I don't often get the chance to write about things that happen in the 'real world', however, due to the events of recent days leading to the postponement of several football matches today, I have an, albeitrather weak, excuse to do so.
Lets start at the beginning. Saturday; A policeman shot a local man dead in Tottenham, North London. The family of the man, Mark Duggan, and some locals organised a peaceful protest at the fact that a policeman was able to shoot dead a civillian, although he was a local gangster carrying an illegal firearm. Anyway to cut a long story short, peaceful protest turned in to a mass riot which has now gone on every night since saturday. Businesses have been burnt to the ground, shops, homes and cars have been set alight and destroyed and town centres have been looted. People have woken up to find their livelihoods snatched away from them. Businesses they built up from scratch razed to the ground in the space of a few short hours and for what?
On Sunday night for the first time I reposted a 'chain status' on my facebook account. To cut a long story short, it was about how proud I am to be British. A fact which, at the time, I would never doubt or dispute. However, owing to the actions and scenes which I, along with millions of other British citizens have witnessed, My pride and faith in Britain, and England in particular, have been completely shattered. No more does this country deserve the moniker Great. To see the images of destruction,vandalism and criminality of the people of our country completely embarrased me and made me ashamed of the minority of the young people in this country.
The worst part about all of this is that it seems to have no meaning to it at all! OK, the peacful protest on saturday has some grounds, and maybe even the first night of riots. Fine, draw a line under it there. Maybe your point got across and things will change for the better. However to see this continue on to Sunday and Monday evening and spread throughout our capital and across the whole country is nothing short of ridiculous.
The only thing worse than this is the reasons that I have heard given by the mindless thugs that have been perpertrating these acts. One young girl claimed she was 'getting her taxes back'. A girl who looked like she hadn't even left school yet and wouldnt even be paying taxes. I have also heard people say it is because of the gap in wealth between the rich and poor getting wider coupled with a lack of opportunities for the young people. Now, I am sorry, but this a country of Wren, Brunel and Stephenson. Three men who both started out with nothing, even less than the young people of today. And yet they went on to create St. Pauls Cathedral, the Clifton suspension bridge and the steam engine respectively. All of these things helped make this country the best in the world and yet, all the pride that these images invoke have all been wasted, sullied, destroyed by the thugs who have been running amok recently.
Today David Cameron was kind enough to return from his holiday in Italy (two days too late if you ask me) to address the situation. To be fair, I was a little impressed with his response. increasing the police force to 16,000 on the streets of London is certainley a step in the right direction, although it does leave the rest of the country terribly exposed, and I like the sound of "if you are old enough to do the crime, you are old enough to do the time". However only time will tell if any of this makes a difference. Until then, the country remains gripped in fear of another night of rioting, looting and generaly senseless behaviour.
One thing that has also annoyed me about this is the statuses on facebook telling the people to go to Afganisthan if they really want to fight. Clearly the people who are posting this do not realise that the thugs dont want to fight. They are taking advantage of a severely stretched police force to comitt as much vandalism and robbery as they can. If these people were to go over there then they would not survive 5 minutes, although I guess that is a plus point.
I suppose all that we can hope for is a swift end to all of this carnage, that our police force show themselves to be the best in the world, to bring all of the yobs to quick and strong justice and make us all proud. Who knows, maybe in time we will be able to put the Great back in to Great Britain.
Showing posts with label Miscellaneous. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Miscellaneous. Show all posts
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
Sunday, 7 August 2011
Setting The Club To Rights
Firstly I feel I should issue an apology. I didnt write any match reviews from the Emirates cup and I will not be writing one from the Eusebio cup match against Benfica for one simple reason. I will justr be repeating myself. Time and Time again I have told of how defensive frailties have cost Arsenal matches throughout pre-season and in my review of last season and I have finally had enough.
Now, I could forgive this if Mr Wenger had made some steps to cureing what is effectively terminal problem for the club, a definite achilles heel. However, this close season has been one of the most disappointing and frankly embarrasing close seasons that I can remember. For all of the bravado about how much money there is to spend, all the talk of the players we have been linked with and all the hot air from the executives telling us this will be a busy transfer period , we have one new wide man and one new young right back. Quite frankly, this is not good enough.
Last sunday, after the draw against New York Red Bulls, I heard the team get booed off the pitch. A sound that I never thought I would hear, but yet I fully expected because, for the third time in two days, our defensive deficiencies had cost us goals, points, and ultimately, our own trophy and I aswell as every other Arsenal fan has finally had enough. Sebastien Squillaci is a useless donkey. Laurent Koscielny is a total liability and Johann Djourou is just not good enough. All this just serves to undermine the brilliant Thomas Vermaelen and also any goalkeeper we have. SORT IT NOW!!!
The other issues that I am certain all gooners are fed up with are the ongoing transfer sagas involving Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. Neither wants to be at the club any more and quite frankly, we dont want them if they dont want to wear the shirt. We have already missed out on Juan Mata because Wenger was too ignorant to snap him up, choosing to wait and see if Barca would pay up for Cesc before making a move, and I am sure that it could cost us more. There is already money to spend, why wait for more to come in? Any extra money we get from the sales of Nasri and Cesc (possible £50-60 million) should be spent IMMEDIATELY. We could have 5,6,7 decent signings with that money.
To compound the misery that has been an Arsenal summer, we draw Udinese in our champions league qualifier and the way things are, I cant see us winning the tie. If the worst comes to the worst and we end up on thursday nights on channel 5, it may well be time to relieve Arsene Wenger of his duties and replace him, or at least bring in a strong number two. Someone who is prepared to say no, there is another way. Or someone to make him take notice of our problems and go on to solve them. However, he is basically bulletproof at Arsenal so I cant see this happening.
So there we have it. One week away from the season curtain being raised and we have more questions than answers. I will be approaching the game with Newcastle with immense trepidation and I will not be surprised if we leave the game with nothing. However, who else could pull out an incredible performance against all the odds other than Arsenal FC?
Now, I could forgive this if Mr Wenger had made some steps to cureing what is effectively terminal problem for the club, a definite achilles heel. However, this close season has been one of the most disappointing and frankly embarrasing close seasons that I can remember. For all of the bravado about how much money there is to spend, all the talk of the players we have been linked with and all the hot air from the executives telling us this will be a busy transfer period , we have one new wide man and one new young right back. Quite frankly, this is not good enough.
Last sunday, after the draw against New York Red Bulls, I heard the team get booed off the pitch. A sound that I never thought I would hear, but yet I fully expected because, for the third time in two days, our defensive deficiencies had cost us goals, points, and ultimately, our own trophy and I aswell as every other Arsenal fan has finally had enough. Sebastien Squillaci is a useless donkey. Laurent Koscielny is a total liability and Johann Djourou is just not good enough. All this just serves to undermine the brilliant Thomas Vermaelen and also any goalkeeper we have. SORT IT NOW!!!
The other issues that I am certain all gooners are fed up with are the ongoing transfer sagas involving Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. Neither wants to be at the club any more and quite frankly, we dont want them if they dont want to wear the shirt. We have already missed out on Juan Mata because Wenger was too ignorant to snap him up, choosing to wait and see if Barca would pay up for Cesc before making a move, and I am sure that it could cost us more. There is already money to spend, why wait for more to come in? Any extra money we get from the sales of Nasri and Cesc (possible £50-60 million) should be spent IMMEDIATELY. We could have 5,6,7 decent signings with that money.
To compound the misery that has been an Arsenal summer, we draw Udinese in our champions league qualifier and the way things are, I cant see us winning the tie. If the worst comes to the worst and we end up on thursday nights on channel 5, it may well be time to relieve Arsene Wenger of his duties and replace him, or at least bring in a strong number two. Someone who is prepared to say no, there is another way. Or someone to make him take notice of our problems and go on to solve them. However, he is basically bulletproof at Arsenal so I cant see this happening.
So there we have it. One week away from the season curtain being raised and we have more questions than answers. I will be approaching the game with Newcastle with immense trepidation and I will not be surprised if we leave the game with nothing. However, who else could pull out an incredible performance against all the odds other than Arsenal FC?
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Welcome Home Thierry
Warning: This post featyres endless, shamelss, gushing
Ask any Arsenal fan who they think is the best player to pull on the red and white and you will always get the same answers; Ian Wright, Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp, Nic Bendtner (no? Just me then). Speak to the slightly older generation and you will get names like Liam Brady, Alan Ball and of course the local boy Charlie George. But there is one name that you will hear more than all of the others put together and that name is one Thierry Henry. And this weekend he is back at his spiritual home as his New York red Bulls take part in the Emirates Cup.
The mecurial Frenchman joined the gunners as a world cup winner in 1999 for what seemed like a costly £11 million from Juventus where he had hardly set the world alight playing on the left wing, but Arsene Wenger, who had worked with the youngster at Monaco knew that there was a talent there just waiting to burst out. Wengers first move was to switch Henry from the wing to thee middle, playing him at centre forward. Although he didnt immediatly settle in to his new role, taking eight games to score his first goal, he finished the season with an impressive total of 26, and then went on to lift the European Championship in the summer of 2000.
The following season was a largerly fruitless one for Henry, fewer goals and assists, but he was the clubs leading scorer for the first time. He was however frustrated at not winning anything with Arsenal as of yet. But all that was to change. In the 2001-2002 season he, and the whole squad, ripped through all comers, winning the league by a huge 7 points and winning the FA cup final 2-0 against Chelsea. It was a defiining season, as Thierry scored 42 goals in all competitions, a huge total by anyones standards.
There was success again in the following season, another 32 goals and another FA cup winners medal, as well as the man of the match award for the final victory over Southampton. He was also named PFA and football writers footballer of the year, and came second in the FIFA player of the year competition.
Having missed out on the league title the previous year, Arsenal were determined to regain their crown from current champions Manchester United, and Thierry Henry led them to that title in style; 38 games played 26 wins, 12 draws and 0 defeats. Perhaps his finest hour, being one of the invincibles, going the entire league season undefeated, the first team to do so in the modern era and the first for more than a century. The Frenchman was instrumental, with 39 goals in all competitions. Another stellar season.
Henry didnt win any more honours with the gunners, missing the final victory in 2005. He was also a part of the side that agonisingly lost in the 2006 champions league final against Barcalona, even missing a one-on-one when Arsenal were already 1-0 up in his home capital.
Although he may not have won any more medals with Arsenal, he did go on to achieve more personal honours. He surpassed Ian Wright's record of 185 goals with his brace against Sparta Prague and he broke Cliff Bastin's record of 151 league goals. He scored also fittingly scored the last ever goal at Highbury and in true Henry style it was the final goal of his hat trick against Wigan. He departed Arsenal for Barcalona in the summer of 2007, perhaps the only club he could have joined in terms of footballing capability.
So why is Thierry Henry such a legend to gonners? Simple. The goals the man scored where phenomenal. his flick and volley against Manchester United, his mazy dribbles against Tottenham and Liverpool, his swerving piledriver against West Ham, I could go on and on and on. But not just the goals. He had such class, and air of grace, he came across as a true gentleman. He completley endeared himself to gunners fans and in turn, they all loved him back. He was also funny. Who could forget him instructing a young Cesc Fabregas to respond "yes", when in an interview he was asked "was it a penalty?". I think it is safe to say that every Arsenal fan would take him back in a heart beat.
So it is with bated breath that i will be taking my seat at the Emirates stadium this sunday, the 31st of July. For when the announcer reads out the teams for Arsenal vs New York Red Bulls, and he says the name "Thierry", I will be shouting "HENRY" louder than any other of the 60,000 fans, and then I will; cheer myself hoarse and clap my hands raw, for there is only one, and will only ever be one, Thierry Henry.
Ask any Arsenal fan who they think is the best player to pull on the red and white and you will always get the same answers; Ian Wright, Tony Adams, Dennis Bergkamp, Nic Bendtner (no? Just me then). Speak to the slightly older generation and you will get names like Liam Brady, Alan Ball and of course the local boy Charlie George. But there is one name that you will hear more than all of the others put together and that name is one Thierry Henry. And this weekend he is back at his spiritual home as his New York red Bulls take part in the Emirates Cup.
The mecurial Frenchman joined the gunners as a world cup winner in 1999 for what seemed like a costly £11 million from Juventus where he had hardly set the world alight playing on the left wing, but Arsene Wenger, who had worked with the youngster at Monaco knew that there was a talent there just waiting to burst out. Wengers first move was to switch Henry from the wing to thee middle, playing him at centre forward. Although he didnt immediatly settle in to his new role, taking eight games to score his first goal, he finished the season with an impressive total of 26, and then went on to lift the European Championship in the summer of 2000.
 |
| Thierry Henry in typical celebratory mode |
There was success again in the following season, another 32 goals and another FA cup winners medal, as well as the man of the match award for the final victory over Southampton. He was also named PFA and football writers footballer of the year, and came second in the FIFA player of the year competition.
Having missed out on the league title the previous year, Arsenal were determined to regain their crown from current champions Manchester United, and Thierry Henry led them to that title in style; 38 games played 26 wins, 12 draws and 0 defeats. Perhaps his finest hour, being one of the invincibles, going the entire league season undefeated, the first team to do so in the modern era and the first for more than a century. The Frenchman was instrumental, with 39 goals in all competitions. Another stellar season.
Henry didnt win any more honours with the gunners, missing the final victory in 2005. He was also a part of the side that agonisingly lost in the 2006 champions league final against Barcalona, even missing a one-on-one when Arsenal were already 1-0 up in his home capital.
Although he may not have won any more medals with Arsenal, he did go on to achieve more personal honours. He surpassed Ian Wright's record of 185 goals with his brace against Sparta Prague and he broke Cliff Bastin's record of 151 league goals. He scored also fittingly scored the last ever goal at Highbury and in true Henry style it was the final goal of his hat trick against Wigan. He departed Arsenal for Barcalona in the summer of 2007, perhaps the only club he could have joined in terms of footballing capability.
So why is Thierry Henry such a legend to gonners? Simple. The goals the man scored where phenomenal. his flick and volley against Manchester United, his mazy dribbles against Tottenham and Liverpool, his swerving piledriver against West Ham, I could go on and on and on. But not just the goals. He had such class, and air of grace, he came across as a true gentleman. He completley endeared himself to gunners fans and in turn, they all loved him back. He was also funny. Who could forget him instructing a young Cesc Fabregas to respond "yes", when in an interview he was asked "was it a penalty?". I think it is safe to say that every Arsenal fan would take him back in a heart beat.
So it is with bated breath that i will be taking my seat at the Emirates stadium this sunday, the 31st of July. For when the announcer reads out the teams for Arsenal vs New York Red Bulls, and he says the name "Thierry", I will be shouting "HENRY" louder than any other of the 60,000 fans, and then I will; cheer myself hoarse and clap my hands raw, for there is only one, and will only ever be one, Thierry Henry.
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Pre Season Options
Tomorrow Arsenal set off on their first ever tour of Asia and there is only one question on my mind. Why?
The obvious answer to this is the endless commercial opportunities. Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have all previously been to the far east and now have enormous fan bases out there generating a huge amount of income. The amount of shirts that can be sold on the back of a jolly in Japan is phenomenal.
The other explanation is to build up a certain amount of match fitness before the beginning of a long season. Playing a couple of matches against some admittedly not brilliant opposition should do the body nothing but good. Right?
Lets look at both points. Firstly money. Arsenal acquired a new player a couple of seasons ago by the name of Ryo Miyaichi. No prizes for guessing where in the world he is from. Japan. So naturally a money spinning trip to Asia to milk this new superstar was bound to happen. However, young Ryo is from Japan. Arsenal are only visiting Malaysia and China. This makes absolutely no sense what so ever to me. Surely you go back to the boys home country, show of the 'local boy done good'. Everyone loves those stories and in turn, everyone would buy a Miyaichi shirt. Arsenal make a mint, mission accomplished. So why the hell have we gone to the wrong countries? This is a huge missed opportunity if you ask me.
The second reason is to get players match fit. Now call me old fashioned, but I don't see what is wrong with trotting around a few lower league clubs, handing out a few spankings and building up confidence that way. Hell, I was even a fan of the pre season trips to Germany and Austria which often yielded a couple of high scoring wins against fairly decent opposition. And the best bit about this? It was only an hour on the plane, so no jet lag. Excellent, the players land and straight away they are ready to play. But instead they face a gruelling 13 hour flight to a completely different climate to what they are used to, so a couple of days are already wasted trying to adapt to the different conditions.
The other downside to this sort of trip is that the players over there are all unknown to us. They are players who may well be looking to put themselves in the shop window, engineer a move to a premier league club. It would not surprise me if there where tackles flying in and at least one serious injury which will lead to an Arsene Wenger moan about how we should not have taken this trip.
Let us not forget that on July 30th and 31st, Arsenal will be hosting the annual Emirates cup. This is a tournament which has always provided high class opposition and games that are played in the right spirit. The best thing about this tournament? The other teams come to us! How about extending this competition a little? Play all three teams rather than just two. Revenue would increase through ticket sales and people using the club shop, players would be regaining their fitness without having to traipse half way across the globe. Its got to be worth thinking about.
That's that done with. Anyway, the first game of the tour is on Wednesday so I should be able to bring you a review of that soon after. Who knows, I may be able to write about the arrival of some new faces before then. But this is Arsenal, so maybe not..
The obvious answer to this is the endless commercial opportunities. Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have all previously been to the far east and now have enormous fan bases out there generating a huge amount of income. The amount of shirts that can be sold on the back of a jolly in Japan is phenomenal.
The other explanation is to build up a certain amount of match fitness before the beginning of a long season. Playing a couple of matches against some admittedly not brilliant opposition should do the body nothing but good. Right?
 |
| Is Ryo Miyaichi just a pawn to increase revenue? |
The second reason is to get players match fit. Now call me old fashioned, but I don't see what is wrong with trotting around a few lower league clubs, handing out a few spankings and building up confidence that way. Hell, I was even a fan of the pre season trips to Germany and Austria which often yielded a couple of high scoring wins against fairly decent opposition. And the best bit about this? It was only an hour on the plane, so no jet lag. Excellent, the players land and straight away they are ready to play. But instead they face a gruelling 13 hour flight to a completely different climate to what they are used to, so a couple of days are already wasted trying to adapt to the different conditions.
The other downside to this sort of trip is that the players over there are all unknown to us. They are players who may well be looking to put themselves in the shop window, engineer a move to a premier league club. It would not surprise me if there where tackles flying in and at least one serious injury which will lead to an Arsene Wenger moan about how we should not have taken this trip.
Let us not forget that on July 30th and 31st, Arsenal will be hosting the annual Emirates cup. This is a tournament which has always provided high class opposition and games that are played in the right spirit. The best thing about this tournament? The other teams come to us! How about extending this competition a little? Play all three teams rather than just two. Revenue would increase through ticket sales and people using the club shop, players would be regaining their fitness without having to traipse half way across the globe. Its got to be worth thinking about.
That's that done with. Anyway, the first game of the tour is on Wednesday so I should be able to bring you a review of that soon after. Who knows, I may be able to write about the arrival of some new faces before then. But this is Arsenal, so maybe not..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
