Marka Ragnos

 

 

The rumours probably started because he was still saying he wasn't leaving as recently as Saturday.

I can think of about 42.4 million reasons why he found the move to Emirates bearable in the end.

That money didn't go to him. It went to Real Madrid.

I would actually be surprised if his wage at Arsenal is as high as Madrid but then I doubt he would have taken a paycut in the move.

 

Doh.  Dunno what I was thinking -- not enough sleep lol. Bottom line is I'm not surprised he was prised away from Real, and I think he'll find Arsenal much more exciting for himself than he might have imagined before. If Ozil had been purchased sanely at the beginning of the summer, I'm pretty sure Gunner fans would already be whinging about not getting enough signings. Now that they've had their hopes beaten down a bit, they're absolutely over the moon about Ozil. Not every single Gunner fan, obviously, but they're pretty stoked ...

The rumours probably started because he was still saying he wasn't leaving as recently as Saturday.

I can think of about 42.4 million reasons why he found the move to Emirates bearable in the end.

Every premier league fan overrates Lukaku except Baggies fans I think.

He will be great, but he really isn't now. Just looking at the raw goal total last year he was, but if you lookcloser yyou can deconstruct it a bit. ...

I don't know. I don't think he was "under-rated" by Tesco-baggies fans. His loss from WBA has been seen as a catastrophe that couldn't be halted.

"Raw goals" = also know as "goals."

Sure, Lukaku plays in a context. But what player doesn't? He's going to do well against teams with older, more fatigue-prone defenses. 

Long will be fuming, thats an awful way to treat a player. He was one of main erasons Lukaku got all them goals last season as his workrate had tired the defence by time Lukaku came on

I know. It's really sad. Absolute pest to defenses.

Can't stand arsenal, can't stand arsenal fans and can't stand wenger.

I hope their season unravels before them in the most horrific way possible

Don't be too direct now lol. 

If Giroud or a centre back gets injured they will have real issues though.

Wenger may try Ozil in a "number 10" role, too. But I agree Gunners needed a "pure" striker for backup, although it's become a common refrain and yet the sky hasn't fallen.

 

And they already have fullback issues by virtue of having those fullbacks. Arsenal's season will be dictated by their injury list. Stay healthy and they'll have a good one because it's a small, tight-knit team that knows each other well. Suffer bad injuries and they risk being overtaken by Liverpool (probably a realistic worry in either case).

Pretty much nails it as I see, except I would say they could be VERY good indeed if they stay healthy. There's also Cazorla -- another huge asset. 

Rumors all across the German media that Mesut was forced into the moved by Madrid because they needed money for the Bale deal. They bullied him into the move apparently.

Wasn't really big news tho, was it? Heard this weeks ago. I think Ozil will be pleasantly surprised by north London. There's a humongous and very active Turkish/Kurdish  community in Haringey, an easy walk from the Emirates. Ozil is going to be feted like an absolute rock star there. Can't wait to hear the stories.

OK, I'm not a secret Gunner fan exactly,  but I don't mind seeing them do well, and I'm glad to think of Ozil hanging around near Finsbury Park. He's going to be beloved there, I can tell you.

Am I the only one who doesn't think Lukaku is all that?

In a word, yes.

33 goals in 73 appearances at Anderlecht (at ages 17 and 18).

17 goals in 35 appearances at WBA.

He's 20 now.

Mourinho seriously messed up with the loan to Everton. Eto'o and Torres ain't going to save him.

 

 

Why the hell are they buying Anichebe? He's shite.

Everyday an Albion signing then

In all fairness, he's got some muscle on him and is still only 25, but isn't he a bit of a sicknote?

 

I'd be more concerned that he's a no-score-note. I'm surprised they're not looking above him.

 

But Peace has been so clear about his un-ambitions for Albion. He's prepping to sell is my guess. He figures let the next owner, some rich airline or oil magnate from Nevermindastan,  do all the topping up.

Albion needed a few visionary signings and got nothing truly game-changing. What a debacle!

The parsimony of Jeremy Peace has finally put WBA into the place of his dreams: firmly in the middle of the table -- of the Championship, that is.

If I were Steve Clarke, I'd start looking for a better job. Hard not to feel for the guy.

Sorry mods can't link from my phone (from today's mirror)

 

When asked if he believed Arsenal still had a better group of players than big-spending Tottenham, Wenger replied: ““Yes. But I don’t think about my squad like that, I think about do my squad have a chance to fight for the Premier League or not. We don’t compare to Spurs especially.

 

Arsenal are sometimes playing better than the sum of their parts.

Form is temporary, chums.

Not sure how true but Bentekes apparent stats:

 

Christian Benteke (79) -------------------------------- PAC 81 SHO 75 PAS 60 DRI 75 DEF 47 HEA 81 -----------------------------

SHO should be in mid-80s.

On a side note, John Hartson reckons Bale shouldn't be fined, and if he is it would be ridiculous. Why shouldn't he be fined? He refused to turn up to his job! If anyone in a normal job had done that, or Hartson refused to turn up to his punditry, they'd get fined instantly, or possibly fired, why is it different for footballers. I really hope Tottenham fine him.

+1 Can't stand the cheater.

Who is the other one then?   Don't say Ronaldo. 

OK, I won't say it. Absolutely not. 

Can we just please note that if Bale DOES finally go to Spain, Real Madrid will possess the two greatest actors, erm, I mean Diving Team, erm, I mean forward footballers in Europe?

I have read nothing about the delicious perfection of this diving combo. Think of the possibilities. They could invent a new game -- synchronised land-based diving.

Perspective: Liverpool scored one goal. Very hard to make sweeping statements about Villa when, any way you slice it, it all comes down to Sturridge's deserved but exceptionally skillful and rather amazing goal. yeah, liverpool "earned" it, but they got nothing else except a lot of very dainty possession.

With Villa, there was too much of a generalised strategy on display ("aggressively get the ball forward" or something like that), not enough tactical nous or complexity up front. 

Liverpool looked really very impressive, too. They are definitely a cut above a mid-table team. I am envious! Credit to B Rodgers there.

We were sitting back dazed a lot early on, too, making wild, kicking stabs at possession and play development but not really getting anywhere or sustaining an idea. Even Benteke wasn't much of a pest at all, and Liverpool's defenders seem to have all the time in the world to set up plays.

How this would NOT strike someone as team mental fatigue is beyond me!

I would like to see more variety and occasional subtlety in our midfield and front. 

Same old Villa? Ridiculous. 

I'm really perplexed by how different the reactions to the Liverpool and Chelsea games are. They were both very similar performances, yet one has generally been hailed as a master class and one is called a reality check and dire.

 

What is the big difference in Villa's performance that everyone is seeing between the two games?

As I see it, our first half showed against Liverpool a kind of dazed lack of mental acuity. It was as if the boys were shaking off a hangover and psychological fog. This leads to a certain willingness to make overly risky passes that don't quite connect, unsettled shots, and a general frenzied but weary approach. In boxing they call it "punch drunk." I think they needed a break. They are not mentally prepared or deep enough as a squad for Champions League-style packed schedule -- not yet -- but it's nothing to worry about. They are exactly where they should be.

Against Chelsea, they were sloppy but, for the most part, the picture of aggression and alertness and hunger. Can mental alertness and sloppiness happen at the same time? Absolutely. It's typical of young, energetic teams. 

I think they'll have some needed time to reflect and rest. This is a good place to be in. 

I don't care what anyone says, this team is playing in a completely different universe to last year's. I have nothing but admiration and pride for this young team. Doesn't mean I don't see areas for improvement, but I remain astounded by the fruition of a long-nursed plan.

Absolutely not worried even a whisker by today's performance. The boys you saw against Arsenal and Chelsea will be back.

I don't think the problem was physical exhaustion as much as mental. Our squad has had to endure a walk through Hades in its first two matches, and it was inevitable with the tight schedule that an emotional re-grouping would need to take place. We never had that, and to me it showed. There was a certain lackadaisical quality on display in the first half.

I think Liverpool played a very, very intelligent game -- far, far more complex, actually, than Chelsea's on Weds. We failed to match their wits.

Not concerned.

 

Manning gets 35 years. Sadly, it's not Bernard ....

 

When exposing a crime is treated as committing a crime, you are ruled by criminals

 

And if you're treating a crime as a crime, you are ruled by ... laws?

Does Arvo Part have ... songs? Well, whatever it is, I'm listening to "Summa" 'cause it helps me concentrate ...

it's about time we totally dismantled a deserving club, and I can think of few better clubs to take apart. I think it's going to be a very hard day for the Scousers.

I imagine they will have two different defensive strategies going into the match (plan A and plan . But I think we'll be working from an entirely differently set of rules, forcing them into a mental and physical mush. They'll slough away like a pile of melting jellybabies.

5-1.

 

You underestimate yourself! 

Perhaps, although I'd say I have no faith in the system.

 

Understandable. I am a fairly newly active supporter obviously, and I don't know what it's like to go through year in and year out seeing bad decisions hurt your club. I have the optimism (and perhaps foolishness) of someone just out of diapers in terms of fandom.  Still, from my perspective, it seems fairly clear that the FA has not done a good enough job. If fans and superfans have no faith in the system, the FA is failing at something, perhaps a lot.

Lamely, must admit (click to play, NSFW!) ...

 

Referee's should be interviewed immediately after the game just like the players & managers & asked to give account of their major cock ups.

 

 

They did this last season in Swedens second highest hockey league and I think that worked very well. It was always interesting to hear what the ref had to say, and even led to some instances of the ref in question admitting getting calls wrong. I for one would welcome that. 

 

Nope. Wouldn't work. Simply put, it would be "bad optics" for the FA. I would make rules seem overly attached to personalities rather than principles. Again, would lead to some pretty ugly optics.

Imagine if judges gave in-depth personal interviews about their feelings and failings immediately after court rulings. The integrity of the whole justice system would seem to rest on subjective flailings in the dark rather than hard, formidable principles.

I imagine only an official complaint by the club would be listened to seriously.

You underestimate yourself! 

 

I see exactly what you're saying, and you're right. But "corruption" to me implies a very deliberate, cunning effort, and it's hard for me to see the motivation in Friend's case. Wouldn't such corruption be possibly a criminal offence, too? What's in it for him? To me, it seems more like a kind of reckless cowardice than deliberate, cunning effort to damage certain sides. In any case, he sucks. He's not up to PL standards.

Note that I have never once used the term corruption and I am not implying criminality. All we have presently is a growing body of work attributed to him favouring our opposition. Even if it is a subconscious thing on his part the net result is the same. He does not give Aston Villa Football Club a fair crack of the whip when he is the referee. That is enough for us to request he not referee our games. I'm not suggesting payments or that he has a season ticket with the bluenoses. I'll use the more umbrella term of bias which is inclusive of all manner of innocent aswell as not-so-innocent motivations. But if AVFC are getting f**ked over by him on a consistent basis then he needs to stop reffing our games. Simple as that. It's up to the powers-that-be to figure out the reasons why.

 

Point taken. Didn't mean to put words into your mouth. You never said "corruption."

I really like what you're saying there, and I can go along with it.

Here's my big question: how many Villa fans (or lovers of the game, ie, neutrals) will actually bother to complain to the FA? I really believe they will listen if enough fans make a fuss, but I sometimes wonder whether the anger gets misplaced or vented -- then forgotten. As I said, the FA makes it pretty simple to complain.

There's also the IFO, of course. Again, pretty handy email form available, but useless if no one uses!

Fair play.

 

 

She wants hormone treatment while in prison. Good luck getting the US Army to pay for that.

Her supporters will pay for it in a nanosecond. If she's only going "chemically female," it's not even that expensive.