THE SCOURGE OF ENGLISH FOOTBALL

At the start of the 2013/14 English Premier League season, a long time friend kindly invited me into her hospitality box at The Emirates Stadium and I gladly accepted.

I was all 'glammed' up in case I ran into Silent Stan and was looking forward to bending his ears a bit, letting him realise that he needs to use some of that family wealth to buy Pele, Maradona and Alfredo Di Stefano for the Arsenal. Never mind. 

I parked my car not too away from the stadium and was looking forward to starting a new season with promise by beating Aston Villa handsomely.

It started well and it then got worse. Referee Anthony Taylor was the central character. A referee from hell. If he was on fire, I will piss on him to quench the fire, wait for him to recover from his 100-degree burns and then set him on fire again.

Anthony Taylor had his own football rulebook and agenda that day. 2 controversial penalties awarded to Villa and we lost 3 – 1.  To cap that miserable day off, I got a very expensive present from the parking attendants when I got back to my car and none of my friends agreed with me on Referee Taylor. It was like triple or multiple jeopardy. 

Since then I have been on the watch out for Anthony Taylor and he has not changed one bit. He was still at it at yesterday’s match versus Watford. He was very frugal with any pro Arsenal decisions and was quite eager to make calls for the opposition.   

If you think I am exaggerating about this person, do a Google or Twitter search of him. The Leeds football club manager recently said that Anthony Taylor should only be allowed to referee Under 9 games. I would dearly love him to come and referee my Under 9 games. Hopefully the Police can be persuaded to look at my treatment of him as a case of parental rage rather than a case of attempted murder or grievous bodily harm.

As an Arsenal fan, I rail against referees regularly because the referees don't offer us any protection. The Arsenal boys generally have a reputation as ‘nice’ & ‘likable’ lads as a result, kicking Arsenal players is one of the top top tactics of the English game. Gary Neville wrote a silly piece early this season before his appointment as Valencia Manager basically encouraging Newcastle to kick Arsenal players into smithereens. The direct quote to his article and the tweet promoting that article was re - tweeted on his twitter time line. Please read here to refresh your memory. Here is the quote - “Arsenal are a soft touch - when screw turns they lack strength, power and pace”. Kindly spare me any nonsense about the fact that Gary didn't write the headline. Fortunately his advice to Steve McLaren backfired, Newcastle got a red card and they lost.    

As the lack of referee protection has continued over the years, I have somewhat accepted the situation. Often joking about bizarre referee calls for the Barcelonas of this world and scratching my head as to why referees are slow to deal with the Diego Costas or that nutter Arnautovic who effectively ended Debuchy’s Arsenal career over that off - the - ball nudge.

However Martin Atkinson’s entire handling of the Arsenal Leicester match in February really incensed me. I am now somewhat convinced there is something untoward going on in the English game especially. This feeling was further reinforced by Mark Clattenberg’s decision to award The Spuds the dodgiest  penalty in the whole universe in their match against Manchester City at the Emptyhad the following day. Nobody in the world except Clattenberg thought that was a penalty. 

Is it inconceivable that with the wad of cash flowing through the English game and even the football game worldwide that referees have not been suborned? Do you know that Leicester have been awarded 10 penalties as at mid February. Their nearest rival have been awarded 5 penalties. I guess Leicester play more in the 18-yard box of their opponents. We will be observing for more magic today as brought to you by the Buddhist Monk super incense proudly sponsored by the Men in Black. 

Listening to phone in programs yesterday, it was the view of a few West Ham fans and even Slaven Bilic that our dear Mark Clattenberg was at it again. He, the butterfly who thinks himself a bird by trying to sign up to a Hollywood style talent agency. Fortunately reason has since prevailed and he has rescinded that decision. However it is clear this man desperately wants to be the centre of attention. 

Referees boss around players who earn in excess of £10m pa. Referees determine the outcome of games that is going to earn the bottom club in the EPL £100m per season. Referees can potentially determine the winner of the league and a £200m / £300m pay day for a club. And those Referees earn tops £100k pa. A mid table championship player earns that amount. If you wish put two and two together. There is a reason why Mr Mike Carney, the regulator of banks is on mega money. There is a reason why top coaches command sizeable salaries but the man who can determine the outcome of a game is paid a pittance compared to the prima donnas he superintends on the field of play. 

I watched with a bit of mirth when Roy Hodgson complained about the Referee of the England v Netherlands match at Wembley last week.  Perhaps Roy should have a word with the FA and PGMOB (Referees’ body) in England. Maybe if they can clean up, up skill, further professionalise refereeing in England they can help do the same for the global game. Let no England fan complain at the Euros if a dodgy refereeing decisions significantly impacts on results. If we are tolerant of these domestically, lets not be hypocrites when it comes to the national side. 

Let technology take over the job of refereeing  In this day and age, it is silly that we rely on a linesman to tell us the ball has crossed the white line for a throw – in. Goal line technology has worked. It is time to introduce it to throw – ins.

I hope we can honestly stop saying that referee decisions even themselves out over the course of the season. There is too much at stake to allow the ineptitude, the incompetence or the singed conscience of a referee decide the outcome of a football game. Refereeing must be aided by technology. I dare say we dispense totally with the man at the centre as the decision maker and go full scale towards technology based TV refereeing. The man at the centre can be there as a figurehead to communicate the decision of the technology referee (s) to the players. 

Now is the time to do this especially as those two dinosaurs (Platini and Blatter) no longer have any involvement with global football. Hopefully their proxies and lackeys have developed back bone and cut their umbilical chord to their Godfathers and are willing to  make groundbreaking decisions to advance the game.   

JOHN STONES AS A METAPHOR FOR A SPOILT CHILD

Talent is a wonderful thing. It can earn you loads of money, fame and adulation. A talented person is the subject of many conversations, arguments, and disagreements and can be the source of joy to many as well. If only I was talented. :)

Despite these, lots of knowledgeable people have commented that talent alone can get you so far. Talent requires a few bolt on. Application is my favourite one. No matter how talented you are, if you don’t apply yourself, you are unlikely to achieve your true potential. Other bolt - on that can potentially accompany talent are charisma, luck, judgment, and probably the right mentors to channel you in the right direction.

Footballers in the current age are very lucky. Averagely talented players can become multimillionaires before their 21^st birthday. Those who are able to apply their talents can become rich beyond imagination.

No doubt John Stones is talented. He is young and some might say good-looking. He looks supremely comfortable with the ball at his feet. He appears to be a natural footballer and we have heard lots of comparisons to Franz Beckenbauer and Rio Ferdinand.

John Stones has come a long way in his somewhat short professional football-playing career. He came through the Barnsley academy and signed his first professional contract as a 17 year old about 5 years ago. He made his debut for Barnsley the year after signing his professional contract and less than 11 months later he left for Everton for a transfer fee of £3m. 2 years later some money miss road wanted to pay £50m for him. If you have a money-printing machine at home, I doubt if you can turn £3m into £50m in less than 2 years. I digress.

You can see young John has achieved so much in such a little time and I wish him continuing success in his footballing career. However I genuinely think he is a spoilt child.  Many commentators have complained about the side effects of young players in England having it all too early as it negatively affects their football development. It is clear to me that John Stones is one of these young players whose success has gotten into his head.

I suspect he has read all the headlines and news column comparing him to a genuine great like Beckenbauer. He has probably lapped up all the salivating comments about him been the future of English football and a nailed on future England captain. As far as he is concerned, he has arrived.

I hope I am wrong but I am convinced I am right. If John Stones is not pig headed, why hasn’t he cut out this silliness disguised as ball playing out of his game? I listened to the first 5 minutes of the England match versus Netherlands last night on radio and the commentators were appalled about his ball playing in the England penalty area. What pig headedness. In the first 5 minutes for God’s sake. After the flak he has received this season. SMH

 

I watched the remaining 85 minutes plus on TV and was disgusted by some of the moves he attempted in defence especially the slip leading to Netherland’s first goal. In life and often in football, not everything is right or wrong. Mostly the things that come off justify the action you took before hand. Conversely if the results are negative, it evidences the fact that you perhaps made the wrong choice. John slipping yesterday directly resulted in Netherland’s equalizing goal. He was at fault for that goal although Danny BLOCKBRAIN Rose didn’t help matters.

Stones is a player that has been roundly criticized by many of his own fans this season for his dangerous ball play in his own penalty area. He has lost his starting position to a frankly average central defender in Funes Mori and this is despite the fact that Stones is clearly a favourite of his Club manager. Roberto Martinez has taken him out of the firing line and saved him from the ire of the Everton fans. You will think he will learn TIME & PLACE.  No. First 5 minutes.  I despair.  

John Stones’ promoters in the media have been out in droves, defending him, egging him on. Pointing out his contributions to the Vardy goal and another pass to Walcott that almost came off. Good luck to them. They obviously know more about football than I do. But one thing is clear for me and to me. If your redeeming feature as a central defender is your assist or goal scoring record, you need to contemplate a change of position on the football field.  As a defender. PLEASE DEFEND FIRST. Don’t create panic in your penalty area.

I saw Roy’s reaction after England conceded their first goal and knew he was very upset. I’m not sure what he was upset about. I hope he is the safety first manager that everybody thinks he is. If so, he should drop John Stones from all of his future plans right away. He is a disaster that will happen time and time again if he has his current mind set. John is young enough to play a role in future England set up with Roy’s successor and this is only if young John cuts out the pig headedness and silliness in his play especially the dangerous play in the penalty area.

We Are Not Serious About Fighting Terrorism

About 4 months ago, I wrote this just after the Paris attacks. Revelations from those attacks and the recent terrorist attacks from Brussels plus the fallout from the ongoing investigation of the Bruselles attacks reinforces my stance in November. I have summarised this stance as follows: 

THE GREATEST THREAT TO THE SAFETY OF THE COMMON MAN ON THE STREETS OF ANY WESTERN COUNTRY IS THE INEPTNESS OF THEIR GOVERNMENT

The revelations rom the ongoing the investigations into the Brussels attacks just makes me wonder how ridiculous can you get? 

The Belgian authorities were warned about these criminals. The same conscience less people that their 16th century social policies created and they did nothing about these murderers. Leaving them to kill many innocent people in cold blood. 

I think there is a case for some of the victims' family to sue the Belgian government for accessory to murder and criminal negligence and I hope they do this successfully. This was state sponsored murder whichever way you choose to dress it up. The state wilfully allowed known criminals the right of passage, the freedom to plot their carnage, the liberty to acquire their death dealing raw materials and the breathing space infect life long sadness on innocent people. TERRIBLE CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE. 

Please don't ever tell me that a minister offered to resign for these crimes against his people. The government ought to resign and the minister and every decision maker within his ministry ought to be prosecuted for their criminal negligence on this issue. 

The absence of criminal persecutions wholeheartedly supports the fact that their decision not to action the information provided by Turkey is a deliberate policy of the government and evidences the culpability of the Belgian government.

The statement coming out of Turkey is enough to cause panic on the streets of any Western European city. Can you imagine? People arriving in Turkey with passports on the government watch list, people arriving with government black listed passports, people arriving with weapons and weaponry accessories. All heading to the Syria border on their way to join ISIS. 

Turkey thought perhaps this was a deliberate policy to get rid of Jihadists from Western Europe. Were they wrong? Hell yeah. These same people were allowed back into Western Europe. Some undetected and if detected issued with new passports and allowed to get on their bike or thrown into prison to fraternise with fellow prisoners and hopefully turn the prison into a finishing school for future Jihadists and fundamentalists. 

Of course, our human rights legislation prevents the government for declaring these traitors stateless and deporting them to Fuckthemistan or airlifting them to some fundamentalists republic where they can be subjected to the full effect of Sharia Law. 

Our own laws prevent us from keeping them in solitary confinement for the length of their prison sentence or for the rest of their miserable lives but the same laws allows us to keep them with other prisoners who we potentially can rehabilitate and who are not looking to blow all of us to smithereens. 

I hope our leaders can get their acts together and hopefully allow our archaic laws catch up with the realities of 2016 and beyond. 

It is totally unbelievable that a citizen who wages war against his / her country can't lose their citizenship.  Deport them to the nearest stateless people's camp or make them a ward of the United Nations. 

People who deliberately try to deny others their fundamental human rights do not deserve the protection of human rights legislation. 

BUY BUY BUY WENGER

Arsene gets excoriated regularly in the conventional & social media for his refusal to spend all that money in the Arsenal bank account. It doesn't matter if 'ALL THAT' money is for day to day expenditure or if the club is compelled by the banks to keep a certain amount of its resources in cash. JUST SPEND THE MONEY.  A lot of Wenger's criticism has come from many who are financial and economic illiterates and some from mischief makers.

Yes, Cech was Wenger’s only purchase in the summer transfer window and despite Arsene's protestations that he will only buy if he sees a player that can improve on his present squad, the emphasis has been on spending for spending sake.

I have seen many exchanges on social media about player signings and I am yet to see any of the transfer wizards come up with the name of a player that Arsene could / should have bought in the last transfer window that would have improved on his current crop of players. Schneiderlin was last seen setting the Manchester United midfield alight. Anthony Martial is the new Messi. Otamendi is the new Tony Adams. Yohan Cabaye is inspiring Crystal Palace to their lowest league finish since they gained promotion. Raheem Sterling - rich man's Alex Iwobi and a poor imitation at that. 

The Suarez transfer saga is another stick people use to try and deride Wenger. For me, its all about an agenda to fit in with the "Wenger doesn't want to spend money" narrative. This is what the Liverpool owner said about the transfer saga here 

If after reading this, you still blame Wenger. I'm sorry I can't help you. Without the player agitating, there was no prize that would have made Liverpool sell to Arsenal. What Suarez had to do at the World Cup to engineer his move is proof of my stance  and that of every right thinking person on this matter. 

Wenger like any manager who has managed for longer than a minute has a doctrine on how he sees the game of football and how he wants his players to approach the game. Some players will fit in within this doctrine.  Some wont. It’s LIFE. Some players can be adapted, some are already at a stage of their career where this adaptation is less likely to yield results.

In addition, Arsenal as a club has values. You might scoff at these values and that is your choice. Arsenal’s values prevents it from doing business with certain football agents. It is a prize the club has decided to pay for having these values. These values will automatically prevent Arsenal from signing some players except those players decide to change their agents and Arsenal is not in the business of forcing players to change their agents.

I am not sure some Arsenal fans understand or appreciate the self imposed restraints the club operates under. If they do, I will genuinely question their continued support for the club. Why do you continue as a fan of this football club when it is obvious your values and the objectives that results from those values differ with that of the club? Is this is a case of unrequited love? Should the club and its owners change their values to satisfy your cravings?

I get the thousands of fans who were born within spitting distance of N5 or who have historical linkages to Arsenal. I get the emotional connection and the difficulty in channelling their support to another football club. However Arsenal is now a global brand and has outgrown North London. Football fans travel all the way from Nigeria to watch Arsenal at the Nou Camp. I met a Swedish fan at the pub in Barcelona who travels from Sweden to almost all away matches in the Premier league.  So individually, as we constantly evaluate our lives and take steps to adjust things we are unhappy with or that causes us grief, perhaps we might want to do the same with our support of and for Arsenal.

Back to the issue of buying players. I get that we are all part of the BUY BUY BUY generation. Who won't want to buy when you can get £1 clothing at Primark, £1 furniture at IKEA and £1 everything at the Pound Shop. So why should football be different? Unfortunately players cost more than a pound. But please where did the BUY BUY BUY mentality take Man City this season and last? What about Manchester United? Or Chelsea? Or Newcastle?

I just wonder how the contradiction on people’s stance with Wenger is not self evident. “He should spend some effing money” & “Now we know spending money doesn’t win the league”. Make up your mind SHEEP (sorry I meant PEOPLE).

Wenger is very stubborn. But Wenger wasn’t stubborn enough to hold on to Van Persie when the Judas literally threw a grenade into the dressing room at the Emirates.

People are quick to point to our 8 years of trophy drought and use that to condemn Wenger. Fine. Enjoy yourself but I have one response

THE NOU CAMP IS A DUMP

So we went to Barcelona and the rest is history. We will be back in the UCL hopefully next season.

I was secretly hoping that Arsenal will recreate that night in Milan and I will be there to witness it live. It wasn’t to be and it wasn’t for lack of trying.

We had chances to beat them comprehensively but in the end they won handsomely. Their front 3, star men each one, all scored. Koscielny (love him to bits) was clearly at fault for their 1^st goal.  Dear old Laurent needs to learn to lose that side of his game where he turns over possession needlessly by not doing the simple thing. Play the easy pass FGS.

I fervently believe that Koscielny is good to play for any team in any of the top European leagues but he lets himself down often. Monaco’s 3^rd goal at the Emirates at the same round of 16 last season was also on Laurent in my opinion.

For Barcelona’s second goal and from where I sat, we were awfully static. I got the feeling we were ball watching. I only learnt later that Suarez’ wonder goal was something of a fluke as he shinned the ball. It was a delight to watch all the same.

The little magic man Messi scored their 3^rd after we needlessly turned over possession.

I was delighted for Elneny breaking his Arsenal duck and secretly wished a 3 1 away win was on the card after we equalized but it didn’t happen despite the fact that we had the chances to do so. We had Barcelona on toast, they were not composed and were uncomfortable with our forward play and were wayward with turning over possession as we applied pressure.

To those who conveniently say Barcelona did not get out of second gear, I'm sorry I disagree and this is very much part of the agenda I bristle at. Because Arsenal were very good on the night, all of a sudden it is because the other team didn't do well. 

One obvious lesson going back to the Manchester United match at Old Trafford, if we defend with 6, 7 or 8 players with a reasonably good team, we will be under pressure and concede. Alexis and Ozil need to do more defensively in addition to their attacking qualities.

Unquestionably, we lost to a better side but a better side who could have beaten. Yes they have gone on this long undefeated run in all competitions, yes their front 3 appear to be the deadliest in world football at the moment but they were creaking under sustained pressure from Mesut Ozil and his gang. And if only we had taken our chances, Barcelona will now be shoving their Messi up that place where the sun don’t shine like the away fans sang with gusto.

The away fans were very supportive of their team. Passionate and irreverent. The Nou Camp was a shithole they sang. Asked the home fans if we could build a ‘fuzzy duck’ (Cockney Rhyming Slang) roof for them and that their supporting was ‘Tom Tit’ (another Cockney Rhyming Slang).

To be fair, the away fans’ singing wasn’t borne out of any envy, jealousy or bad bells. Nou Camp was a disappointment for me. The Allianz Arena it is not. The fact that the Nou Camp is almost a 100 years old was fairly obvious with a Welsh Arsenal supporter behind me claiming that the Health & Safety lot in England will not allow the stadium operate for one day if it was located back home.

The Barcelona support baffled me immensely. 45 minutes before kick off and the home end of the stadium was virtually empty. On the night, I doubt the stadium was 75% full and this is despite accusations that Barcelona oversold the away end. The absence of support from the home fans received adequate attention from us and we asked if they wanted us to help them sing.

The Arsenal away support was super. There were no divisive banners in the stadium all though that infamous banner was on display at a square in the Las Ramblas area where the well-oiled Arsenal fans were in full voice.

I got the impression from the few fans I interacted with that they were quite upset with the recent results and are taking that frustration out on Arsene Wenger. Upon the announcement of the starting line up, many reacted with disdain thinking it was the act of a surrender monkey. Many potentially feared a pasting but the performance on the night suggests to me that the fans who questioned the line up were wrong and reinforces the need to trust the manager / professionals to do the jobs they are paid to do.

Also, while many want a change of manager, they are not considering the fact that with 9 matches to go till the end of the season, this is the WRONG time to discuss a change of manager. The time is the end of the season or when it is certain that there is nothing to fight for. And you must forgive me that I consider 4^th place / Champions League sport worth fighting for. Hopefully Manchester City don’t finish 5^th and win the UCL.

Travelling to Barcelona to watch Arsenal play was a pleasure for me. The bonding with fellow fans, time off from work, pleasure of experiencing a different culture, visiting a new place and an iconic albeit disappointing stadium. It was all worth it.

Today’s match against Everton is a must win and so is the remaining of all of our fixtures if we are to make a decent fist of competing for the title. Cup finals every single one of them.

Many label the team as mediocre or doing the same thing over and over again. I disagree vehemently.  Using mediocre, as a label for Arsenal is WRONG.  If you disagree, please read the definition of mediocre in the dictionary.  IT DOESN’T APPLY TO ARSENAL.

Also I don’t think Arsenal do the same thing over and over again. We exited the Champions League last season because we were over confident and were already dreaming of the quarterfinal in that first leg at the Emirates. This season we couldn’t maintain focus for 90 minutes in the first leg. And you can go back into history to see that the stick many use to beat Arsenal is a broad brush and is largely undeserved.

However results are the be all and end all of football and when it comes to results in the Premier League and Champion League, Arsenal hasn’t been good enough.

But don’t forget – 2 FA Cups + 2 Charity Shield in last 2 seasons. Of course when it comes to Arsenal and the FA Cups, all of a sudden, results don’t matter. Make up your mind people. Don’t be a sheep.