Stoke v Arsenal Match Reaction

[Xhaka Can’t]

BOOOO!!!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb_eeVIpDw8

[adzzzbatch]

Not impressed.

[Munchies]

Alexis, hurry up coz we're barely holding on

[Kano]

Dire game but that's normal for this league nowadays.

Top of the league. I can live with that.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Better ways to spend your Sunday afternoon #1001


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tpk4q_Zo2ws

[RomfordPele]

Alexis, hurry up coz we're barely holding on

He was 95% fit today according to wenger. Should have been on the bench, bare minimum.

Ox and theo were abysmal and shouldn't be in the team next week.

[Niall_Quinn]

Need Alexis and Ozil back so they can do Wenger's job for him.

[Munchies]

Man City are coming

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Top of the league. :scarf:

Having played two more away games than at home. Not bad.

[Marc Overmars]

Not very good, we didn't really look like mounting any sustained pressure and creating some chances. Well done to Cech for making sure of the point.

Disappointing not to win either game this week, conceding late at Anfield still feels like a kick in the guts.

If we don't beat Chelsea next week then :doh: all round.

[Niall_Quinn]

That ref though. No words to describe his performance.

[Niall_Quinn]

According to the stats we had 16 FKs to their 10. That can't possibly be correct.

[Power n Glory]

As expected with that line up.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Two tough away fixtures, didn't deserve to win either.

Frankly if you told me a week ago we'd have got a point in both games and still been top id have taken it.

[Chippy]

BOOOO!!!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vb_eeVIpDw8
Yep! Pub performance against a Pub team! Thank god for Cech. How the fuck are we top? We need some players back ASAP.

[Master Splinter]

No Ozil, little guile. No midfielders, no midfield.

Shit game, shit weather, shit stadium, shit referee.

This week could prove costly. Need some players back FFS.

Elneny MOTM.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

On a normal season you'd take a point away at Stoke and Liverpool but when you want to win the league you have to win here at places like this - at least occasionally.

The worry is that we've still got to go to Man City, Everton, Utd and West Ham and we can't keep settling on a point in those otherwise we'll fade away.

It puts a tremendous amount of pressure for our next game against Chelsea, who despite their drop this season, remain a tough proposition. I just hope the likes of Alexis and Ozil are ready to go for them.

[RomfordPele]

I just hope the likes of Alexis and Ozil are ready to go for them.

Am convinced both were fit enough to play today. Ozil's minor knock is a fig leaf for wenger resting him, thinking the team he put out would be good enough. He also said alexis was 95% fit. Why wasn't he on the bench then?

No chance of the league while wenger is manager. We will be in a dogfight for fourth by march as per usual.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

We don't go to Man City until the penultimate game of the season; so thinking of that game is an irrelevance to me now because if that game means anything, it'll most likely mean we're still in it.

I'll always take a point here given our record. Even more so it keeps us top.

[Özim]

Disappointing result after dropping points on Wednesday we needed to win, our lead has been eroded away and just like we have in the past we're starting to fade and with Man City winning 4-0 it's not great.

We didn't look or play like Champions, still can't see us winning it, we're dropping away when we should be turning the screw.

[Kano]

On a normal season you'd take a point away at Stoke and Liverpool but when you want to win the league you have to win here at places like this - at least occasionally.

The worry is that we've still got to go to Man City, Everton, Utd and West Ham and we can't keep settling on a point in those otherwise we'll fade away.

It puts a tremendous amount of pressure for our next game against Chelsea, who despite their drop this season, remain a tough proposition. I just hope the likes of Alexis and Ozil are ready to go for them.

Good news is we have two home games more to play than City and are the most consistent team home and away in the league so far. Second most points earned for both.

[Özim]

I'll always take a point here given our record. Even more so it keeps us top.

We shouldn't have such a bad record here, it's more to do with our inadequacies than anything else, again today they matched us or even edged it.

We should be winning games likes this, regardless of our record if we're the real deal.

[Özim]

Wenger pleased with the spirit, what a surprise :rolleyes:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

We shouldn't have such a bad record here, it's more to do with our inadequacies than anything else, again today they matched us or even edged it.

We should be winning games likes this, regardless of our record if we're the real deal.

Well we do, so I'll take the point.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Am convinced both were fit enough to play today. Ozil's minor knock is a fig leaf for wenger resting him, thinking the team he put out would be good enough. He also said alexis was 95% fit. Why wasn't he on the bench then?

No chance of the league while wenger is manager. We will be in a dogfight for fourth by march as per usual.

Nah, Wenget loves Mesut. No way would he not play him in the league if he is fine. Did he also instruct Ozil to reference his injury on Twitter?

[Özim]

Good news is we have two home games more to play than City and are the most consistent team home and away in the league so far. Second most points earned for both.

Along with Leicester we are, but that doesn't mean lot, much more pressure in the 2nd part of the season, anyhow City have been pretty poor and you can only see them getting better, that 4-0 win will certainly help.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Man City haven't won consecutive games for ages. If they do that, then I might think they are back.

Plus they have West Ham away next which shouldn't be an easy one.

[Globalgunner]

Seen on its own it was a hard game and glad we got a point. without Ozil and Alexis, we need a new way to play. Ox did very well I think. He held his own against the caterpillar dozers and tried to make thinks happen. We need to manage him as he has bags of potential IMO. Pray we dont we play like crap against Chelsea then. 3 draws in a row will not be the stuff of champions

[Kano]

Along with Leicester we are, but that doesn't mean lot, much more pressure in the 2nd part of the season, anyhow City have been pretty poor and you can only see them getting better, that 4-0 win will certainly help.
Consistency home and away means a lot for a successful campaign. City coming back are what people thought when they spanked Newcastle. It's getting as cliched as hearing that Chelsea are about to turn things around and storm the league for fourth place. The level of play in this league is shit - but you don't watch much football as you told me last week so you wouldn't know that - so I don't know why people expect us to be immune from it.

[Dein-machine]

Seen on its own it was a hard game and glad we got a point. without Ozil and Alexis, we need a new way to play. Ox did very well I think. He held his own against the caterpillar dozers and tried to make thinks happen. We need to manage him as he has bags of potential IMO. Pray we dont we play like crap against Chelsea then. 3 draws in a row will not be the stuff of champions

Ox did very well - what game were you watching. He can't pass for toffee & has no brain whatsoever. It's this lack of quality in key areas that need addressing & turds like Ox need to be moved on.

[Kano]

Ox did very well - what game were you watching. He can't pass for toffee & has no brain whatsoever. It's this lack of quality in key areas that need addressing & turds like Ox need to be moved on.
Sell the whole team!

[Letters]

Frankly if you told me a week ago we'd have got a point in both games and still been top id have taken it.

:good:

2 points in a week is a bit disappointing but taken on their own a point at Anfield is pretty good and a point at Stoke isn't bad either. Stoke are having a strange season at home, they've lost against some poor sides but they beat City at home and drew with Leicester.

Need Ozil and Sanchez back to get us going again.

[Letters]

Am convinced both were fit enough to play today.

Based on what? Wenger is often criticised on here for rushing players back :shrug:

Agree about Sanchez on the bench though.

[Marc Overmars]

What's every feeling for Chelsea then, surely we will win? I'd be so disappointed if we didn't finally take 3 points off them.

[Globalgunner]

Only watched the 2nd half TBH. What I saw he did OK. Who played well apart from Cech?

[Letters]

On a normal season you'd take a point away at Stoke and Liverpool but when you want to win the league you have to win here at places like this - at least occasionally.

I agree, but City and Leicester haven't won away at either place although City have yet to play at Anfield.
Strange season, this. But maybe it's the way things are going, the new TV deals mean even clubs like Stoke have some proper players. Makes it all more competitive which can only be a good thing.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

What's every feeling for Chelsea then, surely we will win? I'd be so disappointed if we didn't finally take 3 points off them.

Anything less than 3 points would be a disappointment especially if Alexis and Ozil start. Need a start like our game against Utd at home as I think defensively Chelsea are pretty vulnerable.

Good thing that Mourinho's fucked off so we don't have to worry about the "Mourinho curse" bullshit.

[Kano]

Only watched the 2nd half TBH. What I saw he did OK. Who played well apart from Cech?

Generally defended well and stood up to the Beasts of No Nation. Midfield was more solid with three in there but not a lot going forward.

[Letters]

Disappointing result after dropping points on Wednesday we needed to win, our lead has been eroded away.
What lead? We were never well clear at the top. Since we played City they've got 9 points, we've got 6. It's hardly a charge from them while we've collapsed.

[AFC Leveller]

Ox should not be anywhere near the first team. He can't even do the basics. Dwells on the ball too much, can't pick out a decent pass, gives the ball away too many times and looks lost in the middle of the park.

Theo wasn't too bright either but with him you know how can score goals and his runs are always a threat.

All in all a decent point and we are back top.

[Xhaka Can’t]

I agree, but City and Leicester haven't won away at either place although City have yet to play at Anfield.
Strange season, this. But maybe it's the way things are going, the new TV deals mean even clubs like Stoke have some proper players. Makes it all more competitive which can only be a good thing.

The competitive element where all the teams have more resources and it is difficult to predict the outcome of any one game is definitely an improvement.

However, the quality of the football is awful.

Because of good TV deals and my new 55" TV, I've watched a lot more football than usual and if I was trying to convince a non watcher that football is a good sport, here have been very few opportunities where anyone could be convinced.

[Kano]

I agree, but City and Leicester haven't won away at either place although City have yet to play at Anfield.
Strange season, this. But maybe it's the way things are going, the new TV deals mean even clubs like Stoke have some proper players. Makes it all more competitive which can only be a good thing.
Nothing to do with the money because the level of play in the league is awful. That shouldn't be the case if the overall level of the players was better. Leceister spent only 12m more than the previous year which is normal for a club up for its second season. Vardy and Mehrez are hardly big signings. Palace and West Ham only spent 10m more than the previous season, same scenario as Leciester in their second season. Just too much overrated rubbish in the league, which you can see when you try compare the 'big names' compared to 3-5 seasons ago. Utd, Chelsea and Liverpool have all got worse so by default, someone has to take their place this season.

[Letters]

Darn. I've only gor a 50" TV. Thanks, Gary. Now I'm just going to have a massive argument with MrsL to convince her we need a bigger TV
:sulk:

[I am invisible]

Well, it's not 3 points, but it keeps us top - [touch wood] that should be the worst patch of the season out of the way now? We're through the hectic Christmas period, we're through the worst of our injury crisis and our missing players are coming back into the side, and we've even got a new signing... hopefully everything gets easier for us from now on...

[Marc Overmars]

Well, it's not 3 points, but it keeps us top - [touch wood] that should be the worst patch of the season out of the way now? We're through the hectic Christmas period, we're through the worst of our injury crisis and our missing players are coming back into the side, and we've even got a new signing... hopefully everything gets easier for us from now on...

We're Arsenal, nothing ever gets easier!

[I am invisible]

We're Arsenal, nothing ever gets easier!
Ain't that the truth...

[KSE Comedy Club]

Also, i'd like to say it was great to see our new signing on the bench for the whole game :good:

It was a good job we bought him because what we currently have ain't good enough and wenget is a genius for proving that by letting who isn't good enough play the entire match :bow:

[Gooner23]

Cech was excellent. Bellerin, Monreal and Campbell good. The rest not so much. Apart from Iwobi who I thought looked really bright.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I think the less said about the Ox the better and Ramsey seems to take far too long to get the ball under control when receiving it in midfield which makes his subsequent actions look cumbersome.

The midfield completely either ignored or did not see the early ball over the top from our front line and Cech didn't seem to trust the team to win the game evidenced by the time he was taking towards the end.

The ref seemed to be just asleep and the otherwise handy Campbell should have got the winner near the end. We're still top but we do need to win games even When we've barely deserved to.

[Ralpheroo72]

Inbred scum
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/stoke-city-fans-condemned-for-vile-chants-about-arsenals-aaron-ramsey-34371964.html

[Munchies]

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/01/17/20/304408F000000578-3403946-image-a-30_1453063930880.jpg

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2016/01/17/20/3043A70600000578-3403946-Arsenal_midfielder_Aaron_Ramsey_was_heckled_by_Sto ke_City_suppor-a-26_1453063586736.jpg

Fucking cunts!

Pissed off he didn't score a goal to kill them off

[Marc Overmars]

I read a comment earlier from an Orc fan claiming that Ramsey had already broken his leg by planting it and the impact of Shawcross' challenge was minimal. :blink:

They are a genuinely weird and twisted fanbase.

[Munchies]

I read a comment earlier from an Orc fan claiming that Ramsey had already broken his leg by planting it and the impact of Shawcross' challenge was minimal. :blink:

They are a genuinely weird and twisted fanbase.

Will admit that Hughes has got them playing some great footy, but fuck them as a club

Hope they get into administration

[hobson's choice]

Ox should not be anywhere near the first team. He can't even do the basics. Dwells on the ball too much, can't pick out a decent pass, gives the ball away too many times and looks lost in the middle of the park.

Theo wasn't too bright either but with him you know how can score goals and his runs are always a threat.

All in all a decent point and we are back top.

You just desribe Ramsey there too as CM

[Power n Glory]

I think the less said about the Ox the better and Ramsey seems to take far too long to get the ball under control when receiving it in midfield which makes his subsequent actions look cumbersome.

The midfield completely either ignored or did not see the early ball over the top from our front line and Cech didn't seem to trust the team to win the game evidenced by the time he was taking towards the end.

The ref seemed to be just asleep and the otherwise handy Campbell should have got the winner near the end. We're still top but we do need to win games even When we've barely deserved to.

By the time Ramsey has the ball under control the opportunity to play the ball has gone. I noticed that as well. We really need to invest in some real midfield talent. If Cazorla doesn't come back 100% we only have Ozil as a real playmaker and that's a worry. Ramsey and Ox don't have it in them to create chances. A very average squad. Also, I think Theo needs to step his wing game up or pack his bags. Iwobi was miles better. Showed up a few players in fact. Just looked sharper on the ball with his touch and dribbling.

[AFC Leveller]

The chants directed at Ramsey were horrible, just goes to show what kind of people support Stoke.

[Niall_Quinn]

By the time Ramsey has the ball under control the opportunity to play the ball has gone. I noticed that as well. We really need to invest in some real midfield talent. If Cazorla doesn't come back 100% we only have Ozil as a real playmaker and that's a worry. Ramsey and Ox don't have it in them to create chances. A very average squad. Also, I think Theo needs to step his wing game up or pack his bags. Iwobi was miles better. Showed up a few players in fact. Just looked sharper on the ball with his touch and dribbling.

Theo USED to have that fluidity to his game. Ox USED to have that fluidity to his game. Ramsey USED to have that fluidity to his game. That's why we got all excited about their potential. Wenger will coach it out of Iwobi too. Can it really be that all these players just aren't up to scratch? The Arshavins, Velas, Podolskis, Afobes, Gnabrys, Akpoms. The Wilsheres. Yeah, the majority won't make the top level but who has Wenger really made? Henry, Bergkamp, Pires, Ozil? These are self made players. Alexis is another one. The old back four, George Graham's. Campbell? Coquelin? Wenger wanted rid. Chambers was on fire when he first arrived, now he's burnt to a crisp. I hear Monsieur is thinking about signing back a Turkish kid he got rid of who, lo and behold, has suddenly found his feet in spectacular fashion - at another club. I believed Ox was going to be the next big thing in football when I first saw him play. Now look at him. Well on the way to becoming the next Theo Walcott.

One common factor.

We know these players can pass, move, perform at pace. We've seen them score and participate in some of the best goals you'll ever see. The talent is there. But look at Ox, is he a winger or a central midfielder? Ramsey, same question. Walcott, same question. I'm shocked Wenger didn't start Cech on the wing when he first arrived. Wenger is all about slamming square pegs in round holes. Playing tactics that disadvantage us and favour the opposition. Playing systems that isolate and put our players under pressure. We put in a decent performance, what, about 1 in 8 games now? That's because Wenger's one-trick pony is bound to find suitable opposition every once in a while.

We played right into Stoke's hands yesterday. Of course. Never once utilised the advantages we had over them. Played that ponderous crappy style that Wenger loves so much. We lost the key player who can make Wenger's tippy tappy flow with a purpose. What we really saw yesterday was another example of the players not being able to make Wenger's crackpot system work. But I bet they'd be twice as effective under a manager who could knit them into a team rather than leave them isolated as individuals. Great spirit, Wenger said. Well great passing, great movement, great purpose, those would be useful too.

This season he's being propped up by the general decline in standards across the league and the fallout from the mercenary cultures at chavland and gypoland. People are confusing this with Wenger being a decent manager. He's not. Hasn't been for a long time.

Decent bloke, of course. Decent manager? Watch us play and decide.

[I am invisible]

I was listening to some of their fans calling into 606 yesterday, and it's amazing how to this day they still seem determined to miss the point. It was never a question of whether Shawcross intended to break Ramsey's leg or not, as most of them seem to think - whilst I have no doubt that he meant to go in heavy and hard, I don't think for one second that he actually wanted to break anyone's leg. No, the issue was, and still is, that it was the inevitable outcome of a situation that had been allowed to develop in this country, where it had become acceptable practice (not to mention highly amusing) to kick the crap out of our players every week, and watch the 'Arsenal cry-babies' whine about it. How many times over the years did we hear phrases like "We know how you've got to play against Arsenal..." and "Arsenal don't like it wen you kick them..." etc? How many times did we have to sit through the sneering old-boys club on MOTD laughing about it, and spouting tired, antiquated lines from 30 years ago about how it's a man's game? Once it had become that socially acceptable, is it any wonder that refs started turning a blind eye to it?

For Stoke and their fans, I can understand that they maybe see it as a one-off freak incident - one of those unfortunate things that just happen. For us though, it was 38 games a season, every season, that we had to put up with that kind of assault, and it was quite literally a matter of when, not if, it happened again. After watching it happy to Diaby, and then Eduardo, and then Ramsey in consecutive seasons, I can totally understand why Wenger was so angry about it, and why he wouldn't accept any apologies - too little, far, far, far too late. Perhaps Stoke and their fans can count themselves unlucky in that it was them who broke the camel's back, and not one of the other 18 teams in the league who regularly riled their players up to go out and play the same way, but there you go... it was them, and they need to take responsibility for it, instead of blaming everyone under the sun except themselves, including the victim! Seriously, anyone who genuinely believes that Ramsey broke his own leg on a blade of grass, and that poor, emotionally-fragile Ryan Shawcross is the real victim because he had his feelings hurt, really needs to have a word with themselves...

[Letters]

I was listening to some of their fans calling into 606 yesterday, and it's amazing how to this day they still seem determined to miss the point. It was never a question of whether Shawcross intended to break Ramsey's leg or not, as most of them seem to think - whilst I have no doubt that he meant to go in heavy and hard, I don't think for one second that he actually wanted to break anyone's leg. No, the issue was, and still is, that it was the inevitable outcome of a situation that had been allowed to develop in this country, where it had become acceptable practice (not to mention highly amusing) to kick the crap out of our players every week, and watch the 'Arsenal cry-babies' whine about it. How many times over the years did we hear phrases like "We know how you've got to play against Arsenal..." and "Arsenal don't like it wen you kick them..." etc? How many times did we have to sit through the sneering old-boys club on MOTD laughing about, and spouting tired, antiquated lines from 30 years ago about how it's a man's game? Once it had become that socially acceptable, is it any wonder that refs started turning a blind eye to it?

For Stoke and their fans, I can understand that they maybe see it as a one-off freak incident - one of those unfortunate things that just happen. For us though, it was 38 games a season, every season, that we had to put up with that kind of assault, and it was quite literally a matter of when, not if, it happened. Again. After watching it happy to Diaby, and then Eduardo, and then Ramsey in consecutive seasons, then I can totally understand why Wenger was so angry about it, and why he wouldn't accept any apologies - too little far, far, far too late. Perhaps Stoke and their fans can count themselves unlucky in that it was them who broke the camel's back, and not one of the other 18 teams in the league who regularly riled their players up to go out and play the same way, but there you go... it was them, and they need to take responsibility for it, instead of blaming everyone under the sun accept themselves, including the victim! Seriously, anyone who genuinely believes that Ramsey broke his own leg on a blade of grass, and that poor, emotionally-fragile Ryan Shawcross is the real victim because he had his feelings hurt, really needs to have a word with themselves...

:gp:

And spare me all this guff about "he's not that kind of player". He was and is EXACTLY that kind of player, it was only a matter of time before he did something like that.

[selassie]

It wasn't a bad game and considering the line-up we had out there it was a point gained IMO.

We're definitely starting to stutter but with the likes of Ozil and Sanchez due back this weekend and Coq, Wilshere & Welbeck not far off I think our performances will greatly improve.

Onto yesterdays game, I thought Cech was superb, pretty much saved us towards the end, also thought the defence and Flamini played quite well.

Offensively we didn't do a lot, we lacked creativity and weren't very decisive in our build up play.

Chelsea game on Sunday is now massive and it's a must win as we really can't afford to drop anymore points.

[Kano]

Shawcross already had done it before Ramsey. He broke Francis Jeffers ankle three years previously.

[Özim]

What lead? We were never well clear at the top. Since we played City they've got 9 points, we've got 6. It's hardly a charge from them while we've collapsed.

Nevertheless our lead has been eroded away, you can see it happening again we're starting to falter, have we seen this before somewhere?

[Letters]

We never had a lead :lol: Not one to crow about. It's been a very topsy turvy season, no-one has ever been well clear of anyone.
We will drop more points, so will our rivals. You can conclude nothing yet.
It's hardly like when Spurs were 10 points clear of us and crowing about it and they collapsed.

[I am invisible]

It wasn't a bad game and considering the line-up we had out there it was a point gained IMO.

We're definitely starting to stutter but with the likes of Ozil and Sanchez due back this weekend and Coq, Wilshere & Welbeck not far off I think our performances will greatly improve.

Onto yesterdays game, I thought Cech was superb, pretty much saved us towards the end, also thought the defence and Flamini played quite well.

Offensively we didn't do a lot, we lacked creativity and weren't very decisive in our build up play.

Chelsea game on Sunday is now massive and it's a must win as we really can't afford to drop anymore points.

Not a great game, but not the worst - enough to keep us top, and that'll do for now. Nice to know we can scrap out a tough point when we need to.

Need to get that winning momentum back pretty sharpish though, if we don't want to get overtaken and left behind - what better way to get started than to give Chelsea a damn good pasting!

Sanchez being back is going to be massive for us, and I think we've managed Özil's fitness really well over the Christmas period, so hopefully those two will be firing on all cylinders for the run-in. Rosicky and Mo should be available straight away, and will add some fresh legs to a tired-looking midfield, and I've heard Coquelin, Wilshere and Welbeck are all back in training ahead of schedule, so they should be ready for selection in a couple of weeks. Not sure how Santi is doing, so let's hope that's enough to see us through to May...

[Özim]

We never had a lead :lol: Not one to crow about. It's been a very topsy turvy season, no-one has ever been well clear of anyone.
We will drop more points, so will our rivals. You can conclude nothing yet.
It's hardly like when Spurs were 10 points clear of us and crowing about it and they collapsed.

We had a comfortable lead over Man City at one stage, that's gone now and we're getting to the stage where we're going to struggle as we always do this time of the year when the pressure really kicks in, 4 points dropped in two games will do nothing for confidence that's for sure.

First half of the season has been a dreadful half of season, teams have been pretty average so far, if it continues (I doubt it will) then it will have been a pretty poor quality season, but I think we'll probably see Man City improve, there's usually one team that kicks on in the 2nd half of the season and you've got to fancy them with the players they have.

[Letters]

We have never had more than a 4 point gap over City.
That 4 point gap was opened up when we played them and then immediately wiped out after the Boxing Day debacle, then the gap was 1 points, as it is now...
City did once have a 5 point gap over us.

As for City improving, maybe. But we've got Sanchez and maybe Carzola to come back. Ozil didn't play yesterday.
There's definitely scope for us to improve too as some of those players return, and we've got a pretty good run-in.

[Kano]

In the past 6 matches since we beat Man City, both teams have picked up 11 points.

[Letters]

In the past 6 matches since we beat Man City, both teams have picked up 11 points.

Stop confusing the issue by using facts :sulk:

[Letters]

The first time we went ahead of them was after 16 games when we went a point ahead of them, just like we are now.
#usingfactsischeating

[Niall_Quinn]

I was listening to some of their fans calling into 606 yesterday, and it's amazing how to this day they still seem determined to miss the point. It was never a question of whether Shawcross intended to break Ramsey's leg or not, as most of them seem to think - whilst I have no doubt that he meant to go in heavy and hard, I don't think for one second that he actually wanted to break anyone's leg. No, the issue was, and still is, that it was the inevitable outcome of a situation that had been allowed to develop in this country, where it had become acceptable practice (not to mention highly amusing) to kick the crap out of our players every week, and watch the 'Arsenal cry-babies' whine about it. How many times over the years did we hear phrases like "We know how you've got to play against Arsenal..." and "Arsenal don't like it wen you kick them..." etc? How many times did we have to sit through the sneering old-boys club on MOTD laughing about it, and spouting tired, antiquated lines from 30 years ago about how it's a man's game? Once it had become that socially acceptable, is it any wonder that refs started turning a blind eye to it?

For Stoke and their fans, I can understand that they maybe see it as a one-off freak incident - one of those unfortunate things that just happen. For us though, it was 38 games a season, every season, that we had to put up with that kind of assault, and it was quite literally a matter of when, not if, it happened again. After watching it happy to Diaby, and then Eduardo, and then Ramsey in consecutive seasons, I can totally understand why Wenger was so angry about it, and why he wouldn't accept any apologies - too little, far, far, far too late. Perhaps Stoke and their fans can count themselves unlucky in that it was them who broke the camel's back, and not one of the other 18 teams in the league who regularly riled their players up to go out and play the same way, but there you go... it was them, and they need to take responsibility for it, instead of blaming everyone under the sun except themselves, including the victim! Seriously, anyone who genuinely believes that Ramsey broke his own leg on a blade of grass, and that poor, emotionally-fragile Ryan Shawcross is the real victim because he had his feelings hurt, really needs to have a word with themselves...

tbf, prior to us going a bit pansy (which we did), we were the ones kicking the crap out of the opposition. Vieira, Keown, Bould, Adams, Lauren, even Bergie was a bit of a bastard when he needed to be. That was what the game was like and we played it as well as any. The "don't like it up 'em" shit went to full cry when we switched from being the perps to the victims. Barca, who we were trying to copy, can handle it because all their players are drilled to hit the deck as soon as they are touched. Our lot don't.

[Niall_Quinn]

In the past 6 matches since we beat Man City, both teams have picked up 11 points.

More points than that were on offer but we let them slip. We should have been making hay but now we find the misfiring gypos hot on our heels. We haven't been playing well and we should have done better, especially against Southampton and especially in the final minutes against Liverpool. You take advantage when advantage presents itself, or you don't. We didn't. The run-in is always so much different to what went before. Maybe we can drag out a few decent performances when the big guns return, you get the suspicion we'll need to.

[Kano]

More points than that were on offer but we let them slip. We should have been making hay but now we find the misfiring gypos hot on our heels. We haven't been playing well and we should have done better, especially against Southampton and especially in the final minutes against Liverpool. You take advantage when advantage presents itself, or you don't. We didn't. The run-in is always so much different to what went before. Maybe we can drag out a few decent performances when the big guns return, you get the suspicion we'll need to.

I think we both know that the level in this league is dire and has been getting worse season on season for the past 5 years. Taking that into consideration, the quality in our own club has also got worse, so while the expectation may be higher - as it should be - the reality is that in a shit league, we are also not going to be much better. That remains relative. 22 games in and there is no reason to think City are going to get any better. Leciester have shown everyone else up in this league, showing that excellent organisation and full-on commitment is enough to bridge the any gap in quality that may exist between their and other squads. It will probably continue this way until the end of the season, we fail to 'take advantage' as will City and Leciester will no doubt kick around until the very end. The Premier League is now just one big slog until the end, with no team surging away, just the one left standing after everyone else has fucked it up.

[Özim]

tbf, prior to us going a bit pansy (which we did), we were the ones kicking the crap out of the opposition. Vieira, Keown, Bould, Adams, Lauren, even Bergie was a bit of a bastard when he needed to be. That was what the game was like and we played it as well as any. The "don't like it up 'em" shit went to full cry when we switched from being the perps to the victims. Barca, who we were trying to copy, can handle it because all their players are drilled to hit the deck as soon as they are touched. Our lot don't.

Spot on, noone said a thing when we were doing it, if anything they loved it, now the shoe is on the other foot it's different. Some teams are more physical than others, there's always bad challenges from time to time but bad injuries are rare nonetheless and due more to bad luck than anything else.

There are the odd few players who might put in a nasty challenge but I'd say they are rare.

[selassie]

Not a great game, but not the worst - enough to keep us top, and that'll do for now. Nice to know we can scrap out a tough point when we need to.

Need to get that winning momentum back pretty sharpish though, if we don't want to get overtaken and left behind - what better way to get started than to give Chelsea a damn good pasting!

Sanchez being back is going to be massive for us, and I think we've managed Özil's fitness really well over the Christmas period, so hopefully those two will be firing on all cylinders for the run-in. Rosicky and Mo should be available straight away, and will add some fresh legs to a tired-looking midfield, and I've heard Coquelin, Wilshere and Welbeck are all back in training ahead of schedule, so they should be ready for selection in a couple of weeks. Not sure how Santi is doing, so let's hope that's enough to see us through to May...

Aye, my thoughts exactly, considering our injury list it was a good result and to be fair we've done well to stay top considering we have 4 nailed on starters out on the sidelines. Really looking forward to Alexis and Ozil returning this weekend and also Coq is supposed to be a few weeks away, he's back in full training now with Welbeck who is also supposed to be a few weeks away. Wilshere is back in full training too but no mention of his return date. Also as you stated, Rosicky & Elneny add much needed depth.

We really aren't in bad shape all things being considered, if we can get back to winning ways on Sunday and ease back in the injured players we'll be in good shape for the run-in. We do still have some very difficult away games so it won't be easy regardless of who is available for selection.

[Power n Glory]

I was listening to some of their fans calling into 606 yesterday, and it's amazing how to this day they still seem determined to miss the point. It was never a question of whether Shawcross intended to break Ramsey's leg or not, as most of them seem to think - whilst I have no doubt that he meant to go in heavy and hard, I don't think for one second that he actually wanted to break anyone's leg. No, the issue was, and still is, that it was the inevitable outcome of a situation that had been allowed to develop in this country, where it had become acceptable practice (not to mention highly amusing) to kick the crap out of our players every week, and watch the 'Arsenal cry-babies' whine about it. How many times over the years did we hear phrases like "We know how you've got to play against Arsenal..." and "Arsenal don't like it wen you kick them..." etc? How many times did we have to sit through the sneering old-boys club on MOTD laughing about it, and spouting tired, antiquated lines from 30 years ago about how it's a man's game? Once it had become that socially acceptable, is it any wonder that refs started turning a blind eye to it?

For Stoke and their fans, I can understand that they maybe see it as a one-off freak incident - one of those unfortunate things that just happen. For us though, it was 38 games a season, every season, that we had to put up with that kind of assault, and it was quite literally a matter of when, not if, it happened again. After watching it happy to Diaby, and then Eduardo, and then Ramsey in consecutive seasons, I can totally understand why Wenger was so angry about it, and why he wouldn't accept any apologies - too little, far, far, far too late. Perhaps Stoke and their fans can count themselves unlucky in that it was them who broke the camel's back, and not one of the other 18 teams in the league who regularly riled their players up to go out and play the same way, but there you go... it was them, and they need to take responsibility for it, instead of blaming everyone under the sun except themselves, including the victim! Seriously, anyone who genuinely believes that Ramsey broke his own leg on a blade of grass, and that poor, emotionally-fragile Ryan Shawcross is the real victim because he had his feelings hurt, really needs to have a word with themselves...

:gp: Luckily, Ramsey had a clean break and recovered well. Eduardo and Diaby weren't so lucky and were finished. They were never the same after that. It's a really a sour and sad moment when I think about how their careers turned out. You have the brainless players that took them out but the Stoke fans, the pundits that perpetuated the nonsense, the managers that sent their teams out to kick us (Fuck Alex Ferguson - the originator) and the shit refs that did nothing to protect the players.

[Letters]

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f395/wrdrichard/2015-16_zpsqqxws2vv.jpg

Boring Letters :bow:

Points per game comparison of the 3 top teams so far.
The fact is no-one has had a particularly comfortable lead over anyone so far

[Özim]

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f395/wrdrichard/2015-16_zpsqqxws2vv.jpg

Boring Letters :bow:

Points per game comparison of the 3 top teams so far.
The fact is no-one has had a particularly comfortable lead over anyone so far

4 points over City is a decent lead, 1 point as it is now isn't, it leaves no leeway for dropped points. Whilst it's nice and novel seeing Leicester up there, you can't see them winning it, City are the real threat with the quality they have, plus we have go over to their place when we could get turned over.

[I am invisible]

:gp: Luckily, Ramsey had a clean break and recovered well. Eduardo and Diaby weren't so lucky and were finished. They were never the same after that. It's a really a sour and sad moment when I think about how their careers turned out. You have the brainless players that took them out but the Stoke fans, the pundits that perpetuated the nonsense, the managers that sent their teams out to kick us (Fuck Alex Ferguson - the originator) and the shit refs that did nothing to protect the players.

I was gonna say, you can pretty much trace it all back to that infamous '50th game' at Old Trafford, and Alex Ferguson's post-match interview - after that, everyone else jumped on the bandwagon. I don't want to let Stoke off the hook too much with this, but really they were just a symptom of a much wider problem - the focus fell on them, but the whole football culture in this country needs to bear a portion of the responsibility for what happened...

[Letters]

We were 4 points above them after we beat them then immediately cocked things up on Boxing Day when it went back to 1 points which is where it is now.
City were 5 points above us early season - that's the biggest gap there's been all season.
The fact is no-one has been consistent and we never had a huge gap over them, nor they over us.
I agree they're the biggest threat and yes, we have no leeway but neither do those. If we lose to Chelsea and they win they'll be 2 points ahead but we're both going to drop points.
It's very hard to call this year. Head says City but we've held our own with Sanchez out, we'll be stronger when he comes back. I'm not ready to throw the towel in just yet.

[I am invisible]

tbf, prior to us going a bit pansy (which we did), we were the ones kicking the crap out of the opposition. Vieira, Keown, Bould, Adams, Lauren, even Bergie was a bit of a bastard when he needed to be. That was what the game was like and we played it as well as any. The "don't like it up 'em" shit went to full cry when we switched from being the perps to the victims. Barca, who we were trying to copy, can handle it because all their players are drilled to hit the deck as soon as they are touched. Our lot don't.

But when it was us, was it not met with an absolute zero-tolerance approach from the FA, and a record number of red cards? Was our disciplinary record not widely condemned by all and sundry as being a disgrace? We did everything that was asked of us - we cleaned up our act, and went from having the worst disciplinary record in the league to the best - and our reward was for the footballing world to laugh as opponents kicked lumps out of us every week. It quite literally took broken bones and career-ending injuries before anyone started questioning what was going on, and even now it feels like opponents get 10 free fouls to every one of ours before a card comes out?

[Letters]

Was it ever us? We were more physical but it was never our main tactic. We used to play football but we could hold our own physically, it was never our primary intention to 'rough up' the opposition because we couldn't mix it with them trying to play football.

[Özim]

But when it was us, was it not met with an absolute zero-tolerance approach from the FA, and a record number of red cards? Was our disciplinary record not widely condemned by all and sundry as being a disgrace? We did everything that was asked of us - we cleaned up our act, and went from having the worst disciplinary record in the league to the best - and our reward was for the footballing world to laugh as opponents kicked lumps out of us every week. It quite literally took broken bones and career-ending injuries before anyone started questioning what was going on, and even now it feels like opponents get 10 free fouls to every one of ours before a card comes out?


Personally preferred it when we didn't take the pansy approach, was good to see players getting stuck in. I also think fans are way too sensitive to challenges, Giroud falls over yesterday (not fouled) and there's people complaining he's unfairly tackled and should have a foul.

We lack any kind of physical side to our play, to our detriment IMO, when we had bigger more powerful players we were a much tougher team to play against because of it and teams accepted they couldn't jut come in and put us off our game.

[Özim]

Was it ever us? We were more physical but it was never our main tactic. We used to play football but we could hold our own physically, it was never our primary intention to 'rough up' the opposition because we couldn't mix it with them trying to play football.

In a way it was, yes we could play football but then to be fair Stoke aren't that bad these days either, but we could certainly mix it with the best if teams tried to put us off our game, Vieira use to strike fear into the opposition, he was fearful of a challenge and teams respected us more because of it. In the last 10 years we've become a bit of a soft touch and are seen as a team who complain about almost every tackle (much like a number of fans).

Referreeing isn't great but the way some go on you'd think they were making mistakes every other decision and totally against us which is ridiculous, I think there's certainly bias playing a part here because almost every week now people are complaining about the referee and using this as a reason as to why we lost or didn't score 5 goals.

I'm not talking about the bad challenges because obviously those should be clamped down on and generally they are, but more the normal challenges that some people portray to almost be criminal acts. Football is a physical sport, we don't want a sport where you can't tackle or touch a player, with tackling there will be mist timed tackles because players are only human and don't always time or do everything perfectly.

[Letters]

Fans of every club moan about the referee pretty much every game :shrug:

[Power n Glory]

Theo USED to have that fluidity to his game. Ox USED to have that fluidity to his game. Ramsey USED to have that fluidity to his game. That's why we got all excited about their potential. Wenger will coach it out of Iwobi too. Can it really be that all these players just aren't up to scratch? The Arshavins, Velas, Podolskis, Afobes, Gnabrys, Akpoms. The Wilsheres. Yeah, the majority won't make the top level but who has Wenger really made? Henry, Bergkamp, Pires, Ozil? These are self made players. Alexis is another one. The old back four, George Graham's. Campbell? Coquelin? Wenger wanted rid. Chambers was on fire when he first arrived, now he's burnt to a crisp. I hear Monsieur is thinking about signing back a Turkish kid he got rid of who, lo and behold, has suddenly found his feet in spectacular fashion - at another club. I believed Ox was going to be the next big thing in football when I first saw him play. Now look at him. Well on the way to becoming the next Theo Walcott.

One common factor.

We know these players can pass, move, perform at pace. We've seen them score and participate in some of the best goals you'll ever see. The talent is there. But look at Ox, is he a winger or a central midfielder? Ramsey, same question. Walcott, same question. I'm shocked Wenger didn't start Cech on the wing when he first arrived. Wenger is all about slamming square pegs in round holes. Playing tactics that disadvantage us and favour the opposition. Playing systems that isolate and put our players under pressure. We put in a decent performance, what, about 1 in 8 games now? That's because Wenger's one-trick pony is bound to find suitable opposition every once in a while.

We played right into Stoke's hands yesterday. Of course. Never once utilised the advantages we had over them. Played that ponderous crappy style that Wenger loves so much. We lost the key player who can make Wenger's tippy tappy flow with a purpose. What we really saw yesterday was another example of the players not being able to make Wenger's crackpot system work. But I bet they'd be twice as effective under a manager who could knit them into a team rather than leave them isolated as individuals. Great spirit, Wenger said. Well great passing, great movement, great purpose, those would be useful too.

This season he's being propped up by the general decline in standards across the league and the fallout from the mercenary cultures at chavland and gypoland. People are confusing this with Wenger being a decent manager. He's not. Hasn't been for a long time.

Decent bloke, of course. Decent manager? Watch us play and decide.

It’s a real shame seeing how some of Wenger’s gem youth players are turning out. I’ve said it before but I don’t think Wenger is that good when it comes to developing players that are really raw. I think he’s great at elevating the game of more established players but I think most of our young players that have been here since teen years have a serious lack of understanding and discipline in their game. I’ll start a new thread on this.

[fakeyank]

It was a shit game with crap performances. I am just glad we came out with a point. John Terry was right when he said that magneto is going to give us 12-15 points.

As for the other players performances, Ox was just total balls. I really think this lad has everything in him to be successful but he is running out of opportunities and has been nothing but total garbage. Walcott has done fuck all on the wing (since he was moved there), and Sanchez cant come back soon enough. Either put him down the middle or bring him as a super sub but dont start him out wide where he offers piss all.

I am certainly hoping that we get to have Rosicky back playing for his annual 3 month burst. He is the sort of player who will run with the ball, and frankly our midfield will be much better with him there than Ox or Arteta.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Personally preferred it when we didn't take the pansy approach, was good to see players getting stuck in. I also think fans are way too sensitive to challenges, Giroud falls over yesterday (not fouled) and there's people complaining he's unfairly tackled and should have a foul.

We lack any kind of physical side to our play, to our detriment IMO, when we had bigger more powerful players we were a much tougher team to play against because of it and teams accepted they couldn't jut come in and put us off our game.

I've heard the term "Arsenal don't like it up em" as long as Wenger has been at the club, which was a way of saying we didn't like being kicked off the park like United used to do to us at OT because they couldn't compete fairly on a physical level.

[I am invisible]

Personally preferred it when we didn't take the pansy approach, was good to see players getting stuck in. I also think fans are way too sensitive to challenges, Giroud falls over yesterday (not fouled) and there's people complaining he's unfairly tackled and should have a foul.

We lack any kind of physical side to our play, to our detriment IMO, when we had bigger more powerful players we were a much tougher team to play against because of it and teams accepted they couldn't jut come in and put us off our game.

Mate, I'm bang up for it, if it's gonna be a fair fight! If it's just gonna be our players getting sent off for every first offence again, while our opponents basically have to cripple one of our players before we even get a free kick, then it's gonna carry on being the pansy approach. You go out of your way to foul us > we go out of our way to draw attention to it. Tit for tat. A pretty shitty indictment of the game, but there it is...

[I am invisible]

It’s a real shame seeing how some of Wenger’s gem youth players are turning out. I’ve said it before but I don’t think Wenger is that good when it comes to developing players that are really raw. I think he’s great at elevating the game of more established players but I think most of our young players that have been here since teen years have a serious lack of understanding and discipline in their game. I’ll start a new thread on this.

We'll still be able to talk about how Wenger's a cunt / no he isn't though, won't we?

[Power n Glory]

We'll still be able to talk about how Wenger's a cunt / no he isn't though, won't we?

:lol: Knock yourself out. But considering what's been said about Ox and Rambo in recent weeks, I think it's worth having a different thread discussing the youth players.

[Letters]

:lol: Knock yourself out. But considering what's been said about Ox and Rambo in recent weeks, I think it's worth having a different thread discussing the youth players.

So long as I can say that Wenger is flawless in that thread too I'm happy.

[Power n Glory]

So long as I can say that Wenger is flawless in that thread too I'm happy.

I expect nothing less. :lol:

[Kano]

So long as I can say that Wenger is flawless in that thread too I'm happy.

You've got it all wrong. Billionaires running amok, two FA Cups, beating Utd away and two world class players since financial imrprovemnt has to be in there, otherwise it's just not the same.

[Özim]

Fans of every club moan about the referee pretty much every game :shrug:

Maybe they do I don't know myself, I've just watched some of the challenges people complain about and if we got some of those we'd get a foul for every single tackle against us in the game.

[fakeyank]

You've got it all wrong. Billionaires running amok, two FA Cups, beating Utd away and two world class players since financial imrprovemnt has to be in there, otherwise it's just not the same.

:haha:

Dont forget beating Bayern and City! :lol:

[Letters]

:haha:

Dont forget beating Bayern and City! :lol:

:gp:

Us :bow:

Wenger :bow:



...although given that we're top of the league it's a little less silly than all the balls about what a bumbling incompetent our manager is...

[Niall_Quinn]

But when it was us, was it not met with an absolute zero-tolerance approach from the FA, and a record number of red cards? Was our disciplinary record not widely condemned by all and sundry as being a disgrace? We did everything that was asked of us - we cleaned up our act, and went from having the worst disciplinary record in the league to the best - and our reward was for the footballing world to laugh as opponents kicked lumps out of us every week. It quite literally took broken bones and career-ending injuries before anyone started questioning what was going on, and even now it feels like opponents get 10 free fouls to every one of ours before a card comes out?

Absolutely, we were slaughtered for giving back as good as we got. I'm not trying to defend shitkickers like Shawcross, or the poxy FA and media that allow the game to descend into a brawl and then pretends we have the best league in the world. All I was saying is we did get a bit pansy and for a while there it was a fair point, we didn't fancy the rough stuff which is part and parcel of this league. The OTT stuff by the likes of Shawcross, that's shit by any standard. The fucker can't defend at all, he fouls and gets away with it and that's his whole game. He fouled Bif 20 times on Saturday, at least. And the ref decided to ignore the rules. We've suffered this for season after season, likely all based on those conceptions fuelled by the media. You see Alexis get kicked into a dugout, Debuchy have his career here ruined, and then Gabriel gets sent off for what? The whole concept of violence and foul play is bizarre as the rules stand. No sportsmanship any more, just gamesmanship.

[Xhaka Can’t]

I was listening to some of their fans calling into 606 yesterday, and it's amazing how to this day they still seem determined to miss the point. It was never a question of whether Shawcross intended to break Ramsey's leg or not, as most of them seem to think - whilst I have no doubt that he meant to go in heavy and hard, I don't think for one second that he actually wanted to break anyone's leg. No, the issue was, and still is, that it was the inevitable outcome of a situation that had been allowed to develop in this country, where it had become acceptable practice (not to mention highly amusing) to kick the crap out of our players every week, and watch the 'Arsenal cry-babies' whine about it. How many times over the years did we hear phrases like "We know how you've got to play against Arsenal..." and "Arsenal don't like it wen you kick them..." etc? How many times did we have to sit through the sneering old-boys club on MOTD laughing about it, and spouting tired, antiquated lines from 30 years ago about how it's a man's game? Once it had become that socially acceptable, is it any wonder that refs started turning a blind eye to it?

For Stoke and their fans, I can understand that they maybe see it as a one-off freak incident - one of those unfortunate things that just happen. For us though, it was 38 games a season, every season, that we had to put up with that kind of assault, and it was quite literally a matter of when, not if, it happened again. After watching it happy to Diaby, and then Eduardo, and then Ramsey in consecutive seasons, I can totally understand why Wenger was so angry about it, and why he wouldn't accept any apologies - too little, far, far, far too late. Perhaps Stoke and their fans can count themselves unlucky in that it was them who broke the camel's back, and not one of the other 18 teams in the league who regularly riled their players up to go out and play the same way, but there you go... it was them, and they need to take responsibility for it, instead of blaming everyone under the sun except themselves, including the victim! Seriously, anyone who genuinely believes that Ramsey broke his own leg on a blade of grass, and that poor, emotionally-fragile Ryan Shawcross is the real victim because he had his feelings hurt, really needs to have a word with themselves...

:clap: That is a superb post.

[IBK]

I was listening to some of their fans calling into 606 yesterday, and it's amazing how to this day they still seem determined to miss the point. It was never a question of whether Shawcross intended to break Ramsey's leg or not, as most of them seem to think - whilst I have no doubt that he meant to go in heavy and hard, I don't think for one second that he actually wanted to break anyone's leg. No, the issue was, and still is, that it was the inevitable outcome of a situation that had been allowed to develop in this country, where it had become acceptable practice (not to mention highly amusing) to kick the crap out of our players every week, and watch the 'Arsenal cry-babies' whine about it. How many times over the years did we hear phrases like "We know how you've got to play against Arsenal..." and "Arsenal don't like it wen you kick them..." etc? How many times did we have to sit through the sneering old-boys club on MOTD laughing about it, and spouting tired, antiquated lines from 30 years ago about how it's a man's game? Once it had become that socially acceptable, is it any wonder that refs started turning a blind eye to it?

For Stoke and their fans, I can understand that they maybe see it as a one-off freak incident - one of those unfortunate things that just happen. For us though, it was 38 games a season, every season, that we had to put up with that kind of assault, and it was quite literally a matter of when, not if, it happened again. After watching it happy to Diaby, and then Eduardo, and then Ramsey in consecutive seasons, I can totally understand why Wenger was so angry about it, and why he wouldn't accept any apologies - too little, far, far, far too late. Perhaps Stoke and their fans can count themselves unlucky in that it was them who broke the camel's back, and not one of the other 18 teams in the league who regularly riled their players up to go out and play the same way, but there you go... it was them, and they need to take responsibility for it, instead of blaming everyone under the sun except themselves, including the victim! Seriously, anyone who genuinely believes that Ramsey broke his own leg on a blade of grass, and that poor, emotionally-fragile Ryan Shawcross is the real victim because he had his feelings hurt, really needs to have a word with themselves...

:gp: Yup. No mystery that we as a technical side seem to fall foul of this archaic approach to football....

[LDG]

https://youtu.be/mQzuhiqwR7E

[Kano]

https://youtube/mQzuhiqwR7E

LDG :doh:

[LDG]

Fuckin phone :(

[fakeyank]

LDG :doh:

No wonder Indians are taking all the white people jobs..

[Kano]

No wonder Indians are taking all the white people jobs..

I dunno, call centres don't offer the best career progression.

[Letters]

No wonder Indians are taking all the white people jobs..

They're rubbish but they sure are cheap.


Poverty :bow:

[I am invisible]

Absolutely, we were slaughtered for giving back as good as we got. I'm not trying to defend shitkickers like Shawcross, or the poxy FA and media that allow the game to descend into a brawl and then pretends we have the best league in the world. All I was saying is we did get a bit pansy and for a while there it was a fair point, we didn't fancy the rough stuff which is part and parcel of this league. The OTT stuff by the likes of Shawcross, that's shit by any standard. The fucker can't defend at all, he fouls and gets away with it and that's his whole game. He fouled Bif 20 times on Saturday, at least. And the ref decided to ignore the rules. We've suffered this for season after season, likely all based on those conceptions fuelled by the media. You see Alexis get kicked into a dugout, Debuchy have his career here ruined, and then Gabriel gets sent off for what? The whole concept of violence and foul play is bizarre as the rules stand. No sportsmanship any more, just gamesmanship.

No, I know you're not :good: Honestly, I don't think you'll find (m)any Arsenal fans who didn't prefer it when we had that nasty edge, and could intimidate other sides just by lining up against them in the tunnel - it's just a question of it being a fair fight. As I said, I'm more than happy to give as good as we get again, if the FA are happy to let us all just get on with it. Or I'm happy for everyone to try and play fair, and for the same zero-tolerance approach to be applied to anything OTT. But what we can't have is what ended up happening, where we had that ability to stand up for ourselves ruthlessly stamped out of us by the FA, while our opponents were allowed to carry on regardless?! Put everyone in the same boat, one way or the other, but don't just chuck us in the ring with our hands tied behind our back - that's BS...

[AFC Leveller]

This time last year we were 6th on 39 points, 14 point behind Chelsea where as this season we are top on 44 points. You can argue it either way, We have improved on the points tally but the league in general has gone down a level or two.

[Letters]

The league seems to have generally become more competitive too, you don't have the huge gap between the top few and 'the rest' you often get.
Either way it doesn't diminish the achievement of whoever wins the league. One could argue it enhances it - back in the day we only had to finish above Utd, now we have to finish above a few teams who are title contenders.

[Özim]

The league seems to have generally become more competitive too, you don't have the huge gap between the top few and 'the rest' you often get.
Either way it doesn't diminish the achievement of whoever wins the league. One could argue it enhances it - back in the day we only had to finish above Utd, now we have to finish above a few teams who are title contenders.

I think it's more than the top teams aren't as good, they use to dispatch the lower teams without too many problems when they were very good, the top teams just aren't as competitive which also explains why were top despite not even having played that well.

It's one of those seasons where you don't need to be anything special to win the league, just like Man U in Fergusons last season, won the title but weren't a great team.

[Letters]

You still need to be better than everyone else, and if the league is more competitive (either because the top teams are worse or the lower teams are better, it doesn't matter which) then that makes it harder to win as more teams have a credible chance.

[Özim]

You still need to be better than everyone else, and if the league is more competitive (either because the top teams are worse or the lower teams are better, it doesn't matter which) then that makes it harder to win as more teams have a credible chance.

If the top teams are worse it doesn't make harder to win, it's easier to win if anything.

[Letters]

Yes, it easier to debate by just saying stuff rather than attempting to back it up with reasoning or facts.

[Özim]

Yes, it easier to debate by just saying stuff rather than attempting to back it up with reasoning or facts.

I would have thought it was pretty obvious, the top teams have performed poorly, their top players have been under par and they are dropping points all the time, it doesn't take a genius to work out they are weaker or less potent this season for some reason or other.

Chelsea have been nowhere, Man City have been struggling and Man U are very average, these are the 3 best teams of the last 10 years.

[Kano]

I would have thought it was pretty obvious, the top teams have performed poorly, their top players have been under par and they are dropping points all the time, it doesn't take a genius to work out they are weaker or less potent this season for some reason or other.

Chelsea have been nowhere, Man City have been struggling and Man U are very average, these are the 3 best teams of the last 10 years.

So it remains relative. In a declining league, ALL the teams will be average, including ourselves. Which has created this level playing field we now see, so when everyone is relatively average, it becomes no easier than years past. Leicester are proving that point but bridging any gap in quality through organisation and total commitement in every game. Doing it for 22 games isn't a freak effort. Our memories also distort the past when it comes to title winners. There have been a few instances in the 'prime years' of the Premier League where the winning team have been piss poor until Jan/Feb, then go on a 10/12 game winning streak to win the title. Many would look back now and say these are classic teams but when you analyse the performance in real teams like that, you can spin a different picture.

[Özim]

So it remains relative. In a declining league, ALL the teams will be average, including ourselves. Which has created this level playing field we now see, so when everyone is relatively average, it becomes no easier than years past. Leicester are proving that point but bridging any gap in quality through organisation and total commitement in every game. Doing it for 22 games isn't a freak effort. Our memories also distort the past when it comes to title winners. There have been a few instances in the 'prime years' of the Premier League where the winning team have been piss poor until Jan/Feb, then go on a 10/12 game winning streak to win the title. Many would look back now and say these are classic teams but when you analyse the performance in real teams like that, you can spin a different picture.

It's easier in a sense that you don't need to be as strong to win it, so that is to say if a top team came in they would walk it. As for previous years, there is the odd year where it has been poor, but by in large one or two teams have been head and shoulders above everyone else and have had several good runs of form during the season, I don't think we've seen any of that this season. I agree on the 2nd half of the season there's usually one team that find forms, but so far we've seen none of that.

[Letters]

Have the top teams all performed poorly? All at the same time?

There is no outstanding team we have to finish above this year but that's mostly because of very poor management at Chelsea
The other big sides aren't hugely different from where they were at this stage last year.
The difference between where teams are right now and at this stage last season is:

Chelsea -27 :haha:
Arsenal +5
City -4
Utd +3
Spurs +2
Liverpool -4

So we're doing a bit better and City are doing a bit worse, the combination of those two things means we're ahead of them rather than well behind but there hasn't been a huge shift at either club. With all their money City can't point to injuries, and early season they got off to a flier and people were declaring them Champions elect and us also-rans. We're a bit better with Cech in goal, that's clearly made a difference. Great signing by Wenger.

Winning the league would still be an achievement, you still have to be better than everyone else over 38 games.
I know you're panicing about the prospect of us winning is and so trying to diminish it ahead of time just in case but actually only Chelsea out of last year's top 6 are in a wildly different position than they were at this stage last year, and we all know who's fault that is...

[Kano]

It's easier in a sense that you don't need to be as strong to win it, so that is to say if a top team came in they would walk it. As for previous years, there is the odd year where it has been poor, but by in large one or two teams have been head and shoulders above everyone else and have had several good runs of form during the season, I don't think we've seen any of that this season. I agree on the 2nd half of the season there's usually one team that find forms, but so far we've seen none of that.
Which doesn’t take into account the reality of now. No one is going to come in and take the league by storm because we are 22 games in and pattern is already set. So it remains relative that every team – including ourselves – will only be good, rather than outstanding. This is also not an odd year. Fergie won the league with a below-average Utd team because the quality in the league has been declining for 4/5 seasons to the point now where the ‘big teams’ have really lost any real sense of consistent quality. We’ve been caught under this spell that the big teams are the best and will always rise to the top, all the while importing more and more crappy, overpaid players into the league, watering down the quality. Next season we’ll see the same thing.

[Ollie the Optimist]

One thing i learnt from sunday is that i won't go to stoke away again. The place is a shithole and their fans are wankers.

Thought we played ok, its a tough place for us to go and i think it was important not to lose and I was quite glad we didn't go all out for the win. losing there would have invited the doubts and the old comments of they can't hack it on a cold afternoon in stoke.

Its a horrible pitch, you could see the bumps clearly from the stands so its tricky to get a free flowing game there and without ozil too. Cech was outstanding, Iwobi was good too when he came on and Giroud unlucky with his header (but it was one hell of a save). I think a point was a fair result but i really do question how Theo wasn't given a penalty when he was hauled down to the ground. It was so obviously a foul and no attempt made to play the ball. The only doubt i have was whether initial contact was outside the box but its a free kick or a penalty.

[Niall_Quinn]

Theo dived. But Bif had at least 3 legit claims when Shawcrap literally wrapped his arms around him and held him down when the ball was coming into the box. Astonishingly bad performance by that ref,

[Letters]

One thing i learnt from sunday is that i won't go to stoke away again. The place is a shithole and their fans are wankers.

Really? You only learnt that on Sunday?

[Ollie the Optimist]

Really? You only learnt that on Sunday?

:lol: when you see what they are like close up, you really see the hatred in their faces. I was a few seats away from the divide between us and the home fans. Not very pleasant I can tell you. All they did was sing about ramsey's leg and boo any of our players whenever one of their thugs fouled them