Three important games and everyone’s fit

Nice piece Ambarish. We hope of course, but it’s no use asking God for help, he’s already given us Jesus and look how that turned out?

Maybe find the chef who gave the Hammers the shits before their last game of the season.

Can’t hurt to ask, can it?

Have to admit I don’t understand why it’s not a foul and impeding the keeper’s view? I’m sure if players did that to Raya everyone would be up in arms crying foul. Maybe other teams will do to us next season.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13379825/Arsenal-set-piece-Ben-White-corner-GRAEME-SOUNESS.html

Good piece Ambarish—the question of improvement is an interesting one in that I think we’ve shown more resolve in the business end of the season this season than last, well at least so far, but I still think we were better at times, from an offensive capacity last year, especially prior to Jesus’s injury…we hadn’t yet fully committed to the whole inverted gig, all 3 of our starting forwards, plus Ode, were in goalscoring form, and even Xhaka was actually contributing, for the first time ever…unfortunately, MA et al decided to not bring in someone of consequence up top and we shate the bed down the stretch

sadly, even after our cock-up part deux, our Striker-hating manager failed to redress that situation in the summer…in fact, he actually doubled-down on stupid, by not only selling our young blood option, he likewise re-upped Eddie and gave him a handsome raise, then paid well-above the number for the flopping wunderkind, Havertz…as such, I’m not convinced that we will be seriously pursuing a readymade Striker unless both Eddie and Jesus are sold, which seems highly unlikely…even if we get someone it won’t move the needle enough to remove Havertz from the starting lineup, which would be a crying shame

on a final note, I do think our team defence is substantially better this season, which makes perfect sense considering our signing of Rice and our lack of key injuries on the backline…that said, when we decided to turn Declan into a center forward it didn’t take long for Bayern to expose us, so hopefully we will not continue down that experimental road, except when we’re playing toothless bus sitter types

just so it doesn’t sound too negative, I do think we’ve performed admirably this season, regardless of the ultimate outcome…I’m elated by our Rice acquisition and still hopeful that Timber will shine moving forward, but only if the former is deployed primarily as a DM and the latter plays on his best side, which based on his CV is on the right…the only real shame is that I think if we got our window right, we could be in the driver’s seat in the title race and still playing in the CL, with a legitimate chance to win

so wish this wasn’t an early start time, as I’m heading out shortly and won’t be returning until a few hours before the match is set to begin…I hope to be waking up to a rather one-sided affair…I might be a bit more wary if this one was at the Vitality, but I just don’t see them being quite adventurous enough to get a result…I guess if they can keep a clean sheet until half, they might be able to grind out a result if we get a little too conservative, but that seems unlikely considering the stakes…only 3 points will do and we need to never deviate from that singular focus, so conservative pussy tactics can’t possibly enter the equation on this day

I just wanted to add a little more context when it comes my seeming disdain for one Kai Havertz…of course, it’s nothing personal, although it might appear otherwise…in fact, as I’ve stated before, I was very high on this player when he first emerged on the Bundesliga scene…his unveiling of sorts just so happened to occur in the same year that one of my streaming services had purchased the Canadian viewing rights to the German top division, so I watched him play on countless occasions that year…even while at Chelsea, I placed more blame on others for his inconsistent play, until his rather dire last season…so my displeasure with our move for him is for football reasons only

It certainly wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest that typically when the stakes are raised, it’s all about fine margins…as such, our summertime recruitment should have reflected that very sentiment through the aggressive targeting of a couple of top drawer high percentage/low risk moves…instead we opted for one such acquisition, by bringing a world-class DM into the fold, whereas our other major expenditure was a high risk/average return kind of a move, which was inexcusable in my estimation

now if this was a low investment, short-term flyer, my thoughts on the matter would be a quite different, but this had all the markings of a reckless, self-absorbed shot in the dark maneuver…almost like he was channeling the ghost of Wenger past…if only he could somehow ressurect Kai, much like with the overplayed Xhaka narrative, he just might earn some valuable points in his delusional quest to achieve “genius” level status..fact remains, if we had learned our lesson, there should have been an adult in the room who simply said, we don’t place the egoistic whims of one individual over the collective anymore…even from a pure percentages standpoint, when one looks at all the prevailing evidence, the likelihood of Kai achieving great things here was exceedingly low…in fact, the odds of this being a sideways at best acquisition were exponentially higher, especially on the heels of Xhaka’s anomalous season the year prior

so if you want to properly evaluate Havertz’s season don’t fall victim to the propped-up nonsense being postulated by those who’ve taken his polarizing journey personally, just apply the eye test and look at Kai’s performances when it mattered most…against Bayern and City, in our last matchup, he was basically invisible and even against Villa, when he was left unmarked for the first 45, he failed rather miserably…shit Eddie could have done that for a fraction of the cost…frankly, I’m of the belief that the plan all along was to eventually have Havertz replace the oft-injured Jesus, which would in turn open the door for Rice to slip rather conveniently into the 8-hole…after all, we all know MA’s oh so ironic prediliction for offering up assurances to anyone he’s personally courted, even when it doesn’t serve the greater good…Cheers

TRVL
I don’t think any of us questions Havertz’s footballing skill sets or his positional sense, it’s his timing in executing such skills in a game when under pressure. Perhaps instead of crumbling, if he invested in the opposite of actually fighting off the offending player, he might get more from his game.

Speaking of strength, decades ago there were some seemingly nondescript musicians in a Camden rehearsal room who suddenly came to life when talking to a young guitarist about the merits of always playing the acoustic first to perfection before transposing to say A Gibson Les Paul or any Fender Strat et al.

Springsteen prefers his telecaster, but for me it’s too indie/punk limited.

Always write acoustically they said, as it keeps the hand/finger muscles stronger than on electric. I believe the famed layla guitarist who shall not be named – was also of this thought, as was Hendrix who I’d say needed the dexterity and maximum strength fingers to play his unique way.

Quite a few names were suggested in their convo that was fun to be a spectator of.

We’ll see with Havertz, as I saw something online I didn’t investigate about us rethinking our forward acquisition, and thought, dear god, please, no. If Jesus is going – can I get a praise be, Hallelujah he actually goes – then Havertz at 9 saving Josh money to waste elsewhere.

Unless he buys Branthwaite from the Toffees, so Timber as TRVL says should be playing RB and connecting well with Saka. Where also big Gabs only has to concentrate on playing with Willie.

Once we venture into the summer TW we just have to sit back and hope like we do all season and wash, rinse and repeat each year.

Ratcliffe is threatening a fire sale and is looking at Toucal who is leaving Bayern despite 1000s of fans wanting him to stay. Ten Hag, it seems, could be on borrowed time needing a result from Palace at home, so an interesting game and a far from a forgone conclusion.

Ange P has been reported to say that Spuds are a long way off winning the PL.

Smart and wily Aussie is Ange P. I’m sure Spuds were really happy too read that after their manager, Ange, was brought in to actually win something.

Whomever cursed the Spud’s empty trophy cabinet should be given a sainthood by my reckoning. First rate bit of cursing right there!

Finally an early game for us S E Asian fans. No real point in a deep dive into our chances, as it’s a must win game. Bournemouth could be an upset, but I feel we are in the right mood to play any team. Our confidence is high where we know in a few weeks the holidays or Euros will be beckoning; both happy feeling to look forward to events.

As Ambarish says we have a fit dressing room with Timber back, so no excuses to drop points. I doubt the team sheet will change with our starting 11 and why should it really? We’re past rotations with 3 games to go.

My prediction is we should be enjoying taking 3 points from a very good and well drilled Bournemouth side by Andoni Iraola who really has turned B’mouth’s fortunes around on a shoestring budget.

I expect a tough game, but we will eventually have too much for them in every department.

KP
Hope Rotherham is a fun trip.

Havertz will not get away with his antics next season – refs do not like AFC and they will no doubt be aware. You need to be DB10 to be the master of cunning moves.

Agreed Norg, nor will blocking the opposing keeper be allowed for much longer.

45 minutes of one way traffic defense against attack training for us and Havertz buys a pen.

When the game opens up late in the 2nd half we’ll nick another couple of goals I feel.

Same old same old

Trossard secures the points so over to City.

Rice with an assist which he said in a pregame interview here that he loves assists more than scoring goals.

Big Seaman was a studio guest here who found that Rice admission a bit of a head scratcher🤔

You wouldn’t easily bet against B’mouth scoring as they score as I write

No different to White on keepers

Wow Arteta is charmed

Martinelli doing a head down wally walcott

Havertz watch:
2 shots on goal
28 successful passes
11 successful tackles from 19 57%
1 yellow card
6 time lost possession

@87 minutest

Looks like the ref is an Arsenal fan.
For a change 😁

Is Rice our new Vieira? Ode the new Bergkamp?

Just need the new Henry

Will say it again
Rice is Captain material. Non controversial, provides vocal support and behaviour even with opponents after the match can only get him respect.

But then El B likes the nasal expectoration on the field ,maybe

With Partey in the team the passing is positive and the ball moves dangerously.
Injury leaks cannot be disputed so has El. B. weaponised that shit ?.
As Smith Rowe said finally in frustration…” what injury? Am fit “

Hoopah
Rice has legend qualities that are smelt into statues if he stays. He has no ceiling I can see now. Junior and I used to watch him at West Ham and thought his forays up front were good but neither saw him as an 8. Still don’t really or not without Partey as a 6.

We need a new Partey to go to Hoopah, any suggestions?

Just playing catch-up…good on us for securing the necessary points…this was clearly men against boys for the first 45, yet for some reasons we offered them hope by sitting too deep to start the 2nd half…thankfully they’re a minnow of a club on the road…as for Havertz, I was embarassed by his obvious flop in the box and even moreso for those in charge who didn’t overturn the call on the pitch…that was so ridiculous he should have benn given a yellow for his efforts

of course, Rice looked stellar today in more advanced spaces, but this was largely down to the fact that Partey was holding down the fort and our opponents were toothless in attack…surely we can’t be maintaining this approach against the top sides moving forward…that said, I would be far more accepting of this possibility if we brought in another Partey-like figure, with far less health concerns, and a bona fide Striker

I will say this, you’re seeing a serious shift in the way we’re being perceived by League officials and those in charge on assigning our match commentators, as we’re getting calls that seemed unthinkable in the past, and we’re likewise getting homer-like coverage, with nothing but platitudes and pats on the back at every turn …although I do take solace in this changing of the media guard, so to speak, I find it difficult to listen to at times, much in the same vein that if given the choice between a local feed or a national one, when I’m watching the NHL, MLB or NBA, I’ll always choose the latter

I would expect that City will find a way to quite easily dispatch this current Wolves side, but stranger things have happeneed

Man we really dodge a bullet by Chelsea doing us a favor and nicking Mudryk while we got Trossard on the cheap. By just comparing their achievements this season we as they say in the UK “took the biscuit”.

KP
Sorry to see the score losing 5:2 can’t have been pleasant. I feel for you….

Partey allows the rest of the team to play. Alongside Rice he allows the flow of play to be fast moving forward and offers security at the same time. El B would love not to play him but does not have a suitable replacement.

So my take on a few things from yesterday.

The ref was fucking awful.
Trossard whilst scoring a nice goal was pretty average for 99% of the match.
The score line was very nice but it was harder work than the score would make it appear.

Most worryingly we’ve just seen another match where our first half performance was very good but Arteta’s half time team talk doesn’t match the opposition managers (Villa, the Spud’s), his ability to adapt is poor and he takes too long to make changes.

On an amusing note first time I’ve heard a couple of new chants – We got him for half price, we got him for half price, Declan Rice we got him for half price is not actually a million miles off.

The other (to the tune of Daydream Believer) – Cheer up Postecoglou oh what can it mean to a fat Aussie bastard and a shit football team – certainly made me laugh but as I said to a couple of guys sat near me “we are asking them to do us a massive favour in 10 odd days”

Villa win today and the Spud’s lose and its season over for them. They would be at risk of losing 5th although I think it’s unlikely, but the Spuddie’s really wouldn’t have anything to play for against City something we desperately need them to take something from.

Hoopah
Nasal expectoration….Very nice turn of phrase evoking some powerful if runny imagery. 🟢❇️🟢

I think that 2 stage nostril blocking nose blow phenomenon was patented by our old captain Tony Adams back in the day. He was an icon (!) for that type of activity and became a groundsman’s nightmare into the bargain with his mucus based lawn fertiliser. After players started putting Vicks vaporrub ™ on their shirts, the fun stopped for a bit. P Vieira had a voracious appetite for Vicks when he played, irrespective of the weather or if he even had a blocked hooter.

If any of you ever have a trip to Rotherham planned, don’t bother. I was shocked at just how Dickensian the whole place felt. Although no industry, no commerce and disruption everywhere. Very sad tbh because I bet it was thriving 50-60 years ago. Marc – your people are mainly to blame for that mate!

By contrast, the stadium was very nicely designed. They’ve been relegated but still managed to make the Bluebirds look like a pub team. Also very sad.

Kroenkephobe junior and his two mates saved the day with their rudimentary 19 year old banter interspersed by long periods of sleep. Oh, and they got into the end of season spirit (like many other indefatigable Cardiff fans) by wearing fancy dress. Yes, really. Homer Simpson, a walking bottle of tequila and the ‘118 man’ which made junior look like a scouser in an athletics costume. A fucking properly weird, quite depressing, but equally funny and memorable day.

Kroenke

Good to see you think we should have kept the coal mines open – love a bit of CO2.

Can’t wait to see you beat the crap out of Greta and her mates for wanting to stop all Oil and Gas drilling as well.

KP
Tony
RVL
Amcho Ambarish

Fabulous banter .
Tony you must be my timer -all the guitar work superlatives of my time. But likely am older.
Since proper TV came in late here , starting with 12 foot huge dish antenna, came into EPL quite late to have witnessed the phlegmy cannonballs . You are a raconteur sans pareill KP

OK so Brighton have done their bit the Spuddies now need to beat Liverpool to keep in the chase.

Rotherham died when the pits closed. A friend of mine was a miners son and he left school at 15 to work in the mine office. Now in his eighties I would love to be a pound behind him. He no longer lives in Rotherham (still has the accent). He spends his time in Switzerland and the US – a few years ago he sold his shopping mall in Pennsylvania to our Stan.

Marc
So you’re an old tree hugger nowadays? I dare say you’ll be out in an extinction rebellion outfit on the M25 tomorrow gluing yourself to a zebra crossing while eating home made muesli and drinking your own urine. You’re soooooo woke! It’s all that talk of Labour destroying the Tories that’s turning you into a Trotskyite. 🔨Just a hammer, no sickle emoji.

In essence, livelihoods of workers and viability of their communities are paramount in my heavily socialist influenced opinion. Even more important than recycling your cardboard and plastic! Someone with your southern shandy drinking sensibilities would struggle in a post industrial society. Playing dominos in a down-at-heel working men’s in Merthyr Tydfil? Whippet rearing in Mansfield fnarr fnarr? There’s no polenta in Pontypool mate.

Those industries could’ve and shd’ve been phased out sensitively and in such a way that people received help and training instead of being put on the scrap heap almost overnight. I lived in a steel town which the labour party killed in the late 70s by doing the same. But no, Thatcher and Tebbit and equal numbers of Labour cunts chose to put people in Wales, Yorkshire, Notts and Kent to the sword because they were poor and powerless. And now those places are fucked while areas in the south east catch up in a race to the bottom. Slough? Luton? Medway towns? St John’s Wood (joke).

In more important matters, that penalty given to Brighton was a fucking disgrace? I agree with you that a Villa loss might re-galvanise the Spuds to try against city. I think I want the lillywhites to beat the bin dippers in that case.

It’s funny mate. I greatly enjoy our political polemic. That guy Rich who used to try it on LG – RIP (new name) was an absolute cunt on the other hand. I wonder who he’s boring now Ped has shut everyone down?

Kroenke

Maybe you should be aware that I used to run a small manufacturing company and have had a hand in setting up other manufacturing setups. I’m in the Timber Industry so more reasonable for trees being cut down than hugging them! Of course all from sustainable sources etc.

Whole swathes of manufacturing were wiped out under Bliar and continued since so we can import cheap tat from China.

The real issue is the Unions who decided to pick a fight with Thatcher to overthrow her Government – we cannot have small groups deciding to overthrow a democratically elected Government because they don’t agree with the politics etc.

We’re seeing it now with the Rail Unions who are pushing for train drivers (who are very well paid) to get even more when we’re on the cusp of driverless cars let alone trains.

Don’t these dopey fuckers ever learn from history?

COYS!

At least for the next 90 minutes.

Ambarish – don’t ban me, pleeeease!

Nice one Marc, I’m glad my vitriol roused you from your comfortable suburban Sunday afternoon soporific slumber. We have rather different takes on trade unions, industrial relations and social history…

Oh, and you keep suggesting that TB was a lefty and I was a supporter. If a bit of scatalogical imagery helps assuage your concern – the guy is a duplicitous, (illegal) warmongering right wing shit. 💩

Phew… Glad to have emptied my bowels onto Tony’s legacy.

Hi NORG

I’ve been to Burnley, Blackpool, Preston and Sheffield among others recently but nothing prepared me for Rotherham. As Captain Kurt (Marlon Brando) said in Apocalypse now about Vietnam,

‘The horror… The horror’

Liverpool looking highly dangerous but my new found friends from the awful part of n London at least look ready to fight.

Kurtz…

Phlegmy cannonballs is a beautiful turn of phrase Hoopah. Nice one.

Oh fuk. My dalliance with the cockerel jockeys didn’t last long.