Tag Archives: She Wore

Arsenal Fans: Keep Calm The Seasons Not Over

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The league season had barely concluded 24 hours before, an FA Cup final still to come, still to prepare for, but it has already started, the madness of summer transfers.

We are SheWore have not even started our A to Z of Transfer Speculation, where we usually start logging every player we are linked to, starting a month before the window opens. And yet, the craziness has begun. Not in the players we have already been linked to (although in a single day, we were linked to 10 players, and that was before the season had ended), but in the impatience of fans.

Reports are Liverpool have big for Adam Lallana, the Manchester United have bid for Luke Shaw, that Chelsea have agreed a deal for Diego Costa and, despite this being little more than paper talk, and Arsenal have an FA Cup final to prepare for, fans of the club are already questioning why we have not signed anyone.

CALM THE FUCK DOWN, THE SEASON IS NOT YET OVER.KEEP CALM

Yes, business can be done early, and it has its benefits – allowing a player to get a full pre-season under his belt with his new club being the main one. And yes, Arsene Wenger was wrong when he said reportedly said “Big deals are impossible to be completed before the World Cup” (The real quote is “in a World Cup year, it [business] has never been done early,”), but completing your deals early, and before a World Cups is also fraught with danger.

A perfect example is with Manchester United. In 2007, they did their business early, signing Anderson, Nani, Hargreaves and Kuszczak by July 2nd. Whilst they actually had a successful year that year (League and Champions League double) the 4 players they signed have been relative flops.

You then get the injury factor. Imagine we go and agree the deal for Julian Draxler for £37.5m tomorrow. He then plans in the World Cup, picks up a knee cruciate ligament injury, and is out for 12-18 months. We would be wondering why we signed a player before the World Cup.

Yes, there is business to potentially be done before the World Cup, but it will always be a bit of a risk, and anyway, our season is not over yet.

As for the players that our rivals are linked with Lallana, Shaw & Costa, would I even want Arsenal to be in for them? The answer is no.

Adam Lallana is a player I have liked for a long time, due to a friend being a Southampton fan and never shutting up about him, even when playing in League One. But lets look at things. In his position, we have Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey & Jack Wilshere. Two players are infinitely better than Lallana and the third, Jack Wilshere, is 4 years his junior and, were it not for another injury hit season, would also be considered superior.

People also seem to be getting confused over Lallana’s age. A lot of talk is about him being a rookie in the England squad. Whilst this is correct, it is wrong to lump him in with Sterling, Barkley and Stones. Adam Lallana is 26. He is older than Mesut Ozil. Add in Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky, where would the sense be in spending £25m, early, on Adam Lallana. Keep calm Arsenal fans!

Diego Costa is a player I simply do not rate. Yes, he has had an electric season this year, but it is his first year of doing anything special. Before this season, he had never scored more than 10 league goals in a single campaign.

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Whilst Costa’s record is slightly better than both Negrado’s and Soldado, it is not massively. Considering how these two have struggled in the Premier League, a £35m deal for Diego Costa is over priced. It is £10m more than what Spurs paid for Soldado, and £20m more than what Manchester City paid for Negrado. It is a massive outlay for a one season wonder.

As for Luke Shaw, his talent is not in doubt. Whoever he joins, he will be their 1st choice left back for potentially 15 years. A high price (reportedly £27million) for an 18 year old full back, it is justified if he remains at the club for a long period. And even if he does not, he will have sell on value. However, despite saying this, Arsenal have Kieran Gibbs and Nacho Monreal. It would be gross misconduct if we competed for Luke Shaw. Spending £27m in a position which is perhaps our strongest in depth, a long side attacking midfield.

Gibbs especially is a class full back. Had he not once more been hampered with injuries, it would have been him, and not Luke Shaw, on the plane to Brazil. Whilst Shaw’s talent is not in doubt, Arsenal certainly do not need a £27m left back. Now if he could play right back…

So calm down Arsenal fans. We have an FA Cup to play for. We will do business this summer, so stop getting your knickers in a twist that we are not currently bidding for players that we do not need.

Keep calm, the seasons not over.

Keenos

10 reasons why we will beat WBA + starting 11

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1) After a rough month or so, Arsenal have won their last 3 games, scoring 3 goals in every single game.

2) The return of Ramsey and Ozil has been like two new signings. The freshness of both is clear to all and they have taken us up a level.

3% you’re having a laugh. If you are fed up with unjustified ticket price rises, read here for details about today’s protest.

4) Arsenal have scored in all 15 previous Premier League games against WBA.

5) With the 4th place trophy now in the bag, we will play relaxed and with freedom.

6) Despite the league campaign being over, there are FA Cup places to play for. The intensity will still be there.

7) In recent history, Arsenal’s results against WBA read: P 19 W 14 D 3 L 2

8) WBA’s top scorer has 5 league goals. Arsenal have 5 players who have scored 5 or more.

9) WBA have kept just 7 clean sheets this season, against Arsenal’s 15.

10) Aston Villa on the opening day of the season seems a long time ago. That was the last time we lost at home in the league.

Likely Starting 11: Chesney, Jenskinon, BFG, Koscielny, Monreal, Arteta, Ramsey, Ozil, Rosicky, Giroud, Podolski

Keenos

 

Promotion and Relegation – The view of a travelling fan

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Being an away day traveller gives you a different outlook as to who you want to be promoted and relegated. Rather than just thinking who you like / dislike, you being to think about the best away trips, the cost of the trips, stadiums you have not yet been too, etc.

With today being the last day of The Championship, and with 2 Premier League sides potentially to get relegated this weekend, it would now be wise to discuss who we want to stay up (and go down) and who we would like to see come up.

Leicester and Burnley are already up. Leicester is a trip I am already looking forward too. Anything around the Midlands is reasonable when it comes to train times and costs. And with Arsenal having only played at the King Power (formerly Walkers) Stadium once, it is a ground where many, including myself, has yet to visit. The only downside is, like many new stadium built since 2000, it is not in the city centre, leaving a 30 minute walk from whatever watering hole you are in.

Burnely is somewhere many have done before. It is a backwater at the edge of Lancashire, where racism and football violence is still right. Am I happy they are up? No, it will be a horrid trip to a ground we have visited 3 times over the last 6 years.

When it comes to the rest of the Championship, Derby, QPR & Wigan are confirmed in the play-offs. The last spot is between Reading and Brighton. Derby, like Leicester, would be a good trip. We last visited 6 years ago, and scored 6. Just a 10 minute walk from the station, an hour and a half train journey from London, it ticks a lot of boxes and is my personal favorite.

QPR is a cheap trip if you live in London, but not a very exciting one. I was happy when they went down, and will not be too unhappy if they fail to come back up. The only factor which might change things is if Fulham go down. It is always good to have a decent amount of London sides in the Premier League to keep rail costs down. Losing Fulham (discussed later) would leave just 4 London trips (Chelsea, Spurs, West Ham, Crystal Palace). I can leave QPR, as long as Fulham stay up.

Wigan is my worst nightmare. A half hour walk from the station, it is another stadium which has been built on an industrial estate in the middle of no where. Most Arsenal fans would have previously done the trip, so it is certainly the team I would least like to see promoted.

The last two, Brighton and Reading, are very similar. New stadiums which we have been too recently (for cup games), both towns easy to get to cheaply by train. But both have the same flaw. When you get to Reading or Brighton, getting to the stadium is then a nightmare.

For Brighton, you have to queue up for another train to get to the stadium, a train which only leaves every 15 minutes. It is not too bad when going to the stadium, but it causes massive delays getting away from the stadium.

In the same vain, Reading is also a nightmare to get too and from the town centre. They put on buses to and from the stadium but these always have lengthy queues. It is a nightmare, especially after the game.

My personal favourite? Derby, unless Fulham go down then QPR.

Today, both Fulham and Cardiff could go down. One is a loss, the other I do not care for.

Cardiff, again, is a ground on the edge of town. A 30-40 minute walk filled with snarling sheep shagging Welshman. It takes over 2 hours to get to Cardiff from London (longer if the train is diverted via Gloucester due to engineering works) and is fairly costly. It is not a nice trip, and one which I certainly will not be missing. Bye bye Cardiff.

Fulham will be a loss. Whether you go on one of the many fan group arranged boat trips, or head to the river for a drink in one of the many pubs, it is a top trip. With zero rail costs and friendly atmosphere, it has been one of the best away days of recent years – especially when it is sunny. Add in that after the game, you are 10 minutes from Central London, it is one which you can make a full day of it. This year we were signing and dancing about Lukas Podolski until the early hours in Liverpool Street. If Fulham go down, it will be a sad day for the Arsenal Away boys.

The other sides in the relegation dog fight are Hull, WBA, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Norwich. We can almost discount Hull and WBA as they are 5 and 4 points away from the relegation zone respectively, with a game in hand on many of those below them. That leaves Villa, Sunderland and Norwich.

Aston Villa is a bit of a shitter to get too, with a train or taxi required to be taken once you get into Birmingham, but as already mentioned, I have an affinity with the Midlands. Under 2 hours to get their, decent train costs, it is a perfect away day outside of London. Birmingham is also a city I love to drink in before an away day, with the Shakespeare just outside the stadium being my place of choice. Aston Villa are a proper football club, Villa Park a proper football stadium. I do not want them to go down.

Sunderland is a horrible place. Whilst it has giving me my two best away days over the last 2 seasons – mainly due to the 5 hour journey’s (engineering problems) meaning I could barely walk once I got back to Kings Cross, it is a stadium I will not be fussed about going too again. If all go’s well ,it is a 3 hour train trip, you will be getting a sore arse by the end of it. But that only drops you into Newcastle, you then need to get the train to Sunderland. With a cost upwards of £100 for the train ticket, it is the most expensive day out.

Newcastle is a good city to drink in pre-game, but the post-game rush from Sunderland stadium, to the station, then to Newcastle has plenty looking at their watches for train times. Add in Sky’s enjoyment of putting teams a large distance apart on an evening kick off (or Monday night this year), there is always the chance that there will not be trains back. Sunderland are certainly a team that I would like to see relegated.

With Newcastle safe, we still get the trip to the North East next season, but without the arsehole bit after getting into Newcastle.

Finally we come to Norwich, who we could relegate next weekend. And I hope we do. A ticket cost of £50 is disgraceful. A lot has been made of our £62 ticket for Manchester City, but at least you get to watch Manchester City and Arsenal. £50 to watch Norwich? No thanks, especially when we only charged their fans £26.

It should tick all the boxes. Cheap train trip, reasonable travelling time, nice town with the stadium close to the train station. But their greed ruins it. They can fuck off.

So who do I want to go down? Cardiff, Sunderland and Norwich, with Derby coming the other way.

Keenos