Wednesday night kick-off at 7.30 PM, we are going to play Crystal Palace in the Carabao (EFL) cup quarter finals. We have probably got the easiest draw out of the 8 teams and as frustrated as I am with our Premier League run and football we are playing in general, there’s still some hope. I had written enough about my frustration in my last post so it’s time to see the brighter side in this one.
First, we are doing well so far in Champions League. If we win another game there, we will most likely qualify for round of 16. Though we have been shit in Premier League lately, we are sitting third behind Pool and Chelsea and on a 6 points difference to Liverpool who have a game in hand. Lets say they win that and we would be 9 points behind but there is still 22 games left and it can go any side. We should be concerned about our game and the way we have been dropping points against small teams but it’s not over yet.
I’m sure you would agree to me if I say that Premier League and Champions League takes the priority over Carabao Cup, but there’s a very important factor here – CONFIDENCE! If we win against Crystal Palace at home, it would not only put us closer to a title where Newcastle, Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool are competing but can also give us back some of that confidence which we are lacking lately. A loss would further demoralise the players and the manager and there’s a hell lot of game still left that will decide our season in December itself.
So, lets go out and win this, and let us use that confidence of a win in Premier League games.
Arsenal v Crystal Palace
Carabao cup is interesting this season. No nonsense in quarter finals.
Newcastle will take on Brentford, Liverpool will visit Southampton and Man Utd and Spuds will compete against each other to make into the last 4.
The single biggest reason we should try and win this, is that Spuds are in contention and we don’t want them their hands on a trophy however small it is.
In the team news, we won’t have Ben White or Calafiori available. Mikel subbed Declan Rice against Everton due to a nibble so he would probably get a rest. Jorginho can start along side Partey and Odegaard and frankly I want to see us field the best XI available simply to win this and grow our confidence back but Nwaneri has been dominating the Carabao Cup for us with 3 goals and he deserves to bench Odegaard for this game. Ode, after back from an injury, shouldn’t be playing 2 games a week when there are much important games left plus Nwaneri has been very good so far whenever he has been given minutes. He is direct, looks more to score than Ode and we surely can develop him with these game minutes.
Injuries are a concern but if you were to play your best playing XI in a Carabao cup game against Crystal Palace at home when you are competing in both PL and CL, then you were wrong to begin with. Lets be clear here, our 2nd team is also a Mikel-bought one and if we are paying the likes of Jorgi, Sterling, Merino some good money and if they can’t win us a game against Crystal Palace, then the manager have to take the blame.
It’s a crucial one, this game. Lose and our confidence goes down through lift. A win here would give us some much needed confidence and that could help us play better in coming days.
Short one today, hope Winter is treating you well. See you during the game tomorrow.
Aah Vieira
A Yankee fan in Canada. Now that’s courage. I never saw the Blue Jays at home but saw them playing many times behind enemy lines as it were. I regret never being able to see the Expos in that nutty stadium in Montreal. I wonder if it’s still standing and what it’s being used for?
There was an upside when the franchise moved to DC, initially to play at the RFK stadium as the Nationals. A few miles from Georgetown where I lived but an economic world away. Baseball is a fucking cool sport. The atmosphere in ball parks, the pressure situations, the tactics,the 7th innings stretch. I love it all. Did you play? I’ve got you down as either a snidey knuckle ball pitcher or a wiry short stop with a ridiculously high OBP and a serious addiction to pine tar and sunflower seeds. I was so hooked, I took Ms K on a road trip to Port Lucie in FL to watch some pre season games.
The different leagues almost make the Mets/Yankees thing an irrelevance most of the time. It’s the Phillies and Braves who are the Manure and Spuds of baseball for me.
ManU going to go bonkers – Spuddies go 4 – 2 with a contentious goal (was there a foul on the keeper and no VAR) and then ManU get one on 93 minutes to make it 4 – 3.
KP—Olympic Stadium, with it’s overhanging spinal column, which had an observation deck inside, was a sight to behold in it’s more formative years, sort of like the SkyDome with the adjacent CN Tower…of course, once these massive concrete behemoths fell out of favour, architecturally-speaking, they just seemed to hit the eye differently…I’ve visited the Big O on numerous occasions for sporting events and concerts, most notably for the Metallica/GN’R in the summer of 92(Faith No More and Motorhead were on the undercard)……what a shit show, for all the right reasons…last time I was physically at that location was far tamer, as we took the kids to check out the onsite Velodrome that had been converted into a Biodome, complete with a variety of live animal/mammal/bird exhibits…it’s been awhile, but from what I remember, it was enjoyed by all
on the Expos front, besides the usual suspects, like Andre Dawson, Tim “Rock” Raines, Gary Carter, Vlad Guerrero, Pedro Martinez and my fellow Canadian, Larry Walker, who I went out of my way to watch, there was one individual who, above all else, really intrigued me, Bill “Spaceman” Lee…unlike the others, who were all future HOFers and somewhat interesting/controversial figures in their own rights, this former Lefty was a one of one…have little peek online when you get a minute
as for me personally, during my youth if you were serious about the sport you were a Pitcher and/or Shortstop…I played both early on, but when I started to hit for more power I headed to the outfield, as that was the trend then…I was fortunate enough to have a really powerful arm, so my skillset translated well out there…it wouldn’t be long before I enjoyed throwing someone out from the outfield as much, if not more, than going deep in the hole and throwing a frozen rope to first
I miss those days most, even though I continued to play at a competitive level well into my late 40s, albeit in those later years it was more about slowpitch than hardball…the former became so big that American “travelling” clubs would send scouts up north and offer those with prolific home run numbers a substantial sum of money to join them for the tournament season…at that time, you couldn’t swing a dead cat without hitting a triple-walled aluminum bat that someone forked up $500 bucks for…it wouldn’t be long before pitchers were required to wear full-cage helmets so they didn’t get knocked out if a ball went back up the box
I could talk baseball until the cows came home, as I have a shitload of memories, both as a player and a spectator…I don’t watch it much anymore, except during the playoffs, although if Ohtani’s on the tube, easpecially when he was hitting and pitching, I would find myself getting some of those old timey feels…Cheers
Morning all
Just watched the comedy of errors that was Spuds v Manure.
No VAR? So, that’s how seriously the FA takes the league cup, then?
Only the PL and CL are legit trophies? Is MA aware of this? I guess he is as he thinks the charity shields are achievements, when both teams are not match fit, and still working out their finalities of their pre-season and best selections……
Then, what else do we expect from a manager with no chance this season of winning the league or CL once again before Xmas? A new negative record?
We have Newcastle home first , and then away is our league cup draw draw.
Once again the Palace game at 00:30am Sunday morning KO is too late for me, so another 7am morning replay for me to watch in my office.
Hope all your Xmas preparations are all done and a happy time with family and loved ones is special for you all.
Another home alone for me this year in my Room with music and entertainment with all things mellow ……… Though, this will be my last Xmas here, so it will have some meaning after all and I have much to look forward to in 2025…….
If anyone is contemplating upgrading their phone the 16 pro max is a very good phone and much more. For me the only better phone on the market is Vertu: http://vertu.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zSnmygV7L0
Not for me but a very good brand many don’t know about…….
Have a good one lads…..
Tony—I was wondering why they didn’t check Jesus’s second goal the other day, which appeared to be a tad offside…I thought that VAR entered the equation in the quarters, but clearly I was wrong…it’s such a wierd hybrid of old and new, as they go directly to kicks in the quarters, yet in the semis it’s a two-legged affair…it’s always nice to grab some hardware, but this one’s the least desirable of the lot, unless you’re foolish enough to believe that the Community Shield is a “real” trophy…after MA was spouting all that CS nonsense I was convinced that he was going to field his best available 11 mid-week…good on him for actually resisting that temptation for once
I’m a fairly simple fuck when it comes to what I require from a phone, so I would never pay upwards of 7 or 8 grand for a Vertu, but I appreciate the craftmanship, especially on that Ironflip Alligator Skin…I had a buddy who was somehow involved with those Hammer phones when they first arrived on the scene, as he was always Glengarry Glen Rossing me whenever our paths would cross…the original premise was that they were functionally indestructible, so they were much more of a blunt instrument than those highly polished Vertus…when he first showed me his, I was taken aback, as they were ugly as fuck, but they offer a far more diverse and attractive lineup nowadays
hope everything goes swimmingly this holiday season, especially for your last Xmas hurrah!!
let’s see if MA has the balls to sit Havertz in back-to-back matches and play Jesus up top again…even if he starts GJ, I would suspect that he will still shoehorn Kai into the midfield, which doesn’t bode well for us, as he’s been piss-poor on most occasions as a true 8…fuck me, I would give my left nut to see the fine print assurances in those summer of 23 contracts…don’t hold me to that, as I’ve grown rather attached to that particular testicle ever since the incident…
TRVL
I’m very impressed with the 16. It’s all I’m going to need for the foreseeable future, and non of us know how the Apple AI is going to work, as it’s not released until next year. The camera and editing are excellent for phone. Can’t fault it, which I can make most pics pop and come to life.
As for Vertu – it’s a business tool, if its AI works well, where 10TB would cover half my music collection, so there’s that. I’m not the Hi So kind of guy, so don’t go to country clubs or the like where people play the status game. I don’t play golf to avoid that side of life as well as having no hand to eye co-ordination.
That’s not me unless it’s a car, then I’m all Mutley & Scooby Doo after snacks gimme, gimme while going all unnecessary. Here is 300% luxury tax, so you soon recover knowing no chance. I’m not against renting for road trips like many HOGs do.
I see Celtic are wanting KT back in their clan again. Celtic will screw us again (selling a crock for £25m++) and buy for nothing claiming MA fully broke him, as he was only half broken when he left them. Then, there was the Artetarisation to take into account that all our defensive left sided players have experienced.
They’ve all become sick notes that began with KT. It’s moving into midfield with Merino slowly picking up knocks and strains.
Lastly, Paul Scoles has said that Martinelli is going backwards under MA. He’s not wrong.
Another has succumbed to the MA sickness that stifles natural talent from expressing themselves, instead of being forced to play regimented by MA numbers that doesn’t suit them.
Back to my armchair then…… lol
Thanks for the good wishes and fully back at you good buddy….
HI NORG
Sue Gray given peerage as Labour seeks to rebalance Lords https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/dec/20/sue-gray-given-peerage-as-labour-seeks-to-rebalance-lords?CMP=share_btn_url
Some background reading on that HoL numbers thing we were discussing a while ago. It clearly gives the lie to that idea that there was already an imbalance in Labour’s favour in the upper chamber. The opposite is true in our duopolistic system.
Whither a flabby unelected and undemocratic body like this but that’s a topic for another day.
Have a peaceful Christmas mate.
Hi KP
I hope you and Mrs KP enjoyed your trip to Southern Spain and the weather wasn’t as forecast. I did read up about the balance of Lords for each party and I was wildly out. Meanwhile in the other chamber things are not going to well for the current party in power – even the Guardian is being critical. I believe Starmer said somewhere recently that he would add 30 odd new Peers – why not do as he said change the set up – an all party committee should be installed with that aim. The surprising thing is the number of Bishops in the Lords- and not a little boy in sight.
Christmas starts tomorrow for us (I am just about to stuff the Turkey). My son is married so this year he is with the in laws for Christmas Day. Tomorrow is our Christmas Day – daytime is a walk along the Norfolk Coastal Path and Dinner in the evening.
Are you at any games this weekend and over Christmas? I may go to the Emirates on Friday. One of the Ipswich Sponsors has invited me.
Have a good Christmas – 2025 should be fun – it will be interesting to see the political world step up to cause as much mess as possible. Fake tan sales will go through the roof. Its a pity ‘Spitting Image’ is no longer on our screens – they will have so much material they would be on the air everyday.
all this talk of Christmas seems a little premature…let’s not put the cart before the horse, or have you all forgotten what the fuck today is…some might even suggest that this has become the most hallowed of dates on the calendar…now I know that Christmas might have a far more storied history, but surely some fat bugger crawling through your chimney can’t compare with the signing of one, Mikel Arteta Amatriain, possibly the greatest manager known to man…the very fact that not a single one of you fucks has paid homage to this tiniest giant of a man makes my stomach turn…shame on all of you
as for me, I’ll be heading to the backyard, after donning my Arteta-inspired outfit, which includes a meticulously coiffed legoland wig, placing a ball two feet from my regulation-sized goal, then staying put until I manage to miss the net 5 times in spectacular fashion…I would hope that after reading this you will do likewise…please note that as this is far more difficult to achieve than you might think, it might be wise to do it in phases…no matter what happens don’t you dare make any fucking adjustments in between misses, as that would be akin to smacking our faithful leader in the fucking face…long may he reign, said no one ever
TRVL
With all of those misses you must also be wearing a giraffe neck outfit. The big day is tomorrow – winter solstice. Our house is decked in greenery – apparently in the UK the official time is 21.57 and not sunrise. At 21.57 I will be past caring.
looks like Rice and Cala are back for tomorrow’s rematch with Palace, which should make things easier if MA starts the latter at LB and Timber in his best position…although it can be difficult to beat a team twice in the same week, this one should be a cakewalk
Norg—as opposed to peacocking, I was Kai Havertzing all over my backyard…if MA could have seen how hard I worked at not scoring, he would have likely signed me on the spot for a cool 300 per
the big question of the day, who the fuck is Alberto Moleiro?? I know he’s 21 and plays for Las Palmas, but the numbers don’t jive…the headlines say he’s scored 13 and assisted on another 11, but that’s misleading, as those are his total stats over 128 games, whereas this season he has 4 goals and 0 assists in 17…some are convinced that he’s the next Iniesta, but the above statline seems to suggest otherwise…furthermore, he has a 20M MV, but the insiders are claiming that we paid some sort of 60M release clause…that doesn’t seem right either
of course, he could be fucking fantastic, but I feel if that were the case I might have heard more about the next Andres Iniesta by now…the author did suggest that Pool were looking to bring him in, but I’m not sure how serious their interest was…mind you, the same individual likewise stated that he wasn’t sure if he was coming to be an immediate first teamer or if he was one for the long-run, which did give me cause for pause, as it’s not like he’s 16 or 17……I guess all will be revealed at some point between now and next summer…definitely one to keep my eyes on
It would appear that MA has admitted to being terrified when taking over at the Emirates?
Explains the weaknesses in him that still remain today. Non-negotiables were/are because he has good communication skills that come with empathy and understanding, especially when dealing with hormonal or precocious talents need the opposite of being ruled by fear.
MA doesn’t have that special Cruyff, prime Pep, Klopp, Slot, GG, early Wenger of go express yourselves as his tactics, Chapman et al all had ways with their players and there were some lovable, beer monster, crazies over the decades that were testing.
Simply put, MA cannot walk in those manager’s shoes and never will. He’ll end up like Moyes, his mentor is my best bet, as I subscribe to Graeme Souness’s take of MA being the nearly man.
I mean would any of those managers have a few speakers on stands around the training pitch to emulate Anfield culdron? Seriously? Wouldn’t have going to the emirates and using the stadium sound system at least add a tad to the bizarre thinking?
Pickpockets and Win the dog et al haven’t helped our cause, have they? Made us laugh with the banality first, and then shedding tears with the lack of results and seeing the futility of the future but helpless to affect change……….
All we can do is hope MA archives what looks like the impossible or KSE decide they want real trophies, realising back in America that those who know the game will have Bantz for KSE if we won the EFL cup.
A very minor cup only just above the CS and below the FA cup is nothing to crow about with an £billion squad still missing 2 major pieces.All pieces should have been filled last by year. Doesn’t even paper over the 5 year and counting cracks.
Game’s too late for me, and there is no game to switch over to if we are our usual predictable selves. I’ll watch in the morning with the ability to move the game forward if needs be better for my footballing sanity…….
All MA does is use his flowery Spanish nuances in English to sound important and intelligent not realising he has to use intelligent words with honest and reality meanings , too.
You can’t think straight when you’re terrified. You get copious amounts of cortisol when under stress where prolonged stress produces more harmful amounts and why an athlete needs rest to reduce such levels.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22187-cortisol
I’ll leave you to make of that what you will as, I’m no doctor, but I have trained all my life, had a full 6-pack at 65, and only a few kg away from it again at 69, which I have plans to do for fun next year…..
Never stop challenging yourself lads, that’s my motto. Age is just a number until it isn’t and life leaves us.
Back to hapless MA, I would wager he’s as terrified now, as he was when he took over with all the swings and misses for the PL crown, which is repeating itself again.
Nothing he does produces results the other than his way of playing by numbers where our set pieces kind of prove this theory, don’t they. Golas by numbers if you like.
Palace was an anomaly with the open goals where VAR might have had different opinions with the hindsight they get in replays. Let’s hope they don’t turn up again where getting the points should be a formality at home. We will, of course, make it difficult for ourselves with MA’s playbook.
Tony
I’ve pretty much always thought Arteta was a nearly man – talks a good talk but rarely backs it up. One of the problems with Arteta is he manages to pull off a few good results every so often getting within sight of achieving something special and then trips at the final hurdle (usually a low bar).
What might finally fuck him is Liverpool and Chelsea seem to be on a resurgence, even if City are kicked out of the PL Arsenal are no longer in pole position to take over at the top.
If anything we look like we’ve regressed this season, we could even be looking at a scrap for 4th if we don’t liven up.
Marc
Totally agree and just hope KSE see the light sooner than later.
City losing at Villa just perfect.
Villa are making lightning counters with City looking vulnerable every time. They could ship s few in this game.
Would you take Palmer from Chelsea. For me he would be a great buy, Marc.
Watching Villa and I think Duran and Roger’s such quality buys where we bought Havertz and Sterling.
Enough said!