₦airaland Forum

Not saying they didn't do well but to move on from their and say they wouldn't miss Rooney if he goes is underestimating his abilities as a player, there is also the cascading of the effect on other players coming under more pressure and meeting higher expectations. Their season is already looking like most Arsenal seasons these past five years.
Losing critical players to long term injury and important players moving on for some reason. Time will tell but if I were a Manure supporter I'll be very worried or at the least seriously reduce my expectations for this season.

I'm praying fervently he doesn't reverse his decision even though its not really fair on Manure and he's being a prat, but hey I don't like Manure anyway.

jalether:
People said the exact same thing when Ronaldo and Tevez left the club and we all know how the team responded

Are you saying that did not affect the club at all? come on man, they lost the PL crown to you lot and had to make do with the mickey mouse cup. Losing Rooney is massive, they're losing a world class player in his prime man and they had sort of built the team kind of round him. If losing only Xabi Alonso affected pool that much, what do you think this will do to Manure? particularly with their smaller neighbor's new found wealth.

@tkb417
You mean Manure should be bothered about Spurs? Rooney has played more PL games for Manure this season than Cesc has played for Arsenal, that is fact and we're looking down at you in the table.

chic2pimp:
When did J.Lo become a Scummie supporter?

My bad, forgot he is a Chav, my statement still stands though. If Manure lose Rooney, this season the highest they can get in the league is 3rd. Nandos cannot save anyone if he has failed to save Liverpool so far. That chicharito boy looks good sha but he can't carry the load with Berba.
And Jalether, be careful because your season depends on the fitness of Drog and Essien, except you go ahead to sign Shrek in January.

This is Bebe's opportunity to stand up and be counted. 

Jalether, the one thing I can assure you of is this, if you lot lose Rooney in January, then you are not finishing above us in the PL table, as things are right now, its even debatable if you can.

tkb417:
i'll like to see how your team would compete when Cesc hands in transfer request next season

How many matches has he played this season? we no dey shake, lack of MFs is the farthest thing from any Gooner's mind cos we have both the future of the England midfield and the welsh midfield in our ranks but you lot haven't been able to replace Giggs and Scholes since the 1990s?   I pity you when yu'll need to start depending on Gibson and co.  
Liverfluke went from 2nd to fighting relegation just by losing Xabi Alonso, now you lot are set to lose Rooney soon while Giggs + Scholes are in extra time of extra time in their careers with the previously invincible Vidic/Rio pairing now looking shaky and VDS finally losing his nerves and showing signs of age.

Anyway keep up the bravado facade. It is definitely not looking good at OT and all our eyes will see it.

O gbona felifeli be amala to jina, is this the beginning of Manure doing a Liverpool? don't jump on me o, its an innocent question and 'm not the one who handed in a transfer request

Ibime:
Criag Eastmond arrested for indecent exposure? Hehehehehehe. I would bust a joke but its too easy. Wait make Dayo land first. Bloody Gaynners!

Why you dey pass agbero comment so? na which kain lawyer you be?

Correction: arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure. Not proven yet. Innocent until proven guilty, I don't mind DK I know he will jump on that kinda thing but I wonder why he isn't calling Jonny Evans, Titus 'omogo' Bramble and Kobe Bryant rapists. 

@Debo
I no just dey feel the thing this season, I'll go tighten my belt. 
On an unsavoury note, Craig Eastmond was recently arrested on suspicion of indecent exposure 

I wonder what the hell is wrong with some of these boys.

debosky:
CL matchday!! I can already hear the theme music in my head. . . . big up to the real Dudu (no offence Duduspace ). . . I hope he has a good game but we still batter them!

no offence taken Debo, there are major chiefs and minor chiefs, I know my position wella, I'm not Emeagwalli with high fallutin claims. 

@kettykings

Have you read the article at all? Mr. Emeagwali blew his trumpet too much and ascribed to himself what he wasn't. Read the article first before you comment.

Unbelievable, I just saw it and couldn't believe my eyes. I always thot myself perceptive and for me to have accepted these lies in the past churns my stomach. I was just about posting it myself. The government needs to withdraw that postage stamp ASAP.

I must say though that a lot of people were taken in, Bill Clinton also helped cement his undeserved reputation for some reason with his statement about him then.

In our bid to find something to be proud of about ourselves we embraced a lie.

slimshay:
Dudu even thoguh I understand your argument about what to say and not say, I do not in anyway believe he was loaned out as some form of punishment. because it seems you are insinuating that.

4 keepers at the club. One had to go, and as things stand, he seems like the logical one to go. I just wonder why it is being left so late and for such short period.

Difficult to say Slim, he might not have been but he should learn from what the media made of his statements, they came out all wrong. I don't know how both Fabianski and Almunia would react to those statements attributed to him by the media, he might have had some explaining to do in the dressing room.
Arsene had always said a GK would be going out on loan but coming soon after those statements suggests to me he might just have made up Arsene's mind for him as the choice to go on loan. You know what they say about out of sight being out of mind.

[quote author=A-40 link=topic=510371.msg6966078#msg6966078 date=1287423065]Wilshere has been impressive I must admit. If only Diaby played with half his intelligence[/quote]Diaby with all his technical ability unfortunately is not a quick thinker. What a monster of a player he would be if somehow a brain graft could be done with Cesc.  

The only thing I didn't like about Mannone's statement was his reference to the other GKs underperforming, I have no problem with anyone making a case for themselves which is why I never had a problem with Szczesny's agitation for playing time and I don't think Arsene had a problem with it too infact, if I recall correctly Arsene responded to Szczesny's statements by saying that Mannone also deserved playing time.

But a reference to the others not performing well is bound to sour the dressing room hence IMO why he had to leave on loan and potentially on a permanent basis.

It is of utmost importance you show respect to your team mates and manager at all times, I'm not sure if he was misquoted but he didn't manage the press well enough to prevent them putting words in his mouth.

debosky:
You earn the right to be spoken of in good light. . . .the failure to win for so long (the longest stretch in recent memory) reduces your credibility. The only solution is to win.

The only right you earn when a match is being reviewed is what your performance on the day deserves, any other reference to things that happen in the past is a load of bull.

debosky:
Time didn't start 5 years ago, but we haven't won in 5 years, no matter how you choose to spin it or avoid it. As long as it remains a fact, it can be validly used as evidence of weaknesses in Arsenal FC.

It can only be validly used as a review of our performances within the period in question, any other inferences is personal opinion and a solid basis for biased analysis such as I'm pointing out.

debosky:
Point to it all you want. . . it was 6 years ago and they've won 3 titles and the CL in between. What matters is a track record of success, something that has become nearly alien at Arsenal since May 2005. If in the time since then he's made many of the same mistakes over and over again. If 2010/2011 ends trophyless, no  one will be arguing about his inability to learn how to win in the face of bigger opposition.

What matters is what the team does when they get on the pitch, and when a match is being reviewed to be reviewed in light of what happened on the pitch on the day and not what happened last night or a century ago. Your opinion of what you consider to have become alien at arsenal not withstanding, stick to what happened on the day to review the match. Liverpool matches too can be reviewed in light of how many European cups they've won, but the fact is that right now they're being trounced everywhere.

[quote author=A-40 link=topic=510371.msg6956596#msg6956596 date=1287300153]@Duduspace
What is wrong with using history as a parameter? Aside Ronaldo and Tevez its more or less the same Utd team? Which sane pundit would question Utd's winning mentality when they have done so with ease in the very recent past?
Now juxtapose that with Arsenal who have nothing to show for 5 seasons and you expect the analysis to be the same. Are you having a laugh? Let em start winning ish and let's see if the cynical comparisons won't die down[/quote]Nothing wrong with history as a parameter, infact it is the best predictive parameter but not when used the way the English media does. Even I wouldn't be quick to say Manure don't have a winning mentality, but I'll be very bold to point out that a winning mentality has been lacking in a lot of their recent performances in the league. I expect a sincere pundit to at the least point out that much, we are saying the same thing from different perspectives, they are allowing history (with an arbitrarily imposed 5 year span) to colour everything they write and I don't see a reason why, history did not start the last time Arsenal won a trophy.

debosky:
You can't evaluate winning mentality on the basis of a game, neither can you evaluate persistent weaknesses. 

You can only judge winning mentality on the basis of what yu've won, on a day you have a winning mentality to win a match, over a season you have a winning mentality to win the league and so on and so forth. This post was about the match on the day and even then this pundit was not unbiased enough to point out that on the day Manure failed but if it were arsenal, he would still find a way to talk about when last they won the league.

debosky:
If you don't like longer time frame analysis, then don't read it. 

In the first instance Debo, my point was about a particular post referring to a particular match and not a longer time frame analysis, but even if it were, why the insistence to act and write as if time started only 5 years ago? 

debosky:
Blackburn isn't the biggest club in London, it doesn't charge the highest ticket fares in the whole of Europe. . . .it is a disgrace for you to expect a similar standard for Blackburn and Arsenal.

Nothing in my post suggests I expect a similar standard for Blackburn and Arsenal, my point is why is it only Arsenal that is continually reminded of the number of years they last won a trophy by the media? why not liverpool? why not any other club? more importantly why must it come into every discussion about Arsenal? 

debosky:
They won three in a row (something we've NEVER done) and still won a trophy last season, something we've not achieved for 5 years.

You would be insane not to see the difference between the most successful team in the EPL's history and another that hasn't won anything in 5 years. Being that far ahead bestows a certain leeway from analysts.

That is history, if you want to join the english media on pilgrimage to OT to go and worship at Fergie's tabernacle, be my guest. 
I can also point out that they are yet to win the league unbeaten a feat only Arsenal have done in the modern era, achieved by the same man you are now making out to be an  who is unable to learn.

debosky:
Feel free. . . . we have more important issues than getting pundits to praise Arsenal.

Sure, that was never my intention anyway so we're in total agreement on this.

debosky:
We all know the Arsenal and Utd teams are not the same teams even last season, but we can all identify recurring themes and systemic weaknesses.

You might want tabloid praise to acknowledge 'progress', but we've seen it crumble too many times. . .while we've equally seen Utd start poorly and finish strongly too many times. That is why 'trends' and history are important. You can't make a completely individual decision in the moment.

Was the analysis about trend and history?  the analysis was about "THIS" match, why must every match be judged only on the basis of history? why must every win, draw or loss be considered only in reference to when last we won a trophy? why can't you just give the analysis on the day and leave it at that?
More importantly why judge Arsenal alone on that basis? why not make a reference about the last time Blackburn won the championship everytime they play? or any other club for that matter?
The way they go about it, you would think Manure have won the league every season of its existence when they didn't even win the last edition.
All I pointed out was the disparity in the analysis of an Arsenal game and a Manure game.

debosky:
The fact that you can remember so easily when it happened for us is all the evidence you require. Before this season, Utd hadn't lost a 2 goal lead for 10 YEARS. Arsenal do it every season with alarming regularity.

There you go again with your unfounded statements, how many 2 goal margins exactly can you remember Arsenal losing for it to become an alarming regularity? Manure have already lost 2 this season within the past 5 weeks and all this partial pundit can say is that they were unlucky, whereas he would never say Arsenal were unlucky even when we conceeded a last second goal after playing with 10 men for most of the 2nd half against Sunderland.

debosky:
Keep looking forward, we are all doing that. However, I will not complain about pundits pointing out flaws that even we can see.

Neither will I complain about that, but I will point out inconsistencies in the way the british media analyse matches.

debosky:
Did MU go down 3-0 before recovering? VDS' error is clearly uncharacteristic. . . . . sadly NO ONE, not even their parents can say the same of our own GKs. Ditto for the defence.

Enough of comparisons - start winning trophies and you earn respect.

Shattap dia Debo, I wasn't referring to last week's game alone I was referring to the different yardsticks that colour the pundit's analysis, even when we were 4 - nil up and ended up drawing with Tottenham, it was the same rhetoric. I agree with you we need to shut these guys up and I'm seriously looking forward to us doing just that.
Now that our injury list is shrinking, I expect us to go on one of those unbeaten/winning streaks that will see us sitting pretty on top of the table by the end of the year.

[quote author=A-40 link=topic=510371.msg6953958#msg6953958 date=1287255868]@Duduspace
One team has won 3 league titles 3 league cups and a UCL title over 5 seasons while the other has won nothing you don't expect the criticism to be the same
As for the game what can I say? Endless passes that led to nothing for the umpteenth time a win is a win sha so I can't complain. One more thing Arshavin is overdue a spell on the bench[/quote]That is precisely where we differ in our analysis of the game, most people are slaves to history. I choose not to be. This Manure team is not the same team that has won all those championships, neither is this Arsenal team the same that has always not won. To allow history to colour everything you do blinds people to the obvious.

The bias of the press illustrated:
This is what Charlie Nicholas had to say about Manure's result.

"The first half Manchester United were classy and punished West Brom and you thought this was going to be one heck of a long day for the Baggies," said Nicholas on Soccer Saturday.

"Then West Brom did get a slice of luck with their first goal - and then van der Sar makes a howler.

"Did Manchester United play badly? No they didn't. West Brom had a go, so it was down to a bit of bad luck and the worse mistake Van will ever make in his entire season. They did not defend badly - mistakes change matches and bad luck changes matches and that is what happened here.

Please swap Manure for Arsenal and then imagine what this pundit would have said about having a winning mentality, a soft center and all the other blah blah blah the media is quick to accuse our team of.  

nateevs:
Wenger should never complain about tackles ever again. . . That Wilshere tackle should never be seen in the game. That was a leg breaking tackle.

Wilshere is young and quite hot headed, I'm sure he'll apologize for the tackle, I havent seen it but from all indications it was bad. I hope Zigic is okay sha.

Another golden nugget from Arsene.

[Quote]Did the Frenchman think there were Premier League players who set out to deliberately hurt opponents? Exasperated, Wenger threw the question back.

“What do you think? That all the injuries are coincidence? It's not God who tackles people, it's players,” he replied.[/quote]

Emi la o ni yo si, emi la o ni yo si, bi a se fe kori, be na lori, emi la o ni yo si.
Now Gov. Fayemi, please justify our faith in you.

HNIC:
Only Nic and Gibbs will be back for the weekend game.
Theo may start from the bench
Fab4 still short
TV5 and Sagna 10 days away
Ramsey and RVP till next month!

RVP own must have a comma, wasn't he initially supposed to come back before Theo? proper glass man.

Not yet Uhuru, the liverpool saga rolls on.

debosky:
DK now posts more on this thread than gooners. . . . and he says he abhors 'failure'. If this is how you show it, I wonder what love looks like.

According to DK's dictionary, Love is defined as an advanced form of stalking.

debosky:
Engaging in flights of fancy, but Wenger won't sell Bendtner even if Lukaku comes. . . . Vela will be the one to get out because the signs are that he might not amount to more than a fancy champagne goal scorer. Little physique, lots of technique but poor decision making.

Besides, you don't get many international strikers like Niklas at his age, improving season to season and just sell him. . . .there simply is no rationale behind that.

You have a good point here Debo, but too much of a good thing can be bad, the only reason I could see for selling B52 would be not having too many similar strikers about for tactical changes, in terms of impact B52 is ahead of Vela in every way but Lukaku looks like he is on a whole different level and he is already in the first team frame at 17, To be honest I don't think we can afford him.

debosky:
Wenger has not brought a trophy to Arsenal since 2005 and, asked to defend his record, he said: ''Arsenal get better each season without losing 200 million euros a year. This is not true of all my colleagues in England and the rest of Europe, ''

Arrant nonsense. . . . if getting 'better' each season is what we've been doing since 2007 (so Dudu can't accuse me of 5 years mantra ) then I shagged Mother Theresa's sister yesterday.

Actually, I would be tempted to agree with you on this if you kindly remember to pass her daughter over.

debosky:
On an aside, the massive defensive changes at CB may be partly responsible for the poor defensive record. Ultimately, it appears to be a continuation of the (according to Dudu) two year decline in goals conceded. Let's hope a week to clear the cobwebs and improve their understanding will bring better performances from Koko and Skills.

Actually, its not only the defence that has been changing but the team as a whole. Its amazing to note that just 3 seasons ago,
Adebayor, Hleb, Gallas, Kolo, Flamini, Gilberto, Diarra and Eduardo were all in the first team frame at Arsenal.

SUKKIE:
Boss man,I owe u a season ticket.

Happy days are here,we r ripping Everton into shreds dis weekend.

wa shere A40 ,fully mouthed u are!

I'm all for optimism but how are you so sure of this?

Rambo is back.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/aaron-ramsey-in-training-exclusive-pictures

@Debo

Any club who gets the go-ahead from Anderlecht to buy Lukaku for 12.5m will rush to the bank to go and pay the money before Anderlecht change their mind, if Bebe at 20 is worth 7.5m, I can assure you Lukaku at 18 for 12.5m is a steal. That boy will be comfortably worth at least 30m in 2 years time at the rate he is going. Arsenal have been monitoring him since he was 15 with Karembeu scouting him on a couple of occasions and even Jose is said to be tracking him.

If there is any truth in this story, we might only have been able to get him because those other clubs are stretched/distracted at present (RM have already bought Canales, Ozil and Khedira while Chelsea seem to be after Neymar). Manure don't seem to have a lot of money to burn these days and they are reported to be after Gareth Bale or maybe they are not after Lukaku because Rooney is still young and an English icon.

@A-40
The reason I think its Bendtner who will make way is because we will now have too many similar players (not that this has affected chelsea in any way) JET is still around in the big man mold and we've got Chamakh and RVP, I think B52 has the lowest upper limit of all those big men in terms of technique. But yu're right that Vela needs to get his acts together, I just hope he can learn something from that Hernandez boy at Manure on how to be efficient.

@Slim

It would be a great coup if we succeed, that boy must not go to Chelsea or else we'll have another Drogba to deal with for the next 10 years as the boy is just 17. I pray it is true o. But if he comes, we will have to sell Bendtner I think.
None of the Arsenal youth blogs are running with the story yet though, but Arsenal is currently about the best club where a young player can get fasttracked and Arsene always personally assures the families and usually sticks to his promises so that might encourage his father to sanction the move now that he is close to 18.