Come on Arsenal!!!

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Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:02 am

^^^ Season ticket holder for the last 7 years. Im sharing it this year so have only got to 8 home games and 4 away games.
im not english but have lived here for 20 years (im 27) As much as it pains me to say your lot have been 1st class this season. I hope you go on to win the lot. Next season I think we will be back up there with you.

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:19 am

No worries, what national team do you follow? And how do you identify with them, having lived in Blighty for the majority of your life?

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:35 am

Trogger wrote:

Bobo419 wrote:

Arsenal... good choice I thought, Man U are only outclassed by Chelsea in buying talent, not creating it....

Sharpe, Giggs, Scholes, Neville (x2), Butt, Beckham and latterly Richardson, - a small selection of the world class ENGLISH (Welsh for Giggsy) talent nutured by Man Utd. Arsenal have only 2 English kids in their current first team squad, and for a lot of last year used cheap foreign imports, how many times did they field a team with NO British players in it??...... Hardly an argument that stands up now is it?

Sorry Trogger, did I mention anything about English or foreign players?
It is just my opinion that Wenger did/does a better job in finding talent (of whatever nationality)... for a cheap price (Bergkamp, Henry, Reyes, Viera....)
The Man U examples you mention are of course world class, as are many other players, and I'll be the first to admit Man U deserves their first spot.... Let's hope they can keep ahead of Ch�l$�a.... Wink

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:42 am

Trogger wrote:

No worries, what national team do you follow? And how do you identify with them, having lived in Blighty for the majority of your life?

I was born in Israel so not much of a national team to shout about.
If im honest I see myself as english but I dont realy follow internatial football as much as I do club. I would love to see England win something but not as much as Arsenal

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:36 pm

Ahh I understand. Well I just love football, and try to respect other teams, and certainly the passions it evokes. So onwards and upwards.

*** BANNED *** Joined: 10 Jan 2004 Posts: 3779

Ziggyzap wrote:

I would love to see England win something ...

Wont happen in the near future due to the infamous Wembley curse.

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 10:45 am

^^^ And what infamous curse would that be then?

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 1:57 pm

Don wrote:

Are there any Celtic fans around I can suspend tonight? Cool

Celtic are my Scottish team. Don't you think i have suffered enough this week??? Crying or Very sad

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 4:32 pm

Trogger wrote:

^^^ And what infamous curse would that be then?

The one that make all English team since 1966 shite. 1/4 finals anyone?

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 4:42 pm

I have to disagree. True we have had the odd crap side, but not winning the world cup doesn't make you crap.

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 4:53 pm

^^^ But England dont win anything! We have a good core but we have had crap managment for so long it rubbing of on the team.

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 7:34 pm

Not much to do with management, everything to do with experience : look at the 'good/great' national sides : Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Tsech Republic, ... and because I'm Dutch let's add Holland : most international players of those countries play, or have played, in different leagues...
Now look at England or Spain : name me one international from either country (apart from Brylcreem Marketing Wet Dream Beckham) who plays abroad?
I'm sure I'll get slapped with others, but my point is : if your core national side consists of only domestic players you don't stand a chance..
...against a national team whose players have played in different leagues..
England has great players, just like Spain, but they keep playing the way they're used to in their domestic league (in the case of England 'the long ball forward'...)
Unless they know how to adapt to differetn playing styles, they don't stand a chance...

Love to type some more, but my kids are playing up... Mad

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:04 pm

That argument sounds valid, but Germany and Italy hardly have any noteable players in different leagues. This is the first season for a long time that a German player of some quality, Ballack, plays for any of the major European leagues other than the Bundesliga. One could still argue that a lot of German players where playing abroad the last two times they won the world cup though. Also did those few Italian players that are playing abroad (Real Madrid, those who followed Lippi) leave the country only after Italy won the world cup.

Spain does have other problems, they aren't a nation and as such don't have a national team. They're rather a couple of teams unfortunately mixed in the same quad. Same holds for Holland (strange you would mention them among the great teams but hey Laughing

) who always seem to have at least two fractions in one locker room.

What actually *is* interesting about those great football nations is that a lot of foreign players do play in those respective leagues, this is where the experience might come in.

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:17 pm

@don... don't push your luck... us Dutch tend to be proud of their national team...
2 world cup finals, countless semi and quarter finals.... European champions 1988... not to mention Ajax PSV and Feyenoord's achievements...
Your (other) comments are correct though... but considering we're a small nation of 11 million I find it astonishing so many great legends have come from such a small country...Cruyff, Van Basten, Bergkamp, Neeskens, Rijkaard, Koeman, to name but a few (ok, to name but the greatest...)...

Oh well, .. one needs a bit of self centered egotism every now and then?

Good luck to AC and Roma ! (but only if PSV get slaughtered in the quarter final... Wink

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:29 pm

Well, let's leave out the Dutch national team but since the Milan of 1990 with Gullit, Rijkaard and van Basten was the bestest ever in the history of Italian football I'll give you a sympathy point.

But I must say I'm rather happy with the next CL matches... Very Happy

...off to buy tickets...whistles happily...humming a strange German song that ends on "die Lederhosen aus"...

Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2007 8:52 pm

Thank you Don...

although I'm a bit worried about the Lederhosen bit... sure you can get some pills for that though.....

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 8:22 am

1-0 at last we win. I will stick to posting after the match as it seems to bring more luck Very Happy

Piss poor game but a wins a win.

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 12:46 pm

Don wrote:

... This is the first season for a long time that a German player of some quality, Ballack, plays for any of the major European leagues other than the Bundesliga. ...

*Cough, cough*

(How soon they forget.)

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 12:59 pm

Errr, Senderos is Swiss.

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 1:28 pm

But Lehmann isn't. Cool

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 2:07 pm

And isn't quality... Wink

Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 2922

Bobo419 wrote:

look at the 'good/great' national sides : Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, Tsech Republic, ... and because I'm Dutch let's add Holland

Ummm... France, Argentina!!!

Posted: Thu Mar 15, 2007 5:23 pm

Argentina? ... ok then I'll add them, but reluctantly...
They can play football, but seem to excell at exhibiting their butcher skills on the field...

And I don't like them because they controversially beat Holland in '78.. Crying or Very sad

Bergkamp's wondergoal in the quarter finals in 1998 almost made up for that though ... Razz