Author Archive
Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s going to be one of them days, probably even weeks or months. The Arsenal blogosphere and Twittersphere has literally gone off the grid with bedlam and hysteria. Colin Lewin must be one of the most worried men on the Arsenal payroll if you believe the misguided rationale out there that the Arsenal medical staff intentionally set out to injure their players.
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc. That’s what conventional wisdom would dictate. Translated, it’s Latin for “After it, therefore because of it”. But is this always true? Does it follow that the Arsenal medical team are incompetent therefore Arsenal players are frequently injured.
Since the beginning of the season 24 days ago, you’ll find that out of the 8 defenders in Arsenal’s first team squad, only Carl Jenkinson and Ignasi Miquel haven’t been side-lined by injury, or in Sagna’s case, by a virus. The suggestion that Colin Lewin and his team are intentionally engineering all these injuries is as ludicrous as suggesting that Joey Barton and Robbie Savage aren’t platinum idiots.
We might as well check the betting patterns of the medical staff to see if any of them are visiting bookmakers more frequently than is healthy for a warm blooded individual.
I mean, they’re being accused of arranging for a Udinese player to kick the hell out of Vermaelen’s ankle and for setting up Jethro Gibbs to pull a hammy on us. They’re considered responsible for Andy Carroll shoving Koscielny into a back spasm when a probably feasible explanation is that Carroll was playing with a hangover.
Speaking of which, I’d like to know how they engineered Vermaelen’s thigh injury into an Achilles problem that needed an operation, but I digress.
The Arsenal medical team are not complicit in getting our players injured and I get bemused by the concert of Arsenal bloggers , hacks, plundits and fans screaming murder. And then you have the arm chair experts providing their considered opinions about how Arséne Wenger is mismanaging Arsenal and is subjecting Arsenal fans to a team of invalids.
The least these so called experts could do is apply to the folks at Highbury House for a job allowing them to you know – “impart their expertise”. Why talk to the Daily Heil or some other sleazy tabloid instead.
Injuries are a bastard, and there’s no way of getting round that. They’re also an occupational hazard in this game and something we have to live with. The notion being suggested that Wenger should stock pile players just in case does not make any sense at all. For one, there are squad limits, but more importantly, the squad is there for a reason, and it’s there not only to absorb injuries, but to absorb suspensions.
The more relevant question is whether the squad as a whole is strong enough, and not whether we get injuries that are part and parcel of the game. We might pray to whichever god we worship for the rub of the green, but injuries are a reality for a contact sport.
We might also hope that referees could actually do their jobs and stop the thugs masquerading on the pitch as “honest, hard tackling” players. I can’t tell you enough about my contempt for thuggery being used as an excuse for the inability to play football and for it to then be called grit and steel.
I even have to pay for the privilege of some twats on BBC to tell us that that sort of thuggery is what is needed in the game.
But then again, it doesn’t always follow that if we expect referees to do their job, then they’ll actually do their job. Not in this lifetime.
By the way, if you haven’t yet, follow me on Twitter to see how John Cross from the Daily Mirror is telling me how paranoid I am for suggesting he has a sinister agenda.
Arsenal’s Pursuit Of The Holy Grail
Posted by: | CommentsDivorce, marriage, bereavement, dodging bailiffs and supporting Arsenal’s pursuit of the holy grail.
If you believe Millicent from occupational therapy, then clearly supporting the Arsenal ranks way up there with the most common triggers of stress and anxiety. Not that she knows anything about football, but she’s read the papers and one thing is obvious – either Arsenal is full of shit, or there’s a coordinated onslaught on the fortunes of a club that is seemingly doing OK in this jungle that is football.
So of course she asked me “how is your club doing?”.
And for the record, Millie is a good friend and not someone I have been forced to “see” by my United supporting boss. I know that because I don’t have a United supporting boss – I’d rather resign than come to work every day knowing an arrogant punk is destined to make my life hell.
It’s been a while since I was up in here , but the hiatus was necessary as I tended to some commitments.
Last time I ventured into the world of football news, I got the impression that Arséne Wenger had been fired and Arsenal were going into administration following our relegation after only 2 games of the season. I suppose there’s a cynical upside to being featured in the news more than most, and that’s knowledge of the fact that Arsenal sells advertising.
That’s the only plausible reason for the sensationalist nonsense and faecal matter written about “ArsenalHaven’tWonATrophyIn6Years FC”. I mean, they might as well call us that.
Not that Liverpool have won anything in 6 years, or won the Premier league for that matter – 20 years and counting. Or that Chelsea, Man United and Man City have collectively spent north of £2.5 billion just to hog the trophies. And people want us to compete on a level playing field with clubs prepared to spend more than the GDP of over 40% of the world’s least developed countries.
Take Man City for example. This is a team financed by another country’s sovereign wealth fund. Think about it – this isn’t an egocentric billionaire who wants a train set of a football team to brag about. This is a club being financed by the oil and gas wealth of a Gulf state. How do you compete with a country.
If anything, football is fast losing its soul when the establishment actively promotes the obscene spending of money that it doesn’t generate. The hacks and plundits drool over the big money spending, oblivious to the economic environment around them.
You might be mistaken to think that these folks are deranged and have lost the plot, but to be honest, I feel sorry for the bastards. It’s clear that they haven’t got the ability to fathom the reality that football is dangerously living outside the laws of economics and when the bubble bursts, the thud as it hits the ground will be massive.
Arsenal on the other hand is treated like an unwanted step child – the club from the wrong side of the rail tracks. Considering that Wenger has literally been working in a strait jacket with limitations on what he can do with player investments, the man has worked a miracle to keep us competitive.
Of course there’s stuff that I would have wanted the guy to do differently; but point a man to me devoid of mistakes and I’ll tell you if that man is Jesus. Wenger certainly isn’t – but what he is cannot be doubted. He is one of the best managers in the world. A visionary with the balls and courage to do what his peers quietly admire but rarely admit publicly lest they’re lynched by the punks in the media.
Every day, I’m reminded why Arsenal is a magnificent club, and as they say “if they hate you that much, you must be doing something right”.
The end of last season left a bitter taste in the mouth, more so than the recent freak show at Old Trafford. I was asked by a friend whether we can ever recover from that mauling, and I suppose the narrative has been such that Arsenal is now seen as a basket case.
We’ve regrouped and brought in some shiny new recruits, a bit of experience and some solid team spirit and commitment. Dare I say some passengers have also been moved on – to Spain and up North to Manchester. I hear we’ve lost world class players we haven’t replaced. But then again, these world class players couldn’t carry us when the team needed it most. It’s not out of the realm of reality to take the view that maybe the world class player dependency was one of our weaknesses and we need to work more as a team with distributed responsibilities.
Supporting the Arsenal has never been for the faint of heart, and our season starts Saturday. If you believe some out there, our campaign this season has already been flushed down the toilet. I mean, we even have shorter odds of being relegated than them lot on the other side of Seven Sisters Road.
What to do except for us to fan up and enjoy the roller-coaster ride.
PS: Follow me on Twitter as I get into the mix of this micro blogging thing. My young niece tells me it’s the new frontier.
Who’s Payroll Is Phil Daud On?
Posted by: | CommentsClaiming that “We was robbed” has to be the under-statement of the decade.
And so we learn the true cost of challenging the establishment. It was naive to think that it’s impossible for any referee to have a worse performance than Lee Mason did in the home game against Everton.
When David Moyes cowardly unleashed the media on Cesc Fabregas, you would have thought that the Arsenal captain had actually called the referees mother a 2 dollar STD infected hoe.
But Cesc actually raised a legitimate question that needs to be asked time and time again. Who the hell is paying these referees?
The only way to explain the breath-taking miscarriages of justice on the field is either by recognizing that the referees are incompetent; or they’re corrupt. If they are incompetent, why does Mike Riley keep them in a job.
But then again, why are we expecting anything from Mike Riley, probably the most incompetent referee to be promoted to lead the pack of wolves.
The blunt truth is that what happened on Tuesday and the media circus that followed it have cost Arsenal big time. We have literally rattled the snake and the serpent is biting back.
How dare we question the integrity of referees? You should have heard the seething pundits and hacks breathing fire and brimstone on the Arsenal. Apparently, we are bringing the game into disrepute by questioning the integrity of the officials.
What a load of nonsense. These bastards have no integrity. They have no moral leg to stand on. They are low life cretins who shamelessly implement the corrupt agenda of a Neolithic establishment.
Anyone who thinks that there’s no anti-Arsenal agenda needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Forget the establishment ganging up on all fronts, the sheer bias and mismanagement of games is unacceptable.
This is not a theory, this is fact. To which I refer you to Walter’s running referee performance record on Untold Arsenal. Walter is an active referee himself and has laid out in black and white, the referees performances this season – and the results are shocking.
So I ask again. Who the hell is paying Phil Daud on the side? Who is Phil Daud sleeping with?
Daud has personally been in charge of 4 games involving Arsenal that have had contentious and unbelievable decisions against us. Once is a mistake; twice a coincidence; three times – and it’s a conspiracy. Four times or more – it’s just bang out of order.
Our players can’t ask for justice on the field without being reprimanded; our manager can’t say anything that will unleash the pack of wolves on us – so we’re going to ask and we’re going to continue asking until the corruption in English football is addressed in the same way the Police got involved in Serie A.
The evidence is there – and this is not a theory.
The only two disappointments I have from yesterday’s game are the injury to Djourou and the fact that Diaby didn’t get his money’s worth for that red card.
Diaby should have punched the living shit out of Barton and knocked his teeth out. He should have put him on a stretcher and made sure in no uncertain terms that he will not hesitate to defend himself from a 3rd career threatening injury in as many years. Barton is a certified thug who has only one intention and that is to injure Arsenal players.
The referee was clearly not going to protect him; and to be honest, I’d rather Diaby is out for 3 games than out for the rest of the calendar year with yet another broken leg.
The irony of course is that even after all this – we’re better off only 4 points adrift of the Manure. So – are they in a crisis and all now?
And just in case we forget – it was this weekend a year ago that Aaron Ramsey got assaulted by Ryan Shawcross.
Stop The Bitching And Get Behind Almunia Already
Posted by: | CommentsI was quite bemused earlier on today when listening to my morning dose of sports news. To be honest, I don’t know what I expected considering that Arsenal was allegedly plunged into meltdown after the transfer deadline handed Almunia the Arsenal No.1 shirt by default.
“How stupid is Arséne Wenger? Can he not see that the fans want a decent keeper? Why does he not listen to the pundits?”, asked a comically exasperated Mr. Alan Brazil.
Even my cornflakes cringed on hearing Brazil demand that Wenger listen to the pundits.
You have to wonder though, whether the Samaritans were intentionally forwarding calls from so called Arsenal fans to Talk Shite radio. Someone has to have a word with the bosses at the Samaritans for gross dereliction of duty. These Arsenal fans are hurting and desperate – and they need proper counselling, they don’t need to be sent to a bunch of Anti-Arsenal retards who have perfected the art form of xenophobia.
For the record, my position is that the Arsenal coaching staff have the responsibility to ensure that we’re best equipped for the new campaign. Perhaps the mass hysteria misses the trick here in not identifying the issues that Arsenal has to address to defend better as a unit.
So far, I think they’ve done that job satisfactorily with the personnel changes made and the application of a more coherent defensive strategy. The misguided and and somewhat amplified perception that Almunia is the problem to Arsenal’s trophy drought is a red-herring of the highest order.
I’m amazed that the anti-Arsenal brigade and the punks in the media didn’t notice the 2 fingers Wenger stuck up right in their faces. Almunia was the match day captain every single time he was on the pitch, and deputized for Fabregas when the Spaniard had finished his shift at Ewood park. If there was ever an implicit vote of confidence, then what better way than doing something that obvious.
“But Wenger made a bid for Schwarzer. Doesn’t that show that he wanted to change things?”, I hear the heckling of the depressed and crazed fans with blood shot eyes holding the “Wenger Must Go!” placard on Holloway Road.
In between the chants of “Bring me the head of Arséne Wenger”, they summarily accuse the club of lacking ambition and failing to listen to pundits who clearly have the answer.
Yes, Wenger dipped his toe in the goal keeping transfer market, and many will accuse him of not trying hard enough.
What’s to say the Arsenal manager wasn’t lighting the mother of all bonfires under Manuel Almunia’s ass to make sure the Spaniard keeps on his toes? It’s worked so far, hasn’t it?
Wenger has an M.O that is impossible to ignore. He always signs essential players in the first week of July. These are the players who are identified as being critical to the season, changes that need to be made immediately. Koscielny, Nasri, Rosicky, Sagna, Chamakh et al, all came within a week of the transfer season opening.
If Wenger really wanted a new keeper, Arsenal would have got a new keeper. Schwarzer would have been nice to have around, but more importantly, Almunia was never on a transfer list. Fine, he might have left on his own volition, but Wenger never said he wants him out.
The best thing that has happened is that the transfer window has been nailed shut and boarded up. Enough of the Arsenal needs a new keeper madness.
It’s time to get behind Manuel Almunia and show him the love. There is no excuse in my view for not supporting him once he crosses that white line.
And by the way, I thought Almunia’s performance against Blackburn was stellar. If that had been Cech or Van Der Sar, everyone would be waxing lyrical about the performance and the reason why Chelsea and United are ‘Champions material’.
The rest of the team didn’t do badly for themselves either. So far, so good.
Jermaine ‘Defraud’s’ Hand Job On Young Boys: Where Is The Outrage?
Posted by: | CommentsLet’s face it – on any other day, the title of this article would be on a docket at the local Magistrate’s court down Seven Sisters Road.
The arraignment session in Court 14 will be filled by lawyers of Jermaine Defoe, Tottenham Hotspur, the FA, UEFA and the various media companies who have a reputation to defend.
“Motion for separation, your honour”, the £700 an hour bespectacled lawyer for Sky Sports would demand. “This perverse charge has nothing to do with us and my client resents being kettled into the position of defending our reputation with this group of uncouth defendants”.
“But he’s British and that’s why it’s no crime”, you can here another lawyer shouting from 4 deep.
The prosecutor, acting on behalf of the interest of the fair minded football loving public and for the interest of the integrity of the game tries again to stipulate the charges amidst the jeers and commotion in the gallery caused by the press corps.
“Your honour, all the defendants are accused of a systematic, calculated and deliberate attempt to show bias, prejudice, xenophobia, favouritism and breath-taking hypocrisy. They have brought the game into disrepute by continuing to mask the cheating that is blatant in the game, and by continuing to turn a blind eye when that cheating is perpetrated by an Englishman”.
“But your honour, my client challenges the jurisdiction of this court on the grounds that Southwark Crown court is already dealing with my client’s business” interjects one goateed and shaven headed lawyer from within the group as the gallery erupts in cheer.
“order, order, order”, the magistrate bellows as he hammers the plank by his side to try and recapture the sanity of his court room. “Who on earth are you representing?” he asks the goateed lawyer with a firm but bewildered look.
“The Tottenham manager your honour”, the reply follows.
“Can someone tell this idiot this court doesn’t deal with tax matters”, the magistrate demands as he looks for the court clerk as if to remind her to make sure those in front of the bench understand why they’re actually in court.
“So let me clarify this”, the magistrate continues while facing the prosecutor. “So who among these defendants actually benefited from the hand job against the Young Boys?”
“Your honour”, the prosecutor responds. “We submit to you that The Tottenham no. 18 Mr. Defoe was the primary culprit who used his hand to shaft the Young Boys, and the co-accused media defendants are all collectively responsible for colluding in that crime by refusing to be fair at the reporting of such heinous acts against association football”.
“Are the people able to meet the burden of proof?”, the magistrate enquires.
“We have comprehensive footage of the crime your honour”, the prosecutor replies with a tint of a smile, “both from the broadcasters as well as the official Tottenham match DVD which is already on sale at the club shop and website. Your honour, we also have precedence to illustrate the systematic and breath-taking bias shown by the English media in favour of English players, especially the divers like Mr. Rooney and Mr. Gerrard who are referred to as being ‘very clever’ instead of the cheats they are. The people will also be submitting crucial evidence against the media in the cases of Mr. Thierry Henry and Mr. Eduardo Da Silva who the media treated like the anti-Christ after similar offenses”.
“But Talk Sport is the no. 1 commercial radio station in the country”, a voice shouts from behind the throng of lawyers. “Surely, we have the right to create controversy in the interest of the English game when the player is not an Englishman? Enough with the bloody foreigners we say. They have caused the English national team to become a laughing stock around the world”.
“Order, Order” the magistrate shouts amidst the cheers and clapping from the gallery. “Bailiff, throw that ginger haired man and his Talk Shite out of my court room”, the magistrate demands in fury.
“But your honour”, the legal aid lawyer acting on behalf of the BBC demands. “We have done nothing wrong and our commentator even challenged the fairness of the situation and pointed out that if the Young Boys had had the helping hand, there would be absolute fury across the country for an English team being denied a chance at European football at the hands of a foreign team and a foreign referee”.
“Save your nonsense for the jury”, the magistrate barks back at the BBC lawyer. “Clerk, set the date for trial. NEXT!”
“Docket number EFJ21468 – the crown vs ….”, we hear as the camera fades out.
I forget what this post was about….LOL! Yeah! Cheating and the blatant disregard of this supposed crime against association football.
Where is the outrage, or didn’t we just see Jermaine ‘Defrauding’ the Young Boys with a blatant hand job.
I wonder what would happen if it was Thierry Henry or Eduardo on the end of that shot. Or if it was Arsenal playing Celtic for a place in the group stages of the Champions League.
Realignment Of The English Footballing Order
Posted by: | CommentsWatching last night’s game between Middle Eastlands and Liverpool, I had this conversation in my head about what was going on. Part of me was kind of pissed off that Liverpool rolled over and let the Mancunian Chavs tickle their bellies, pat them on the head before sending them back home with a reality check.
Another part of me was pissed off that Arsenal didn’t bury a 10 man Liverpool last weekend. Like many, I’m rationalizing that a point at Anfield is a precious point during any part of the season; or I’m rationalizing that it was the first game of the season, Li’l Jack Willy showed a bit of understandable and acceptable inexperience in the lead up to Liverpool’s goal, Arshavin was just about getting out of the dressing room, we didn’t have our first choice squad on the pitch – yada yada yada.
Maybe it’s just easier to get pissed off with Liverpool for rolling over last night and letting Moneybags City bitch slap them all over the park.
But it’s worth observing that even this early in the season, the new order in English football is realigning itself and its going to cement itself very quickly. They say the table doesn’t lie, and I’m making an early prediction that the current top 4 will finish in the Champions League places at the end of the season.
If you asked me, I’ll unashamedly proclaim that the final order in the top 4 will be alphabetical; but then again I’ll ask – what the hell did you expect me to say?
Clearly, a few people have been drinking that cool-ade stuff down the Tottenham Lodge in preparation for their tussle with the Young Boys of Bern. The 28 minutes of the first half of last Tuesday’s match between the Spuds and the Young Boys was the best 28 minutes of football that I’ve watched in a very long time.
Even then, ‘Appy ‘Arry and Big Bad Billy G seemed to have drank too much of that stuff to propel them to delusions of grandeur that leads them to suggest that the Spuds can win the title .
There’s a vicious rumour going around Seven Sisters road that revenge of the 1913 revolution of North London is nigh. Or maybe it was Henry Norris’s wheeling, dealing and politicking that relegated Spuds to the 2nd division in favour of Arsenal staying in the 1st division that pisses them more than a move from South East London. I forget why the Spuds have such an inferiority complex.
Manchester United on the other hand are going through a very interesting period. I suppose those with a more sunny disposition might call it a rebuilding time for them. If I was cynical, I’d suggest that they’re following the Arsenal development model to the tee – only they’re what, 5 or 6 years late?
To be honest, I don’t think the powers that be at United would have noticed the Berlin wall falling if it hit them on the way down. We get reminded that their predicament is justified because of their successful haul of trophies in the last 18 years. We get told that if it wasn’t for the Glazer family, they would be well run and debt free. Yeah – blame the Glazers alright, but the end result is that Manure is a financial basket case.
The bottom line is that Manure bought the title when they had the chance and it’s kind of ironic that their so called youth development policy is now being lauded as a virtue. I suppose that’s why they’re now paying main street prices for relatively unknown players just like an old sage of ours does.
Either way, United is not the club that they used to be and it will show this season. I get bemused when it’s suggested that Arsenal don’t have strength and depth in defence, yet Manure and even Chelsea are threadbare beyond their first choices. But I suppose they have youth.
If you haven’t been around for a while, you’ll notice that Chelsea are already being coronated as the 2010-2011 Premier league Champions. If you believe some media houses, they’re on track to scoring 228 goals this season while only conceding a few goals here and there for good measure.
Chelsea’s defence is suspect – they’ve only got away with it this far because they haven’t been properly tested by the teams they’ve played.
“But they can only beat the teams in front of them”, I hear the murmurs in the shadows.
Well, as long as selective amnesia is not applied as Arsenal is accused of being flat track bullies. The Gunners too, can only beat the teams that they play – it just doesn’t apply to the Chavs.
Nevertheless, Chelsea’s dominance as the Moneybag specialists is being overhauled by Middle Eastlands; in the same way as Manure’s dominance as the model club is being overhauled by Arsenal’s organic development. It’s the new order of the footballing establishment.
The question is whether the virtuous cycle of building wonderful things from the ground up like Arsenal is doing will overcome the vicious cycle of buying things like they’re running out of fashion the way Middle Eastlands are doing it.
Of Red and Brown Nosing, Sycophancy And Misguided Punditry
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s been a long time since the regular dosage at Stone Cold Arsenal Towers, and I trust all has been well. Like many, I still find myself in that strange place of being ecstatic about the fact that proper football is back, but being apprehensive about the sheer amount of media shit stirring being peddled about in the name of selling copy. When is that transfer window being bolted shut?
So the last couple of days while commuting to and from work I decided to do the unthinkable and find out what the usual suspects are up to in sports radio. Kills the down time in between and I thought that maybe they’d talk about you know – football.
Red nose seemed to have picked his moment by accusing old Mancini and his paymasters for Kamikaze spending. Part of me smiled sheepishly as I thought “you sad bastard, you’re just broke and can’t afford those wild player purchases you used to make”.
And it’s the truth. Manchester United are damn broke and it’s pointless suggesting that they’re still liquid and can service their debts. In the real world, any company that had debt ratios at the level of the Manure would be lined up along the wall and shot. Gone are the days when winning trophies guaranteed that you’ll actually make some money.
Anyway, laughing at Red nose wasn’t my point; my point was the sycophancy of the media pundits who don’t know when they need to stop kissing Fergusons ass.
Everyone knows that the transfer market this summer has been uneventful. Well, there’s Manchester City, but for the real world, they don’t seem to live on this planet. The fact that their owners have a mint attached to their office block in Abu Dhabi makes including them in a conversation about transfers an irrelevant discussion.
And so the pundits start waxing lyrical about the foresight of Ferguson in seeing the light when it comes to the challenges of the economic environment. Challenges that have led him to take a more realistic and prudent approach to developing a new team with a blend of geriatrics and youngsters.
The sycophantic punks can’t stop to pontificate how Sir Red nose is the best at building teams and that they’re heading the right way. They remind us of how he brought up the generation of Giggs, Beckham, the Neville brothers et al, and how he is already doing the same now.
Do these guys think we walked into this season straight from the cotton fields?
The fool is damn broke, and any financial rookie getting off the milk train at Manchester Piccadilly could have told you that Red nose is damn broke and can’t afford the spending lifestyle he’s been used to over the last decade.
The thing is this though. These punks have spent the best part of the last 6 or 7 years unashamedly bashing Wenger and Arsenal for being a pillar of strength and not succumbing to brazen ‘cheque book’ management. They have continued to bash Wenger for being a tight fisted egomaniac who had only one agenda of proving the world wrong.
They have continued over the years to ridicule Arsenal as being an unambitious club that doesn’t have the balls to spend money to compete with the so called big boys. They have continued to mock and ridicule the comprehensive and visionary youth development policy that will continue to stand the club in good stead for years to come.
And yet when clubs all around Arsenal start becoming basket cases; and when Chairmen and club owners around the leagues start tightening their belts because creditors don’t want to play anymore; when the so called big boys have collective debts that rival the GDP of some developing countries – the punks don’t even have the humility to acknowledge that all along, Arsenal and Wenger have been doing the right thing.
They don’t have the grace to accept that their stupidity in Arsenal bashing over the years and their lack of foresight in understanding and appreciating Arsenal’s vision and why the club chose to go that way – makes them look like fools.
Yeah, go ahead and kiss the arse of old Red nose; but don’t forget – the mighty Arsenal leads the way and others follow.
The ambitious youth development policy that these misguided and miseducated pundits have been trashing in the last few years is clearly been seen as the answer by the establishment up and down the land.
The emerging richness of players from within our youth ranks means that Arsenal don’t have to ‘buy’ the so called big name mercenaries in order to compete. Yes, the team will buy, but we will buy players on our own terms.
Part of the problem with football in this country is that people don’t want or people don’t know how to build things any more. They just want to buy them. If there’s a problem – “who are they buying?”. Come the summer and January transfer windows, “who are they buying?”.
Watch the Arsenal baffle the whole lot of them as they suffocate for air from within Red noses – you know where….
Tue 13th September 2011; 19:45, Dortmund