Time for change! After all, it's as good as a rest isn't it??

While everybody is talking about transfer windows and the latest comings and goings, I thought I would fast forward and think about the start of the new season.

Looking back over last season and analysing some of the pitfalls we encountered, I thought about how we had self destructed and how our season changed almost overnight.

I have looked at our players and tried to understand how we started so well but fell away and I think I may have a solution.

This solution may or may not work but it can only help and if it were introduced I believe the players would all benefit as I did by introducing it into my life years ago.

The Solution

This is something a lot of you may have introduced into your lives already and its to do with training, well body building really.

I have stopped now as I am knocking on a bit now and don’t have anybody to impress nowadays but it changes peoples out look and makes them feel powerful and with it comes more confidence.

My own view is that these are some of the attributes many of our players seem to be lacking when it came to the end of last season, in previous seasons too.

I didn’t struggle with self-confidence, I was what some would call loud and proud but when some of the guys at my work talked about starting up a group to do body building in our tea breaks and lunch hours, I straight away said count me in!

It also helped that we worked nights and there was nothing else to do anyway.

We got to making our own little Gym within the factory, all tucked away and hidden and we set about making Dumbbells, Bar bells and a weight lifting bench, just to start with. As time went on we  added more equipment, we were lucky as we were all skilled Engineers and could fashion almost anything.

Four of us started and we all stayed with it for several years, so I know by experience that this will work for our Arsenal players without question.

We started on what we had read in a body building Magazine, Pyramid training was our routine, we would do ten repetitions which is lifting the weight ten times, rest and then up the weight on the bar. Repeat this until the weight on the bar is so heavy you can only manage one lift! Then, reverse the process until you are back to the weight that you started with!

By the time you had done, that the muscle part you were working on would be totally exhausted, that is the aim!

We only had fifteen minute tea breaks but we crammed in all we could in that time. After, we would  go back to work and return at dinner time and then our last tea-break, so three times a night, four nights a week we worked out. We would work on arms chest and stomach on Mondays and Wednesday, legs Back shoulders on Tuesdays and Thursday.

About three months later having trained in this way, I started to notice a difference with myself and the others. We started walking differently, the guys were holding themselves differently, their posture held a sort of air of power, upright and strong.

After nearly a year of training I could see that a couple of the guys who had previously been a bit quiet and timid to start with had now changed, they had become a lot more self-assured.

We started off by lifting 100-110 lbs on the bar but after a year we were lifting 300 lbs. When we finished our sessions we all felt  like we could walk through walls and although we had firmed our muscles up and had started to take a nice shape, I realised that if I ever wanted to be an Arnold Schwarzenegger I needed to do more a lot more, so no fear of our players getting muscle-bound!! 😉

What this type of training showed me was that if you needed to build up your confidence or power or self-esteem this was the way to do it and I believe this is indeed what our players are lacking.

I read in one of the body building books I had that training like this releases endorphins into the body and gives you all the things I have stated.

The downside though was out of the four of us who were training, three had now split with our wives, the reason given was that we had changed in our personality and had somehow ‘become different’.

Maybe that is something our players would need to be aware of but if it wins us trophies I’m all for it!

These guys are earning thousands a week so maybe when it comes to their own training regime, maybe a change is as good as a rest.

Isn’t it????

Written by Steve Palmer

219 thoughts on “Time for change! After all, it's as good as a rest isn't it??

  1. rico says:

    Morning all

    Good read there Steve, Christiano Ronaldo is a walking example of a footballer with a strong physique and plenty of confidence…

    Our lot get pushed off the ball a bit too easy all too often, lightweights 😉

  2. allezkev says:

    Morning Rico,
    Great post by Arnie P.
    I used to know a guy like that in the post office. He changed from an quiet bloke into a confident & loud guy over a matter of months.
    Although i think doing weights became a bit obsessive with him. He even began talking about taking suppliments to aid his development [not sure if he ever did].
    Another downside was he had to burn that energy up somehow, hench he became a bit of a Ryan!!!
    Imagine Diaby bulking up like Vieira? Nah…

  3. rico says:

    Morning JM,

    don’t we all hope the same, this week both Young and Parker are due to have taks with their clubs…

  4. allezkev says:

    Just been reading about Ryan G, apparantly he’s on £80k p.w.
    Whatever you think about his tattered private life, he’s got a roomfull of trophies for ManUre.
    What has Nasri won for us?

  5. rico says:

    Nothing kev

    I’m not fussed if he stays of goes, just wish he’d get on and make his mind up – wenger can’t afford to let this run all summer, give him a date to sign by after which, put him up for sale if he doesn’t sign….

    Giggs is a bit of a s*****r isn’t he 😉

  6. rico says:

    Re the money, 80k and he will always be a UTD Ledgend, he may not be loyal to his wife and family but he has been towards the Mancs…

    And Nasri thinks he is worth more…. crazy world…

  7. allezkev says:

    Rico, does the Summer Window officially open today?
    Spot on Will, Young would be a fantastic addition.

  8. rico says:

    Same here Will, Parker has gone on his hols but Young is due talks…

    Nasi is just another Anelka…

  9. Will says:

    We need to add pace to the team. Teams know if they pack the box, we can’t score. We need players who can get in behind defences.

  10. Steve Palmer says:

    Morning all,
    I also read the article about the Manc stud, although I think he’s a bit of a shit, does it really deserve front page news, yes he has strayed outside of his Marital vows but who gives a shit, I don’t believe his girlfriend or wife didn’t know and i don’t think they cared either,everybody was living comfortable and i don’t suppose they wanted that to change, but once it comes out into the open and all their friends and the public know they feel that they should do something to show it was the wrong thing to do, so now there will be divorces and family split ups and a few bob for the stories. Yes its wrong and you can see why he wanted to stop it coming out but what has it proved, their all adults and know exactly what their doing, what’s it got to do with us.

  11. Steve Palmer says:

    But his brother was as well will, do you think he didn’t know.
    What i would like to ask you Will is your views on our defence

  12. W.A.T.H says:

    Rico, window opens in England after the last day of the season and closes end of August unless it falls on a sunday. Registrations usually can’t take place til July 1st thats all.

  13. W.A.T.H says:

    Giggs is welsh though they like to keep things in the family baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

    Oh and morning all…….!

  14. Will says:

    I think our defence needs a voice, an organiser. In open play, we have a great defence but has been widely reported, we suffer from set plays and I think that’s because we don’t have that organiser and I also think we need a defender who attacks the ball.

    We have loads of players waiting to react but none who make things happen. Again, it has been reported that Toure cleared over 100 crosses in his last season with us, that is because he would attack the ball.

  15. Steve Palmer says:

    I get the feeling that they are not working as a unit, where one goes forward others just stand about waiting to see what happens, that also seems to be the case up front nobody seems to be breaking through they are quite happy to pass sideways and back

  16. rico says:

    Thanks for clearing that up WATH, morning to you 😉

    Morning Steve, thanks for the post, I hope some of our whimps are reading….

  17. Will says:

    I do bodybuilding Steve but I am not sure if it would help our players but I do agree, a lot of our players are to soft and need a change of mentality.

  18. rico says:

    I feel that way everyday Steve 😉

    But – i used to use the gym when i played sport, i hated running so it was my way of keeping fit and healthy… It certainly made me feel better mentally…

  19. Steve Palmer says:

    I could do with starting up again myself but it would probably finish me off and i wouldn’t be around for our breakthrough

  20. W.A.T.H says:

    You’ll prob be 100 by the time our team makes a breakthrough Steve, we maybe able to breakthrough a crisp wrapper by then too 😉

  21. Steve Palmer says:

    Does anybody know how long Wengers trip to S America is going to be, as i am expecting an announcement very soon

  22. Pat7 says:

    Afternoon all!

    Stevie, I’m sure that there are some flaws in the training set-up & some of these injuries may well be caused by a lack of strength, especially in the period from Xmas onward when winter really strikes.

    I am a personal trainer & have coached at elite level for years besides getting myself to elite level at two sports and you’re right that your confidence improves with strength training, or any ‘real’ training.

    I don’t know how Arsenal are coached but I tried about 7 years ago to run a couple of ‘new technologies’ past them & got rebuffed & I wasn’t charging, just wanted to improve MY team. Maybe they’ve got their heads in the sand.

    All I know is every top sprinter today uses weights a lot. Football is a ‘speed’ sport nowadays so besides the technical side of football skills, some time should be given to increasing strength in order to ‘produce’ later in the season or in ‘tough’ matches when enthusiasm & energies run low!

  23. Steve Palmer says:

    Pat7, glad to hear from an experienced person, i found that it improved me and gave me what i believe our players need, i believe that we need to try new avenues of training and i believe that this sort of training will build body and mind without taking to much time, Wenger being a forward thinking coach surprises me that this avenue has not been exploited and would only hope that you would persevere and offer this service again as i honestly believe we need to change many things in our set up to move to where we all want the team to be.

  24. rico says:

    Steve/Pat,

    with all the ‘things’ Wenger tries, you would have thought that this would have been the one he’d listen to you on, diet etc is all well and good but you still have to put in the work to make your body strong….

    Just look at Gibbs, his body is very slight, no wonder he is always suffering injury…

  25. Steve Palmer says:

    Makes you wonder what kind of training professional footballers do, i can remember watching Tottering train when i was a kid in Cheshunt, and all i remember was running laps round the pitch five a side and running through bollards no wonder they was always shit.

  26. rico says:

    That’s funny Steve, they must still be training in the same way but it does make you wonder, i think our lot only see the gym during recovery from injury…

    they should be in it 3 times a week…

  27. W.A.T.H says:

    Don’t get muddled up with weight training though and body building, wenger says to much muscle is a problem hence they would do reps not big weights but he also puts a lot of faith in these stats he goes over and our training is very measured and timed…! Amazing we get so many injuries though. Did you propose radical stuff to them Pat7 or was it things that are now generally in the market to enhance fitness and training..?
    Another one of wengers dictatorship decisions..? lets not look at other options as I am never wrong..???

  28. W.A.T.H says:

    SP, Arsenal used to do sprints and sessions up and down the steps on the North bank mate that was our pre-season training lol 😉

  29. rico says:

    WATH, I was kind of think 3 times a week doing muscle work, fine tuning and just building strength, not trying to look like Arnie 😉

    Off to walk Fido, back in a bit ….

  30. Steve Palmer says:

    Is there a way we can find out their training schedule i would be very interested to know how things are done nowadays, I can remember Beckham saying he stayed behind after training to practice his ball striking and shooting, and he was a very good deliverer of a football, i wonder if any of our players would stay behind to practice even though they have super cars in the car park and every computer game waiting at home not forgetting a wag of course

  31. W.A.T.H says:

    SP, I know for a fact DB10 was first at training and last to leave, remember Lee Dixon saying the players used to think he was mad then realised that if he stayed extra to do things and he was that good it just showed them what putting in that bit extra meant

  32. Pat7 says:

    I honestly don’t know what his Personal Trainers work on. Obviously there’s a lot of rehabilitation work after injuries, involving strengthening of the area concerned & balance/proprioception to ‘stabilise’ the injury but apart from the ‘skills’ package he has put together which everybody (EPL) has caught up with I don’t think there’s anything radical.

    I was offering an opportunity for him to trial a ‘balance’ shoe called MBT to fend off the sprained ankles which we had a few of at the time that the Austrian ski team were using so having tried them and found them to be ‘very worthwhile’ was suggesting HE or one of his trainers might like a go of to see the benefits with me putting them through some drills but got rebuffed.

    My wife is a kinesiologist which means she resolves imbalances & can find the root cause of problems so I put a paper together for the gym & gave them a copy, again offering our help but again no joy………..

    I got a nice letter signed by AW but no reasons – maybe he trusted his own people…….who knows?

  33. Pat7 says:

    Rico,

    You’ve got to catch up! I’m in N Cyprus awaiting completion of my house + pool + gym (of course) 🙂 33C here today & 21ish overnight now – that’s what I moved from France for.
    Oh of course there’s the glorious sea, no tax for pensioners…….need I say more!

  34. Steve Palmer says:

    Pat7, Arsene has his own ways of doing things,Pre six years ago those ideas were pretty good, but as you say the rest of the EPL are now doing much the same. My view is that technology is more advanced now than it ever has been ,and although i am sure Wenger keeps in touch, may be not as much as he should. Wenger is getting older and what has worked in the past has always been his ways. It has taken all season of supporters and the media saying that we have problems in defence for him to actually come out and accept the fact, hopefully in the future he will realise that Technology has to come in eventually lets hope its sooner rather than later.

  35. Pat7 says:

    My son was at Stevenage for 6 years or so & they had a small gym which according to who was manager at the time used weights or not. It’s not rocket science to use weights but there are lots of misuses, mainly in the form of creating imbalances e.g. working the front of the body without spending the time to work the back to counter-balance. Footballers often ’cause’ hamstring problems by their development of the front of the leg, neglecting to keep the back at the same strength…

    So keeping up with the latest research & making use of this info’ & any ‘completely new’ tech which I was offering is a MUST if you want to stay in front which we are obviously not nowadays!!!!

  36. Steve Palmer says:

    Pat7, i understand what your saying, we used to work biceps but didn’t like triceps training as muck but at the end of the day it is the balance that gives the arm the look your looking for, and the power.

  37. Pat7 says:

    Rico,

    You talk of diet & Gibbs etc. As a nutritionist also I can assure you that diet is paramount to getting the best out of their training & recovering quicker so they can perform again at optimum sooner.

    Looking at Wenger himself, besides the others that get ‘popped’ of the ball so easily in the main, I have to wonder at that side of the coin. I’ve been ‘at it’ for 41 years now (the nutrition side) & the training side for 46 & would have loved to have been able to put in my 10p worth…………

    Why is Andrei still running around overweight? Surely most of them could do with some muscle. There comes a time when a loss of muscle may increase your endurance on the treadmill but in the ‘physical’ situation you lose out every time. That rings a bell!

  38. W.A.T.H says:

    Didn’t wenger bring in a sports training consultant a yr or so back to “train” the muscles and use specific methods to build problem areas and injuries etc etc…? As you say Pat not rocket science but having led the way for a while it seems others have caught us up and now in many ways passed us with technology. I still say boots that offer the foot no protection what so ever don’t help with all the metatarsal probs and ankle injuries…! then again who am I to know.

  39. arsenal fan says:

    good read its true that bodybuilding helps,
    one difference i saw
    1.everyone knew kos had to bulk up fast to survive in the premiership however even now there is not much difference between kos of the start of the season and now.
    2.On the other hand when i saw javier hernandez he to i felt was light weight but in a couple of months i saw him fitter ,stronger
    i think it is all because of right type of bodybuilding

  40. Pat7 says:

    Just another snippet: if you’ve been following the tennis you’ll of heard that Djokovic says that his ‘gluten-free’ diet is behind his recent improvement & now Federer has followed suit amongst others.

    I am & was racing triathlon in the late 1990s gluten-free! It’s a way of speeding the transit of food through your gut besides alleviating a lot of food sensitivities. I used it to ensure I was competing at optimal weight & not carrying yesterday’s food around!

    I’ll bet most are still bashing the chicken & (wheat) pasta! Oh well!!!

  41. allezkev says:

    I wonder what kind of weight-training Barcalona do?
    N.Cyprus…that’s the Turkish side isn’t it?

  42. allezkev says:

    Pat7, is that correct, that you shouldn’t eat fruit with any other kind of food, or you don’t take all the goodness into your system?

  43. Pat7 says:

    WATH – today the name of the game (apart from football) is specificity! You have to look at what is needed & work to that. For football in the mud a low centre of gravity was required & bags of stamina for fighting etc. Nowadays it’s speed, speed endurance, balance, adequate strength & bulk for your position on the pitch.

    We may be getting it wrong by trying to make everybody able to play in as many positions as possible. A defender, goalie & No9 need to be tallish & more bulky than a winger/MF for example.

    We get hammered by big men time & time again. Maybe we need to put this into the equation with intelligence, talent etc. or adjust the training/nutrition to give the necessary weighting (excuse the pun) to these other aspects.

    Why have Nik & Marouane when there are no consistent decent crossers of the ball? Why are they on the wings?
    Why have people that could shoot from outside the box lost that ability/confidence/power?

    There’s so much to question!

  44. Pat7 says:

    Allezkev,

    Fruit is digested very fast so if you take it along with food needing a lot longer it will ferment in the stomach & cause wind etc.

    If you take chicken or fish (not deep fried) which is normally digested in about an hour along with some salad then have a gap before eating a fruit dessert & it should be fine.

    Dried fruit is the same as sugar so quicker still.

    Milk/dairy are the main gut upsetters apart from the bad mixtures, not chewing the food adequately or focussing on the food (while watching TV etc).

  45. allezkev says:

    Cheers Pat, thanks for that.
    I also did hear that you shouldn’t really mix carbs with protein, as the body digests them at a different rate?

  46. rico says:

    Afternoon 🙂

    Pat, i blame you for not coming here more often and keeping me up with all your latest – sounds lovely by the way 😉

  47. allezkev says:

    Hey Rico, still one more wicket to go.
    Pat should do a post on here about sporting nutrition[?].

  48. rico says:

    Not good at all, even my old ladies team didn’t give that many extras away 😉

    If Pat pops back, we’ll see if we can twist his arm 🙂

  49. allezkev says:

    Nooooo. Not again Rico!
    Trott needs to deliver this time…
    If we can get a decent lead i’d put them in after lunch tomorrow, depending on the wicket and what it’s doing.
    They need a result, so maybe we can tempt them into some intemperate shots???

  50. Joaquim moreira says:

    News:
    a) everybody know this but the teams interesting in him ?
    “I want to leave Arsenal ‘- Bendtner
    The Danish international Nicklas Bendtner announced through the press of your country, you want to leave Arsenal and embrace a new career challenge.
    “I can not promise to be back in a time like this. I’ve already decided, a hundred percent, I want to leave Arsenal. I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and I was pretty sure of my decision. I am calm and confident I’ll be fine with a new club, “said Bendtner, in statements issued to the site sporten.dk.
    Third option Arsene Wenger ahead of the attack, after Robin van Persie and Marouane Chamakh, Bendtner, who is in the Gunners since 2005, has received interest from teams like AC Milan, Bayern Munich and Seville.
    !!!
    b) Another one…
    Little used in Barcelona, Bojan Krkic could be output from European champions Liverpool and Arsenal coming up on the front line to sign the player.
    According to the Daily Mail, Liverpool would be willing to offer 19 million euros to hire for Barcelona striker.
    Also according to the same source, Arsenal also follows very closely the situation of the player, who only recorded nine games as a starter last season.

  51. rico says:

    I’d do the same kev, just need to make sure they get a total that can’t be caught with a few slogs 😉

    Mind you, if it stays overcast, we may not be batting tomorrow lunch time…. 🙁

  52. Will says:

    Sorry Steve, was taken from the pc. Yeah, but doing it on and off since I was 18 but steady for the last 4 years.

    Just got back from a heavy leg session.

  53. rico says:

    Hi JM, good luck to Nikki B, he’ll need it.. 🙂

    I don’t believe the link to the Barca player Bojan Krkic – but seems its news everywhere 😉

    also Thiago’s father has dismissed any ideaa that he is involved in a swap for Cesc…

  54. Joaquim moreira says:

    Iforgot this:
    This information comes in all sports newspapers. Mazinho, was a midfield player from Brazil, world champions the United States. He played in Spain, in Depor La Coruna, in a position similar to our talented player Denilson.
    The Daily Mirror goes on Monday that Barcelona is offering Thiago Alcantara Arsenal, a package valued at 50 million pounds (over 56.1 million euros) to ensure recruitment of Cesc Fàbregas.
    The move would serve to lower the amount requested by the Gunners at 7 million pounds (over 7.8 million).
    The report also revealed that Arsene Wenger believes in the potential of young people, aged 20, son of former Brazilian international Mazinho, who has Spanish nationality

  55. rico says:

    I covered that one JM, his father says no way is he leaving Barca…

    Seaman, our 3rd best keeper, i don’t agree with that one… Who won, Jennings?

  56. Joaquim moreira says:

    no, it’s not us. They (the cybernauts) elected Schmeickel and then Van der Saar.
    I think now the discussion is between Dixon and Neville. Neveille is ahead…

  57. agirlagunner says:

    Boo! Interesting write-up, Steve. I completely agree with rico though, our players just need more pies! And might I submit, a few beers? Might fuel the aggression. A number of ours are way too soft. 😉

    Hello, all.

  58. rico says:

    Ah, sorry JM, i thought it was the afc best keeper.. VdS is no better than Seaman, Schmeichel may be 😉

  59. Steve Palmer says:

    Gervinho was born in Anyama, the same town as Hannover 96 striker, and Ivorian international Arouna Koné. He began his career in the famed ASEC Abidjan youth academy, where he spent five years. The Brazilian coach of this team gave him the Portuguese-Brazilian nickname ‘Gervinho’, derived from his surname ‘Gervais.'[2]
    Following this, he moved to Ivorian Deuxieme Division Zone Four side Toumodi F.C., where Al-Ittihad striker Ibrahim Touré, the brother of Manchester City players Kolo Touré and Yaya Touré, spent some time playing.
    After two seasons at Toumodi, he followed the well-trodden path of Ivorian players to Belgium Jupiler League outfit K.S.K. Beveren. He stayed here until the end of the 2006/07 season when he moved to French Ligue 1 side Le Mans, where he played alongside Ivorian international midfielder Romaric.
    In May 2008, after an impressive first season in Ligue 1, it was reported that the striker was being monitored by French sides AS Monaco, Paris-Saint Germain and Marseille, as well as English Premiership’s Arsenal. The report stated that the North London-based team had been long time admirers of Gervinho, with an offer having been tabled whilst he was playing in Belgium in the 2006/07 season.
    Gervinho had been linked with a move to Arsenal F.C. Gervinho reiterated his desire for a “dream” move to Arsenal, confirming speculation that Arsenal were interested in him. He said he would have to keep working hard at Le Mans and Arsenal would “open the door” for him [3]. On 21 July 2009 the Ivory Coast striker, moved from Le Mans UC72 to league rivals Lille OSC, for a €8 million transfer fee and signed a three-year contract.[3]
    On 17 March 2011, he has been heavily linked with a £12 million move to Newcastle United along with fellow striker Moussa Sow. Gervinho was quoted saying “Newcastle are a good team, but Lille are currently top of Ligue 1 and I want to play in Europe next year, so we’ll have to wait until summer to see where I am going”. On 26 and 27 May, Gervinho was once again linked with a move to Arsenal.[4][5]
    [edit]

  60. rico says:

    I think that says it all really Steve, its us and Newcastle who are ‘interested’ in him…..

  61. allezkev says:

    Apparantly the rumour came off of Twitter!!!
    I did hear that it came from his agent… Gervinho is in Africa.

  62. agirlagunner says:

    rico, your 5:54 is… sad. Ha ha.

    We’ll find out soon enough whther there is any truth to it… Or not. AFC is notoriously slow with its official announcements. 😉

    Hello, AK. How are you today?

  63. Steve Palmer says:

    Wouldn’t surprise me that this is true, seeing how he has been linked with three French sides and also nearly out of contract £10mill should do it

  64. rico says:

    kev, i heard that too, same as samba, he has reportedly signed a four year deal..

    both from twitter and to be announced wednesday,

    ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 🙂 🙂

  65. rico says:

    It is sad agag, we need a red hot striker and we may end up with him, i’m not suggesting he’s rubbish but, we should be aiming a lot higher…..

  66. agirlagunner says:

    Hello, Steve. He shall be our marquee signing. 🙂 AK, that’s not good. Best you get baking your pies and calling your beer supplier for a vat. 😉

  67. rico says:

    Steve, 10M is too much to be paying, Drogba could give us two great seasons for as much, if not less…

  68. rico says:

    kev – get in the gym, and sneak your pies and beer in 😉

    Theres a great new machine in the gym i use, you put £1 in and get a packet of crisps and a twix 😉 😉

  69. Steve Palmer says:

    we normally buy two w—–s a season Agag Bugger me on the news on the tele Naz and Cesc report both could be leaving, where do they get their info

  70. agirlagunner says:

    rico, lol on the machine. Giggs is soooo ick.

    Steve, everyday is Down On Arsenal Day with the press. They love to amplify upon our problems (both real and imagined) or otherwise just write fiction about us. Grrr.

  71. allezkev says:

    Hi Stevie P. Great post. Didn’t know you was into pumping iron? I usually do c/v when i’m up the gym [not as often as i should be].
    Agag, a vat of beer. Hmmmm what a lovely thought. Meat pie, apple pie, fantastico…
    Rico, that sounds like my kinda gym.

  72. allezkev says:

    JM, i’ve seen a bit of Gervinho on U-tube [yeah i know that’s not ideal] anyway, he looked ok, yes not Benzema or Gameiro but ok.

  73. Steve Palmer says:

    AK cheers mate Just give me the pies now,I leave all the training now to you and Will and hopefully the Arsenal boys

  74. rico says:

    You guys/gals do make me chuckle, what would i do each day without your fun comments – at least we keep footie fun here even though inside it hurts…

    🙂

  75. rico says:

    But, I think we need to realise that we could and maybe will lose both Nasri and Cesc this summer…..

  76. allezkev says:

    Rico, are you saying that they’re gonna announce Samba as well?
    Steve, pie & mash, Hoxton Market, loads of liquer, looks rank, tastes like heaven… They do a tasty fruit pie as well. You would love it mate.

  77. Steve Palmer says:

    AK the amount of holes you have dug and filled up the training must be working, you inspired me to write it

  78. agirlagunner says:

    I am off, kids! 🙂 Nightynight! You think about that vat, AK. You, too Steve.

    And get on that machine more, rico.

  79. allezkev says:

    Agag. I absolutely hate the Press, & sports media in general. They’re 95% anti-Arsenal, i hardly read a paper anymore, that’s why i get my footie fix on-line now. The Press can go and Giggs themselves.
    Rico, this site is good, because you [and Fido] make it good…lol.

  80. Will says:

    allezkev says:
    June 6, 2011 at 6:41 pm
    JM, i’ve seen a bit of Gervinho on U-tube [yeah i know that’s not ideal] anyway, he looked ok, yes not Benzema or Gameiro but ok.

    Should we be going for the “ok’s” of this world?

  81. allezkev says:

    No more holes for me Steve, i was aching in places i didn’t know i had. Still got some huge lumps of rubble to get rid of.
    Back in a bit….dinner

  82. rico says:

    That’s how the twitter story goes kev, don’t get me wrong though, i don’t believe any of it, not for one minute 😉

  83. Steve Palmer says:

    AK i was born in Shorditch, moved out to Cheshunt when i was two, spent the next ten visiting Family there and everytime went in for Pie and mash probably the same place, small world ah

  84. rico says:

    kev, i am just like the bowl of porridge that starts the day off – then it’s all down to you all….

    Woof 🙂

  85. rico says:

    Exactly my point earier Will, us and Newcastle are after him…

    No Citeh, Manure, Barca, Madrid, L’pool etc etc…..

  86. agirlagunner says:

    Oh and rico, a very belated congratulations on you half a million hits. You’ve been stellar!! 🙂 Not even a year up, too. 😉

    Behave, gents! 🙂

  87. JonJon says:

    this isnt going to be a good window you know..
    shades of 08 about all this

    its a different kind of post today but i liked the read..good post..

  88. allezkev says:

    Steve, Cookes pie & mash. My Dad used to take me to the Cooes pie shop in Kingsland High Rd in the 1960’s, opposite Ridley Road Market. It’s a chinese now, but Hoxton Market is still there.
    It backs onto St Leonards Hospital a short walk from Pitfield St, if that’s familier mate?
    My Aunt still lives in flats in Whitmore Road.

  89. JonJon says:

    giggs came through the utd ranks and has won more trophies than other teams have put together..

    he doesnt care about the money hes a utd lad they pay him well but i bet when rooney got 250k a week or whatever that giggs pretty much didnt give a shit cos hes just happy playing for utd

  90. allezkev says:

    I suspect Mr Squeaky Clean Giggs has a few more skeleton’s in his cupboard.
    Scholes probably like a bit as well.

  91. Steve Palmer says:

    We used to come down on the trolly busses and walk down that way i was born in Penn street.
    Cheers JJ something different makes a change mate

  92. rico says:

    hi jj, i don’t think it’s going to be some think either, bloody well hope i am wrong though…..

  93. allezkev says:

    JJ, what’s your feelings on Nasri & Cesc now???
    It has all the prospect of turning into a shit-sandwich…

  94. Steve Palmer says:

    Got to admit JJ been a bloody good servant to them no mistake, the sister in law thinks his a good shag too

  95. allezkev says:

    Small world indeed Steve, i used to go on the trolly buses up to Chingford, to visit my Mum’s family [the Spurs fans].
    Dalston Junction, that was a mass of overhead cables.

  96. JonJon says:

    we try to keep nasri and we sign young as well..
    if we let nasri go now hes worth nothing really but if we give him what he wants hes a 35mil player cos hes down for 5 years..

    but if we want to replace nasri we are going to need this to do it and it makes no financial sense to let him go..might as well just pay him the money..and then get young cos young is in the same position… we could get young for 10-15 and once we signed him up for 5 years hes worth 30 so weve already doubled or tripled our investment..

    it will cost us millions now but it will make us millions in the long term..

    i know the calls are for nasris head but i want him to stay AND we get young..

    we need to be buying young anyway and replacing rosicky or bendtner..or both..not to be replacing nasri or we are never going to build a strong team..

    it shouldnt be 1 key player out and 1 key player in..
    that wont fix this squad..we need to keep all our key players and and replace the crap ones with other key players..

    the key 🙂 (see what i did there??) to this summer is to increase the amount of key players we have..not keep it constant or lower it..

  97. JonJon says:

    and i said weeks ago i thought both would leave but i hope we keep them both..
    doubt it..
    seen this script before havent we???

  98. allezkev says:

    Steve, they’re knocking down a lot of those flats, at the Southgate Road end.
    There’s a sports centre close to Penn St, Hyde Rd.
    If i recall, there used to be a lot of pre-fabs down Penn St?

  99. Pat7 says:

    Hi again Rico,

    Had to pop up to site & sort out other stuff – don’t get too much time to hang out on here or elsewhere with all the decisions to be made & tiles is the current agenda…

    What would you want sports nutrition on an Arsenal site for? I know there’s general interest but there are so many variables according to what the sport is & what you need/want to achieve & how dedicated you are to achieving it – motivation!

    I can recommend a couple of books that I know are relevant from my gut-feel from all the reading I’ve done and give a few pointers………..

  100. Steve Palmer says:

    Soungs sensible that JJ.
    AK all i remember is it was a bloody long stop start journey i used to hate it, specially in winter time with eight foot snow drifts, might have been six foot i was only small

  101. rico says:

    Hi Pat, good to see you back again, and in one day 😉

    I think many would love to hear your prof view about sport and nutrition, we could all learn, I know i could…. and i’m a bit fussy about what i eat and what i do day to day…

    Maybe you could spill a bit about the Wenger letter??

    Yes, i am cheeky 😉

  102. Pat7 says:

    Allezkev,

    If you’re still here: protein & starchy carbs don’t go well in digestion as the protein needs acid to digest it whilst the starch needs alkali which is the opposite.

    If you have the protein with salad that helps or with peas which have a protein element that is a better combination.

    I also tend to eat my protein first before starting my salad so that my ‘appestat’ which is affected by protein gets plenty of time to tell me I’ve eaten enough.

  103. rico says:

    kev – the answer phone clicked in – it said ‘ I am very busy right now, please leave your name and number and i’ll book a room in your name – further details to follow’ …..

    🙂

  104. Steve Palmer says:

    AK i remember tennament houses both sides of the road with a pub at the end of the road call the Aberdeen, but the last time i went down that way one side of the road had been knocked down and i believe their was flats there. i remember as a young kid at the other end of the street was an old bomb site where we used to play

  105. allezkev says:

    Cheers Pat, very interesting mate.
    I think a post on nutrition would be very informative, especially if you do it with a football angle Pat.
    Lee, i know Kelly’s mate. There was a pie shop in Broadway Market, London Field’s. Not sure if it’s there anymore. Did you ever go into the pie shop opp’ Romford Stn? It’s gone now…
    Rico, haha.

  106. Pat7 says:

    I wrote to AW, told him of my very long support of the club being born in WC1 & moving to N4 at the age of 11. My eldest son did his work experience at the club….
    I told him about my experience with the MBT shoes & offered to pop down & meet him/the trainers to let them have a trial of the shoe (I had all the sizes) I could have let them have a pair for a month to convince them it could work for them but he wrote back to say he wasn’t interested. It could have been one of the back office staff rejecting it with an Arsene ‘stamp’ though.

    I had a similar rejection with the letter offering my wife’s expertise but again with my letter & article I’d written showed how it had worked for me & I was British Sprint, Olympic & Long Distance age group champion during my triathlon years 1988-2000. I was National Coach for Roller Speed Skating in the early 1980s.

  107. allezkev says:

    Was that close to the canal Steve?
    Do you remember a couple of pubs called the One and Two, so called because they were next door to each other.

  108. rico says:

    See Pat, that’s a start of a very good post 😉

    I still cannot believe you were rejected but then i think about how Wenger got ride of Keown…

    I think he’s a closed book….. Shame though, there are so many pepole ‘out there’ who could truly make us world class, if only Wenger would accept some help…

    Wenger is a bit like an addiction really, he is too stubborn to admit he needs help, but the real winners are those who accept they need it and bring ‘others’ into their life to make sure they succeed…..

  109. Steve Palmer says:

    My mum was one of twelve and she had a brother who was down syndrome he was watching tele and there was swimming on and he disappeared down to that canal, took his clothes off and folded them up and jumped in, couldn’t swim either, luckily they were shooting a film down there and someone jumped in and saved him it was all over the papers silly bugger he was put in a home after that

  110. allezkev says:

    Shooting a film Steve… Gainsborough Studios are 5 mins away, Hitchcock made some films there.

  111. Steve Palmer says:

    Must have looked like a Hitchcock movie ak I was only a kid at the time, so don’t know too much about it.

  112. rico says:

    Guys, I’m done, thanks again for today Steve,

    kev, check your emails 😉

    I’ll bid you all a good evening and catch up tomorrow some time..

    be good and stay safe 🙂

    Nighty all…..

  113. Pat7 says:

    I won’t promise anything Rico but if it flows easily you never know…………. 🙂 It might bridge a gap on these many ‘no news’ days………

    Good night all. I’m two hours in front of you!

  114. W.A.T.H says:

    Not so sure I am to keen on Steve hopping into my bed with me either, hey go warm ya own bed SP……! 😉

  115. allezkev says:

    Wath i’m here, just been surfin’, thought everyone had gone….
    £20million from Sevilla for Denilson & Bendtner if the rumourgarbage is correct.
    Wow what a result if it’s actually true…

  116. allezkev says:

    What with Ryan Giggs, there sure is a load of bedhopping going on here tonight.
    I actually feel quite embarrised.
    Think i’ll go and stick up a post in the garden to calm down….

  117. W.A.T.H says:

    Don’t be daft i dont go til long after midnight I was also laughing at the crap on the net with rumours

  118. W.A.T.H says:

    I think giiiiiiiiiiiiiiigggsy and his antics has got SP all hot under the collar….!

    😉

    Interesting stuff what Pat7 was saying with food stuffs etc etc…. When you read it you tend to think its all rubbish but when someone actually tells you and explains then you know its right and correct.

  119. allezkev says:

    I’ve just been looking at the cricket on the ECB site.
    Yeah, some of those rumours beggar belief.
    The Press in general are shit, but some of the rumours on line are just crazy.

  120. W.A.T.H says:

    Well least they worth a laugh mate………

    DId you see wenger plans on offering Clichy 90k a week…? I fcukin hope that aint true

  121. allezkev says:

    Some of the things i asked him i’d heard before.
    But he really seems to know his stuff, so it’s nice to have it confirmed.

  122. W.A.T.H says:

    It’s all well and good reading it but you actually want someone to tell you what food is good with what rather than don’t do carbs n protein or this with that, rather tell me what foods I can eat and should eat rather than types…!

    20million from Seville isn’t peseta’s is it..?

  123. allezkev says:

    My God, £90k for a defender who cannot defend…
    Sounds about right for AW. What next? £90k for Squillaci!

  124. allezkev says:

    To be honest, if you look into it too closely, then most of the meals we eat, aren’t good for us…

  125. W.A.T.H says:

    Sell Clichy and then I’d rather we added 10k on the offer to Nasri and then sold the greedy fucker for 25million ;-)lol
    Take no prisoners I say…………….

  126. W.A.T.H says:

    what we eat and how we eat are pretty bad mate…..
    I mix and match allsorts and know its wrong but need a kick in the right direction and I would actually stick to it…!

  127. allezkev says:

    I was kinda hoping that Clichy would go and then we’d get Baines, but he’s English, stupid me!

  128. W.A.T.H says:

    I’d rather a taller left back although must admit I quite like Baines but watched that Dortmund fella a lot Schmelzer and he’s quality…! I’d grab him in a second…! funny how the really good krauts never come to England…!

  129. W.A.T.H says:

    I can’t be arsed mate 😉

    If i was told by someone I’d do it, for me to look it up I’d prob take no notice and never do it…!

  130. allezkev says:

    I was talking to a guy a couple of weeks ago, forget what he did, but he told me he never has breakfast, he thought all that about breakfast was a load of bollox. He certainly look fit.
    Anyway, he said he fasted most of the day and ate one reasonable meal in the evening, and nothing after 7pm.

  131. allezkev says:

    Yeah that’s funny about the Jerries, because the one’s who’ve come have, by and large, settled well and enjoyed it…
    Wish we’d got Ozil & Khadira…

  132. W.A.T.H says:

    and everyone but everyone says brekkie most important meal of the day…! I must admit i rarely have brekkie am only ever hungry abt 11 !!

  133. W.A.T.H says:

    I’d of taken both Ozil and Khadira for sure…! I see there have been no rumours of wengers love child getting sold eh…. suppose that means we stuck with diaby for another bloody season…!

  134. allezkev says:

    How depressing..!
    But cheer up, Gervinho is on his way to save the day.
    And you never know, he might be ok.

  135. allezkev says:

    You know, most bloggers seem to say the same thing, about this summer being Wenger’s last chance.
    Well i’m beginning to worry already.
    We’ve had absolutely no indication that the club’s going to push the boat out and that it might be ‘same old same old’ after all.

  136. W.A.T.H says:

    I’m keeping quiet mate…………. 🙂

    I have my thoughts on the summer but I’ll keep em til Sep 1st…! I will say if I was wrong or not…!

    A 25yr old Gervinho who is another who will leave for African cup of nations I suppose…? whats the point…? spend the fuckin money and buy “proper” quality players who are experienced in the prem lge

  137. allezkev says:

    Well mate, if you’re right, and i kinda have an idea where your coming from, then this could be Wenger’s last season in charge.
    Because the vocals at Craven Cottage could muliply 10 fold at The Grove as frustration grows if another season goes down the pisser like the last three…
    Am i close?????????

  138. W.A.T.H says:

    Close enough mate close enough………. Just read the article in the guardian re nasri and they say he waiting to see who wenger buys b4 committing to a contract, now that I can understand and relate too and i’d have no problem if he didnt sign if wenger fucks abt buying average players and trying to blow smoke out their arse about how good they will be etc etc…!

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