{"id":12128,"date":"2025-10-25T12:34:36","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T11:34:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=12128"},"modified":"2025-10-27T11:08:19","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T11:08:19","slug":"it-could-have-gone-south","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=12128","title":{"rendered":"It Could Have Gone South"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Another obstacle in our quest for the league title awaits us in N5 on Sunday, this time in the shape of Crystal Palace of Thornton Heath located in the London borough of sunny Croydon. Otherwise known as \u201cthe gateway to the South\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I jest of course. Anyone who has ever been unlucky enough to find themselves in the vicinity of Croydon should probably locate the nearest gate, door or some sort of trans-dimensional portal that will take them as far away from Croydon as possible. In fairness to the residents of Croydon this goes for most of South London as well. Always go North of the river. Every day I wake up and thank the higher powers that good old Sir Henry Norris had the sense to do just that back in 1913. Otherwise, we would currently be preparing for a South London Derby, and we\u2019d also be dangerously close to Millwall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unless of course our attendances down in Woolwich continued to dwindle and the club we all came to know and love eventually disbanded, meaning we would\u2019ve all grown up in an Arsenal-less universe forcing us to support one of London\u2019s many perennial also-rans like West Ham United of Stratford, otherwise known as \u201cthe Gateway to Southend on-sea, where all your hopes and dreams go to die.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think we can all agree Sir Henry made the right choice there!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fairness to Crystal Palace, despite the fact they are located in London\u2019s answer to Omsk, I have always had a bit of a soft spot for them. For me, Palace have always come across as a likeable club with a passionate and loyal fan base. They have given us two particularly tidy players over the years, some fella called Ian Wright who might have gone on to score a few goals for us, and more recently Eberechi Eze who came dangerously close to signing for the Dark Side before Kai Havertz decided to sacrifice his knees for the cause forcing us to swoop in and save Eze from a career of mediocrity at the hands of Mini Me. Palace are good chaps despite their unfortunate geographical location. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right now, The Eagles are enjoying their most successful period in the club\u2019s history. Whilst they have been a solid mid table outfit for several years now, last May they experienced their finest hour in beating the law abiding, financial fair play compliers Manchester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley with the winner being scored by a certain Ebere Eze. Palace also beat Liverpool in August to win the Community Shield and until a last gasp defeat away at Everton, they were enjoying the longest unbeaten run in their history. Since then, they\u2019ve suffered a slight dip in form drawing 3-3 at home to Bournemouth last weekend and, on Thursday night losing 1-0 at home to AEK Larnaca in the Conference League. Now there\u2019s a great place to put a football club! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can expect a tough afternoon at THOF. Oliver Glassner has done a remarkable job since taking over from Roy Hodgson and he will set his side up to be very difficult to break down. The good news is our boys are no strangers to a pesky low block. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding team news, Arteta revealed yesterday that Gabriel is a doubt. If that\u2019s not just mind games, we have Mosquera or Hincapi\u00e9 waiting in the wings for some minutes. Not bad options. It is certainly a far cry from going to the Etihad with Rob Holding in the starting 11. Sorry Rob! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elsewhere could we see MLS get a first league start of the season following his swashbuckling assist in the demolition of Atletico Madrid? We might, we might not. I\u2019m not in Mikel Arteta\u2019s head; he\u2019s not in mine. He is in Jamie O\u2019Hara\u2019s head though. It\u2019s just as well there\u2019s not much else in there. I knew I could fit in a dig in there somewhere!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In midfield we will surely see Zee line up against his old side alongside Declan and Zubimendi. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In attack, I think Martinelli ought to start after his TH14 finish against Atleti and Gy\u00f6keres will hopefully get another couple of Danny Welbeckian finishes against the Eagles. In fairness to Welbz, he\u2019s still knocking them in for Brighton. Doesn\u2019t matter how they go in the onion bag as long as they go in. As far as I\u2019m concerned, I\u2019m happy for Gy\u00f6keres to knock in another 30 goals with his gonads if it wins us the title. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I will be in the Norf Bank for this one and I\u2019m looking forward to it. 2-0 to The Arsenal, Gy\u00f6keres brace. Gonads and right nipple with a goal apiece. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

COYG!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a sidenote, on Friday evening I was lucky enough to attend a fundraiser event for the Kevin Campbell foundation which was set up by Kevin\u2019s family and friends following his tragic passing last year. In short, the charity aims to support children and young people gain opportunities and aid their development often through sports in addition to other avenues. More info can be found on their website. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event was graced with the presence of four Arsenal legends: Martin Keown, Paul Davis, Perry Groves and Nigel Winterburn. It was a great chance to meet some of the best players to wear the red and white whilst raising money for a great cause and also honouring the life and continuing legacy of Super Kev. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you wish, feel free to donate to the charity online. It really is a great cause. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

UTA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Another obstacle in our quest for the league title awaits us in N5 on Sunday, this time in the shape of Crystal Palace of Thornton Heath located in the London borough of sunny Croydon. Otherwise known as \u201cthe gateway to the South\u201d. I jest of course. Anyone who has ever been unlucky enough to find […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12128"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12128"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12133,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12128\/revisions\/12133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}