Arsenal v Aston Villa – Match Day Blog

he did nothing once again

he’s such a managerial rube…he likely thinks we acquited ourselves well in the first half because of the early possession numbers, but that was gifted to him by Bayern, as they didn’t press until the halfway line…so everything came down to who made the necessary halftime adjustments, of which we seemingly made none, likely due to the aforementioned illusionary possession numbers…sorry, but this hope and a prayer borefest approach to football will rarely get things done against teams with a real manager

there you go 5th CL spot goes to Italy and Germany. Just imagine Carlo was available and KSE choose the looser Arteta.

you can’t spend 3/4s of a billion dollars just to be known as a nice little footballing club…based on that performance we weren’t beating anyone in the quarters, including Athletico and Dortmund, who are both having average at best seasons…the fact remains, the Kroenke’s would have to green-light a 300+M spend this summer in order for us to be a bona fide contender, considering MA’s record when it comes to recruitment

in a weird way I feel somewhat foolish for responding in such vitriolic fashion to yesterday’s match, as this was such a predictably lame performance…as such, I should be more upset with myself for actually believing that any other outcome was even a possibility

it’s so difficult to win fixtures of this ilk when you provide the opposition with a comprehensive blueprint and you don’t even acquire the type of players who can both carve out their own chances and finish them at a world class level…to further frustrate matters, we don’t even deploy the kind of tactics that properly highlight the skills of our best and brightest…imagine any other manager of consequence providing such little help to both Marts and Saka, who’re constantly looking down the barrel at double-teams

in fact, MA oft-times makes life unnecessarily difficult for our best players, especially on the left side, where instead of employing a wingback or an LB with overlapping capabilities, he actually deploys an inverted back…by doing so, it would seem to suggest that he would rather waste their talents by either requiring them to take on 2 or 3 defenders at seemingly every turn, which takes a toll, or, even worse, by forcing them into a more periphery facilitator-type role, which would see them sending crosses into a box occupied by 3 of the worst finishers in the PL, Havertz, Jesus and Eddie…it’s simply not logical

the only reason this isn’t raised more often, besides the sad fact that the fanboys still control the narrative, is that we do have some higher-end players who can run his one-trick pony tactical plan with a high level of competency, especially against the weaker sides, so finding ourselves in the top 3-4 mix is a plausible expectation…unfortunately we’ve been down this road before and we know full-well where that got us, lifting the Wenger Cup come season’s end…that said, if we want to be a serious club we need to either let MA go or remove the managerial tag and get another Dein-like presence in the room who can up the ante when it comes to both our recruitment practices and our tactical nous

who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky and a now singularly-focused City side won’t be able to mentally recover from their latest Madrid loss, which could leave the door open for us…seems like a long shot though

in such a vitriolic

Morning all I was dozing off with MacBook on my chest after 10 minutes so elected to sleep offf my drive and the last 6 days away.

Ally McCoist working for TNT said something that really summed up the evening: Bayern’s game intelligence was better than ours, and that they comfortably edged the game.

Although sounding paradoxical Bayern did comfortably edge us out of the game by turning up the pressure when they needed and then contained us for most of the game even though the stats suggest a very even game with Bayern’s 52% possession and 4 vs our 3 shots on target and 6 vs 4 off target.

It’s Bayerns 8 corners against our 3 (that should have been 5 in all reality) that tells the real story, because we didn’t manage one counter attack. The reasons why has been well addressed above, but for me Bayern’s game management was far superior to ours and once again El B was out thought by an experienced manager.

The song remains the same for me; we need an experienced manager who can build a squad where 90% of its players are pegs placed in their correct holes, something El B is clueless about.

I’ve never been able to wrap up El B’s major flaw before, but summing it up that El B has no Game Intelligence sums him up perfectly and this coming from a great Scottish player with a high IQ I would imagine. A Scottish Jimmy Greaves wit wise where Ally and Tufnal were good value for money on the BBC’s World of Sport when I could get to see an episode.

Has there been one TW where we have all thought El B got it 100% right? Pegs in right holes?

El B’s masterstroke was to take Marts & Jorginho off for Jesus and Trossard who is a better starter than sub. It takes him time to get into the game when he introduced to be the hopeful match winner and thus tries too hard achieving little.

Where was Partey?

His inclusion would have thrown a spanner in Toucal’s works where the midfield pendulum might just have swayed more favorably in our direction. El B has to make such things happen with his selections and in-game management that collectively become his game intelligence: those 2 words again.

It’s done now and no real shock to any of us who wear our Gooner hearts on our sleeves and just hoped, but people like El B have no good karma because of their treatment of others. You can’t just do good to some and not others to receive good karma in return.

Unless city are going to be docked points for their FFP alleged misgivings before the end of the season, our season is over bar a miracle.

We had the title in our grasp again this season with had being the operative word. No we are an also ran once again.

Back to our six remaining games anyone got thoughts on them?

Now*

Good to see karma less City out as well.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/apr/18/arteta-admits-players-are-disappointed-after-defeat-to-bayern-munich

Small margins, says Arteta. I wonder if he’s ever considered he’s the fucking problem? As Art Fraud might say, ‘a cunt’.

The whimper was predictable. Other managers read El B’s game plan like a book. What would he do with Nigel or Ashley?
Tony – no Partey – he doesn’t appear in El B’s plan so isn’t played. The result is the rest of the players will not party at the end of season.
Does El B have OCD – every hair in place, every stubble hair on his chin exactly the same length, pubic hair parted neatly and players in exact positions trying to meet his masterplan. ESR does not fit – expect him to be at Villa next year playing just below Watkins.

In the short term, our cretin of a manager needs to address why in our last two games we’ve become progressively worse as the game has moved into the second half. Maybe he should let Stivenberg, the kit man or even Win the Labrador do the half time talk. Woof!

Oh, and to resist the temptation to fiddle with formations.

He’s saved his skin before, so maybe it’s time to give ESR a role in our final few games. But he won’t of course. Stubborn el Bastardo to the very end (which ought to come this summer if he fails to win the league). An utter turd of a manager.

Fraudulent Cunt.

What’s he want, another £200 million?
£300 million? 400 million? £500 million?, £1 billion?, £2 billion? on players.

We have three big games to get past before the end of the season. In theory we should beat Wolves on Saturday but then take on Chelsea next Tuesday. Chelsea are a lot better than at the beginning of the season and will have eyes on the possibility of making a Europa League position. Spurs will be aiming for 4th and Man U where the manager will be trying to save his bacon – they are always spoilers against us and all games are close.

Norg
As a lifelong spectrum resident my best guess would be ADHD because sufferers can’t keep still and have stuccato machine gun speech patterns. A sufferer like me will suffer from focus issues, but when locked on he’ll be laser focussed and see what others can’t. When I take a picture I see things from timing (speed of brain data gathering) other people don’t. There’s good with bad of course.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13087351/DR-CLARE-BAILEY-diagnosed-ADHD-middle-age-like-explains-life-Sheridan-Smith-discover-shes-told-42.html

I only dropped one point from the quiz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc0v8m-ChSs

https://search.alexanderstreet.com/preview/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cvideo_work%7C4085299#/embed/object

A Rory Bremner program that’s an excellent watch and what I have that is quite pronounced and a curse as well as a gift. My brain is always data gathering whether I like it or not – stopping singular focus.

For legal reasons we can’t label people. So for people who display OCD tendencies and others easily found on the Internet. I had a sales director who had full blown OCD where his house was full of amazing detail; ditto gardens up Clitheroe way, Lancs.

NPD represents that they can’t change things easily because accepting change is being less than perfect. All game tactics will be a NPD manager’s, and his only. Only a NPD person knows best and gets interesting where 2 NPDs get together. NPD = 100% alpha

So if you add the ADHD, NPD & OCD symptoms together because ADHD is a conduit for other alphabet soup to attach to. The Spectrum glue if you were. Then those 3 together can be a very toxic combination that I’ve seen up close and personal for 19 years.

It all makes interesting plane reading, Norg, if you can’t sleep. It’s worth looking for cases to read as it may well answer unanswered questions about people and will also get you more insight with who you’re dealing with. Today people are very open about in-spectrum life a taboo until about 10 years ago.

A good read about NPD: https://mind.help/topic/narcissism/

You’ll see le Fraud’s identity is similar.

Norg
Regarding our remaining games who knows what response we’ll get from the players.

That and players are looking leggy, such as Rice. Poor guy is being pushed to his limits.

If wash, rinse repeat continues, we will drop points where my guess would be 6 dropped, but no idea which games to identify the losses to.

ST renewal time soon so expect the spin department to be in full swing with targets identified BS.

My positivity batteries need recharging so probably topped up for July.

Tony
See what their missing over at LG – where else would you get all the above and then topped up with music, Welsh football etc etc.
The day when one of our top team tries to leave will lead to the dismissal of El B.

Norg
Then you bring your stories of past and present that are also very interesting to add to the varied content here.

More like an Arsenal family here… long may it last.

Norg-there has been some chatter lately regarding the very real possibility that Saka might seek greener pastures, which would be an indictment on MA’s capabilities as a manager…now this wouldn’t be the same conversation several years back when one could logically lay blame at the feet of ownership, due to their unwillingness to spend at the level required, but that’s a moot point nowadays

just a smattering of comments made by various media outlets following our timid efforts versus Bayern:

“This was one of Bayern’s weakest teams in years. They were there for the taking, but Arsenal never seized anything. There was almost an inferiority complex”

once Bayern scored “Arsenal now had to respond. They had to rouse themselves, but they seemed too wedded to a controlled approach…Bayern were never really put under any pressure. It was telling that there was barely a major chance after the Kimmich goal. Arteta complained when the clock went up for a mere four minutes of injury time, but what were they going to do?”

“As in the first leg, Bayern so easily kept them at arm’s length. That might be fatigue. That might be inexperience. That might be a lack of ideas. Whatever it is, it’s elimination”

“this was as a case of ‘same old Arsenal’”

“this Arsenal side is so accomplished at rolling over lesser sides in the Premier League, but to defeat the very best, they need greater attacking threat. They need a predator to kill off the opposition in tight, tense encounters such as this”

reminiscent of “the flimsy Arsenal of Arsene Wenger’s latter years”

just food for thought

the one saving grace of this past week is the fact that it exposed Havertz for what he truly is, a part-time cog who can do a job under very particular circumstances…now it’s not a done deal yet that we will invest heavily in a readymade Striker, as there’s still ample time for the previous nonsensical narrative to reemerge, but we’re vastly closer to that potential outcome than we were at any point prior…difficult pill to swallow considering the finances and opportunity costs involved, but it could provide a much-needed light at the end of a tunnel that might not have come otherwise…I guess only time will tell

I’m setting up a benefit concert and would appreciate any help from the regulars on here. Its an amazing cause that has been overlooked for far too long. So people for the love of God put your hands in your pockets for Arsenal fans who can’t see the wood for the trees.

You can identify one of these unfortunate individuals but the following conversations.

“Fucking hell why does “insert player’s name here” keep doing that” but it has nothing to do with the manager who told the player to keep doing it.

“Why the fuck do we keep picking “insert player’s name here”” without it being the fault of the manager who picks the squad.

“”insert player’s name here” isn’t up to it why the fuck did we buy him / should’ve spent the money on a “insert position here”” without blaming the manager who controls who we buy.

“Marc I know you don’t like Arteta buy you’re wrong about him” after moaning for 5 minutes about us fucking up against Villa on Monday morning – genuine conversation I had and that’s before last night.

Marc
I feel for you having to deal with the blind, deaf and dumb Gooners. Might be better to set up a misguided Gooner/El B mental and emotional health clinic from the proceeds of the concert.

Confirmed Gooner music stars for the line up could include Mick Jagger, Rihanna (what a cool duo) Jaimie Fox falsetto R&B voice like Timberlake. Then Dido, Jay-Z, Roger Walters and John Williams.

Martin Kemp of Spandau. DJ Joel Corry can do fill in sets. Adding more variety should be Jess Glynne and Roger Daltrey where I assume the ‘Who are you’ chant comes from.

I had to kick in to be of help, Marc. I bet others here can add to the line up.

I’m sure Dido wrote this song for El B. White flag.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7qudOefsUo

“The day when one of our top team tries to leave will lead to the dismissal of El B.”

We can only hope and pray. Norg

Tony
Nice idea mate, but Kroenke junior (the one with the silly fucking beard) is featured in the Guardian saying how he and his fantastically wealthy family are in it for the long haul. That may of course mean they’d sell but only if the price was right…

Any chance you could negotiate a leveraged buyout via the national bank of Thailand?

Marc and Tony

How about a ppv firing squad or stoning arena? A bit like mirkin wearing Kroenke senior’s plan for a big game trophy hunting channel. Odious old wanker.

Missing consonants.

Apparently Senora la Bastarda was livid with her diminutive eyebrow sculpted husband when he suggested she used dido to while away the quiet evenings while he was off losing in Europe this week. 🍆🥒🥕🥖

My tea’s gone cold…. so i better make another cup. ☕

https://youtu.be/1TO48Cnl66w?si=L-J9btK03yqGjJa7

My team’s gone cold I’m wondering why-y
I’m still in a job

The goals are pouring in past Raya
LiR thinks I’m a knob etc.

Tony

Some other musical gooners off the top of my head.

Ray Davies
John Lydon
Tony Hadley (who I’d regularly spot walking to Highbury as I was leaving my flat at Highbury Barn to join him). Some – but not all – of the Madness boys were Gooners too right?

Many, many more. I used to like reading about celebs who were Gooners, eg the Queen, Fidel Castro, Osama bin Laden and J Corbyn. Oh, and the Conservative Party’s soon to be new PM Keir Starmer, with whom I used to go to games in the 90s and play football with when he was a bit more of a lefty, even though we argued relentlessly about Tony Blair’s credentials.

KP
Alan Davies & Dara O’Briain are serious Gooners. Not sure about Charlie 3 but his Dad and Mum were Gooners – especially Phil.
TRVL – the high profile name to leave will be Saliba.

KP some brilliant venting that only you can do, and why we adopt your global linguistic creations, such as El B. I’d kick the Madness tours off from the Archway Tavern for the tour bus meeting point. Oddly, football was rarely mentioned on tour or in studios/rehearsal rooms if at all. The ex Stiff GM and WB exec told me about 8 years ago that Suggs was a Chavs fan, so clearly made better music choices until RA rocked up.

Thai banking is a law unto themselves. I have to wait for a level 3 or something person to answer even the lowest level of questions when said person of suitable superiority is free to make calls. I’d need the level next to god or higher to put your buying Kroenke out there. That could take years just to get the call returned by the right person; daddy K would likely be dead by then and Viking wannabe Josh fancies himself as the next coming of Ragnar will be in movies or trying to be.

That was some real acting chops shown in the All or Nothing by Josh. I mean the velocity of the El B high fives left me wincing they were so real. I’d back Josh to take Zales Zalewski out on the evidence of the Colney canteen’s best high-5 moments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbnN1asWiY0

About the El B PPV stoning? Why not make it more interesting and add Pedro for a 2 for 1 and use the 1000 cuts version at prime time. Paper cuts could be added to the oooooooohhh value, me thinks.

It would actually be a very cool line up if our famed Gooner warblers did a charity concert at the Emirates.

I think Marc has actually hit on something for a summer concert for the pay-off-the-leverage-debt concert? How would that income be counted by FFP? I mean it’s gooners generating income from streaming the next best thing since Live Aid for all football fans. The extravaganza being the first would get other club fans grudgingly adding to our coffers with their subscriptions.

Only at LIR can we let loose our spectrum handbrakes and let the silly goodies out for us all to enjoy.

Speaking of such comedy, Almunia are you well and and in the right mood for one of your brilliant satirical moments for us to savor? I know it’s all a bit one sided and the level of creativity needed because I read about it, so, I’m wondering if we had a Guinness whip round if that would help.

I mean let Ambarish add a buy Almunia a Guinness pint mug to keep you juiced when writing? Me and KP would have great fun keeping you topped up. We realise when it’s completed you’ll need to dry out – so remove the pint mug then?

How many pints can you drink a night? Asking for a friend.

Forgot to add the One Step Beyond album was final mixed a Martin Rushent’s studio while we were on the road in America.

Martin was a really good producer especially of bands you liked:

“Martin Rushent began the ’80s as a wealthy, in-demand producer and studio owner. Having helped the Stranglers, the Buzzcocks, Generation X, Altered Images and the Human League all achieve massive chart hits, he seemed to be riding the crest of a never-breaking wave of success”

https://www.soundonsound.com/people/martin-rushent-producer

A good read from my world

AINM -yes please to another chapter about the dark halls of Colney.

KP – El B’s punishment -forget the stoning and firing squad – just leave it to Mrs El B after you whisper in her ear that El B is shafting Cedric’s wife.

Tony
Another one bites the dust – Dickey Betts.

Norg
Sad loss I love the Allman brothers. I’ve got most their discography in Hi Res DSD files. When Steve came over to tune my room with me we did a collection swap that hugely enhanced already incredible catalogues.

I’m continually collecting from FLAC file and above. I prefer DSD PCM WAV & AIFF in that order.

I miss my old Rega Planner and good 90s stylus but when I could I digitised my collection. Still have a lot of Bluray and DVD but now I think about 14TB with it all digitised.

Worth looking at Duane’s slide guitar work guesting on Clapton and many other equally great guitarist.

Clapton with Joe Bonamassa live at the Albert Hall is a must watch. The BluRay is excellent and Bonamassa at his best for me.

Typical ADHD data gathering: Betts, Duane Allman, Clapton to Bonamassa in seconds in my mind.

Sorry KP don’t mean to trigger your Eric discord.

Just realised the wolves game is 0130 hours for me, so probably Sunday morning is better and a good nights sleep.

Cheers Tony
I’m suitably untriggered. Beautiful weather here so not even thoughts Sturmbahnfuhrer Clapton can get me down.