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Europa League? where are you?

mark wilson27

By mark wilson27,
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WLKRAS

WLKRAS

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Things appear to be looking up for Arsenal, so I'm back. For now. :)

We play Spurs next week. That oughta be interesting.

It's looking to be an absolute cracker. And for once we're going into a London derby where I'm confident that we can get a result if we play well. Been a long time lol.

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Panpardus

Panpardus

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Does anyone know if FMC you can get international jobs...I know at the start it wouldn't let me

From memory you need to unlock it and/or to to do it quicker you pay the small fee to unlock it from the start.

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Wegason

Wegason

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United have had a right shocker in the transfer market in my opinion, it calls into question the competence of Woodward and Moyes. They could have had Fellaini for a smaller fee before August if they'd met his release clause instead of bidding £500,000 more than they ended up paying for both him and Baines. That way he could have come in earlier, had a preseason and been part of the squad from the start of the season.

Herrera could have come in advance of the deadline if they'd have just paid the release clause. It just seems they're being unnecessarily frugal and either trying to be tough in the market or just not sure what they're doing and trying to avoid being seen to pay over the odds.

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Panpardus

Panpardus

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United have had a right shocker in the transfer market in my opinion, it calls into question the competence of Woodward and Moyes. They could have had Fellaini for a smaller fee before August if they'd met his release clause instead of bidding £500,000 more than they ended up paying for both him and Baines. That way he could have come in earlier, had a preseason and been part of the squad from the start of the season.

Herrera could have come in advance of the deadline if they'd have just paid the release clause. It just seems they're being unnecessarily frugal and either trying to be tough in the market or just not sure what they're doing and trying to avoid being seen to pay over the odds.

Totally agree, this was pretty much a shambles, we did not get anyone that we need and while I like Fellaini and think he is a great player I just don't think we actually needed him. I also heard somewhere that Moyes and or United had agreed that they would not use their knowledge of Fellaini's release clause because of how the Moyes to United deal eventuated, how much truth is in that I don't know.

I was also one for Moyes coming in and I still think he will do okay, but he has raised some serious doubts with him unable to get players to the club, may-be it is a Fergy hangover where no wants to come now because they are waiting to see what happens?

The team selection against Liverpool was surprising to say the least, I am surprised that Kagawa isn't getting a look in either and now with Fellaini coming in I don't think he stands much of chance. I'm baffled how the best player in Germany does not get a look in and from all reports he is fit.

I guess we will see a more physical game now from United, hit it long to Fellaini let him bring it down to RvP or Rooney, sure it might work but its not really the way I want to see United play.

Early days yet, interesting to see how it pans out.

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Lawlore

Lawlore

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In Moyes' defence, they did manage to keep Rooney. It's not much, but it's a small positive. But given the list of players they've not only been linked with but actually bid for, they clearly wanted to strengthen and haven't done so.

For me, Lukaku to Everton is the interesting one, when a return to West Brom was also very much a possibility. Seems a slightly strange choice, but fair play to Martinez, he has managed to do some shrewd business. Reckon Gareth Barry could get a Phil Nevillesque renaissance there, remind people just how good he is.

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WLKRAS

WLKRAS

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Some interesting signings for sure.

For Spurs, very happy with our efforts in the window. Would've liked another left back now that BAE has gone, but oh well.

Surprised that United have only gone for Fellaini, surprised they didn't go for someone like Ozil. (Who I don't think is the answer to Arsenal's problems. They finally spent some money, but not in the right place imho. But that's coming from a Spurs fan lol).

I think Liverpool have done great as well

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salkster2102

salkster2102

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Great buy in Ozil for Arsenal. Though if he breaks his leg in this weekends internationals then it won't be. Could have used that money to get players in more than one position and he's not exactly a player they really need right now. Excellent signing though and shows their intentions for the future.

Man Utd what a mess this first transfer window for Moyes this has been. Not only turned down by every player he wanted but quite frankly having to go back to his old club and overpaying for Fellaini. I really don't understand why pay £27.M for Fellaini, when they could have got Herrera for £30.5M. Considering they had a record revenue of £350M last year then I find that quite staggering. It's still a team that won last years league though and haven't suddenly become a bad side. Even if nobody believes that was Man Utd's best performance of the season on Sunday.

Liverpool i'm rather happy with this summer and it's our best start for years. Sure they've only been 1-0 wins but when was the last Liverpool team that managed to grind out results? Sakho is a signing i'm very happy with and with a bit of time Aaspas will fit in well I think. Where the goals are going to come from without Sturridge and Suarez is my concern at the minute. A good start though. Not very often we are top of the league :D

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BenArsenal

BenArsenal

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I agree pretty much that Ozil is not quite the player we need right now, but it's more like a statement of intent, that we're willing to splurge on quality. Let's hope Wenger continues this form and further strengthens in January. We're probably a good striker and some defensive backups away from being real challengers.

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Wegason

Wegason

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I think it was an article in the Standard that stated Arsenal really need is a Patrick Viera type in midfield, to protect the back four, and an absolute top quality leader of a centre half. Neither of which Arsenal currently have. Mertesecker is a liability, far too slow and the other defenders are not consistent or leaders. Arsenal were at their best when they had great defenders or defensive units, Sol Campbell, Tony Adams etc.

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BenArsenal

BenArsenal

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I think it was an article in the Standard that stated Arsenal really need is a Patrick Viera type in midfield, to protect the back four, and an absolute top quality leader of a centre half. Neither of which Arsenal currently have. Mertesecker is a liability, far too slow and the other defenders are not consistent or leaders. Arsenal were at their best when they had great defenders or defensive units, Sol Campbell, Tony Adams etc.

Yes and no.

We do need a Vieira-type midfielder, but Flamini is a decent stop-gap for now.

As for defence, we're far from crap, but all our mainstays at centre back offer different capabilities. Vermaelen was probably the closest we have to a hard-tackling, no-nonsense captain-material defender, but then I'm not sure what went wrong with him last season. Mertesacker is more of an aerial threat and a cool head (it was his calm tackle that set up the play for our goal against Spurs last weekend). Koscielny has actually been quite consistent in recent months.

That said, we definitely do need a strong(er) figure at the back.

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Balthazars

Balthazars

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I think it was an article in the Standard that stated Arsenal really need is a Patrick Viera type in midfield, to protect the back four, and an absolute top quality leader of a centre half. Neither of which Arsenal currently have. Mertesecker is a liability, far too slow and the other defenders are not consistent or leaders. Arsenal were at their best when they had great defenders or defensive units, Sol Campbell, Tony Adams etc.

I think you are way too harsh of Mertesecker, and Arsenal's defence in general. Calling Arsenal rubbish defensively is commonly sprouted given in recent years Arsenal has had a soft underbelly, but last season Arsenal had the second best defensive record in the division. Also, in the second half of the season Arsenal tightened up a lot at the back, and much of that was due to foregoing offensive opportunity, and hey, suddenly the team ground out a lot of 1-0 and 2-0 results in the tail-end of the season. Instrumental to that run was a number of things: firstly, the big improvement of Ramsey as the 'runner' in the midfield trio supporting Arteta. While Arteta is not a typical DM he relies heavily on positioning and intercepts (stats show he is very high on number of defensive intercepts in the league). Ramsey however added more bite and mobility to harass and win back the ball early. The second thing that helped the team improve defensively was curtailing the offensive movement of the fullbacks. The result was that offensively we struggled towards the end of the season, but the results stacked up.

Mertesecker is a big part of that. Right now, out of the three centre-halves at the club he is the only one who is considered 'indespensible' because Kos and Verm do not play well together, they are too similar. Both are all-action types, fond of a tackle and using good movement and strength to win challenges and zone out threats. That's led to some really chaotic defending from Arsenal in recent seasons, leading to the 'bad defending' tag for the club. Mert is the opposite, cool and collected, stable and reliable. He's slow but he has a adapted a lot to the English game and his positioning has improved a lot in my opinion. He's not brilliant in the air despite being tall (bad jump, it's like his long legs are made of steel planks, preventing him from getting any spring) but his height and good positioning still helps him clear plenty of aerial threat. His progress to adapt to England has coincided with Arsenal's defensive improvement in my opinion.

That said, I agree Ozil was not the signing Arsenal needed, but I think it's very much a statement of intent from the club. He does also improve our options. One of the issues for Arsenal is a lack of creativity in midfield. Walcott, Ramsey and Rosicky can all be creative but for various reasons they are not consistent. Carzola was the only real outlet last season, so if he got shut down then it was all over. With Ozil playing in the middle (likely two of Arteta/Ramsey/Wilshere behind him) and Carzola on the left, Arsenal become a lot more dangerous in terms of providing openings for Walcott and Giroud to finish off. Against Spurs Carzola regularly split Spurs' defence to get Walcott in behind (did it at least 4 or 5 times IIRC). That's easy enough to read and shut down eventually, but if there's a second guy on the pitch who can do the same thing, it becomes a lot harder for the defenders. I think it's a great signing, and I'm looking forward to him play for Arsenal, but hope that he is followed by more reinforcements in January, hopefully giving the club the opportunity to push on and be competitive at the summit of the league.

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Panpardus

Panpardus

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Just finished the regular season with the girls team I coach, we managed to finish off in second place this year which was pretty good seeing we lost a few players this year and have ended up playing with 11 most games.

We lost our best forward at the halfway mark, unfortunately her parents moved up north and unbelievable they would not fly her down for each game, in our team I would say she is the Rooney like player, she scores goals but the running, pressure acts and all that other things she does we have sorely missed. We also lost one of our regular backs who tore the meniscus in her knee. We have also had the odd injury keep players out for a week or two, so all in all very happy.

In saying that the reason we have had a better year is because of the improvement in the lower end talent that we have, some of the girls almost quit last year because of game time and that they were not part of the team, their coach last year played to the teams obvious strengths, kick long to the bigger forwards, while it worked for the weaker teams we couldn't get the results against the better teams. This year two of the girls have been give permanent roles at left and right back, I spent a fair bit of time with them, working on skills and building their confidence and they are rock solid, they hold position, they tackle and the get the ball, pass it out, make good decisions, it's been great seeing them develop.

We have a bye this week and then we play the semi's next week and the grand final the week after that, if we win of course.

I would have to say that coaching girls football is one of the most frustrating/rewarding things I have done, there's been times when I have wondered if it was worth it, especially when the girls were at their most annoying, it has also cost some work points because I need to have Sunday's off, but seeing the girls actually playing football and the real improvement has been very rewarding/satisfying.

I've been asked by the club and women's football director to stay on at the club and they are going to pay for me to do another coaching course which is nice. I have been surprised a little by the positive comments coming from parents and other coaches when they watch how the girls play, most of it is down to the girls, but its nice to get a little praise.

The team had a few problems last year and while it hasn't been perfect it has been a good environment, sure the girls get a bit sh1tty at times and parents always have their say, but mostly its been good.

I'd recommend it for anyone to get involved, especially for us older people, it's been a fun ride.

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mark wilson27

mark wilson27

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Good work Mark!

PM7 did a lot of the work aswell so cant take full credit. Only reason I re-posted the archives is that I couldn't put any links on the pages that PM7 did and was having to hassle the mods to do it all the time.

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Jibby123

Jibby123

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I've got a bet on with a massive gooner best mate (he's not massive, just a big Arsenal fan) that Arsenal would beat Spurs in the North London derby but still finish below them AND outside of the Champions League spot. Early days I know but went from feeling smug to tad worried now. :(

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chesterfan2

chesterfan2

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But to be honest, isn't it great that this season's so open? For once there isn't a clear cut favourite, and even supposedly strong teams (Man City) are slipping up.

You would say that from the top of the table wouldn't you, mate ?

Having said that, we are second ! now that is fab.

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Offspring8

Offspring8

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It's always good to see a few new stories pop up nowadays, especially when they come from new writers.

On a personal note, I've almost finished my training and I've gotten a bit more time to myself now, so I've had a bit more time lately to read up on things around here. Luckily for you guys, I might be hanging around a bit more now than I have over the last 6 months or so :)

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mark wilson27

mark wilson27

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Very pleased to see a few new stories popping up.

Where is TTL though? Haven't seen much of him the last few months?

Around this time of year Tenthree is busy with his football commentary etc..... UMD Bulldogs is his local side

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Balthazars

Balthazars

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Tell me about it :/

I'm ready to start banging my head against the desk about this!

But otherwise yes, as a football fan this season has been fantastic so far. I think a lot of it is down to the strengthening of the mid-table sides. Many of these teams, like Swansea, Southampton and West Brom have strengthened considerably in recent seasons and are now capable of playing some very, very good stuff. With gradual progress for some of the more established top-8 sides like Everton, Spurs and Liverpool and the slight weakening of the top-4 in recent seasons, the standard across the league is much more even. Even at the bottom end of the table, there are no real 'easy-beats' like in previous seasons (Palace is probably the closest but even they aren't complete rubbish).

An open league is stressful as a fan of a particular club, but is overall a good thing.

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mark wilson27

mark wilson27

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Finally got my new computer up and running to a decent level. It had no graphics card in it, FM almost couldn't believe it when I tried to run it without one.

good to have you back sir, just need tenthree then we have a full house

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