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  • Lifelong Arsenal fan here. Great wins vs Chelsea and Utd, but why couldn't we beat Southampton, Brighton and Crystal Palace? Pleased to see Saka score those penalties, the miss in Euro final must have been going through his head prior. He's really shown massive strength in character to bounce back as a lot of players wouldn't have put their hand up to take a penalty in the final of a massive tournament. Esp the deciding kick.

    The young guns have really carried us through the season, and we have a bright future, the likes of Saka, Smith Rowe, Martinelli, White, Tomiyasu and Ramsdale are all gonna be the mainstay of the team for years I hope. Odegaard has been a great signing, he's really come on in the past few games. Wish Tierney and Partey didn't get injured so often, they make a huge difference when they play. Xhaka I'm not a fan of but to be fair to him he's bounced back from the subbed off reaction thing vs Palace under Emery and has been solid in midfield. Keeping things ticking over and he plays good with Partey. He still has a red card or mistake in him though.

    I reckon Lacazette will be off in the summer, so we will need 2 new strikers. Don't know about Nketiah but he seems to be first choice at the moment. Brings youthfulness, movement and poaching ability in the box. Miss Aubameyang's goals but he never really showed the form for us to offer him that new £350k per week contract. He's 32 soon and we had to start rebuilding. Just a shame it all ended but Arteta clearly don't wanna put up with people who ain't gonna stick to rules.

    Also I'm not totally overwhelmed in the recruitment of new players, who's actually in charge? It feels to me like Edu (Technical Director) and the Kroenke's have some sort of say, maybe with Arteta having the final word? Who knows. 

    But coming from the start of the season when we lost our first 3 games to be up in 4th place with 5 games to go I'll take. Most didn't expect the manager to still be here by this time. But we need a few top quality signings to be able to compete with Man City and Liverpool again cos they are streets ahead.
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  • stufisherstufisher Frets: 835
    Some great points made by @UnclePsychosis ; ... I have no problem with watching Annan Athletic or Threave Rovers or Cowdenbeath ... it looks and feels like the football I played in my youth. SPFL is very poor and the pyramid system is complicated and costly ... a contributing factor to why junior league football stays so healthy.

    There are some great documentaries around on football in a time before the commercially 'contaminated' era we endure currently. I'll locate them and post links separately.
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  • TeleMasterTeleMaster Frets: 10103
    edited April 2022
    stufisher said:
    Some great points made by @UnclePsychosis ;;; ... I have no problem with watching Annan Athletic or Threave Rovers or Cowdenbeath ... it looks and feels like the football I played in my youth. SPFL is very poor and the pyramid system is complicated and costly ... a contributing factor to why junior league football stays so healthy.

    There are some great documentaries around on football in a time before the commercially 'contaminated' era we endure currently. I'll locate them and post links separately.
    Oh me neither. I used to go to the local non league club quite often when I was younger and poorer. My mate was quite involved in a non league club doing loads of free advertising and marketing work for them.

    Have any of you guys seen Club For A Fiver, about Leyton Orient? The manager goes absolutely nuts at them. It's in YouTube and we'll worth a watch. 

    West Ham lost to Chelsea. Was a good game. We saved a pen, Dawson sent off which means we have no senior central defenders for or available. 

    Only silver lining is Wolves lost too so we're still firmly 7th. 
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  • BigBearKrisBigBearKris Frets: 1747
    I support my local club - AFC Bournemouth. 

    Looks like we may be coming back to PL. I went to game vs Fulham yesterday - great day overall but not a great game of football. We'll need some serious transfers if we want to stay in PL for few seasons again. 

    Up the Cherries!
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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4945
    Living as I do in ROI, I support two football teams: Everton and Liverpool.  Everton are now in the drop zone and it is hard to see how they can get out and remain in the Premier League.  Liverpool are '1' point behind Manchester City and unlikely to prevent City from winning the PL this season.

    It could have been so different but for one amazing decision by a referee.  Everton were one down -v- Manchester City and were denied what was called a 'stonewall' penalty late in the game.  City won one nil.  If the penalty had been awarded to Everton and it was scored, Everton would be a point better off and crucially Liverpool could overtake Man City in the run in for the PL title as City would have left Goodison with one point rather than the three they got there.  Makes you wonder why have all that technology available yet some referees refuse to use it.
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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  • bertiebertie Frets: 13564
    edited April 2022
    not sure Im going to say this..........but..................  after watching MOTD this morning,  I think Utd were hard done by, some dreadful reffing decisions  -  two clear penalties for, and some dire off-side (or not) decisions

    The Arse were lucky
    just because you don't, doesn't mean you can't
     just because you do, doesn't mean you should.
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  • mikeyrob73mikeyrob73 Frets: 4663
    Everton should have had a penalty this aft, not sure there is much point in VAR if the ref doesn’t use it 
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  • UnclePsychosisUnclePsychosis Frets: 12880
    Rocker said:
    I support two football teams: Everton and Liverpool.  


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  • TeleMasterTeleMaster Frets: 10103
    Rocker said:
    I support two football teams: Everton and Liverpool.  


    It's like if I said I supported Millwall too. 
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  • DB1DB1 Frets: 5024
    Although I'm from Birmingham and was really saddled with the lifelong dead weight around my neck that is Birmingham City, my local club is Stafford Rangers. Though I've lived here since 1974, they're not my 'hometown' club and I can't quite get the enthusiasm together to there very often, especially when there's the opportunity to see Birmingham lose play lose.

    One game at Stafford springs to mind though - I think they were playing Bilston at home one Boxing Day (one for the purists!) - I did go along to see that one, but arrived about five minutes late.

    I suppose, because of the problems that some face at Christmas, The Samaritans were sponsoring the game. As I went through the turnstiles, the operator shoved a Samaritans leaflet in my hand and said 'here mate, you'll need this. They're one-nil down already.'


    Call me Dave.
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  • stufisherstufisher Frets: 835
    I'm sure that many will have seen this documentary already ... for those that haven't I'd encourage you to watch both parts ... very informative of course but Mcilvanney was a great sports journo and researcher. I think this highlights how important football was to a working man in a post-war industrial nation.




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  • stufisherstufisher Frets: 835
    ... and another that provides solid edification




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  • RobDaviesRobDavies Frets: 3062
    I support my local club - AFC Bournemouth. 

    Looks like we may be coming back to PL. I went to game vs Fulham yesterday - great day overall but not a great game of football. We'll need some serious transfers if we want to stay in PL for few seasons again. 

    Up the Cherries!
    Was hoping Bournemouth get promoted again because as a Brentford fan living near Southampton, it’s a reasonably local one for me.
    I was kinda hoping you’d pip Fulham to the title, too… but that’s probably wishful thinking.   
    It would be great if Luton could win the playoffs as well - Forest fans seem to think think that they’ve a divine right to success because of something that happened over forty years ago.  They’re a funny lot.  
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  • RobDaviesRobDavies Frets: 3062
    Living as I do in England, I’ve always supported two political organisations, Sinn Fein and the D.U.P. 



     :s 
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  • TeleMasterTeleMaster Frets: 10103
    RobDavies said:
    Living as I do in England, I’ve always supported two political organisations, Sinn Fein and the D.U.P. 



     :s 
    I bought Country House AND Roll With It. 
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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4945
    What the hell is wrong with football?  It has happened again, Everton denied another stonewall penalty and the referee did not use the technology to determine what if anything happened!

    To do it once is bad, for this to happen twice in a few week smells of carelessness.....
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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  • CloudNineCloudNine Frets: 4254
    Rocker said:
    What the hell is wrong with football?  It has happened again, Everton denied another stonewall penalty and the referee did not use the technology to determine what if anything happened!

    To do it once is bad, for this to happen twice in a few week smells of carelessness.....
    Maybe the ref took a look at the ridiculous play acting from half the Everton team throughout the game. Maybe he had in mind specifically the fact that the very same player had been booked for diving (or cheating as I prefer to call it) in the first half. Maybe the ref just looked at Everton and was disgusted by their whole approach to the game, and felt they deserved absolutely nothing.

    Anyway, horrible spectacle all round, and all a bit of a sad way to sign off on what could possibly be Everton’s last game at Anfield for a very long time.

     ;) 
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    Rocker said:
    Living as I do in ROI, I support two football teams: Everton and Liverpool.  


    I had a friend who was a Tranmere Rovers fan and I went along a few times. They used to have Friday evening matches, the theory was that in Liverpool they were everyone’s second team so on a Friday night the Liverpool and Everton fans were united in supporting Tranmere and went back to hating each other on Saturday. So perhaps you’ve missed your calling as a natural Rovers fan. 
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • Philly_QPhilly_Q Frets: 22516
    This is not aimed specifically at Rocker, but the expression "stonewall penalty" is utterly ridiculous, it makes absolutely zero sense.
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  • AustrianJohnAustrianJohn Frets: 1666

    The £100m was spent on Trippier, Guimaraes, and Wood.
    ...and Dan Burn, who has steadied the defence.
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