Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur: Prematch Prattle


Team news from them is we can expect Uncle Wenger to field from DIABY, SAGNA, SENDEROS, EDUARDO, DENILSON, GILBERTO, DJOUROU, BENDER, TRAORE, HOYTE, WALNUT and HOYTE. Van PERVERT is thought to on the bench and may get the last twenty...

Under the 'Old London Town Mental Heath Act of 1882' Lehmann will spend the evening lying with his head in a fridge. This evening's goalie will be FABIANSKI.

And what of the Tottingham?
Missing are Kaboul, Bent, Bale, Zokora, Ekotto Beleavingsoon, Tom Jugglestones.

My team would be:

Cerny
Chimbonda Dawson King Lee
Boateng Malbranque Taarabt O'Hara
Berbatov Keane

Place Yer Bets
Those of a nervous disposition will avoid Arsenal 1st Half/Spurs 2nd Half at 33/1.
A depressing took the lead and proceeded to fluff it reverse of the above is 28/1.
Value anytime scorers are O'Hara and The Prince at 8/1 and 9/1 repectively.

This is old but fun enough if you haven't seen it: http://www.netdisaster.com/go.php?mode=dog&url=http://www.arsenal.com/
Harry says
Floating around the Ars*nal forums this morning there is the usual mixture of 'we'll beat'em 'cos we always do' rubbish, but more interestingly there's also more than just the odd voice in the wilderness that acknowledges how well we played against them last time and we could actually win this.
Paul 'former toothless gambling coke head with a drink problem' Merson has even come out with the damage limitation guff that if we beat Ars*nal we won't even care about the final. Mind you he was a toothless gambling coke head with a drink problem. The question he might answer of course is 'What are you now?'
The game will hinge upon two factors. Personal errors by Spurs players. Iffy defending - to name one popular area will sink us. Dawson must buck up this time out. Hopefully King will inspire improvement. And finishing the job. Berbatov in particular must demonstrate he's firing on all cylinders now and put the ball away against a top four club.


BIOTYC!


69 comments:

Mr Marks said...

Got the nail on the head H, with the game outcome resting on whether or not Dawson has taken his Anadin this morning!

Know of any decent pubs in the Tottenham area to watch the game? Does the stadium still show games on the Jumbotron??

Anonymous said...

what is BIOTYC?

bueller said...

Harry, do you really think now is the time to give Adel Taarabt his first ever competative start?

I'd go:

Robbo
Chims, Daws, King, O'Hara
Lennon, Jenas, Boateng, Steeeed
Berba, Keane/Defoe

I still can't decide who I would pick out of Keane and Defoe. Probably, whoever looked more up for it on the coach.

Anonymous said...

''Boateng Malbranque Taarabt O'Hara
Berbatov Keane '' to all start ? Harry - are you Ossie in disguise ?

bueller said...

Bring it on tonight you cunts

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

we'll do you 4-0 at the lan. Job done then....

Anonymous said...

that should say lane...

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FVeMcgJs-U

Guys have a look at this, being spurs fans we need a sense of humour and this is funny

stu

bueller said...

Fucking hell, you rattled a few cages there.

"Spurs are fucking shit. So are u cunts."

That's hilarious. You cunts are shit. Brilliant.

Anonymous said...

I'll bet any YID on this site, that u will never beat Arsenal AGAIN with Wenger in charge of the Gooners. Any takers?

Anonymous said...

For an away leg at the emishites, reckon we'll need to boss the Midfield Hazza, win the battle first and then bring on more width second half to go for the jugular.

Our Tottenham supporter Tainio has a point to prove, so may be nicely wound up for this one.

Boeteng still has a lot to prove and likes to stick a tackle in, just hope he doesn't do anything stupid, but has energy in abundance.

Steed, is Steed and never lets us down always does his fair share of battling as well as give attacking options.

Jenas, just feel he did alright a while back when filled in at right midfield, not a winger, but could help sure things up in the middle while Lennon gets wound up to come off the bench for a super sub performance.

Anyway, In Juande I trust and believe we can nick something to set up a win in the second leg this evening. A win is possible, but more confident of a draw this evening. 2-2.

bueller said...

"I'll bet any yid on this site!!" Even better than you cunts are shit.

This is an internet forum you fucking dunce, not real life. I'll tell you what, we'll take each others names and addresses so we can meet up and settle the bet too eh?

Yes I would obviously take that bet because I think we'll beat you either tonight or at the Lane.

And it's awfully embarrassing to be on another teams blog.

Anonymous said...

to the tw*at that posts idiot on here - here's a challenge for you.

got anything to say about Spurs?

Anonymous said...

It's all over for Arsenal. After the game at the Emirates the force field moved and they are not going to beat Spurs again for at least the next 10 years, Global Warming not withstanding. Robbie Keane to confound his supporters and actually score 2 goals tonight (probably be aiming at the corner flag) and Jenas to mistake the goal for row 39 and score from 35 yards. 3-0 to Spurs.

Anonymous said...

I love how desperate you spuds are. Trying to convince yourself that tonight is some big game. Shows how starved you lot have been of big nights! We are top of the league and have a glamour game against milan coming up. Do you think we give tow shits about the fizzy pop cup? We use it simply to blood the youngsters and give our injured players i.e Van Persie a run out. We beat you in the two games that matter and that was in the league. Beating an Arsenal second team really isnt going to make up for the league defeats and you know it! Not one player in our starting eleven tonight would make our first 11. Surely you cant lose to the Arsenal second string again..'SHALL WE PLAY OUR KIDS FOR YOU'.

GRAZZA said...

So, are you saying that should Spurs knock you out of the league cup semi you wouldnt care?

Or is this a pathetic attempt for a bite delivered with the usual sneering tone that only your breed can muster?

Anonymous said...

Harry, Followed your link over to Arsenal.com and found this interesting article on tonights game.. it seems we are being given credit where credit is due by our rivals...here's a sample of it with the full article here: http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=News&article=486120

-->

"Two-nil, and you messed it up." That's the polite version of a chant Arsenal fans taunted their Spurs counterparts with after last season's Carling Cup Semi-Final. Having started so brightly in the first leg, Tottenham squandered a two-goal advantage and lost 5-3 on aggregate.

Now they have a chance to make amends. The North London rivals meet again at the same stage of the same competition and you sense that, if Tottenham get their noses in front, they will not capitulate again. The reason? Juande Ramos.

The Spaniard has instilled discipline and organisation since he replaced Martin Jol as manager in October and, as anyone who saw the local derby at Emirates Stadium before Christmas will testify, Spurs now play with more intelligence too.

Ramos' tactics and formation hampered Arsenal's passing game and, but for Manuel Almunia's penalty save, Tottenham might have celebrated the end of their long winless streak against Arsene Wenger's side. Spurs did lose - again - but for the first time in a while they were not second best.

Wrighty7 said...

2-0 and u fucked it up!!!

Anonymous said...

In response to Grazza, whilst we would like to beat you, the carling cup is not important to us. Look at the squad Wenger has picked! You lot need to win it cos its your only route into europe, we will def be in the champ league. Thats why tonight all gooners arent nervous, cos the pressure is off us. Nobody expects our second team to beat a tottenham team worth millions. All I will say is that I think over the two legs it will be close, but you will nick it and so you should. Can you imagine if it was the other way round and it was the Arsenal first team versus your second 11???

GRAZZA said...

i must say, and dont confuse this for being in anyway pro-scum but i always browse their site prior to the derby and it gives honest, interesting previews and reviews.

Still twats though.

GRAZZA said...

I wouldnt like to imagine our 2nd XI playing your first tbh esp over 2 legs!! lol fuck me thats nightmare material.

Anyway i know the point you are making but id take a Spurs V Arsenal Hopscotch friendly seriously!! The 2 sets of fans' mentalities are poles apart.

Or maybe, if you geniunely dont think you will go through maybe there is an element of making excuses before the game to save a bit of pride? im not saying we will go through at all but im just a bit confused by your dismissal of the hype from a Tottenham fans perspective.

Interesting to see what team Arsenal play in the 2nd leg if Spurs win tonight or draw.

Chirpy said...

Harold,

Normally I am in full agreement with your assessments, well bits of some of them, but re. Adel Taarabt to start?

His agent may have labelled him 'The New Zidane' and I fear some (including him) may believe his own hype, however, his passing accuracy and overall team contribution is lacking, as it was against Reading. Simply, he is not mature enough yet - primarily he wants to show everyone how 'great' he is - we want Spurs to win.

10-min cameos against West Ham are one thing, to start ahead of Keane or Malbranque in the away leg of a cup (even a Carling first-leg) semi-final? Are you insane? I trust Ramos is not.

Robinson
Chimbonda - Dawson - King - Lee
Lennon - Boateng - Jenas - Malbranque
Keane - Berbatov

Anonymous said...

Our website is systematic with the rest of the club - A CLASS ACT...SAY WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE!

Anonymous said...

Grazza, I think you hit the nail on the head - the ambitions of the two teams are miles apart. We are going for the title and champ league yet for you the Carling cup is a realistic target. Im not just saying this and I know alot of fellow season ticket holders are not going to the game tonight. For us the derby's arent such a big deal anymore. We would rather take 3 points off the likes of Chelsea and man u, cos these are the teams we are competing against. For example back in December, after we beat chelsea the atmosphere was amazing, celebrating in the streets etc. Yet after the game against you it was just like a standard home win, no real celebrations. Although you will think im taking the piss, im being honest. You have to look at it from our perspective, we havent lost you you in 8 years and in that time have won titles and fa cups whislt you have done little, unfortunately the rivalry isnt what it used to be. So if alot of gooners dont get that excited when its the arsenal first team versus spurs can you understand why we aint getting all worked up over the second string platying you?

GRAZZA said...

A class act - no, not unless having a history of dishonesty, cheating, underhand dealings and a string of drunks, thiefs and druggies and double standards is being a class act. And taking every defeat in the clubs history in bad grace to boot, all with shit, arrogant fans along the way.

My recent personal favourite; banning national flags a stadium called the "Emirates" with "Think Israel" boards surrounding the pitch. Wunderbar.

theshelfer said...

Harry,

I like your boldness but Boateng and the new Zidane in midfield. I can understand your yearning for Zidane, but not sure why you like the Prince. He was an embarrassment against Villa, and he showed a complete lack intelligence by needlessly giving away the free kick which led to the 1st goal.

I am OK with your O'Hara pick as I think this kid is motivated and got some gonads. If only we had a goalie, then I would be confident.

COYS

Anonymous said...

Grazza, do I need to remind you of the time you got docked points and kicked out the FA cup? Your taxi is waiting for you sir...

GRAZZA said...

You put in perspective well, and i know exactly the point you are making but because i've never had the luxury that you speak of ie competing with man u etc my heart will just not allow my brain to compute what you are saying.

I know you arent but it just sounds like you are making it up as a pop.

Unbelievable how times of changed. The derby meant the world. Now it seems like only one side of North London actually wants it. The other half just expect it.

GRAZZA said...

Im not claiming our club to be a class act though am i.......

Harry Hotspur said...

Chirpy

I agree with all you say about Adel. I'd go add that in many respects he's a liability!

But Lennon strikes me as out of form. Jenas turns in one great game every 12. Routledge I am given to understand is still pissed they were planning a trip to Scotland for him...

Our midfield resources are then Tainio who whilst I admire him I acknowledge his limitations and therefore hit the BUST button and chose Taarabt.

I wonder if Boateng will deliver anything tonight? We've both picked him!

Anonymous said...

Grazza, the truth is most Arsenal fans have been spoilt under Wenger. I remember the season before Wenger arrived and we beat you to the last uefa cup spot (think you drew at Newcastle) there were fans dancing on the streets. Now if we qualified for the uefa cup it would be a disaster. Unfortunately I think the decreasing rivalry is a sign of our times. Man City should be United's main rivals but they are not, simply because like with Arsenal and spurs, city are not a threat to man u. Same with liverpool and everton etc. If you as Arsenal fans who their main rivals are they will say man u, chelsea will say man and liverpool will say Man u. Rivals nowadays are no longer rivals in terms of location but in terms of a percieved threat. Look at the case with Barca and Madrid, location wise they are nowhere near each other, they are seen as each others main rivals simply cos of the threat they pose to each other.

Harry Hotspur said...

theshelfer ~ Hello mate. The Prince has much to do tonight. His performances have fallen into two categories. Gutsy and a bit naff.

He needs to get amongst Uncle Wengers charges and open them up. Lateral balls and back passes won't bother Le Ars*.

GRAZZA said...

If you're trying to get me to admit on here, in front of fellow Yids that our main rivals are now Blackburn then you've got another thing coming!! lol

GRAZZA said...

Right this is it....once more into the breach dear friends...........................................see you all in the morning after a favourable result - hopefully

Harry Hotspur said...

Anon Gooner

I take your points and think you're being pretty straightforward with us here...

But I think you're not noticing the evolution that has taken place at your club.

You might think this a w*nky swipe, but as you have sustained results under AW and grown financially.... your customer base has become as charmless as any multinational companies.

Now don't get me wrong, I can tell you of some dreadful Ars*e fans I've encountered over the years and most of them pre date your occupation of the Emptycrates.

The downgrading of these derby games definately comes from your lot, as you say. But not just from a 'we are top of the league and you are 12th' angle.

Vast chunks of your fanbase these days never set foot in Highbury.

The endless stories I hear from Gooners about the behavior of your lot in the Emirates... leaving early, talking through games, not understanding basic principles of the game (YES, I was on a gooner blog last year that had an account of one 'fan' telling 'another' that an Ars* player who had just been subbed 'might come back on in the second half')the limited selection of songs and heckles and an atmosphere that is even bad on SSHD!

So what would you expect a Yid to argue anyway?

It's Them and Us said...

I think the papers will be right with the starting line-up (bar someone being ill). Taarabt is fast becoming the new Routledge in that we weren't the only ones after him but now seems like an extra in training ground pictures. Angry about Scotland? How about angry his career is dead because after an awesome first pre-season has been banished to the reserves?

Defoe ain't playing and his only hope of any involvement is if Bent is ruled out, and only then he'll be making the bench. We're likely to have Keane drop really deep and for the most part have five across midfield and using the pace of Lennon and Keano to counter-attack with Berba on hold-up duty.

1-1 for me.

Anonymous said...

Berb to score a hat-trick @ 80/1 with Paddy Power...wishful thinking i know but i stuck a tenner on anyway..

i think a 2-1 win for Tottenham tonight or perhaps a draw... (that's if my hat-trick prediction doesn't come up!!)

COYS
BIOYC

Death said...

The Times

Paul Robinson is understood to have been dropped from the Tottenham Hotspur team that will play Arsenal in the Carling Cup semi-final first leg at Emirates Stadium tonight. The goalkeeper has paid the price for a series of embarrassing mistakes, most recently on Saturday when he was adjudged to have carried the ball over the line in the draw against Reading in the FA Cup third round.

Anonymous said...

i don't know whether to laugh or cry...

first of all i will weep tears of joy at the spectacle that was Berb's performance..

secondly i will laugh at the fact that Jenas was named man of the match!! not that Jenas was awful tonight (he wasn't great either though) but Berb, Steed, Robbie and dare i say it YP Lee all were easily better than him..

but Berbie...oh wow...

draw was NOT a fair result but it's not a bad one.. the fans will really want to turn up the volume at WHL in 2 weeks time.. i really think we can do it..

also...have we found a new first choice keeper?? why not is what i say...

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Harry,

Can't agree with you more wholeheartedly.

Case in point - my Aussie and NZ friends recently moved to London. Both rugby fans, don't know nout about football. Earning good dosh in financial markets too, so they move into Notting Hill. Fair enuff.

Who do they decide to support? Ar*enal. For no other reason that they've heard of them on TV.

That and one of them thought it was funny they had the word ass in their name. Add the word -monkey and you've got a spot on description of van pervert!

Anonymous said...

Anon 11.59pm, I can only assume that comment comes from being a cunt yourself of the jammiest scumiest kind.

What can a say...well for a start SCUM CUNTS!!!

Anonymous said...

Apart from that, the team played fantastic, no bad performances at all , some were brilliant and rest very decent.

Ok their best players weren't playing, but given the way they have taken apart other teams was nice to see them made to look like reserves, instead of this machine they've been talked up to be and were getting very cocky believing their own hype.

Juande, even with a limited choice of squad still comes up with shrewd selection ideas making the best of what's available...shit the man can get blood out of a stone!

When I first saw the midfield selection, I thought we might be a tad light in the middle with regards to the battling department, but after the custom first 10-15 minutes of the homeside testing us out, we then settled into our stride playing beautiful pass and move stuff.

Can I just say, Berba was sublime yes, but what a performance from young O'Hara who after only 6 starts looks so confident, always playing positive balls forward...looked the part as our little playmaker, fair play to the lad!

COYS...BIOYAC(Bring It On You Arsenal Cunts!)

Death said...

"Yes i know he's brilliant..... but is he lucky?"

Must be a French thing :-)

COYS!

Anonymous said...

sorry to disagree with you there Vinny but O'Hara had "not one of his better games" in a white shirt tonight...

he gave the ball away far too often...watch the game again and you'll see..

HOWEVER.. i actually think that him losing possession was down to his willingness to try adventurous things...unlike that other backwards-pass-merchant beside him....O'Hara is a confident lad..i'm not saying he'll turn out to be a world class player but he'll get better...

Anonymous said...

aside from the obvious red hair...he reminds me a bit of sholes

Anonymous said...

"Bimitarderbatov" - sorry mate but I do disagree.

Yeah I did see the couple of times he tried to take on players losing the ball in silly areas at the beginning of the game and was screaming at him too, but from then on nearly everything from him was positive, passing the ball in a forward direction, constantly making himself available to receive the ball, switching it nicely across field and not to mention put in a lot of decent set pieces that hit the right areas.

Given his age and relative inexperience in the premiership, he put in a very mature and accomplished performance. Is nice to see Ramos unearthing gems right under our noses and for free which I feel Jol would have missed.

Anonymous said...

But also Dimitarderbatov,

you do right a lot of good stuff on here, and I agree with you that on the fact Berba our darling was out of this world at times, but late in the game when we should have finised it off, even he had a couple of opportunities to put the ball through to players in better positions and flunked em. It seems that he takes his ingenius touch for granted sometimes and gets casual with the odd pass...but hey listen even great players are entitled to mispass the ball a couple of times out of the 100 that reach their intended target.

Anonymous said...

I mean "Bimitarderbatov", you do "write" a lot of good stuff of course...for all the spelling watchdogs out there.

Sometimes just can't be arsed with spell checking and anyway it's nice to dumb down away from work.

Anonymous said...

Watched this in the pub and when the scum equalised some nonce with highlights decided to scream gooner nonsense into my face as if they'd just won the world cup. The jammy bastards, we deserved a 2 or 3 goal lead, and after Defoes miss I'm glad his not signing another bloody contract.

Anonymous said...

Jenas was MOTM? That really says something about how big of a joke Spurs have become. JJ had one touch the entire 2nd half, no completed forward passes all game, and his whiff of a tackle let the worse player on Arse streak up the middle of the pitch to setup the tying goal.

GRAZZA said...

This is how i saw it -

Radek - Looked like he'd been playing in Goal for Tottenham for years, calm, alert, read the through balls perfectly and a good save from Bendtner. Kicking a bit powderpuff. All in all a really heartening and confident display. 8

Chimbonda - Nothing came down the right at all, happy days! 7

YP Lee - Thought he was quality last night, won pretty much every tackle, SO unlucky with the goal. 7

King - Never has someone been so aptly named, absolute quality, would have loved him to have scored. 8

Dawson - Solid if not a little panicky on the ball. Understandable considering his form. Much better. 6

Steed - Missed a gilt edge chance but other than that was buzzing around again, winning tackles, making ground and generally giving them a hard time. 7

Lennon - Made lots of running but didnt seem to getting many telling crosses or cut backs away. Still, a good sign to see him so advanced and not have much need to track back for the whole 90. 6

Jenas - Finished a great move, tended to play in spells of 15 minutes of brilliance, 15 minutes of giving the ball away. Woke up after a sleepy start. 6

O'Hara - Tries, tries and tries but must stop dwelling on the ball and trying to dribble round people in defensive areas! Free kicks not bad, corners pretty pony, not as impressive as some people are making out for me. 6

Berba - He was like a grown up making up numbers in a kids game! didnt even have to run. Still cant quite believe how good his touch is. 8

Keane - Did well for goal but is so easily muscled out of it, by a dogwank CB like senderos! Woeful shot when through on goal, followed by bad touch when through.

Boateng - Needs 14 touches to get under control before turning backwards. Need more from the fresh Prince of Boateng, not as good as Teemu for me. 4

Defoe - Erm yeah. 2 (for spelling his name correctly on his shirt) But to be fair he didnt hide after that like Bent would have.

London Underground - 0

7,000 empty seats? thats woeful. no excuses.

If we dont do it at home we want shooting!

Pete The YiD said...

we've got to finish off these reserve teams. I am not happy with a draw at all. I care less about performance when it is Arsenal, because we do play well against them but never win. I am worried now, that it is becoming a serious mental block to everyone. We have to win by a large margin at home to remove this blockage but to put in a good performance and lose is bullocks. I am frustrated.

Pete The YiD said...

also JJ given man of the match on sky they need to go to spec savers, ledders was immense !!Berbs was a joy to watch in the first half.

we've got to finish off these reserve teams. I am not happy with a draw at all. I care less about performance when it is Woolwich, because we do play well against them but never win. I am worried now, that it is becoming a serious mental block to everyone. We have to win by a large margin at home to remove this blockage but to put in a good performance and lose is bollocks. I am so so frustrated!!!!!!.

Anonymous said...

I’m not one for new year’s resolutions but last night I dusted off my previously flagging resolve – in the Spurs departments – and made a belated resolution for New Year.

Despite all the rumours in the press, the agents, and so on and so forth and even firmnly in the knowledge that He will leave one day..sooner or later. I will not begrudge him..I will support and adore him for the beautiful way in which he plays the game. In the first half last night Dimitar Berbatov demonstrated the skill that reminded just how good he is. The balls he put through, his touch and even his strength on the ball…were nothing short of hysterical. He is blessed with genius – if only we had a creative midfielder in the Diego mould to feed him.

Sadly though HE WILL LEAVE..to Barca or Real Madrid or Juventus or Milan I hope rather than our competitors in the Prem. I don’t begrudge him that…as long as he fills me with pride to support Spurs by playing like he is in a dance, or performing poetry.

How Jenas got man of the match ahead of Berbatov and King is another story. Anyone else get that warm feeling seeing King gallop across the back four making telling interventions, being strong, muscling players off the ball AND having composure on the ball…how we’ve missed him! But that’s only an aside. Bebatov made a handful of passes, wish I cold see those again, that I venture to say no other player in the premiership has the vision, the flair, the touch and the weight of pass to equal. Fabregas? Gerrard? Lampard? Drogba? Torres? Not a chance.

Don’t Go Dimitar!

HighandLow said...

Totally agree that the King should have been man of the match, he was class personified and before he faded in the last quarter of the game Berba was sublime.

But (at the risk of sounding like his Mother) once again I find myself defending Jenas...I'm amazed that the guy is getting criticised for his performance last night.

I appreciate we are Spurs and expect our CM to be creative, but had you put the word MAKELELE on his shirt last night you wouldn't be able to move for superbatives.

Forget about the goal, he covered an impossible amount of ground last night and I would love to know the pro-zone stats on it.

I appreciate him being lightweight in the tackle but the modern game isn't about that, it’s about breaking up the opponent’s game. Try watching for the amount of times he 'nicks' the ball from an opponent by toeing it away from them.

I counted 2 missed passes during the game which seems fair for any player in any position.

He won’t ever be a player who dictates the pace of a game, that’s why we need a Carrick/Alonso type figure next to him, but he makes an excellent foil for a creative anchor man.

Sorry to rant, but he's being judged on his Jol performances still and its high time we wiped the slate clear and watched his full game instead of highlighting any mistake he makes.

Anonymous said...

'Let’s face it, despite how off our game we were this was essentially our reserve side, playing as badly as we’ve seen them play all season, against Sp*rs first XI playing as well as we’ve seen them play and they still didn’t win' From an Arsenal blog. Says it all really. If we're gonna hold this up as a measure of progress then that is a measure of our ambition. To fail to kill off reserves?! For all our controling the game we didn't create a genuine opportunity until that waster hit over in the final minutes. We're patting ourselves on the back for containing a bunch of youngsters and reserves having a bad game. Let's be realistic eh?

Anonymous said...

off your game? just like your first team was when we should of beat them too! arrogant mug! one thing i think is quite evident though is that juande Ramos has got the measure of wenger tactically hence your "off days" the only diferance is he hasnt got his own players in yet to carry out his plans,only a matter of time before that happens prob the summer, and of course this trophy don't mean anything to you coz you will easily win as much as you did last year! Football would be the winner if we beat you as a team that takes the comp seriously and respectfully
coys bioyc

GRAZZA said...

a man after my own heart anon 2.44, these so called mickey mouse tournaments werent ever that until foreign/jock (same thing) managers started knocking them.

Ps anyone else on season ticket autopay here? got my arsenal ticket today yet i havent paid for it? unusual, but im sure spurs wont miss a trick when it comes to taking £44 off of me!

Anonymous said...

Another thing what was robbo complaining about? if he played in any other position he'd of been dropped ages ago and thank f**k we've finally got a boss that has the gonads to take these decisions!
bty

Anonymous said...

Gus -

And Oldham beating Everton? Oldham should be - by comparison - a bunch of reserves.

Luton drawing with Liverpool?

Stoke holding Newcastle?

These are all - by comparison - victories for 'reserve' sides. It happens in football - thankfully - because it's a game, and subject to human endeavour and error. The day digital football arrives (which is what the gooners and mancs almost have now) will be the day we all lose interest. Do we really want a game so predictable that we get so used winning that derbies are a (professed) non-event?

The point is, the gooners have a great footballing side and squad. Their coach has developed a culture of supreme fitness, skill and philosophy. And any of those so-called 'reserves' could fit into a Premier League first team. Lucky gooners, I say.

I look forward to Spurs playing football of a similar quality in the future. Under Ramos I believe they will.

Harry -

When the new ground is finally built, what can we do to prevent the corpocracy taking over and reducing the arena to an Emirates?

It seems to me that the ground not only has to reflect the community but INVOLVE the community. 'ONLY FOOTBALL SUPPORTERS ALLOWED IN HERE'. How this can be achieved against the corporate vision and financial aspiration of the Board leaves me wondering - will Spurs' football rise only if the club's community culture declines?

Say it isn't so, Daniel Levy.

9.37 Anon

Anonymous said...

By the way, I thought Spurs played well last night. They looked much , much fitter than they used to. Considerably so. Ars* have a fit squad, which always gives an advantage, whatever style of football played, and we matched them.

One of my colleagues at work used to be a professional footballer and remarked how FAST the game was. He positively drools over Berbatov, rating him the best player he's seen in the league since Ronaldo.

During the game I kept wondering how Jol would have responded to the 1-0 lead. Defend it and lose, anyone? I was impressed by how quick out of the traps Spurs were in the 2nd half - presumbaly to offset the expected Ars* onslaught. It worked. After 15 minutes the game lost structure and shape, and Spurs had effectively nullified the counter-attack. Our sub came on later than I expected, as I assumed Ramos would try to impose order on the chaos sooner.

As it was, they scored a lucky equaliser. Tell me anyone - did it come off the hand? The goal is credited to Walcott, so it must have been an intentional act on his part. If it was intentional, then it must have been intentional handball (even if it was ball to hand). It was wasn't intentional, then surely it was a Lee own-goal.

????

9.37 Anon

GRAZZA said...

No handball for me im afraid, being credited with the goal doesnt mean he acted intentionally in my opinion, was just complete jam.

I think the law on handball is an ass though as intent is so hard to prove, should be if a player gains an advantage by using his hand if you ask me but i dont make the rules so tough egg, hard cheese!

What is all this waffle surrounding Chimbonda and his agent? if that is his attitude then he can stick it!! Big fucking girls blouse.

Anonymous said...

Does everyone else agree it's a tragedy that Fat Sam has lost his job?

Just as it was a tragedy when Gareth Bale got his foot unceremoniously stamped on by a Newcastle player.

Not that Fat Sam would have encouraged that sort of play, of course.

9.37 Anon

GRAZZA said...

Never warmed to Sam myself, plus as andy jacobs delightfully put it on Talk Sport earlier "its not my club they can do what they want!!" he also had a big dig at their support which always makes me chuckle, the great fallacy of the Toon army

GRAZZA said...

Also annoying me today:

Walnutts "cupped ear" celebration and general delirium last night after "his" goal. Fucking hell, i thought he had a cheek to celebrate that as if he'd pulled some rabbit out of the hat with a piece of magic - what a knob.

If only Thierry Henry couldnt have seen it, maybe he could have told them off for celebrating like they had won the league.

Kings of Double Standards.

Anonymous said...

agree graza walnut was a total plum acting like we'd been singing bout him all game and to celebrate that like he'd screamed it in the top corner....well! all i can say is he won't have to cup his ear to hear us on tues. they might have a big stadium but it was more like an athletics meeting or something last night.Everyone has to make sure that the lane next week is the absolute cauldron it can be
bioyc
bty

Anonymous said...

Ok. My honest unbiased opinion - we gave Wengers so called wonderkids a right proper lesson. I just hate SKY's commentators creaming themselves while commentating; 'It's like watching Brazil' was said at one stage, ffs.
And let's not forget our own youngsters - Dawson, Lennon, Jenas, O'Hara; magnificent in their own way, one and all. The Goons were outfought, outhought, outplayed and generally outclassed. We are looking much fitter these days as well, running for 90 minutes. Shame the Goons picked up 4 injuries - I thought kids these days were meant to be fit? Final thing, am glad Ramos had the bollox to drop Robbo. We may all love him, but let's face it, he's not had the best season. Personally I think he hasn't been the same since the World Cup. If he was a striker, midfielder, defender he would have been dropped a long time ago. No-one can play just on reputation. Overall, gutted, because we thoroughly deserved to win; let's just hope we turn them over at The Lane in 2 weeks - sick of being the bridesmaid and not the bride.

coys
bioyc