₦airaland Forum

I hear RVP don score again, hope this is the end of this torrid start to the season. I should have made him my fantasy captain this week.

I've lost my stream o  
back to updates.

Goaaaal RVP

Lack of understanding between Theo and Gervinho

No speed in our passing at all.

Ngog don woundjure himself?

Finally got a stream. http://www.eplsite.com/, click the link on the right hand side.

Still searching for a stream, ever since myp2p went bosoms up its been hard getting streams. I have to formulate a new strategy.
Please update us if yu're watching.

Drat and double Drat, why can't we just have any luck whatsoever at present?  
the one positive everyone was looking forward to this season again? HABA.

@Proudly
a 10k drop in attendance between last year and this is significant, it is also very important for the club as over 50% of the club's income is from gate takings. I still believe the anti arsenal press rhetoric has a lot to do with it but our results have also not helped. Its mostly the hard core fans who are now attending games with a spattering of those who are just going for the experience and like you say if the number is that high despite all the negativity that surrounds the club at present then its pretty encouraging. Things will pick up if we get back to winning ways for sure and if anything, maybe the press have helped the true fans to readjust their expectation accordingly, I mean surely with what the press has said so far, it would be a tad hypocritical of them to turn against us for coming 4th at the end of the season.

This sounds like porkies to me, with the recording, voice matching (technology or expert testimony), interrogation of the suspects, victim's statement and corroboration from other sources in the immediate vicinity privy to all or some parts of the incident, conviction of the perpetrators should be pretty easy.
Anything that girl says in a court of law about that incident will be accepted as authentic evidence by any judge or jury who watch that video. Find the girl and you have an open and shut case.

4llerbuntu:
deal!

You're the second person I've extracted this promise from. There is a friend of mine always moaning in my ears everytime Arsenal loses since last season. His call is the first I get after every loss I've almost become an emotional psychology consultant. I do intend to have a quiet summer next year (I hope these new crop don't find a way to mess it up). 

4llerbuntu:
we have also never been tonked 8 even if the match was on the moon, we have never started the season like this even if it was arsenal ladies that were repping the 1st team.

the team disruptions are due to decisions by wenger and the board. it is not a force majeure thing, that cannot constitute an excuse by any means

the quality of the team is also not a given. infact it is quite debateable if the quality is not like 7th best in the league. plus we have one of the worst defences #FACT.   not just personnel but also in performances. and it will not magically improve overnight. just as it did not get this bad overnight.

There are unusual anomalies, a bit like Real Madrid also getting beaten 5 - 0 last season by Barcelona, when yu're at a low and you meet an elite opponent who takes no prisoners you get thumped, its unfortunate we met Manure when we were at a very low level player and confidence wise while a harder fixture list brought by the UCL qualifiers didnt help. In this same time that it has gotten so bad as you say, we still beat the club that came 3rd in the Serie A last season to qualify for the UCL but that is soon forgotten because we scored 2 own goals at Ewood Park. You see the fickleness of fans in action? 
The current team IMO might not have as much elite personel as they had last season in Cesc and Nasri but what they do have is a larger number of performers in the higher level grade which should help them be able to cope better with the large number of fixtures and less predisposed to slumps. We may not reach the high heights of last season but when we do find our level I expect us to be able to maintain it comfortably once we get out of this unusually early hole we dug for ourselves.

4llerbuntu:
the team is like 50% weaker than last season so why compare last season's 4th to this season? yes 50%!!  unless you want to believe all these running around like rabbits in a headlight constitutes  good footy
i still do not understand why its beyond comprehension that this team can do a 14th. who on earth would have accepted liverpool would do a 7th or 8th? and they were not bad.  do u ever stop to ask yourselves how these players think about all this at times?   i do not believe wenger still has his respect within the squad anymore.

I cannot believe this team can end up in 14th because the quality in the team is better than that, I also do not believe that Arsene can be satisfied with anything less than a top 4 finish, in all his years he has guaranteed that, I personally believe he will walk if he is unable to deliver that. You won't need to sack him.

4llerbuntu:
fair point. except this david dont have a slingshot  and i again refer to my response to debosky above. true the money isnt there but thats half the problem

This David might not have the size of stone to win the league NOW but this David would be underachieving seriously if he comes 14th  Honestly, I thot you were joking with the 14th thing.

4llerbuntu:
dide, haha! from you the financial consultant for the thread? how ar the owner hurting? is business going down? in fact its improving season by season. trophies and league position be damned.  put urself in their position, would u really care?

Business might not be going down in the immediate but sustained lack of results will ultimately tell on the club and the business is very much aware of that, it is what they are prepared to do to raise performance that is not certain. Will the expenditure to raise performance levels bring in enough returns to sustain the long term future of the club is the major question. That is the puzzle and we have as many opinions as there are people but ultimately the owners of the business will decide cos at the end of it all, its they who will get hit in the pocket. Debo and I will only write different analysis and verbally batter ourselves later. 

4llerbuntu:
i am most definitely NOT demanding a trophy. and i daresay nobody on this planet is considering all thats happened.
i want my club's dignity and self respect back.
if we finish 4th, id probably emulate that useless picture DK posts all the time. 

That is what we all want and I personally believe we will. As far as I'm concerned we're already rock bottom anyway. From here can only be up. There aren't going to be many 8 -  2 score lines against us so if I lived through the 8 - 2 jokes I don't know what could happen now that can be worse than that.

4llerbuntu:
IM NOT A PESSIMIST. FAR FROM IT. i simply look at whats before me and make educated conclusions. i do not stay in england, i most certainly do not follow the press, hook line and sinker.   but after supporting this club for more than a decade, i think i can say i am most definitely concerned, and peeved at the direction we are going, nowhere.

for how long are we going to spin the wheels, complain about funds, and generally expect the world to cry for us?   DIGNITY, COMPETITIVENESS, PRIDE. not falling apart at relegation bound clubs regularly and saying no money.

as far as im concerned, if we are not in 5th place by december, the guy should leave

I don't tag people though I acknowledge I'm extremely optimistic about Arsenal as I tend to be optimistic about anything that I derive joy from. I would however say that yu're being pessimistic in this particular instance. I don't know if that makes you a PESSIMIST. 
As to the direction we're going, I know for certain that we are definitely going somewhere. What Arsenal is doing without being forced to is what the whole of europe have now determined in principle to be the way to go for football in Europe. I'm proud that the club I support have always been pace setters, the fact that sustainability is not fashionable in the PL now does not mean that it won't be in the future. That is the point Gary Neville of all people was making.

4llerbuntu:
thats what i call living in the past. we are talking NOW!!!!!! is he doing it NOW.  is nottingham forest a big club cos they won in europe eons ago? who cares. dudu wake up, live in the present. forget all the history and statistics.

ha, yes 6-1. was it 6 or 5?  anyway unimportant.  whats the difference between then and now?  at then the result was a major anomaly and if i remember, i think viera copped a red? anyway im sure im wrong.

The point I was making was that whenever the team is in transition you get some dodgy results but Arsene has always fixed them so far so why would you now believe that he can not fix it on the bases of 2 matches? 
No matter which way you look at it, past or present one thing Arsene has guaranteed come rain or shine is a top 4 finish, you cannot have done that if you were an  no matter what the media says.
and when you talk of NOW!!!, that is the extreme short termism that Gazidis was referring to, it makes no sense to be calling for the head of a man who has delivered a top 4 finish for 14 years consistently on the basis of 5 matches. If you were the Sole Proprietor of Arsenal, you wouldn't do that. 

4llerbuntu:
NOW it was really not much of a surprise when considered in hindsight.  we defend habitually like Cun(t)s defending against a dic(k)s. if a team ships 4 against blackburn, its not farfetched to ship 8 against a much more fluid, well oiled attacking machine like Utd.  at that time we simply refused to be rubbished and as u pointed out went unbeaten.    is this present squad capable of winning back to back matches?
as debosky will say, thats comparing apples and oranges.

Lets review this question after a decent run of games, not after 5 matches.

4llerbuntu:
@ duduspace, there are times when your brand of loyalty and supportership really . . . . . . . . .

yes, and why is it not possible? are you not rather too caught up in your own hype to see clearly?
since you have been a fan of arsenal, have u ever seen the things that are happening now?  ever heard of the catch phrase "too big to go down"?

look at the records and form books again. tell yourself home truths, even if you cannot admit such in the presence of tools like DK and coogr

There is no hype here 4ller, the record speaks for itself, we've never dropped out of the top 4 since Arsene took over so there is no statistical bases to make such a statement, the quality of the team is also such as is quite capable of a barest minimum top 5 finish even if results due to a shaky start and known team disruptions currently suggests otherwise. I assumed your statement was made in jest and I replied in jest as well.
There is nothing like too big to go down which is why such a consistent run of top 4 finishes in light of the tight financial constraints at Arsenal should be appreciated, it should now be clear that there is no divine right to a top 4 finish as has been taken for granted previously.

4llerbuntu:
because i love my club so much and it hurts to see us perform poorly when i believe we could have done much better. do u remember that last season at a point we looked good for a title run and trophies?  do u remember we were overhauled by teams who had no business touching us with a yard pole on the log as at february?

if i was not angry, was i supposed to be grateful? i don't support mediocrity

Everything in life is relative, there is performing poorly in a match and getting thumped, there is performing poorly and getting relegated, there is performing poorly and being mid-table and then there is performing poorly and making top 4. My point was that if you believe the team as presently constituted can finish 14th then why crying a river if they make top 4? I can understand disappointment at a team collapse and a critical examination of the issues behind such consistent collapses but I can't understand going overboard just because the club you support doesn't win and yu're the butt of friend's jokes.

4llerbuntu:
this ties up with above.
is it not time that we opened our eyes ? its good enough to blame the tools, but should'nt the workman be looked at critically too?

list the number of defenders that have passed through arsenal in the last 5 years. every single one of them is a dud? ditto all the players.  hell at the rate it was going even fabregas was starting to look like a dud, and folks were beginning to question his footballing abilities and performances.

point is, dude i know you are loyal, love wenger bla bla bla, but are you really sure this marriage has not gone sour?   is it time to move on?

Just read up what Debo pasted up there about those players that have passed through Arsenal and consider it critically, the Fabregas you mention is one of Arsene's success stories, but at a point you have to look at what yu're going to fight against and what yur weapons are. It is quite silly to expect David to kill Goliath with a stone everytime.
At a point David will either miss or Goliath will dodge.
The marriage will go sour when those who employed Arsene decides it is time to let him go but even they are his most vociferous supporters are you saying yu are more affected by Arsenal's collapse than those who put millions into it?
We came 4th last year but still spent less than the 3 who finished ahead of us despite losing our 2 best performers while they lost no player and you're still here demanding a trophy and sweeping away all that come before us? does that really make any sense? for how long have Giggs, Rooney, Carrick, Ferdinand, Vidic and even people like Nani and Anderson been at Manure? compare that to RVP being the only player in our first team who ever played with the invincibles and yu'll know exactly what our problems are with stability and that this is not down to Arsene alone but the direction of the entire club.
You lot shouting Arsenal will finish 14th now will still be here complaining if we finish 4th so what gives?
All I ask is that you look beyond what the media says and make your own well though out conclusions and not emotional outbursts.

4llerbuntu:
just as it is fashionable to criticize the media (rightly too) for saying rubbish about arsenal, don't u think at times they may simply be stating the obvious?    

that same comment was put to wenger and he acted all offended, saying he had been coaching for 35 years. all good, but frankly it even makes it worse. a coach of 35 years standing cannot correct flaws that has bedeviled his team for so long, no matter the personnel?

are you saying that to your mind, wenger is capable of getting this team to organise and defend properly?

my answer to you is a resounding NO!!! as a matter of fact, if anything he needs help with the defensive aspect and thats simply just out of respect to him.  normally we would be talking about kicking him out.

i will not be drawn out on this issue, simply because i know it will turn into an insult match esp when you fellow disciples join in, but i think you will do well to note that it is very very possible that this team will end up in 14th.  as of now the 1st team does not look capable of taking on ANY established premier league side, unfortunately there are 17 of such sides, before (if) the rut is halted, it may be too late. you can take it to the bank too

You should know very well by now that it is not in my nature to start insults, I only ever give back as good as I get.
Arsene is not capable of organising his defense properly yet won 2 League titles with different defensive personel? makes top 4 of the PL and the knockout stages of the premier European competition year on year yet is incapable of getting his team to organise and defend properly only on the bases of 2 matches this season?   are you aware that we've been beaten 6 - 1 by Manure in the past and subsequently went a season unbeaten?
Don't worry, my new season resolution is to never insult another Gooner even if provoked  , I'd just appreciate less venom from you over the summer if this team finishes above 14th. deal?  

4llerbuntu:
but then, my view dont count. i still think that despite all the talk wengers job is very much on the line, if we do a liverpool, he will go midway too, like hodgson. can gazidis afford to finish in 14th place?.
this team needs a strong jolt. and a defensive coach.

And you really believe Arsenal can finish in 14th? 
Why then were you angry that we finished 4th last year?   
Yeah right, the team needs a defensive coach, that is the new media mantra koo? 
can't wait for the team to silence all this nonsense talk.

debosky:
I jump am pass. . . .the last time we took on a United reject, we were irreparably damaged.

Let Agent Owen do the damage to Citeh and not to us.

That is if he ever gets near their first team in the first instance. Not everyone can justify putting an injury prone player on the payroll to warm the bench. If Arsene did it, this same people will come and tell us he is brain damaged for taking a player with such an injury record if he gets injured. I can imagine what the press would make of it.

proudly9ja:
Have you also forgotten how Arsene played Toure (a CB) at right back and Eboue (a RB) in midfield with Senderous ( a CB nobody wanted  in the team) playing along side Gallas?

The way Arsene works sometimes can only be explained by him (and maybe Pat Rice  )

Lets not start jumping on the media bandwagon and start seeing things that aren't.  Here is the injury list prior to that game in Blackburn. From a report on the same match. 

[Quote]A raft of injuries and suspensions left Wenger few options when he sat down to pick his team for this tricky North-West trip. Thierry Henry (foot), Tomas Rosicky (groin), Abou Diaby (foot), Justin Hoyte (hamstring), Johan Djourou (ankle), Mathieu Flamini (foot) and Robin van Persie (foot) were all ruled out. Emmanuel Adebayor and Kolo Toure started three-game suspensions after their red cards in Cardiff. And Cesc Fabregas was rested after a punishing schedule.[/quote]IMO, it was the same injury jinx that has dodged us for so long that was rearing its head in those times (but Arsene's results were still recent in those times so no questions were asked) and that has always been as a result of an inadequate squad due to Financial inadequacies with respect to those we compete against directly and an attempt to go as far as possible in every competition.  The large schedule of games subsequently resulting in putting square pegs in round holes.

In all fairness to Arsene, Jenkinson is a 19 year old whose confidence prolly needed rebuilding after the Manure debacle, Djorou is an old head who under normal circumstances should have been able to manage the situation and Djorou has played RB in the past as well.

HNIC:
BTW.who remembers one FA cup knock out match at Blackburn also. . .a few seasons back when Monsieur moved Senderos to right back and that fat boy benni mcarthy scored by outpacing Phil so bad it was embarassing to watch?

I remember vividly but he hadn't started eating too many burgers then.  and we ended up playing Senderos there also because injuries had taken their toll as usual, FA Cup 06/07
But JD was just plain silly though, he could and should have cleared that ball or at least taken the man and/or the ball but he wanted to be too smart by hitting the ball against Olsson so we could have a throw in but it backfired horribly.

hannie:
Why is it that all other gunners have quickly forgotten that there was a time Djorou looked like a saviour in our defence last season?

Dr. Kit, I don't think anyone has forgotten, he played himself into some form last season and everyone acknowledged it but even then a lot of us still kept on about his concentration and decision making. Its the same with Theo when some of us insist we could do with a better wide forward even though he is currently delivering the goods or Clichy and Eboue with their periodic mad moments. Its like they say class is permanent but form is temporary and old habits die hard.

I note Edoyad asking why Jenkinson wasn't played rather than Djorou and I'll say that its the same reason why Szczesny and Wilshere weren't played earlier when a lot of people could see that they were already better than Almunia and Denilson/Rosicky by pre-season last season. I think Arsene has learnt something from that earlier generation that easily made the first team and doesn't want to push the newer generation as quickly, in that earlier period a player like Kyle Bartley would already be making the bench weekly or even playing already. With our increasing better financial stability as well, i don't think he will need to. People may be right in saying that in the past Arsene wouldn't have replaced Clichy or bought Arteta and Benayoun after losing Nasri and Cesc. I believe its a sign of a change in money available and shifting priorities that those purchases were made, the days of youngsters walking into Arsenal's team is gone, they now have to earn their place under intense competition.

ritchboy:
Fergie, AVB, Mancini and even Dalglish are spending in hundreds of millions yet reetarded "pundits" expect Wenger to perform miracles with basically no transfer budget. Does he look like Jesus?

I think he does to them, that is why they want to crucify him.

Happy baiday, ora awe, have a good one with madam and your little princess.

3 players were outstanding in this match. Chamberlain, Coquelin and Benayoun in that order. OX definitely has it in him to become a crowd favorite, showed every aspect of his game, that guy has some unbelievable acceleration but can pick passes as well. Coquelin showed a strong engine, he can definitely be more than just an holding MF and Benayoun was full of endeavour up till the last whistle.

Its just starting "As Live" on Arsenal player. Will give my reviews later.

Okay, the young guns have shown the big boys how to be composed and beat a team you know is not in your class. Over to you for the weekend o, eyin agba iya, stop committing Seppuku when you know the media will only dance over your graves.

mukina2:
abeg i cant pronounce his name without biting my tongue

That one is small, we have another one named Bunjaku, tell that to a yoruba man and he'll laugh. 
Fortunately, he has got some quality

mukina2:
nope not live, no one wants to  show our match live they are fexing na BBC.

Na dem loss be dat one, we always create news either good or bad. Anyway from time immemorial Arsenal matches have never been shown live in the UK if either of Manure or Liverpool is playing at the same time and I doubt it will ever will until my much predicted Manure collapse comes to pass. Someone actually wrote in to a TV station to complain about it some years back.

And Aneke comes on too, the youth project lives on.

[quote author=dipo+ link=topic=763798.msg9186935#msg9186935 date=1316550521]Are you surprised? Djourou was never supposed to play football.[/quote]If only he got his head sorted.

mukina2:
his assist came from 7-up ( Oguzhan Ozyakup.)  

You finally get to meet Ozzy? glad he got an assist. Also heard Coquelin was good. Is it live in where you are?

No stream to watch this, how have the boys played? I heard Djorou was outplayed by Jenkinson and Ignasi Miqueal?

Fabregas gets apology over lies by the media:

[url]http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story/_/id/959287/barcelona%27s-cesc-fabregas-wins-damages-over-arsenal-article?cc=5739[/url]

[Quote]
Cesc Fabregas has revealed he has received an apology, retraction and damages after a magazine published an article claiming the Barcelona midfielder said he left Arsenal because he feared a prolonged trophy drought for the club.

Sport magazine attributed quotes to Fabregas, 24, which were soon rejected outright by the former Arsenal skipper, who left the Gunners for Barcelona this summer for a fee in the region of £35 million.

Fabregas has now confirmed that the issue is in the process of being resolved. He wrote on his official Twitter account: "Got the apology and retraction from that magazine that made up an interview about me. Can't believe some journalists.

"I will also get ,  damages that I will give to charity. Hope it teaches them a lesson. I would NEVER say a bad word about Arsenal Football Club."[/quote]

HNIC:
Hey Gooners
What have I missed?

Welcome back bro, not much still the same ole tune o. Still waiting for some silly old boys to man up and the new boys to gel.
can I assume i brought you back from la la land with my tweet?

Jencejyde:
I don become genius now abi?

Nor be you be defensive maestro? 
walahi, I still dey look forward to the day wey yu go enter field give Djorou better slap to wake him up from that dazed look in his eyes.

Strongest statement yet from the club hierarchy, make of it what you will and take heed to the portion in bold, anyone who thinks Arsene is not restrained or has not been restrained in his spending now needs to have their head examined.
In the short term, the happenings over the summer has disrupted this team and played into the hands of the media, the club will get through these problems and will not change its policies.

[Quote]

Arsenal will not sack manager Arsene Wenger, according to chief executive Ivan Gazidis.

The Gunners have lost three of their opening five Premier League games and are just one point above the relegation zone in 17th.

But Gazidis said: "Arsene Wenger is not broken. To see him portrayed as an (id-iot) is damaging - not to him or the club but to the game.

"[Sacking him] is a route we are not going to go down."

Gazidis added: "He didn't suddenly become a bad manager or out of touch. That's nonsense."

Arsenal's 4-3 loss at Blackburn on Saturday means they have made their worst start to a season since 1953, with their only league win coming at home against newly promoted Swansea.

But, speaking at the Sport Industry Breakfast Club in London on Tuesday, Gazidis backed Wenger to improve the club's fortunes.

Continue reading the main story Arsene's been there for 15 years and this is probably going to be the toughest period. In the past he's brought in players who are good players and turned them into world-class players. Now the jury is out. Can the players he has brought in recently turn out to be as good as the ones from his past?

"If we get into short-termism we will do more damage to the club. He's frustrated but very, very focused on putting things right and is as positively engaged as ever to drive the club forward.

"The club is not in crisis. There's no division in the club. We work together."

Wenger sold Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively during the summer transfer window.

The Frenchman had little time to replace them - though he did bring in Mikel Arteta from Everton and Chelsea's Yossi Benayoun, plus Andre Santos from Fenerbahce and Werder Bremen's Per Mertesacker shortly before the deadline.

Gazidis said: "We've made a slight adjustment by signing some more experienced players and we're very happy with who we've brought in.

"If we went out and spent all our money we would make bad decisions, so we've been restrained.

"The club is focused on a responsible, sustainable model. Football's going that way and people are trying to get where we already are. We represent the future of football.

"We will be unmoved in the way we do things and will not be swayed by talk of a crisis. We need to stick together. A lot of the public angst comes from the fact expectations are so high."[/quote]

Okay, we messed up badly on Saturday Nuff said. Its still the Arsenal and no matter how much we are currently ridiculed methinks we will still have the last laugh. For once, I'm looking forward to us finishing the season strongly rather than starting and fading in March.

Quote from Wenger saying it as it is like JJCD said:
[Quote]A lack of concentration, a lack of communication, a lack of coordination and individual urgency is behind the goals we have conceded[/quote]The portions in bold are individual, with one player particularly culpable and everyone knows who that player is. The other two are a team ethos which should be resolved as the team gels and specifically worked upon in training.

We've got a CC match today and I'm looking forward to seeing Ryo, OX and any other youngster who is going to step up today, I'd want to see Ozyakup if he makes the team and Park as well.
According to Le Prof:
[Quote]“We will have Frimpong, Coquelin, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ryo, and maybe one or two more. There is an also opportunity to see Park for the first time.
“Chamakh will also feature. You will also see Jenkinson start in his position. We will try to find a mixture between youth and experience.”[/quote]Since Slim isn't around to say it here it goes. TEEEEENHUTT.

Oh Dear, some days just aint yours. Shocking miss, all the time in the world.

What a shocking tackle from Ashley Cole, I never want to see that kind of tackle as much as I hate Manure.