We had an exciting match week so far, Man City failed to win yet again against the mighty Everton, Unai Emery’s dream run has come to an end, Ange’s pressing football has stopped working and Tottenham are losing against the like of Forest, Chelsea couldn’t win against a Fulham side at home, and a 14th in the league Man Utd lost against a 17th ranked Wolves. Brilliant except the Liverpool win which takes them 9 points ahead of us having played 17 games. We didn’t get the set back which we needed the most, but we can certainly closer that gap against Ipswich tonight.
Here’s how the table looks so far. Liverpool are on a great run, Klopp might be regretting another year when Pep has fallen off a cliff and we have been equally poor if not worse.
Arsenal v Ipswich Town
We are playing Ipswich Town today at home. It’s a must win game if we want to remain in the title challenge. We will move to 2nd if we win behind the league leaders and the Chelsea’s loss has made sure we remain ahead of them having played equal games.
In the team news, Bukayo is going to be unavailable for quite some time due to the hamstring injury he picked up against Palace. White and Tomiyasu haven’t recovered yet, Zinchenko is a doubt but has a slight chance to make it in the squad.
So far, Mikel had 2 problems – injuries in the defence and no goals from the main man i.e. Havertz. Gabriel Jesus has provided some relief to the later problem by scoring a hattrick in Carabao and scoring 2 more in the 5-1 win at Cottage and he would most likely start but the absence of Bukayo Saka and Sterling is going to create some more problems to Mikel. We have Martinelli available, Trossard and Jesus plays on the wings but everyone and their landlady knows that our attacking options are from the right and Saka is the sole reason we have been lethal from there.
If it comes to keeping the right side equally dangerous in absence of Saka, I would rather prefer Martinelli shifting to his position and would love to see how he performs when he gets all the support from the wing back and midfield. We would also know if it’s a drop in his form or if it’s the unavailability of support when he plays on the left. So, he moves to the right and we stick Jesus in his position. That would be starting line up against Ipswich Town today.
We need to beat Ipswich, Brentford and Brighton by 4th of January to make sure we don’t try to solve un-necessary problems in the January transfer window. Rumours suggest that we have been looking for an attacking midfielder, and a Central Forward but Mikel’s one of the earlier press conference suggested that he will be open to bring a Winger. Now, I have been asking for a Saka’s back up from god knows when, but now is not the time. A Saka’s replacement won’t do better than him and we are not winning the league even with Saka. We need a prolific goal scorer and a left side attacking midfielder in place of Merino to get past Liverpool. For the Saka conundrum, you were happy with Gabriel Jesus and you were happy loaning a washed out Sterling so do with it.
Defence will sort itself out in couple of weeks. Zinchenko will be back and he is still above average. Saliba and Gabriel covers the CB and you just need one of the Timber and Calafiori to fix things up. Well, Thomas Partey is doing that job as well, so I assume it’s a NO PROBLEM from Mikel.
Playing players out of their positions can get you some odd results, both positive and negative. We have been on the positive side so far with Partey at RB but it won’t last long. Stick them where they play best and do a like-for-like replacement when there’s an injury. Suggesting Havertz can play at the wings and cover for Saka is not going to help you, the team and Havertz himself. He wasn’t magnificent in the midfield and he won’t at the wings.
Right, a short one today as well. I am finally back from the cold and it feels great. See you during the game, it’s a late one out here but there’s no work tomorrow.
Hope you are having a nice festive season.
Vieira
Given that the game arguably deteriorated even further as it droned on, I trust the skating was incident free. 🛼⛸️🛼
The idea of doing anything that might randomly and forcefully open my legs at the age of 60 makes me wince just to think about it .
Marc – assuming you went to the game, I suppose it was a little subdued. I had a feeling right from the off that it was going to be dull. Alpha Tross and Havertz saved the day really. They’re already writing Martinelli’s obituary as a right winger but I thought he worked pretty hard at least. I think Ode had an off night, but I think it’s too early to believe there’s a demise after that routinest of wins.
Ipswich’s block was the lowest of the low which proves they can at least succeed at something.
I’d like to think that plagiarising mediocrity Ed Sheeran had a shit night at least .
What I find infuriating is the systematic destruction of Arsenal Academy right in front of our eyes. How can nobody seems to care? It pains me so much and how hardly Per does anything about this. isn’t he responsible for the Academy? Can he allow MA to ride roughshod over his players. The one player how is keeping us going is again out academy player Saka. You give them adequate chance and you will see them flourish. It’s a dream for any academy player and that’s why considerable money is pumped into Academy. What can’t the powers that be seen this? Are we happy just to send our academy players to other clubs and make some money. What a delusional satye of affairs. Seeing a dreadful match where there was one attempt from Timber to run through the center with his dribbling skills and open up a chance to others just passing sidewards and backwards when Ethan is on the bench just wrench my guts. It’s unsustainable to spend so much every TW without effectively utilising our academy. It’s a criminal negligence and dereliction of duty if you ask me. Pathetic.
Well we got the win but made really hard work of it.
We also had far too many spells in the second half where we seem to have the mindset of defending what we have inviting Ipswich on to us – which of course has worked so well in other matches. Arteta really has no killer instinct.
Marc
Agreed. When Liverpool and City go ahead in a game, the pressure arguably increases on the opposition. More pressing, crossing and looking to create chances, not least because other teams have to change from blocking to trying to create chances of their own.
We often seem to down tools, take a breather and admire ourselves. Ipswich are shite and therefore useless going forward but still managed to contrive a few chances.
KP—both my wife and I have skated all our lives, as I played competitive hockey until getting removed from junior hockey following a Slap Shot-like incident, and my wife was an amateur figure skater, until she suffered a concussion and a large cut above her brow during training…nowadays I can only skate for an hour or so before it starts to take a toll on my back…we both grew up at a time when it was rather commonplace for those with a large lawn to have their own rink, which was rather glorious…hope you’re having a great holiday season!
Kroenke
All teams have a one off strange result / performance but we’ve had several matches this season where we’ve squandered a win when in front.
I think Arteta’s basic mentality is “I’m scared don’t hurt me” and when he has the first sniff of an reason like going down to 10 men or having Saka not available it gives him a prepared excuse. Everything is about how people see him and he’s deeply insecure hence his having favourite players etc.
Morning all
Something to avoid in 2025 at all costs if you can….
Definition of narcissism & NPD:
“Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others.”
The nine criteria of narcissistic personality disorder
A grandiose sense of self-importance.
Fantasies about having or deserving.
A sense of self-superiority.
A need for excessive admiration.
A sense of entitlement.
Exploitative behavior.
A lack of empathy.
Frequent envy.
Anyone know anyone with NPD? No need to name names; just have your private thoughts on the subject, as it may well give you answers to questions you ask yourself frequently?
If you are unlucky to be married someone with NPD or have an affected boss, I feel for you, as I’ve had both, which were great at first until you become a little more important than they are, in their eyes.
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=narcissim+definition&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
For those who want to research more the above link helps, but don’t name anyone here for legal reasons, as I said above best to keep your thoughts private.
My experience with living with NPD in the family or workplace is that they will never seek help because they 100% believe they are as near perfect as anyone could possibly be.
So, moving on who are we going to buy & sell in the Jan TW?
Are we going to buy from the top shelf or is MA looking in the Merino/Calafiori/Sterling/Havertz levels of mediocrity? Meaning are we going to splash the Rice like cash again on an elite 8 & 9 we desperately need?
Why do we need an 8?
Because we are right side attack centric; Ode is not scoring PL goals, and has only produced 2 PL assists. We all talk about how brilliant he is in bringing Saka into the game for about 90% of our attacks, which I see is at the expense of Ode being more goal centric to score far more than zero goals in 18 games or almost halfway through the season, which ever way you want to look at it.
As I said yesterday Palmer has 10 goals and 6 assists in the same position.
I love Ode as a gifted player, always have, but he needs to be deployed in the final 3rd not playing 6/8 & 10 combined positional play MA has Ode playing. MA has Rice & Partey with Merino and Calafiori who all can play or fill in at 6, so why does Ode have to track back to defend?
Play Ode as the 2nd striker and we could have a DB10 in the making in Ode’s prime. Ode has similar sublime tricks and is still very young. I see Ethan as Brady’s successor.
Then, of course, there is the Ethan conundrum where any other experienced manager would have been playing Ethan as 8 since early last season. Had MA done that Ethan could have more than deputized for Ode’s injury and where Ode & Ethan could be devastating as AMs together with Rice or Partey the disciplined 6, especially if we played 3 at the back with wing backs and a 5 MF.
I very much doubt it will ever happen under MA’s terminal boring and repetitive tactics, where we are scraping the ‘win’ barrel with boring play that sees die hard supporters, such as us here switching over to watch our competitors play to be able to enjoy high quality football we are starved of by MA! That or seeing family time as more important.
MA has been reported as saying we were better in the 2nd half against Ipswich, and it will take time to play without Saka?
Are you fcuking kidding me? MA saying right there we are a one man attacking team……
Why does our squad need time with only Saka missing?
New manager please……….. This managerial loser is just that: a serial loser who capitulated for the last 3 seasons from the same mistakes, and will likely finish outside the CL this season having already managed to attain 36 points from 18 games by dropping an average of a point a game, thus far.
I think it’s fair to say this winning run will end soon enough, and we will drop points again, especially with our leading goal scorer and assists maker out until March having gone under the knife form his hammy. We also lose Saka’s clinically placed, with pace and low trajectory corners we converted as set pieces this season.
Slot is marching on with Pool who are looking more like PL potential winners than anyone below them by playing fast attacking football. Potentially, for all our wins, Pool are still 9 points ahead if they win their game in hand.
Chelsea are playing far better football than us where if they fix their defense, they will push Pool in the next 18 games.
What hurts is Fulham, BHA, Forest & B’mouth are playing fast, one-touch counters while keeping an effective 5 + 4 block drilled to perfection. Add Everton to the drilled blocks from their last few games evidence.
I guess we can expect more of the same from MA and Pep who looks forlorn with no answers to City’s demise, and where MA was Pep’s disciple, equally bereft of ideas to help us be PL champions.
2 peas in a pod?
See’s neither can win without a large cheque book with a country backing finances or KSE being reckless with their spending of £600M+ to have a very unbalanced squad who basically have been set up as a one-man goal machine team held together by set piece goals or we would be mid table by now.
Sorry, but there is little positivity to hang on to, and we are not plastic kool-aid fan boys here.
AF got any final 2024 thoughts?
Have a good one LIR……..
“The replacement of Saka is going to be the team”
I’ll give you one guess who the fuck spewed this old timey plastic nonsense…only someone who lives and breathes his own headlines would ever offer up such a cheesy quote…surely he must realize that the vast majority of his overtly flattering storylines were bought and paid for
of course, this was simply a not-so-sly attempt on his part to put it on the players, which hardly seems fair in light of the pedestrian tactics and his chickenshit selection practices…let’s not forget, things were far from perfect even when Ode and Saka were both on the pitch, so the very thought of him leaning into the same limp-dick approach he employed during Ode’s extended absence makes me want to vomit…maybe he thinks we’ll collectively suffer from amnesia come January and forget altogether that there’s other options at his disposal, like the fucking transfer window
speaking of which, I wouldn’t be surprised one iota that if we finagled our way into 6 points from our next two matches, by boring the living shit out of our opponents, we might actually standpat or even worse, like a few years back when we cocked-up our first chance to win the revamped Wenger Cup by becoming sellers, so to speak, not buyers in January…needless to say I’m hoping that even MA’s not that fucking daft, so maybe he’ll at least dip his toes in the loan pool, even though I’m not a fan of that practice unless it includes an option to buy (not an obligation) and there’s no other way to reasonably improve our squad in some significant capacity
it wouldn’t surprise me one iota
Hi Tony
Have Chelsea got any ageing has beens going for free because that, if anywhere, is where the little man will start looking first.
Frankly, I’m not sure if we need reinforcements at this point in the season . That at the risk of sounding like old chihuahua head. No one can adequately replace Saka, although Martinelli I think can bring his own style to the right side. He played well against Palace. I’d be inclined to lay it on the line with the players and tell them to dig in and fight for wins.
We have a pretty strong squad with 16 or so first team level players. Use Kiwior, Merino, Tierney, Jorginho and even Zinch effectively in addition. Have as much trust in Ethan as he does Skelly.
I think I’d be concerned about there being no one to replace Saka out there and the idea that a new signing/loan might disrupt things rather than offer something positive. Is Kim Kallstrom willing to come out of retirement?
But who am I?
For I know nothing!
KP
Had me chuckling. Nico Williams could replace Saka, but is a left sided player, so could swap with Marts during the game. Mitoma is a very useful player again left sided but…
TRVL will probably have a few more names to hand.
It’s simple just play Ethan with Ode and Rice or Partey at 6. Whoever is up top should get plenty of service and Ode can start shooting more often: he needs to add goals to his game. We know Ethan can score if play is through him.
TRVL
The way we think same with KP is that now would be a good time to rip up the Saka blueprint, and send out a side managers are not expecting. 3-5-2 5-4-1 both with pacy counters. Except bar Marts we don’t have any real speedsters the lowers side are leaving in their dust.
Thomas Franc knows from MA’s words how he’ll line up. The only person MA surprises with his tactics is himself when they work so badly. Then he stares the 1000 yard stare waiting for divine inspiration that never comes so it’s the groundhog day, pet subs routine.
Tony & KP—this will be a difficult window and not just for the usual reasons…there’s a whole host of factors working against us:
(1) the sloth-like nature of our managerial/administrative staff when it comes to transfers makes it highly unlikely that anyone of consequence will be coming in January, at least not on a permanent basis
(2) MA’s fragile ego—like Wenger, MA can’t handle anyone who might disrupt his monopolistic power dynamic and as such he would rather we suffer for results than have his feathers ruffled
(3) MA’s run-of-the-mill rinse and repeat tactics, which oft-times caters to the wrong individuals/positions, will continue to deter many of the best top-side options from coming our way…let’s face it, if you were a young, promising Striker would you want anything to do with this dumbed-down, blunt instrument, bully ball project??
(4) MA’s love of eternally grateful fucks who would never get similar-type opportunities on another top club in the PL…just look at yesterday’s tactics, which saw Jesus, who finally potted some goals against a shit side, starting up top, with Havertz as his functional sidekick and Rice as an attacking midfielder…this triumvarite aren’t being deployed as such by any other squad of consequence
so if you’re looking for any potential incoming candidates just scan across Europe for desperate clubs and/or experienced players looking to get out of their current predicament, as that’s MA’s wheelhouse..speaking of which, there’s talk about us trying to terminate Sterling’s loan deal, so as to open up a loan spot, especially now that he’s injured…no one could have ever seen that coming lol…in the end, MA could easily bring in 2 defenders and not even sniff around for final third options, as I very much doubt his wishlist looks anything like yours or mine…Cheers
if I had to hazard a guess, the two most likely players, of some note that is, who might find their way to the Emirates, are Cunha and Muani…the former because the Wolves are shite and he’s shown some positional flexibility this season, and the latter due to the fact that PSG might be willing to loan him out…plus he’s a pacey forward who could fill-in for Saka for the next couple months or so…neither really have what it takes to force MA’s hand when it comes to our tactical pursuits, so I’m not sure it’s a better option that just allowing Ethan to get his shot
either is a better option
TRVL
Any aches from the skating with forgotten muscles used again?
Totally agree with your thoughts and potential buy/loan. Can we have more than one loan?
My guilty football pleasure is watching Slot’s Pool who systematically tore the Hammers a new one, in both halves. Their football is simple enough, playing fast, direct, vertical football opponents can’t keep up with over 100 minutes. Sure, other teams will score, but Pool just play their game with inspired subs to overcome their opposition playing the beautiful game, as I’d love us to play, but never will under MA.
My January TW wishlist is Kudus, Isak & Palmer who would all hit the ground running. Kudus could deputize for Saka, Palmer for Ode & Havertz and Isak, as the 9 we need.
Those 3 with the right manager, and we should be challenging; MA isn’t the right manager, so it’s all immaterial really.
We could name names until the cows come home, but the press is saying we want a Boca Junior keeper for £25m? There must be a left back somewhere MA wants. Kiwior is wanted in Italy for a swap with the Italians always bitching the have no money. No class more like in football.
As usual with MA we have no idea what he wants and I doubt he knows. Who is acting TD/DoF? Mr. Garlick & Lewes? Or is MA doing an Arsne?
Maybe if the faithful keep chanting Ethan’s name at games, MA might get the message.
Finally, City for all their point dropping are only 5 points behind us, where we play Wednesday to extend our lead to 8 points. KDB had a good game and will keep improving where if they can keep him fit, City could and may well use the LCFC win as a springboard. James McAtee looks a real prospect from short game time.
KP
This came into my head as I was posting. Got a song to add for a bit of fun?
Yesterday all MA’s troubles seemed so far away.
Now it looks as though they’re here to stay.
Oh, MA believe’s in his Gooner’s play.
Suddenly, MA is not half the man he used to be.
There’s a shadow hanging over thee.
Oh, this season demise came too suddenly.
Why they all had to score?
I don’t know, Zinny wouldn’t say.
MA said something wrong.
Now I long for an elite LB to play
Yesterday, at Leicester, City found such an easy game to play.
Now MA needs a place to hide away.
Oh, as he believe’s in his boring Gooner play.
Why they all had to score?
I don’t know, Zinny wouldn’t say.
MA said something wrong.
Now I long for an elite LB to play.
Wednesday, at Brentford it’s not an easy game to play
Especially as we’re shit playing away
Now we need our winning play
Oh MA believe’s in Wednesday.
Have a good one LIR
Tony—good stuff…I actually sang it aloud, using my best McCartney voice…kind of a painful earworm considering the subject matter…well worth it though
runours involving Kudus have been bandied about just long enough that there’s probably something there, but I very much doubt we could get a deal done without vastly overpaying, especially after what transpired during the protracted Rice negotiations…I would suspect this is likewise the case with BHA…it’s clear something was said or done that left a bad taste in their mouths two years ago, when we made a push for Caicedo…if our negotiation team has taken on the traits of their faithful leader, which certainly isn’t a far-fetched notion, you just know they’re doing all manner of things that would undoubtedly rub others the wrong way
as for Palmer, there’s no world where we, or anybody, pries Palmer away from Chelsea…he’s their young, Englush talisman, who has a MV of 130+M…even Real would be rebuffed unless they broke their transfer record purchase of Bellingham by some margin…I, like you, would be happier than a pig in shit if that ever happened, but I fear that dream will never be realized
just think, when MA was exhausting all his energies rifling through City and Chelsea’s waste bins, Chelsea was devising a way in which we would not only pay for their future star, we would likewise pay above the number for a far lesser player who was functionally standing in his way…simply put, if we had only bought Palmer from City and then used the 150+M we wasted on Jesus, Zinny and Havertz on a proper Striker, we would be way farther ahead…if that were the case even you and I might have a very different opinion about our current manager
in regards to Isak, I just don’t think he’s a January transfer window kind of player, largely due to the inherent financials…his unique blend of size and speed could actually unlock our longstanding directness woes, even though MA would undoubtedly try to screw that up…my only concern with him is his injury history, especially those involving his thighs and groin, but that wouldn’t stop me from pursuing this particular player…personally I don’t see him as a MA priority, even though those who used to be in the know, like Ornstein, have suggested otherwise…I guess only time will tell
TRVL
Had visions of you exercising your vocal chords.
My wish list was just that but enjoyed your thoughts and likely costs that would keep KSE away. Like you I’m a bit suspect with Isak’s injuries especially with him being Artetarised such as throwing was it Partey on when he was coming off injured, then the Timber’s injury issue and now Saka. In part Saka s the blame wanting to play every minute possible for us & country.
As with Timber the warning signs were there with niggling strains or soreness and ended up going under the knife. Partey got broke soon after he arrived, after a reasonable injury free record at AM.
My thinking is is we buy a player with any physical weaknesses they will become worse under MA. Jesus, Zinny, Cala and Merino all seem to pick up small knocks often.
As you say time will tell…….
the news of the day:
(1) rumours of Vieira being recalled have been denied by his current employers, thank fucking God
(2) some are suggesting that we could find ourselves in a January battle with City over Zubimendi…this guy better be the second coming of Patrick Vieira himself, considering all the time we’ve spent pursuing this fuck(pardon my french)…not to mention the fact that we already bought his former midfield teammate, Merino, even though he was clearly a luxury buy, and we’re supposedly trying to lure his present DOF to the Emirates as Edu’s replacement, seemingly to appease him
his arrival won’t help us whatsoever from an offensive output standpoint, as he’s a true deep-lying 6…in fact, he might make matters worse…if he comes it’s likely to replace Partey, who’s on an expiring deal, which would further solidify the fact that Rice came here all along to satisfy his misplaced final third dreams…if all this were to happen this just might be the most baffling shoehorning fustercluck in the history of the modern game
(3) there’s one particularly peculiar transfer target that I’ll put on the “one to watch” list, Dani Olmo…Barca, who’s become the most financially corrupt footballing organization known to man, could find themselves in an unusual predicament due to registering snafu, so he just might become available…not sure if anything will actually materialize, as La Liga has bailed out this club on numerous occasions in recent years, but if they don’t there could be a whole host of notable suitors vying for his services
Cheers
TRVL
Why would we go after a DM in Jan? It really beggars belief but when you’ve got Arteta in charge you wouldn’t be surprised.
After that interesting match between ManU and Newcastle tonight – ManU are really getting close to can’t afford to lose territory.
Twenty minutes in and Newcastle 2 nil up, could have been 3 and are running rings round ManU.
That ManU squad needs a huge clear out with some of the players not even Spud level!
Marc—of course it would make no sense whatsoever…maybe it has more to do with beating someone else to the punch and MA’s simply using the fact that Sociedad’s DOF could be next in line here to his best advantage(you would think that latter situation would raise some eyebrows if both things panned out)…regardless, I stopped applying logic to anything MA-related some time ago, as it’s clear that he’s not a fan of rational decision-making
TRVL
Its depressing watching what Arteta’s doing.
Half hour in and Newcastle have also hit the post and had a goal disallowed – I was going to say if Amorim doesn’t do something it could be 5 or 6 and he’s just subbed a player.
When was the last time Arteta was decisive?
I believe Sir Jim now realizes that there’s systemic issues within the club that they must be weeded out before they can challenge for things…just not sure that fanbase could stomach a scortched earth approach, especially knowing that it would require a prolonged recovery period…you know their in deep shit if they start talking about emulating MA’s multi-phased approach…I do think Amorim is the kind of manager who could get things done, if given the proper time and backing
that must be weeded out
Looks like Chelsea have lost 2 nil away at Ipswich.
Didn’t see that one coming.
Marc—I always felt that Chelsea was a year away from competing for things…they need to address several issues before they’re bona fide contenders, like a better Keeper, who can play out from the back, a top drawer CB, a clinical finisher up top and a midfielder who’s considerably better in the final third than Enzo, who was a terrible waste of money…we, on the other hand, only need a Striker and a real number 8…plus a little more depth and a new fucking manager
Morning TRVL/Marc
Have to say various things are making me smile this morning with Manure’s continued fall from grace being chief among them.
I read that Amorim was not close to Jim’s top managerial pick, rather Jim had to settle for Amorim’s services if the press are to be believed. Any manager who keeps picking Maguire I’m in full support of.
A. A. Milne’s Eeyore is the better CB for me. Then, the vertical challenged Martinez always kicking lumps out of players he can’t get even close to handling, makes the Manure defending comedy of errors almost complete for me, but not quite………….
To put the cheery cherry on top of the Manure’s and Ratcliffe’s, sinking, Titanic maiden season, is old Red nose has had his millions in his ambassador yearly fee stopped & Beckham was snubbed by the honours list again in favour of another losing England manager, none other than Gareth Southgate whose football never came home.
Posh must be beside herself asking why? I imagine the thought of being Lady Posh makes he go weak at her knees. Let’s be fair here why not make the spice girls: Lady Spices?
Maybe the Qatar millions have come back to haunt Becks, with the royal families’ support for human rights or simply put, Southgate is the better ambassador for the FA for his intelligent eloquence, and grass roots love of the game rather than it being all about making money.
Could it possibly be William & Charles are waiting for Brooklyn to be come a Michelin star chef? Nepo baby does good sort of thing that adds value to the Becks global brand?
So, for today, I am very happy about Manure’s implosion suffering. How the mighty have fallen, where I’m loving their continued demise as a has-been footballing entity. The championship awaits next season, I hope. We’ve never fallen out of the top tier I believe.
Thinking laterally here for a moment, could both Manchester clubs end up in the championship next season? That would be just perfect for us gooners to savor. Just think of the decades of payback bantz we’d have at our disposal?
I’m at the stage where I look forward to bumping into Manure supporters. What goes around comes around in most things in life, doesn’t it? I have to say I think the Glaziers are the best owners ever…….. Long may they bleed Manure dry. It will take Ratcliff at least decade to make Manure great again – if that is ever possible. That and about £1B+ in a new squad. Happy days……….
Junior is back after a week in BKK packing up, saying his goodbyes to some, and farewells to a few very cool Thais who I will be flying out to continue their songwriting and recording they’ve been doing this week. Junior has become a tortured song writing soul at 16 who sees his life in music, where I’m fortunate to be able to support his dreams in all the ways I never had. His goonership has been demoted to follow after his music needs, but enjoys reading LIR where he talks to me about you all, and sends his good wishes to you all for 2025.
As for tomorrow’s game, who knows? I don’t, as Thomas Franc has done well with Brentford taking many scalps along the way including ours. He plays fast counters off a packed midfield with clinical pacy strikers if given half a chance, and are tough to break down if they go in front.
I think we’d drop 2 points and scrape a draw with Saka, so with our successful attacks being 90% through the missing Saka, it wouldn’t surprise me if we lost.
I feel it’s a season’s crucial game again to keep in touch with Pool who look stronger as each game goes by. Only losing 3 or 4 key players could derail Slot’s motivated squad playing such delightful football – I hate to praise but enjoy watching.
Lastly, Gary Neville is taking the piss again saying he still believes Arsenal are going to win the PL this season. He claims they were his top pick at the start of the season, and still are.
Garys just trying to evoke commentators’ curse here, as how many times have you heard “they won’t score now”, only to see the ball hit the back of the net minutes or seconds later?
Hope you all have a great New Years Eve, and that the celebrations with loved ones are special in very way. It’s my last NY in Thailand with my daughter who is off to China in 2025 to study Chinese, at a university. She started teaching herself during covid with a plan to do business with China in the future, so she’s worked in marketing for 4 years and got that nailed.
Thanks to you all for keeping me sane here for what’s been a tough year. You’ve all helped who post here more than you’ll ever know, and special thanks Ambarish for putting up with me on my off days.
Have a good one LIR……..
Tony—there’s an interesting target that has entered the transfer fray, Omar Marmoush, a 25 year old Egyptian Striker, who currently plays for Frankfurt…I know a little about him as he has dual Egyptian/Canadian citizenship, but his admiration for Salah encouraged him to choose the former over the latter…presently he only trails Kane when it comes goal production in the Bundesliga…here’s what was written about him on the Coaches’ Voice:
“Omar Marmoush is an explosive and versatile right-footed attacker. He has typically played as a striker, but is also able to operate in wide areas as a winger when required. Extremely direct, he uses his acceleration and speed to drive at opposition defences and create chances, for himself and his teammates…after Matchday 14 of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season, he had the most goal involvements of any player, with 13 goals and seven assists. He is an exceptionally clean ball-striker, possessing a combination of power and accuracy that make him a threat around the box. This extends to set-plays, with a growing collection of free-kick goals”
there’s several things within the above paragraph that have piqued my interest, such as his pace, directness, set piece potential and ability to provide service for others…of course I watched a bit of a montage, but I rarely put too much stock in those sort of hype machine wet dreams
I do have two legit concerns though…firstly, the fact that he’s been a little bit of a late bloomer, from a goal production standpoint, so I do worry about his ability to duplicate his current pace year-in and year-out, and secondly, the very real possibility that MA might deploy him primarily on the wings instead of up top
I’ve noticed a theme of sorts when it comes to several of our supposed Striker targets…even though they’ve made a name for themselves while leading the line, every respective article made note of the fact that they could likewise be deployed out wide…normally I wouldn’t pay much attention to that, as any player with pace and even a modicum of ball skills “could” play out wide in a pinch, but we all know that only our shoehorning prick of a manager would pay top dollar with the sole intent of playing them in an unproven position..he really needs a proper fucking adult in the room at all times
Happy New Year bud…best wishes to you and yours in 2025!!
I was picking up on the same Omar areas, as you, thinking where’s the down side?
I think if Omar is more a Wrighty, Vardy or similar late from the lower leagues type players, and can replicate them, we should be ok. Where it all goes pear shaped is where MA takes over with his galaxy brain at warp speed, with his new pet.
I saw the Daniel Olmo / Barca fiasco with City sniffing around and BM I think. That kind of signing just doesn’t happen for us, Being held for ransom by David Sullivan is about our ilk. The kind of deal that everyone knows is going to happen, but us, and Rice wouldn’t put in a transfer request at the opportune time, forcing the protracted negotiations.
Sullivan led us a merry dance where Rice has, as you have said many times, has dictated his preferred playing areas. Who would pay £105m now for Rice? RM hasn’t come knocking, have they?
I feel Rice see’ himself as the rightful Paddy heir apparent without Vieira’s herculean player profile and high footballing IQ skill sets.
We’ll probably end up with a 6 as that seems to be ther flavor of the season number to add to.
Back at you and your family, TRVL, it’s been a real pleasure chatting this year, and am looking forward to many more here and back channel.
All the very best for 2025 good friend……..
TRVL
No argument I’m surprised Maresca has managed to make as much progress so quickly. If he has a good summer Chelsea could be challenging next season, he’s certainly on a better trajectory than Arteta.