No, I’m not referring to Boy George and the rest of the group although I did rather like them. Actually, who am I trying kid, I loved them. When I typed the word ‘culture’ a different name to Boy George came into my head and that was Yogi of A Cultured Left Foot. I miss his blog. He wrote in a way I could only wish to. RIP Yogi..
It’s a big day here in England. For many reasons. People might be given the thumbs up to return to work or at least some and some how. More pedestrians and cyclists on the roads and pavements is set to be encouraged according to the front pages of Fleet Street’s finest. Garden Centres could open, probably will so I’m thrilled of course. But I still can’t get a Sainsbury’s delivery so I’m having to slum it by opting for a Waitrose click and collect instead. If only Aldi sold filtered milk.
The media really are a strange bunch, not all I’m sure but for the last few weeks, much of what they’ve asked and written about the lockdown is ‘when will it be lifted’? Now that ‘lift’ is close, it’s too soon ‘they’ say.
I doubt anything Boris says today will boost footballs chance of restarting although it seems the FA are pressing ahead with their plans anyway. Again though, that’s according to the newspapers but as we all know, pinch and salt spring to mind.
German Football is scheduled to return next weekend but it’s suffered a setback as the Dynamo Dresden squad are going through two weeks of quarantine after two squad players fell ill with Coronavirus which means their opening fixture against Hannover 96 will need to be postponed again. Perhaps their second fixture too depending on when the fourteen day isolation started.
“I worry about the club still a lot and I watch all of the games. I believe there is a culture in the way to play football at Arsenal that I want to be respected,”
“And I hope Mikel can get that back.” – Arsene Wenger – TalkSport
This kind of football?
Yep, thrashed at home by Bayern Munich and thrashed away by the same team just three years ago, the season before Arsene Wenger was sacked. Beaten at Crystal Palace, Everton and West Brom. At Stamford Bridge and White Hart Lane too! Results were better at The Emirates which is more than can be said about the football the team was playing.
His final season was equally as bad if not worse. Beaten 4-2 by Notts Forest in the FA Cup. More defeats on the road at Stoke City, at Anfield thanks to an awful defensive game and equally as poor attacking one too as Arsenal failed to register a single shot on target against Liverpool! Arsenal registered eight victories on the road that season in all four competitions.
Dragging up the past is futile in many ways, especially when it’s for negative reasons but I’m just trying to make a point. Arsene Wenger is the one saying he hopes Mikel Arteta can bring back the kind of football Arsenal are known for playing but it’s he, with a little help from Unai Emery who took us away from it in the first place. Sure, during his heyday, Arsene Wenger had his teams playing some of the best football this country has ever seen, the best in my opinion but that was a long time ago. Fourteen years to be precise, twelve of which (if my maths is right) was under his management and coaching.
Of course we all want Mikel Arteta to do well at Arsenal and for what it’s worth, I think he will. He clearly knows what he wants to do and how he wants to do it. He recognises what a great club Arsenal is and what a privilege it is to be it’s head coach. He wants the players to feel the same way too and if they don’t, I think they’ll be gone. Arteta loves and respects the fans. Recognises their importance which I’m not sure has always been the case over the last ten years or so. Edu feels the same about the fans because he’s told us. Maybe that’s because as players for our club, they know how important their support is.
This isn’t about me battering Arsene Wenger yet again because just like those many poor performances and results over his final few seasons, they are etched in the history books. What this is about is Arsene talking about the club, the club he clearly still loves, in a way which suggests someone other than he, was/is responsible for where it is today in terms of the game.
And as far as him still worrying about the club, well perhaps he should have worried about it a bit more whilst he was there.
Anyway, this coming weekend we’ll all be able to get a taste of football again. Perhaps a glimpse of how things might be when Project Restart actually restarts. Football is back my friends albeit just the German League for now but hey, if you truly love the game, who cares who it is playing it.
Stay safe guys, stay healthy.
Good morning Rico.
I rather suspect that the Bundesliga will be the only live football available to watch for some time to come. Project restart is facing severe problems, from within and without, that will require the wisdom of Solomon to resolve.
Covid-19 aside, for the moment, the bottom six Premiership clubs are refusing to back the idea of playing the 92 remaining fixtures at neutral grounds.
The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner has said it will be impossible to prevent large numbers of fans congregating outside the grounds where their teams are to play even though they have no chance of getting into the stadium. It will mean removing police officers from front line duties to control the fans.
In an attempt to placate the players fears of contracting Covid-19, the Premier League have agreed a £3 million pound deal with a Hong Kong based company to provide twice a week testing for all players and staff, the samples to be tested in a UK laboratory with results available within 24 hours.
Some back of an envelope maths:-
20 first team 25 man squads = 500 players
20 sets of coaches, medical and ancillary staff probably 20 per club = 400 staff. A total of 900 tests twice a week = 1,800 tests to be carried out for the foreseeable future.
This at a time when, last week, the NHS was forced to fly 50,000 samples to the USA for testing due to problems at UK testing facilities.
Testing will have to start before clubs resume full time training and continue until a viable vaccine is widely available, the earliest estimate of that is around the end of the year.
Project Restart? You gotta be kidding.
Morning all.
Arsene wants Mikel to succeed.
He wants the club to succeed.
We all want exactly the same thing as, like Arsene, we are all fans.
Happy Mother’s Day to the mums around the world celebrating today 🙂
Afternoon Cicero. There seems to be differing stories on the potential relegation clubs, all of which I find boring really. The league either restarts and finishes as usual, Covid-19 safety measures aside or don’t bother imo.
We love to romanticize how great football was in back a day, watching that Arsenal `79 FA Cup Final yesterday was great, there seemed to “real” fans attending, not corporate and tourists, I was there and it was cheap and easy to get the ticket unlike if you wanted one today, but i have to say and I`m sticking to this and wont be swayed by anyone!……………………..the standard of football was crap!……the passing , the control or lack of it, the skill or lack of it, the tactics , fitness!……I`m fitter looking than they looked! hahaha……… even the commentary was rubbish calling some of the moves great !
I reckon a current Division One team would have played both of them off the park and anyone of Wengers teams would have destroyed them!
Not taking anything away from winning it, but if anyone thought that was decent football compared to to todays standards then you need more than a visit to SpecSavers! 😆
Whenever I look back I am always struck by the difference in the quality of the transmission . It’s a bit like watching an old movie the story is good but the whole thing looks dated .
Players that were good then would be good now , as they would have the advantages of the more modern facilities and coaching etc, but I agree as the coaching methods improve the older football gets left behind . Just look at Wenger at first he was a revolution but his methods were overtaken and thats why he had to go.
Absolutely agree and Mourinho is going through the same now. Football has changed but he hasn’t. To a degree, I think Pep is at the beginning of the end too.
I get it to a certain degree, Potter, but Willie Young back then makes Sokratis and Mustafi look like a pairing of Canivaro and Van Dijk!…………..some of them players were average at best compared to some of the skillfull players of today, none of them could even do a Cruyff turn and he did it years before, only Liam Brady and Pat Jennings looked capable of playing at top level imo .
Snowing in Scotland and I`ve been sun bathing here! ……………………….no wonder most sweaties turn to drink! hahaha
Nice one, Rico… I won’t be clicking on the YouTube clip though 😂😂 once was more than enough!!
I’ll be tuning in to watch Dortmund next week.. so many questions need answering.. and no, Le Coq, I don’t mean how much weight have they all put on 😜
That is if it goes ahead though…
Been watching darts at home, well the football edition… congrats to Paul Gallagher, played well. As for James Maddison, barely recognised him with that beard! Phil Taylor up next v Adams, Sherrock and Dobromislova – sorted 😉
Oh, and Rico, you were a Culture Club fan?!
I always thought Mothers Day fell on the same day every where in the world, but it`s Mothers Day today in places like Canada and America!……………………….although if you are Samuel L Jackson every day is a Mother Fcuker Day! 😆
😂😂 Le Coq
Don’t really agree , I could do a Cruyff turn and who was I in the great scheme of things. Anyway I seem to remember that We all agreed that Rix’y was better than Hoddle.
Thanks Sue. Yep, a big one too…
I saw Boy George live, he was superb..
I went right off Rix. Good footballer but…..
Rix was a mixed bag of emotions , I don’t think he got the footballing recognition he warranted but his out of football practices were to say the least unacceptable if true .
Agree about Yogi’s warrior , he always produced areasonable read , it was one of the blogs I regularly followed.
I was just reading through some of the comment section relating to him and I saw that sadly Goonerholic passed away in January too.
Look after yourself Rico !
I didn’t know that about Goonerholic Potter, very sad. I don’t know what age he was but Yogi was young, far too young to go. Life is cruel too often. I’ll do my best…
Makes one realise how precious life is, or at least it should. Try telling Football that though.
I read a third Brighton player has gone down with Coronavirus….
Look after yourself too Potter.
Hi All Its a bit hard judging players from over 20 years ago to todays players. old players worked Monday to Friday – players today do not work its full time football – old players, played on crap ground – players today play on manicured lawns – old players had no gym no video of there opposition – today full gym, full video of opposition, old players lack of medical equipment and food guide – new state of the art medical rooms and full time food advice even the soccer balls are different old one hand sawn leather that got water logged during matches new ball all created by computer to aid players just look at how much the balls today spin compared to the old ones
20 years ago Geoff? Players weren’t working Monday – Friday as well as playing football. Wenger was our manager then don’t forget. Lower down the leagues players might have needed to work but not in the top two/three divisions.
Geoff, players then were also playing opponents who had the same conditions to deal with, though.
Imo, a champion would be a champion in any era.
Morning all,
Rico, damn good money to be had in some of the lower divisions now, isn’t there….
I reckon even third tier players would earn well above most of the population:
Afternoon Gooners, I see that Dr Sogut has reiterated again that Mesut Ozil is going to see out his contract….
Well that’s put my mind at rest because despite the lockdown and not working for over 7 weeks and getting ‘holidays’ from my bank etc, the major worry and the one thing that’s been giving me sleepless nights is whether Mesut Ozil is seeing out his Arsenal contract or not!
These people really need to have a hard long look in the mirror…
Where is Graham Rix now?
Sure is Scott, I’m positive I could get by… 😆
It’d be a struggle, Rico, but I’d get by 🙂
Ha ha Kev.
Rix ended up on the sex offenders registry!……………………nonce!
Ok it may of been a bit longer than 20 years but when was the last time clubs like Arsenal played a home match on a muddy ground. The ground today are much better so the games should be played a lot quicker – it was only last season that some premier league players complain about the grounds in the European cup matches or when they play a 3rd tear team in the FA cup rounds about the bold
spot or uneven ground I bet the older players would of been dreaming about the pitches we have today.
No professional sport in England can be played before the 1st June.
Hi Rico just read a report in Australia that the premier league are having a meeting on Monday to discuss a restart have you herd any thing other then your last post
Hi Geoff, the news just released here in the Uk. Looks like football behind closed doors will go ahead after the 1st June. How though remains to be confirmed.
sound a bit like our Aussie rules they have been told they may be able to play behind closed doors soon but they have to cut their coaching staff down by 50 percent and no committee or family allowed
the media would be kept to a minimum number and no live player interviews
Geoff, The 79 Cup Final was played on a good pitch with no mud, so no excuses for the pitch……………..it was my opinion that the football played was dire compared to the quality as seen by todays players……………can anyone who saw that game on TV on Saturday say it was quality( apart from the result) ?
1979 final was great imo. Different but great at the time.
CFG have bought their 9th club………………….their Empire grows!
https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/GL-MAP-cfg-golbal-v2.jpg
New post up now