Posted in Match Preview on Dec 4th, 2024
La Rochefoucauld, the peerless master of world-weary aphorisms that cut your hand when you try to hold them close, had remarked, “We always have enough strength to bear the troubles of other people” (Nous avon tous assez de force pour supporter les maux d’autrui). If he knew about footballing rivalries among people who otherwise would […]
Posted in Match Preview on Nov 30th, 2024
Arsenal travel to the home of the former European champions and the fourth or fifth (or perhaps even sixth) biggest club in London on Saturday night. I am of course talking about the perennial mediocrity merchants, West Ham United. I think most Gooners will agree with me when I say there isn’t really much needle […]
Posted in Champions League, Match Preview on Nov 26th, 2024
With Arsenal set to face Sporting Clube de Portugal, or Sporting Lisbon as they are known in the English-speaking world, on Tuesday at the Estadio Jose Alvalade in the Portuguese capital, conceivably it could be useful to know that the people of Lisbon are sometimes known as alfacinhas, or “little lettuces”. The first such reference […]
Posted in Match Preview on Nov 22nd, 2024
Saturday 3pm. An iconic appointment in the week. A once immovable point in the calendar of British football fans that facilitated weekly father and son bonding, the release of pent-up tensions from the daily grind and fostered a tribal sense of belonging. Sadly, that date in the diary is now a rarity due to the […]
Posted in Match Preview on Nov 9th, 2024
“Meet me at the bus stop in Fulham” is not the most romantic or enticing invitation. It’s not a patch on “Meet Me in St Louis” though that city has declined significantly since the era in which the movie was set. Nor indeed is it as beguiling as “Meet Me at Our Spot”, “Meet Me […]
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