We are now about to begin a new but all familiar journey to try and claim Europe’s ultimate football prize. We have had lots of ups and downs over the years, Arsene Wenger has said he has sleepless nights wondering why this trophy has eluded him for so long. The closest we have had to claiming it was that Wednesday night in Paris.
I was so psyched up for that game since as most of you know I’m a huge fan of European football as I have witnessed the likes of Milan and Madrid get crowned over the years but this time it was our turn. We started off the game like possessed men knowing that it would be history for us if we were to win it. We had the best defense in Europe and Henry was the best forward in Europe so I had lots of confidence that we were going to win.
Henry missed a couple of early chances but you felt it was only a matter of time before we broke the deadlock. Unfortunately for us Lehmann got sent off which forced Wenger to substitute Pires who was my favorite player in the squad. I felt sad for the man since he was playing in front of his friends and family in his hometown which led to the departure of a legend…I felt so sad for him as the game continued since the cameras took every opportunity when there was a break to glance at the face of a broken man and little did I know we too weren’t going to have a happy ending…
Despite Campbell scoring for us Henry was our main culprit of missing chances as he tore the stains defence only to hand the ball to Valdez. Hleb and Ljunberg went close but you all know how the night ended… Millions of Gooners all over the world were broken and truth be told my mind replays that game over, time and time again, wondering what went wrong?
Since then we have been knocked out in the quarters twice, once in the semis and once in the round of 16. In 07-08 we were so good it was almost unbelievable till that night at Anfield where we lost despite playing some breathtaking stuff.
Looking at the past winners of the competition since 2004 – Porto, Barca (twice), Liverpool, Milan, Mancs and Inter all have several things in common. Firstly all had very good defenses. This doesn’t necessarily mean the best defenders but having a solid unit. After the Bolton game Wenger said the same thing and that we are close to reaching there, whether we do is anyone’s guess. Another thing is the amount of pressing done by these teams. Tackling is good but for me pressing like a pack of wolves is more effective since a tackle may result to a sending off or even a serious injury to the tackler. Barca could have knocked us out us in 45 minutes as AW said which was mainly due to how they pressed us from the front not allowing us any time to settle.
Secondly all the above teams had an outstanding player who was contending for the balon d’or. In our ranks we have Cesc, RVP10 and AA who are most likely to claim that prize. One or indeed all of them need to step up if we are to win the CL. You also need lots of luck as Liverpool showed in Istanbul, Barca at the Bridge, and Inter at the Camp nou…
Do we have the aforementioned qualities?
Certainly the likes of Mourinho don’t think so. As for me I think attack wise we are among the best right now but in defence we’ll have to wait and see.
Today we face Braga. Having enjoyed their best Liga season in 2009/10 when they finished second, SC Braga are now making an impact in Europe after eliminating Celtic FC and Sevilla FC to earn a first UEFA Champions League group stage campaign. They are nicknamed the Arsenalistas because Braga’s kit resembles that of Arsenal FC – this is said to be down to Hungarian coach József Szabó, who had three spells in charge between 1935 and 1961. Szabó had visited Arsenal in September 1935 and was so impressed with the north London club that he convinced Braga to change their original white and green colours. That being said we should take Braga lightly at our own peril…
Although this is their first appearance in the Champions League they had to shrug off Sporting Lisbon and Porto last term going toe to toe with Benfica is where they fell short in the end. This was the first time they finished in the top three in their history.
Over the past few years the minnows from northern Portugal have slowly been getting their act together, particularly on the European stage. Braga successfully qualified for the UEFA Cup/Europa League for the last three successive seasons, gaining experience and confidence year after year. Bolton, Bayern Munich and PSG have all been held to draws while Tottenham, AC Milan and Wolfsburg chalked up victories by the slenderest one-goal margins. This season Braga has already knocked out Celtic and Sevilla on their way to the group stage.
Braga’s main strength is a very strong back line which only conceded 20 goals last team considering that 5 of them were against Porto making it ever more impressive. A host of new recruits have been signed up this summer, including Nigerian international left-back Uwa Echijile(look out for him), as well as a trio of Brazilians; centre-backs Eduardo and Leo Fortunato and anchoring midfielder Leandro Salino have all joined up with the squad. They have very good counter attacks which we know can be dangerous if we let them initiate them. This makes Song crucial as he will have to be positionally disciplined to prevent them. Their attack is comprised of a couple of Brazilians who could be lethal if given the opportunity.
One of this Brazilians is their top scorer Matheus who scored in the league opener with Portimonense and netting vital strikes in both legs of the Champions League play-off with Sevilla to follow his piledriver against Celtic. Don’t be fooled though as Braga score from different regions of the pitch which is helped by Matheus who plays like Chamakh drifting all over while making intelligent runs to draw out the centre backs.
All in all we are the favorites, no European team has ever won at the Emirates. Whoever pulls on an Arsenal shirt today should play at 110% if we are to end our European trophy drought. If we want to be considered as European juggernauts we have to lift the big eared trophy which would go a long way to solidifying Wenger’s legacy. First we have to win the first then the rest will follow. Have a memorable evening all gooners and let’s hope our boys make us proud.
C’MON YOU REDS!!!!!!!!!
Look of champions????
Written by KTR-7
Morning all
Great post KTR7, great read…
Look of champions, they certainly looked relaxed. If we get the luck this could very well be our year, just need to avoid the chavs and barca until the final.. 😉 Hopefully though both of them will have been knocked out prior to the date at Wembley 🙂
Top post mate. I still have nightmares about that fateful night. While most of the blame was placed on Lehman you have a good point about Henry missing many good chances that he normally would have gobbled up, most people seem to forget about that.
excellent preview KT, i’m looking forward to this one big style. Our team are pressing very well this season i just hope they keep it up in every game no matter who the opposition are.
I’d like to see vela start tonight for chamach, at the moment we are too reliant on the big man, one injury to him and we’ll be struggling. This will be the ideal stage for Vela to get some playing time.
hi mcmellish, you are right, like you i blame mad jens but henry did miss a few which by his standards were sitter…
pires coming off also saddened me, still to this day i wonder if that was the right decision by wenger…
morning tommy, up front, one injury to any we are going to struggle, but if we play ‘football’ tonight, we will win..
I’m expecting a win, theres plenty of talk that braga struggled with the hulks movement at the weekend, they should be dizzy tonight 🙂
I can’t see anything other than a home win either, but i do think KTR7 is right, the team mustn’t think Braga are an easy side, too many times when we play ‘lesser’ sides we take the win for granted.
Morning all.did anyone catch the spuds vs bremen?i thought marko marin was excellent as i had earlier predicted.rico i also told you that panathanaikos were in for a thrashing.messi hit the bar,missed a penalty,created two and scored two…i’m telling you if barca were at 100% the scoreline would’ve been 8 or 9.the worrying thing for them is that their team is too small and if anyone saw a panathanaikos goal it was a goal kick which was flicked on by cisse to govou to score.it was the only thing valdez did last night,picking up the ball from the net.but you’ve gotta hand it to barca just watch messi’s second…wow!
thats it KT we play our big boys against barca in blackburn stylee, champions league is ours sussed! 🙂
Morning KTR7, thank you for your post, its tip-top 🙂
I didn’t see any footie last night just a few snippets this morning, saw the barca goals and yes, messi missed a few…
The spuds must be reeling as must old red nose 😉
I hope that Barca come up against a side who have much luck against them and they get knocked out…
KTR7, i have emailed you 😉
I’ll check it in abit rico.the spuds now have the hang of it…grabbing a draw in the jaws of victory!…in other news valencia’s injury looked very similar to eduardo’s.hope he recovers well.
old red nose has said he’s out for a long long time, dislocated and broken, fergie says just like alan smith’s injury, we all know what happened to both him and Eduardo – nasty injury and a key player for the mancs – i wish him well too…
😆 re the spuds
Rico inter were held by twente a team we beat on ramsey’s debut.inter don’t look like defending champions since benitez doesn’t have a clue of what he is doing.
Come on The Arsenal!!
Top of the morning to yer all and thanks for bringing back the 2006 final memories, KTR7. It was the most painful result I have ever had to see at the end of 90mins yet, I was proud of our players for reaching that far especially if you look back at the teams we had beaten to reach that stage? “Los Galacticos” and the (scandalous)Mighty Juventus were brushed aside like Spurz and Liverpooh to get the chance at glory. Alas, t’was the Barca beeyatches that robbed us of acheiving the top prize….
Mad Jens was always going to have one of those mad moments despite the fact that he had been excellent through-out the tournament, Henry missing a handful of chances was unbearable. Listening to him saying that Barca did nothing throughout the game except score their goals especially Eto’o as he was annonymous, had no bearing on the fact that he missed a handful.
Its about time we made our mark again and this time, make it stick. I will not be happy to see the likes of Chavskie winning the Champion’s League before we do. Gut wrenching it will feel like!
K-TR7,
Good call re:the Weder Bremin winger Marin, he’s the one that burst the spurz bubble!! hi hi hi
anyone heard of this tarmo kink who starred for boro last night, this video makes him look as good as messi, but thats hollywood!
KT as always love your CL post top stuff mate thanks
Paris 2006 painfull mate when we took the lead i knew we had it but tough luck
Hope Cesc can lead us RVP sm not so sure and AA also
Morning all
KT Oliech plays today hope you will be watching
Hope i will catch the game today
KTR7, biggest mistake by Inter is hiring Rafa…
Morning T-buzz and Erick…
2006 was painful, nearly as painful as watching Eboue dive in that game to set up our goal 🙁
Thanks for the support guys i appreciate it.Erick i’ll keep an eye on oliech tonight.Mariga also played very well and almost scored too.Tbuzz i thought marin was worth a pint…corluka must be having nightmares of him.
Rico everytime i remember Paris i see pires’ face when he was substituted.he was my favourite and we ended up losing anyway which as i’ve have never recovered from.cesc lifting that trophy would be the stuff of dreams…
K-TR7,
If I can remember, Pires was taken off for Juan Mummy’s-boy Reyes.? He already had his head turned towards Spain IMO anyway so he wasnt really much help! I felt for Bobby Pires too cos he had been instrumental as well.
You and me both KTR7, it was the end for him from that day, in an i/v bobby said it ‘killed’ him, one of best players left the pitch that night, surely there would have been a better option…
T-buzz, i dont think Reyes started in the final did he? best i go check 😉
In my preview i failed to mention rodrigo lima who scored a cracker vs porto in the weekend.Hulk as someone else has stated here devastated them with his expert movement on and off the ball.the key to beating them is movement especially from chamakh,AA,rosicky and fabregas.
Reyes came on on 85mins for Hleb 😉
Freddie or Hleb should have gone off when Almunia had to come on….
Rico reyes came off the bench if my memory serves me right.
I think we’ll forgive you KTR7 😉
He did KTR7, on 85 mins to replace Hleb
Ibra signing for barca was really screwed.i think Guardiola wanted him to play the way chamakh plays for us but as we know there is only one of those.Guardiola may have won 6 trophies but he is no better than arry in the market.
Yeah, youre right rico, Almunia was the replacement as Pires was taken off, my memory failed me there LOL
Mummys boy came on much later in the game
KTR7, didn’t Guardiloa inherit most of his squad and now all he’s doing is taking the credit..
Sadly I forsee that kind of thing happening at Arsenal, over the many years wenger has built and built within the youth, when they all finally get to play in the first team Wenger will be gone…
The great thing is they won’t need time to gel, they have been doing that all along in the reserves and Banfield has already got them playing the wenger way, as has Bouldy…
K-TR7, Guardiola may be no better than ‘Arry but with 6 trophies in the bag within a space of how many years? I’ll have him! 🙂
T-buzz, i’m a woman, i’m always right 😉 😉
I wish Reyes could have settled, he would have been a real hero with us…
I’d rather Bergkamp with Bouldy by his side – Pepe would probably want to go home to Spain after a couple of years, all the Spanish seem to want that 🙂
Anyone think Ajax will get a point at Madrid?
Rico so long as higuain and cr7 continue to impersonate bendtner…but i don’t see madrid conceding.i have also just read chamakh’s interview on fifa.com which is worth a read.he has said diaby is the player that has surprised him the most,he is exceptional according to him.
I have read somewhere that the spuds have released a DVD of last night’s game!…
K-TR7, “2 nil, and you f**ked it up…” should be sang all through that dvd!! lol
Thats interesting about Chamakh and his views on Diaby KTR7, maybe he has been the bees knees in training…
Guys, I’m not laughing at the spuddies until the group stage is over, inwardly smiling yes, but…..
Got to pop off for an hour, back soon…
KTR7, mikeB has asked me to pass on that he has read your post and its excellent, He couldn’t leave a comment as he’s had to go out but hopes to be on later
Later all….
nobody home 🙁
oh to be a gooner
Its the Arsenal baby
oh to be a gooner
Erick still here.
Mourinho has just had another dig at Wenger…why is he so obsessed with wenger and our club?
ohayo gozaimasu, all…and three points, please.
Mourinho wishes he could manage Arsenal but Wenger is there and looks likely to be there till he dies, so all he can do is bitch about the Arsenal. That is what i think anyway…. 🙂
KT He knows our future is gold 🙂
or even better platinum
Boo, I’m here too…
jose is a sad old geezer who knows we destined to be dominating again soon…. and he doesn’t like that thought…
hows things oliver??
all quiet so i’m off to clean a few more windows 😉
Got to do something to keep my mind off tonight….
Rico cleaning windows and answering calls is your speciality 🙂
Mourinho wishes he could build an empire like Wenger or Fergie.he can’t develop youngsters like we do and despite him winning 16 trophies in 8 years Wenger is still more respected despite his dry streak.
t, interesting take on mourinho. i see it a bit differently – i honestly think he could care less about arsenal. i would suggest his comments are more another pop at arsene, than at the club. he seems to have always worked this way. in england, he always had a go at arsene and benitez. in italy, he couldn’t help himself talking about ancelotti and ranieri. wait a couple of weeks and he’ll really have a go at pep. he seems a rather nasty and vindictive person – several years ago, ottmar hitzfeld bascially said just that prior to a chelsea vs bayern cl tie. it is always about him – not the team – so constant carping about current and former rival managers are his way of reminding everyone of what he has done, by highlighting what some have not yet done.
regarding mourinho and arsenal, our club and him would not be a good fit. we try to play open attacking football, we are conservative with funds, and would almost certainly not allow the like of mourinho an open checkbook. his image and legacy are so important to him, why would he be interested in a job where he would be unlikely to impose conditions critical to building his type of football side?
and that is only considering mourinho’s possible view. for the arsenal view, i cannot envision our board/manager wanting much to do with him. we want long-term stability – mourinho’s body of work suggests that once he wins, he looks for the next job (his messy departure from chelsea seeming an exception, as the job (cl win) was not yet complete when he left). would he consider us a stepping stone to a job such as man united?
you made a good point, mind you, i just don’t think he has much interest in arsenal. i think his comments about us are more about his taking shots at arsene personally, than any envy of our club.
Oliver your point of view is excellent.i agree with all you’ve said and thats probably why his only high profile manager friend is SAF because he wants to coach the mancs…but group G has big reputations with 20CL titles between milan,madrid and Ajax…wow!
oliver long one mate
Oliver He has already had a dig at barça…he said that barca buy players like they are in a supermarket.
Cheeky Erick, the doorbell will soon be ring too, hence the cleaning of windows 😆
k, thanks…regarding pep and mourinho, i think the comments actually started last year, in the build up to the cl semi-final. pep was able to shrug it off. wait until the week before the first el classico. i am curious to see how pep deals with the provocation that will surely come his way: he seems quite able to rise above this sort of sniping, but i expect mourinho to intensify his comments and perhaps make them more and more personal about pep. if barca are behind real in the table, perhaps pep will feel the need to fire back. it will be entertaining, that is for sure…
anyone else see the irony in the checkbook manager of real madrid’s comment about his domestic rivals doing their transfer business at tecso’s?
hiya erick…very busy here. this morning is not so bad, so i have a little time to read and comment on our club. will not be able to later on and i am unlikely to even be able to follow today’s fixture via online updates. oh well…
oliver, i am not so sure, i think what he really doesn’t like or understand is how wenger has kept his job after winning nothing for five years. his problem is the clubs he has managed are those who want instant success. fergie was given time and look what happened, rafa was given time but he bought the wrong players, wenger has been given time, he just doesn’t buy players… 😉
if jose doesn’t win the CL and La Liga I bet he gets the push, in fact my thought is that should Madrid not make it through the group stages he will go in any case..
winning the league isn’t enough for madrid, just ask capello….
Rico mourinho may win games but as capello was told that madrid is also about flair considering how envious they are of barca’s style.its only a matter of time before fans start waving white flags…they’d rather win 4-3 than 1 nil i tell you.oliver mourinho is looking for Guardiola’s weak point but am sure there will be a war of words in the el classico.
KTR7, madrid got booed at the weekend, the flags are in hand, just waiting to be waved 🙂
they want flair, then sell VDV, strange one really…
rico, i think that jobs like real are exactly what mourinho wants: instant success demanded. he can come in, spend and shape with full backing from the board, win now and punch out before the decline sets in. in today’s football, there is no better quick-fixer than jose mourinho.
wheras arsenal are not necessarily built to win today. the emphasis on youth (not ready-made players), building a specific culture and going through growing pains are anathema to someone like mourinho. he goes into a job to win there and then, not build foundations for future success. of course, he will tell you that any success ancelotti has at chelsea and rafa at inter are due to what he built at those two places, but that is just him taking opportunities to big himself up while discrediting other managers (two of his personal favorites, no less).
pressure will be absolutely tremendous at real, but i imagine mourinho would not have it any other way. win the cl and his legacy continues to grow. get the sack without winning, and he can spin it as interference from the board, or whatever he likes.
my point is that he will not have this at arsenal. we are not built to dominate and win in a couple of years, not necessarily today. this side still has some growing pains to endure. that is not mourinho’s philosophy, so it is not a job he would have much interested in. can you imagine him taking over at arsenal and winning the cl? he would rightly get credit, but how much would also go to arsene for laying the foundations and developing key players in the team. think mourinho would enjoy sharing credit with arsene, of all people? neither do i…
fourth para second sentence should read “we are built to dominate…” sorry.
yeah, i heard the bernabeau faithful were none too pleased with their grind-it-out win. i could have told them it would be like this.
if he delivers the cl this season, i imagine they will put up with some 1-0 wins along the way.
nice read K-TR7 thou I think you are off by few years about the Braga coach. wiki(thou it can be wrong) says it was in the 1920′.
I honestly hope Vela starts he doesn’t make many chances but is clinical when he shoots.
1921 to be exact 🙂 🙂
Hi Stef 🙂
Oliver they may put up with the wins but in the end he’ll get the boot.what is also annoying is how he says my chelsea/inter which clearly undermines the man incharge.if Aw wins us the CL it will be viewed in the same magnitude barca’s was and i for one pray it happens.
I got my reference from UEFA website stef.it seems they are out of sorts lately…
k, i think what mourinho would like to do is win and then walk of his own accord, perhaps directly to old trafford. and then the next guy that takes over at real will have the shadow of mourinho hanging over him, with comments like “this guy can win, but it wil be with my team”.
i think there is a disconnect between the board and supporters at the bernabeau. both want to win, but the appointment of mourinho suggests that the board have had enough of barca’s dominance and will sacrifice style for a manager and blueprint that has succeeded at other clubs. the supporters want to win, but without sacrficing the style of play they expect from the team. expect mourinho to start sniping at real supporters when his “dull but effective” style gets roundly criticized. it has already started a bit, and i don’t think mourinho will be able to keep quiet for long. it should be compelling viewing.
Hi Rico 🙂 can’t find the year on the Braga site maybe because I don’t know Portuguese.
That’s OK K-TR7 I am not certain of it either.
Oliver about `Moor` I think he will have job until clubs with lots of money want instant success.
And not forget Real first choice was Arsene and we all know why 😉
stef, i know real wanted arsene and he alluded to “flirting” with them a season or two ago. but i think both parties now know he would not be a good fit at the bernabeau. he would not necessarily have the freedom to develop players and “grow” a team as he can do at the emirates. barca’s period of current success means real has to win right now. any building for the future must be conducted while winning now.
Oliver you always seem to have a script of well put answers to any discussion.you are again 100% correct…if anyone saw our shooting stats from last season’s CL we had 56% of our shots on goal going in which was the best in the tournament.also against bolton i was impressed by how well were able to play tiki taka while still look dangerous.we are maturing i say and i hope we outperform the 07-08 squad.as much as we hate barça they are the blueprint;last night they ended up with 86% possession which gives the opposition no chance to come back.we’re almost there…
KTR7, I shouldn’t worry 😉
Guys, got to pop off again, only for an hour, need to get my nesquick for the game 😉 😉
k, any team that wins something must have a series of things go right, in order to be successful. for our arsenal side, both in domestic and european competition, i think our key will be conceding fewer goals and, as always, keeping key players fit. signs do not look so good for the latter, but it is early yet. we have to hope we come out of tonight’s match relatively unscathed, because the weekend trip to wearside will not be an easy one.
Oliver, I think Wenger can make instant success easily in club like Real IMHO he is better then `Moor` in instant success you have to look back when he joined us when he bought certain players and made them stars.
The difference is he can do it in style and he will prove this season that can win with limited resources as well.
ah cant wait to be sitting in Wembley chanting on the Gooners come May…….but we do need our top players injury free….Van Persie fully fit we have as good as chance as anyone…..wouldnt mind a Barcelona final … it will be destiny for Fabregas to score in injury time
stef, i politely and respectfully disagree. i think arsene would win some matches and certainly maintain real’s cl place. but he has never beaten barca and never lifted the european cup – i cannot envision a realistic scenario where he could achieve either in a first season at real. i have no doubt that arsene get real playing much more attractive football than capello and mourinho – and this would certainly endear him to the supporters – but i do not think he could give them the success they crave immediately. long term, most certainly he could – but how much time would he be allowed to build over there?
the realities and philosophies of arsenal and real madrid are diametric opposites: the former is financially responsible and prudent, willing to patiently build tomorrow’s all-conquering side, regardless of rival activities and supporter impatience; the latter reacts to what the club in catalunya is doing; if barca is winning now, they have to break that and supplant them, regardless of the cost. their board pay lip service to entertaining football, but winning trumps all other objectives. speculate to win here and now, let tomorrow worry about itself.
arsene is much better suited to the former, and i think he would not like the latter. if he were to manaage real, i can envision him starting to build something special, but not lasting more than two seasons at most – not nearly enough time to finish it.
Oliver in your earlier comment about certain teams requiring a series of components is exactly what Aw is trying to do right now.as good as the invincibles were they are nowhere near the present team in European footy and vice versa.what Aw is trying to do is have a mix of the two teams which would enable us conquer the PL while enabling us to knock out physical teams such as inter/chavs in the CL.That equilibrium point has eluded us for so long but finally it looks like everything is falling into place.
Hola! Great write, KT. I was forcibly reminded of THAT game in Paris; and years on, I can still remember keenly that feeling of utter devastation. 😥
And not that there was ever any doubt, but you certainly know your European football. 😉
Great points, oliver. My view on Maureen is simple: He does not dovetail with our philosophy; and his system of instant gratification is so at odds with our bringing through the ranks approach that there will never be place for him in our club. That thought reassures me no end. 🙂
Oh to be a gooner 🙂 Oliver am also busy but I will try and catch the game its Arsenal.
Agag howdy 🙂
k, agree completely. the problem is developing and implementing this takes time, and not everyone is patient. lord knows i am not always so, but i try to remember that he is building for long-term, and that the components have to fit the overall machine. we’ll get there…
hiya agag. with mourinho, it is all about self. anything he does or accomplishes is to glorify jose mourinho. a long-awaited cl win for internazionale was great for their supporters, but satisfying the demand for european success was secondary to the extra check-mark on the “special one’s” resume.
Hola, Erick. Good to see you here, busy bee. 🙂 Howdy? Still besties with the photocopier? 😉
Mourinho is super ego incarnate, oliver. There’s no denying he has a winning mentality, but I can, in all honesty, say there is nothing about him that I like. In fact, I find him repulsive. 🙂
many – such as myself – will agree with you. in fact, so did a manager as distinguished as herr hitzfeld. i imagine that arsene has nothing but quiet contempt for him (mourinho).
AGAG you have a good memory like it Song with the braids nice 🙂 am in class waiting for the lecturer
Hey, oliver. What did Hitzfeld say about Mou??
Hi Folks,
literally just in for five minutes.
K-TR7, just wanted to say well done with the post. It took a lot of work and hit all the right spots.
I guess you’ve got a job for life 😆
As for Mourhino; reminds me of Brian Clough in arrogance and attitude… he’ll win a lot of trophies, but not too many admirers. Plus he’s a coal-face coach. Modern management requires more strategic vision. W
agag, i have to find the exact quotes, but he called him something similar to an unpleasant, arrogant individidual…prior to 2004 season cl tie between the two sides…let me see…
don’t know what happened there, but Mourinho should be spelt that way 😳
and was going to finish by saying that Wenger has both tactical and strategic vision. That’s why he’s one of the all-time greats of the game.
Erick, I remember saying that I don’t understand why he was was dropped by the coach when Cameroon was to play Japan; also, rico and I agreed he would be first on our teamsheet, for sure. I may have also said that he was newly-shaven and had gotten a haircut; and you said it just new plaiting… 🙂
Pay attention in class, Weeds. 🙂
spring 2005, hitzfeld call him “arrogant”, not a “sportsman”. “we have met, but we are not going to be friends”.
mourinho would probably agree with every word – i think he plays the arrogant villain card for all it is worth…
Hello, mikeB; let me guess why you’re here for just five minutes… More wining, and dining and shopping??
There’s something about Mou that just tries too hard. I don’t care for him or his. Absolutely no style.
Hola Agag/mike B.Braga coach says we can’t be compared to other English teams as we are more technical.he has also said we are close to barca in this regard as any team.
Boo, what have I missed 🙂
I would also want to say braga love scoring first and then sit deep.they have lightning quick counters and thats why Aw rested both sagna and clichy for this match.denilson will also likely play but wilshere may start.
Hi agag,
Can’t shop or dine anymore… wife took my credit card out to the shops… that was three days ago and I haven’t seen her since 😆
The wining will of course commence in about 60 minutes from now. 😆
K-TR7,
I say, beware the silver-tongued flatterer… he knows how to push the right buttons just before a serious game… difference with him and Mourinho is that he does it in a nice way.
Barca’s golden age is beginning to lose some of its shine. I am sure of it. As it is, they already have a few who are long in the teeth, and who shall, not too long now, become injury prone. (Xavi let it be you!)
Can’t wait for the Braga match.
mikeB :D. What to do but console yourself with a good bottle of red?
Boo, rico!
Hi Rico,
you didn’t miss a thing, we were just killing time til you got back 😆
On a separate note… do you think we’re on the cusp of a new era in Euro supremacy? Old Red Nose has definitely lost his mojo, and Barca are looking strangely vulnerable.
Could be the start of the decade of London N5 😆
Hey mike and agag, hows tricks,
been shopping today and found a very worn out credit card in the hands of a lady with very many Harrods bags…. 😉
Hi Rico,
can’t be my wife..l. she hides her Harrods bags inside Chanel bags 😆
😆 mike, top reply…..
And the wife has to have every color of the 2.55 reissues, does she not?? Tsk tsk.
And what have you been shopping for, rico??
agag, you watching tonight, glass of GG in hand ?? 🙂
But of course, rico. No GG though, have to be at work early (well, in my case, less late). Haha.
Sorry folks, but gotta go… I know you’re all mortified 😆
Have a great evening… I have a feeling tonight could be ths start of something special, but then I felt that last year, and the year before, and the year before that, and come to think of it…
Have a good one 😆
boring stuff agag, animal food and bedding 🙁
No GG, not a bad thing agag 😉
Bye, mikeB. See ya.
Haha, rico. Sounds like my shopping list. 🙂
Night mike, enjoy the game, i think you could be right… we are all mortified 😉
If you thought our team was small imagine how small the barca team looked when the CL tune was being played with only busquets,abidal,pique and valdez over 6ft…
Messi is in london today…
Messi? What’s he doing in London?
he was meant to be playing footie with the youths in hackney marsh agag, but he got mobbed…
At least the runt wasn’t trampled upon… 😉
Nightynight, all. Off to bed early. 🙂 Must watch our boys.
wish he had been agag 🙂
G` night agaga 😀
Interesting pictures of Sol
Rico, did Messi come to watch Arsenal play 😉
night night agag – enjoy the match later… 🙂
Howdy Stef 🙂
nice post kt
howdy all
what is cesc doing in that pic?
Howdy rsd…
Howdy rsd, he’s looking happy, thats the main thing 🙂
he seems confident tonight
RT @cesc4official: Champions league is back! Getting ready for the game. xx
apparently messi is gona be at the game
If we had a sugar daddy rsd you’d hear messi to Arsenal rumours begin to circulate.
KTR7, spot on, speculation would be rife…
Stef was right, Messi is here to watch and learn 😉
hoping boys put on a good show for him we have to be at our best tonight braga aint no push overs. If we hold the ball and draw out the holding players we should be in with a good shout.
intresting to see what this alan guy can do.
Messi has come to see the passmaster,the man after his player of the year crown…eboudinho!!!he has also received reports of players who can chip the ball better than he can at Arsenal.get the notebook out messi;watch and learn from song and vela…
He’s come to have another dig at Cesc, maybe he’ll realise just why he’s not so fussed about staying at Arsenal….
I’m off for dinner, back shortly 🙂
rsd, congrats by the way for getting on NN, dont know why it doesn’t show on my NN page, I saw it on someone elses …
so true can score any other way?
all sorces
i see you made it an’all
how did you get straight into the other one?
samir said on channel plus he’d start
Arsenal: Almunia – Sagna – Koscielny – Squillaci – Clichy – Song – Wilshere – Fabregas – Nasri – Arshavin – Chamakh
thats a good team rsd….
AA & Chamakh up tops….
well, in a front three….
bench dont look bad either
Subs: Fabianski – Rosicky – Vela – Denilson – Djourou – Eboue – Gibbs
Not too bad, take Flappy out and it would look better 😉
Aw likes nasri alot hope he has a good game.it seems Aw is not taking any gambles with rosicky.
at home he’s normally ok, fingers crossed KTR7, i’m off to watch….
Well, I suppose that half was ok 😉
Catch you all tommorrow, stay safe and be good 🙂 🙂
Night Night….
Jack MOTM 😀 great game so far I had trouble with streams so I missed 15 min. and penalty.
Chamakh looks better also, but last 10 min AA was lost and Song also doesn’t look good (besides the hair 😀 )
ok ok maybe Cesc was MOTM after all 🙂
read ya’ 2morrow have good 1
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