The (Un) Official Football thread

[JD_B3E5]

Karma at its finest

[Black Wizard]

Being someone who knows little about either club, I have no idea what you mean.

[houston4044]

Arsenal draw AC Milan in the Europa, if this was 2008 it would be a decent tie, come 10 years too late though

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

On the one hand Arsenal can probably look at AC Milan and think they're not doing so bad by comparison; haven't replaced the manager, aren't outside the European qualification spots in the league, their fans aren't abusing their teenage goalkeeper wunderkind to the point of tears etc.

Arsenal's scoring stats in the Europa League compared to Milan are dismal though. None of their players are on double figures for the season in all competitions yet, their top two scorers and joint top scorer in the Europa (Giroud, Sanchez and Walcott) have all left the club and neither Lacazette or Aubameyang have played in the Europa League yet this campaign...

Now in fairness Aubameyang did score 4 in the CL group stage for Dortmund, but if Milan's key players put in a good showing like they have been doing (6 goals in the Europa now for Andre Silva, 5 for Patrick Cutrone and 4 assists from Hakan Calhanoglu) then I don't think Arsenal stand a chance.

[JD_B3E5]

Being someone who knows little about either club, I have no idea what you mean.

I'm a Brentford fan. Back in the summer transfer window, Birmingham bought three of our first team players. Because we're a small club and all, we don't usually have much choice but to take Birmingham's money and let our players go. However, that scoreline goes to show that you can't always pick on small clubs as all three of those ex-Brentford players played that night and did fuck all against us.

[Gandalf the Red]

Being someone who knows little about either club, I have no idea what you mean.

I'm a Brentford fan. Back in the summer transfer window, Birmingham bought three of our first team players. Because we're a small club and all, we don't usually have much choice but to take Birmingham's money and let our players go. However, that scoreline goes to show that you can't always pick on small clubs as all three of those ex-Brentford players played that night and did fuck all against us.

So are Birmingham.

[houston4044]

On the one hand Arsenal can probably look at AC Milan and think they're not doing so bad by comparison; haven't replaced the manager, aren't outside the European qualification spots in the league, their fans aren't abusing their teenage goalkeeper wunderkind to the point of tears etc.

Arsenal's scoring stats in the Europa League compared to Milan are dismal though. None of their players are on double figures for the season in all competitions yet, their top two scorers and joint top scorer in the Europa (Giroud, Sanchez and Walcott) have all left the club and neither Lacazette or Aubameyang have played in the Europa League yet this campaign...

Now in fairness Aubameyang did score 4 in the CL group stage for Dortmund, but if Milan's key players put in a good showing like they have been doing (6 goals in the Europa now for Andre Silva, 5 for Patrick Cutrone and 4 assists from Hakan Calhanoglu) then I don't think Arsenal stand a chance.

Given their form in other matches for Arsenal then I don't hold up much hope for them giving Arsenal a life line against Milan

[fandango68]

I'm a Brentford fan. Back in the summer transfer window, Birmingham bought three of our first team players. Because we're a small club and all, we don't usually have much choice but to take Birmingham's money and let our players go. However, that scoreline goes to show that you can't always pick on small clubs as all three of those ex-Brentford players played that night and did fuck all against us.

well done, that's a really great story..

Being a Leicester fan, I'm hoping that Kante and Drinkwater do absolutely nothing against us in the FA Cup QF in a few weeks time.

[Black Wizard]

Being someone who knows little about either club, I have no idea what you mean.

I'm a Brentford fan. Back in the summer transfer window, Birmingham bought three of our first team players. Because we're a small club and all, we don't usually have much choice but to take Birmingham's money and let our players go. However, that scoreline goes to show that you can't always pick on small clubs as all three of those ex-Brentford players played that night and did fuck all against us.

Probably a good thing that Brentford let them go then.

[houston4044]

Watching the videos of Gunner fans raging over Wenger is more fun than actually watching the team at the moment.

[Matty_the_Emo_Slayer]

"Blud! Wenger out bruv, ya get me fam yeah?!"

[houston4044]

"Blud! Wenger out bruv, ya get me fam yeah?!"

Saw on Sky Sports today (can't find the youtube clip)

Fans: We need to gamble now and get rid of the manager and invest more now like Chelsea, City and Utd have done; the management has been terrible to let us slide into this position
Interviewer: Isn't there a risk you could end up like Leeds, Portsmouth or QPR?
Fans: (angry) that isn't going to happen because we have good management!

[Skippy]

I feel bad for Arsenal. They were pretty much how I thought a Premier League club should be run - they mostly made their own money and consistently did very well with young home grown players. Yes, these days they can't compete with the money of Man City, United and Chelsea (and I think that's a problem the FA needs to address). They've become a joke unfairly now I think, it's not like they've ever been in any danger of even finishing outside the European places. Granted, they've started to panic a bit, stopped planning and just wasting money, plus Tottenham kind of do what they did better, but I still think the whole thing is a bit overblown.

[kurrupo]

Looks like Pards is on his way out after yet another defeat. As a West brom season ticket holder I was thrilled when pulis was sacked. It's absolutely soul destroying paying to watch his brand of football for a prolonged period of time. You can put up with the style if you're winning, but as soon as the results dry up it becomes thoroughly depressing. However, we managed to replace him with one of the most tactically inept, uninspiring managers I've ever seen. The football is better but the results have managed to become even worse! Add to that the embarrassment of the taxi saga and this is just one season of never-ending misery which I'll be glad to see the back of. Need to start preparing for the championship and hope we can bounce straight back. Though that is a lot easier said than done these days.

[houston4044]

I feel bad for Arsenal. They were pretty much how I thought a Premier League club should be run - they mostly made their own money and consistently did very well with young home grown players. Yes, these days they can't compete with the money of Man City, United and Chelsea (and I think that's a problem the FA needs to address). They've become a joke unfairly now I think, it's not like they've ever been in any danger of even finishing outside the European places. Granted, they've started to panic a bit, stopped planning and just wasting money, plus Tottenham kind of do what they did better, but I still think the whole thing is a bit overblown.

As a Spurs fan *sharp intake of breath and looks away from keyboard* I actually like how Wenger does things Like you say, empathizes training up youngsters and when they're surplus sells them for a profit and only occasionally (compared to say City or Chelsea) buys from outside to fill in the gaps rather than rely completely on buying.

Unfairly becoming a joke? Well no, they're just this season's joke (assuming their form picks up next season) remember how Chelsea were the joke when Mouriniho left or Utd last season? Big teams going through a bad patch are always going to be the butt of their rivals jokes, nothing new or unfair.

Kurrupo, what would you say is the cause of WB's position? I see quite a few people solely blame Pulis and Pardew but when I look at your team/recent purchases I would say there lies the problem