We, as Gooners, can sometimes become very introspective and risk standing accused of navel gazing, by our predilection for only considering Arsenal matters. Well, nothing wrong with a bit of navel gazing you might think, depending on whose navel is involved!
It might be interesting however, to have a look around at other events, over the week-end, involving the other PL clubs and how they got on.
Certainly we cannot let pass, without comment, the first opportunity to have a smirk at the Spuds, for being so downright awful against “mighty” Wigan. Twitchy’s face was a picture after the game, and would have been worth the admission money on its own.
I know, I know, last season we blew a 2:0 lead, ourselves, against Wigan, but we were a tired team dispirited and crippled by injuries at the dog end of the Premier League campaign.
But this is a new bright and breezy start to the Premier League and the Flash Harrys’ have dropped a mighty clanger by going down 1:0, at home to Wigan, after a well taken Rodallego goal.
(Wasn’t he linked with a transfer to us during most of the summer?)
Amazingly, Wigan had just lost two home games, by conceding 10 goals and scoring 0. This result and the money generated by the Spuds qualifying, just, for the group stages of the Champions League might mean ‘Arry the “wheeler dealer” having the purse strings loosened a bit. We will see.
Sadly, the Chavs and the Mancs had an easy time of it and rolled over Stoke and West Ham with ease. Worryingly the Chavs have now scored 14 goals in three games without conceding. Not a good sign.
West Ham collapsed all too easily, against the Mancs, with a gutless display, losing 3:0 and I think they are already worthy relegation candidates. Set against such a weak effort from the Hammers, Manure played exhibition football, and there is no denying they will remain a threat to us this season.
Watching the Sunderland v Citeh game, we saw the earliest contender for miss of the season. Carlos Tevez missed a stunningly easy goal scoring opportunity, which in the end probably cost Citeh the game. Sunderland won a slightly controversial penalty in the final seconds of injury time and the spot kick was put away, with aplomb, by Dodgy Darren Bent.
Rather like the Wigan result, the Black Cats victory came right out of the blue, after Citeh’s easy 3:0 win over the ‘Pool last weekend.
Ironically, the unlikely victors, Wigan and Sunderland play each other at the JJB after the international break. Poor home form against, usually, poor away form.
Blackpool have had a topsy turvy start to the season, with a great win at Wigan which was then followed by a crushing defeat at the Emirates. This time, they raced into a 2:0 lead, at Bloomfield Road, in a really exciting game, only for Fulham to force their way back to a 2:2 draw, although refereeing decisions again were an issue, especially from the Blackpool viewpoint.
Bolton Wanderers also staged a dramatic two goal come back to snatch a draw at Birmingham, despite being down to 10 men, after Jaaskelainan gave Johnson a playful love tap on the cheek. Big Eck was not best pleased but he is fast becoming Purple Nose mark II, whereas Owen Coyle was beside himself with joy and no doubt relief.
Aston Villa, after a nightmare 6:0 defeat, at home, to Newcastle, last week, managed a low-key 1:0 win over disappointing Everton, following a beautifully taken Luke Young curler. In fairness, Everton could have easily won but just could not convert their chances.
Aaah!
The ‘Pool managed a somewhat streaky 1:0 win over West Brom, courtesy of a Fernando Torres bouncy, mishit shot that bamboozled the keeper. Typical!
Wolves were held to a draw by a surprisingly competitive Newcastle side, after a goal by the old-fashioned, centre forward Andy Carroll, who is proving very effective at PL level.
I cannot finish this summary without a reminder of the Mighty Arsenal’s efficient, professional and frankly easy win over “cement mixer mouth” Fat Sam’s Blackburn.
So what can we make of all this? Well, it is very early to start making predictions, you might think, but I cannot see past Chelski, Manure and Arsenal, not necessarily in that order, as the top three. West Ham, Stoke (hurray) and West Brom are looking convincing bottom sliders and I would be very surprised to see much change in that come May 2011.
So come on, what do you think? What would be your top three? What would be your bottom three?
Written by Red Arse
Morning all
Nice one RA..
Top 3
Chavs
Northern Chavs
Red Nose Mob
Bottom
Blackpool
Wolves
Wigan
🙂
The reason I have left us out of the top three is Wengers lack of ability to find OUR club a goal keeper of the standard that OUR club deserves and so desperately needs.
Yes Almunia may surprise us all have have his best season ever for Arsenal but who am I trying to kid!
His is as WATH said, a liability and each and every game I know I won’t be alone when I just sit and wait for his usual clanger to be dropped and with it will go points.
The interesting thing is that Chesney is yet to be loaned, he’s too young to be thrown in at the deep end in my opinion, but no younger than Casillas was when he first played for Real Madrid – we all know what happened to him….
well, I think, top 3 are : Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United again..
and the bottom 3 are : wigan, aston, and manchester city .. 🙂
Morning AnnisaRamsey 😆 I would love City to be in the bottom two …
afternoon in here rico 🙂
yeayy.. it will be so cool 😀
25 man squads have to be in by 5pm today
Just a quick reminder of the rules…
Premier League clubs must register a squad of up to 25 players
Clubs must submit a squad of up to 25 players aged 21 or over. Simply put, this new rule means that clubs risk having to leave some players on the sidelines, or ship them out on loan.
The likes of Manchester City have a huge squad, meaning City boss Roberto Mancini will be forced to either leave some of his players on the sidelines until the transfer window opens again in January.
The use of home-grown players
Eight of the 25-man squad submitted by clubs to the Premier League must include eight home-grown players. These do not have to be English-born players, but rather players who have spent a minimum of three years registered with an English club before the age of 21.
Other notes
Clubs can supplement their squad with an unlimited number of players under the age of 21.
Changes to the 25-man squad can only be made during the transfer window, meaning clubs who submit their first squad by September 1st will not be allowed to make changes again until January 1st, 2011. However, the Premier League may allow for changes in exceptional circumstances, such as a goalkeeper injury crisis.
Players loaned out to clubs in the Football League cannot be replaced, but those players can regain their place in the 25-man squad upon their return to their parent club.
The above rules only apply to Premier League matches and not domestic Cup or European competition, which could lead to some larger clubs opting to use players who miss out on the Premier League squad for the likes of the Carling Cup
Oops, sorry Annis, where are you then??
Morning RA, Rico, AR, et al,
nice post RA, you’re really getting pretty good at this, and I loved the introspective naval gazing… just put my back out 😆
I’d go for Chelski, Arsenal, Manure, in that order since yesterday’s debacle, and Blackpool West Brom, and West Ham, at the other end; you pick which end’s which.
Cheer up Rico, I hear Almunia just borrowed a pair of Rob Green’s oversized gloves 😆
Indonesia.. you know, there’s many gooners in here 🙂
Im sorry, I cant talk much.. I cant speak in english well,
Hi mike, i’m down-hearted a tad over the keeper situation, wenger’s had all summer to sort this out, by making an offer for schwarzer it shows he doesn’t have faith in what we have yet does nothing about it… I still feel we are one defender short too.. 🙁
seem to be doing ok Annis 🙂
Still, at least we have 100’s of kids to supplement our squad if we get as many injuries as usual, aren’t we lucky 😉
Rico,
there I have to agree… he should have either gone out and spent the money or left well alone…
I didn’t happen to think that MS was any better than Almunia, but now we have a demoralised keeper, who wasn’t all that great to begin with.
All depends on Almunia,I guess, and his attitude to it all; it could be the making or breaking of him…
Only time, and Drogba, will tell 😆
Spot on mike – why do that to Almunia if he has no intention of buying better and I agree, MS is no better..
If he has done it just to wake Almunia up, its a very dangerous game to play…
Should be interesting when we see who is in the squad later, Chesney of Fabianski…
Time and Drogba 😆
Ha Ha, Fat Sam signs a Bulgarian striker who has now had his work permit declined 🙂
Looks like Popov just Popped off 😆
Mind you, he probably took one look at Fat Sam and the charm of Blackburn and immediately booked his passage back to Sofia.
I like that post R.A
Morning all
If I had my way (emphasis on “IF”):
Top
Red Army
Villa
Everton
Bottom
Spurz
Citeh
Chavs
🙂
On a serious note:
Chav
Red Army
Mancs
(Citeh 4th)
Bottom
West Ham
Blackpool
Wigan
🙁
😆 mike, FS would have been enough ….
Morning T-buzz
T-buzz, I prefer the ‘If I had my way’ theory 🙂
Think Grant will get the hammers back on track soon…
Morning Rico, MikeB and AnnisaRamsey,
Well cheer up guys, it’s all there to play for. 🙂
Now that might explain the comment by you Rico (7:26) that WATH is a liability. Tut tut! 🙂
As for MikeB, I write about “navel” and he writes about “naval”. Freudian slip, sailor? 😉
Morning T-Buzz,
Liked your “if” too. 🙂
RA,
I was talking about oranges 😆
and I was in the RAF…
Morning RA,
you are being naughty already, its far too early 😉
If I had a penny for every attractive woman who told me that, Rico, I might have tuppence by now! 🙂
MikeB, thought I had you but that’s a nice get out. 🙂
That much eh RA 😉
RA,
not really a get-out, but I shall take the fact that you found it sufficiently noteworthy to point out as a compliment 😆
Morning guys, 8)
Sorry, having a busy day at work so my replies are going to be few and far between.
Yeah Rico, Grant looks like a dead man walking cos the players dont look like they want to play for him unlike when Zola was there! Good uck to ’em.
Catch ya in a bit y’all! 🙂
No worries T-buzz, I think its going to be a slow day for everyone, still in shock 😉
Popping off for a bit, retail therapy is required…..
Catch up later
RA 9.44 if you had a penny 4 every lady who told you that……… Hmmmmmm you’d still be skint then obviously 😛
Our transfer activity on the keeper front makes no sense what so ever and makes Wenger look a total tit…!. The boat has been rocked the waiter is not happy he knows he’s not wanted or good enough and yet Wenger doesn’t see it through and buy a new better keeper. Pathetic.
morning all. it’s done, so time to move on. last night and this morning i have seen lots of moaning and bile directed at arsene – on other sites – because he did not buy a goalkeeper while the window was open. everyone is entitled to their opinion, and i am with the majority in that i think we should have improved the position (prior to the start of the season). but, for whatever reason, we didn’t and so i cannot see much point in putting ourselves through all this angst and heartache. it’s done, time to move on and support our team.
Hi WATH and Oliver,
WATH, as I said I would have tuppence. Rico sussed me out when she asked “that much”? So o.k., until Rico said it I was a virgin, and will always remember my first time! 😉
Oliver, you are right. We need to put it behind us and forget it. There is all to play for, as I keep boringly saying. 🙂
ra, i almost have to. the mets have pretty much jacked it in. two feeble, lifeless losses in atlanta, they are pretty much finished for the year now. only arsenal to look forward to at the moment…
Oliver your right that we can do nothing about it and no bile from me but AW is guilty of the obvious as we all know that we needed a keeper a blind man could see we needed a keeper and he’s let us down……! Hard to see the waiter stepping upto the plate and if AW thinks he can make up for it in Jan we may be out of it by then if the waiter makes the same mistakes he made the last few years, sad but true.
wath, perhaps. but at the same time, i am not going to pretend that i know everything that actually happened. i think another goalkeeper should have been brought in, as well – but one wasn’t. i am not going to call arsene “guilty” of this or “guilty” of that without knowing more than i do right now – i’ll only work myself up and get frustrated.
now that the window is closed, what we can do is change the number two. i would like to see fab moved away from the first team – the entire club, actually – and either sczcesny (my preference) or mannone given the deputy role. the majority opinion (to which i subscribe) is that sczcesny is the future number one – make him the understudy now, and groom him for it. if sczcesny is as good as we think he may be, al will be supplanted soon enough.
Oliver as usual your sensible and level headed but I think we are allowed to assume that AW is guilty of not getting a new keeper he’s had 3 months to do so he’s upset the waiter with public statements and an obvious offer for Schwarzer and that does no one any favours. Seems all his eggs in one basket and as I agree with you re Chezny BUT what if we are wrong about him as well ??? Also if he is good enough then he needs to be played now, Cassilas was good enough 4 madrid so why not Chez…?
the fourth word in your second line says it all: assume. of course we are allowed to assume what may or may not have happened, just as we are allowed to get angry over it. i just choose not to – what good will it do? did arsene drop the ball on this one – perhaps…or perhaps not. i do not know either way. what i do know is that i actually know very little about what really happened during the process. were we in for someone else? did another option fall through? we don’t know. i have my opinions on certain issues regarding our squad – but opinions are all they are.
that said, i do not begrudge you your right to feel frustrated and annoyed that we failed to bring in another goalkeeper. i just choose to deal with it a different way. at the end of the day, whether i get upset or not, the club will still be here, will still turn out against bolton a week from saturday.
it may seem arsene only put his eggs in the schwarzer basket because that is all we heard about. phw stated we tabled a bit in may, but during the summer all the talk about this was from hodgson and (particularly) hughes. arsene said little, if anything, about schwarzer. it is possible that there were other actual targets, that, for whatever reason, did not come to fruition. it is just as possible that there were not – the point is that we cannot know for sure.
if we are wrong about sczcesny, then we are wrong. there is only one way to find out. and by that same token, would could have brought schwarzer and he may have turned out to be worse than even fab – unlikely, but still possible. i say make him the deputy and start him in cup fixtures – let him get a taste of first team action before we throw him in a league fixture at old trafford. if he is good enough, we will quickly see, and al will lose his first team place. if he is not ready, let him stay as number two for the time being, get experience and confidence. moving him in as number two gives us a chance to see for ourselves if he is ready before we put the number one jersey on his back. if he is not actually ready, then he won’t have to be demoted, wheras, he would have to be removed from the number one spot if he were moved there first.
Thing is Oliver i’m not stewing over what AW hasn’t done merely now saying I think he’s gi=uilty of letting us down in an area we all know needed to be dealt with and he hasn’t done it. I said i’d hold judgement til after the deadline and now its over he has failed to address our biggest problem yet again and its not without warning and not as if its a problem thats just come to the fore. Nothing we can change but he should be accountable for his lack of activity in buying a new keeper, we move on but doesnt make him beyond constructive criticism or harsh words but def no need for abuse or pathetic calls for his sacking.
that is how you see it. the way i choose to see it is that he may well have tried to do something, may well have been active in trying to bring someone in, but things – for whatever reason – did not work out. some other blogs seem to impy that he sat on his a**, picking his nose for the entire transfer window – a rather extreme view created to support frustration at the lack of a signing. who knows what actually happened. having actually bid at least once for a keeper, i find it difficult to believe that arsene was “inactive”.
if i had to guess, i would surmise that arsene may want to simultaneously groom sczcesny for the number one jersey, whilst attempting to salvage what is left of fab. with that in mind, perhaps he was looking for specific qualities (possibly commanding presence, can effectively deal with crosses), rather than a specific player. i suspect that he felt only a specific-type keeper would complement/upgrade what he already has, so he may not have cast a wide net. transfer fee, availability, willingness of other clubs to do businesss all may have played a factor. if he views sczcesny as long-term number one, then it is reasonable to assume that he would view any inbound keeper as a short-term solution, and may not have wanted to be held to ransom for one.
mind you, that is only what i suspect. could have a few grains of truth there, or it could be 180 degrees out from reality. as always, there is so much we don’t know about what actually happened. too much of it for me to suggest that arsene was inactive or irresponsible to during the window.
by all means, criticize. i think i have constructively criticized arsene in that i am on record say that we should have brought a keeper during this window. regardless of sczcesny’s potential, or how good fab is in training, the problems of last season are not so easily forgotten. three of our back four (and all of our midfield) have played with both keepers and i suspect there is still some distrust there. but no keeper was brought in, for reasons i do not know. i’ll withold anything stronger than constructive criticism until it is confirmed that arsene was actually negligent. and my definition of negligent in this case is arsene not actually making an effort to bring a goalkeeper in.
Afternoon peoples….
I don’t want Wenger sacked but he’s not on my Christmas Card list this year!
I still feel quite bitter about him not getting us a much better keeper, there are plenty of oldies out there who would do a great job for us for a season or two, allowing Chesney to make the step up, if of course he proves to be good enough….
Fabianski should go on loan abroad imho, let him play for a ‘busy side’, that way he will get plenty of practice and he may even be able to join a club who actually has a goal keeping coach and who knows, he may get better…. 😉
hi rico, i have also stated several times previously that i think gerry peyton is a big part of our problems – i am sure he is a nice bloke and it is nothing personal, but last season our keepers made the same mistakes and had very similar deficiencies. who is supposed to help them get over these things? i can get frustrated that arsene did not bring a better goalkeeper coach in, i thought that was absolutely imperative. we’ll have to see how it goes.
if it were up to me, there are better, more experienced keepers who may have been available, and who would have been better than schwarzer: jerzy dudek (real madrid) and frank rost (hamburg sv) are two who come to mind. but perhaps they – and others – are not as available as i think?
bottom line is that we didn’t get anyone else in. frustration and irritation will make us blame arsene for this. i am witholding blame until i actually know he was negligent. as long as he made an honest effort to bring someone in – and i have no objective reason to think he didn’t – then i can comfortably put this behind me and move on. my choice.
Oliver, your always on the side of proving AW has made a mistake 🙂 I do like your attitude but on this one I think we all know deep down he has all his eggs in one basket and cocked it up…! Lack of foresight ambition call it what you want most important player on the park and we have again to rely on a keeper who just isn’t good enough.
Rico,
Probably for the first time I disagree with you.
I watched Arsene on ATVO clearly saying he had funds available to buy players, but that other clubs were simply not interested in selling.
He also joked wryly, that he had been up into the small hours trying to clinch deals, and that he did not find it a pleasant experience.
I do not know any more than the next person, but I think much more went on in the background than we will ever know, and to criticise Arsene without this knowledge is something I find difficult.
Apart from that, I think you are wonderful! 🙂
Rico,
I think I have stunned two sites into silence at the same time, with much the same comment.
I’m getting my coat! 🙂
wath, i don’t know that. it is easy enough to think so, seeing what is in front of us. but there is so much more that is not in front of us. emotion (specifically frustration) is what is influencing some of us to think that arsene had only a single target, and messed this up. perhaps that is actually what happened, but for all we know, he had several targets, worked overtime to secure at least one, and was thwarted for one reason or another, in each case. some will call that premise ridiculous, but is it really impossible? why? because arsene did not actually sign a goalkeeper and all the public discussion centered on schwarzer? all that proves is a deal is not a completed and we had a concrete interest in schwarzer. it does not, by itself, disprove the suggestion that there were other targets our club actually tried to secure. we will probably never know what actually happened, but i am not going to tar arsene with the lack of foresight and ambition brush just because a signing did not materialize – there are too many other potential factors to say with certainty that nothing happened because arsene couldn’t be bothered to make a serious attempt or have a plan b.
at the end of the day, everyone has their opinion on what happened and why. i think i have already quoted anais nin at least once on avenell road, but i am quite fond of this statement: “we do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
oliver, have to agree with you on the gk coaching, since bob wilson left its gone downhill – we should have secured spunky’s services, he have done better than what we have got… (as a coach i mean)
RA, I believe him when he says he has money, i don’t believe him when he says keepers aren’t out there, didn’t the spuds just prove there was a goal keeper willing to move?
Trouble is, what arsenal tell us and what is the truth, seldom seem the same…
Hi WATH, seems its you and me v’s the rest 😉 😉
My gripe is, in May he made an offer for a goal keeper, May, as soon as he knew he wanted one, three months later he still hasn’t got one….. Its madness…
I’m saying nuffin Rico………… Those that kno kno etc etc lol 😉
rico, i would even settle for john lukic as our gk coach.
mad jens would be yet better – but i doubt al would enjoy working with him.
i think your comment reveals why many are frustrated: spuddies signed pletikosa as gk cover, they have now completed the van der vaart signing. perhaps many see the spuddies active in the market, and wonder why we are not. perhaps many feel that we are standing still while they are spending to improve.
undoubtedly they got two good players, international quality. yet that is no guarantee either will be a good fit for them. in fact, if any team can mess something like this up, it is that lot.
pletikosa was obviously available, but that does not necessarily mean he would have been a good fit for us. i have seen him play for croatia on occasion, and he seemed competent. but expect that arsene and our scouts have seen much more of him – perhaps they see weaknesses that we are not aware of or think he will not actually be an upgrade over our current goalkeepers we have. would you wish arsenal to sign a goalkeeper because you think that player is better than what we have, yet the arsenal staff seemingly do not think so? i know i would much prefer arsenal to act according to their judgement, not mine. i am good at a few things, but scouting world-class footballers and making actual squad decisions is not one of them.
again, i am not saying this is the case, but i think it is a possibility.
let’s look long-term for a moment: if sczcesny ousts al as our number one and leads up to the league title, how will we feel about not signing anyone this window? in that case, i think i would be quite glad, as a new goalkeeper may well have blocked sczcesny’s progress. i am not saying that will happen, but we do not know how this will unfold. perhaps the opposite will happen, arsene will stick with al and fab, and repeated gk clangers will scupper our silverware chances this season. if it does, it does. unfortunately, too many are acting like this season has already played out with the latter scenario.
Spuds just confirmed VdV purchase… is that corrupt or what?
oliver, i totally agree with what you are saying in princple, but we can turn that around and say what if Almunia or Flappy make huge mistakes that drop us four points, then we come runners up, three points behind the eventual winners?
What we can say because we have all seen it week in week out is that neither Almunia of Flapianski are great goal keepers…
who knows, the keeper that the yids have bought may just turn out world class in the right team, equally as he could turn out rubbish..
Also, talking of scouts watching keepers, I sure wish when they watched Flappy and Al they had kept their eyes open 😉
mike, its prob just similar to us with AA – I am sad he’s not come to us, i suspect he just wanted first team football, he probably go to Barcelona next summer 😉 😉
Rico,
not true… we got the paperwork in on time; it just took a while to process…
Spuds missed the deadline and still get dispensation… that’s wrong
rico, that is also my point – we don’t know how this will play out and there is certainly a chance that those two will cost us something. but since we cannot change the fact that no new goalkeeper is coming in, we can at least not stew over this and not act as though the worst-case has already happened before this actually plays out.
that al and fab are not great goal keepers is not in dispute – their respective bodies of work sufficiently bear this out. but i am not going to rush to suggest that arsene did not attempt to improve this just because a signing was not made. pletikosa was clearly available, but if our staff felt that he would not win us games that al and fab lost, and may even impede sczcesny’s progress, that i don’t mind that we didn’t sign him. if what acutally happened was someone was asleep at the wheel, leading to us missing out on him and others, then yes, i certainly have a problem with that. but not signing a keeper is not automatic evidence that the latter happened, so i will not adopt that line of thinking.
transfer window is closed, we cannot change what (did not) happen, all we can really do is express our opinions, vent (if so inclined) and see how this plays out.
I didn’t realise that mike, in that case, corrupt gits….
Rico,
they’re now saying there was a deluge of paperwork prior to the deadline… absolute rubbish. If that was the case why approach the PL for dispensation?
Nothing to do with the player; I happen to think he’s overrated. It’s all to do with doing the right thing and everyone following the same rules.
Wheeler-dealer Harry again, I guess.
Got me madder than hell!
Then again… does that mean we can now go out and get a GK? 😆
I know we can’t change anything oliver, but i’d rather shout, scream and vent my fury on a keyboard 😉
I admire your belief in our manager, for me though it just shows another failing in the transfer market when he clearly made it obvious he wanted a keeper…
But like you say, we can’t change what has happened, can only hope now that one of our keepers steps up to the mark, me, I would go with chesney…
as would i. move fabianski out of the first team picture and make sczcesny the number two. start him in cup matches, including post-(ko round)qualification group stage cl matches (the “meaningless ones”), see how he handles these. if he progresses, start easing him into prem fixtures, and if he handles those ok, start easing al out. i think we are wasting time if we keep fab as our number two. i could make a case of mannone, who i thought deserved more of an opportunity than he got last year, but it sczcesny is going to be our guy, then it has to be him.
spot on oliver, like i said earlier, let Fabianski go out on loan or sell him – Chesney is the future, just hope he lives up to our expectation…
the tell tale time will be in about half an hour 😉
Hola, how depressing is this? Almunia is staying, and VDV is off to the Spuds. I feel physically ill…
RA, I was too intent on our transfer (non)activities, I completely forgot to keep tabs on the other teams. And I woke up to news of VDV to the Totts. Ick.
Hi agag, very sickening isn’t it 🙁
VDV is crap…………… relax ladies we have missed out on nothing there…!!
how come signings are still being announced?
I know, rico. And I woke up reeeally early (for me at least) all beside myself for some eleventh hour miracle… And Almunia still mans the keep. Sighs.
That is just what I needed to hear, thanks WATH, could you please add that he’s ugly too 😉 😉
agag, why do we do it, we knew deep down……. Where there was time left there was hope, roll on January 😉
VDV is not crap, WATH. He is creative, has good ball control, and he links up well with Robin, too. Oh, and he is– rico will agree with me– cute. 😉
agag, i have told myself many times during the day that if VDV is not good enough for Real then he’s not good enough for us, don’t forget we have Denilson, Diaby and could even get really lucky and see Randall play that role 😉
cute, VDV cute, you bet your bottom dollar he is 😛
One transfer we have forgotten to mention, what about Pennant going to Stoke on loan???
Come on, where’s our 25 man squad???
Many clubs can’t name 25…..
AGAG he can pass and creative and we have enough of them who are as good if not better and he can obviously pass to RVP…. but where in the sickroom..? 😉 lol
rico, hahaha. Very, very funny. I was so appalled at that piece of news, I spent the morning feeling all morose and hard done by. How could I have not??
As for D&D, I have very little expectations, so I’m bound not to be disappointed. Or maybe, the more accurate thing to say is that I have become so used to disappointment, I find much to celebrate when Denilson passes forward or when Diaby manages not to lose the ball in the final third.
Ha. I am right ray of sunshine today. 🙁
Oh, bet we don’t either, Wilshere, Gibbs, Chesney don’t count….
WATH, comment of the day that one 😛
You sound how I feel agag 🙁
I have, I thought, successfully, evaded mention of VDV’s extended stays at the treatment room…
It’s galling to the nth that he’s going to the Totts. Ick to infinity. WATH, you just have to let us mourn this. Haha. 😉
WATH has convinced me agag, DVD’s are rubbish 😉
u 2 sound like lovesick puppies 😛
Ah bouncy puppies hmmmmmmmmmmm 😀
You’re easy to convince, rico. 🙂 And you haven’t even been plied with drink. 🙂 😉 🙂
What happened to VdV’s medical? While it sounds to me as though you girls would be happy to volunteer, I didn’t see anything about it.
Maybe you could still put in an application 😆
If the stories are true and they only started negotiating terms three hours before the deadline, then what happened to the checks?
Wouldn’t it be terrible if he has a problem 😆
AGAG you just wanna mourn so you can finish a crate of GG off 😛 I know ur thinking by now…. you been caught out….! 😀
agag, i did say DVD’s 😉 😉
WATH, that’s possibly because we are 😛
mike, i couldn’t offer my services, you wouldn’t catch me anywhere near that horrid place unless it was a matchday… however, VDV is more than welcome to meet me at neutral location to undergo a full medical, as long as he agress to give agag enough time to fly to the UK to assist me 😉 😉
😳
Oh no, one mentions puppies, and another speaks of playing nurse. rico, you handle this. 🙂
agag – no, you handle it 😆 😆
how can we find rose – any ideas???
Ok Folks,
all this talk of nurses and medicals has got me over excited…
I’m off for a crate of Rioja.
Talk tomorrow; have a good one
rico, I missed that, must be mine eyes are brimming!!!
I’d be happy to leave you to do that medical by your happy lonesome… but I want tickets to an Affelay-Van der Wiel meet and greet. Haha.
Have a good evening mike, its your post up tomorrow and i can’t wait 🙂
Hope the hangover doesn’t keep you away tomorrow 😉
Rico,
I only said one crate… I’ll see you then.
WATH, you’re marginally more perceptive today than usual. 😉
Just now, I was debating the merits of having some GG v. attending a morning meeting, lucid and in full possession of my mental faculties, since all the deliverables are expected to be delivered by me. 🙂
Good night, mikeB; enjoy your Rioja.
rico, Erick might know where rose is. They used to talk before and Weeds was always on his best behavior. 🙂 🙂 Must have been trying to impress her and all that. Haha.
Have a lovely evening and enjoy the crate mike 🙂
😆 Thanks agag, i will check with Erick
Red Arse, you did not come back. 🙁
Good night, rico and WATH! 🙂 Be safe. Behave. 😉
Night agag, you stay safe to and behave, stay off the GG and get a good nights rest 😉
Rico,
Can I come back now? 🙂
Send Agag a copy of that email I gave you, that might lift her mood! 🙂
WATH, you still naughty! 😉
RA, No-one asked you to leave, that was your own choice 😉
Rico, you can bet your hornswaggling ass it was! 😉
Experienced “connection” issues this p.m., so helped to keep my head down whether I needed to or not! 🙂
Seems BT WiFi gets sprayed around where I live and causes me hassle. It has never been my beautiful laptop, named Rico2, at all. 🙂
Everyone’s gone home.
Don’t let the bugs bite. 🙂
i’m here 🙂
i am here also…
I’m not now, I need to go get some dinner,
oliver, you have a good rest of your day, you have made so many sensible comments today, they make people like me keep sane on the Arsenal front, thank you 🙂
See you all tomorrow, stay safe…..
enjoy rico. tomorrow then.
til tomorrow oliver, its a mike post and i think you will all like it 🙂 🙂
morning all,
new post up