I had been nervous about this game. The late kick in the teeth from the winner in Porto deep into added on time had changed the mind-set completely. Suddenly we had to score twice to win during the game, with the possibility of extra time and even penalties. And all against a side with Champions League pedigree and nous. Whereas it was many years since we had been in the competition regularly and even more since we’d progressed in the knock out stages.
So as we walked down the steps to Block 7, row 9, in the North Bank, it was with a fluttering in the “tummy” as Mikel likes to call it. The flags were dotted around again and as we got closer to kick off were being waved with enthusiasm. It had absolutely chucked it down for most of the day in London, although it was a mild evening, and as the flags were waved the accumulated raindrops from them formed a fine mist, soaking us. ‘North London Forever’ and the CL theme, all added to the grandeur of the atmosphere. Arteta had gone with the same team as against Brentford, bar swapping Raya in for Ramsdale (and how important was that to be!).
This isn’t going to be a play by play report. I didn’t get home until 1.30 am and still haven’t watched the game back. But I want to talk about Porto. They are a schizophrenic team. They specialise in the dark arts and showed us in the first leg how they will waste time, collapse without being touched, con the referee and argue incessantly. Why would you want to watch a team like that I hear people asking? Well ask the passionate Portugese in the sold out away section or back at their fortress of a stadium. Because they are a highly skilled team, with a great defence and lightning fast wingers. They were good on the ball and, although they proved not great in the box, outplayed us for portions of the game. Respect. I remember back in the early 90s watching Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle play John Beck’s Cambridge United in what is now the Championship. You could see the Newcastle players being flummoxed by the über long ball tactics and complaining to Keegan. He bawled back at them “Don’t moan about it! Do something about it!” It’s the same with the Portos and Brentfords of this world. If they can make it work they are entitled to play their way.
So how about Arsenal? Remember we were still playing late on Saturday evening in a tough physical game. So it was a short turn around with essentially the same team. So no wonder we didn’t marmalise them as we have many PL teams lately. I thought Ødegaard (who is approaching Berkamp levels for me), Kiwior, Raya (who apart from his penalty heroics made key saves in each half) and Rice were outstanding. Trossard for me had a poor first half. He lost the ball four times out on the left wing, due to a combination of a poor touch and being out-fought and I was terrified that each time it was going to lead to a counter-attack and a goal for Porto. We badly missed Martinelli during that period. I was among many others calling for Leo to be subbed off for Jesùs at half time. And then of course it happened …. just before half time as the crowd were just starting to get nervous.
Ødegaard picked up the ball in central midfield. He juggled with it, exchanged passes with Leo on his left, manoeuvring the ball to get it just right and (I think he took four touches using both feet) then, as Leo started his run, unleashed a defence splitting pass that took out three men deep in the penalty area, right into Leo’s path. Leo finished beautifully, guiding the ball through Pepe’s legs (ha, ha, ha). We were level, at a key moment in the game. And that, gentle reader, is why your correspondent is third from bottom of the GHF prediction league and Mikel Arteta is paid the big bucks.
The second half and extra time didn’t produce a great deal of chances. We had the ball in the net, but it was chalked off for a foul called on Havertz’s tug on Pepe. It looked, all the time, as though Porto were playing for extra time and penalties. And so it came to pass.
The first roar came as our captain won the toss and pointed to the North Bank. He then won the second toss and we got to go first. Afterwards, David Raya said that we spend a lot of time preparing for penalties, both outfielders and goalkeepers (why does this not surprise me?). We looked visibly confident as we stepped forward. Ødegaard, of course, led the way and smashed his penalty home with verve. As the Portuguese players stepped up they were met with a wall of noise and twirling scarves in the North Bank. Their first penalty sent Raya the wrong way. Havertz came up and did his hop skip and a jump to score. The Porto left back, Wendell (who I thought was excellent) went to Raya’s left. Our ‘keeper got a hand on it, pushed it onto the post, and somehow it didn’t go in off him. Next up Saka, who looked the picture of confidence as another great penalty went in to make it 3-1. Raya almost saved the third, getting a hand on it (I loved the fact that afterwards he was visibly disappointed that he didn’t save that as well). 3-2 and here comes Declan Rice. He put the ball down, took a deep, calming breath, gathered himself and smashed home his penalty con brio. Is there anything this man can’t do?
So Porto were now at the point of no return. Ironically their scorer from the first game, Galeno, was the man tasked with keeping them in the game. He struck it again to Raya’s left. Our ‘keeper guessed correctly, got two big hands on the ball and we were in the quarter final.
Cue huge celebrations. I loved the fact that Ramsdale was one of the first to give Raya a huge bear hug with a huge grin. That tells you all about the spirit of the team and also what a big man, in all ways, Aaron Ramsdale is. Saliba was jumping about like a mad thing, clutching the flags and celebrating with the fans. Lovely to see. This is a very together bunch.
The Porto manager proved himself a bad loser by claiming Porto were the better team and Arteta had said something about his family in Spanish. He refused to shake hands. He has serial form for this type of antics. Well, cry me a river. As Arseblog said this morning, fuck off back to Portugal and I hope Ryanair lose your luggage.
I think this game was absolutely critical for the rest of our season. We are top of the league and in the CL quarters. We’ve played 11 games since Bahrain, won ten and only lost at Porto, which we put right last night. We await the draw for the quarters. We now have six days off before the international camps start and 19 days off before our next game (cough, away at City). From that point on March 31 we are playing football twice a week through April and May. Tough on the players and the fans. During the dark periods of the last 20 years (last year excepted), at Easter, bar the odd FA Cup and trying to get top four, our season was over. We are where we want to be, with a talented young team and an incredible manager. Wherever you are watching, in Asia, Australia, the USA, Africa, various parts of Europe and the UK, or for the lucky few who are going to the games, we are privileged to be Arsenal supporters right now.
Keep the faith!
Thanks for a great report from inside the ground, c100 and your last paragraph is so true. We have got great players, a great manager with a great coaching team around him, great fans and great supporters. We are in a great moment, one to savor and to build on.
Well said C100. I have no doubt the team will step up for the rest of the season – and beyond. Time for the fans to do the same.
UTA COYG CCMSDE
Excellent report. I’m exceedingly grateful that I am not a Portuguese Porto fan. What an outstanding hard working captain and creative genius we have.
Cheers C100!
Cheers Countryman. Thanks for an outstanding report from the scene of the crime (and Porto did plenty last night that struck me as being bloody criminal).
Their manager is the worst. Just the worst. Has he ever lost in Europe without accusing the opposition manager of insulting his family? It’s slander, or defamation of character, or some other legal term, and it should be investigated. You can’t go on international TV and accuse a respectable individual of insulting your family (for the third time, assuming you count Guardiola as respectable!) and think that’s acceptable. It isn’t. The man is a liar.
I’m so pleased we got through the tie. No matter how legitimate some may consider Porto’s tactics, it made for the least enjoyable two games of football I’ve watched in a long time. We got the right result, and that’s great… and I hope its a long time until I see a match with a team playing like that again.
I reckon we’ll get Barca in the next round. My second guess would be Bayern. It just feels like this team may get a chance to right old wrongs, or to show how far the club has come. Or something.
Anyhoo, no football to speak of for a couple of weeks, so there is plenty of time to let this sink in. Champion’s League quarter finals strikes me as being par for our team (given our quality, not our recent history). Semi-finals might see us punching above our weight, but I can’t wait to see us take the challenge on.
UTA!
Cheers, C100. I can’t comment on a match I didn’t get to see (late gig finish meant I couldn’t even catch the penalty shootout), but great to read about it, and even greater to actually be through!
Bring on the usual Bayern/Barça. Save QSG for the semi-finals, when my calendar is lighter :-p.
Spot on with the last paragraph.
Thank you C100. A perfect report to put the icing on the multilayered cake that we ultimately enjoyed last night and from which I am still recovering. You capture the experience superbly not only the actual match but also the emotional journey. There was frustration, anger, joy, more frustration, strangled joy, increasing tension and ultimately hope followed swiftly by exhilaration.
I pity the Porto fans having to put up with at least two decades of watching such cynical anti-football behaviour and years of regular sour grapes from that disgraceful manager. They do have the consolation of living in a beautiful town with the vineyards of the Douro just up river. So, I don’t pity them much. Their team came to kill the game, then played for penalties and were ultimately undone by cooler and calmer professionals when it cam to the sharp end. The hand of Nemesis, I might suggest.
“We are where we want to be, with a talented young team and an incredible manager.” You have never written a truer word, sir. Now, let’s see how far we can go.
Sursum semper, as a certain scholar in our coterie might say.
MCMBD as a certain other scholar in our coterie would add.
Thanks, C100 – an enjoyable read that’s bang on the money,
As you hit on a particular point I liked – and my previous comment came right at the end of the last bar, with apologies I’m reposting it –
We won. Anti-football lost.
That team is incredibly hard to beat for all the wrong reasons.
Of all the scenes at the end, none gives greater hope for optimism than Ramsdale hugging Raya with a huge smile on his face and the warmest embrace. Team spirit and togetherness are vital at this level and this team, and this manager have it.
Sly, cheating Porto did not have the same strength of character when the penalties began and lacked the belief to complete the task.
Their manager resorted to some cheap distraction tactics with his accusations aimed at Arteta.
Just take your cheating team and Portoff !
Very fine report C100. I got in at 12.40, made a brew and played the highlights of the match through ( quickly ) until the penalties . As they made it 3-2 the recording cut out. But it was being shown in highlight form on TNT so I watched that . Mrs TTG is a heavy sleeper and I was too pumped to sleep.
Arsenal are a work in progress and as C100 points out Porto , if they chose to, could be a top side . Could I query PG’s comment @2 in that the current support levels are off the scale and made it a forbidding prospect to take penalties in front of the North Bank . I think the fans have stepped up after a period earlier in the season when it got quieter at matches. I sense huge support for the team and there is sadness that so many people ( including many Holics) can’t get tickets for home matches.
Fine team performance with particular praise for Odegaard, Kiwior , White , Havertz, Rice and of course Raya . His all-round performance last night was brilliant. And Saka won’t come up against a better left back than Wendal or however his name was spelt . Great night to be a Gooner . I love what Arteta is doing
Some excellent analysis from Adam Clery on Fourfourtwo that I thoroughly recommend. (He backs up exactly what Countryman noted about Wendall’s performance).
This is exactly the sort of detailed tactical analysis combined with wider contextual judgments that I referenced in a long post about Havertz recently. I have no idea why anyone would spend their time with the mainstream media ‘analysis’ when genuinely excellent stuff like this is so easily available.
c100, outstanding work. just lovely. i am still mildly shaking this morning, so happy and excited and metabolizing the adrenaline.
porto were excellent at nullifying what we were trying to do. bastards, time wasters, divers, and borderline cheats, but they achieved their goal…almost. i was at work watching the game and screamed aloud when mø put in the dink over costa…only to have it pulled back like havertz on pepe. when we went to penalties i was working with a printer tech to get our service printer working, and was in and out of my office to watch the penalties. when raya saved the first i yelped. when he saved the second and won the match i jumped up and down saying “yes yes yes”. the tech looked at me and laughed and said how happy he was for me, he owned he is a chelsea fan and just hasn’t had much to cheer about lately… the looks on the faces of the porto players, and especially on cuntceição’s, deeply delighted my sense of schadenfreude.
what a team we have. gsd, you’re so spot on about havertz. as he has gained confidence we see more and more of what arteta saw in him…and why he starts every game now. not too different from xhaka last year, though who would have seen it happening this fast…it took two years with xhaka. i also have to bow towards kiwior. he has done so well since coming into that position, and has a determination without the momentary lapses we often saw in his predecessors. i am hoping it’s a long-term position for him, and we focus tomi and timber on the center and the right (spelling ben, who has also been brilliant lately).
as they used to say on ren and stimpy: happy happy joy joy!!
Excellent report, C100. As others have said, your final paragraph is spot on.
GSD@10: Well said. What a differences not having to beat up controversy from where it doesn’t exist makes. I do wonder how many of the old pros turned rent-a-mouth would have the intelligence to thrive in the modern game.
That’s a very fine report C100 – it reflects the actual match to a tee. It’s an added bonus to get your report as to what it was like “at the coal face”, what a great atmosphere was generated there.
It’s always fantastic to win a penalty shoot out, one must feel sympathetic for such valiant losers, no really, honestly……….😂😂.
Whoever we draw in the Q/F will be tough but I feel confident we can hold our own….a revenge match against Barca or Bayern would be great.
GSD attached a brilliant video about last night’s game
This video by the same guy is superb at underlining how well Arsenal are playing and Arteta is coaching at present
Thanks C100, an enjoyable read and always good to hear from the man on the spot.
The fans sounded loud on the telly it’s great that we build that fortress mentality.
Like others I enjoyed the result more than the actual match though our goal was brilliant and our penalty taking outstanding under pressure. On we go and I don’t care who we get
Does anyone know who was going to take the 5th penalty? I have read Jesus, Zinny and Benny Blanco in different places.
Talking of Mr White, it seems Benjamin has a new contract. The current deal was going to run out in 2026 so it seems our new found contract efficiency is going well. It is so nice that everyone wants to stay and I can’t remember the last time I took any sensational story about moving to some other big club seriously.
Something else to thank MA and Edu for.
@12 a good question on old pros learning new tricks Ned. Oddly enough though he is a truly dreadful rent a mouth I think Carragher might have been ok as he fits the modern FB/CB mould quite well. Neville on the other hand….
I commend this article to you. It’s an excellent tribute to vår strålende kaptein.
Great link Bath. Here’s Mike McDONALDSTHOUGHTS ON Tuesday’s game.
Matt
Well pointed out re Edu and Arteta re contracts and we must not forget Richard Garlick who has really sorted out this area and will become MD in the summer . I think his arrival at the club has been very good news
Benny Blaco signs new contract
https://www.arsenal.com/news/ben-white-signs-new-long-term-contract
TTG’s keyboard appears to have beamed itself to Cambridgeshire. Sorry Benny.
Blogs appears to have coined a new but highly fitting term today:
Manch115ter City
Some superb analysis of the Porto game and of Arsenal’s evolution is around. Personally while I always enjoy Mike McDonald’s stuff I thought the 4-4-2 analysis which GSD attached actually pointed out the way in which Arsenal countered the mid-block much better and particularly the way in which we tweaked Odegaard’s role to make him much more effective in attacking spaces . There were only a very few players who weren’t at their best on Tuesday – Saliba , Saka and Trossard and certainly the first two might be suffering in analysis because their regular levels are so high – and because they are being played intensively in every match .
But Mike is right about Eddie . He isn’t of the requisite quality .And personally I’d rather have Tierney than Zinchenko although they are both injured far too much . I was told some time ago that White and Tomayisu have signed new contracts – great news esp for Benny Bianco .
This is great.
Taking my kids to football brings us together like nothing else
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0fcf41fd-d908-43cb-b00b-d8b8e20feb34?shareToken=eef88ee57d7c5a3283d139f287a8a24f
I want to second what TTG said about Richard Garlick. He’s been brilliant. He is just so astute and so competent. I know that should be a minimum requirement, but we have not always had it, especially recently, so it’s great to have a safe, reliable hand on the tiller, and to trust that his work will always be of the highest quality. Top man and his new role is very well deserved.
C100
I loved that piece by Syed and in fact in compliance with his request have written to him with my personal perspective
Benny gets two weeks off to top up his suntan.
https://x.com/henrywinter/status/1768276095151829171?s=61&t=cVFjCyGkt4y-Ne45LtfqkQ
Good to have official confirmation of Benny Blanco’s new contract.
There are some good links above. I have always found Adam Clery’s analysis both engaging and insightful—and not just because he agrees with my point that Arteta repeatedly finds a way to nullify the opposition’s danger men.
Mike McDonald was harsher than I might have expected on the Porto win, but he made the much-overlooked point that we got a break in the penalties when Raya’s first save bounced off his leg and wide, not in, which is where it could have so easily gone. Like TTG, I agree that Eddie has not kept pace with the development of the rest of the team. I expect him to be on the summer sell list.
Not only is the GHF Predictathon leaderboard for Match Week 28 now posted but there is a bonus form guide. You know where to find both…
C100@30: Good to see Southgate keeping faith with Ramsdale.
C100 @26, thanks for posting Syed’s piece. I found the tears rolling down my cheeks as I read it to my wife. So true! 100% accuracy.
bt8 @24, that excellent moniker, ‘Manch115ter City’, was actually coined by Andrew Allan who wrote the Arseblog piece this morning. Andrew is another excellent writer and analyst and, a friend of GHF.
Interesting!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68568456
https://x.com/deprevatt/status/1768312421096013888?s=61&t=cVFjCyGkt4y-Ne45LtfqkQ
Benjamin White is clearly a man of independent thought, who neither follows the crowd nor conforms to the expectations of others. He is a bloody good team player and he is England’s loss. I heard that he was extremely bored in Qatar and the hours spent by the pool and playing mindless computer games became intolerable to him. I admire his style.
Bravo for Benny Blanco. It is important to have a life outside of work. What do they know of football that only football know, to paraphrase CLR James.
Benjamin is absolutely spot on – if you are picked to spend your down time travelling and training for a team – you should at minimum get some playing time, either as sub or for
less important games/friendlies. (Something MA should consider.) You cannot expect players to slot in seamlessly, when they are firmly nailed to the sub. bench.
Bravo Ben Blanco. Keep on doing what you’ve been doing and we’ll all be very happy.
Bravo c100 for that excellent photo at the top of your piece, the one up ⬆️ I mean.
Hoping this plays better.
Greater repercussions of the on-field spat between KDB and Pep after the latter sent on a substitute for the former last week?
“Manchester City have decided to postpone talks over a new contract for Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 32, who has just over a year remaining on his current deal.“. (BBC report in quotes)
A fairly long piece in The Athletic about Benny Blanco followed by several hundred comments. Of course nobody actually knows exactly why he has made the decision, hopefully the story will go away fairly quickly.
Very big game for the ladies team tonight at Chelsea.
Very best of luck to them . Victory would bring them level on points with Chelsea at the top . I believe we still have Citeh away to play who are the other team in contention.
Well you could have knocked me down with a feather.
There i was watching today’s NBA game in the US between The Boston Celtics and the Phoenix Suns, and who should be sitting courtside but our own Bukayo Saka.
He must have flown there the day after Porto game.
He is clearly a Boston fan as he gave one of their top players Jaylon Brown 2 Arse shirts home and away and got one of his in return.
He was posing for photos and clearly enjoying himself.
It’s Bayern Munich! Time for revenge!
Sometimes football appears to be scripted ! We can beat them but I’d have preferred to be home in the second leg .
Do they have anyone we know ?😀😀
Yep, bring ‘em on and serve up some revenge. We got the tough half of the draw but anyway you have to beat decent teams at this stage.
https://x.com/northbanklower/status/1768599363155091822?s=61&t=cVFjCyGkt4y-Ne45LtfqkQ
Tough CL draw, although this Bayern side is beatable. The two 5-1 losses in 2017 will be brought up endlessly, but we should remember that we were holding them 1-1 in the first leg until Koscielny went off injured early in the second half and leading them 1-0 in the home leg until Koscielny was sent off, and we went down to ten men with a third of the game to play.
Get through the quarter-final and then worry about City or Real.
Well in for the half-ton, C100.
The Guv’nor was on top form after the 2017 home loss to Bayern.
Clive@46: Good to see you in. Hope all is well with you and yours.
Well in Countryman.
Great to see Clive too.
Lovely link from Ned, there’s a bovril on the bar for you.
I’m well up for Bayern.
They won’t play anything like Porto did, and for all it was an effective way to play to their strengths, it made the games awful as a spectacle. Bayern will be tough, and they have quality, not least up top where Kane has hurt us so often in the past.
But we owe them a beating (over a tie, not just a single match) and I think we should be quite well suited to their setup.
It’s a proper big tie against a genuine European powerhouse, and that’s where we’ve wanted to be for years.
Bring it on!
BMMBD!
Well in for the 50 there C100.
Thanks for the link Ned, a great match report of a real low point and some fairly direct drinks to follow after, a fan base divided. Only 7 years ago but it seems much longer really.
Is it true Bayern fans are banned for the home leg and we will have 60000 cheering us on and booing Harry the slack jaw?
SP@58. Yup. Disciplined for chucking fireworks onto the pitch against (I think) Lazio.
Ned @37 – too right, hahahaha – to paraphrase Sid James 😉
Well in for the half-ton, C100.
While I don’t mind Bayern/revenge time in the QF, I’m less enamoured with the semi-final draw. Mind you, I’ve always hated the SF being drawn at the same time as the QF as has been the case for a while now. I think it’s bollocks.
Ned@53
Thanks for reminding us of Dave’s incomparable way with words !
Actually we did save our season seeing off the Chavs at Wembley in the Mertesacker Final
Matt’s remarks made me consult the comments section.
Blimey ! I’d forgotten how divided the fan base was then and how adroitly Dave defused it We had posters who were regular in their appearances when the club suffered defeats but less so otherwise . And people who could not stand the abuse Wenger received . I looked at what I wrote and I didn’t wince . I think it was fair even with the benefit of seven years distance .
We’ve been through a revolution in the last seven years ( more than one in fact ) but we now have a super team, great coach and exec team and something I certainly didn’t acknowledge or appreciate in 2017, an emotionally intelligent couple of owners . They have facilitated a big change after the understandable mistake of giving Arsene a new contract after the Cup Final.
Can anyone else remember the chant the Bayern fans were giving us at the Ems in the 2nd leg CL game when we lost 10 -2 on aggregate.
” What’s the time, what’s the time, it’s 10 to 2 “. arrogant sods.
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Just a shame the first leg is at home, as you are caught between 2 stools, whether to attack or defend, and can end up with something in between.
With the 2nd leg at home, you know what you have to do.
Looking at the rest of the draw, you would have to think whoever come out of our side of it will be clear favorites in the final.
Just made the mistake of checking the Ladies score against Chelsea.
Doesn’t look like we were up for the fight, currently down 3 nil midway through 2nd half.
When you consider the quality of the squad we have, this season has been very underwhelming.
No away fans might have raised my chances of getting a ticket from 0.1% to 0.2% as I am in the UK for the first two weeks of April.
Then I realised I was going to be in Paris on 9th April 😢😢
Who do I talk to about getting the game rescheduled?
Then maybe we can watch the match together, Matt. 🙂
That’d be good Ollie 😃
On checking I have to get the 21:11 from Gare du Nord, which puts a spanner into Plan B
In other news I noticed Ben Sheaf, once of this parish, will captain Coventry in their 1/4 final against Wolves today.
Damn, Matt, awkward timing indeed.
Another reason to support Coventry then!
A late (but valid and accurate) update:
Liverpool dropped points.
Manchester City dropped points.
Arsenal took full points.
Anything else you’d like to know?
Who is top of the league?
Say we are, Matt.
Well done Coventry! Also means our match away at Wolves does not get moved.
Re: Matt @74. There is a clue in what Ollie said @75.
Ollie knows.
Yes, I’m beginning to think WE are top of the league
Nice for Ben Sheaf to lead his team out at Wembley, on checking I see he did get 1 sub appearance for us in the Ropey League.
I hope Shitteh and Liverpoo both win and then get each other in the semi finals.
Though I will laugh happily if they lose too, win-win for me really
Thanks, Ned, TTG – just checked the Predictathon with Wk 28 updated.
I’m going to have to find a way of nobbling UPLY as he drags me back down every time I creep a place above him. He’s been pulling my shirt since Week 1 ! 😳🤣
Re: The Predictathon and Ned’s remarkable coverage of the same: I would commend for everyone’s attention his amazing bonus chart: a form guide for the past ten match weeks in which the contestants’ Match Week 19 position is the starting point and their weekly performance is traced through Match Week 2. Squiggly lines, dazzling colors not lacking!!
Through match week 28, should have said. Didn’t mean to imply anything different.
Squiggly lines for all contestants bar Pangloss, c100, CER and Bath, I should have pointed out.
bt8@82, consistent bastards, all. 🤣
It is, indeed, quite hypnotic, bt8.
Bt8 @82. I know my place.
In other news Fulham 2-0 up on the Spuds with 57 minutes gone.
Make that 3-0!
Ringing out from the Hammersmith End
“Tottenham get battered
Everywhere they go.
Tottenham get battered
Everywhere they go!”
Spurs doing something quite Spursy in this game 😀
Come on Fulham, there’s time for a few more rounds of Tottenham get battered!!
Fulham is my second team and was my Dad’s team (long story). Up in heaven, he’s punching the air with his brothers, and getting the celestial beers in.
so satisfying to see them lose. glad your pop is celebrating…probably with chris, holuc, terry, holicdad, and others…
Don’t forget cba! He’ll be plying the celestial host with his cloud-brewed hooch.
My 12 year old son is a Hotspur no thanks to his Grandpa so I’m torn when they lose. Half of me wants them to lose and the other half wants them to lose heavily.
Punts the ball down the pitch…
Climbs all over the hapless defender and heads it on.
Picks up the loose ball, stops to laugh @93, has a quick pint while holding off a couple of defenders and then lays it off to…
Sancho. I don’t have a son (Spurs fan or otherwise) but the wife sometimes claims to be a Spurs fan just to get on my nerves. In any case, half of me wants them to lose heavily, and the other half wants them to lose doubly heavily.
Takes Matt’s lay off and spreads it wide for the onrushing fullback
takes bt8’s pass and feathers a ball towards the penalty spot for…
Bang!
Brilliant take Ollie!
VAR are looking at this.
Been about 30 minutes, should be getting a decision from VAR any time now
*has been celebrating with the whole team, but waits endlessly*
Shit process, really, guys.
Oh look! Pushing an opponent over with two hands on his back is deemed foul play and results in a penalty for Burnley against Brentford and a red card for preventing a goal scoring opportunity but not when it’s a Newcastle forward pushing Gabriel over to win the ball and assist a goal. I still wonder why that foul wasn’t given.
Well in Ollie @ the big 100
Well in and pointed @105 Bath
Joins the team in awaiting the endless, and not necessarily correct, VAR decision.
A smidgeon of news for you to ease the wait:
Arsenal have completed the signing of Wales youth international Brayden Clarke, 16, from Wolves.
Well in for the ton, Ollie. VAR must have timed out by now.
Clarke is highly rated and can play centre-back or full-back with equal facility, as is required of defenders these days.
More concerningly, reports suggest that Saliba will be called up for the French squad at the Paris Olympics. This could mean he would be at the Euros from June 14 to July 14 and then the Olympics from July 24 to August 10. The 2024-2025 Premier League season starts on August 17, so he would miss pre-season training and, as he will need a recovery break, several games at the start of the season, too.
celebrates with ollie, regardless of var. well in!
Cheers, scruz. Pretty sure I was behind the ball when you passed it. :-). So f*** VAR indeed!
Bath @105. That mystery shall be forever unsolved….
Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, Ned. Hope we can say no just like Real said no for Mbappé it seems.
Mbappé says he won’t play for Arsenal because the temperature in London is too cold. I’m no more of a meteorologist than he is, but I do travel regularly between the two cities, and a rudimentary search online confirms my observations that Paris is less than 1.5°C hotter on average
The biggest difference is during the summer months, ie. during off-season, when he will be with his national team or on holiday anywhere he fancies, and the difference in temperature between London and Paris makes sod all difference to him.
Maybe I’m going out on a limb here, but might I suggest that the weather doesn’t come into it, and the significant differential between us and Madrid (lovely city, good weather) is the vast sums of money Real Madrid are offering him?
Perhaps he also appreciates the idea of playing for a club and manager who think that his world-class quality is an acceptable excuse for not working his balls off. Mikel would have no truck with that, and Mbappé, like most people who aren’t chasing true greatness, is not gonna choose to do more work for less pay.
To be clear, I’m not saying Mbappé would guarantee greatness if he came to Arsenal. Nor that he is somehow doing something lazy or cowardly by signing for the most successful European club of all time, who he has clearly been enamoured with for years. It’s doubtless a good call, and, frankly, I’m surprised he’s stayed so long at PSG.
But I am saying that he only puts in a shift when he feels like it, and whilst he will go down as one of the best of his generation and, probably, all-time, he will end his career not knowing how good he’d have been if he gave it 100% every day.
Although, as he won’t be playing for us, I suppose I can live with that.
Liverpool threw that game away.
Yep. At least, no more quadruple talk. But I think the incoming lull means any physical or psychological effect from today’s match will be heavily diluted.
The automatic yellow card for taking off your shirt is a crap rule that should be scrapped. Poor kid got a red, after what must have been the best moment of his career, for nothing.
He only got the first one for being too close to a free kick that Poo were taking from ten yards in front of where the foul was committed. A point the ref seemed to accept when he moved it back ten yards… after booking Diallo.
Absolutely abysmal refereeing, as is the Norm.
Interesting that Mikel Arteta flew over to Madrid to watch the youth derby between Real and Atletico yesterday . That would not be a tourist stop, he must be interested in at least someone in those teams
Bukayo Saka flew to the USA to watch basketball the day after Porto. These lads don’t put their feet up !
I’m with you GSD @ 117.
If you get a second yellow for celebrating scoring a probable winner in the 120th minute of a FA Cup semifinal, then there is something wrong with the rule or its application.
And I absolutely don’t care that the ref gets censored if he doesn’t give it.
His ‘superiors’ should allow this or they are wrong too.
Guess he can have a break there, TTG. I suspect he might also be interested in Atleti vs Barça tonight.
Looking forward to that game tonight, Ollie.
GSD@113 – with you on that. I imagine that had Citeh offered more money than Real, Mbappé would willingly have traded Madrid for the positively balmy climes of East Manchester.
Citeh will be copping a serious transfer ban soon . They won’t be able to sign Cedric let alone Mbappe !
Sad to hear of the passing of another member of the Bands I followed in my youth.
Cockney Rebel founder and lead singer Steve Harley lost to Cancer, only 73.
Make Me Smile [ Come up and see me ] still one of my favorite songs.
Clive@124: Another good one gone too young.
Match Week 29 has come and gone in a flash. What? You didn’t notice it? The new GHF Predictathon leaderboard has been posted. And there is another bonus chart. You know where to find them…
Also, we are now down to six players still in the running to correctly predict the FA Cup winner.
Don’t know whether it was a harbinger of the news to come Ned, but I heard the song on the radio only a couple of days ago.
I knew he was ill, as he’d cancelled some concerts coming up.
Baffles me that a bloke like Keith Richard, who should have been dead long ago given the enormous qty of drugs he has ingested over the years, has outlasted many of his contemporaries, and is still going strong. !!
I believe Steve Harley had cancer . Very sad but no respecter of persons.
In the 70s I tried to get insurance cover for many Rock musicians . Some were very ill and had awful lifestyles. Many are still alive today but I got a few wrong. Apart from illnesses ( often self induced) they had high mortality from car crashes and plane accidents . Some were exceptionally fit .
Very few admitted taking drugs!
Ned @ 126.
I didn’t notice it at all. Was wondering what you were on about. With us not playing and most of the (media) focus on the FA Cup, I had nearly forgotten there were League matches and that there would be an update.
Although, yeah, Spurs once more provided the entertainment.
I hadn’t seen the post-match interviews from the Manure-Scousers QF though I did see the game which was rather entertaining but Blogs has linked to them this morning. I can understand Klopp’s impatience with the interviewer who was trying to manipulate him into claiming his players were tired from their hectic schedule and have every sympathy for a manager being a tad ill-tempered after his team has thrown a match away in the manner the Scousers did yesterday. However, ten Hag is just bizarre. I guess someone who looks like a Bond villain has to have a perverted fixation on a past event that is irrelevant to his current situation.
I wanted the Scousers to win to keep up their heavy schedule and potentially face Shitteh again while the league runs down however it’s clear they will drop some points in the run-in if they continue to play like that meanwhile we get to laugh for a bit longer at ten Hag at Manure.
I wanted both teams to lose. I think the ‘heavier’ schedule for Liverpool would have worked only if they’d drawn City in the semifinal.
If they’d drawn Coventry, I’m not sure it would have made a difference.
On balance, I was rather preferring Liverpool losing, for the possible psychological effect, although as I said above, whatever reaction this provokes is mitigated by the interlull.
Shitteh getting the routine win was disappointing but ok as it just puts another game in their schedule. Liverpool losing will sting for them as it was to manure, and a poor manure side at that.
Cracking own goal by Disasi if anyone wants to laugh.
Nottingham Forest given four point deduction for breach of profitability and sustainability rules. Drops them to 18th.
Good news, Olsson out of hospital.
https://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/L-international-suedois-kristoffer-olsson-en-reeducation-apres-une-maladie-cerebrale/1455444
That is good news on Olsson, it was looking a bit dicey for a while.
The number of points deducted, and the timing of the deductions for these violations seems so arbitrary. We’ve had two different figures (so far) for Everton this season, and now one for Forest. In what season will the biggest culprits (Manch115ter City) be penalized, and if not this one, why not?
Should have said this: In what season(S) will the biggest culprits (Manch115ter City) be penalized, and if not this one, why not?
In some fixture news, our home game with Aston Villa has been moved back a day to Sunday 14th April, 4:30 KO. Presumably due to villa’s conference league commitments on the preceding Thursday.
So we have an extra day of rest after the 1st leg vs Bayern but a day less rest before the 2nd. It shouldn’t make too much of a difference in fairness.
The Forest points deduction occurred after the end of Match Week 29, so it will be reflected in the GHF Predictathon leaderboard for Match Week 30, which ends after our game at City on the 31st. The initial assessment is that will raise most players’ scores but have minimal impact on the rankings.
bt8@137: the words, one day, someday, maybe never come to mind
Hi Ned
I’m interested to know, if the Monks can advise,
What if any, are the winning percentages for the team playing first leg at home in qtr/semi final legs of CL, compared to 2nd leg at home.
Also interested to know from fellow Comrades in the bar, what their preference is, although i am assuming the vast majority if not all, will plump for 2nd leg at home.
And a final question,
If by some miracle both us and Real make it to semi final,
Given we both were drawn to play the home leg first in qtr final, has it been determined who would play home game first in semi. ?
Cheers
They really make you work hard, Ned!
I’m sure you didn’t expect that sort of trickery, points deductions, reductions of points deductions, etc….
@141
Not that bothered about the 1st / 2nd leg home advantage to be honest Clive. In theory it’s better to be at home 2nd leg of course but I am doubtful it helped against Porto as I thought we were too timid at their place and got dragged into a game that suited them more than us.
Clive@141: Over the past 15 seasons, 60% of the teams playing the first leg of a CL semi-final at home advanced to the final, but only 43% of the teams playing the first leg of a quarter-final at home advanced to the semi-finals.
I’m a home in the first leg type of guy. Score a couple of goals in front of the home crowd and then you can park the bus in the second leg, if you so choose. IMO leading is always better than chasing.
Also, the team that wins our game against Bayen will play at home in the first leg of the semis.
Gabriel has pulled out of the Brazil squad, hopefully precautionary and just making sure he is fully fit for a tough April.
leathers the ball cross-field beyond the last defender to an onrushing…
Cushions it on the touch line, swivels, and musters a high center for the head of …
Everytime I annoyingly wake up early, there seems to be an opportunity for a crucial run.
Bit weird.
*is confused about the nature of the sport now and raises bat*
Ned, Clive, I am wondering about the validity of this sort of stats right now, as I’d be interested a few years down the line with a bigger sample to see if the removal of the ‘away goals’ rule has an influence on that particular one.
And yes, Clive, I believe home/away has already been set for the semi (otherwise what would be the point of having the semi irritatingly drawn at the same time as the quarter), and if I remember correctly, we’re home first again.
Well in Ollie. I hope VAR will not have noticed your “bat of god” on that one.
Well in, Ollie. You’re becoming our long awaited ‘fox win the box’, sir.
I may be the fox in the box, but I’d rather be a dormouse for a few days (well we have a phrase in French that says ‘sleep like a dormouse’, but I don’t know if that works in English – I mean, I know, but I’d rather not be a log)
Heh! Ollie @154. I can relate to that.
There’s an excellent analysis of Ødegaard’s art in the Athletic (£) that underscores C100’s observation that our captain took at least 4 swift touches of the ball from Trossard using both feet before making the return pass through the defence to Trossard for our crucial goal against Porto.
https://theathletic.com/5341001/2024/03/19/martin-odegaard-patience-passing-assists/
Re: 136 and the seeming arbitrariness of the points deductions, exhibit A:
“The lawyers acting for the Premier League had studied the financial excesses of Nottingham Forest and concluded they warranted a higher punishment than the six points Everton have been docked for their own overspending.”
That comes from the opening of the Athletic article.
Well in Ollie 🏏
Thanks for the link Bath, it’s a good piece and as someone said in the comments a truly great buy.
https://theathletic.com/5352272/2024/03/19/nottingham-forest-psr-sanction-comment/
Yeah, read that one bt8. Forest chose to ignore the warning from their own finance guy that they would be in trouble and continued to spend. I can see them getting a slightly lower penalty because they were more honest than Everton – that should I think count for something in mitigation.
I was chatting with a Forest supporting friend of long standing and he was fairly philosophical – not the end of the world was his take. He was more bothered that half of the transfers were a complete waste of money and then cost them points.
Also of course he is peeved that nothing is happening so far to 115 or Chavski for years of cheating and also that NewRiyadh have already started taking the piss.
I told him that from my experience there is a lot of pleasure to be had in telling the PL where to stick their points if Forest do stay up.
Well in for the ton-and-a-half, Ollie. Now go back to sleep…
I thought that the PL had already knocked down Forest’s penalty by a couple of points in acknowledgement of their cooperation. The deadline for the club’s appeal to be resolved is five days after the end of the season. It is thus possible that fans of another club will have joyously celebrated a miraculous final-day escape from relegation, only to find they hadn’t. And you thought VAR was a joy-killer.
The UK government has introduced into parliament a bill that would create an Independent Football Regulator. Why do I think Ofsoc will end up either being an ineffective irrelevance or mess up football’s governance more than improve it?
As mentioned in Ned’s last paragraph @161
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/mar/19/football-governance-bill-reveals-extent-of-english-regulators-proposed-powers
Plenty of scope to kick out undesirables, new or even existing. I will be happy to give the new regulator a list of dodgy owners 😃
Ollie@151: I did wonder if the abolition of the away goals rule made a difference, but it has only been gone for a couple of seasons, so, as you, note, the sample size is small. For what it is worth, the share of teams advancing from the quarter-finals to the semi-finals after playing the first leg at home has gone up since the abolition of the away goals rule, but it has gone down for the teams playing in the semi-finals (the team playing the second leg at home has won three of the four semi-finals since away goals were scrapped). The other methodological point is that the teams that make the semi-final (eg, Real, Bayern, City and the like) tend to be evenly matched, whereas there are some (relative) mismatches in the quarter-finals with teams winning both legs. Last year’s semi-final between Inter and AC Milan was an oddity in that regard because although Inter won both legs, the San Siro is the home ground of both teams.
OM@162: The key sentence in the Guardian piece is While there is clarity around high level ambitions, much of the detail is still to be decided and potentially amended by MPs.
The devil is always in the details…
As for your list of dodgy owners, do you have a piece of paper long enough?
Thanks for the study, Ned @ 163. And very good points re : 1/4 vs 1/2. So many parameters.
So…….let’s beat Bayern at home by quite a few goals, and not worry about stats.
Hi Ned
@144/146/163
Many thnks for the info,very informative.
Your percentages are based on years of the away goal rule being in place bar last season, so it is a good representation.
I do wonder whether the new rules played into our more cautious approach away at Porto,
or whether Matt’s observations @141 are more likely.
I thought myself we might have been suffering from first night nerves, not having been in this situation in CL for many years.
Even in the return leg we were not at our fluent best, but prevailed against a very very obdurate team in Porto.
I used the analogy elsewhere when discussing our 2 games against Porto, and the big guns in the qtrs and semi’s to come, that due to our long absence from the CL, in terms of experience, we are still in Infant school, whilst all the others are at University.
We are learning on the job, and will continue you to do so against Bayern.
And one final point going back to more important matters in the league and our looming 6 pointer at City, I was really happy to read that none of the 3 Gabi’s joined up with Brazil for Int’l break, Tomi and Thomas also stayed home.
So as it stands on the last day of matches on March 26th, all our players that are away, will be playing in Europe, and should be safely back in London either Tuesday night, or early Wednesday at the very latest, giving them at least 3 to 4 full days of recovery and training before we travel to the Etihad.
Fingers crossed they all return uninjured.
@164 as you say, we are still several fences from the line and I am also doubtful it will be finished before the current government has to face its own regulator.
@166 I noticed there were more withdrawals than usual from the internationals, not just by us too. Jesus, Tomi and TP are probably our most injury prone regular international players now that KT is out on loan so it makes good sense for them to get the rest.
We are going to need everyone of them for the final push Matt.
Looking at the friendly run in fixtures for City and Pool,
I reckon we will probably need 90pts to win the Title.
30pts up for grabs, leaving us only 4pts we can afford to drop.
I still feel in my bones that the 2 losses end of December will come back to haunt us.
Clive, good to see you back in the bar, sir. @169, you may well be right about those two defeats, one of which at the LCC Stadium was thoroughly undeserved larceny, if you will, (not uncommon in these parts), the other being an unexpected somnambulist outing to which BtM and I were treated (at huge expense) at the Cottage. However this Arsenal team have to cope with the need to achieve perfection, a standard to which none of the previous good, title-winning, Arsenal sides I have watched, have had to aspire. It’s a hellish task.
Nonetheless, the Mugsmashers’ performance in the QF gives me hope that they are less capable of achieving perfection than they were when Klopp’s best eleven, came within a point of Manch115ter Cheaty then won the league the next year whilst the latter title-buyers have shown an uncharacteristic wobble or two this season. I do think that the club with 115 charges will probably win the league again but there is hope for us yet.
There is some Arsenal news today!
Tomi has signed again! :0)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/68613711
Yeah, good news on Tomi. The one year extension with an option for another seems sensible too.
Thnks Bath
I have had a very hectic past few months which has prevented me from contributing , but I now have a few weeks freedom until end of April in which i aim to re-engage with fellow holics, before I will once again sadly be absent again for a while.
Hopefully by the time I take my leave we will still be giving Pool and City a run for their money in the league, and are looking forward to a CL semi final.
This is a curious extension for Tomi: one year plus a one-year option, rather than the ‘long term’ contract usually given to tie down key players, such as the four-year contract for Ben White. Tomi will only be 27 at the end of his option season. Is the club protecting itself against his propensity to be injured? Or is it part of a succession plan for the defence?
Clive, to echo bath, it is always good to have you in when you can be.
On the Porto first-leg, my two cents is that we struggled against Porto’s mid-block, as we have against other teams that have deployed it against us in the PL, plus Porto is a better footballing team than those other teams. Arteta and the players are getting to grips with countering a mid-block, but it is still a work in progress in terms of execution on the pitch. Inexperience of CL football also played a part, especially inexperience of a different set of dark arts to those the players will have experienced in the PL.
Ned @ 174, I wouldn’t be too surprised if it’s fitness-related, the club being (rightly) quite cautious.
Hey there Goonersince54, It is good to hear from you again, and I would add, happy 70th anniversary!
Ned, I guess the difference is Tomi isn’t first choice if everyone is fit and protects a selling fee if desired as well as giving him more dosh. Both parties seem happy with the outcome.
The atmosphere at Chelsea is apparently sliding towards irreversible toxicity
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/mar/20/chelsea-owners-warned-fans-irreversible-toxicity-boehly-eghbali-laughing-stock
At least what Arsenal had at the end of the Wenger years turned out to be reversible…
The Financial Times’ Lex’s take on the proposed Ofsoc:
https://www.ft.com/content/8dd801a1-4fc3-44ae-8f07-9b45afbd48a4
It is behind a paywall but the nub of the argument is The parameters of the new regulator point to its weaknesses. Yes, it could keep the riff-raff out of management or perhaps restrict excessive financial risk-taking. It might prevent a rogue owner from changing the team’s colours or crest. But it cannot regulate clubs into the black consistently.
Clive ,
Lovely to have you back for some time !
I understand your pessimism which is no doubt informed by Citeh’s run last year where they reeled off win after win and murdered us at the Emptihad . They did the treble last year so know what is involved and they have a great squad . But it is a small squad relatively speaking ( by design) .
Areas of hope for us – De Bruyne is now very injury prone , Real Madrid will stretch them and whoever they play in the semi( if they get there ) will challenge them , the FA Cup semi is a game they don’t really need on top of everything, Haaland has not been as prolific as last season , the mood may darken at Citeh if the PL maintain their aggressive stance to their misdemeanours. And most importantly Arteta is much more than Pep Lite and we have learnt how to play them this season .
Liverpool have a young squad and Europe will stretch them. Klopp leaving may have an adverse affect instead of an inspirational one . They have regularly had key injuries this season and the gegenpresse is very demanding . The extra three games they played in the FA Cup after beating us ( ultimately for no benefit ) have stretched their squad .
We did drop points over Christmas ( Bath the West Ham game was at our place ) but the freshness with which we’ve played after Christmas indicates how well our Dubai reset worked and almost all our squad are fit. We pray they stay fit after the interlull but Zinchenko, Tomi , Partey and Jesus are likely to subside before the end of the season , at least temporarily. But we’ve not had them for much of the season and look where we are ! And Timber is nearly ready to come back, Havertz is adjusted to our style and we have the best defence and attack in the division. I think 86 points will win the league especially if we avoid defeat at Citeh . The key to it all are the Spuds . They need the points and I think they might get draws against the other two. So can we win at the Toilet Bowl ?
We will have a better chance of the league if we lose to Bayern ( I pray we don’t ) but two games against Citeh or Real possibly will be hugely taxing given that Arteta rotates less than Pep or Klopp.
But isn’t it great to be involved in the argument on two levels going into April !?
Ned @175
I can’t argue with your summation of the Porto first leg.
bt8 @177
Many thnks for the 70th anniversary shout.
Thinking back to that first game my Dad took me to in 1954, I don’t think I ever dreamt I would still be embedded so deeply in the fortunes of the Club, approaching each game with the same nervous anticipation, riding the wave of emotions, despair and joy, watching the team 70 years later.
Hopefully we will still be here for the 75th, one step at a time.
TTG @181
Thnks for the kind words.
A very succinct summary of City and Pool squads, which I concur with.
I sincerely hope your 86pts is closer to the total needed than mine.
I do think avoiding defeat at the Etihad is key to our chances.
Given our poor record there, if we come away with something, it will infuse the squad with even more belief than they have already acquired.
But as mentioned being involved at the pointy end of the season, chasing the 2 biggest prizes in European league football, is something we haven’t been able to say for many a long year.
Long may it continue.
If we get to the CL semis, I would far prefer to play Real. I doubt we can beat City three more times this season, if only on the law of averages. Also, playing Real in the semis would feel much more like a proper European night, and I think the team would be lifted by that.
TTG@181: I would hazard that the drop in Haaland’s goal-scoring is directly connected to de Bruyne’s absence through injury. They have a chemistry when they play together that is deadly.
It is indeed great to still be in the mix in two competitions come April. The next step for this side is to make it the norm.
Thanks bt8 for the link @179
It is rare for me to agree with Chav supporters as they are, in general, moronic but I have to say their complaint that Chavski are a laughing stock is spot on. Long may it continue.
It seems from todays Blogs that he shares our epicaricacy at
the Chavs misfortune 😉
The middle of an interlull seems an ideal time for a look at the Arsenal finances, courtesy of the Arsenal Supporters Trust.
https://www.arsenaltrust.org/feed/afc-finances/2024/AST-financial-review-2022to2024
Matt @185, what’s wrong with good old schadenfreude?
Buy British Bath (though of course it’s Greek but never mind)
Well, thanks Matt, I’ve learnt a word today!
Re: OM at 185: It’s also worth a link to the article that Blogs linked to, about the potentially looming charges against the Chavs:
https://www.fotmob.com/embed/news/01hsepzswv4c/chelsea-could-be-forced-reveal-dodgy-transfer-dealings-abramovich
Good to see Clive in the bar. There’s a shandy on the bar for you.
I reckon Tomi’s contract is about protecting the club as Sancho Panza says at 178. If he gets fit for longer stretches in the next couple of years then i can’t imagine it will be hard to get him signed up to another new deal.
I tend towards TTG’s thinking…
I think Liverpool will drop points, although i could not say where. They just don’t look defensively solid enough to keep taking three points every week.
City are favourites, but if we can pull off our first win at their place in a long time then we would be firmly in the driving seat.
Like Poo, they have a lot going forward but they look less sound defensively than they have for a long time, and an injury to Rodri would be akin to Saliba’s injury last year. They rely more on a small core of fewer players than previous iterations, so fixture congestion will make life harder for them, even if they are only dealing with fatigue rather than actual injuries.
If we can keep fit at least three of Timber, Tomi, Jesus, Partey, Zinny, without adding any other long-term injuries, then i think our squad should have the quality and numbers to challenge right to the end, which was not quite true last year.
Personally, I view Eddie as something of a lost cause at this point. I wish i thought he could be more valuable but he has had a desperatley poor season, illustrated best by sporadic efforts when he has been on the pitch which have shown no serious desire to do the necessary work to fight for a place in the team.
However, he is one of our own, and i would love to see him score one more important goal for us, preferably at home, so he can have his name sung one more time before we sell him in the summer (hopefully with a couple of medals to take with him).
GSD @ 192. Perhaps Eddie can be this year’s Christopher Wreh. 🙂
Peeks into the bar and sees a double on the horizon…
…and rolls the ball out to the inverted left wing back somewhere on the pitch
Puts foot on ball, looks up, then threads the ball into a half-space, for…
*collects ball from ecg, drives infield and switches balll to the right wing*
Referee temporarily halts play when he notices two balls on the pitch at the same time.
Drop ball restarts.
Referee dropped a bollock ( as per normal ) instead of the ball and is suddenly in a lot of pain. Meanwhile actual ball is delicately chipped over the static defenders to the on rushing………
Deft no look flick on the volley with the outside of the right boot rolls the ball across the six yard line for…
Boom!
Well in Ned, a rare double-ton emphatically concluded!
Well in Ned. Nice assist GSD.
Time for a new page.
>>>>>>>