Tag Archives: Spurs

England, Serge Gnabry, Mike Dean, Nabil Fekir & Spurs

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England

I went out to France to watch England v Wales in the Lille fan park with tens of thousands other Englishmen. The majority of people I spoke to did not particularly like the English national team. Boring, predictable, overpaid failures, was the general consensus.

But we travelled out there in our thousands. It was out of national pride, national loyalty, rather than to support the team, that we all travelled.

England games bore me. I have no real interest in them. The Wembley crowd is a joke, and as poor as the fans.

I did not watch the England v Germany game. We drew 0-0, and the headlines were hilarious.

The bar for England is set so low that we see a draw as a victory. It is all a bit Spursy. Celebrating draws like they are wins. Celebrating a fake progression. Getting excited when we have won nothing.

It probably is not a surprise that England consistently fail when it has so many Spurs (and Liverpool) players in the squad.

I remember back 20 years ago, having players in the England squad, and more than your rivals, was something to be proud of. These days it is pointless, especially as England are so poor.

If the likes of 25-year-old Jesse Lindgard is seen as part of the future of England, I can do without.

Tonight we play Brazil. I have little to no interest.

Serge Gnabry

I remember when Bayern Munich signed Serge Gnabry, a lot of fans got their knickers in a twist. As if Bayern Munich signing him showed Arsene Wenger had made a mistake in selling the German youngster to Werder Breman.

At the time of him joining Munich I questioned his intentions.

He left Arsenal for 1st team football, but then leaves Breman, who he was playing for week in, week out, for Bayern Munich. If he was not good enough for Arsenal 12 months previous, it is unlikely he would suddenly be better than Ribery, Robben, Thiago, etc.

At the time, I predicted that Gnabry was signed because Munich did not want an opponent to sign him, and wanted to control who he plays for – and against. That they have a history of doing this with other young, talented players in Germany.

Low-and-behold, Munich loaned out the 22-year-old to Hoffenheim.

Gnabry picked up an injury in just his 2nd game and has been out injured since.

Taking into account he missed a year shortly after making his Arsenal debut, and missed 6 weeks of football last season, another 3 months at the beginning of this season is clearly a worrying trend.

My view of Gnabry at Bayern Munich remains the same as it did when he joined them. I would be very surprised if he ever actually plays a game of any note for the German giants.

Mike Dean

The referee for the Arsenal v Spurs game is Mike Dean. Predictably, this made Arsenal Twitter explode in fear and anger.

I wonder if any other sides fans care about referees as much as Arsenal fans?

There was a time when Arsenal had won just 3 out of 22 games over a 5 year period that Mike Dean had taken charge for. A poor record, but nothing to blame the referee on.

In the 16 games since that run, Arsenal’s record with Mike Dean in charge is remarkably better, just the 2 defeats away to Chelsea and at home to Manchester United in those 16 games.

Our results against top teams with Mike Dean in charge recently has seen fairly standard results…

We should be beating small sides like Spurs no matter who is in refereeing.

Nabil Fekir

Don’t know, don’t care, but as the shops have their Christmas decorations out, it must be that time of year when the newspapers publish millions of columns of click bait to top up that advertising revenue.

Spurs love in

I will never understand Arsenal fans who put Spurs on a pedestal.

They have won 2 League Cups in 27 years. Finished above Arsenal once in 22 years. Yet some Arsenal fans act like they are the resurrection. The next coming of Jesus Christ. That one year finishing above Arsenal makes them superior.

I read people all over social media moaning that 3 FA Cups in 4 seasons is “not good enough”, “not acceptable.” They demand we “be more like Spurs.”

So what you want is for us to not win any trophies, yet finish top 4?

You probably spent the time between 2005 – 2014 moaning that top 4 meant nothing and we should be focusing on winning trophies.

In recent years, we have won trophies, whilst Spurs are celebrated for “progression” and “putting the pressure on”.

Would I take Arsenal’s last 10 years over Spurs last 10 years? Yes.
Would I take Arsenal’s last 5 years over Spurs last 5 years? Yes.
Would I take Arsenal’s last 3 years over Spurs last 3 years? Yes.
Would I take Arsenal’s last year over Spurs last year? Yes.

No matter which period you look at, whether it be 10, 5, 3 or 1, Arsenal have been more successful than Spurs. We have won trophies.

I would not trade the last 1 / 3 / 5 / 10 years of Arsenal’s “success” for what Spurs have(not) achieved in the same period.

As for the so called Arsenal fans who want the team to lose to spurs this weekend, you can get in the bin.

Keenos

Spurs coming up to 10 years without a trophy

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Tottenham finished above Arsenal last season. It was the first time since 1995 that they had finished above London’s most successful side. Arsenal won the FA Cup.

That FA Cup was Arsenal 3rd major domestic honour in just 4 years.

Meanwhile, Spurs have failed to win a trophy since 23/02/2008. That was the League Cup.

That is 3551 days ago.

With them having been knocked out of the League Cup this year by West Ham, that clock will soon tick around to 10 years since there last trophy.

10 YEARS

That is a bloody long time.

And yet their fans are in a boastful mood. All because they finished above Arsenal for the first time in this millennium. All because they put the pressure on Chelsea last season. All because they finished 3rd in a 2 horse race in 2015/16.

They are the media’s darlings. With their young talented Englishmen, their attacking brand of football, they approach the game in the right way. They are battling and competing against sides with much bigger finances.

In Mauricio Pochettino, they have one of the best young managers in the game. A true visionary. And in Daniel Levy a superb owner. Always gets top dollar when selling his best players. Keeping control of a tight wage bill.

But all this means for nothing if they fail to win trophies.

It is just 2 League Cups since 1991.

The majority of those boasting on social media about the power shift have only seen their side win a couple of League Cups in their lifetime.

To put that into comparison, my pals son is not yet 4 years old, and he has seen Arsenal (or at least been alive for) win 3 FA Cups.

Arsenal, a club in crisis, still winning trophies. Spurs, a side who are up their with Manchester United’s 99 team, Arsenal’s 2004, the famous Liverpool sides of the 80s, have won nothing.

There manager as well, the great Pochettino, this is his 9th season in management and he has yet to win a single trophy.

Arsene Wenger has been labelled a fraud in recent years. A declining manager. A man whose best days have been on gone. Yet he has won more trophies in the last 6 months than Pochettino has won in his managerial career.

I see Spurs fans posting up memes about Arsenal, and about Wenger. They sing about wanting Wenger to stay. They laugh at Arsenal not having won the league since 2004. They used to make silly memes about things that had happened since Arsenal last won a trophy.

Well when Spurs last won a trophy:

  • Gordon Brown was still Prime Minister
  • George W Bush was President of America
  • iPhone was on its first generation
  • Heathrow only had 4 terminals
  • Lewis Hamilton had not yet won his first world title

The best comparison I have seen someone make over the Spurs side is they are reminiscent to the Newcastle side of the mid-late 90s, and the Leeds side of the early 00s.

Between 1995/96 and 1996/97 Newcastle United finished 2nd twice, playing a brilliant brand of attacking football under Kevin Keegan. In 1997/98 they beat the mighty Barcelona at home in the Champions League, Faustino Asprilla scoring a hat trick.

Bar a couple of FA Cup semi-finals in the following years, Newcastle won nothing. Their last domestic honour was the 1954–55 FA Cup.

Following on from Newcastle was Leeds United. A brilliant young side filled with English talent.

Leeds went on a brilliant Champions League run in 2001, culminating in a Champions League semi-final appearance. They lost.

The previous year, they made the UEFA Cup semi-final. They also lost.

Both Newcastle and Leeds were relegated in the mid 00’s. They won nothing during their successful periods. Everyone loved them. The odd folk who have second teams cheered them on.

Ultimately, if you fail to win trophies, it does not really matter how many brilliant nights in the San Siro or Wembley you have. These games will just be forgotten into history.

I have laughed at the reaction to Spurs in the Champions League this season. You would think they were the first ever English team to have qualified from the group stages, or the first side to beat Real Madrid. It might seem I am coming across as bitter, but the reality is everything Spurs are currently do, I have seen Arsenal do, except for going 10 years without a trophy.

The fact is, Spurs finished above Arsenal last season, and they have the boasting rights. But history does not remember those sort of things. History will remember Arsenal finishing above Spurs 21 seasons in a row. History will remember Arsenal winning 3 FA Cups in 4 years.

History will remember Yaya Sanogo winning more trophies at Arsenal than Harry Kane has won at Spurs.

Until Spurs actually win something, they will be no more than a Leeds or a Newcastle. A side who has not win a trophy for decades, yet cling to the fallacy that they are a big, successful, club.

5 days to go till the North London derby…

Keenos

Arsenal’s European journey set to continue

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Tonight Arsenal could qualify for the Europa League knock out stages after just 4 games. Victory will ensure that a top 2 place is guaranteed. If BATE Borisov fail to beat FC Koln, top place is ensure with 2 games to go.

Now I am not going to celebrate too much, as I understand that the Europa League is the 2nd tier of European football, but to qualify easily, having mainly used a second string and youth, is a positive.

I read yesterday someone saying Arsenal are disrespecting the Europa League by playing youngsters and a 2nd string. I laugh that we have won 3 from 3 whilst playing the second string. We have put out the players needed to win the games.

Meanwhile, the likes of Everton, Athletic Bilbao and Hertha Berlin are heading out of the competition.

Arsenal might not be giving the competition 100% of their focus, but we are doing enough to get through and, like Manchester United last season, will surely increase the strength of the side as the competition progresses.

A lot of people look down on the Europa League, they scoff at it, but it is a competition I would love to win.

An early summer final in Lyon. In the South of France with my mates. The type of people who sit and say I would rather be in the Champions League and not win, than the Europa League and win probably never go to games. They watch on TV.

The same sort of people probably moan that we have only won the FA Cup in recent years. We have won it 3 times actually. 3 times in 4 years.

Spurs beat Real Madrid last night. Oddly a lot of Arsenal fans on Twitter were saying how brilliant they were. How they had shown Arsenal how to play in Europe. That it had shown great progression.

But they forget Spurs have won nothing. Even Mauricio Pochettino said last night that beating Real Madrid means nothing if we win nothing.

It is the odd mentality of the modern football fan that winning a single game, like that against Real Madrid, is deemed as good as winning a trophy.

Last week, Spurs were knocked out of the League Cup by West Ham. They justified their collapse by saying that they had bigger fish to fry. This is a side that have won just two League Cups in 26 years.

Fans have become picky about what trophies they want their club to win. It is like turning down the fat one from Little Mix because you want to shag the blonde one, yet the reality is you have no chance with the blonde one.

Beating Real Madrid might create a great, short term memory, but ultimately it means nothing.

As for Spurs showing Arsenal how to do it in Europe, last I looked, Arsenal had no problems getting through the knockout stages of the Champions League with games to spare. Spurs are not doing anything miraculous, anything unique.

Now if they win it, it is another story, but the reality is there is no difference if they fail to qualify or get knocked out in the semi-final. Bar some trips away (many of which Arsenal fans have already done), you end up with nothing. No trophies. An empty cabinet.

Between 1995/96 and 1996/97 Newcastle United finished 2nd twice, playing a brilliant brand of attacking football under Kevin Keegan. In 1997/98 they beat the mighty Barcelona at home in the Champions League, Faustino Asprilla scoring a hat trick.

Bar a couple of FA Cup semi-finals in the following years, Newcastle won nothing. Their last domestic honour was the 1954–55 FA Cup.

Following on from Newcastle was Leeds United. A brilliant young side filled with English talent.

Leeds went on a brilliant Champions League run in 2001, culminating in a Champions League semi-final appearance. They lost.

The previous year, they made the UEFA Cup semi-final. They also lost.

Both Newcastle and Leeds were relegated in the mid 00’s. They won nothing during their successful periods. Everyone loved them. The odd folk who have second teams cheered them on.

Ultimately, if you fail to win trophies, it does not really matter how many brilliant nights in the San Siro or Wembley you have. These games will just be forgotten into history.

And this is why I want us to win the Europa League.

Last season Manchester United won both the Europa League and League Cup. Some people scoffed at them, laughing at them just winning minor honours. But what did fans of the clubs laughing at them win? Probably nothing.

Yes, they finished 6th, but in winning the Europa League they secured Champions League football.

Give me finishing 6th and winning two trophies over finishing 2nd and winning nothing any day. Some might say but we want to progress in the league, be competitive in the league but there is no trophy for that. No one remembers who finished 2nd.

These same people probably laughed at Arsenal winning the top 4 trophy. And now they laugh that Arsenal did not make the top 4 yet won a real trophy in the Europa League.

The moral of the story is simple, nothing matters until you win a trophy.

As for the Europa League, there could be some interesting sides dropping into the Europa League: CSKA Moscow, Celtic, Atlético Madrid, Sporting Lisbon, Spartak Moscow, Napoli, RB Leipzig & Borussia Dortmund currently occupy 3rd place in their groups.

I have no qualms about playing any of these.

Because we are the Arsenal and we are the best. We are the Arsenal so f**k all the rest.

Enjoy the game tonight.

Keenos