connackers 0 Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Quote: Originally posted by BagOfCrisps: connakers, I thought you were a Chelsea fan? I am, so i`d much rather be two points behind you than five It will probably all come back to haunt me Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 It will it will. But never mind Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 Van N's incident being looked into by the FA. I wonder what they'll say about that, and how any punishment will compare with Rios 8 months / Becks slap on the wrist etc. They'll probably ban him for life and ask for 5 million. Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted October 27, 2004 Share Posted October 27, 2004 A good article From The Independent: http://sport.independent.co.uk/foot...sp?story=576070 James Lawton: Arsenal's old sins tarnish would-be legends' aura The whining of Arsenal is not a surprise - heaven knows, they have a track record - but it is no less disappointing for that. It crushes the idea that along with the brilliance that went into the run of 49 unbeaten Premiership games there was genuine growth, not just as accomplished footballers but wholly formed men of the world. Men, that is, who know that some days they are going to get an inadequate referee, and that when you lash out at the sins of your opponents it is always as well to remember your own crimes. We had none of that at Old Trafford on Sunday; no grace, no manly shrugs of the shoulders that would have represented acceptance of the old truth that defeat is the impostor always waiting in ambush for the greatest of teams. What we had was a gorging banquet of self-pity. We had Arsène Wenger, the brilliantly innovative, endlessly sophisticated coach who had done so well to keep his head from being washed away by oceans of praise, lashing out that his team had been cheated. It was the old Wenger casting the first stone, talking about cheating as though his own Robert Pires had not defined the dark art last season when he so disgracefully connived a penalty against Portsmouth, an outrage which preserved an unbeaten record that would eventually be so celebrated by every genuine football lover in the land. Who forgets that at the time Pires's offence provoked from Wenger not a murmur of displeasure, still less shame? There is no doubt that the referee Mike Riley put in a quite appalling performance on Sunday. He should have given Rio Ferdinand a red card in the first half for his blatant, last-man foul on Freddie Ljungberg, he was inexcusably complacent when both Gary Neville and Ashley Cole tackled unscrupulously beyond the law in the early going, and he missed the brutal fouling of Cole by Ruud van Nistelrooy. However, when he signalled a penalty after Sol Campbell had stuck out his left leg in panic when Wayne Rooney whirled on him in the penalty area, it was surely the least of his sins. Even after several television re-runs, some of the most experienced football men in the land were unconvinced that Riley was in error. Campbell was, of course, outraged to the point of later rejecting the proffered handshake of his young England team-mate; he was no less indignant, indeed, than when he insisted that he had not elbowed United's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 18 months ago. No matter that the television evidence was emphatic, Campbell insisted that not only was he was innocent, he was victim of an FA conspiracy. There was some reason to hope that such paranoia had been put on one side after last season's rancid behaviour at Old Trafford, when Wenger and his players were finally obliged, by their own boardroom, to face up to the consequences of their lack of discipline. FA punishment, as Sir Alex Ferguson raged, was mild indeed, but it did come after the Highbury board had gone public with its belief that a line had to be drawn. This appeared to have happened as Arsenal blossomed on the field in direct proportion to the improvement in their discipline. As Arsenal fused into new levels of unity on the field, there was a distinct sense of growing maturity off it. Not only did Cole improve as a player, there was a dwindling expectation that he would produce some gut-churning piece of gamesmanship after receiving a tackle. He admitted publicly to some of his own excesses. For a little while it seemed likely that Arsenal had indeed moved on to new level, that the legacy of Martin Keown, the arch culprit in last season's tawdry mob scene was at an end. No one, for example, would ever again fake injury as outrageously as he did when provoking the dismissal of Lazio's Francesco Totti in a European game just a month before the Campbell-Solskjaer incident. This, everyone at Highbury should appreciate, is not ancient history. It is part of the culture of the club that, before Sunday regression, we had been encouraged to believe had been expunged, as it was to a large degree at Old Trafford when Ferguson finally saw that it was damaging the progress of his team. There is no doubt Arsenal had grievances at Old Trafford. But enough to justify the on-field squabbling, the pointed fingers, the overweening reproach and a suggestion that Ferguson had soup thrown over his shirt by an Arsenal player? Given their own failings, you wouldn't have thought so. Patrick Vieira was aghast when he was booked. It was no doubt an affront to his attempts to referee the game, but it was surely consistent with some of the savagery of his own tackling. The truth was that Arsenal came for a draw, which, given the level of some of their previous performances this season, admittedly against lesser opposition, was something of a failure of nerve. Maybe it was this that most gnawed at Arsenal in the bitter aftermath of their lost record. There was too the additional aggravation that since their emergence as England's unbeatable team and, in the belief of some dubious historians, the greatest club side in the history of the national game, their League and Cup record against their most bitter rivals was the desperate one of played four, won none, drawn two, lost two. This was by no means a pathway to unique glory, and nor was Sunday's performance. United doubtlessly benefited from incompetent refereeing. But they were also helped by their superior will. This was the prime fuel for behaviour from Arsenal unworthy of aspiring football legends. Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 Here's Wenger for you Link to post Share on other sites
connackers 0 Posted October 28, 2004 Share Posted October 28, 2004 That`s beautiful! He does sound a little over-the-top in the news coverage. And what`s all this about soup throwing??? - immense! football and soap operas all rolled into one. It`s clearly all from the fear generated by having Chelsea snapping at their heels Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 Hey Rumour Mill fans, it looks like it is back http://football.guardian.co.uk/rumourmill/ Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 I can't believe what a bunch of moaning softies they are.... The agent of Ashley Cole, Jonathan Barnett, has confirmed he has sought legal advice over the prospect of suing Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. The Dutch hit-man was handed a three-game ban for the tackle that went unpunished in Sunday's game between the two sides at Old Trafford. Van Nistelrooy's tackle was late and reckless but it was thought that The FA's intervention would put an end to the matter. However, Barnett has now confirmed that legal advice has been sought but, that in all likelihood, no action would be taken. ''It's only because Ashley is the nicest guy in football, a real gentleman, that he probably wouldn't want to pursue anything through the courts,'' confirmed Barnett. ''But then again, I am his agent. ''We are looking at potential legal action, even criminal action for assault, but I cannot see Ashley wanting to go ahead.'' Link to post Share on other sites
Stefan 0 Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 Van Nistelrooy's tackle was seriously dodgey!! I'd have banned him for a month..... and I don't support The Arse....I have a sneaking suspicion Chelski are gonna sneak it. Link to post Share on other sites
grungy-gonads 54 Posted October 30, 2004 Share Posted October 30, 2004 It sure was violent. Arsenal are a bunch of whinging mungers though, they deserve to be banned just for that. Link to post Share on other sites
brit-gob 9 Posted October 31, 2004 Share Posted October 31, 2004 Lasest from the sun is that ruudvan is going to SUE Wenger. Link to post Share on other sites
taguchi 0 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 That was an exciting finish to the Arsenal game, I could almost tell they were going to score. Link to post Share on other sites
rach 1 Posted November 1, 2004 Share Posted November 1, 2004 Tell me about it. I read an interesting article about dwindling audiences for the game in the Guardian http://football.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/0,1563,1340074,00.html Link to post Share on other sites
BagOfCrisps 24 Posted November 1, 2004 Author Share Posted November 1, 2004 It's just too expenesive for something too boring right now for most people, its not that much of a surprise. Funny how Bolton vs Birmingham is the least popular 2 yrs in a row About the Arsenal vs MUFC soupgate etc - it's all getting a bit tiring isn't it? Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted November 2, 2004 Share Posted November 2, 2004 It sure is. Next Gary Neville will be suing the entire population of England for calling him boring. Link to post Share on other sites
minus 1 Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 Tom Cruise apparently told Beckham that he (Becks) was his hero. Er why. And...what a fool! Link to post Share on other sites
connackers 0 Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 quote: Originally posted by BagOfCrisps: About the Arsenal vs MUFC soupgate etc - it's all getting a bit tiring isn't it? Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted November 4, 2004 Share Posted November 4, 2004 I know what you mean connakeers, but MU vs AR grates after a while. Link to post Share on other sites
connackers 0 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 So back to the football...... Arsenal`s inability to play football in Europe - an indication of their imminent collapse? Discuss Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 I don't get that. What makes a team be so brilliant in the Premiership, and so average in the Chamspleague? Whats the reason? Look at United last night as well. 4 goals. thats more than they seem to have scored in the whole of the premiership season this year (well seems that way anyway). Link to post Share on other sites
A lawyer 0 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 What is it with Eurpean refs? Are they stuck in the 80's? They all seem to have come straight off the Miami Vice set. Link to post Share on other sites
connackers 0 Posted November 5, 2004 Share Posted November 5, 2004 Quote: Originally posted by scouser: I don't get that. What makes a team be so brilliant in the Premiership, and so average in the Chamspleague? Whats the reason? It is strange that profesional football teams many of whose players have a lot of experience playing in other leagues can be so inconsistant in the champions league. Maybe Arsenal are more of a confidence side than has been obvious. With their poor European run phasing them in the same way as their amazing premiership run has boosted them. Guess we`ll have to wait and see.... Some nice pictures on the Guardian website if anyone`s missed them http://football.guardian.co.uk/gallery/0,8555,1342454,00.html Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 Well "big fancy cake" Pirez was moaning that Arsenal "were shocked" at being beaten and thats why their results have been indifferent since. Pathetic. Found this on the Guardian, funny More where that came from here http://football.guardian.co.uk/Games/Cartoon/0,6278,1110523,00.html Link to post Share on other sites
A lawyer 0 Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 Nice one I never knew about that, is that a regular column? Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted November 8, 2004 Share Posted November 8, 2004 Guardian is grewat for footie, like those cartoons. So Chelsea at the top. Got to admit I'm surprised at Arsenal this last few weeks. BOTTLERS!!! Link to post Share on other sites
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