Top of the table

Nice balanced piece Ambarish. I’m going to be driving me and the other members of my household up the wall with AFC withdrawal symptoms as this miserable farrago drones on in Qatar. Marc (and Almunia before him) are right to highlight the weaknesses and the fact that the season is in its infancy but the results have been nearly flawless. The backroom team need to use all their skills to ensure that players who don’t go are ready and that those that do play return in physical and psychological readiness. I was reading about the club’s plans in dubai and the friendly against Killroy’s mates corruptalona, all of which sound very promising and avant garde.

I have a feeling that post-WC, there’ll be more of a sense that we’ll have targets on our back and that other teams will be trying to bring us down to their levels.

No plaudits for Tets yet – he has a long way to go before he’s delivered success, esp after spending all that money.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=16lNNZSCf7g

Saw this ad on telly today and it made me laugh. Who knew N Pepe had time to box, teach and star in porridge promotions. The guy’s a dead ringer – I wonder if he’s able to beat his man on the outside and cross from the byline?

Kroekephobe

Pep and Klopp had set up such a high standard that we can’t be sure even if we manage to get 90 points.

Every game will matter. If we remain injury free, reinforce midfield in January and keep playing like we do, we never know.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2022/nov/11/arsenal-mikel-arteta-referees-bukayo-saka

Here’s the link to that Dubai story if anyone’s interested. Seems like a pretty shrewd idea in principle.

Ambarish
A well run team that is seeking success this season will look to invest in the Jan TW. Utd and Liverpool would call it consolidation. If they don’t strengthen midfield or react to any potential wc related injuries, it’ll tell us we need to know about Stan-k, Josh, Bunga-Bunga Edu and the human helicopter basque bantamweight. They should really have those deals ready to go subject to injuries etc.

Kroenke

There’s been reports Arteta will be given money in Jan although the talk was he’ll go for a winger.

Why a winger? We’ve got Saka, Martinelli, Vieira and ESR play there plus players who could cover in an emergency, compare that to CM lose Partey for a period and we’re fucked.

I can see the second half of the season being about fitness issues after the World Cup – managers who can utilise their full squads and protect players who could have a degree of burnout will be the ones who benefit.

Agreed Marc
The clear priority is adequate cover for TP. Anything else over and above that would be utterly insane (and typical!).

An adequate Partey cover should be the priority. You can pin your hopes of title challenge on the fate of 1 player.

Get us a winger and few more CBs we don’t mind, but only if we have fixed the midfield first.

KP

There is a rumour going on about LFC, it seems one of the richest in India is putting up a bid. The same guy who owns Mumbai Indians cricket franchise.

If that happens, I see it as a win for LFC. They get a clean, no non-sense owner and I’m sure there fan following in this part of world will go crazy.

I’ll be personally happy because that would mean a bit more exposure to football for the new generation.

It’s too early to say though.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/sports/mukesh-ambani-enters-race-to-buy-football-club-liverpool-says-report-122111300487_1.html

Hi Ambarish

If that takeover does happen, I trust you won’t be turning LiR into Liverpool is Red! Although you might make a fortune at it. Hey maybe that’s an idea…. A Liverpool site in India run by gooners making a fortune.

I just read that India is about to surpass China as the world’s most populous country so football administrators’ eyes will be lighting up.

Could I ask a favour in this regard? TRY AND GET THE GUY TO BUY CARDIFF CITY INSTEAD! A huge single team city with a decent stadium and a massive local catchment area. Passionate fans too. And the club could be bought on the cheap from a Malaysian owner who doesn’t give a fuck and would love to get out. Oh, and they play in blue like the Mumbai Indians. There’s also a test standard cricket ground a few miles away if he wants to branch out.

Talking of cricket it must have been painful for many in your neck of the woods to see old rivals Pakistan and England in the T20 final. In football terms, just like that CL final a few years ago between the spuds and the bin dippers! I watched the semi final and thought the Infdian team was poor on the day.

How are you planning to cope with the next few weeks of Arsenallessness?

Haha, I will burn this place before turning it into a place for bin dippers.

We need Hoopah here, he is closer to to Mambai and can give a visit to Ambanis 🙂

—

That final score meant people here were happier than any English person 😅 Such was the condition that Pakistan’s PM was putting up meme on his Twitter account when we were ousted in Semi.
—
I’m moving out of my home town in Dec 01st week to the capital, so that’s gonna me busy, need to set up everything and I have few friends settled there, so weekend catch ups.

How’s life at your end?

Best of luck with the move Ambarish. Still with the same company and job? I hope you settle in quickly. I haven’t been to Delhi in years but I had a really good time there.

England are hugely unpredictable in white ball cricket aren’t they? Boom or bust – which I guess is what makes it so exciting. India too. That final yesterday was super tense when it had no right to be.

I’m off to Italy next week with Ms K’phobe (Catania in Sicily to be precise). I’ve already checked and there’s no game on in Catania. Sob! Italy not in the WC either of course. It’ll just have to be beer, pizza and pasta oh, and a bit of volcano spotting in the foothills of mount etna. After that, Villa Park to watch Arsenal Women in the WSL. Do you have any readers interested in the WSL? It’d be great to think there are women and girls that read these pages as well rather than just sad old man-boys like us!

“Get us a winger and few more CBs we don’t mind, but only if we have fixed the midfield first.”

Yep – pretty much says it all. It wouldn’t be quite as bad if Partey hadn’t missed big chunks of each season he’s been with us but even beyond that having another top quality mobile CM (replacing Xhaka) would really move this team up a level.

Morning all
The chaos in my audiovisual room/house has subsided and the team have a week off before the final speaker install and putting the room back together again. Football seemed to take a back seat.

I’m happy Mikel’s gamble paid off leaving us nicely perched at the top of the table with a 5 point cushion. It’s a great feeling and one I’ll be savoring and where Junior has be merciless with his mates who were laughing at us a year ago. He has taken no prisoners with a few having to say The Arsenal are top of the PL when they see him in the morning. Junior is loving it and now knows the meaning of “revenge is a dish beast served cold”.

Six weeks before the resumption of the PL and we need to come out of our blocks flying and not repeat last season. This will largely depend on who we buy in the Jan window and if we get our business done early with the planning and terms being discussed now.

We are firmly in PL limbo land and I have very little interest with the would cup, especially being played in Qatar whose human rights issue are too barbaric for me to turn a blind eye for self gratification.

My Room is going to be completed by 7 Dec after 2 days of calibration by one of the world’s top calibrators and an old friend from three 80s and 90s. Football will be the farthest thing from my mind.

For the rest of ya with little conscience (kidding) enjoy the world cup in all its Qatarian barbarism and outdated laws for women and sexual tolerances. A country full of nervous camels and rear mount ladders.

I will be back just before our next game at Xmas. Friendlies don’t do much for me.

Ambarish we haven’t had much chat with each other since my LG outcast days, so thanks for the platform and hard work you put into it. It is much appreciated and not said enough by me.

Hopefully, more intelligent and cool spectrum dwellers find the site and will join in or at least enjoy the reading of LIR.

KP have fun in Italy, Marc, Herb, TRVL. MD Gunner, Hoopah and Ambarish et al enjoy life and be healthy during the break.

Just finished watching the Netflix documentary FIFA uncovered and also have little interest in the Qatar world cup. But will watch some games. Have a VPN installed to at least get decent punditry from BBC and ITV rather then the FOX commentators. Hope we will maintain our form after the WC and have no injuries with returning players especially Saka, don’t mind though Kane being out for awhile.

FIFA > then Mafia more crooked but without the hit men, contracts and concrete casings.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2022/nov/15/world-cup-qatar-damaged-football-philipp-lahm

It’s worth reading this piece by former German International and now football administrator Philip Lahm. I don’t agree with his logic about watching the WC but it’s worth noting that I found 26 (yes, 26!) rational and evidentiary arguments as to why the entire event in Qatar is a terrible idea.

Looks like Brentford’s likely finishing position has taken a huge nose dive with Toney looking at a lengthy ban for betting offences.

Hi Marc
I bet he’ll still try to put a few quid on their final position! What a tw*t. It must be the easiest thing in the world as a footballer to get a flunky to put bets on for you. I was shocked to see he’s facing over 200 charges.

Are you going to give the WC your undivided attention Marc or use the time to enhance your culinary prowess?

Must be even weirder this break for ST holders putting your roughly fortnightly schedule out of whack.

I might spend my Saturdays treading gingerly across dogshit and condom encrusted fields watching pub teams kick 7 bells out of each other in the Pembrokeshire league. Wellies obligatory – for the pitches and any stray sheep! I might even take my string less tennis racket along… A friend, ahem, told me it’s good for keeping their heads from bobbing up and down. 🐑💕

Kroenke

Hi mate – I’ll do a bit of the world cup. Most of the early matches are just terrible but as it goes further on we should get some proper games and it’s a good excuse to go down the pub and have a couple of beers with mates.

On the cooking front I always enjoy playing around when I have a bit of time – something being at the football half kills off the other half is getting in and thinking fuck it I’m getting a take away. Cooked a pretty good Beef Bourguignon weekend before last (made enough to feed half the Emirates on match day) and I came across an Osso Buco recipe the other day that I have an urge to try out.

Sounds good. Not sure which region of Italy Osso Buco comes from but I reckon I’ll possibly struggle to find some in Sicily. I’ll let you know if we find anything particularly appetising. I think some markets are inked into our itinerary. It’ll be a strange atmosphere in Italy with no WC interest. It’s amazing to think they’re Euro Champions and not at the big one.

Hey Marc/K’Phobe
Osso Buco is is one of my favourite dishes. Being the neck cuts it’s considered a cheap meal for the Italians I believe originating from the North where the best food is, but equally could have started in the poorer south, but when done well, it’s as good a Michelin star dish as you’ll get, especially if eaten with flat Parmesan kind of popadoms.

I’m no cook, but have religiously watched all Master Chef Australia seasons, as well as the original MKR. Junior makes a mean ice cream in our machine.

My daughter and I are foodies with my daughter just coming back from Melbourne studying at RMIT uni and was in food heaven, as Melbourne is now considered the food capital of the world. It’s also Masterchef’s base for the competition.

My wife cooks concoctions that kind taste great about 70% of the time where she doesn’t work to recipes and can never remember how she cooked the dish after. Semi – Savants are like that.

It’s rugby for me and finishing my Reference Room with around 350kg for 4 speakers to join the 14 Meyer speakers for full sound emersion. My mains LCR amp is 75kg. Craxzy weight for tech gear.

I’ve agreed with Junior we’ll watch the quarterfinals onwards if the teams are worth watching in the first place. Junior has mid terms on Xmas day, so has a lot of school work to maintain his decent GPA. My daughter is aerospace engineering job seeking right now, but Covid has created a temporary job void at the moment. The Bangkok job market will open in January when employees have received this year’s Xmas bonus and then leave. Then she’ll get a job to get experience in team working and individual projects in a lab environment.

Agreed, Marc, Toney was dumb, so he’ll have to do the punishment to fit the crime. Stupid is stupid as stupid does.

Winter has arrived in Thailand where the temps are excellent and the humidity reasonably low. It’s also harvest time for my herbs ready for 3 month’s curing whilst Junior and I start the next grow project that will take 30 weeks and is only for my consumption.

Junior is only interested in the botany side. We only grow 6 to 10 plants a time closely following the science required to grow competition level plants. At 67 a few days ago, I’ve hung up my riding boots, sold my heavy pro camera set up and am now a MC version of a pipe & slippers retiree in a house built for a happy retirement.

Same as you, K’Phobe’ with your Catalan adventure for your final years. I envy your location in a healthy way. Northbanker, too, he has a place not too far up the road to you. Certainly drivable.

I have plenty to keep my my retirement busy sans football. 18 riders from my MC club are dropping by for 2 days on their winter ride in 2 weeks, so that will be a messy time for all. Using decarboxylation technique I enfuse Grey Goose with the exact amount of pure THC that makes people happy and not couch potatoes. Simple science guys and less consumption required and almost zero hangover bar a bit of tiredness.

Maybe I should swap monikers with, Herb. 🙂

I actually use it as medication daily to mask the vicious side effects from Prostate meds and other concoctions that are supposed to heal, but the side effects are worse. I also don’t want to be like Cheech or Chong all day, which means scientifically accurate doses are required for my weight and how I react to the herbal meds. Best lower back pain and depression & ADHD meds for me. I choose strains for the properties they give to suit my life’s/body’s needs where I rarely suffer from the above issues. I don’t drink alcohol or smoke tobacco: THC and plant derivatives for healing and pleasure is all I need to be pain free with the occasional dull aching back.

Pierre if you’re reading come and join LG’s brain drain where your posts will be greatly appreciated and not attacked; the banter is cool here and not personal, too. Other topics in quiet days are also welcome, such as your golf endeavors will be well received.

Hi Tony
It sounds like life is as varied for you as ever. Good to hear the kids are doing so well too.

I cook in exactly the same way as your wife, although my success rate is far lower than 70%.

That room is going to be something special when it’s finished. I’ve got this image of you sat in an armchair and switching it to the max straightaway, the effect being like sitting in a wind tunnel of sound energy. Choose the first few things that you play carefully to keep the memory of it.

What’s wrong with being like Cheech and Chong every day? Sounds pretty idyllic if you also throw in some William Burroughs and Hunter Thompson influenced evenings.

The wind tunnel of sound energy is a good analogy because of feeling the bass on the chest when appropriate. When live engineering I’d set the master faders to about 55% depending on the venue for the opening number, and gradually increase the master volume as I sensed the crowds reaction to the bands and sound. By then end of the concert the master faders would be 75%+ with 1000s swept away with their delirium of the whole audiovisual spectacle.

Every song has its sweet spot where the producer, artist, A&R people and management all agree the frequency separation is at its best sound and feel/groove in the final mix. Bridge Over Troubled Water took, I believe, 146 hours to final mix because to the orchestra and Simon and Garfunkel being perfectionists.

I didn’t want cinema chairs because it’s a reference room for Audio Visual experience. I commissioned a huge ‘L’ sofa that would make you look like Ronnie Corbet sitting on it. 4 people can comfortable lay flat in any direction or sit up without encroaching on another’s space.

So many TV series have great sound productions in line with cinema movies.

I’ve gone through hell getting the room built to such high specs in a 3rd world country where it’s taken 4 years from drawing board to sound completion. If you want the best visual projector then Barco is the brand to aspire to. Certainly, got my attention for next year or year after.

As for varied life, I’d say we equally keep busy with our kids and life in general.

I’ve got one of the world’s top calibrators who I recently found out he was my UK HiFi advisor from the 70s, 80’s and mid 90s. Small world. He wants 2 to 3 days to do my calibration for the sound only. That will give you an idea of the complexity of a Trinnov processor. The practical is way above my comprehension, although I understand what’s being done from engineering speak.

The final install and test then calibration has come at a great time while the world cup is on. By the time Boxing Day comes I’ll be in need of my Arsenal fix.

On the WC I thought it’s a case of when you thought things couldn’t get worse, the next big upheaval happened, as in the Armageddon movie with Bruce Willis being blown to pieces with his daughter – the lovely Liv Tylor watching in full colour.

So now the royal family wants to ban alcohol. I shit ye not.

Be well and enjoy Sicily, and be polite to the locals, especially ones with shotguns slung over their shoulders :).

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-11442203/Qatar-want-alcohol-sales-World-Cup-stadiums-BANNED.html

KP I overshot the Chech and Chong levels today and ended up a bit Branstoned, as in pickle. 🙂

Tony
Nice one – that’s the entire point of, erm, horticulture. 🌱

Qatar’s cunty and apparently 11th hour decision (yeah right – I bet it was planned all along in cahoots with the Budweiser people) represents a massive mugging off of all fans attending the WC. I think it’ll cause some tension – exactly how much depends on how arseburningly hot and how boring it is. The entire event gets even more infernal. If it really was last minute, the Qatari regime will be drinking discounted, piss weak bud light for years to come. Rock the Casbah!

Just seen on the dot com that they’re broadcasting live and free the u21s game against Stoke tmrw at 1300 UK time if anyone’s interested.

Honest to God I don’t know whether to laugh or cry about the news from Qatar. If the FA and other countries similar bodies had any balls they’d pull the teams out and tell FIFA to go fuck themselves until those in charge are replaced.

Only 28 days to go and this arse-fuckingly, money grubbingly awful World Cup in the corrupt hellhole that is Quntar will be over!

My kids organised a sweepstake. I drew ‘dead builders’ as the watchword by which this sad, sinister shitshow will be remembered.

Let’s all have a shite beer and go on a massive alcoholic bender to celebrate. Oh no, they’ve fucked that too. Ah well, we can still get those miserable ingerland fans to play the great escape – oh, but they’ve had their trumpets quietened because they didn’t get paid and had to scuttle off home broke and thirsty.

Here’s a message to Fifa and the Qatari regime: FUCK YOU, FUCK YOUR FUCKING BUDWEISER AND FUCK DAVID BECKHAM.

Hi Marc
FIFA aren’t calling the shots, it’s the little guys with the Jimmy Hill beards. Infantino is just there to collect his brown envelope and the promise of sanctuary in Doha when he’s indicted for overseeing the most bent sporting event since Berlin in 1935.

Makes you wonder if the capitalist paradigm is coming off the rails.

1936! Even autocorrect wants to blot out history.

The only way Qatar could play in the WC was to host the event.

The arab nations having such mineral wealth (oil & gas) is akin to the Hillbillies TV show where the Hilbillies struck oil.

Instead of Jed it’s Mohammad.

And there lies the foundations of the cluster fuck the Would Cup is going to be. At least we can be sure that after this fiasco no pother Arabian nation will be considered no matter how much is offered under the table.

I wonder how the Qatari rulers are going to treat the cluster fuck perpetrators?

A rural day out in the dessert, perhaps, feet tied behind a camel or jeep for that authentic brush through nature, scorpions, side winders and cacti et al?

Beheading is all the rage if the DM is to be believed. However, Qatar is seriously lagging or should I say lopping behind the Saudis who had the largest mass execution in its country in years where the kingdom of Saudi Arabia executed 81 men on March 12, 2022.

Probably not on Khartoum’s level way back in Laurence of Arabia’s days, though.

Then, of course, the Qatari have enlisted the help of the infamous French crowd control who specialize in brute force and ignorance as their coup de gras – modus operandi. My guess is they will batter the fcuk out of one countries supporters and the likes of the Headhunters and Ajax’s equivalent etc will get countries banding to gather to batter the fcuk out of the French crowd repressors.

It’s be like an old western or 15th century battle with the late charges by the supporting countries.

That’s when the shooting will begin imho.

I fear this is humor noir at its worst but nothing and I mean nothing would surprise me between now and Boxing Day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8WMGBuNaus

I thought this was apt.

After the battles die down the fans will group round ice buckets listening to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhdFe3evXpk

Have a good weekend lads.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-11445381/World-Cup-FIFA-warned-unusually-HIGH-number-penalties-awarded-Qatar-warm-games.html

Shocker!

Lol Tony
That last one from the Daily Heil. It’ll be like watching peak Manure under old red nose himself. I’d love it if the refs just start awarding pens every time the qataris get it into the box. Imagine them beating Brazil or Argentina…

I fear though for their players – if they fuck up as badly as they should, the decapitation of the squad will be done and dusted before the final is over.

I worked in Iran, Iraq and Syria in my career. None of these namby-pamby capitalist Middle Eastern shit holes like UAE, Dubai and Saudi where they at least pretend they have a functioning society. You knew where you stood on the streets on Damascus or Tehran, ie being followed and harassed with a figurative target on your back.

At the very least, fans are going to have a thoroughly shit time. At worst, there could be lengthy and arbitrary arrests. Check what that wanker Infantino said yesterday about feeling like a migrant worker…

It’s finally starting to make me want to watch it if only as an antidote to the alternative horrors of Ukraine and the self-destruction of the Tory Party.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/englands-115-qatar-world-cup-28529972

Here’s where the Mirror gets it wrong; first by using Kane’s mugshot and secondly; £1 pound an hour for unskilled work represent just under (about12,000 baht a month) where an under graduate has a govt enforced starting pay of £15,000 (£285) a month.

The issue in all this is the West has lost its balls. We are constantly preached to about respecting other cultures beliefs and laws and most people I know when travelling expect to do precisely this – the problem is we don’t demand anyone respects our beliefs when the simple truth is the West is hundreds of years more evolved than the Islamic world.

The money in football comes from European fans – what they want should be respected.

All these dishes and I never ordered one which I’m not familiar with, because I’m a vegetarian 😐

Marc,

Not just the West but everyone. A good percentage of those Migrant workers are from India. The fact that FIFA fucked it up and the resistance started way too late sums up our society.

People have started complaining, because they know it don’t matter now. If the idea was to promote football to countries outside Europe, I guess India would have been a better option and that is a statement and some.

What’s the point of watching a game if you can’t enjoy. What a fuck up.

Ambarish

There have been grumbles about the World Cup since it was awarded but one of the problems is the media sees the World Cup as a good earner – the whole thing is as rotten and corrupt as it gets.

Not only should everyone at FIFA involved be up under corruption charges they should also be charged with corporate manslaughter.

On the food front I’ve bad news for you – as a huge carnivore about the only food that I do that is vegetarian is Gazpacho. If you haven’t tried that check it out – it’s a love or hate thing but in a hot climate its gorgeous.