Arsenal (A) - Sun 4th Feb 2024 (4:30pm)

[Ronnie Whelan]

We were shite but perspective is needed.

 

We win all our games and we are champions - yes very unlikely we do that but it's in our own hands. For my money, we have the easiest run in left and that will make a bit of a difference.

 

Yesterday was a game where a draw would have been okay. We were shite and lost. In some ways, Virgil's fuck up might be a blessing. He has generally been very good this season, but his nochalent defending leading to the fuck up swung the game. He was kicking himself and rightly so.

 

Villa away looks a nasty one. West Ham are generally a fine side so that won't be easy. United away will be horrible because they will understandably turn it into a warzone and Everton will be a hard one as well, purely because they need points and they'll be looking to fuck us over. Brentford is an awkward looking one. Not easy by any stretch but I'd be confident we win pretty much them all and given how good City are that is what is required. The home games are okay bar Spurs and obviously City, but I'd fancy us to do Spurs (though two years ago they ended up being the difference in that title race).

 

I still think the City game in March may decide it.

[Reckoner]

42 minutes ago, aws said:

They copy our songs and Arteta copies Jurgen.  But they’ll win fuck all. 

 Copying Everton as well then. A new low.

[Trevorjc]

We played like a Sunday morning team that had all been out on the piss the night before and hadn't gotten home till about 5.00 am. 

[Barrington Womble]

2 hours ago, Ronnie Whelan said:

We were shite but perspective is needed.

 

We win all our games and we are champions - yes very unlikely we do that but it's in our own hands. For my money, we have the easiest run in left and that will make a bit of a difference.

 

Yesterday was a game where a draw would have been okay. We were shite and lost. In some ways, Virgil's fuck up might be a blessing. He has generally been very good this season, but his nochalent defending leading to the fuck up swung the game. He was kicking himself and rightly so.

 

Villa away looks a nasty one. West Ham are generally a fine side so that won't be easy. United away will be horrible because they will understandably turn it into a warzone and Everton will be a hard one as well, purely because they need points and they'll be looking to fuck us over. Brentford is an awkward looking one. Not easy by any stretch but I'd be confident we win pretty much them all and given how good City are that is what is required. The home games are okay bar Spurs and obviously City, but I'd fancy us to do Spurs (though two years ago they ended up being the difference in that title race).

 

I still think the City game in March may decide it.

 

We've shown ourselves not to be great away from home. If we're to have a chance of winning the league, we have to put that right. I don't think the aways look easy at all. Fulham is about the only one where you think "we should win that", but they've given us 3 tough games already this season. 

 

Brentford - klopp's never won there

Forest - we lost there last year. 

Everton - nearly always 2 points dropped

Man united - won't be easy if they've got a chance of pissing on our parade

Fulham - maybe our easiest looking away

West ham - always hard there

Villa - probably depends what they're still fighting for. 

[Bob]

9 hours ago, Barrington Womble said:

 

I don't think he's the worst where we are concerned as that title belongs to Paul Tierney, despite his performance last week. We've had a couple of those off Taylor over the years too. But he's a shocking referee and he clearly thrives and giving us the raw end of the deal. But it had zero to do with the defeat and everything to do with the fact we couldn't retain possession once we got near the top 3rd. Despite dominating the ball, we barely got the ball into the box, because all our domination was when they let us have it passing around the back 4 and macca, once we tried advancing from there, we'd lose it. 

I have a distinction between the two. Taylor is the worst ref. Tierney is the most bent/biased against us.

 

Taylor is terrible. Even when it’s a match we’re not playing in. I don’t think the same is true of Tierney.

[Barrington Womble]

3 minutes ago, Bob said:

I have a distinction between the two. Taylor is the worst ref. Tierney is the most bent/biased against us.

 

Taylor is terrible. Even when it’s a match we’re not playing in. I don’t think the same is true of Tierney.

I think they're both shit! 

[Bob]

1 minute ago, Barrington Womble said:

I think they're both shit! 

They’re all somewhere on the Bristol stool scale mate, it’s just one of them has to be “worst” and for me it’s Anthony Taylor and has been for a long old while.

[Barrington Womble]

Just now, Bob said:

They’re all somewhere on the Bristol stool scale mate, it’s just one of them has to be “worst” and for me it’s Anthony Taylor and has been for a long old while.

 

Fair enough! I actually don't mind that Chris kavanagh. I know he has a bad game in one of ours recently, but mostly he seems decent and athletic enough to keep up with the game. Another fucking manc though. 

[Baltar]

Jesus, those tossers still celebrating?

 

[Smell The Glove]

37 minutes ago, Barrington Womble said:

 

We've shown ourselves not to be great away from home. If we're to have a chance of winning the league, we have to put that right. I don't think the aways look easy at all. Fulham is about the only one where you think "we should win that", but they've given us 3 tough games already this season. 

 

Brentford - klopp's never won there

Forest - we lost there last year. 

Everton - nearly always 2 points dropped

Man united - won't be easy if they've got a chance of pissing on our parade

Fulham - maybe our easiest looking away

West ham - always hard there

Villa - probably depends what they're still fighting for. 

Win all our home games which I'd fancy us to do, obviously the City game being massive, then I think if we got 12pts out of those aways we'd win it.

[Barrington Womble]

5 minutes ago, Smell The Glove said:

Win all our home games which I'd fancy us to do, obviously the City game being massive, then I think if we got 12pts out of those aways we'd win it.

It all comes down to city. If they finish the season as strongly as they normally do, it probably won't be enough. If they continue to be as hit and miss as the first half of the season, then we have a shout at it. 

 

But 12 off those aways isn't a given. 

[Smell The Glove]

1 minute ago, Barrington Womble said:

It all comes down to city. If they finish the season as strongly as they normally do, it probably won't be enough. If they continue to be as hit and miss as the first half of the season, then we have a shout at it. 

I don't think they are a 90pt side this season. If I'm wrong and they are then that wins it easily

[Barrington Womble]

Just now, Smell The Glove said:

I don't think they are a 90pt side this season. If I'm wrong and they are then that wins it easily

I agree to some extent. They haven't looked the same and I do think they'll miss the late winners they used to get from gundogan and even Mahrez to some extent. I think if de bruyne had a set back, I'd think we'd have a real chance. But he could win it on his own unfortunately and currently has that thing about him where people don't know how to stop him and somehow then give up on trying. 

[Scott_M]

More I think about yesterday, more I’m think it can be chalked up to one of those days. 
 

The Bradley news. Szozboslai injured late on. Nunez not 100%. Trent not fit enough to do more than 60. Robbo not fit enough to do more than 30. Mo & Endo still away. Then the VVD / Alisson faux par.

 

Apart from our goal, feels like pretty much everything went against us. We’d been in a good groove with the line up that would have likely started the game.

 

I’m sure 90 points will be enough this season, likely a couple less. We need 39 from 45. 

[Code]

 

[No2]

The lads on the Pod tried to steer clear of bringing the ref into the outcome. While mostly correct he did appear to me to give a lot of soft frees to their defenders and none to ours. That cunt Coote spent way longer than he needed to on McCallister's tackle, then their second goal, if that's at the other end Coote will call the baldy cunt over to check the push, I'm convinced of that.

[Code]

He actually pushes him twice, tha last one with straight arm is the last drop.

 

 

[Barrington Womble]

If Virgil goes down there he wins a free kick. Same with the Nunez incident with Gabriel. Where their players fall over if there's someone within 5 yards of them. People wonder why players dive or go down too easily. Yesterday's game shows how it pays. That's not me blaming the refs either, people moan when they give fouls for any type of touch and say they want more contact. 

[VladimirIlyich]

7 hours ago, Barrington Womble said:

 

I don't know if formation was much to do with it. I just think a combination of team selection (a right of a not fit Trent and the weird combo of gakpo and gravenberch) and mostly, as you point out, just too many players having poor games. Off the top of my head the keeper, entire back 4, grav and gakpo were all varying degrees of poor. You just can't play away to One of the best teams in the league with more than half the team looking out of sorts. 

 

 

I thought the 2nd yellow was clear enough. I'd have been amazed if that wasn't a yellow card. the first is not as clear as they're tugging each other. It's barely a foul for me. 

 

as for that 3rd goal. You can't blame that on vvd. We're down to 10 men, and Elliot gets beaten like that? It was embarrassing stuff. Vvd can't get over there. The 2nd goal is rightly on him, but the 3rd goal, it's just a combination of us being a man down, chasing the game and Elliot being the most defensively weak player in our squad. 

Elliott looks like a kid who won a competition to play with his favourite team. The Lol Cottrell of the current side.

[stringvest]

9 minutes ago, VladimirIlyich said:

Elliott looks like a kid who won a competition to play with his favourite team. The Lol Cottrell of the current side.

 

Elliott looks like a Brighton player to me.  I just don't think he's going to develop either the physical attributes, or the vision and skills to be a regular for us.  It's a shame, because he's obviously trying hard, and he will have the odd game where he looks great, but it's not going to happen regularly.  He's a 30 minute bits and pieces player, like Gakpo and Gravenberch.

 

 

[Ronnie Whelan]

2 hours ago, Barrington Womble said:

 

We've shown ourselves not to be great away from home. If we're to have a chance of winning the league, we have to put that right. I don't think the aways look easy at all. Fulham is about the only one where you think "we should win that", but they've given us 3 tough games already this season. 

 

Brentford - klopp's never won there

Forest - we lost there last year. 

Everton - nearly always 2 points dropped

Man united - won't be easy if they've got a chance of pissing on our parade

Fulham - maybe our easiest looking away

West ham - always hard there

Villa - probably depends what they're still fighting for. 

I don't disagree with that Barrington. 

 

Everton and United will be warzones. In respect of Everton, we need to rise above the history of the game and realise the sheer difference in quality of the two teams. Same with United. We play to a good standard and we should win.

 

The others are tricky. Again, if we play to a good standard we should win. Villa is a game you might reluctantly accept dropping points, though the Mancs might be that type of game as well. The others have really good players like Bowen or Toney. Just get the job done. 

 

I think we might be allowed one more fuck up, and two if we beat City. (As I write this City are losing).

 

City might be cheating bastards but they are a fucking brilliant side. It's going to take a heroic effort to hold them off. I think we have an outside chance.

[BeefStroganoff]

1 hour ago, Barrington Womble said:

If Virgil goes down there he wins a free kick. Same with the Nunez incident with Gabriel. Where their players fall over if there's someone within 5 yards of them. People wonder why players dive or go down too easily. Yesterday's game shows how it pays. That's not me blaming the refs either, people moan when they give fouls for any type of touch and say they want more contact. 

We are way too soft, said it numerous times. Plaudits for being fair dont win you the big trophies but we always play by the rules.

 

We just arnt smart enough. Last player we had who did it was Milner.

[Barrington Womble]

1 hour ago, VladimirIlyich said:

Elliott looks like a kid who won a competition to play with his favourite team. The Lol Cottrell of the current side.

 

He's looking particularly off it at the moment too. I thought he was awful in midweek when he came on. His defensive work is quite something to watch at times. I've mentioned elsewhere, I can't quite work out why it's so bad. It's not like he doesn't work, he really does. But he seems to be moving flat out and people walk past him, including his own team. 

 

4 minutes ago, BeefStroganoff said:

We are way too soft, said it numerous times. Plaudits for being fair dont win you the big trophies but we always play by the rules.

 

We just arnt smart enough. Last player we had who did it was Milner.

 

Yeah, we can be too soft. But that comes from the top. I was amazed we didn't stick Nunez on Ben white as he was on a card. It's like we don't think that side of the game is important, yet we fall foul of  it all the time. 

[BeefStroganoff]

3 hours ago, Scott_M said:

More I think about yesterday, more I’m think it can be chalked up to one of those days. 
 

The Bradley news. Szozboslai injured late on. Nunez not 100%. Trent not fit enough to do more than 60. Robbo not fit enough to do more than 30. Mo & Endo still away. Then the VVD / Alisson faux par.

 

Apart from our goal, feels like pretty much everything went against us. We’d been in a good groove with the line up that would have likely started the game.

 

I’m sure 90 points will be enough this season, likely a couple less. We need 39 from 45. 

Ah good old Scott with his shrug of the shoulders approach.

[3 Stacks]

1 minute ago, BeefStroganoff said:

Ah good old Scott with his shrug of the shoulders approach.

You generally sound like you've never watched football before, mate. Stop criticizing others. 

 

Not every bad game is the result of a team having a terminally faulty attitude. 

 

The team we put out yesterday was crap.