I don't really see how any spurs fan can have greater than a single digit IQ

Lol. The idiocy of that statement is amusingly ironic really. For your sake you'd want to hope my IQ is double digits.

The reason I didn't like it was because Walcott made a meal of it. Tiniest little tug (which happens 50 times a game) and he went down worse than Suarez. Soft, pathetically soft. Theo might not have even got to the ball.

Also, Walcott put his arm in front of he bloke straight away, free kick no? Watch the replay a few times.

Also funny to see that straight away its about me being a Spurs fan. Grow that fuck up.

Edited by benelsmore: 25/9/2011 09:49:18 PM

It may not have been a big tug, and it wasn't, but it was enough to stop Walcott getting to the ball. Without that tug, Theo would've got to the ball and was in on goal. As clear a red card as you're gonna see really.

I know Theo is quick but its debatable whether he would have beaten Jussi to it (given the first goal, probably).

Do you disagree that in hindsight (with replays) a free kick could have gone the other way for Theo's arm across Wheater? Thats really my two disputes with the decision. It wasn't a bad decision per se but there is some doubt.

There was nothing in that arm across Wheater, there was hardly any arm across him in the first place. Wheater just got done for pace.

I take that as a yes.

Thats like me saying "there was nothing in the tug, Theo just lost his footing."

:roll:

Its got everything to do with you being a spurs fan. Ive come across so many in my life, especially living in London and know the bitterness and delusion first hand.

It was clear cut. I'm sure if Owen Coyle thought it was questionable he would raise it...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/15047482.stm

I thought last nights performance was a really 'smart' one.
As Sydcro mentioned on the point of dealing with Davies, I felt most other area's we were much more clinical and measured in.

Some of our finishing and final passes still leave a lot to be desired, especially when you look at the longer term in aiming to finish top 4. Ruthlessness of frontmen shown by those teams currently up there is evident.

Well done to Robin on 100 goals, class act, hope there are many more to come!

Was very happy with the result in the end. Slept with my jersey on, have yet to take it off :lol:

He went down soft, certainly. Theo was going to get the ball though and would've been through on goal hadn't he been tugged. In modern football had he stayed on his feet the ref wouldn't have given anything so Theo had to go down to make his point. The referee had very little choice in my opinion. Curse of the modern game.

He should've finished one on one in the last 10 minutes though...

See now you're making assumptions. You know the last Gunners fan I ran into still reckons you guys are still going to win the league this year and you call us delusional. They call that irony.

A few more points. I've spent 2 weeks of my life in London when I was too young to even remember White Hart Lane. I'm not one eyed when it comes to Arsenal, I don't buy into that petty bullshit that so many here seem to try and uphold and I try to be respectful and not stir you all up with unecessary shit like calling things other than how I see them.

What do I stand to gain by stirring up a few Gunners? Also, managers know better to keep their mouths shut, especially if they havn't seen the replay.

so arsenal have the 4th highest wage bill, yet wenger said a few days ago it may be hard to keep VP and others with our salary cap, yet they still pay flops like almunia and diaby 60k+

madness.


kosc is still not a good defender. :(
i think vermalaen and mertesacker would be pretty decent.

I am honestly kinda confused by all the criticism on here for Kos. All anyone else has said is how impressed people are with his improvement since joining, and I'd have to agree with that. When he came we were unsure whether he would be able to handle it with only 1 season of Ligue 1 under his belt, but I have no doubt he is good enough to start for us, even though once TV is back I don't see Kos starting.

Looking from the outside in. He is not up to scratch. He can put in an occasional good performance and be solid. But that isn't what being a Premier League defender is about. You have to be consistent and the guy struggles to put a good 90mins together let alone a string of games.

I would like to be playing against him, put it that way.

To be fair I think he's a scapegoat for problems all over the park. Maybe its because i've watched Arsenal without Song but i think they struggle (without him) to get the ball back in midfield which means Kos is forced to act a lot more. If you watch some of the dumb shit he did last year and compare it to a few general defensive issues which can't be pinned on a single player there is a huge improvement.
For Arsenal it might be beneficial to make TV fight his way back in. Could pressure Kos into some commanding performances. He's got it in him for sure.

He may not be top class, but he's no Stepanovs like most people seem to treat him like. He's quick, excellent in the tackle, good on the ball, not afraid to but his body on the line in a challenge. Like I said he's not first choice this season, and is a more than good enough 2nd choice.

In the end right now it's Koscielny or Djourou, and with the way Djourou has been It's Koscielny I'd be choosing every single time.

Edited by sydneycroatia58: 26/9/2011 01:07:02 PM

True. Do you think your team needs a back up defensive midfielder or at least someone as a direct swap for Song?

We've got both Frimpong and Coquelin who are both good enough back ups. Frimpong is still a little raw, but I've been very impressed with Coquelin in the middle. I think this added competition in that position has definitely had an impact on Songs excellent performances since coming back from suspension.

All well and good but if they're a bit raw i'd have thought there would be pressure to source at least a proven performer in this position such as Mark Van Bommel. That way the raw talent can be developed either on loan or in the cup competitions?

I don't think Coquelin is actually as raw as people may think. He did play 24 games on loan in Ligue 1 last season after all, so he does have some good experoencer under his belt, and is good enough for that back up spot, especially after what I've seen.

Frimpong is a totally different case, it was shit last year that his development was put off a year because of his injury. If he hadn't got injured he would've played a part last year and would have got some good game time. As it happened, he didn't and is now getting that this season. He was thrust into it a bit earlier than expected after Song's suspension and apart from the red card he did very well against Liverpool, and also did very well against Udinese.

Before the season I would've liked another DM, but after seeing Coquelin and Frimpong I don't think we need one as much as we thought in pre-season.

Good news that it went well. Hopefully gets back soon.

When Arsene took Coquelin off at Old Trafford we struggled badly. We looked half alright with him in the side.
Shows how good he is in my opinion.

I think our defenders are good enough, they have the quality, just not the organisation. In all honesty that's the fault of the coaching staff. You can't put a back four on the pitch and just say 'defend'. They have to have an understanding of each other and what they're supposed to do.
Arsene's ruled out signing a defensive coach which is very bad news. We will never be a force until we have some organisation at the back.

Yeah, exactly right (RE Coquelin and lack of defensive organisation).

Whilst not signing a full time defensive coach doesn't seem ideal, I feel Wenger just needs to put some emphasis on changing the way we defend and our tactics against certain teams.
He's done well enough in the past without a specialist there, I just feel he may have been overlooking certain attention to detail issues under all the pressure and recent due criticism. He needs to slowly but surely get around to fixing and building on certain issues and strengths of the new look/evolving side. Though, I don't like/agree on how he opts with a really high line against teams who have quick forwards. We have conceded far too many unecessary goals by playing a high line, or when our defense has lacked cohesion with players not all stepping up and bungling the offside trap. Just one example on the aforementioned factors he's been looking past

All issues I feel he will get around to, in time.
If not, then we'll continue to suffer.

See I don't think our biggest problem is playing a high line, and with the way we play we can't really play deep. Last season we had the best defense from open play, it was set pieces that killed us, and that's the3 defensive organisation we need to fix.

so apparently Laurent Koscielny, Johan Djourou, Sebastien Squillaci and Ignasi Miquel have all picked up knocks.

lol.

Squillaci was already injured. The only ones that have been confirmed as not playing against Olympiakos are Koscielny, Gervinho and Theo, but they are a good chance to play against Sp*rs on Sunday.

Yeah Ive read that too, IF true, who starts alongside Mertesaker?
Song - In good form, it would be disappointing if he didnt play in midfield
Sagna - With either Jenkinson or Coquelin at Rb?
Jenkinson :-k
Santos :?

SP*rs? You're so badass :lol:

You're just noticing that now :lol: