After last week’s very unlucky defeat at Aston Villa there was a lot of debate in the bar about our title prospects.
I thought there was a significant gap in quality between the sides last week and that we were clearly the stronger side. But there was a degree of pessimism given our upcoming fixtures which saw us playing Brighton before we go to Anfield. Last season’s Brighton defeat at home saw possibly the worst performance of that season from Arsenal. The good news is that this season’s fixture saw probably our best league performance of the campaign as we beat Brighton very comfortably by two goals to nil. A realistic score would have been 5-0 so marked was our superiority. Liverpool’s subsequent failure to beat United at Anfield saw us return to our rightful place at the top of the table.
In truth, this was a hugely enjoyable game and it defies description that BBC in their website report claim that Arsenal ‘edged’ the game. If their reporter thinks this game was edged he needs an education in football. This was a very comprehensive win and to his great credit Roberts De Zerbi, the Brighton manager, affirmed exactly that and indeed claimed that in his opinion Arsenal are currently the best side in the Premier League. Praise indeed but it was a game that Arsenal dominated from start to finish. That they had a lower share of possession (49/51%) was highly misleading. Arsenal had 26 shots during the game, I think Brighton had 6 and while our corner count got into double figures (10), they only registered one.
Arsenal began with a very heavy and high press and didn’t relinquish it. Chances were created throughout a first half in which Brighton failed to register one clear chance and only had two touches in the Arsenal box. Arsenal had myriad chances. Ødegaard flashed a fierce shot wide, Saka miscued two right foot efforts, Jesús created major problems with his movement and control, Martinelli failed to finish off a superb move by spooning over from a Saka cutback and a goal regularly seemed just a touch away. Gabriel rose at the far post but headed straight at Verbruggen in the Brighton goal and late in the half Ødegaard picked out Saka who flashed a fierce shot narrowly wide. The highlight of the first half for me was a brilliant stubbed Ødegaard pass with backspin to put Saka in only to see our young star thwarted.
We had failed to break through in the first 45 minutes but had completely controlled the game.
One extra frustration was the inadequate and inconsistent performance by referee Tim Robinson who allowed the heavy ritual fouling of Saka, especially by James Milner. These reducers devalue the modern game which normally does not tolerate them – except as far as Saka is concerned. Robinson kept his cards in his pocket until Ben White pulled back a Brighton attacker with a mild tug. Subsequently he took two Brighton names but allowed a similar tug by a Brighton midfielder on Saka to go unpunished. Inevitably Mikel Arteta voiced his disapproval and is now one third of his way to his next touchline ban as Robinson flashed his yellow card. We see almost the same ritual enacted in every home game and one hopes Bukayo is being bought some extra strong shin pads for Christmas. With referees like Robinson around he will need them
Half-time Arsenal 0 Brighton 0
Arsenal began the second half as they ended the first. Ødegaard fatally delayed shooting when he got into the Brighton box looking sure to score. From the resulting corner Brighton’s defender Van Hecke flicked on Saka’s delivery to Jesús beyond the far post who scored with a diving header.
Arsenal 1 Brighton 0 – Gabriel Jesús, 53 mins
Brighton began to try to play more offensively and Hinshelwood looped a header towards Raya. Ødegaard’s brilliant run saw him thwarted when Verbruggen touched his shot away and then a Martinelli cross was just too high for Havertz to control his header and the German headed over.
One felt a team with Brighton’s attacking quality would fashion a good chance and with eight minutes to go the tricky Mitoma slid across a low centre and Gross hit the side netting when he should really have scored. Despite our superiority our lead was fragile and we needed a bigger cushion to feel secure. Declan Rice nearly provided it with a fine run and shot saved at the near post. With three minutes left some deft movement and passing combinations in midfield involving Trossard and Nketiah saw Eddie slide Havertz through the inside left channel and he finished coolly.
Arsenal 2 Brighton 0 – Havertz, 87 mins
The Kai Havertz song ran out around a vibrant Ashburton Grove as our win was confirmed. Six minutes of stoppage time was easily negotiated and we had prevented Brighton from scoring for the first time in 32 games.
Final score – Arsenal 2 Brighton 0
On the way to the game I was approached by an Arsenal fan at my local station who had been persuaded by his wife to attend ‘ Jersey Boys’ rather than follow the Arteta Boys. When I predicted a 2-0 win (honestly) he expressed huge relief claiming he was very nervous about today’s game. Hopefully he is more relaxed now. It is interesting that he should express such nervousness about a team as accomplished as this Arsenal squad. We’ve lost twice, both in very controversial circumstances in games where we were clearly the better side. We are very much in the title mix and today I think we saw why.
Our midfield trio, in very different ways, produced quite excellent performances. Every time I see Declan Rice play he gets better and better. He is one of the best all-purpose midfielders I have ever seen and he plays with a maturity and assurance that has hugely positive effects on his teammates. Today he was quite superb and when he missed a challenge in injury time it was the first mistake of any kind he made all day, that I could remember. £100 million and he seems a bargain.
Martin Ødegaard has received criticism in some parts for going missing in big games. Well, he certainly didn’t go missing today. His touch, his awareness and his incredible work rate were all highly visible and if he had been more willing to pull the trigger when in shooting positions (a criticism that applies to most of the team) he might have notched several goals today. He is a truly elite player.
Perhaps the biggest revelation was Kai Havertz. I was underwhelmed by his acquisition, astonished by the price we paid and felt he was a long way away from the answer to our need for an upgrade on Granit Xhaka . While recent performances have been more encouraging, today’s was of a different quality altogether. He was always appearing in key spaces, passed with subtlety and guile and was an ever-present threat getting late into the box. He took his goal extremely well and this was far and away his best performance in an Arsenal shirt. If he plays like this on a consistent basis I must apologise for my scepticism and he will become an increasingly valuable cog in this Arsenal machine.
I enjoyed the game, the atmosphere and the result immensely and can see how, with a bit of luck and no ghastly VAR interventions that we are title material. We have issues – our squad is not the deepest, we don’t score the goals our approach work merits and Raya in goal still exudes a fragility under any sort of pressure that is a real concern. But these are brilliant times to be an Arsenal fan and we should enjoy what Arteta is creating at our club.
Home just on time to read the report then!
Cheers TTG!
Great write-up. I was buzzing after a good journey home, buzzing even more after reading it!
I think it was a better game to watch than it was to listen to. Great speedy report and a great three points to take us back to the top of the table. On to Anfield.
Well in (to Paris), Ollie.
This was a joyous performance at the Emirates this afternoon, one I am still glowing from. From front to back the team were energetic, creative, fabulous to watch and far too good for Brighton. The only area we were less than perfect in was the efficiency of converting chances to goals, which led to the occasional nerves, but this surely was the performance of the season so far. Our peerless midfield duo of Odegaard and Rice simply dominated the match. Rice is becoming Patrick Vieira mark two. Our front three of Martinelli, Jesus and Saka spun webs of mystery, technique and pace. Havertz continued to grow into this team, with a terrific winning goal made by Odegaard and Eddie. And our centre back partnership of Saliba and Gabriel, surely the best in the league, snuffed out any threat from Brighton.
The crowd were thrilled and loud. From the chorus of North London forever which silenced the Brighton fans before the game kicked off, to gasps of astonishment in the first five minutes as Saka simply left James Milner for dead, to the roof lifting singing of Havertz’s song, as TTG says above, this was an Emirates crowd enjoying a mild December afternoon with their team utterly dominant.
I truly believe this team will win one or more of the competitions we are still in this season, if we are spared wretched luck with injuries or egregious refereeing decisions. Wouldn’t it be good if we took a result from Anfield next weekend?
Today was one of the very good days.
Your usual super speedy and accurate report, TTG, with the customary dose of common sense, too. You are right. This is an excellent team, and it played very well. Yet, being there, seeing and feeling the game in front of you is so different from watching on a screen. From this distance, it felt that every chance missed brought the spectre of dropped points nearer and far from being one of the very good days, it was going to be just one of those days. I don’t know who controls the sound levels and mixing board for the broadcast feeds, but on what I was watching, there was no sense of the Kai Havertz song lifting the roof off after he scored or even that it was being sung, just some pundit muttering about whether it might have been offside.
Bravo TTG for your great match report and analysis. I envy you, c100, Ollie and the other 60,000 who got to see this one in the flesh.
Thanks TTG!
Good to get revenge for last season and move to Anfield in good heart.
As you say, a brilliant time to be an Arsenal fan
It’s the last 16 draw in a bit. I hope for a wonderful, wonderful draw.
A superb and swift report of a superb and patient performance. Despite our clear domination and the lack of Brighton threat (did they have any forwards?) in the first half during which we spurned chance after chance, we reached half time with a huge sense of frustration. bt8’s prognostication of having to come from behind ran through my mind as the second half went underway. Brighton defended superbly (though not without some characteristic brutality from Milner) and it seemed that their goal led a charmed life until Jesús was in the right place at the right time. I lost count of the number of balls Martinelli fired across their box just begging for an outstretched foot.
After Jesús scored, whether through strategy, relief, energy conservation or Brighton’s drive to equalise, we sat back and encouraged them onto us. If it was a strategy, it would have been foolish against such an opponent and Gross missed a near post opportunity that would have made it 1-1. Thus Havertz’s excellent goal was a massive relief. 2-0 flattered Brighton as the dominance of the game by Arsenal for all but ten minutes was supreme and 5-0 would have reflected that far better. However Brighton are a good team, defended superbly and will prove a big problem for others.
Champions league round of 16 draw. First game in February has the non seeded team at home. The seeded team (inc Arsenal) will be at home in the second leg in early March.
Our opponents are PORTO
Many thanks for the write up, TTG. Have watched the first half so far and could have saved myself the time by simply reading your spot-on report.
Porto sounds like an opportunity for a nice away trip…..
So it’s Porto !
Porto’s ground. Never been to a game here but stayed two blocks away in a city break to the lovely Porto.
Cheers TTG. Excellent report. Crisp and accurate and a big patient win above Brighton. Just what the doctor prescribed.
I started to feel the fear at one point around halftime what was usual at the late Wenger times that miss aftet miss than “here-comes-the-sucker-punch”, the urge to go behind the sofa, but hey! Our defence line with Big Gabi and Saliba at the back and Declan in the middle are so strong that there is nothing to fear. This Arteta’s team is a joy to watch. It was unthinkable we don’t win this game. So we did.
Win the next one!
COYG
Good draw. That leaves us the possibility of QSG in the QF. Would have been annoyed to draw them in this round, would have been terrible timing personally for the away leg!
I went there once, C100, lost 2-0 if I remember correctly. Group stage, so no consequence. Beware the pickpockets outside the metro near the stadium.
Enjoy food and port by the Douro!
Porto shouldn’t be underestimated. They are two points off the top of the Portuguese league with a game in hand, and their only CL group losses were two 1-0s to Barca. That said, we should have enough not to slip up as we did against Sporting Lisbon last season.
Ned @5. Here’s a taste of the Kai Havertz song from what looks like the North Bank Upper.
https://x.com/tazrahman7/status/1736420599252111407?s=61&t=cVFjCyGkt4y-Ne45LtfqkQ
We don’t have the best record against Portuguese sides in Europe I think as I remember being gutted by Benfica, beat by Sporting last year and I think we lost away at Braga once too.
I just checked and we have an 11-0 home record over 3 games against Porto. We can pass quickly over the away record 😃
OM, You piqued my curiosity about our record at Porto and overall against them, see below. Six games overall, 10 of 18 points won, 12 goals for and 4 against. Not too shabby, even as the away leg record isn’t great. That one point of nine we took at the Estadio do Dragao is better than they did in north London.
https://www.11v11.com/teams/arsenal/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/FC%20Porto/
True, Matt.
I was at that Braga game too. Funny stadium. But there was one of the most blatant penalty on Carlos Vela not given that night. VAR would have given it within a second.
To be fair, I think that was also a relatively meaningless group match.
Our last game against Porto saw us thrash them 5-0 , also in the last 16 . Amazingly Bendtner scored a hat-trick !
C100@18: Great stuff. Thanks.
The GHF Predictathon Leaderboard for Match Week 17 is posted. Improved scores for most. You know where to find it…
CL dates v Porto confirmed. Both 8pm (U.K.) kickoff.
Away: Wed 21 Feb
Home: Tues March 12
Two interesting signings are just about to be announced at Arsenal
Phil Cowen is leaving Rangers to ecome Head of Academy Scouting and Paulo Xavier is joining from Real Madrid as Chief Latin America Scout. Two big hitters and this may presage an even greater emphasis on acquiring South American talent .
Significant moves
Interesting signings, indeed, TTG, especially Paulo Xavier. One sees from this side of the Pond how active US PE investors are in Brazil, taking stakes in clubs to give greater control over the lucrative flow of players from Brazil to Europe. But there is plenty of talent across the continent for those who look carefully, as Brighton has shown. And unlike with Africa, it doesn’t disappear for a month mid-season every other year.
It’s worth watching the highlights again for many reasons. For the Kai Havertz detractors, take note of his awkward knee slide toward the corner glag after he scores his goal. 😎
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=I8ABCUvTIVU
glag = flag (he adds awkwardly)
bt8@28: Why do players do knee slides to celebrate a goal? Isn’t there a risk of unnecessary injury? I remember Solskjaer damaged his knee quite severely doing one during a CL game. Didn’t RVP do something similar?
Great work, TTG – a nice blend of match detail and opinion.
Just as Tim Robinson did Arsenal no favours, the media have rubbed their hands and joined in the general bash Arsenal in any way you can behaviour. John Cross on Sky Sports News tonight , clearly high on his own adrenaline, claimed disdainfully that Arsenal will be ‘scared’ when Man City get de Bruyne back creating chances for them. And today’s paper gave Declan Rice, William Saliba and others a 6/10 mark for their performances. And Mikel Arteta came in for more criticism for getting another yellow card after waving his arms at the referee to card a Brighton player just as he had booked Ben White (I think it was). Maybe Arteta shouldn’t be doing that but without it I honestly don’t think the referee had any intention of booking the Brighton player.
Anyway, a very good, fluid performance, three points and back to the top of the league.
Quite what David Raya was doing diving out from goal and away from his near post as Gross arrived at the same post to try to convert the near post – yes it was – cross, is anyone’s guess. He really is a constant accident waiting to happen and his general positioning is a mystery.
Trev
That’s a strange take from Cross who is a passionate Gooner . I think the required style of tabloids is to continually provoke and sensationalise and that may have been tweaked for effect by a sub- editor .
I watched the match highlights on Sky . They are much more representative of the game than MOTD which showed a pitifully short piece . One thing which struck me was how similarly Brighton and Arsenal have been in handling the goalkeeping situation. De Zerbi kicked out Sanchez and rotates between Steel and Verbrugge who played extremely well yesterday.
What we need is to find a keeper like that to challenge Raya if Ramsdale is allowed to leave . There is a world of difference in mental attitude between a tyro coming through and looking to impress and a disaffected keeper who feels he has been unfairly removed from the number one position.
In virtually every game I’ve watched live ( at home ) and away on TV , Raya has had very little to do. The combination of Saliba and Gabriel with Rice in front of them has led to us (I believe ) having the lowest number of shots faced this season. On Sunday he only made one real save and caught a couple of crosses, one of which he flapped at the first time . In fairness his distribution from hand and boot was excellent but he only seems to make something like two or three saves a game . I wonder what the situation would be if our central defensive spine wasn’t so good ? I hope we are using our new scouts to find the next Ederson or Becker in Brazil
Re: Trev @31. I thought there was only one way to rate those two players:
Saliba 8/10
Rice 8/10
That is all.
The Holic clock reveals that it has now been more than 62 and 2/3 years since Tottenham won the league big club my arse.
I’ve heard of David taking on Goliath but this is ridiculous.
Braga away, blimey you get about a bit in Europe Ollie.
Vela is a name I haven’t thought of for a while but he is still
playing in the US I discovered.
I was doubtful about his claimed height of 1.78m in Wikipedia
but it looks to have mostly gone well for him since he left
Thé Arsenal.
@34 😂😂
Holics of a more senior vintage will be disturbed to learn today that Unilever has sold off its Brylcreem brand, a product that Denis Compton sported it when opening the batting for England or flying down the wing for Arsenal in the 1940s and 1950s.
TTG, Bath, I (of course) have a large inventory of this wonderfully fragrant white cream in the original glass bottles with black tops which you are most welcome to access. Reduced availability has already accelerate price positioning unfortunately 🙂
@ Trev, the worrying thing for me about the cross wasn’t Raya’s positioning it was the ease with which Mitoma skinned White to make the cross in the first place. Had Brighton decided to play football earlier in the game and moved the ball down their left, it might have been a different game.
I see some reports that Bennie was carrying and injury. I hope that doesn’t raise the spectre of Cedric at Anfield. (Apologies for writing two words that should never be read in the same sentence).
I think that’s a bit harsh BtM. Mitoma is one of the top left wingers in the league and normally makes any opposing full back’s life miserable. White dealt with him very well the whole game (right in front of us in the North Bank for half of it) and this was the only time he got behind. And Benny played a full role in attacking down our right wing.
6/10 for Rice and Saliba was written by someone that doesn’t understand football. I’d have given both of them an 8.5.
Great tactical piece in the Athletic (££) today about Arsenal’s highly successful press against Brighton on Sunday.
https://theathletic.com/5145421/2023/12/18/arsenal-pressing-brighton-work-of-art/
Accurate summarisation of the game TTG! Almost as entertaining as the match itself was. 🙂
Ødegaard, especially in the first half, was imperious. With a little bit more of composure and accuracy near goalmouth we should have scored at least a couple of more. I think this probably remains one of the weaknesses of this team: in comparison to the efficiency and quality of our build up play, our goalscoring remains less than ideal. It doesn’t hurt us that much because of the defensive solidity provided especially by Saliba-Gabriel-Rice, but if Arteta is constantly looking for marginal improvements in all areas this ought to be definitely on his list.
Eddie’s pass to Havertz was a pleasant surprise — didn’t know he had that in his locker. I loved Kai’s finish — though some in the media seems to be suggesting that it might have been not entirely intentional, an assessment I don’t quite understand how they arrived at.
One of our better performances, full of continuous dizzying movements, crisp passing and front footed aggression. Hope this continues over the festive calendar.
Dr F@43: I am surprised to see that our XG against Brighton was only 2.3, given the number of chances we spurned.
BtM@37: https://wisden.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Brylcreem-ad_Fotor-e1526914527421.jpg
Dr F@43: re goalscoring, I am surprised to see that our xG against Brighton was only 2.3, given the number of chances we seemed to spur.
Re: Ollie @48 in the previous drinks, responding to my #45:
Those are the incredibly thin margins in the Premier League, and I agree with you that in different ways both of those headlines are correct. Even though Arsenal were dominant for nearly the whole game, there are many “What if?” scenarios, and the BBC article seemed to focus on those, probably foremost “What if Gross had scored that chance around 85 minutes?” and “What if the Brighton defender had not played a perfect flick-on for Jesus’ goal?” But the fact is, those things did not happen, and largely credit to Arsenal for wearing down the opposition who were too fatigued to make those key plays in key moments.
45
bt8
on 17th Dec 2023 at 7:49PM
Sky headline “Arsenal Secure Dominant Victory”
BBC headline: “Arsenal Edge Past Brighton”
Your choice.
48
Ollie
on 17th Dec 2023 at 8:11PM
I’d say.both are correct, bt8. I wasn’t feeling that confident in the five minutes leading to our second goal. It was very much :on edge’ at that stage.
Saliba brushes the centreforward off, looks up and passes forward 15 yards to Declan Rice in the centre circle.
Rice makes 20 yards then recycles to Odegaard on the right.
c100, I didn’t necessarily disagree with your ratings of 8.5 for Saliba and Rice in the Brighton game. But wouldn’t that more properly be 17/20?
Proper French school notation that, bt8 at 46. And a fine number 43 too.
Ødegaard spins around and moves the ball a little further right to Saka. Through the defender’s legs.
Saka burns off his full back and chips to the back post
Martinelli jumps and heads the ball back towards the penalty spot.
Declan Rice, third man running, powers the header in!
Rice, Rice baby!<
Great teamwork all!
Boom, boom, well in C100!
That stands for Countriceman100, of course.
Well in c100, and excellent assisting Ollie you are like a pair of LANS at the striker position with finishing skills and the ability to hold up the ball and lay it off to teammates in the buildup. 👍🏼
Well in for the half-ton, C100, and a deft assist from Ollie.
bt8@43: another what-if is, what if Brighton had bothered to mark Jesus for that corner?
TTG and Uply are the only two left standing in the GHF Predictathon predictions for the League Cup.
Re: NBN @55. Good point, well made. In fact, most of the what-ifs probably favored our side such as “What if Martinelli or Odegaard had converted one or two of their many opportunities?”
And no GHF Predictathon player had Steve Cooper for the tin-tack at Forest, so there is no runner-up to Dr F. Jnr.
Btm
Brylcreem !
Ah nostalgia ! My mother had a crush on Denis Compton and my Dad took her to see him play at Highbury. He may have inspired my conception but I’d rather not go there!
Several years ago my wife’s grandmother gave all the males in the family party at Christmas a pot of Brylcreem. Those who know me will realise it’s a rather redundant present !
As it happened everyone gave me their pot to take home for my ( less follicular,y challenged ) father who used it. It kept him iwith supplies for months to come .
This is indeed a sad day for lounge lizards
We need a midfielder, not a striker in January, says Arseblog.
Nearly feels odd to not have a midweek game….
Brylcreem still exists, nostalgia-lovers. Unilever has just sold the brand to a private equity company. Brut, a cologne (does anyone still use that word?) that came in a green bottle, is another brand Unilever included in the sale of some non-core assets. Anyone remember boxer Henry Cooper ‘splash it all over’ in the 1970s?
C100@60: Blogs makes a good point. Should anything happen to Rice our midfield would look bare. Jorginho is the sort of senior pro you want around to close out games and for what he brings to the dressing room but Partey’s race is run and Elneny is a level below where we are now. A return to the fold for Charlie Patino, perhaps?
An “Aren’t you glad we dodged that bullet” excerpt from Dan Morgan’s article in the Grauniad: “Want to guess where Mudryk ranks among forwards and midfielders in xGChain this season, a measure of a player’s creative involvement? 143rd! Only 14 eligible players in the Premier League have had less of an impact on the ball this season. Mudryk sits behind the likes of Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu, James McAtee and Will Hughes this season. The distinction? Mudryk cost Chelsea $112m; Mpanzu, McAtee and Hughes cost $7m combined. Oof.”
Re: Ollie @61. The game this midweek is to see how many long-term injuries to key players our rivals rack up in their meaningless cup exertions. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Ha! I like that one, bt8!
Fair play table
https://x.com/goonerspark2012/status/1737445053251850550?s=61&t=cVFjCyGkt4y-Ne45LtfqkQ
That fair play table don’t lie, do it?
Sp*rs midfielder Yves Bissouma “will serve a four-match ban because his dismissal in victory at Nottingham Forest was his second of the season. The Mali international may not play again for Spurs until mid-February, depending on when he returns from Africa Cup of Nations duty.”
Come on Mali.
@62 Ned, quite recently Her Nellieness produced for me a canister of spray on Brut from the depths of one of her many treasure chests. She’d bought it in anticipation of a visit be her father, precluded by age. I’ve always hated the smell of the bloody stuff but, having considered the beneficial impact on my financials of delaying expenditure on something I’d actually like, I’m spraying it on all over. It’s a big canister, good for at least a year I imagine. Better to keep out of aroma zone.
The challenges of being a Scot.
A bad day for UEFA / FIFA
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/dec/21/european-super-league-boost-court-of-justice-ruling-uefa-fifa-eu-law
A court found they were abusing a dominant position. Never! Who could have possibly have guessed that? And they seem such nice people.
Ain’t that the truth, Matt @71?
I wonder if the apes at the Camp Nou and Bernabéo will start rattling their cages again. There’s an old Spanish proverb, “An ape in silk is still an ape”. Never more apt than when applied to those at the pinnacle of those two clubs. And, of course, UEFA and FIFA.
Players at risk of a suspension if they get a yellow card in game days 18 or 19 ( Liverpool and West Ham for us).
https://theathletic.com/5148422/2023/12/20/premier-league-players-yellow-card-suspension-december/
In honour of BtM. I’m not sitting next to him at our next pregame lunch. I can still remember the whiff from the school discoes.
https://x.com/ukads3/status/1737745190650061190?s=61&t=cVFjCyGkt4y-Ne45LtfqkQ
“The horror….the horror…”!
@72, Bath, and some words from Ayrshire too.
For a’ that, and a’ that, it’s coming yet for a’ that.
Only a matter of time, I fear, before Arsenal vs Real Madrid is a more regular fixture than a home match vs Brighton at the NHOF. Super League money machine will take some stopping. No doubt Fulham will be spared and fans there will continue to be able to spectate and enjoy in a manner and price more palatable to Brylcream and Brut devotees than the super-glitz alternative.
@72 C100 – I don’t think seat selection at the table will work. I’m giving it large and hostelry avoidance may be an essential route to olfactory impacts and damage.
I am not so sure the Super League will happen or that the headlines about this being a disastrous day for UEFA will stand the test of time. There is a lot in the ECJ’s very long judgement. However, it says that there is nothing inherently unlawful in sporting governing bodies having monopoly power to protect what it calls sporting merit, just that UEFA has to be more transparent in its rules for approving competitions other than its own (already changed since the case started) and that arbitrary bullying on its part, by, for example, banning clubs and players who join the Super League, is unlawful. The court hasn’t sought to end UEFA’s monopoly as the governing body or to separate its roles of being the governing body and running competitions, and UEFA still gets to decide whether or not to approve the Super League and where it fits into the calendar. It was a smart PR move for the Super League to come out with a new format the moment the decision was handed down, as that will draw all the ‘Super League alive and kicking’ headlines. Whether it is, is probably in the hands of the clubs. Do they want to force a showdown with UEFA or has UEFA done enough with the expansion and format changes of its CL and Europa competitions to keep the clubs that matter onside? The history of breakaway leagues in sport is that they mostly force change on incumbents but then get reabsorbed into the establishment structure.
BtM@70: You make me appreciate being upwind and an ocean away.
Re: the players with the most yellow cards in a season, from c100’s link above @73:
“the league record for one season stands at 14 (held by nine players: Joao Palhinha, Etienne Capoue, Jose Holebas, Lee Cattermole, Cheick Tiote, Paul Ince, Robbie Savage, Mark Hughes and Olivier Dacourt”
Some of those stand out a lot more than others but my memory says the rest weren’t half as dirty as Savage and Cattermole who deserved about one yellow card per game at least.
But of the players who are currently on the cusp of suspension for yellow card accumulation there is no doubt in my mind that this player deserves it the most:
Cristian Romero (Tottenham)
Followed very closely by Bruno Gimpface. Someone really needs to teach him a lesson he won’t get back up from.
I’m surprised nobody has given BtM a yellow card already for olfactory violations.
Cheers, Ned at 77.
But such clarifications don’t make for good headlines…
The Apes of Barca and Real are indeed rattling their cages at the news of the ECJ ruling and the A22 organiser is sharing his plans but Miguel Delaney of the Independent quoted by the BBC says this:
“All anybody really cares about is can a European Super League be launched?
And what this judgement does is say it is still immensely complicated.
All advantage lies with Uefa and crucially the Super League would still have to get authorisation from Uefa.
What today’s ruling does is it basically preserves the power of the governing bodies. It makes it clear that legally sporting merit needs to be protected.”
It turns out there’s a Premier League game today, Palace v. Brighton, that could be of some interest. Speaking before the game Roberto De Zerbi said more positive things about Arsenal, and on recovering from losing to Arsenal last time out: “Arsenal are the best team in the PL at the moment. It’s possible we can suffer against them.”
Bath@84. I am pleased to see that at least one member of the scribbling classes appears to agree with me. Perhaps he read the whole ruling, unlike the rest of his colleagues.
Ollie@83: Or social media posts!
Deft bit of backtracking by the BBC in saying that UEFA now realises the full text of the ruling does not match up to the ECJ’s press release, and that nothing has really changed. 🙂
The emergence of the Athletic throws into sharp relief the inadequacy of BBC’s football reporting . It’s no longer a source I bother to consult as there are so many better ones out there .
It was interesting to see Brighton unfold their pressing and passing game in the second half tonight . It underlined how well we contained and controlled them last Sunday . It was also nice to see a classic Welbeck header . He was never a great finisher but a very effective leader of the line- but very fragile physically .
I need to reflect on today’s judgment . The botching of the launch of the ESL has severely damaged the prospect of a revival of the concept any time soon. But the Spanish and Italian teams may try their own breakaway version
Finally I was a man whose Brut stash was impressive in the early seventies . It made me almost irresistible to women ..and most animals in the neighbourhood . Btm is exceptionally fragrant anyway but this development will just increase that situation .
Stands on the ball like a heroic marble statue of David Raya waiting for the press. Plays a long pass out to the left wing.
Brings the ball down and drives forward but has to pass back to the midfield as three defenders press.
Picks up the pass and takes a brief cba break:
Slides the ball between two defenders to the right wing…
Realizing the ball is going to be in the final third for awhile, saunters over to the sideline for some hydration (a pint).
Slides the ball to the top of the box.
A no look flick to the far post…
Ooooh, straight out if bed to head it in?
That goal was all about ecg’s mazy run.
Well in for the ton, Ollie.
Extraordinary build up play, ecg. Nice tribute to cab.
A fine ton well made by an enjoyable assistathon.
I was idly wondering if the Saudi Arabia were given the World Cup with such unseemly haste to prevent the formation of a Super League. An overly mistrustful thought I suppose but the corruption in football lends itself to such thinking.
Whether it had anything to do with the Super League or nit, it was given to them because…. £€$¥…but yeah any UEFA/FIFA statement mentioning ‘football not for sale’ or such things is….🤮 Let’s not pretend it’s not a question of money vs money and nothing else.
Lovely work through the night lads. Brought back the old days.
In other news, Arsenal say no thanks to the SuperLeague
https://www.arsenal.com/news/club-statement-2
Well in goalhanger Ollie and good Odegaard like approach work ECG .
CBA is much missed !
Arsenal have realised a statement confirming their commitment to UEFA competitions
Very good piece on She Wore this morning on the Super League and 8pm kick offs.
Ollie Leaps English Channel To Head Home – remarkable !
Circumstances are making it difficult to join in much right now but another excellent set of drinks – from Brylcreem to a European Super League ! Where else ?
Anyway, we can all rest easy as Arsenal have declared their non-interest in a European Super League and Infantino and Ceferin, aka FIFA and UEFA, have assured us all that football cannot be bought with money – just after awarding World Cups to Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Sleep well !
Fantastic and timely run to the ton, ecg, including some excellent musical selections that have brightened my 6-7am coffee hour on this, the shortest day of the year, the winter solstice having just passed a few hours ago. Now at 6:53 am local time there is no sign of the sunrise just yet. Time for another coffee and a listen to ecg’s third selection above. 👍🏼
Blatantly opportunistic goal hanging for the ton Ollie but well in. Thankfully the GHF powers that be have still not installed VAR, being violently opposed to the whole concept I take it, or I fear you might have been offside having just rolled out of bed like that.
Well in for the ton, Ollie, it is almost as if you can score in your sleep. And a tip of the hat to ecg for his cba homage. As TTG says, the old codger is much missed.
As for UEFA and the Super League, I am shocked, shocked to detect the whiff of filthy lucre and hypocrisy.
TTG@88: I fear the BBC’s decline goes beyond its football reporting, at least as far as its website goes. World Service radio seems to be its last bastion of professional journalism.
C100@107: She Wore’s ‘simple solution’ of a UEFA ban on clubs and players for participating in the Super League will be extremely difficult to put into practice without falling foul of EU law, as the ECJ judgment made clear. The more likely route is for UEFA to deny the Super League its approval. Writing EU-compliant rules for that is less challenging. However, given the slew of clubs saying they will stick with UEFA and not go with the revamped Super League, I would guess that back channels are proving most effective of all.
She Wore is absolutely right about kick-off times. Completely geared for global audiences, not people attending games. It would be a rounding error on the P&L if broadcasters chartered a couple of football specials to get Newcastle fans home after an 8pm London kick-off.
Now finished listening to all of ecg’s musical links in the 90s above. An education in Seattle grunge music— not sure all of those fit that category, and I couldn’t have named it as such without looking up some of the bands— but liked everything I heard.
>>>>>>>