Europa League? where are you?

[CFuller]

I've not seen our current youth team in action, either live or on TV, so I can't give a solid opinion about who's got the most potential. Crowley's another exciting prospect by most accounts, but I'm unsure on Akpom. He strikes me as another Benik Afobe or Chuks Aneke - a Championship striker at best.

I'd also throw Harry Donovan's name out there, based purely on his potential ability on FM15. Of course, that's not the most reliable tool for predicting how good a player will be!

[Balthazars]

Yeah, we have slowed down a little with regards to bringing through 'youngayers' (nice typo, by the way). We've given Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Stefan O'Connor some time in the Champions League, and Maitland-Niles has played in the Premier League, but I don't think they're the real deal. Serge Gnabry has had bad luck with injuries (how very Arsenal), so that's why we haven't seen much of him this season. Other than him, I reckon our brightest up-and-coming talents are Gedion Zelalem and Chris Willock, but time will tell.

Who do I think have the best track record with bringing youth players into their first team? Southampton's the obvious answer, but I'd say Aston Villa have a good record. They've brought through Gabriel Agbonlahor, Ciaran Clark, Andi Weimann, and now Jack Grealish - and that's just counting their current first-teamers.

Surely you've left out the two most obvious examples of this happening at Arsenal this season - Callum Chambers and Hector Bellerin.

While Chambers was obviously not a 'cheap' buy, or a product of Arsenal's academy, he came as a 19 year old having played less than 20 games in the first team for Southampton. He's made 28 starts this season and over 30 appearances in total, including being played out of his 'position' in the center earlier in the season. While most of his appearances were probably enforced by injuries (Wenger admitted that he's played too much, which is why he's barely played in the second half of the season), it's an example of a young player being given a chance at Arsenal.

The most poignant example however is clearly Bellerin. Spent last season on loan at Watford, where he impressed. Was always highly rated coming through the youth system. Made a few pre-season appearances for a couple of years, but otherwise yet to make his debut. Again, given a chance due to injuries, but actually played really badly in an overall awful performance for the team away at Dortmund for his debut. However, Wenger kept on playing him, and arguably he's become one of our best defenders in the space of 6 months, keeping Debuchy out of the team.

Oh, one could also make an argument for Coquelin as well, as he is a product of Arsenal's academy. Made a few appearances prior to this season, but never really convinced (mostly those appearances were playing out of position at left or right-back though, as far as I remember). Went on loan in the last year of his contract, probably looking at getting sold/released at the end of the season. However, injury crisis and Wenger recalls him instead of buying someone in January, gives him a shot, and the player grabs that chance with both hands and does really well, cementing his place int he first team (this is a good example of Wenger's approach being different - how many other clubs would have recalled an out of favour player and given him a chance instead of buying someone in the upcoming transfer window?).

As you noted, Gnarby was the example from last season - very similar situation to Bellerin, promoted and given a chance due to a combination of injuries and good performances in the reserves/youth teams and impressing in a couple of pre-season appearances. Was doing well before injuries struck, but only 8 starts (15 appearances overall, so still a decent contribution). Unfortunately, losing a whole year to injury at his age will have almost surely regressed his progression, and given new options in his space in the team, I expect he will have to go on loan next season in order to play regularly and make up for lost time, but he certainly still has a shot at Arsenal, particularly if Walcott is sold.

So I don't really think Arsenal has 'slowed down' *that* much in regards to bringing through young players, as our injury record has usually given at least one player a chance to make a breakthrough each season. That might change if next season our squad stays pretty fit, it's hard to see where anyone could make a breakthrough apart from DM, maybe at CB. So as far as Champions League clubs giving young players a chance to break through, I still think we're the pace-setters in the Premier League.

[CFuller]

To be honest, I completely forgot that we signed Hector Bellerin when he was 16. He's been excellent for us in recent weeks, to be fair. He looks like he can hold onto that right-back slot, even when Mathieu Debuchy returns to full fitness.

I deliberately left Calum Chambers out of the discussion because, of course, he was from Southampton's youth academy originally.

[Offspring8]

I believe that CFuller and myself were on a slightly different wavelength to you, Balth! In terms of giving young players a chance, Arsenal have always been very good at that and Chelsea have improved recently; putting Courtois in goal ahead of the legendary Petr Cech, Zouma has been trusted in some of our biggest games at 19/20, Mo Salah got plenty of opportunities at 21, De Bruyne had opportunities before he was sold in the January window - I believe we were focussing more on players that had been a fixture of the clubs youth teams for years and then coming through to take a spot in the first team as Bellerin has done.

That speaks volumes to me that even a club such as Arsenal who traditionally blood their youngsters have only been able to bring through one or two prospects in recent years (Bellerin and Coquelin) - it just shows how tremendously difficult it is to do. Also, with all due respect to Arsenal of course, I couldn't see Coquelin beating Matic, Fabregas, Oscar or Ramires out of the side and Mikel would probably still stay as well because he's a fantastic foil and a reliable backup. I also don't think Bellerin would unseat Dave (who I think is the best full back I've ever seen in a Chelsea shirt, including Cashley) or Ivanovic who is probably Mourinho's most important player in the current system we play. I'll repeat, I don't say that to be a troll, they're still players I'd have at Chelsea - definitely Bellerin, at least - and there are players in your team that would break into our first-team, I just think the fact that those two only got in due to injuries says everything about how hard it is for youngsters to come through at a top club, especially if those players just aren't getting injured or there is tremendous depth in their positions.

[CFuller]

Francis Coquelin - that's another name I didn't mention. I didn't rate him highly at the start of the season, and to be honest, I don't rate him much higher now. I think we still need to bring in a much more experienced defensive midfielder in the summer.

[Offspring8]

Found this very interesting to watch. Regardless of what people thought of him as a player (I actually liked him a lot to be fair!), Gary Neville is without a doubt the best pundit on TV right now in my opinion!

Also the news about Rio Ferdinand's wife was terrible - has anybody seen some of the stuff that people put on social media about it? There were some truly sickening posts from some people. I'm not a fan of the way the Daily Mail presents the news piece though with a headline reading 'Sick John Terry fans troll Rio Ferdinand on Twitter', I think that's unfair of them to try and make that association, however faint it may be.

I picked up a few newspapers for the first time in years today though (I steer clear of them normally because I struggle to find any decent ones) and I was shocked to see how far downhill things have gone on that front. I'll highlight the worst of the lot; The Sun - their front page was dedicated to something along the lines of them pleading with their readers to not vote Labour in the election for fear of what 'Red Ed' would do to the country... aren't newspapers supposed to be fairly balanced and informative pieces? I mean I know some lean slightly to the left or right but that was a bit of a surprise!

[CFuller]

I'm more of a fan of Jamie Carragher as a pundit, but I agree with you, Offspring. Gary Neville has set a new high-water mark for football punditry. Those two are worth listening to - certainly much more than Andy Gray, who rarely said anything more insightful than

Regarding Rio Ferdinand's tragedy, I'm afraid some of the cretins who sent him those sick messages on Twitter do not deserve to be called 'people' or even 'humans'. As you may remember, I lost my uncle to cancer earlier this year (or, at the very least, it hastened his demise), so it disgusts me even more when those who lost loved ones to the disease are subjected to such vitriol. That is one of the main reasons why I do not have a Twitter account, nor will I ever create one.

The standard of British journalism has gone downhill dramatically throughout the quarter-century I have lived in this country. I read the Daily Mail (although sometimes I wonder why), and in truth, what was once a respected high-brow tabloid has now become no more than a middle-class edition of The Sun. The thing that annoys me the most about the DM is its depiction of most famous women as being mere eye candy or catwalk models. I can remember when they scrutinised every detail of Esther McVey's outfit when there was a cabinet reshuffle. Do they really think all women should be judged by their dress sense rather than what they actually do?

Anyway, back to your point, Offspring. Even as a committed Conservative voter, I was shaking my head in disbelief when I saw the front pages of the DM and The Sun. I have very little time for Ed Miliband or the Labour Party, but using a picture of Miliband eating a bacon sandwich as a reason to poke fun at him was a new low for The Sun. You don't hit someone below the belt like that. I could go on and on about how The Sun has become more comic than newspaper, but frankly, I would not have enough time to do anything else if I did.

The Daily Mirror isn't much better with its relentless criticism of the Conservatives, The Guardian are pushing a left-wing agenda that is slightly more subtle, and the Daily Express have completely lost their marbles by urging their readers to vote UKIP. In general, it's a sad state of affairs.

There. Glad I've got all that out of my system.

[chesterfan2]

Agree with 95% of what CFuller says, not the bit about voting Tory though. The amount of Vitriol poured onto 'red Ed' is more than given to the last labour leader they were afraid of, Neil Kinnock. This is because Ed Milliband has promised to go after Non-Doms, or to use their other name tax avoiders, or to use their other other name newspaper proprietors. So whilst it is, I freely admit, none of David Cameron's doing I will dance around the living room when it becomes clear he can't make a majority in the House of Commons. Because not one of the Tories has, to my knowledge, said anything against this, so they deserve what they get.

That's my rant. I feel better for that.

[Balthazars]

Ranting is good for the soul.

[copperhorse21]

Well, if that's the case, then I'd like to add a rant at how wonderful I found watching Juventus compete against Real Madrid in the 1st leg of the CL Semis because I delighted in watching Patrice Evra defy Moyes' belief that Luke Shaw was the future and there was no room for Evra anymore because he was too old and slow. For such a loyal Man Utd fan like Evra, winning a league title and starting in the most recent match against either Bale or CR7 depending on which flank Ancelotti wanted to run them, must have been some temptation to spew some revenge. If it was me, I'd probably want to scream some kind of vitriol from the rooftops.

[BenArsenal]

This is probably completely random, but does anyone feel that football is getting less fun by the day thanks to the ever-pervading social media/internet information age?

I base this on the news that Man Utd has just signed Memphis Depay. I may not be that old but I can remember the days whereby a transfer such as this would be regarded as a surprise simply because he wouldn't be as well-known as he is now, as compared to today where Depay's name has been constantly mentioned relentlessly everywhere since he got a couple of goals at the World Cup.

Perhaps it's just me, but I find it more fun and interesting when we (as in the general football world) chance across a virtual unknown who goes on to become great, as compared to knowing everything about everyone before they've achieved anything.

[copperhorse21]

I do think that football coverage is getting less fun by the day because of the social media/internet information age. I do believe that on plenty of occasions, the media feels pressured to provide headlines which have little content. If I want shallow content, I can follow twitter. If I want well-thought, research that provides a report of the news in an unbiased way, I'd read the papers/internet articles.

However, I still find football more entertaining with each passing day in regards to the on-field incidents and off-field antics of these stars of the game. Watching the managers attempt to bully the media (Nigel Pearson), lose their minds and steal the glory from their teams' successes (DiCanio, Tim Sherwood), seeing the managers follow each other in the merry-go-round world of mid/lower table management, and the cup games in which the lower league teams run circles around the highest paid prima donnas (Boro 2 v City 0; Bradford 4 v Chelsea 2 both in FA CUP), and watching "quality teams" work their backsides off for each other week in and week out (Southampton, Juventus) despite having old/washed up stars that no one wants.

I do like that I get to see more content than ever before (EPL has blown up over here in the USA) and the prospects that Fox just bought right to the Bundesliga for next season are even more tantalizing. If there was something I could wish for, I'd like to see more games/media coverage of teams who compete in the Championship. From everything I've read on here, the Championship is extremely exciting year after year and very competitive at the top. That would make for some exciting headlines, but it's rarely covered on the sites I troll for news without really having to search for it.

[glamdring]

Gosh, it's many years since I was last in here. Not sure I still remember anyone now who is still around! I was tempted to dabble with a story again, although it always slows down my game to the point that I tend to lose interest in the save and the writing up becomes a chore rather than the fun that it should be. I may read some of the current stories though and see if I get inspired.

[Manxie_Ash]

Again, it's been a while! Just wanted to check in and say thanks for keeping me entertained during my world travels Enjoying a lot of stories at the moment, that pass the dull nights on all these tropical islands

[mark wilson27]

Glad were keeping you entertained mate, Not that Im slightly jealous at your travels seeing all the pictures on facebook. Glad your enjoying yourself matey

[BenArsenal]

Hello guys.

Manxie, you look to be having a ball of a time. Drop me a line when you reach Singapore.

[tenthreeleader]

Gosh, it's many years since I was last in here. Not sure I still remember anyone now who is still around! I was tempted to dabble with a story again, although it always slows down my game to the point that I tend to lose interest in the save and the writing up becomes a chore rather than the fun that it should be. I may read some of the current stories though and see if I get inspired.

Good luck with it. Nice to see you posting again!

[tenthreeleader]

And Manx, great to see you too! Old home week

[mark wilson27]

10 days left on the voting guys

[mark wilson27]

Just over a week left in the votes......Remember you have to vote in this round to stand a chance of winning an award. There are still a few members who have been nominated for awards but will not win them as they have not voted yet.

I have recieved only seven votes so far

[tenthreeleader]

Guys, we can do better than this. We've got new stories and writers here at the moment and hopefully more interest in our corner of the site. Mark has done a tremendous job putting this together -- let's reward him for his work with some more votes, please.

[BenArsenal]

Yes, agree. Please vote if you haven't.

[mark wilson27]

You have FOUR DAYS left to vote for your FMS Award winners guys, There are still a couple of you that have been nominated but not voting meaning that if you were to get the highest number of nominations you wouldnt win......So you need to vote. I have recieved only nine votes to date

[WLKRAS]

You have FOUR DAYS left to vote for your FMS Award winners guys, There are still a couple of you that have been nominated but not voting meaning that if you were to get the highest number of nominations you wouldnt win......So you need to vote. I have recieved only nine votes to date

Come on people, it's not that hard!

[salkster2102]

Gonna possibly shoot myself in the foot with a prediction of the premier league.

1. Arsenal

2. Chelski

3. Man Utd

4. Liverpool

5. Man City

6. Spurs

7. Stoke

8. Southampton

9. Swansea

10. Palace

11. Everton

12. West Brom

13. Newcastle

14. Sunderland

15. Aston Villa

16. Leicester

17. Watford

18. West Ham

19. Norwich

20. Bournemouth

[mark wilson27]

Heres mine salkster

1. Chelski

2. Man Utd

3. Arsenal

4. Liverpool

5. Man City

6. Southampton

7. Spurs

8. Everton

9. Norwich

10. Palace

11. Stoke

12. West Ham

13. Swansea

14. Sunderland

15. Leicester

16. West Brom

17. Newcastle

18. Aston Villa

19. Watford

20. Bournemouth

[CFuller]

My predictions:

1. Chelsea

2. Arsenal

3. Manchester United

4. Manchester City

5. Tottenham Hotspur

6. Southampton

7. Liverpool

8. Crystal Palace

9. Swansea City

10. West Ham United

11. Everton

12. West Bromwich Albion

13. Stoke City

14. Newcastle United

15. Sunderland

16. Aston Villa

17. Watford

18. Leicester City

19. Norwich City

20. AFC Bournemouth

[WLKRAS]

I'm not going to do a full one, but United to win the league, Spurs to finish top four, City to fail terribly. Villa, Leicester and Norwich to go down

[BenArsenal]

Thanks for believing that Arsenal can actually win the league, salk!

I dunno if we will actually do it this season, but I reckon we could come mightily close. We still need some reinforcements throughout the team (mostly backups in central defence, in defensive midfield, and a striker), but confidence wise I think the team is on the up.

My own predictions:

1) Chelsea (just)

2) Arsenal

3) Man Utd

4) Man City

5) Liverpool

6) Southampton

7) Tottenham

8) Everton

9) Swansea

10) West Ham

11) Newcastle

12) Sunderland

13) Stoke

14) Aston Villa

15) Crystal Palace

16) Leicester

17) Norwich

18) West Brom

19) Watford

20) Bournemouth (but not without a fight)

[salkster2102]

I do genuinely believe they can win the league mostly because I believe Petr Cech is a fantastic signing, probably the signing of the summer for me. A good goalkeeper will win you 10-15 points a season and that's what Cech will guarantee. Ospina is a good keeper but just probably off that extra bit of consistency that Cech will bring. The only worry for Arsenal for me is the amount of injuries they normally get. Keep their players fit and I don't see why they can't win it.

[tenthreeleader]

I like United, until they find a way to break my heart again.

[chesterfan2]

My own predictions:

1) Chelsea (by A country mile)

2) Man Utd

3) Arsenal

4) Liverpool

5) Tottenham

6) Southampton

7) Man City

8) Swansea

9) Stoke

10) West Ham

11) Newcastle

12) Crystal Palace

13) Aston Villa

14) Everton

15) Leicester

16) West Brom

17) Norwich

18) Sunderland

19) Bournemouth (a country mile behind 18th)

20) Watford (not far behind 19th)

[Greyfriars Bobby]

My predictions:

1. Chelsea

2. Arsenal

3. Man City

4. Man Utd

5. Liverpool

6. Tottenham

7. Everton

8. Southampton

9. Swansea

10. Stoke

11. Newcastle

12. Palace

13. West Ham

14. Aston Villa

15. Sunderland

16. West Brom

17. Bournemouth

18. Leicester

19. Norwich

20. Watford

[BenArsenal]

I do genuinely believe they can win the league mostly because I believe Petr Cech is a fantastic signing, probably the signing of the summer for me. A good goalkeeper will win you 10-15 points a season and that's what Cech will guarantee. Ospina is a good keeper but just probably off that extra bit of consistency that Cech will bring. The only worry for Arsenal for me is the amount of injuries they normally get. Keep their players fit and I don't see why they can't win it.

Quality wise I think we're almost there, but I do agree with you re: injuries. A major one to Giroud or Coquelin and we're pretty much f***ed.

[Balthazars]

Will offer my predictions as well: honestly a little shocked to see Salk plump for us this season, but I generally agree with his reasoning:

The Title Challengers:

1. Arsenal - Cech is a great signing and this is the fittest and most stable the squad has been for a long time. Only real gaps are cover for Coquelin (if he gets a long-term injury) and more competition at center forward. If Walcott can stay fit and contribute, and Welbeck improves his goal output, we'll be okay. Midfield is almost all fit and firing, my tip is for Ozil to dominate and Ox to have a real breakthrough season.

2. Chelsea - nothing much has changed, which given they strolled to the title last time means they should be there or thereabouts again. Some key warriors are another year older however, and major doubts over Falcao/Remy if Costa's hamstrings continue to snap like brittle twigs. Chelsea struggled in the second half of last season without him and had to rely on grinding results a lot more, if they have to do that for extended periods of this season again, could be in trouble.

3. Man City - first team largely unchanged, but it's a good one. Need Bony to step up or Aguero to actually stay fit. Most of their work has been trying to refresh the squad and get some home-grown players in. Overpaid for Sterling, but he should fit in and contribute, especially as less pressure on him to deliver. Not sure Delph will offer them much though, he's not ready for this level.

4. Man Utd - big splurge and improved midfield on paper, but heavily reliant on Rooney to maintain the formation, and for new players to settle in quickly.

The European Challengers:

5. Liverpool - seem to have bought well, but we said that last season and that didn't work out too well. Defence in particular seems to have been a bit neglected, and it was an issue last season. Vital time for Rodgers, if he can't get Liverpool playing consistently and at least make a realistic challenge for top-4, he could well be sacked. Still have the issue of trying to bed in a lot of new players, but should do better than last season. Not far off, and if any of the established top-4 stutter, will take advantage.

6. Southampton - lost a few more key players, but otherwise a bit more settled than last season. Will once again need new replacements to step up but I think with a good manager they will get European football again assuming no major issue with injuries.

7. Tottenham - need more contributions from someone other than Kane, he seemed to carry them at times last season, which probably explained their inconsistent form. If they can find some other regularly contributors and some consistency, will push Liverpool to be 'best of the rest' and maybe threaten top-4. Fail to find that (and to be honest, not sure where those extra goals are going to come from) and seem unlikely to improve significantly on last season.

8. Swansea - tough second season awaits for rookie manager, but remains a settled squad with talent. Should be comfortably in the mix for a European spot.

9. Everton - I don't rate their manager at all, although their team remains quite decent. Lack of any real additions to the team though means there has to be a lot of improvement on the tactical/management side in order to improve, should be good enough for top half, but more than that seems unlikely with Martinez.

Comfortably Mid-table:

10. Stoke - firmly established as a middling team. Quite a decent squad now under Hughes, and he's at his natural level. Can play some decent stuff, but lack depth and quality to really push for European football. Should steer well clear of any relegation issues though.

11. Crystal Palace - surprised many last season, and personally I don't see it as a fluke. Have shown that with decent managers, it's a team with some ability to trouble other teams. Defence probably a little suspect. Performance this season could reveal a lot about Pardew's ability (how much of it was caused by the way Newcastle is run). Expect them to be pretty much safe from relegation scraps.

12. West Ham - new manager who is new to the league could make life difficult, but a solid enough team that is good enough to stay up, and probably good enough to avoid a relegation scrap. Would be nice to see Carroll get fit and stay fit, he could actually really suit their style.

13. Newcastle - surely cannot be as bad as last season, although there's a risk if they get off to a bad start that morale plummets and starts a downward slide. Some quality in the team but low on confidence, but summer signings seem decent and the new manager should help to instill some optimism and confidence that should carry them into mid-table and safety.

The Relegation Strugglers:

14. West Brom - average team that hasn't really strengthened, managed by someone who has nous in a relegation scrap but not really the inkling to push them higher. Expect a lot of defensive football, and probably lack enough going forward to really help them push into safety. Likely to be in the relegation scrap, but probably good enough to pull clear.

15. Aston Villa - hard to tell how they'll perform. Got a decidedly good bounce out of the new manager, but he's inexperienced and they lost their 2 best players over the summer. Hard to see them improve significantly, and have no recognised goal-scorers so could be another really tough season.

16. Bournemouth - seems like every season now we get a surprise promotion team. Bournmouth to be this season's offering. Part of the new-wave of lower-division clubs pushing up by building well and playing some good football. Could surprise a few teams, but as always will depend on how key players adapt to the new league. Have the potential to survive if things go well. Could be a disaster and straight back down though.

17. Sunderland - abject for almost all of last season, lucky to stay up. Haven't really bought very well. Just kind of get the feeling that time is running out for Sunderland. There is some talent in the squad but unless a lot of their players lift and find form, going to be deeply involved in the relegation scrap once again.

18. Norwich - some players still around from their last time in the EPL could help, and may be able to grind out survival, but again the squad seems to lack a bit of quality to stay up.

19. Leicester - saved by a great run of form at the end of last season and the awfulness of other teams around them. Likely to find it hard to replicate the former, although may be helped by the latter again. I like Ranreri, but he's not managed a club fighting for survival so hard to tell how it will go. Probably a real risk of going down.

20. Watford - hard to see them having the quality or the nous at this level to stay up. Likely to be a long hard season ahead.

Overall: once again it looks like a tight season, the overall quality of the league has lowered, but the spread of quality is much narrower compared to years past. Title race to be much closer than last season, Chelsea won by 8 points last season, I expect that margin to separate the top-4, and the chasers for the European spots won't be far off. Any protracted period of poor form will likely see any club drop a number of places. As a Gooner I'm super excited - one of our best squads in a long time, mostly settled and fit, confidence high. Plenty to be optimistic about!

[tenthreeleader]

Your comment on Everton is spot on, Balty. For my money, Martinez is the most overrated manager in England.

Like you, I think Bournemouth will find a way to stay up and Leicester, as much as I enjoyed them last year, are not going to be greater than the sum of their parts as they were after Christmas last season.

My groupings:

1) Chelsea

2) United

3) Arsenal

4) Man City

for relegation:

18) Villa

19) Leicester

20) Watford

Sack race:

1) Tim Sherwood

2) Brendan Rodgers

3) Claudio Ranieri (as much as it pains me, I like the guy)

[Balthazars]

Your comment on Everton is spot on, Balty. For my money, Martinez is the most overrated manager in England.

I really, really don't understand how he became so highly rated. Okay, so he won the FA Cup with Wigan against City, which was a pretty amazing achievement, granted, but his league story with Wigan was one of constant relegation battles punctuated by late-season charges that secured safety, sometimes by the slimmest of margins, before eventual relegation. His first season with Everton pretty much seemed to confirm to me that he's very limited tactically as a manager. He's recruited well for the most part (the biggest failures have been, ironically, the players he brought over from Wigan) and there's still a decent squad there, but It's hard not to think that Moyes would have done better with the same group of players.

If they struggle to get into the top half again, I reckon he's going to be at risk of the sack. Biggest thing in his favour is that Everton are traditionally patient with their managers.

[mark wilson27]

Remember guys the deadline for the voting is midnight (gmt) tonight cheers

[tenthreeleader]

Fellows, I've never advocated for anything on this board, but I'm going to break that tradition now.

The old Rushden and Diamonds FC retired the number one shirt in 2010 in memory of goalkeeper Dale Roberts, who died by suicide after his fiancee had an affair with a teammate. AFC Rushden, as R&DFC's phoenix club, have also retired the number across all of their teams.

AFCRD has earned promotion to the Evo-Stik Southern League Division One for the coming season, but has told the club that it must unretire its number one shirt and that it must be worn. Traditionally, the AFCRD keeper wears the number 17 shirt and the United Counties League, in which the club played last season, respected the club's wishes in this regard.

There is an online petition (linked here) asking the Southern League Board to reconsider its decision, which is being appealed to the Football Association. If you are so inclined, please visit.

[tenthreeleader]

Just out of curiosity, who kidnapped Petr Cech and what have they done with him?

[CFuller]

Shocking performance. Same old Arsenal. I expected better, especially from Cech.

That said, West Ham were excellent, and I felt 16-year-old Reece Oxford handled the pressure well on his Premier League debut. He could be one name to look out for in the near future.

[BenArsenal]

Sigh.

I am honestly speechless. The team were poor today. It just goes to show that we really shouldn't get carried away with just one goalkeeper (albeit a really good one) as our major signing.

I mean, we're essentially banking on Coquelin not being just a half season wonder, which is a huge risk to take judging by today's performance. Also, I generally like Giroud, but he's really wearing my patience thin now.

I'm afraid that this might turn out to be yet another season of "what might have been".

[salkster2102]

I think people are being quite harsh on Petr Cech. Yes he made an uncharacteristic mistake for the first goal but the Arsenal defending was just as bad. A needless free kick given away and then zero marking done. Also not sure who it was that played them all onside but it shows Arsenal really lack a defensive leader like Carragher, Terry, Kompany, Puyol etc.

The second goal only a really slight error from Cech. He was a bit unsighted and it looked like he was moving to the opposite corner where efforts like that usually go. The Arsenal defending though dear oh dear. Failing to clear the ball is a cardinal sin but the Ox gave that ball up far too easily. Then no Arsenal player made an effort to close Zarate down. I'm looking at Mertesacker and Koscielny especially here they was stationary. Credit to Zarate though excellent closing down and a good finish. West Ham really surprised me today as their Europa League results had me worried about relegation for them. How wrong was I.

One thing that I've noticed this weekend is the talk of players still needing games to get back to match fitness. What's the point in having all these friendlies if players still need more time to get back to 100% match sharpness. Smacks to me that players aren't being worked hard enough or are not taking friendlies seriously enough. Surprisingly enough it was the top teams that looked the most sluggish this weekend espcially the United v Spurs match that was a borefest. Though Stoke v Liverpool did somehow manage to be more boring and yet come up with a wonderstrike. What a player Coutinho is when he wants to be. A shame he can't be a bit more consistent.

[tenthreeleader]

I guess Cech's past brilliance has spoiled me. Arsenal's problems defending set pieces are really nothing new, at least to my way of thinking. But Cech is a world-class keeper and to see two errors in the same match of the magnitude we saw is a bit shocking. Sometimes you need a world-class keeper to bail out a suspect defense. And regardless of defending, which was admittedly poor, if you're coming to collect or punch you'd better get there, and a short-side goal from distance is never good.

That said, you're probably more than correct to note that a Sol Campbell Arsenal would have defended a lot better. And United/Spurs was 90 minutes of my life I can never get back

[BenArsenal]

And United/Spurs was 90 minutes of my life I can never get back

So was Stoke-Liverpool. Brilliant Coutinho goal aside, it was a real snooze fest.

[tenthreeleader]

So was Stoke-Liverpool. Brilliant Coutinho goal aside, it was a real snooze fest.

At least the winning side in that game actually scored.

[tenthreeleader]

By the way, here's something else to thank Mark for regarding yesterday's awards.

I'm seeing talk about 2016 already from people who have the chops to write some really good stuff. This is the best news for the forum I've seen in some time.

I'll come right out and say it -- I'll make you lot earn it if you want to knock me off my perch, but there are people here who can do it and others lurking who I know can do it (copperhorse, where are you, my friend?).

Let's have a good year. The potential is definitely there.

[HorusFM]

Copper can jog on, I had to share a major award with him. Time to properly dust myself down.

[mark wilson27]

Well with the quality of the stories that have come through these last few weeks, its going to make next years awards very intersting

[mark wilson27]

As I stated at the Awards last night I was thinking of doing another Fifteen to One sign up. Obviously I'll be joining myself and Ive got to have the winner of the last one to defend his title (Celtic_1967) in. So I have 13 spaces available. The first 13 members to PM will be added.

The story wont be posted for awhile as I want to get it finished and then written up.

Not sure which FM it will be played on...Either FM13 or FM15