Our personal final away day of the season was upon us. For the first time for me and the first time in a few decades for CER, we were able to attend away games on a semi regular basis this season. And for the second time in the space of a few weeks we were off to Merseyside, this time to Anfield on the other side of Stanley Park.
As it was 4:30pm KO, we didn’t have to rise at sparrow’s fart which is always nice. We left Lower Winchmore Hill east shortly before 9am and we were off and away on the coach by quarter to ten. I was sat next to an away day regular called Ernie and we chatted about the process of building your way up the away credit ladder. Ernie does all aways bar Euro aways and he confirmed my belief that getting tickets becomes a lot easier once you reach 10 credits which we should be able to reach quite comfortably next season. He was a very pleasant chap.
After a 45-minute comfort break at Stafford services, we made it to Merseyside for about quarter to three. We went for a pint at the famous Arkles right next door to Anfield. I was aghast that a pint was well over £6. That’s borderline N5 prices. I can only assume they hike the prices on matchdays. We didn’t stay for a second pint.
We made our way round to the Anfield Road end, past the Kop and the YNWA sign. We visited Anfield a few years ago but that was a night game, so it was nice to see it in the sunshine. After a quick visit to the Hillsborough Memorial, we went through the turnstiles onto the concourses. It was very spacious and the pints were a much more reasonable £3.60. Another point I’d like to make about Anfield is you can get a bloody phone signal.
The atmosphere was jovial considering the events in midweek. There was plenty of singing in the concourse and in the stands. After we rightly gave our hosts a guard of honour it was time for the game. We should’ve been ahead a few minutes in after Ødegaard’s free kick deceived the entire Liverpool defence and the ball found its way to Saka who began his run about five yards deeper than everyone else. We did the usual thing of starting in an offside position then running back onside but Saka merely jogged into space only to screw his effort just wide.
But 20 minutes in, The Champions were ahead. We fell asleep after a throw in as Andy Robertson delivered the ball into Cody Gakpo who had the freedom of Stanley Park as he headed in the opener. Very poor.
Less than 90 seconds later it was 2-0. Salah played a fantastic ball to Dominik SpongeBob LemonPants who rolled it past Raya for Luis Diaz to tap home. Oh dear! This was looking like an impending drubbing.
It could’ve been 3 before half time as Curtis Jones’ swivel and shot forced a very smart save out of Raya. Thankfully, we made it to the interval without any further damage. The mood on the concourse was sombre. As we drowned our sorrows over a pint, I gloomily looked ahead to writing my report on what was sure to be a miserable pounding. It was looking bleak. We didn’t have much hope as we trudged our way back to our seats.
But football is a funny old game. Barely a minute into the second half we were right back in it as the previously ineffective Trossard sent a super cross in for Martinelli who flicked a header into the far corner. Game on! The complexion of the game turned on its head, Arsenal were well on top, winning second balls all over the place. That’s what a goal can do for you. What might’ve been in Paris came to mind. We nearly had an equaliser through Saliba whose header was blocked on the line by Konate but then the equaliser we craved arrived on 70 minutes. Ødegaard’s fierce effort was tipped onto the post by Alisson, but the keeper was stranded as the ball came out to Mikel Merino who had the simple task of knocking a header into an empty net. Get in!
Liverpool brought on Madrid bound Trent Alexander-Arnold to a loud chorus of boos from his own fans. Bizaare! We began to dream of an unlikely 3 points but 10 minutes after equalising, Merino was sent off for a second yellow after bringing down Nunez just outside the box. Liverpool were allowed to play on but when the ball went out the ref not only pulled it back but sent Merino off and gave Liverpool a free kick. Talk about having your cake and eating it. Trent’s FK went wide, and we regrouped for the final ten minutes. Ødegaard had a great chance to win it finding space on the edge of the box, but his effort went narrowly wide. He could’ve quite easily had three goals in the last two games. Fine margins.
Liverpool thought they had won it right at the death through Andy Robertson, but it was ruled out for offside/foul despite VAR desperately looking for a reason to award the goal. But that was that and Arsenal held on for a great point which looked hugely unlikely at half time. We proudly clapped the players off and made our way back to the coach for our long journey home. It’s a lot easier to stomach that journey when you’ve battled back from 2-0 down. We got home at around 11:30pm and plopped straight to bed after a very long and tiring, but ultimately enjoyable away day.
So that’s us done for away days this season. We’ve been to Lisbon and Liverpool and everywhere in between and we hope to do even more next season and beyond.
COYG!
A fine report to round out a season on the road, 21CG. These awayday reports do so much to enrich the matchdays for us far-flungs.
A quick reminder to GHF Predictathon players that the latest leaderboard and five-week form guide have been posted (and a bonus chart). Two rounds of matches to go. It is getting tight at the top and at the bottom, and a couple of dramatic slides have shaken up the tightly packed middle of the table. You know where to find it…
On the downside, Rice has reportedly done his hamstring. It never rains but it pours.
That’s a great report 21CG. It took cojones to go up there in the midst of a jeering crowd. I’m so glad we fought back in the second half and leave you with something to smile about on that long journey home.
It’s always very tough to match or top Ned’s previews, 21CG but your ‘coach, beers, game and return ticket’ report does a fine job of doing that. The first half was a tough, disheartening watch but after a rollicking from Mikel in the break, we played much more like the Arsenal. A valuable away point to which I hope we can add six more before season’s end.
@1 Ned, has a team that has sustained seven major surgery events in one single season to nailed-on first team starters ever reached the semi-final of the CL and been PL runners-up? Perhaps the monks might cast a glance over the records in recognition of Messrs Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Saka, Havertz, Jesus and now (potentially) Rice’s time under the knife.
Let me add my thanks to the Winchmore Hill posse who like the Countrymen have done a magnificent job of following the team away from home and giving us the atmosphere of so many away grounds . This has been a fairly bizarre season . Liverpool have run away with the league but are they better than us ? The table would suggest they are but the two games we played against them ( eight goals equally shared ) woukd suggest it’s fairly even.
It’s also extraordinary that sides as utterly mediocre as the Spuds and ManUre get battered everywhere they goooo and yet are not close to relegation and furthermore one of them will lift silverware and play in the Champions League next season . We could still miss out although Opta dismiss that possibility but we are operating on very thin resources who showed commendable spirit to turn the game around . I was very proud of the team but my feeling was that Mikel was very angry about our start and stripped the paint of the wall in the visitors dressing room . Whatever he said it worked !
Last 3 seasons:
Man City – 245 points, 2 titles
Arsenal – 241 points, 0 titles
Liverpool – 232 points, 1 title
And we haven’t cheated gt
A thoroughly enjoyable day yesterday, 21 CG. Thank you for taking care of the aged….Hopefully we’ll get some away games in the cups which we can attend and get us over that magical 10 away credit mark next season.
I must say, my views of the football fans of Liverpool have more than somewhat been changed over the last couple of seasons. I had some bad experiences in the 80’s, but both at and around Goodison and Anfield this season they’ve been amazing to us. I bow to the wisdom of the experience of C100 and TTG in helping me see the light.
TTG @5 above – Those points stats are amazing. Fine margins really is the recurring theme of Mikel’s amazing tenure. If we can do what we all know he wants in the summer, and get a decent run without injuries then perhaps we will have an even better chance next season. I would add in getting a fair deal from PGMOL but I’m trying to keep it real.
An excellent read, 21CG. It sounds like you had a good trip despite our first half wobbles. You describe very much the game I saw though I did feel in the last fifteen or so minutes of the first half that we had largely turned the tide and the drubbing that I had feared after their quick second goal and the subsequent jittery spell was less likely though not yet off the cards. That early second half goal was just what the doctor (and, I suspect, the coach) ordered and when Merino headed in the rebound from that cracking shot by Ødegaard, I felt the Force was with us and we could take all three points. The silly second yellow (where has he gone?) took the wind out of our sails and we did well to keep them out in the end though, if only, if only, eh Martin?
However, I completely fail to understand how the officials felt that they could legitimately, within the Laws of the Game, turn a blind eye to the regular wrestling of Saka whenever the ball was passed towards him. That was clearly a policy decision by the referee which his Linos followed to the letter. Meanwhile Bradley was given licence throughout the first half to commit GBH without so much as a kind word.
That was shocking treatment of TAA. I hope he scores a hat trick for Real Madrid against them next season. However I suppose the twisted mindset that resulted in their ridiculous banner fits such puerile behaviour.
Thanks 21CG, enjoyed the report and the game and it’s great
you had a decent trip for the last one of your season.
It’s a pity about Declan’s hamstring if confirmed, looks like
the side will be similar next week unless Jorginho is back.
Let me echo TTG’s praise for the reportage of our road warriors, the Winchmore Hill posse and C100. To which I will couple the names of all those who write match reports from the Ems. Such a valued lifeline for us far-flungs.
BtM@3: Not that they can find. Even our 2006 side that got to the final was missing only its first-choice back four for most of the competition.
For runes-readers, there is an intriguing bigging up of Fabio Vieira on the dotcom site: https://www.arsenal.com/news/loan-watch-vieira-shines-crucial-porto-win
bath@7: I’ve read comments by Scousers saying that the booing of TAA was justified as he is joining Real Madrid, and anyone who doesn’t understand that doesn’t understand football. However, I agree with you. It was just puerile. I doubt the boo-boys will object to ‘Pool taking the £1 million that Madrid is reportedly offering so that TAA can join them in time for the Club World Cup.
Ned @10 – the thing is, football fans tend to the parochial. It’s not so much Arnold leaving, I imagine, as that he is going on a free and that means that Liverpool doesn’t get recompense for all the years they put into him. Not quite as bad as Campbell moving from them to Us, but the underlying premiss is the same. And I imagine there was a certain amount of “pour encourager les autres” as well. To the average fan, he has lived their dream nd managed to enrich himself beyond his and their dreams in the process. I imagine they resent what they see as his greed and turning his back on his own.
Just think how Van Persie was treated, and to a lesser extent Fabregas when they left Arsenal. And they left for transfer fees.
I think where and how you move both influence fans behaviour.
Occasionally players like RVP are their own worst enemies by
saying things that are bound to enrage sections of the fanbase.
Other times it’s the where like Sol but that’s not really the
case with Alexander-Arnold and their supporters just making
reasons up after the fact is entirely unpersuasive.
I did wonder why he didn’t just wait a bit longer before making
an announcement but perhaps his hand was forced.
To be fair our fans treatment of Frank Stapleton was far worse than anything that’s happened recently. That was just visceral.
Cheers 21CG. I’m glad you had a good day out and thoroughly enjoyed your report. Funny old game indeed.
I’m not hugely interested in the TAA stuff but I do have the sense that one factor that made the RVP and Cesc departures difficult for Gooners was the fact that we knew (either overtly or just deep down) that they were right to think they had better chances of winning trophies at other clubs. That hurt in itself, especially as their losses took us even further away from where we wanted to be.
I doubt Saka, Nwaneri and MLS will all play their entire careers for Arsenal. But I hope we get many good years and, if they decide to move, that they depart with many winners medals and because they want a different experience, like TAA. I think that’s easier to live with.
Although hopefully we get big fees for them!
Funny also how the current financial regulations and the way they account income from selling home grown players has become such a factor in how fans feel. It’s all a bit topsy-turvy.
Cheers 21CG! Glad you had a good trip after all, that second half was definitely both relatively unexpected and very welcome.
There is one not insignificant difference in the treatment of RvP and Cesc by Arsenal fans: I don’t remember them being booed while wearing the Arsenal shirt….
I don’t remember them being booed in the shirt either, Ollie. While extremely disappointed at Cesc’s leaving, I did understand it. He had left his home at 16 years of age and while being well looked after at the Arsenal you do miss your own language, humour and culture when living abroad which he had done for a long time.
Van Persie was a different kettle of fish but let’s not dwell on him.
Picking up on Merino’s red card, Liverpool ought to get one or two handed out retrospectively as they were not issued on the day but, of course, it’s against the Arsenal so nothing will happen.
We must have enough evidence from this season alone to get a whole raft of referees and VAR suspended – but with no independent adjudicator that won’t happen either.
On Sunday alone we had MLS and Saka thrown to the ground by the throat / head / face. No penalty for Liverpool of course, but we finished the game with 10 men again so all’s well.
PGMOL and VAR – one and the same as we all know – together are a seemingly untouchable rats nest of incompetence. It stinks.
Mike McDonald
The season had ended before RVP and Cesc announced they were leaving so there wasn’t a situation like TAA faced on Sunday.
GSD makes a key point. It was very difficult to see Arsenal being competitive with Barcelona or United when Cesc and RVP left and it underlined how far we had slipped behind. In RVP’s last visit to Old Trafford he played in an Arsenal side that lost 8-2 . As for Cesc he stayed longer than I expected given his Barcelona roots . I was at a supporters function with Holic that I expect was referenced in his blog where Gazidis spun a most unconvincing line about RVP staying on . Was Sol Campbell wrong to move to a club where he completed a double , reached three Cup Finals , a Champions League final and became an Invincible ?
We all saw the logic of it but imagine how that wounded Spud fans . I didn’t expect RVP to stay and fully understood why he left . I didn’t like him leaving, especially for them but it was a sound move from his perspective .
Thanks for the Mike McDonald link, TTG. An insightful read, as ever. I posted a comment on his site about the image he showed of Martinelli bursting through the middle with acres of space in front of him. It is just like the situation that led to Dembele’s goal in the first leg of the CL semi-final and for which Luis Enrique was hailed as a tactical genius for engineering. We don’t go direct often enough to exploit those runs.
The difference with van Persie was that the club had supported him through sexual assault / rape allegations in Holland and season after season of injuries – about 6 out of 7 from memory – where he played barely 20 games a season . Then after making him captain he promptly buggered off.
I tend to agree with Trev that RVP falls into the special bucket marked perfidy. Possibly the same one containing Cashley Cole.
@21 Trev @22 NTN
Exactly right for me, RVP was supported and well compensated for many years of half seasons, one good year and it seemed like our faith in him had paid off and he was off.
Cashley didn’t leave because he thought Chelsea were world beaters, he left because he felt insulted by a wage offer most of us would have killed for (maybe just me) and to me he and RVP both fully earned and deserved the vitriol they got and still get.
Cesc was different e got extremely tapped up but still stayed hoping Arsene would recapture his previous magic but alas it was not to be.
Them were different times.
A young friend had terminal cancer. Robin was his hero and Arsenal’s captain. A few weeks before the young lad died, Robin visited his home to the kid’s utter delight and amazement.
It was around the time when there was speculation on his tenure at Arsenal and I recall a quote at the time which indicated that he’d “sit down with his old friend Arsene and talk things through at the end of the season” which I took to mean he was open to a stay. Shortly afterward, Peter Hill-Wood announced “We’re not going to break the bank to keep Robin Van Persie at Arsenal”. Neither Juve or Inter could find the funds to lure him in the hoped for direction of Italy……….. so he did what probably most professionals would do and moved to richer pastures. My ‘annoyance’ (aka spitting blood) with RvP equalled that of my annoyance with PHW at the time. I never wore my RvP 10 top again.
Similarly, had Arsenal found a couple of million more, Xavi Alonso would have arrived from Anfield to partner Cesc in midfield, Cesc would have seen some likelihood of a winning future, and the CL would have been won many years ago. My Fabregas 4 top still has pride of place.
Such is football.
BtM, good to hear of a fine gesture to your friend – we never do get to hear about these things which is to the players’ collective credit.
I don’t actually blame PHW for saying they would not break the bank to keep him because he was far too often unavailable to play. The Xavi Alonso thing, for the sake of an extra £1m as reported at the time, was a very strange one and, as you say, almost certainly cost us major honours.
I agree with all that’s been said above by TTG, Ned, DG, Trev and BtM about RVP and Cesc. I’ve got no love for RVP but Cesc is still a legend in my eyes.
If memory serves and I’ve got the timeline right, then if we’d signed Alonso then we probably wouldn’t have ended up signing Arteta. Sometimes, on such small margins the entire fortune of the club turns.
Lots of good points above re HWMNBN, the Dutch Skunk and Cashley. I agree with the emotions expressed. The first of those broke my heart and never achieved the levels he reached for us ever again; the second would have won the league for us rather than for Manure the season after he moved if he’d had patience and faith; the third, one of the best left backs I ever saw, was a greedy, disloyal, little shit.
Alonso was a signing that would have changed Arsene’s later years but for the club’s parsimonious approach. However, GSD makes a very good point about what may ultimately prove to be a very positive outcome of our failure to stretch to the Dippers’ price for Alonso.
Nice to see Danny Ballard brought up in Hale End do so well for Sunderland tonight
TTG @28 – Agreed. I akats enjoyed watching Danny Ballard in u-18 games. A real great-gohearted defender. Glad he’s having a good career.
In other news, 21 CG and I are off yo the Emirates this morning yo watch the “open” ( well season ticket holders) training session (well, a bit of a PR exercise but a chance to see the players go through some light training routines up close. Unlikely to learn anything too insightful, but what the heck, the sun’s shining which is a rare enough occurrence in the UK and it’s a chance to show some thanks to the players for the huge effort they have put in this season.
Yes, another shot at the PL for Ballard is nice but commiserations to Ben Sheaf who missed out again. Whenever, I see Ballard’s name I usually google his old CB partner in the U21s Zech Medley. Zech returned last August from a 3 year stint in the reasonably pleasant environs of Ostend to the possibly less salubrious but kittingly familiar Fleetwood. In true Arsenal fashion the new boy did his Achilles three days into the season and was out for many months, only recently returning. Hopefully next season will go better.
Nothing Ruce and Havertz are taking full part in the , admittedly low-key, training session..
Should read: Both Rice and Havertz…
And Trossard apparently
Jorginho, too.
All good news on the injury front above. It would give me a lot of pleasure to stick a spoke in the barcodes CL hopes so a few players back would be handy.
OM@35: Sadly, a run-out in front of CER and 21CG, demanding observers though they may be, is a different matter from taking on the orcs in black and white who comprise the Barcodes’ back line — although the picture of Rice slapping Havertz on the head might be targeted pre-match training.
Clery on Zubimendi:
Cheers for the Adam Clery link, Ned. He’s got his own channel now and his analysis is amongst the very best.
Romano gave a ‘here we go’ to the Zubimendi to Arsenal transfer, so that’s as close to confirmed as you can get until it appears on pravda.
Personally, i am really excited about this transfer, for the reasons outlined by AC. And, exactly as he says, we need to do more business to make it effective. I get the sense (not really based on anything specific) that Berta is an energetic, serious character with clear thoughts about what the team and the club need, and that he wants to get deals done. I certainly hope so. Edu did a great job overall, but we haven’t had a real deal-maker at the club since Dein, and it is what we have been missing. All clubs miss out on targets sometimes, but (much like Arteta views the way to improve on the pitch) we need to increase our chances of getting the players we want as first choice and I think (or maybe just hope!) Berta is someone who will push us in the right direction.
I’m also interested to see how our sales go. Sambi Lokonga, Zinchenko, Nelson, Tavares and probably Fabio Vieira should all be available. That’s quite a mixed bag but there is talent in there and we need to extract as much value as we can. My impression is that we would benefit hugely from having a tough negotiator with a formidable reputation conducting those deals. Is Berta that man?
Then there are a couple more decisions to be made.
Maybe Trossard might go (although personally i’m not sure we should let him unless we get a good price), maybe Kiwior (although unless he’s keen to move i’d 100% keep him as i think he’s got a fantastic attitude and is good enought to start at CB for over half the teams in the PL, and think we’d struggle to find a better third choice CB, especially one who can cover LB in a pinch too). Some have suggested Martinelli might go, but i think we’d be mad to let him go. I’d keep him at the club until the wheels fall off. That said, I’d like to see us buy a first choice left winger above him in the pecking order on matchday.
Anyway, lots to do and lots of time to think about it, but the weird double transfer window is gonna throw up some unexpectedly early deals, and we saw last season with Merino how much it can cost if you fail to get a deal over the line early. He could really have done with a full pre-season of Arteta coaching. To be fair, our manager is so tactically specific that a few weeks proper coaching before the actual games begin is invaluable for playing in his system, and I hope the club follow up the Zubimendi transfer with some more early ones. They must know which striker they want, so get out and make the deal.
Newcastle is a huge game, but its hard not to look ahead to the summer.
GSD @38, I couldn’t agree more. That’s an excellent summary of what we should be prioritising this summer. Hopefully Berta is the man who will take our deal-making to the level we need. A single quibble though. The winger we need to acquire is one who must be able to play effectively on both flanks, not only to encourage Martinelli to maintain his refound goalscoring form but also to spare Saka from some of the physical abuse he takes throughout every single game.
Baff.
I definitely agree with that. If we sign a striker who is good on the air then maybe Gabigol can also play some minutes on the right and put some crosses in. And I guess Nwaneri next season will cover for Saka and Odegaard as needed. He can certainly be effective on the left wing, even as he hopefully gets more minutes at 10. It doesn’t make sense to mould him into a left winger long-term but I wouldn’t be surprised if he has a hybrid role for one more year.
I rate Havertz very highly, so I’ll be interested to see what we do with him if (when) we sign a first-choice striker. And Jesus would be hard to sell while injured, so if he comes back next season and gets fit then he’s also cover across the front line. He’s no longer a starter but he could be really useful depth. Players like him and Gabigol as second choice would really show how much our squad is coming on.
Great watch @37. Thanks for the link, Ned. A big loss to 4-4-2 methinks.
GSD@38: Nothing to disagree with there.
What Berta needs to be building towards is sufficient squad depth and quality that we can relieve the wear and tear on the players, especially the stars. With two league games to go, Rice has already played an average of 80 minutes in 50 games. It would make such a difference to having pretty much a full squad available all season long if the load on the main players could be lowered to, say, an average of 70-75 minutes across 40-45 games a season by resting them more often, subbing them off earlier and not having to play them when they have minor injuries.
When you look at the list of players to potentially be sold you also have to consider who the club has in mind to buy. GSD makes a good list and Fabio would be a likely sale if they have someone in mind in his position be that Ethan or someone else. Trossard to Saudi Arabia makes sense but not necessarily to anywhere else
I would hate to see Martinelli move on before we have tried him with an out and out striker. Kiwior gets slated a bit but I like him. With better back up Pigmol can do their worst next season with much less effect.
That Clery piece is really insightful. I suggest we save up and buy a subscription for those truly in need of the ability to produce and deliver quality analysis. Neville and Carragher – that’s you.
Must say Clery has made the scales drop from my eyes. I have sat down many a time to watch him and honestly haven’t been able to figure out what he does, or could add. Education is a wonderful thing. Who knew?
For avoidance of doubt, the “him” in the penultimate sentence above refers to Zubimendi.
CER
The great joy of Clery’s work is the lack of bias or spite which is so prevalent with ‘ analysts ‘ like your two, Ferdinand and Rooney . If you played for Manchester United, even if you are a monosyllabic moron there’s a job in the media for you
Looking at that list it triggers the thought that the Northern bias in football is ingrained and it’s starting to spook me. I can’t remember the same fuss about Highbury closing as there has been about the end of Goodison . I think Goodison is a grand old proper stadium but the publicity associated with it is much greater than we received and the history of Highbury was even more glittering than Goodison’s is. And we don’t need a geographically diversified group of referees let’s draw the majority from a 20 mile radius of Greater Manchester .
Clery’s work is objectively presented, hugely insightful and also very enjoyable . Nothing like it exists in the main channels that show live football
Our own 21CG reviews the new Arsenal kit in the Online Gooner
https://www.onlinegooner.com/articles/view/arsenal-s-new-red-and-white-home-kit-lighten-my-wallet-now
He’s one of our own!
Lays it across the goalmouth for…
Thank you !
CER@45: I think DM is the hardest position to figure out what they do. One could never quite see what Gilberto Silva did, but when he wasn’t there, the Invincibles looked a lot less invincible.
TTG@47: Clery is a football analyst, not a media pundit. Big difference in their ‘product’. There is also a generational difference between the YouTube analysts and the old pro pundits. The former are data-native. They go where the stats takes the story, not where they want the story to be. There is a guy in Italy who has a YouTube channel in the same vein as Clery’s. He works as a data analyst for clubs, so he knows what analysis looks like from the inside. You won’t have very good career prospects if your analysis is full of bias and spite.
Well in for the half ton, er, Arthur Ton.
Hat tip to 21CG for his couture critique. Does ‘holics’ reportage know no boundaries?
Good to see that adidas has got rid of the unflattering blue stripe on the back of the shorts.
Good work, Harf a Ton.
Nice work 21 CG. Given some of the recent monstrosities, I quite like the new kit too. Might even wait for half-price promo and buy one for the first time in many years, we’ll see.
Ned @53 – they’re doing hats with the new kit too …?
Things are looking up – brimming with excitement here – Depressed Gooner can dangle a few corks off of his. Get yours from Bona Hats !
WMS- expect to see the massed bands of GHF trolling along Charing Cross Road, vadaing the dolly capelli. Bona
They’ll be de rigueur at the Marine Commando Club, Paddington, CER.
Fabrizio Romano is reporting that we are getting 9 million euros from Lazio for Nuno Tavares under his loan with an obligation to buy deal. It seems to be a cut-price fee, although there is an unspecified sell-on clause. Perhaps it is just the last knockings of the Edu regime.
Romano is also saying that Sami Lokonga will return to Colney after his loan to Sevilla.
Ned @58 – oooh, i’nne bold!
Can we all have a couple of hearty belly laughs at To-ilet Bowl and Manure?
Has there ever been a season where the bottom 3 have won fewer points? And doesn’t it show just how poor a competition the Europa Cup is without teams falling out if the CL and into it to bolster it?
https://www.sportinglife.com/football/league-tables/english-premier-league/1/seasons
So this is potentially the lowest points total for the relegated teams in PL history, and only the 3 rd time in the PL that none of the relegated teams gave gained 30 points. The second being last season. Some years, both Tottnumb and United would have been relegated on their current and even potential final points tally. Pitiful.
Correction: they can both gain more points than the maximum ver for relegation under a 38 game season. It’s highly unlikely that they will though.
CER. Without teams dropping from the CL, the Europa League is very weak indeed. It’s not deserving of a CL spot for the winner, and it has gone from a decent competition (albeit one which was very much second string and didn’t really warm up until the quarterfinals) into one you can win without facing anyone good at all.
Frankly, it needs a rethink. I like the idea of CL teams not dropping into it, but this season has shown us it makes the EL such a poor standard that it lacks interest, and the cachet of winning it is negligible.
If you win the Europa Conference League the effect is a bit like
the seventieth minute substitution of some unknown twenty year old to a chorus of “Who?”
In the latest reconstruction of their competitions UEFA have created a Europe-wide equivalent of most national league structures: a top tier of the strongest teams, a second tier of nearly teams and the frankly mediocre and a third tier of also rans. By accident or by design? Time will tell. My hunch is the former.
The current wealth of PL clubs distorts the strength of their entrants and probably means that, until the next change in structure, an English club will always win the two weaker competitions.
The winner of the Europa League is logically the 37th best team in Europe. However, this year there are 16 teams in England alone that are better than that.
If league table places remain as they are (us second, the neighbours 17th) it will be the biggest gap in terms of places since 1958-59, when there were 22 teams in the top flight. The gold standard remains the 1934-35 season. They were relegated, having come bottom, and we won the league.
>>>>>>>