and in the 89th

gooners 1: pompey 0 (gallas 89)

this is bad man, a marginal defence talent had to save us the 3 points, again.

real consistency

gooners 2: villa 2
(denilson 40, diaby 49, barry 69 pen, knight 90)

nearly went behind a coupla times early in the 1st half ... needed miracles before denilson scored against the run of play. started the 2nd more positively but then as usual went to sleep (everyone, not just the defence, who were, to be fair to the other team members ... absolute sh*t in the last 30 mins).

up 2 nil ......

just cannot hold it together for the full 90.

more sh*t comes our way

matador out for 4 months due to that knock last sunday? heard it's torn knee ligaments . . . oh . . . merry christmas . . . at least till the next game.

webb of conspiracy

gooners 1: liverwurst 1 (rvp 24, keane 41)
yoyo sent off by that blind bugger
great fan that i am, fell asleep after 10 mins ...

dooooom

gooners 1: borough 1
yoyo 16, aliediere 28

no edge ... nuff said ...... but wengker's not giving up here

what i cannot accept is that we're now below villa in the table :-0

forecast: we'll probably kill liverwurst this weekend and go down in flames against villa thereafter.

oporto daze

gooners 0: portmen 2

we played like cr*p ... it's high balls again and getting caught square ...

wengker sez: "we were quite comfortable in the first half until the goal tonight. what was disappointing was that when we tried to come back we were not capable of being dangerous, we lost balls [methinks we never had them at all] and then we were on the verge of conceding more."

boo boys can f*ck off

gooners 1: latics 0
(yoyo 16)

(s)crappy and nervous game made worse by so called fans harassing eboue. here. shameful. he may have been crap but that's no excuse for such disgraceful behaviour.

it's off to an early shower

goonerlings 0: clarets 2

chelski and now us ... a deserved win and their first major semi-final spot in many years. we were unfocussed. babes away from home perhaps.

my kind of logic

rvp comments on his iffy first goal:
"a couple of years ago, i scored a goal against chelsea and i was onside but the ref gave it offside so it didn't count, maybe it was a little bit offside but it counted and that's what matters"

reds could go top

that gerry and the pacemakers' ditty just started playing in my head ... what was the title? ... fairies from across the mersey, was it? update: and do courtesy of a scrappy drawn game gainst the hammers ...

we wuz wobbed

conspiracy? did i hear someone say conspiracy?

rockin roller coaster ride continues

gooners 2: chelski 1
(djourou 31 og, rvp woke up 60, 62)

hey, we even did the work for them ... bit of joy perhaps on account of this scalp (it's not everyday that you can come away from stamford bridge with all 3 points) but we're not out of the woods yet ... not by a long shot.

offside? huh, did i hear someone say offside? ;-) here.

face it, man

apparently, fergulicious sez that arse are in disarray and wengker is not happy with his new busom buddy ... i say al's right to an extent. anyway, it's just the f*cking media beating things up. just remember that cornered animals are the most difficult to handle.

this is it boys

the captain wows to attack ... great but please try not to dine in hell. note the kit :-O

hope he knows we don't do sarker here

ivan gazidis has been appointed the new chief executive officer

hill-wood opines: “ivan’s credentials are first class. it is evident that he has a wealth of business acumen (???) together with a broad knowledge of football (???) that will not only help to maintain arsenal’s pre-eminent standing but enhance our reputation within the football community and international commercial markets(???)"

think the 2 key words here are "business" and "commercial" ... scary, man:-0

deputy commissioner with the major soccer league in the US ... wow, really?

a winning weekend?

newcastle 0: chelski 0 (epl)

bordeaux 1: chelski 1 (CL)

they've not been so hot lately.

phew!

gooners 1: kyiv 0
sub bendtner 87

scrappy but i'll take it ... pink boots and all.

resurgence? not really ... let's see how we handle the next group of russians this weekend.

on go the training wheels

cesc gets the armband ... at such a sh*tty stage of proceedings, do not envy him. the pressure to do well must be intense ... it's only the CL left this season and we may not even be in it next.

has he the respect from team mates?, spose so. is he inspirational? in fits this season. any other candidate? ...er ... he'll have to do. let's move on.

actually hoping for a spurs type transformation ... :-0

next up: russian roulette at home.

sez it all ...

fold!

gooners 0: adug city 3
(ireland 45,robinho 56, sturridge 90 pen)

can just hear the knee jerk calls for le gaff's head ... so, can anyone tell me who esle can do the job? ...

i say start all over again, arsene. it starts here and now ... some insprational words from that sage oscar goldman ... "gentlemen, we can rebuild him. we have the technology. we have the capability to build the world's first bionic man. steve austin will be that man. better than he was before. better, stronger, faster." ... and that theme song ......

have we arrived at critical mass?

captain nicotine does the laundry in public ... here and here. seems like things have been simmering for some time. more problems for le gaffer ... but i suppose he's known about this combustible internal situation for some time now.

internal strife or unhappiness can no doubt be extremely damaging to a campaign, just look at our jeckle and hyde form and the situation at toteringham under ramos as compared to that under redknapp.

la dolce villa

wengker now says: "You cannot speak about whether you will be champions or not at this stage but to be champions you need to be consistent - and we are not." smell a crisis?

this roller coaster ride just won't end

gooners 0: villa 2
clichy og 70, agbonlahor 80

speechless ...

is this the same team?

toteringham 4: reds 2

initially minnows, then the gooners and now the reds. it's getting seriously weird.

actor out on loan

goonerlings 3: latics 0 (carling cup)
simpson 43,68 vela 71
the milwall loaner's first start in an senior game. and what about goal no.3 ......

the latics were to be an altogether different proposition to the blades (but in the end, only marginally). expected a more torrid time but things happen when you are having fun and have the commitment and skills to back you up. there's a refreshing thread of natural teamwork and selflessness running through this and the earlier game. i don't care how great a player you are, when you have 3 hyperactive hobbits hounding you whenever you get the ball throughout 90 odd minutes, you'll lose the plot. seniors should take note.

some have said that there's no pressure on the kids ... really? surely pressure must be seen in it's context. you're 17, you're trying to break into the 1st team (your future depends on it, it's your chosen profession init?), there's at least a coupla other guys who can play in your position and who've got the skills and maybe more experience, you're actually playing other 1st teams (well, mostly), the whole world is watching (well, maybe an eighth :-)), your manager (not just any manager but le gaffer) is watching, the odd national team manager is watching, the fans are watching, there's a real trophy up for grabs, it's a knockout competition ... get real.

work in progress they may be but them children provide heaps of fun ... and isn't that what it"s all about? when i really want to get serious and worry about things, i clock in at my office.

let yo feet do the talking, fool

title contenders are now afraid of us ... ? boy-man shooting off his mouth again here and here.

we're not called arsenole for nothing ...

6 more minutes of stress (the boys are back in town, i hope)

gooners 2: manure 1
nasri 22, 48 da silva 89
6 mins of stoppage time added

most say that it was a pulsating attacking game. but i thought that we we rather tentative throughout, moves did not flow. nerves i spose ... on a bad run and knee deep in a must-win game against manure. the second goal in particular was rather satisfying, a 16-17 pass move before the ball nestled in the back of net. and then we didn't just all drop back and defend the 2 goal advantage (or we just don't know how ...), this going forward regardless attitude is a joy. dangerous? tactically naive? who gives a sh*t ...

but with the late da silva goal and the extra time ... shades of the toteringham disaster ...

to be fair, manure (with their first team, mind you) had an out of sorts kind of day ... didn't have the edge and the luck. penalty? what penalty?

we're not out of the woods yet, not by a long shot. premiership still very much a pipe dream at this stage, methinks. but someone asked before the tie, whether we have the stomach for a fight given our recent results? answer's quite clear, init? it's just a shame that the same or even depleted team beat manure but not the minnows ... it's all in the mind, stupid.

back down on earth: great win this may be but the facts are that this bit of euphoria only gives us 3 points whereas 13 have been needlessly fed to the fishes and nasri's not an out and out striker, is he?

bedraggled

that's what we're being described as ... like a stray moggie ...

i believe it's all in the mind, look at toteringham ... same team but look at them now. and don't tell me it's due to redneck's skill and tactical nous as gaffer.

fingers crossed we don't get manure all over ourselves this weekend.

need one of these?

where's the edge?

gooners 0: turks 0
whoever said possession was ninetenths . . . was correct, its just that goals come with the missing bit. can't defend, now, can't score . . . this confidence thing is worrying.

arc of a diver

some semblance of normality

wengker winge : “all the players have been injured deliberately” !!! here

come on, man. get a grip on yourself. the bums may be neanderthals and talentless hacks but criminals ? ...

potterman has his say here

want non contact sport? play chess.

red, white and spineless?

pretty huh? ... it's a seaslug called "spanish dancer"... no offence cesc.

turks in town

here we go ... a clear win would be just the thing to pick us up in anticipation of the war this weekend. hope we don't blink.

update: blinked.

it's the pretty football, stupid

prozac has kicked in for some time now ...

don't know bout others but for me it's about the joy of watching your club play and function with some style ... wins and trophys are a welcomed bonus. it's about witnessing the complex interplay of personalities and abilities, of the hand that fate deals out and how the team deals with it, and the inevitable c*ckups. plus the chance to rant, argue and spew opinions however inconsequencial, loopy or crappy they may be. the odd wager with friends. it's a great never ending soap opera ...

whatever it is, you do not live your life through the club. it's just a distraction, albeit a wonderful one.

not a real gooner? ... so be it. i have fun, do you?

when it rains, it pours ...

gooners 1: potters 2
rvp tossed out

someone said that we're fast becoming a team of talented but soft little faggots ... touche.

expect the knives to come out ...

for today at least, frank aptly put it thus:
"and now, the end is near,
and so I face the final curtain."

stunned by stoke? ... INDEED. uefa cup next season? ... HOLY SH*T.
now where did i leave the prozac ......

you're wimps ...

the gauntlet has been thrown down ... potty trained (and ex trotter) defender alledges that gooners have no b*lls ... here and here.

the dicky might be unpleasently suprised this weekend as we usually bounce back with a vengence after a crappy game.

let's get physical, physical ...

you don't say...

yoyo spews the obvious, "we can never be champions this way"

cornered critters bite

gooners 4: toteringham 4
-silvestre 37, gallas 46, adebayor 64, van persie 68
-bentley 13, bent 67, jenas 89, lennon 90

given our involvement in that last gasp win in the 78/79 fa cup final, should have known that it ain't over till the fat lady sings. pity it had to be the current spurs team to remind us.

some arseblogs even posted a 4-2 win ...!

anyway wengker's take ... here and here

could not afford the loss of the 2 points ... but objectively, was shaping up to be a decent enough game (ie. a win), it's just that we lost concentration in the end ...... same old, same old ...

wengker said he would like to keep the positives ... yes, positively sad.

what's next? stunned by stoke?

didn't do him much harm

not quite hammertime

but i'll take it . . . . . . gooners 2: ham sandwich 0 (1 og and 1 yoyo)

that "gallouise"

can't the man smoke on his own time?

wengker is said to be unhappy ... but what's the basis, legal or moral? is there a no smoking provision in his contract? if not, then its moral but who the f*ck gave le gaff the right to pontificate? just not in public? keeping up appearances? ... how very english.

what next? ... boy-man caught downing a pint of ale down at the pub? ... cesc caught wearing a fur coat? ... yoyo caught speeding in his rangy ... abc caught doing a "hugh grant" ... jeez! where will it end?

stick to onfield issues, you wengker.

there are some blogs which opine that if gallas were a better player, his smoking "indiscretion" could be overlooked ... what utter cr*p.

he's either dead or north korean

i thought busts were for those who have departed ...

something like this next? ... jeez

messiah ... not

swollen

european teams running scared of us ... ? boy-man starting to brag and spew hyperbole ... here

hull city and sunderland could be considered european, couldn't they?

needs an ice-pack ... his head's swollen. long way to go, kid.

not bad but ...

gooners 5: the turks 2

yoyo 10, boy-man 11, diaby 22, song 49, boy-man II 90.

moves flowed and most chances taken ... however it was the same sorry tale at the back. a better team would have given us the sh*ts. the pet spaniard and our almost english goalie did show spurts of brilliance though.