As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
now I have been pessimistic about our chances on here but even I think we will finish TOP 4 again this season.
I don't see how you can argue that we will finish worse than United considering they have only brought in one defender and one midfielder.
Absolutely ridiculous that they have the victims finishing above us in the table - when you sell the ONLY world class player in your squad (the cannibal) and replace him with ricky lambert, then you havent a hope in hell of finishing anywhere near the top 4. I would actually go so far as to suggest that their squad, as it currently stands, will see them fall behind manure, everton and the scum this season
Just saw McCuntly's column - he is the archetypal short-sighted populist football journo prick.
Only really cares about United or Liverpool. Will only acknowledge Arsenal if we're on a terrible run (Wenger's lost the golden touch, time for a change?), or on a great run (everything is great, mock the impatient fans who were questioning Wenger previously). Don't get me wrong I'm not a huge Hansen fan but at least he has had the stones to acknowledge a few big calls he has brazenly made and got wrong. McCuntly was smugly writing back in Oct/Nov 2011 that Phil Jones was destined to be future United and England captain and making comparisons with Duncan Edwards, saying that their crop of young English players Jones, Smalling, Cleverley and Welbeck were going to lead them to glory.
He's the type of prick that will crowbar "X consecutive seasons in the CL" in any reference to us (and previously X years without a trophy) but when it comes to season's predictions conveniently forgets that. Apparently Liverpool are a good bet for a cup run, will do well in CL but if they finish 5th it"s not a failure - pathetic pandering. Our squad has improved for the 3rd season in a row, we always do enough to make CL and by his own admission we are looking fresher and more confident. United might well finish above us with zero fixture congestion and if they keep their big players fit and firing. But you can bet your house on a top 4 finish for us. I (wrongly) wrote Liverpool off for most of last season but they have added barely any quality and Suarez is an absolutely monumental miss - not just goals, not just assists, but their entire play. And it's the age-old folly of thinking signing a defender will turn around a leaking defence - they're still gonna ship goals for fun if they are giving all their wide players free attacking licence and relying on old man Gerrard to screen the back 4.
The Cannibal also made Sturridge look a far better player than he is. He opened up so many defences for him but also he tended to pull 2 and sometimes 3 defenders towards himself on the ball, leaving Sturridge more time and space than he'll get this season.
Stevie Meeee is a busted flush. His legs are all but gone. He will never psychologically get over blowing it last year. Especially "The Slip". It was his only chance of finally lifting the PL and he knew it. After 16 long years he was within touching distance and lost it.
With Chompers gone they've lost 30 PL goals and a huge number of assists/quality/ingenuity/creativity etc. I can't see Sturridge, Lambert AND Sterling combined hitting 30 PL goals tbh.
Their defence is creaky and Škrtel is a geehair from a penno at any given time. Lots of new blood to now try and bed in. Add the CL games and pressure. Mousers will drop out of the Top 4. Take it to the bank.
6/7 points behind the citeh and chavs, a point ahead of United.
i'd settle for third with this manager. sadly.
Well tell them to run it again and to continue running it until they come out with the fecking right result!!
One of my mates works in finance and he sent me a 60-odd page 'report' that Goldman Sachs did before the World Cup. A page each on each country, past form, economy etc but their piece de resistance was an algarithm based on ranking, past WC performance, host country factor, host continent factor and several other contributory statistics. They were extremely proud of it even though it predicted an absurd 69% of group games to end 1-1, 1 clean sheet in the entire group stages and only 5 occasions for a team to score more than 2 (3 of which were Brazil)
Nope. Chelsea and Man City top 2-think we'll get 3rd.
No way Liverpool will finish ahead of us this season. Man Utd will be an interesting one, having no european football will be a big bonus for them a la scousers last season so think they'll get top 4.
Don't see anyone else finishing above us at all.
6/7 points behind the citeh and chavs, a point ahead of United.
i'd settle for third with this manager. sadly.
Well tell them to run it again and to continue running it until they come out with the fecking right result!!
One of my mates works in finance and he sent me a 60-odd page 'report' that Goldman Sachs did before the World Cup. A page each on each country, past form, economy etc but their piece de resistance was an algarithm based on STATS. They were extremely proud of it even though it predicted an absurd 69% of group games to end 1-1, 1 clean sheet in the entire group stages and only 5 occasions for a team to score more than 2 (3 of which were Brazil)
And that is why stats have no place in football. That, and LegoHead Denilson.
