Tag Archives: Arsenal

Tottenham v Arsenal; Cheats v Winners

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This week has kind of flown by for me. Usually in the lead up to a North London Derby, I get giddy from the beginning of the week and write a few blogs to try and wind that lot up the road – I still love the fact that the official “Spurs Media Watch” on their website is their News Now stream, meaning plenty of anti-Spurs / pro-Arsenal blogs get published by them

Bar calling a cheat a cheat in yesterdays blog about Pochettino’s pro-diving comments, I have hardley thought about them this week.

As I said, the week has flown by. Although yesterday I was disappointed that it was not Thursday and the last episode of the Hunted was not on. Gives me something to look forward to tonight anyhow.

So on to this weekend.

Wembley, Wembley, we are the famous Arsenal and we are going to Wembley.

https://twitter.com/KeenosAFC/status/956285689754202113

It is going to be interesting Saturday. A 12:30pm kick off at Wembley has left everyone scratching their heads on where to drink.

The White Swan on Highbury Corner usually starts serving at 8am, but for recent North London Derby’s, they have not served until 11am. With it being a near enough 1 hour round trip from Highbury & Islington to Wembley Central (note: The London Overground from H&I going West towards Finchley is shut this weekend), that lease time for just one pint.

Now normally, you would think “head to Liverpool Street, Kings Cross or Euston, there will be a boozer there open”. But with Spurs now at Wembley, these areas will be heaving with that lot having a couple of pints before getting the same trains up as us. It does not really leave us with many options.

Maybe a bit of breakfast at the Breakout Cafe on the Cally, before heading to the Swan in the hope its serving? If not, then the only option is to emulate the Cologne fans and grab a couple of cans and head down to Highbury Fields.

Wherever we drink, it is going to be an interesting day…

At the minute, Spurs might be winning the battle. They finished above us last season, and sit 3 points above us this. But Arsenal are winning the war, having won the FA Cup last year.

Talk of the power shift and Spurs now being the bigger, and better, club are redundant until Spurs actually start winning trophies. I will continue to laugh at them whilst Arsenal win things and Spurs fail to do so.

If they start winning trophies on a regular basis, and finish above Arsenal more than a couple of times in 3 decades, then we can start talking about power shifts, etc. Until then, they are just our loud mouthed neighbours. The closest they have come to winning the league is when Arsenal won it back in 2004.

The fact that they have had to hire Wembley to get an opportunity to play their sums them up. Meanwhile Arsenal are about to play there for the 10th time in recent years – through being successful in the cup competitions.

Whilst Arsenal speak about winning real trophies, Spurs fans cling to statistics. Like Harry Kane scoring most Premier League goals in a single calendar. Meaningless. Or him being the 2nd fastest player to 100 Premier League goals. Again, meaningless.

There was football before the Premier League, and it does not really matter how many goals you score, or how quick you score them, if your team does not win any trophies.

Mo Salah, for example, recently because the 5th quickest player to score 20 Premier League goals. The quickest was Kevin Phillips. It really does not matter how quick you score goals, if those goals do not lead to trophies.

This weekend will be fun, and regardless of the result, Arsenal have a real trip to Wembley to look forward to this month.

Keenos

PoCHEATtino defends diving

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When an individual dives, he is a cheat. He has taken a choice to attempt to gain an advantage through cheating.

When during a game, 3 team mates all dive, then you have to bring into question the philosophy of the club and integrity of the coaching staff.

Against Liverpool, Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Erik Lamela all simulated contact, or exaggerated contact in an attempt to win penalties. They cheated.

The press have been mysteriously quiet on the matter. Obviously not wanting to criticise the Golden English players Alli and Kane. In the same way they have ignored Wayne Rooney’s diving for 2 decades.

Last night Mauricio Pochettino, or as I will now refer to him, PoCHEATtino came out to defend diving.

In Pocheattino’s mind, those that criticise diving are “killing the game”. What an odd stance to take. That it is not the cheating that is destroying the game, but those who criticise the cheats. He calls diving a “minimal issue”.

His quotes some up his attitude to cheating:

“Football is about trying to trick your opponent – yes or no? Tactics – what does ‘tactic’ mean? When you do tactics, it is to try to trick the opponent. You play on the right, but you finish on the left. Twenty years ago, thirty years ago, we all congratulated a player when he tricks the referee like this. That is the football that I was in love with when I was a child.”

So he loves football that involves players attempting to trick a referee. He sees diving to win a penalty from the referee as a skill, and has previously admitted to practising it in training back in Argentina.

It is odd that Pocheattino is not being hammered by the press for supporting cheats. But that would not suit the current love-in that the press have with everything Tottenham.

In-fact, rather than come out and attack the cheats, they have come out in support of them. This is the Chief Sports writer for the Independent:

https://twitter.com/jonathanliew/status/961015627736604674

So you see no difference between a dive and a step over? Really? Is that true?

One is an attempt to beat an opponent with skill, the other is an attempt to gain an advantage through cheating…

whether it be Robert Pires, Ashley Young, or Dele Alli, players dive. But when the culture of the club encourages diving, there is a problem. and when the coach comes out and talks about diving as if it is a skill that should be taught, learnt and used, there is a clear problem.

Pocheattino is a cheat. He promotes cheating. He is happy with his players cheating.

https://twitter.com/KeenosAFC/status/960491386654117889

Keneos

Ramsey and Wilshere in stand-off

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Contracts are all about negotiating the best deal for yourself that you can get at the time.

A few years back, Theo Walcott got himself a big new contract mainly due to other senior players around him leaving. He had 8 months left on his deal and with the club already having lost the likes of Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Alex Song, they could not afford to also lose Walcott.

The result was Walcott becomes the highest paid player in the clubs history, all due to the circumstances of the negotiations.

At the moment Arsenal have both Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere in a sort of contract stand-off with the club. Ramsey has 18 months left on his deal, Wilshere under 6 months.

Whilst it is the club they are currently in stand-off with, they are actually playing a game of poker with each other, it seems.

At the minute, both are competing for the same position in the starting XI. I read somewhere that the pair have played something like 69 minutes together in the league this season.

This then creates a situation where both players become important to each other when it comes to contract negotiations.

Lets paint the scenario…

Arsenal can not afford to lose both Ramsey and Wilshere. They would prefer to keep both. But if one were to leave before the other has signed a new deal, the remaining player will be in much more of a commanding position to demand higher wages.

If Wilshere continues his stalemate with the club and leaves in the summer on a free transfer, Arsenal could not afford to sell Aaron Ramsey in the same window. Likewise Arsenal would not want to then risk losing Wilshere on a free one summer, then Ramsey on a free the next.

Wilshere leaving would allow Ramsey to almost write his own cheque when it comes to salary.

Then switch it on its head.

Ramsey informs the club that he will not be signing a new contract, and the club start to plan to move him on in the summer. Wilshere gets a sniff of this, and suddenly the club need him to stay. They could not afford to sell Ramsey and lose Wilshere on a free transfer.

Therefore, despite his injury record, Wilshere then moves into a position of strength with his contract.

Whilst both are not signing, neither knows how strong their own hand is. They need the other to decide their own future before negotiating their own one.

Then we have the scenario of if one signs a new contract.

If Wilshere were to sign tomorrow, I am sure the Ramsey one will follow shortly after. The Welshman will still command a huge wage, more than justifiable, but his importance to the club and therefore his negotiating power will be diminished.

Likewise if Ramsey signed at the end of the month, Wilshere will soon sign as the bargaining chip of Ramsey not being at the club will be off the table.

The clubs ideal scenario is that both stay, and compete for the same place.

They might be in a stand-off with the club, but they are actually in a stand-off with eachother as they attempt to maximise their earnings.

Keenos