Arsenal Banter Archive March 15 2014

15 Mar 2014 20:15:00
Agreed Dags

We must, must win tomorrow, this would set us up well for the Chelsea and M City games, it would really keep it interesting

Banbury, from now until the end of season we have to treat every game as must-win cup finals.

You do feel a defeat would end any hope, even a draw would be deflating .

Ozil being the exception I hope he starts with the side that started in Bayern

Agree mate

15 Mar 2014 19:25:54
Go on Villa. Get in my son.

They beat Chelsea and Chelsea have Ramires and Willian sent off.

We must beat spurs tomorrow and if we do we will be 4 points behind with a game in hand.

15 Mar 2014 16:05:58
I'm going to predict that in a few years, I don't know when, but because the Premier League as an example, is getting so predictable season after season that the next obvious stage will be a European League. I think this will apply to Germany, Spain, Italy, etc etc. and no! I don't see it as the Champuons League I see it as a stand alone league where maybe the top 2 or 3 teams from each country will be promoted to this Eyropean League. How do they get promoted? well I see it like this. If for example Arsenal finished let's say out of the top 4 of a European League then the first placed team from the EPL would be automatically entered 2 English teams out of the top 4 then the top 2 teams from the EPL get promoted and so on. Obviously it needs tweaking but I can't see the EPL apart from the money being sustainable for supporters. Sooner or later we are going to get bored with the same outcomes year after year. Don't be surprised if clubs like ours one day don't have a stadium in Europe too.!

{Ed002's Note - Without going in to too much detail: (a) A number of clubs take the opportunity a once or twice a year to discuss various issues including changes in rules, television rights, the power of UEFA, exploitation issues for new technology streams, etc.. These discussions, the last of which were in late August, also always turn to the possibility and structure of a breakaway pan European league. Several are ex-G14 clubs, several are not, and some clubs decline involvement in such discussions. (b) The plan is that at some point a number of clubs would break away from their national leagues and UEFA. They accept that they would be banned from all existing club competition and the players would initially be banned from all FIFA competitions as well, but know that FIFA would be looking to negotiate in any case. It would be the end of UEFA in all probability and UEFA are very aware of this. It would also result in a restructuring of many of the national leagues. (c) The clubs would renegotiate their television rights, rights of distribution via other streams etc.. (d) It remains the greatest fear of UEFA and all major national authorities that one day this will happen.

There is every likelihood that the big money from television, sponsorship etc. would go with a breakaway league. It would completely rupture the operations of UEFA and I would expect it would require national associations like the FA to restructure their leagues. Nobody wants this but it is the eventual consequence I would expect. If I had to speculate, I would think (1) you might eventually see something like five or six EPL teams leave for two-tier pan European league; (2) the Premier League would be disbanded as an organisation; (3) the FA would restructure in to two 20 team divisions with lower leagues regionalised as they were many years ago; (4) FIFA would ban all players from the breakaway teams from International football - perhaps rescinding that position to stop FIFA breaking up as well. I could also see many teams lose their professional status. I would think we are probably 10 years away from any significant move at this time.

I hold a reasonably strong view in terms of the need to restructure football in Europe in any case. For me an eventual a breakaway pan-European league would force the restructuring of many of the national leagues, possibly resulting in a British league with perhaps only a couple of professional tiers and then regionalised amateur leagues below that. Financially I do not see that so many pro sides can be sustained within the sport which, like it or not, will see more and more money going in to the highest levels of the game. Governments will ensure that grassroots sport get funding but everything in the middle (Southern, Northern, Conference, Division 2, Scottish Divisions 1-3, League of Wales will not get the funding needed to continue on any sort of professional basis.}

ED002. Thanks for that reply I really never knew anything about all of the points you were making but from what you have just taught me it doesn't surprise me that these talks have been going on in the least. I was just watching the results at the time and it dawned on me that apart from the top four or five clubs in the EPL whuch us the same teams year after year now that the remainder are just there to make up the numbers. The gap is now getting so vast that I really don't know how these teams are going to keep going in a few years time. But thanks again for your reply and I'm pleased you understood what I was trying to get at spot on mate.

{Ed002's Note - Football at the highest level is big business and attracts the sponsorship it does because the sponsors wish to tap in to the disposable income of the fans and ride the back of the advertising that flows naturally from the success some clubs achieve. Long gone are the days of the cloth-capped, hobnailed-booted, chimney sweep making his way, rattle in hand, to cheer on his team at Old Trafford on a Saturday afternoon. I have explained before that there will be changes, probably within the next 10 to 15 years, which will force the restructuring of all of the leagues in Europe and likely do away with the likes of UEFA. You will have the opportunity to see the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Juventus and the other major European sides play in week-on-week regular competition at The Emirates, Stamford Bridge etc.. You will have the opportunity to visit Milan, Barcelona, Monaco, etc. every couple of weeks to watch your team play - if they make the cut. For those who want to don your cloth cap, have a pint of wallop with your chums before going off to the local match, perhaps one of the sides from the suburbs will have survived so they can go and watch them?}

It's a shame but very true. It's like a ticking bomb waiting to go off. It's not a case of if! its a case of when. Can you imagine! what a season ticket will cost when it happens? You will need to take our a second mortgage.

Wow, great post Goldboy and great replies by Ed002.

Very thought provoking.

15 Mar 2014 12:24:22
Did you all know Winston Churchill was an Arsenal fan. I found a photo of him at an Arsenal v Spurs game where we won 2-0 and he was relaying the score to the Spurs fans.
I have just posted it on the Arsenal sightings site hopefully it will be on there soon. Come on Winston!

Brilliant, Gold! Haha

Love it Gold's.

15 Mar 2014 09:25:42
I can't believe that it has only now dawned upon Wenger to investigate the injury situation at the club. The problems started when we changed formation form the fluid 4-4-2. A system which we used for all our trophies under Wenger. I believe he should look at:
1) The medical team & set up
2) The strength of the squad, to allow rotation, without a drop in ability.
3) The tactics, does the current system put too much strain on the midfield players? We have Ramsey, Wilshere, Ozil, Walcott & Abu Diaby all out with long term injuries & they all play in midfield.
4) The training & conditioning regime.

My own opinion is it is a combination of the above. However, the formation we use leaves huge spaces on the pitch and particularly the wide players have too work way too hard to cover ground.

15 Mar 2014 08:23:38
Arsenal injuries, an expert physio said of the Arsenal injuries and the reoccurrence of them.
There are two factors, Media interest, the red tops love to pillar any Arsenal rumours as bad news and the squad is small, injured players are rushed back, they suffer secondary injuries or aggravate the existing injury, I would add, the players who get injured the most are light, to very light weight in body type, I think AW likes this body type, nimble low centre of gravity etc. The prem league has some absolute monsters in it, solid as brick out houses.

I would explain our injury problems like this.

AW picks players who are prone to injuries because of their build or body type

We have a small squad in numbers, reoccurring injuries are high because of this,

The gutter press love to bad mouth our beloved club whenever they can.

Arsenal to beat Tiny tots at blocked up drains, cor, that place stinks, seriously, what sort of a stadium is it, nice artist impressions of the stadium they will never get. or fill outside the ground.
COYG