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Gracious in defeat, not our Arsene!!

Posted on by rico

We all know the behaviour of our wiley old boss when we are beaten and it’s a side of his character that really dissapoints me. Remember the falling out with Pardew, the constant refusal to shake the hand of managers like Fat Sam, Mark Hughes and others after their sides have ‘got in our faces’ and nicked an undeserved defeat? Well for me it’s all a bit tedious.

A good sporting person is gracious in both victory and defeat and after all, as a manager, isn’t he the one who buys the players to make us winners?

As it stands right now, another transfer window has come and will soon go and right now we have a side that will continue to struggle against the ‘aggressive’ sides, the Bolton’s, Blackburn’s and Stokes of our league, not to mention when our defence has to look up and see the lumps like Drogba and Rooney heading towards them with the ground shaking underneath their feet.

So Arsene, if you don’t make right our defensive unit, surely it’s about time you accepted a few losses that could be heading our way and you deal with those losses graciously? I know he has now added two defenders but we lost four! Without adding a much better goal keeper and even another central defender we could still struggle. A great keeper will get us points, just as a goal scorer will but not in every game will we score six, we may even struggle to score one, it’s during those games that a keeper is worth his weight in gold….

Talking of gracious and as the Champions League draw takes place on Thursday at 5pm, look at a player who we once called ours, the Crozillian Eduardo. Victim of a horror tackle, all he wanted to do was play football again and play his football at Arsenal. Such is the demand of the Premier League he didn’t quite make it back to a level where his mental and physical ability would allow his ‘want’ to come true so he made a sensible decision in my mind and moved to FC Shakhtar Donetsk, hopefully a league that is less aggressive and eventually Eduardo will find happiness again in football, safe in the knowledge that a ‘Martin Taylor tackle’ will not come his way again.

The big thing about this move of Eduardo though is how he has been gracious in defeat, yes he is still playing the sport he loves, but he is no longer able to play for the club he fell in love with. He’s not bitter though, in fact totally the opposite.

All he said after his move was it was good for him as he needs to play football. He said he found it very difficult to leave Arsenal having settled in England and forming a good relationship with the fans, he loved the supporters and he knew they loved him, he loved the club and has many friends….

He doesn’t want to play against us again, he would find it too hard emotionally – I guess he won’t be looking to score a winner against us and then run the length of the pitch to rub salt into the wound of all the fans who will always love him…

No, Eduardo is too much of a gentleman to do that, he is too gracious. Gracious in the defeat he has suffered afer his horrific injury. The defeat of course being that he couldn’t stay at the club he loves, the club who loved and always will love him….

So there you go Mr Wenger, see if you can show a little more graciousness this coming season. If you can’t, then maybe its time to get your cheque book back out and buy just two more players to make sure defeat is something you don’t have to suffer!

Then you can shove Jose Mourinho’s comment’s about us not being ready to win anything, right back down his throat…..

Have a good one all…..

rico

98 thoughts on “Gracious in defeat, not our Arsene!!”

  8. Red Arse says:

    Morning Rico,

    You have had a breather and it shows in the quality of your posts. Really good and different approach about the Prof’s irritable squabbles with fellow managers.

    I have to agree with you Rico about the correct thing to do, but as a member of the gentle gender, you will not necessarily comprehend the male testosterone factor.

    I am not a violent person, but sometimes I have watched and listened to nonentities like Fat Sam and Pulis and have had to restrain myself from hurling something at the screen. They are appallingly pompous in their loathsome self justification. Grr.

    Hi Erick, Big day today for your educational efforts? Fingers crossed.

    Hi RSD, how are things going. Exams for you too?

  11. rico says:

    Morning RA,

    Thanks re the post, don’t get me wrong I would like to be first in the queue to knee Fat Sam and a few others in the groin but wenger should be above all this hand shake thing, all he is doing is giving the whole media world more amunition to shoot us down…

  14. Red Arse says:

    RSD,

    I thought I read some thing about you studying. Got my lines crossed. 🙂

    Erick’s avatar looks like a lobster not going to a party, unlike Oliver’s. 🙂

  18. Red Arse says:

    You are right of course, Rico. It does make him a hostage to fortune and allows the imbecilic attacks on him.

    The trouble is, passions boil over and the plonkers know how to goad him. He would be better to mentally “walk away” and give the briefest of handshakes, although it is v. much a british thing and smacks of hypocrisy in the professional world.

  21. rico says:

    Asmir Begovic is the next player refusing to play for his club, didn’t feel like it as the chavs want him…. Dreadful…

  23. rico says:

    Another snippet, the dippers could struggle tomorrow in europe, away in turkey, only 1-0 up and no torres or gerrard….

  26. Red Arse says:

    Rico,

    Not sure which carbon footprint you mean.

    I’m not jetting off anywhere for a few weeks until I go to Cyprus, in September and then NY in October.

    I suspect I’m barking up the wrong tree, but I’m sure you will tell me if so. 🙂

  28. W.A.T.H says:

    No GG for me Rico busy day 2day am off in a bit won’t be back til much much lata if at all so will catch you all 2moro when we have bought another few players 🙂 be good all……

  31. Red Arse says:

    Rico,

    Sorry, just taken delivery of another piece of computer kit. I love gizmo’s. Always have to have the next “big” technological thing.

    I think I know what you mean now.

    I suppose everyone visits other sites to keep up to speed, but I can’t help myself commenting and leaving a “footprint”. This a.m. I have visited and yakked on 4 sites already. It’s addictive. 🙂

    I have grown v. fond of AA, you are right about it being a good environment, the owners are good folk and it’s full of footie folk chatting. Just like your new baby HH. 😉

    See you when you get back after lunch. I will drag myself away from my new plaything! 🙂

  32. oliver says:

    morning all…igorning mourinho’s comments – it continues to rankle with me that we have never beaten one of his teams, but i note that he continues to talk about arsene and us, not vice-versa.

    i too wish arsene would be more gracious – actually, i wish that if he sometimes felt a need to have a dig, he would do it at some of our players, when they deserved it. i continue to maintain that he is over-protective.

    do not get me started on fat sam – i will just say that i cringed in embarrassment when he complained about the tactics they employed against fabianski last may. it worked, why shouldn’t fat sam and blackburn do it? we should have done the same to robinson, or flattened one of their players at a corner in our box. sometimes we need to stand up for ourselves…

    that said said, there are other times that i am quite proud of arsene vis-a-vis relations with other managers: his trying to physically get at curbishley after the latter taunted arsene following harewood’s goal, refusing to shake the cretin hughes’ hand after enduring f-bombs and abuse during the match from him, and constantly snubbing red nose and the post-match “drink”.

  33. oliver says:

    or was it alan pardew that taunted arsene during w. ham’s 1-0 win? i forget and looking at it now, that does not quite sound like curbs…

  36. Red Arse says:

    Hi Rico,

    Sodding new toys, I think I’ve broken my brain! 🙂

    I’m sure it’s your fault, because I have to have some one to blame. 🙂

  37. rico says:

    What a miserable day, been shopping, got drenched and now so have the dogs… 🙁

    Hi oliver, RA 🙂

    I am so hoping the Young Boys win tonight 🙂

    oliver, it was Pardew when he was at WH, all but fisty cuffs on the edge of the dug-out… mind you Padrew did celebrate the goal right under wengers nose…

  38. Red Arse says:

    Oliver,

    I need your help, desperately.

    First, we can both have big grins on our faces with last night’s results. 🙂

    But my problem is that I was chatting to another Mets fan and I mentioned your comment that they were a .500 team. We got into discussing the merits or otherwise of the Yankees and the Mets in general and I suddenly realised I cannot remember how the Pct is calculated. I know it’s a ratio of course but that’s all. I’m so win/lose oriented. Then I could not figure out what the GB calculation is.

    It’s going from game to game without being to “results” oriented, and until ESPN started up seriously over here, I had not been to a game for many years. I am distraught. Is it age I am asking myself? 🙁

    Help.

  39. Red Arse says:

    Rico,

    Not a good day for shopping, but then no day is good for shopping! 🙁

    It is probably the weather that has short circuited my braain!

  40. oliver says:

    hi rico and ra, thanks for clarifying that. i thought curbs because it was west ham (if it were charlton, i would definitely thought curbs), but i remember that he and pardew effectively swapped jobs a couple of years back. and i think arsene actually shoved pardew, after the latter rolled up on him following harewood’s late winner?

    ra, no problem. baseball winning percentage is calculated by dividing a team’s wins by the total number of games played. in the mets case, we have played 125 games this season, winning 63 (losing 62). therefore we divide 63 by 125 to get the mets current winning percentage of .504 really good teams will generally be in the low/mid .600’s. you can take the yanks number of wins, divide it by games played and get their win percentage (i do not have their numbers in front of me). hope this is clear.

  41. oliver says:

    ra, out of idle curiosity, how does the mets fan you were chatting with feel about omar and the wilpons? i think most fans’ ire is directed at jeff (wilpon), and even as general manager, omar is perceived as not having that much decision power.

    i have not spoken to a single mets fan that thinks ollie perez should still be on the team. the mets owe him 24 million in wages this season and next, that is why he has not been released.

  42. rico says:

    spot-on oliver, curbs isn’t that kind of guy is he…

    Hope you guys are keeping tabs on the widget’s in the side bar…. 🙁

  43. oliver says:

    agree. i actually think curbs a decent guy and manager – i thought he did a fantastic job getting (and keeping) charlton athletic in the prem for a few years. they even did us 4-2 at highbury during one season, perhaps 00-1?

    pardew, on the other hand,….grrrrrr

  47. agirlagunner says:

    Boo!

    rico, in theory, I agree, but I am wildly entertained by AW’s clashes with other managers, Tango Brown, Fat Sam, Jol, O’Neill, Hughes, Maureen, Fergie. It’s been less enjoyable re: the last two though, as they have, in recent years, been winning, winning, winning unlike Le Prof…

    Eduardo is to be emulated by those who leave… I still feel sad he’s no longer sporting our colors. 🙁 I was convinced this season was going to be his comeback…

    Helo, RA, techie. Hi, oliver. 🙂

  49. agirlagunner says:

    RA, all days are good shopping days. 🙂 🙂

    rico, the website looks exactly like what my shampoo bottle promises and never delivers for my hair: sleek and professionally-styled. Haha.

    Hola, 4p.

  50. Red Arse says:

    Thanks Oliver,

    The stats we get over here only show the Wins, Losses so the Yankees are W78; L48; Pct.619; GB –. Same as the Rays. Obviously the games played = 126, but not something a broken brain easily thinks of. 😳

    I was trying to equate the wins/losses ratio like the goals for/against in the PL. Now all youhave to do is remind me what the GB is. This is becoming embarassing. 🙂

    My friend, who is over here from LA, and supports both the Dodgers, his second team and the Mets, he was born in New Jersey (?), I think.

    It was like talking to you, really. he thinks Omar is weal and ineffective but somewhat powerless.

    He did not have a good word for Ollie Perez, and was furious the Mets allowed themselves to get into that position with his contract.

  53. oliver says:

    ra, a big problem is that omar is the one that resigned ollie to that huge contract. in omar’s defense there, ollie was coming off consecutive double-digit win seasons, and helped hold the injury ravaged rotation together in 2006, pitching effectively in two nlcs starts. but it seems there was not much other interest in ollie, omar was basically bidding against himself when they argeed to 3yr/36 million. and since signing that contract, ollie has been outright dreadful – and now he is a pariah in his own clubhouse. mets really should eat the money and cut ollie. jerry has no use for him and won’t pitch him except in mop-up situations – he is simply taking a roster spot that may otherwise be given to someone who can contribute…

    your friend must have supported the dodgers when they will still in brooklyn then. imagine that he loved citi field when it was opened last year – fred wilpon made sure there was more (brooklyn) nostalgia and momentos there than actual mets history. i am sure the mets felt like strangers in their brand new state-of-the-art ballpark…

  54. rico says:

    Howdy agag, as always, you make us chuckle, I love the shampoo reference 😉

    I too enjoyed all the spats with the managers, but when we were a force on the field, nowadays its horrid to see wenger behave like a kid after we have be beaten, usually after we have missed 20 shots on goal and 75% possession….. 😉

  56. Red Arse says:

    oliver,

    I heard somewhere that Silent Stan was on the verge of acquiring an NFL franchise for $750K. Again i was somewhat stressed out and may have been mistaken.

    Anyway, Mets P 125 W63 L62 Pct .504 GB 9 1/2

    Remind me, what is GB 9 1/2 🙂

  57. Red Arse says:

    Rico,

    I don’t know. Hairy arsed men showing off their headless torsos; widgets with third eyes and then their is Agag. 🙂

  58. oliver says:

    ra, he is trying to buy the st. louis rams outright. he already owns part of them, as well as the denver nuggets, colorado avalanche and rapids…

    9.5 is how many games out of first place they are. it was 11.5 on the weekend, so they somehow made up two full games on atlanta (and philadelphia). in the standings, a team gets half-a-point for a win and can gain another half-a-point if a team above them loses. mets are 9.5 games back because atlanta has played one more game than them. so mets will have a game on a day atl is off – if they win, they gain another .5 in the standings…

    moot point, however…as long as the offense does not really hit, they are not going to win too many games. six runs against florida last night looks good on paper, but the runs came from a mixture of singles, florida error, and two frenchy sacrifice flies. they have been the worst/second worst team in baseball with runners-in-scoring position since the all-star break…

  60. rico says:

    RA 😆

    There was a funny clip at the end of either the dipper or b’pool game, arsene was scratching his ‘groin’ area – i searched and search but couldn’t find it, that’s the one i hope to put up….

  62. agirlagunner says:

    Oi, RA. I’m really rather normal. It’s only my avatar that’s weird. But the wonly green kettle has personality, you would agree.

    rico, speaking of funny videos, did you see Theo’s where he said something to the effect that Flappy dancing is not a sight he wants to see again?? Haha. Can’t dance, can’t mind his keep… Poor guy. Oh, and it seems like Rambo can’t dance either.

  63. Red Arse says:

    Oliver,

    In the Met games I have seen, I have been astonished at the number of times they have blown it with the bases loaded. I think I told you that before.

    I was working out how long ago it has been since I worked in the US and regularly watched b/ball, and I can’t believe it is nearly 15 years. I have since worked in Saudi, Japan, Germany and of course the UK, with extended trips all over the show. I have loved it but someone has stolen a lot of years from me! 🙂

    Florida W62 L62 still have a game in hand, so it’s nip and tuck.

  64. Red Arse says:

    Agag,

    As a mere male I could not possibly argue with a wonky green kettle.

    You and Rico are a perfect match, a bit like two book-ends! 🙂

  66. rico says:

    Newcastle have transfer listed Steven Taylor, he’d be a good addition to our defence, bit of a thug but…

  67. agirlagunner says:

    Well then, RA, that makes you pretty smart for a ‘mere male’. 😉

    oliver, RA, I’d like to contribute to the baseball talk but I have to paraphrase Hansen/Waddle no baseballing brain. 🙂

  69. oliver says:

    agag….hahahahaha…a lot of people in queens would say the same of jerry manuel (mets manager)!!

    ra, they just do not have a lot of confidence in those situations – they are improving slightly, but still well below what it should be. the starting pitching has been much, much better than expected…but when a team cannot score runs, the pitchers have virtually no margin for error.

    this is where jerry comes in for criticism from me – he just will not drop wright or beltran further down in the lineup. both our “power” guys were ice-cold for virtually all of july and much of august, but jerry kept them in the 3-5 slots (and often back-to-back) in the lineup. so when reyes and (especially) pagan get on base at the top of the order, there is nobody to drive them in. ike has also been in the 4, 5 slots, but he is a rookie and pitchers have adjusted to him…

  70. agirlagunner says:

    Maybe, Almunia will go in January, rico. He’s a nice enough fella, but he’s just not good enough for a club with serious title aspirations…

  71. rico says:

    It must be hard for him agag, if wenger is honestly after a keeper who is to be number 1, wenger should have told him by now, its not fair for him to be left dangling only to see a keeper come in on deadline day…

    i’m hoping that squilli and one other will be announced tomorrow…

  74. Red Arse says:

    oliver,

    i think the girls are politely telling us the b/ball has to be put away for today! 🙂

    Rico, Agag, I read that Winkie Wenger was supposed to show up with ‘Arry for a FIFA do re the 2018 WC.

    He did not show and the reason given is that he was busy on tfr business. Interesting if true.

    I think Taylor could be quite a good addition for us as a squad player. Who knows.

  75. agirlagunner says:

    We’d be ‘hard’ if melo were to arrive, rico. I watched him at the WC and found him a bit brash and reckless. But Aquilani to Juve is said to be part of a Trez to Liverpool deal. Ack! I wouldn’t be able to stand it. I like Trez too much… (I obviously like Liverpool and would-be Liverpool star strikers.) 🙂

  76. rico says:

    No no, not at all RA, as said before, yes, this is a arsenal site but you all talk about what you like, certainly doesn’t bother me 🙂

  77. rico says:

    would you turn up with Arry RA? 😉

    I honestly believe Wenger is busy still sorting out a couple more players, there has to be a big one coming in too, the player that convinced Cesc to stay…..

  78. agirlagunner says:

    Hardly, RA. I like reading your and oliver’s feelingly felts on baseball. 🙂

    Well, Akinfeev was just, last month, sending out come get me feelers… I think I’d like that. Maybe, our temperamental Russian guy needs someone to drink vodka with. 🙂

  80. Red Arse says:

    Thank you ladies! 🙂

    Won’t be long until the NFL starts and i think WATH is into that as well, or it might be JJ.

    Have you heard anything from JJ. I miss his comments and especially the feisty way he and WATH chatted to each other. 🙂

  81. rico says:

    i would prefer him to old spice agag…

    Melo, well, if it’s Melo or Denilson, who would you prefer 😉

  82. agirlagunner says:

    Trez is exactly where Henry is now, football-wise. Well, they are no spring chickens. 🙁 But they were two of the best strikers of their generation. Ah, it is but a dim memory now… But France used to play fantastic footie. Haha. Domenech ruined that squad. But then with the likes of Anelka and Evra– I cn’t say I’m fussed. 🙂 🙂

  84. rico says:

    The French went the same way as England, England had McClaren, they had Domenech 😉

    I couldn’t take him seriously, he looked like a character from Thunderbirds 🙂

  86. Red Arse says:

    you girls have gone all technical footie.

    I noticed Agag used the term “Dim Memory”, and that reminds me I haven’t eaten since brekkers and a nice Dim Sum would go down v. well.

    So on that note, I say G’nite sheilas, see you tomorrow.

  88. rico says:

    I just googled it RA, no wonder I didn’t know it includes meat dishes, something I don’t partake in 😉

  90. agirlagunner says:

    JJ makes me laugh cause he never minces words, and is never one to retreat from a position. And he calls Diaby and Denilson and Theo all sorts of creative things. 🙂

    I had dim sum for dinner, RA. With chili-garlic and soy sauce and calamansi and a can of Coke. Yum.

  91. oliver says:

    rico, re: your 5:13pm, i also think arsene is working on more than one potential signing. but i do not think he pitched any signings to cesc as an inducement to stay. judging by the muted nature of cesc’s statement, i feel it was more of a matter of arsene reminding him that barca have under-bid, and that the club could not afford to sanction a transfer for the cut-rate fee barca were offering. if they had offered a more realistic bid, i think a transfer might have been done. or, if barca had just kept quiet on this, arsenal may have even agreed to transfer cesc for an “undisclosed fee” they would never want to be revealed. if the latter has an element of truth, then barca’s inability to help themselves (by keeping quite) may have scuppered this one.

  92. rico says:

    Actually guys and gals, i’m going to call it a day too – stuff to be getting on with, how annoying…

    I’ll bid you all a very good morning, afternoon, evening, night, wherever you are and catch up tomorrow…

    Stay safe all…. 🙂

  93. rico says:

    oliver, i hope on this occassion i turn out to be right and its a bit of broke barca and promise of a big player 🙂 But i do see where you are coming from..

    Spot-on re JJ agag, he spoke from his heart…

  94. rico says:

    oliver, going on from that, i honestly believe barca knew they had no chance this summer to get him – so, they used all the players to put pressure on both cesc and arsenal, almost to make cesc’s position to stay very difficult.

    What Barca have since learned and so have I is that Cesc remained a ‘gentleman’ throughout, i was one of the worst to slate him for not speaking, but now i know why he didn’t…. Barca’s tactics may very well have annoyed cesc as much as they annoyed all of us…

    Wenger 1 Barca 0 – at last we beat them 🙂

  95. agirlagunner says:

    Good night, everyone. I like what you’re both saying about Cesc. However much I feel that our victory is short-lived, it’s Barca that have been exposed as so utterly declasse in all this. And I can’t wait to have our captain Fantastic well and truly back. 🙂

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