with matches at Wembley. I don’t care how often they relay the pitch – the FA has shown again that it holds football in contempt. We, as supporters should do the same with any competition that they have anything to do with.

5th rate KGB Fulham + bent ref struggle to defeat Arsenal reserves

Despite using a very bent ref, and having the advantage of playing against Arsenal’s reserve defence, and playing on something that quickly became more akin to a ploughed field than a smooth playing surface, KGB Fulham could still only manage a 2-1 win against Arsenal.

It is quite obvious that any club that is a serious contender to be a club of quality would have been able to beat an Arsenal back five made up of second and third choice players – but they struggled continuously to make any sort of break through at all.

Despite being given an endless series of benefits from incidents where their team tripped, kicked, tapped, pushed, and pulled they simply couldn’t work out how to get through a solid Arsenal Reserve back five. Indeed some of the Reserves were injured making the whole set up extremely make-shift.

The result is a massive positive step for Arsenal showing how close their reserves are to being able to cope with the supposedly third best team in the country. It also means that there is considerable hope for the forthcoming league and Euro games in which some of the defence will soon be available once more.

There were other positives too.

First, a handball own goal by A Cole was very enjoyable. Second Arsenal will be spared playing on the dreadful Wembley pitch again this season. With the pitch cutting up as players tried to make normal moves around it, it is quite clear that in the other semi final and the final it is more than likely that someone will break an ankle.

Third, supportes of other teams can be sickened by the sycophantic ranting of dribbling twits on Setanta. (If you can find someone with a recording of any of the Setanta coverage, get a sick bag and then watch a few moments – which was all I could take.)

What should happen of course is that

a) the ref should be suspended pending a full enquiry into his behaviour

b) all football at the ground should be suspended pending the proven relaying of the turf, and the further proof that the ground will not cut up as players run about on it.

c) there should be a full enquiry into how so many seats remained empty when there was such a demand from Arsenal supporters for more seats.

d) Setanta should look at just how terrible their coverage was, scrap all plans for the final, and think again.

Will we get such enquiries? It is as likely as an apology from KGB Fulham for their behaviour.

Arsenal can however hold their heads high. We’re secure in 4th place with a phenominally young and exciting team, when the first team defence return we’ll be in much better shape and return to our habit of beating everyone, we are unlikely to have to play as bent a ref as this again this season, and several of our players have been rested ready for the battles to come and should be fighting fit shortly.

And we don’t have to play in that dreadful awful place again this season.

PS We should now be back on Gooner News – sorry if you missed us following the changes made to the site. We have continued publishing daily, and copies of past emails are available on this site.

The Wonderful Red Action flag & end of West Ham

I meant to write about this yesterday – I am hoping everyone saw, and approved of, the magnificent Red Action flag celebrating the multinational approach of Arsenal, and its constant stand against the “where were you born?” approach to football.

I knew it was going to be big – but not that big. It is brilliant, and I look forward to seeing it at every game. I also hope the TV cameras catch it because it symbolises everything the club is about with its emphasis on the history (with the club badge that us oldies remember) and on the world-wide reach of the club.

Thanks to everyone in RedAction for this.

Meanwhile in the world of humour, the long expected first crash of an EPL club is happening even as I write. West Iceland United is being handed over to the banks. But here’s the twist – en route the club is going to be owned by the government of Iceland. (What’s the capital of Iceland? About 65p)

Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson owns the club that used to be called West Ham (or WHAM as they now appear on TV screens) but BG is bust so his bank Straumur has taken the club, but Straumur are now “effectively insolvent” after the Financial Services Authority used the Anti Terror laws to take on the Icelandic banks. (Dont tell me you didn’t know that Iceland was the home of Terror).

So the government of Iceland has taken over Straumur and thus now own WHU. (How to lose £85m in a couple of days, eh?)

Although BG got a stay of execution on his debts the debt of WHU has its own covenants which allow it to be sold on anyway, and a group of Bankers (sorry my slip, I typed B when I meant W) are taking over.

Gross incompetence will of course be the order of the day (what else with a bank?) and the players will be sold off, to repay the banks. No one will be signed by the club.

Bellamy, Etherington and Mullins have gone, and more will follow. Question is, will Zola stay? Indeed why should he? He’s clearly got talent as well as being a nice guy, so why work for a bankrupt company?

In March the Guardian reported that the accountants, Deloitte, had refused to accept West Ham’s annual report. Technically this was because of the unknown compensation WHU have to pay Sheff Untidy over Carlos Tevez. That already amounts to £25m over five years with more court cases on the way from the players and Fulham (who lost place money as a result). That is a football debt and must be paid if WHU are to stay in football. Seems unlikely.

Ex Arsenal Matthew Upson will go in the summer and there’s talk of him doing a Keown and returning home. We need some more bodies in the defence as the current situation shows, but a 29 year old? Not sure.

So there it is. WHU on the way down. Who next? Pick any one of Manchester Bankrupt, Liverpool Insolvency, KGB Chelsea, Everton No To Democracy. Fulham and Villa also have huge debts but their owners are not showing signs of giving up.

Three reasons to be cheerful

One is obvious – we won and it was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Pires was given the regard and respect that he should have – he was a significant part of the success that Henry got, through an overwhelming and perfect understanding between the two (apart from that time they mucked about doing a penalty between them at the clock end).

There was noise, the new Red Action flag was great, and everyone played well. Including our made up back five.

Second, it is amusing to see what the people who described us as hopeless and shot through are now saying. Remember the Gooner with its “Meltdown” issue? Or the blogs that said after the Fulham defeat, “This is exactly what I feared…”

At least this blog, and all the readers who support it, and our good colleagues at Highbury High with their “moan free zone” have stayed consistent and loyal to Cause Wenger.

Of course some are still backtracking. “Arsenal haven’t won anything yet” is the new catchword, as if that matters. It will be joyful if we win something this year, but if we don’t that does not affect what is going on, for the third reason to be cheerful…

Third, the future. Our future is magnifico. We have a brilliant young squad who next year will be better than this. While our competitors have aging teams ours is nowhere near maturity. Just think how far Alex Song and Denilson have come this year. Six months ago many if not most Arsenal supporters would have said, “get rid of them and buy in someone new”.

Better, because of the trials and tribulations of the injuries we have slowly found that this squad is a squad – that you can take out the whole midfield and we can still grind out results. You can take out the whole defence except Kolo and we can still get through to the semi final of the Euro cup.

And every year more youngsters come through who can add to that buzz and fizz. We haven’t even seen Jack Wilshere and Fran Merida yet, and Eduardo just sat on the bench last night. And the snips we get of Ramsey show another extraordinary talent.

Fourth (ok I said three reasons but I am getting the hang of this) we are not bankrupt. Liverpool’s owner is at the very edge of collapse, Manchester are in even more debt than before, and KGB Fulham’s owner does not look to me to be the centre of financial well-being. Better still, the mega rich clubs like Manchester Arab and Queens Park Stranglers can’t seem to buy a win.

Just as with the end of capitalism, the collapse of football teams (as with Leeds) comes quickly, and it will happen soon. True, Liverpool and Manchester Bankrupt will be rescued by Arabs, but I am not sure they quite get the difference between camel racing and football in the north west. (Although come to think of it, maybe there isn’t one).

Fifth, Wenger was right. He had a vision, and it was not just self-centred stubbornness, as many blog writers said. It was a great idea, and it is working, and the football is wonderful. If you had the luck, as I thankfully did, of watching much of the Unbeaten Season, you will know what it was like – and we are starting to see it again. If you didn’t see the 49 I just can’t describe the joy of it. Starting with that 6-1 win against Southampton – Pires hatrick. Remember that final goal with the chip into the goal in front of the north bank?

Sixth, and I’ll make this the last one, Hleb and Flamini. Because of those two, the threat of the great walk out to Italy and Spain is declining. All this stuff about everyone leaving, Theo and VP refusing new contracts, etc etc – it is all disappearing into dust. Partly because it was never true, partly because we are on the edge of another bout of history making wonderment, and partly because Hleb and Flamini wandered off into the night, expecting great things, only to find themsleves on the bench or worse.

I thought of them particularly in watching Bentley in the reserves for the Tinies. There is a talent there, but it needed nurturing and bringing to fruition, but instead he went to Blackburn and Tottenham, ending up among the deadmen. Serves him right.

Of course someone will be stupid and think “oh it won’t happen to me, my agent says so”, but all the insider talk is that there is a queue going half way around the world of young players who would give their souls to be in Arsenal’s fourth team.

This is a truly wonderful time – and it will be that even if we don’t win a trophy. This is the vindication of the faith that some of us had from the day the Invincibles started to be broken up and replaced by younger players. This is the day for getting up and screaming: “I am Arsenal”.

Tottenham trouble, Arsenal adventure, Liverpool liquidation

Strange days. Ever since I saw the teams for last night’s Reserve game against the Tiny Totts I have been puzzling over the tactics of the Appy Arry cartoon character who seemingly runs the show down the poor end of Seven Sisters.

As I was saying yesterday he knew damn well that Arsenal would put out a team of 17 year olds – and not just any old 17 year olds but 17 year olds who (as was pointed out quite rightly in correspondence) are not good enough to go on loan and not good enough to be in the first team squad. Several of our stars (Wilshere, Merida, Murphy) were also out for other reasons.

So what does Appy Array, the man the media will never criticise even when he is arrested by the police, do? He puts out a team of international superstars that cost the club millions and millions and more millions.

And I ask why?

To keep them fit? No – they can do that in private practice games, and predictably none of them made that much effort.

To put them on a showcase so that others will buy them? Hardly. I don’t think there were any scouts at the Orient who were looking at Bentley thinking, “hmmm £17 million superstar, yes we could have him”. Or Bale, “hmm bit of a let down since his buildup at Southampton, but worth a try.”

No, there is only one reason. To humiliate the players and to say to the board, “I, the great Appy Arry, your esteemed manager, need billions of pounds to rebuild the club because these players are not good enough for me. Look, they can only just squeeze past Arsenal’s fourth rated squad.”

And humiliation it certainly was. What does a Brazillian international think? Down the Seven Sisters Rd Denilson is playing every game, is becoming recognised for his outstanding talent (the Independent is currently quiet on the subject, but even they will soon forget and deny that they ever called him “lightweight”), while he, the Tottenham man, is forced to play in the Tott Reserves against Arsenal kids?

And Bentley? The man who left Highbury because he demanded first team football, demanded a place in the European games, and is now playing in front of 500 at the Orient. Good move from Arsenal or what?

In fact it is Arry’s arrogance and personality that is on display when the Tot Reserves trot out. That is all. And I for one hope it continues, because when football clubs are run on the basis of vendeta and arrogance, you know they are going to run into real problems. And that is what Arry is giving them. Real, deep, psychotic, problems. Go to the Totts? What and play in the reserves against a load of kids? No thanks squire. I’d sooner play for Orient. Bigger crowds.

Meanwhile the press has changed its mind about Arsenal. All this stuff about not qualifying for Europe has gone. We’re even getting emails at the Toppled Bollard (home to Untold Arsenal) saying that I would be more believable if I had been saying Arsenal would do ok this year, at the start of the season, and through all the bad bits, like the Fulham, Hull and Stoke defeats.

Well, I think I was. And I still think the same. This is a great team – young still, not quite there, but a great team. I don’t know yet who is ready to step up from the younger levels – but one way or another we need a couple more players for next year. But this is a young team getting better by the second, and if we don’t have the full squad for next August I bank on the Lord Wenger to go and buy someone.

As for the press in general, it is funny. Today the Telegraph ran my story about Liverpool’s owner’s problems. Are we really making the news here? And ever since we did that bit about everyone leaving Arsenal, the press have gradually gone a bit cold on that, and have started up with stories about Arsenal signing people. No more Cesc, VP, Ade, Clichy buggering off to Italy and Spain. Instead it is Johnny Foreigner who will sign from Peru for £400 billion.

Could it be? Could it really be?

Could it possibly be true that people in the wider world are actually reading my rambles and your comments?

Is this the centre of the universe when it comes to informed Arsenal opinion?

Could it be?

Errr.

No, probably not. But nice to dream.

If you have subscribed to an RSS feed, you’ll need to take it up again, as a glitch in our system lost the RSS feeds. Very sorry. Hope to be back on the news feeder systems too, but they lost us as well.

Tiny Totts 2 Arsenal 1, we win

We win because Tottenham put out a team made up of the players that some of the previous managers have bought for £millions – from Bentley to Bale, Eduardo to someone else whose name I have forgotten.

Arsenal put out a team of 17 year olds. Jack Wilshere was out with an ankle injury, Fran Merida wasn’t there (maybe he’s on the bench tomorrow), while we had Luke Freeman on as sub – him having become an Arsenal pro a few days ago on reaching the grand old age of 17.

In a rare attempt to be honest I have to say Bentley’s goals were very good, but here we have a player who transferred for £17 million to Tottenham (in order to get lots of first team football and European experience). He was up against a 19 year old goalkeeper, Wojciech Szczesny – Arsenal’s fourth choice.

The first half looked a lot like boys against men, which it was, but in the second half Arsenal Children did the club proud and really took the game to the Totts.

God knows what the Totts think they are doing playing this bunch of has-beens and never quite made its. Are they imagining that scouts from around the globe are out looking at them? If so, what a waste of time, (no one knows where the Orient is guys). What they could have done is what Arsenal did – play their youth team and start building their own new squad.

But this is not Tottenham’s way. Why give a 17 year old a chance to play when you can go out and spend another £17 million on a Bentley?

And spare a snigger for Gareth Bale. While Arsenal have signed Theo and Ramsey, Tottenham got Bale with all the same amount of fuss – and now play him in front of 500 people at the Orient. He cost them £5 million with more to pay if anything happened. People said we were going to sign him – on this display I doubt it. He looks like he is heading to a club with even less chance of winning anything that Tottenham.

When he signed for the Tinies, Bale said: “I’m just excited to be coming to a massive club like Spurs. It’s pushing forward and I want to be part of its future.”

So it goes – bad signings, poor judgement, no continuity, no hope, no wonder kids of talent won’t go within a mile of the club. Instead they go down the Seven Sisters Road.

As I say, we lost, but we won.

And here’s a postscript. Alex Hleb came on for Barca against Bayern with 13 minutes to go. Glad to know he is getting some football where it matters. 13 minutes to go and you are already 5-1 up.

‘Ere we go again: Tottenham v Arsenal

Tonight is the Land of Make Believe against the Team of the Future.

Or put it another way, the Even Tinier Totts against Arsenal Reserves. Except that being the Totts they don’t believe in usijng the Reserves for up and coming youth players, largely because they don’t have up and coming youth players. This itself is probably due to the fact that they change their manager each year so they have no development programme.

So the Totts are reputed to be putting out six internationals in their team tonight – against our bunch of 18 year olds. So it is best not to dwell on recent results either for our Reserves (they can’t score in case you don’t follow the lads), or indeed the Women’s team.

Best to focus on tonight – it is on Arsenal TV if you can’t or refuse to make it to the Orient (at least I think it is the Orient).

Which reminds me of the old days outside Highbury. Men would stand in the streets calling out details of the ticket availability if you fancied paying ten times the odds for a view of the gunners. A common call was “Seats in the East”.

And when you had paid your £100 he’d slip you a ticket for Leyton Orient against Hartlepool.

Anyway we can hope for a repeat of the Yoof Cup game rather than what has been going on in the League.

They’ve got Perry Groves on the Arsenal channel tonight. He’s got a new book out which has been co-written by the father or the boyfriend of the daughter of my best mate. How about that for a link?

Oh one other thing. David Bentley is playing. But we don’t have Jack Wilshere.

Last notes: changes to this site have resulted in the RSS feed and links to other sites going down. If you have been using RSS or have asked me to do a link back to you, my apologies. You can set the RSS feed up again – and send me details of the link to Tony at hamilton-house.com

Tiny Totts Tightfisted Transformation Tender Toppled

This story comes from two source (who shall remain nameless). You can believe it or no, although unlike tales of Atlantis, alien invasions covered up by government and the Chinese discovery of America in the 15th century, at least this time you will be able to see if this is right or not. Time will certainly tell.

This story concerns Levy – the chair of Tottenham. Behind the story is the supposition that the owners are getting frustrated with years of promises of top four finishes and nothing to show save a lot of payouts to managers who go on to have success elsewhere. Indeed Levy watchers particularly noticed that at the last sacking (Ramos) he said that he couldn’t let Ramos ruin the club after all that had been achieved. He then cited their achievement: two years in the UEFA League and planning permission granted for the training ground. If ever there was a speech that should have been better planned it was that.

So, to rescue his position Levy brought forward the new stadium idea. 60,000 people (then reduced to 58,000), and a sell out for every game.

But there is a problem – as we have covered many times (and I am most grateful to everyone who has supplied the devil in the detail) Tottenham count their “members” twice – once as members and once as the season ticket waiting list. People are on that waiting list whether they want a season or not.

This means that we have a promise of a new ground to keep to boss in Barbados happy, but it comes with the knowledge that it is a promise that will unravel. By which time who knows, maybe by a fluke the Totts will have won the Diddly Cup again.

To overcome this Levy-Owners problem, Tottenham have got a piece of land for a ground that will house 58,000 people but only if the crowd is as close to the game as we were at Highbury. So that is the application that is going in.

But this application will be turned down – everyone knows that. There must be the fire engine entrance inside new grounds and there must be room for emergency vehicles to circulate around the ground between pitch and crowd. What’s more the number of entrance and exit points has been raised and the the EPL and FA insist that new grounds have sufficient distance between crowd and playing area so that anything thrown does not reach the pitch. (It also stops Carragher throwing things from the pitch at the crowd).

Inevitably the planning application will fail. Tottenham are used to this game and will then blame “Arsenal supporters on the planning committee” for scuppering their plans. They will build a smaller stadium (“not what we wanted, but with this level of corruption in local government there is nothing we can do”), and so avoid the problem with not being able to fill the theoretical larger stadium.

This sort of thing has happened before. Everton were recently refused planning permission on their new training ground, both locally and on appeal. They then went public and blamed corruption locally – ignoring the fact that it was locally elected people who were following the rules, while they (who no one elected) weren’t.

Tottenham played the same hand with the league cup game at the Ems in the first season there. They wanted a full allocation across the south end lower, but only got a fraction of this, and blamed Arsenal. In fact police and local authority regs required that the away support was increased slowly to ensure local services could cope and this was the first game where there was a demand for tickets beyond the normal corner.

So there it is: the Tottenham ground will be smaller, and will have the gap between players and crowd. Everyone knows it, but there is a ritual to be gone through. And that is the story of the Woolworths Stadium (ok that isn’t the actual name, but when I was told it, it gave me a laugh.

Jocular juvenile jackass journalist jinx Johan Djourou in jolly jailbreak jest

Tricky thing this journalist business but I think I am get the hang of the headline writer’s craft.

Anyway, it was on friday that I noted that both Radio 5 and the Guardian were saying that we had 3 of our back four out when I could only count two. As Ian said in correspondence, any second now we’ll have five of our back four out.

Ian, if you would kindly stop saying such things, for your words and those of the Guardian and BBC have turned into a horrible prediction as Djourou got a knee injury. As the Lord Wenger said, showing his knowledge of Untold Arsenal once again, “We can’t afford to lose a defender in every game.”

But it is the ability of journalists to go beyond what we have been reporting of late in the Knocking the Arsenal pieces, that is worrying. Journalists have a rota of approaches for bringing the Arsenal down – and it now seems they have added black magic to their skills.

This is indeed a worrying development and one that must be stopped. The troops must be rallied etc etc. Buy a newspaper and then burn it. That’s the only way. Burn your radio too. (But only in an environmentally friendly manner please).

Anyway, apart from Johan and a rather gruesome first half it was a jolly affair and we’ve now gone 214 games unbeaten (I may have miscounted in the excitement but it is quite a few) and we look good to win stuff. We’ve already won the under 18s league, there’s the Yoof Cup, the Women’s League, the FA Cup. the European Cup, and the Cup for the silliest blog in football.

It was St What Not’s Day too, which is always nice (if the Totts got relegated again would we celebrate it on the first game of the season?)

Now I must settle down to sort out my next headline. How about this one on the proposed Tottenham stadium being turned down by the council…

Tiny Totts tightfisted transformation tender toppled

More later. I’m going for a walk.

Knocking the Arsenal: Weirder than the last one which was the weirdest yet

In my all encompassing survey of ways of knocking the Arsenal employed by journalists and bloggers I thought I had just about done it all, seen it all, and covered all the ways in which people can knock the Arsenal.

But then comes along the Bleacher Report run by Foxy News (a fanatical right wing emporium that is within the combine that makes the Simpsons).

What they have done is found that someone somewhere asked Diarra what he learned from the Lord Wenger and Diarra said, “nothing”. (That is to say he said the word, not that he said nothing, if you get my drift).

And that was it.

So the Bleacher Report then does this headline (and I kid you not, it really is there)…

“It seems it never rains but it pours for Arsene Wenger. Barely days after learning that he will have to do without William Gallas, Gael Clichy, and Manuel Almunia for all or the majority of the remainder of this season, the Frenchman will now have to face some uncomfortable questions from the media about Lassana Diarra’s truncated stay at the club.

Diarra—who was at Arsenal for less than five months—said in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais today that his time at the Emirates was a wasted period in his career….”

And so it goes on.

As Ian pointed out in correspondence yesterday on this site, if we get many more defenders out we will have the headline that says “5 of Arsenal’s back four out for the rest of the season”.

The Fox article is untrue in its facts (only one player is out for the majority or all of the remainder of the season) and in the implications. There are no questions to be answered, nothing of interest, just a very good player who thought he could walk straight into our first team no matter what, and then got in a huff when he found he couldn’t, and went to play for Portsmouth, as you do.

Of all the attempts to knock Arsenal is this the silliest (I’ll put the full link at the end so you can read the whole load of tripe if you feel so moved and have nothing better to do). The facts are wrong, the implication is wrong, the story doesn’t exist, and the writers haven’t got a clue.

Could it be, could it just be, that the three clubs around us, KGB, Manchester B and Liverpool I, actually pay journalists to write stuff that knocks the Arsenal?

That seems a bit beyond even George Orwell, and yet… The question is, why bother?

I suppose you could ask the same about my daily meanderings around the world of Arsenal, and my answer would be: I started because I was frustrated that the point of view that Wenger was a brilliant manager building a new brilliant team was being lost among the rubbish spouted by the press. I continue because 60,000 people a month read at least some of these pages.

And I quite enjoy writing it.

But my point is that my ramblings are positive and for some readers occasionally amusing (although I appreciate that many people agree with the correspondent who said, “Dont give up the day job” – which was unfortunate since my day job is the writing of slightly amusing pieces).

But why to Fox journalists bother to write something that is so utterly negative?

I wonder, and I am not quite sure.

Now where the bloody hell is Wigan?

Link: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/154042-diarras-comments-raise-uncomfortable-questions-for-arsene-wenger

Knocking the Arsenal: weirdest story ever

This media story is so odd that I have spent half the morning thinking about it, wondering if I am having one of those blank spots, one of those moments where you are sure that grass is pink, and have to be taken outside by the grandchildren to have it proven to you that by and large it is green.

It started at about 7.40pm on Radio 5 on Thursday. I was driving on country roads (the M40 being packed solid) and on came this fella saying that Arsenal now had real problems because they had lost three of the back four.

I have to admit I nearly did an Ashley Cole (as when he lost control of his head when learning that Arsenal had offered him a miserly £2.6 million a year salary.) Blimey I thought: Gallas out, then Clichy out, and now either Kolo or Sagna is out.

So I slowed down a trifle and listened hard. Who was the other man? But there was no other man. The back four (which I in my simplistic manner) have always thought to include a left back, and then for balance a right back, and then two central defenders in the mould of Gallas and Toure, seemed now to include, a left back, a central defender, one more (unspecified) and a goalkeeper.

Yup, the three of the back four injured: Clichy, Gallas, and Almunia.

Oh well I thought, stupid idiot BBC commentator (who was only on because he was doing Manchester Arab in Germany), so I left it and thought no more of it, enjoying instead the beauties of Stowe in the Wold and like minded locations.

But this morning, behold and lo! I open my Guardian and there, on page 6 of the footballing section it says (and I quote verbatim), “Wenger also lost his goalkeeper, Manuel Almunia, and a third member of his back four, Gael Clichy, to injury on Tuesday.” (top of column 2).

So what is it? Does the back four now mean left back central defender, right back and keeper? Or is Sagna or Toure injured and no one told me (I check the AFC site and there is no mention).

Or is this another attempt to play Knock the Arsenal. By announcing three of the back four (with the conventional meaning thereof) as being crocked, Arsenal feel that they have no chance, and thus excuse the central focus on the north west that the BBC and Guardian have?

For one medium to say “three of the back four” could be a stupid bit is misreporting, but for two different media to use exactly the same phrase, can be nothing other than

a) a conspiracy

b) me being a turnip and utterly failing to understand the basic conventions and meanings of the phraseology of the game.

So please, put me out of my misery. Back four means the last four outfield players playing in a line defending. Right? And two of our normal first choices are injured, right?

Or wrong?

Did Lord Wenger plan all this, or did it just happen??

So, was it all planned or did the Almighty Lord Wenger stumble onto this lot by mistake?

The argument has been put in this blog’s correspondence columns that I forget all that happened earlier in the season and anyway I wasn’t at the games – but I really don’t think that is right. I’m sure I was there, and my bank balance confirms this.

I also think our manager knew what he was doing all the way through.

Here’s the argument

He wanted to build a third team, so broke up the Invincibles and started to rebuild. There was a bit of an issue with Flamini and Hleb along the way, but as we have seen, the continuity of their development (after two moderate years before) was not assured, and Mr Wenger had already brought in cover.

But the younger players inevitably took time to develop. And although injuries are inevitable, to get three of the midfield regulars out all at the same time was a disaster.

It was also clear early on that we had three problems:

a) the team as a whole was not ready for the free-flowing Arsenal of Henry/Pires/Ljunberg, and the defence was suffering if the forwards and midfielders did push up for this type of approach.

b) most of the EPL teams were more than willing to play “park the bus” and make no effort to win the game – they would play for the 0-0 draw.

c) crude tackling would go unpunished in the league, and the team would need to find a way around this.

That most of us could see all of this through the season is not a surprise – what was a surprise was just how far Denilson and Song had developed during Cesc’s time out, thus allowing him the free reign that had been removed in an effort to cope with the Manchester City defeat.

We could also see that the 0-0 draws that followed the Villa and Man C games was due to a restructure of the team, so that the defence got its belief back, and so that it was ready for the return of the midfield.

But still, the reinvigorated ability of Theo, and the fact of Cesc as an old-fashioned inside left (or right, whichever he wants) has changed everything. Plus of course we got Arshavin.

The 0-0 draws could be beaten by a return to the very fast interplay that leaves the cloggers kicking the air – and that could happen once the solidity of the defence was established by pulling the full backs back.

Likewise the nasty fouls can be beaten by speed – you get caught much more if the game slows down.

So that is what has happened, and personally I Lord Wenger knew exactly what he was up to from the start. I’d take the credit for saying I half got it, in the sense that I was talking about Denilson as a brilliant player while most were still calling him hopelessly lightweight, and I did nominate Song as one of my two players who would make a major impact this year. And to guess that Arsenal could do well this year was not that much of a guess – we were not so far behind the champions last season.

But still, I didn’t see just how much more forward Cesc would get and what an extraordinary change it would make on the team as a whole, once he was brought into the team with Denilson.

I believe Denilson is worth a dozen Flamini’s and even if Flamini had retained much of his ability of last season, and continued to play with us, ultimately Denilson would have taken over in the middle. And I’d certainly sooner have Arshavin or Nasri rather than Hleb.

Yes, it all looks planned to me, just as the invicibles were planned and put together step by step, bit by bit (although now all we remember is the final assembly of players.)

I can’t remember how many games it is unbeaten (assuming you treat Roma as a win) but I think it is 22 or something. Which is by and large quite satisfactory.

More of the same please.

Knock The Arsenal: New Edition now available!

Knock the Arsenal is a game played by journalists from Wapping Swamp and other locations in which silly made up stories that show Arsenal in a bad light are circulated.

The new version of the show works like this…

First, find the name of any semi-famous player, or failing that make up the name of a player.

Second, suggest that Arsenal had been trying to lure this player away from his current club.

Third, suggest that the player has turned down the chance and wants to stay.

Finally, write the headline: Brazillian Superstar Snubs Arsenal Bid with the variant, French Ace rejects Arsenal Advances, or if all else fails, Swedish Shot-Stopper Spurns Gunners’ Offer.”

The main thing about this is that it should be untrue. So you start with a list of players with little clubs (because if he is with a little club it makes Arsenal look all the more stupid for being rejected), and then you make up names.

Daniel Dogsbody, 16 year old wonderkid playing with Doncaster Devilworshippers, has rejected a chance to move to Arsenal, claiming he would sooner wait for an offer from a club “more likely to win something”.

Then the headline. Or indeed start with the headline (Trappatorne Turns Turtle on Trophy-less Tott-Neighbours.)

The fact that neither Daniel nor his club nor Trappatorne nor any of this exists is a bit of a clue to what’s going on. Of course we tend to spot it if the club is English, but less so when the club was one of the many layers of the former Soviet Onion. The Times really fell for this big time last year when they took one such made up player and actually put him in their top 50 all time great teenagers.

Anyway, along with everyone leaving, we will now also see everyone refusing to sign for us. But since we haven’t lost a match in a while I am not sure this matters.

Meanwhile, as you will know, I’ve larked about with the site, and unfortunately in doing so I have cocked up rather badly and lost all the blogroll links to other sites. If you have exchanged links with me please accept my apologies and write to Tony at Hamilton-House.com with the link again and I’ll get you re-established. Nothing personal. Promise.

Did the Lord Wenger really really say that???

There are stories circulating today that the Lord Wenger said after the coin and bottle throwing in Spain yesterday, that UEFA will investigate and make the right decision.

It seems a curious thing to say, and if he did, then for once I shall ask permission (very politely) to disagree with the sainted Lord.

There was tons of material (well all right, not quite tons, but quite a bit) thrown at Cesc. It was difficult to see if there was any action taken to find out who did it, and once Cesc had played at being rubbish collector, the game went on.

The question is what do the authorities do? In Spain racist abuse is dealt with through a fine to the club of around £7000, and it seems more than likely that this offence will be dealt with in a similar manner.

Problem is, the behaviour of the authorities in England is not much to talk about either. When J Carragher picked up a coin at Highbury and threw it at people in the crowd he got banned for 3 matches. Not banned from Highbury for life, as would have happened to anyone else caught, but from playing football for three games.

The fact is that throwing a coin at a player is extremely dangerous and should be stopped by giving clubs severe punishments. It is hard to imagine it happening at the Ems because of the distance between the pitch and the front row of the crowd (one of the reasons why the ground is designed that way). But in little grounds like that last night (and indeed at the new Tiny Tott ground) where the pitch bumps into the front row of the stand, it is easy.

But no matter how wrong throwing a coin at a player is, the reverse is much worse. The coin thrower in the crowd mostly doesn’t hit the target, but the coin thrower like Carragher, on the pitch, who aims at the crowd is bound to hit someone. That is why it is so much worse.

Carragher should have been banned from entering any football ground for life – or at least banned from Highbury for life. But he wasn’t – just as I suspect that bugger all will be done about the people involved last night.

As for the game, wasn’t it good to see a team that came out and attacked us, playing the ball to feet, looking for style and dynamism at the same time? They had more shots than we did – which is a rarity – and it made for such a great game of football.

I rarely make it to away games in Europe because of work commitments (since the bankers destroyed capitalism I am having to work double hard and my offer of two dead sheep and a guitar case in exchange for an airline ticket didn’t work) so had to watch it on Disastrous ITV – and there was one strange moment at the start of part 2 when the Lord Wenger was seen chewing or eating. Most unusual.

Anyway, Ade has clearly got his form back after the injury, we got two more injuries which is about par for the course, Fabianski is as we were starting to think, a very good keeper, and New Theo is a most extraordinary player to behold.

I rather enjoyed my night in. Except I seem to have dropped my watch down the back of the sofa.

Something stirs at under 18 level

Given that everyone and his spaniel is chattering away about tonight’s little event in Spain (quite naturally, I’ve already got my Arsenal socks on and I’m just watching it in front of the TV), there’s no point it adding anything else from me.

So, just in case anyone is reading, what about the Under 18s?

I have to admit I have never seen the lads play a league game (although I am going to try and rectify this before the end of the season) and I know the names of maybe four or five who have made some sort of impact in the reserves.

But on saturday I suddenly realised just how much I had missed. The Youth Cup I know about, but I hadn’t appreciated just many thousand miles ahead of the rest of the league competition they are. I don’t know at what point in the season they won the league (they are 20 points ahead of the second placed club), but they have just won nine games in a row in the league and are now just going through the formalities of finishing off the season.

And then there’s the Youth Cup, from which we deposed the Very Tiny Totts.

But the extraordinary thing is that at this level we haven’t won anything since 2002. This level of dominance has now been around for a while.

What fascinates me about this is that not only have we got such a very young team playing as the first XI plus all the even younger reserves coming through, there is a stunning set of even younger players below them. As great players are plucked from the reserves and put in the first team so there’s another bunch coming up from below.

To give just two examples of what is happening: Luke Freeman has made great progress, and in Jay Emmanuel Thomas we have yet another great goalscorer. Both must surely make an impact in the reserves next year.

In fact even though Jack Wilshere can play at this level, he doesn’t (save in the Cup games) – which means we are not even picking our best team – and still sauntering to a league win months before the season ends.

The notion of the production line therefore does seem to be very much in place – and of course these players all come to play for Arsenal because youngsters who are good enough, get their chance. They don’t get pushed aside by £50 million pound buy ins – they can watch great players make their way through.

When I have watched their league games on Arsenal TV there are only a handful of people at the ground, which is a shame. (My excuse is that I live in the Midlands, but I am going to make the effort – not least because I think this is going to be a youth set up that will be talked about for years to come.)