The season hasn’t even started yet and Arsene’s already in complain mode about the schedule, so we play a Champions League game in the first week. Big Fucking Deal. Other clubs play an extra game in this stretch so even if we win our game we’ll still be “behind” them and that hurts psychologically? Nobody’s buying that and Wenger shouldn’t be selling it. It provides deserved ammunition to other managers when pointing out Wenger’s at times bitchy attitude. Maybe I’d even have let this slide if he hadn’t made Gallas captain but not after that shit.
Archive for August, 2007
Wenger’s moaning pisses me off
Posted by Arsenalist on August 11, 2007
Posted in arsenal, arsene wenger, eduardo da silva | 2 Comments »
Schedule Maker decides not to bend Raptors over
Posted by Arsenalist on August 10, 2007
The schedule came out a few days ago and looking at it you notice the usual pitfalls like those dreaded West coast swings which usually get coaches fired and end up making or breaking the season. But before we analyze the degree of deadliness of those trips let’s celebrate and pop some champagne since the NBA has decided not to completely fuck us up by giving us a fair October/November. 16 games, 8 home and 8 away. It’s more than a man can ask for since by November we’re usually hauling our out-of-shape asses out for Western trips and coming back with our tails between our legs.
Posted in Raptors, Sports, nba | 5 Comments »
Contradictory Wenger selects Gallas as captain
Posted by Arsenalist on August 10, 2007
I suppose I shouldn’t be shocked that I erroneously trusted this Sun article’s claim that Gilberto would captain Arsenal this season. Turns out Gilberto might be out till September and it’s..sigh…William Gallas that will be the captain with both Toure and Gilberto as vice-captains. Crazy Lens will also play a part in captaining the team so there’s no shortage of leadership. Now these are the four players on the team where leadership might come from but why Gallas was chosen is a mystery. Arsene Wenger’s not making much sense to me.
Posted in Sports, arsenal, william gallas | 2 Comments »
Capt. Gilberto + Diarra dare + MILFS
Posted by Arsenalist on August 9, 2007
This Sky Sports Arsenal preview is pretty bang on about our chances this year and what we might need to do in order to contend. It’s picking us to qualify for the Champions League which realistically speaking would be a pretty good achievement. Maybe throw in a cup in there and we can call it a successful season. And to better improve our chances of that succesful season we’re going to be “testing Chelsea’s resolve” with a £5 million offer for Lassana Diarra who wants to play for Arsenal and who Wenger wants at Arsenal. Given that alone, I’ll be shocked if this deal doesn’t happen. From the same article we’re told that Gilberto Silva is Arsenal’s new captain. Gallas just hung himself.
Posted in Sports, arsenal, lassana diarra, milfs | 5 Comments »
Nobody messes about with the Gunners
Posted by Arsenalist on August 7, 2007
It’s the calm before the storm. The Fulham game looms large - we need to grab all nine points in August to avoid falling behind even an inch. Both Blackburn and Manchester City are winnable games that can build some confidence in the team going into September’s busy schedule which has four Premiership fixtures and likely Champions League group games. The preseason has gone as well as it could possibly go and positive talk is all around the camp, it would be a damn shame to let it all slip against Fulham. Plus, I am in no mood to be 5 points back at the end of August. But there’s some good news already, we’re getting help from Arsenal fan Nyron Nosworthy who is extra motivated to beat the scum.
Posted in Sports, arsenal, william gallas | 1 Comment »
I am shit scared of the Boston Celtics
Posted by Arsenalist on August 7, 2007
Not in a million fucking years did I ever think I was going to say those words. The pain of watching Colangelo’s lack of moves this off-season has been compounded with the Celtics acquiring two Hall of Famers to supplement a perennial all-star. You don’t have to be a basketball analyst to figure out that they’re loaded to the tits and just waiting for the regular season to start so they can finally eradicate the stain on the Atlantic division by aiming for the Conference title.
Posted in Raptors, Sports, boston celtics, nba, rants | 11 Comments »
You actually thought Wenger was going to leave?
Posted by Arsenalist on August 7, 2007
Yesterday it was made clear that Arsene Wenger is in contract talks with Arsenal for an extension of his current deal which expires at the end of the coming season. All this rubbish which has surfaced since Henry and Dein left saying that AW was going to follow them out the door has been nothing but pure speculation on the parts of anybody but Wenger himself.
Posted in Sports, arsenal, arsene wenger | 2 Comments »
Toronto FC vs. LA Galaxy: Deserved 3, Got 1
Posted by Arsenalist on August 6, 2007
The funny thing about football is that the team that deserves to win often doesn’t, they just get a share of the spoils and a moral victory knowing that they outclassed the opposition. More importantly they only get 1 point instead of the 3. If you look past the Becksmania, the vibrant crowd, the national attention, the freaking Barenaked Ladies ruining not one but two national anthems you’ll see this was one of the best games for TFC all season. Playing without Dichio, Cunningham or their top three goalies, TFC dominated and threatened all game but never got the break needed on the scoresheet.
Posted in tfc, torontofc | 2 Comments »
Arsenal vs. Ajax Highlights - Gunners win Amsterdam Cup
Posted by Arsenalist on August 4, 2007
This was not your regular pre-season game, Robin van Persie punctuated a physical and intense tie by scoring in the 88th minute to give Arsenal their second trophy in a week. I’m not much for in-depth analysis of pre-season games but I know that Bakari Sagna looked weak and RVP will score a ton of goals for us. Please don’t hate Hleb, he’s going to be a big asset for us this season, yeah I know he completely disappears for long stretches of the game but he makes up for it with some nice and timely plays. Patience my dear, patience.
Anybody see that play where Eduardo had the ball, got tackled by two defenders, fell down and still managed to control the ball, and as he’s finally getting up they foul him hard. Eduardo’s a fighter. He’s obviously no Henry but the man plays every time he’s in there. I also think Flamini is made of molten lava and Denilson is underrated. Check out the match report, it’s written by professionals. Or if you prefer some really amateur but accurate analysis possibly written by a 6th grader check out post 157 by Grandizer on the Gunnerblog. There’s also some post-match interviews on the Sky Sports website.
Here’s the quote of the match and it comes from the beaten Dennis Rommedahl:
“I don’t see [Arsenal] as a candidate for the title”
Thoughts? No? Well, I have some. It’s going to be tough for us to win the title but we’re definitely a candidate for it. If our strikers stay healthy, our midfielders repeat their performance from last year and our defense gets a little tighter, we’ll be a shoe-in for Champions League play and quite possibly be in contention in April. Rommedahl used to play for Charlton and we’ve kicked their ass so consistently that he probably still has nightmares and just wanted to take a shot at us. Fucker.
I don’t speak a word of Arabic but goals sound better in it:
I was going to post a lot more highlights but both PPMate and Sopcast let me down.
Get the feed. It’s allright.
Posted in ajax, amsterdam cup, arsenal, highlights | 10 Comments »
Raptors 2007/08: Things to look forward to
Posted by Arsenalist on August 4, 2007
It’s still early August and almost three more months to go to till opening day but there are some things that I’m already looking forward to.
CBC broadcasting 10 games: It’s only ten games but it’s the first time Joe Farmer in Edmonton will get to see the Toronto Raptors by just turning on his TV and giving it a few slaps. Puckheads across Canada will gets to see what the big fuss about the NBA really is. If the broadcast team is halfway decent, this actually might be good.
Boston Celtics vs. Toronto Raptors: Allen, Garnett, Pierce vs. Bosh, Parker, Ford will be as marquee as matchups go in the East. The defending Atlantic champions facing the usurpers coveting their crown. I say the best player on the Celtics is still Paul Pierce so although on paper they’re looking good, it might not translate to the domination some are expecting. Marbury agrees.
Anthony Parker: After a season where he played exceedingly well and while not even being close to the focal point of the offense, it’ll be interesting to see how Parker’s role will grow. He can be a primetime offensive weapon and I’ll be keeping a close eye on how Sam Mitchell can utilize Parker’s deadly outside touch and ridiculous mid-range game.
Jason Kapono’s defense: The Mo Pete for Kapono was a lateral move where we “traded” good offense, good defense for great offense, bad defense while blowing away our Mid-Level Exception . Depending on how well Kapono shoots we might be willing to let his defensive inabilities slide. Either way it’ll be interesting to watch him try to defend while trying to be an offensive threat.
Bargnani in the post: No-brainer here. He’s 7-ft tall, let’s see if he learned how to use that frame to his advantage yet. Same for his defense.
Crowds at the ACC: Back in early 2000’s it was Purple Fever and last year it was Let’s go Red. Attendance for regular season games should improve from last year and we’ll also see how Raptors fans react to being somewhat out-shined by the loud and vocal Toronto FC supporters.
Raptors TV: After years of dreadful production and mediocre analysis, they lose Norma Wick, Brian Heaney amongst others. Maybe this is the year where they realize that the studio is too bright and pink and viewers expect more than mundane “analysis”.
Raptors PodCast: It’ll be good. If you’re interested in contributing, drop me a line: arsenalist | gmail.
Get the feed if you haven’t already.
Posted in Raptors, nba, off-season | 2 Comments »
