{"id":8932,"date":"2023-12-11T16:13:43","date_gmt":"2023-12-11T16:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=8932"},"modified":"2023-12-13T11:38:03","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T11:38:03","slug":"roll-over-eindhoven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=8932","title":{"rendered":"Roll Over Eindhoven?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"810\" height=\"468\" src=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Roll_over_Eindhoven_pic.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8933\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Roll_over_Eindhoven_pic.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Roll_over_Eindhoven_pic-300x173.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Roll_over_Eindhoven_pic-768x444.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Roll_over_Eindhoven_pic-75x43.jpg 75w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 810px) 100vw, 810px\" \/><figcaption>A traditional house in North Brabant, photo courtesy of Eindhoven Tourist Board<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Hello again my fellow Gooners. It is a rare pleasure to review a game in our packed December schedule where we (and PSV come to that) have absolutely nothing to lose today. Accordingly, I should warn you that some untoward flippancy may lurk in the darker corners of this review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Our first &#8211; and last as it will disappear next season &#8211; Champions League group stage, after what seems like a millennium in the Ropey League, draws to a close with a trip to Eindhoven in North Brabant on a cold Tuesday in December. Happily, our goal-crazed rampage against the unfortunate Lensiocians has resulted in this match being an exercise in rest and recuperation for several of our overworked players (I trust) and in gaining some playing time in the case of some lesser spotted squad players or promising youth team members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Opposition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The one and only Ned and his monks have already provided us with a richly detailed breakdown of PSV and I have attached a link to that review for those of you wishing to refresh your memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-embed wp-block-embed-embed\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"FmpigbVPB3\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=8378\">A new era as we return to Europe&#8217;s top table<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;A new era as we return to Europe&#8217;s top table&#8221; &#8212; \" src=\"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=8378&#038;embed=true#?secret=FmpigbVPB3\" data-secret=\"FmpigbVPB3\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I have also included a picture of a traditional North Brabantian abode at the top of the page for those of you whose interests tend to the socio-cultural. We are a broad church here at GoonerholicsForever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I suppose I should briefly update on PSV\u2019s current form \u2013 they have won 15, drawn none and lost none in the Eredivisie this season, scoring 52 goals and conceding only 6 in the process. They are obviously wreaking destruction freely in Dutch football, which, when you think about it, only makes the whacking we gave them back in September all the more impressive really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Back in the CL \u2013 How was it for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given the circumstances I will include a brief look at our overall group stage results and the impact of playing in the Champions League again. It has only in fact been somewhere over 2000 days and not 2000 years since we last played CL football but for me it has been a very happy return from the wilderness \u2013 chalk and cheese compared to the dubious pleasures of the Ropey League. If you want to truly understand the difference then the best advice I have heard is to take the simple chalk and cheese test <strong>(<\/strong><strong>kids, <\/strong>this test is for responsible adults only, under no circumstances should you try it yourself) \u2013 eat a slice of your favourite cheese washed down with a suitable glass of wine; excellent wasn\u2019t it. Now, eat some chalk. An acquired taste perhaps? That is the difference between the Champions League and the Ropey League in a tumshell, so to speak. If you want to stretch the analogy to the absurd Europa Conference League then simply go outside and ask a passing stranger to punch you on the nose \u2013 your resulting bitter tears will be just like the Europa Conference League experience (with my sincerest apologies to Sir Declan Rice).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To return to reality, I would say that excepting a brief stumble in Lens we have done very well to date, a notable win in Sevilla and three home victories seeing us sit atop the group and enjoying a leisurely look at the other groups for potential opponents in the last 16. Opportunely, mention of the last 16 brings me to my next question \u2013 how far can we go? My son, who is 25, simply wants to see us get through the last 16 as he was only 9 or 10 years old last time we got to the quarter-finals. Personally, I remember getting to the final and want us to win the bloody thing double quick. Encouragingly, a look at the opposition reveals no scary monsters to fear, after all the holders are 115 Shitteh and we have already beaten them this season. However, realistically it may be a year too early for us as it asking an awful lot of a young team to win a CL in what is their first time up for many. After 6 years away I suppose I should take what I can get as a supporter, so I will and simply enjoy every moment of our return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Team<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The names below are complete guess work and I will be pleasantly surprised if I have managed to get 8 right to be frank. The other thing to add is that it is most unfortunate that Partey, ESR, Tomi and Vieira are all out, most likely until January at least it would appear. They are missed. However, one player\u2019s misfortune does mean an opportunity for others and I am hoping that Mikel will take this opportunity to give a few of the younger players a run. For what it\u2019s worth\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026..<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Ramsdale<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Walters Saliba Kiwior Cedric<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Elneny Jorginho<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Nelson Nwaneri Trossard<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Nketiah<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cedric at left-back made me smile I must admit, but I simply couldn\u2019t think of another option and if we are paying him then he can at least run around a bit. Picking Saliba on the other hand didn\u2019t make me smile in the least, however minus Tomi I think it is difficult to rest both Saliba and Gabriel. I have heard mention of Lewis-Skelly as another knocking on the door but until we see who is seated on the plane and also hear the boss\u2019s thoughts at his press conference on Monday night it is quite difficult to put forward any more coherent suggestions. Whatever happens we will win the group and PSV will be second so regular first-team players may well be thin on the ground on either side, which does make my final task of predicting the result a tad tricky too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Score<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have decided to respect the time-honoured tradition of predicting 1-0 to The Arsenal when in doubt. I have no rational basis for suggesting that other than the players may be somewhat rusty on both sides although I accept that is also an excellent argument for a 5-5 draw!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To conclude this somewhat less laser-focused than usual preview let me wish you all every enjoyment of a match that should be an opportunity to sit on the sofa and relax for a change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hello again my fellow Gooners. It is a rare pleasure to review a game in our packed December schedule where we (and PSV come to that) have absolutely nothing to lose today. Accordingly, I should warn you that some untoward flippancy may lurk in the darker corners of this review. Our first &#8211; and last [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"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\/8932"}],"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\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8934,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8932\/revisions\/8934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}