Football Focus

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

Arsenal need a striker or they could end up 5th

[kpc]

daizie Wrote:

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> Mansfield Town ?

Is this a cry for help or reference to their 'pay what you think it's worth' scheme on Saturday. Extra 4,000 fans turned up but seems like the team couldn't get into the spirit of things, losing 2-0.

[Atila Reincarnate]

Rhinestone Cowboy Wrote:

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> Arsenal need a striker or they could end up 5th

A srtiker yes but 5th, I'm not so sure. We've got all the big games out of the way, our run isn't too bad. But Le Boss is losing his credibility. Yes he is right to advocate good financial housekeeping, but that is a matter for others to deal with, he should concern himself purely with footballing matters. As to getting rid of him as some have hinted at, who would replace him. There are no managers good enough out there who are not already tied to a club as big as the Arsenal. The only person I'd welcome is Pep Guardiola, and that is very unlikley altough he has won all there is to win with Barca and may want a new challenge, but that's wishful thinking on my part.

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

Ok just did the bbc Predictor thing for rest of the season ( takes a while )

Chelsea top 90 pts Man Utd 86 Arsenal 86 ( Man Utd better goal diff ) followed by Liverpool Spurs Man City

West Ham 10th? but then I am an Iron

Going down sorry to say

Hull Wolves and Pompey

Off to the bookies I go

[????]

10th Rhinestone? Looks a bit bleedin optimistic, 17th would be ok

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

I hear you but we have got a few easy games and was being fairishhhh

was more to see who would win and who would go down

10th would be nice

[Atila Reincarnate]

I would be very happy if your prediction for Hull were to come true. A more deserving case than Phil "Tango" Brown would be hard to find, no, I tell a lie, Sam "We are not a dirty side just physical" Allardyce is also hugely deserving of Championship football.

[Jah Lush]

Rhinestone Cowboy Wrote:

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> I hear you but we have got a few easy games and

> was being fairishhhh

>

> was more to see who would win and who would go

> down

>

> 10th would be nice.

Tenth would be a miracle.

No such thing as an easy game these days either.

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

Away to Man U ON 23rd Feb

Away to Chelsea on 3rd March

Away to Arsenal on 20th March

Away to liverpool 17th April

12 points in the bag I recon

hmmmmm

[????]

We've just had 3 of the easier games

Pompey (away), Blackburn (home) Burnley (away)...2 points, what Jah said.

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

It was more about top n bottom not where West Ham would finish just thought I would make it clear I was an iron and so a little dreamy

[Rhinestone Cowboy]

Responding to Chelsea's comfortable win at Stamford Bridge yesterday, Tony Cascarino argued that Arsenal's lack of lack fight, backbone and leadership proved Arsene Wenger's recruitment policy has led the club into relative difficulty.

They have been eliminated from both domestic cup competitions, fallen well behind in the title race and, among other shortcomings, look particularly short in attack with Robin Van Persie injured and no replacement signed in the transfer window - Wenger hopes to utilise Nicklas Bendtner but few surely could regard him as top quality.

"The evidence is mounting against Wenger, like never before in his 14 years in charge at Arsenal, and it is damning", Cascarino writes. Is it time, then, for Arsenal to end their love affair with the Frenchman?

[Atila Reincarnate]

As I said earlier, Le Boss is lossing points in the credibility ratings but who would we bring in to replace him? I have only one choice and that's Guardiola. As for Cascarino, I don't think his track record gives hom much to shout about, and certainly doesn't give him the right to question how Wenger goes about his business. Apart from Ferguson, Mourinho, and more recently Guardiola there aren't many managers that can even begin to tell Le Boss where he's going wrong.

That aside, Wenger needs to stop being so damn stubborn and buy a decent keeper, a striker, and another midfielder to replace the only Brazilian, Denilson, who is about as gifted as Robbie "Lily" Savage.

[matthew123]

Here is a good old fashioned rant - http://roversreturn.net/2010/01/23/qpr-fans-rant/

It would be interesting to see how Guardiola would fair in the Premiership - as I am not convinced any PL team has the players to carry off the Barcelona blueprint successfully (i.e. win title). There is no doubt Gaurdiola got Barcelona to knuckle down again after the Deco / Rondaldinho night clubbing years but I just think how they struggled to break down Chelsea last season even with likes of Messi, Iniesta, Henry, Eto'o and Xavi.

[Jah Lush]

Arsene Wenger's belief that finishing 3rd or 4th rather than winning a domestic cup is just plain wrong. OK so you get qualification to the Champions' League and all the revenue that comes with it but the whole point of entering a competition is to win it and so far Wenger has failed in that respect. You can understand the fans' disappointment because when it comes to the Champions League they have reached one final in the 14 years that Wenger has been at the club.

I'm quite sure that there are Arsenal supporters out there that would have been very happy to have won a domestic cup or two over their last five barren seasons.

[Atila Reincarnate]

Of course anyone who supports the Arsenal would like their team to win trophies rather than not. I for one am getting a little weary of Le Boss making silly excuses for out inability to win recent games. WE didn't play at all badly when we lost to Man Ure at their place, and I felt we were unluck not to get anything from that game, but against them at our place, and against Chavski home and away we were just not good enough.

In Le Boss we used to trust, but I'm losing my faith with him, but never with my beloved club. However, who would replace Le Boss. I don't think there are many good/big enough to take it on as I said previously on this thread.

If he proves us all wrong and wins the league or Champs League, I'll run naked round Peckham Rye Park. NOT A PRETTY SIGHT!!! To be honest I think I'm safe though.

[falcao]

If Le Toss and his bunch of foreign mercenarys win any pots this season I'll sponsor you.

[Atila Reincarnate]

falcao Wrote:

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> If Le Toss and his bunch of foreign mercenarys win

> any pots this season I'll sponsor you.

Foreign mercenarys abound in the Prem, take a look at your own team if you support one. Some are more burdened with them than other in fact some even have English ones, such as CSKA Fulham, who have among their number 2 English mercenarys Lampard and Cashley Hole. Mercenarys are not always foreign despite what some zenophobes might think.

[Jah Lush]

I really can't see how Frank Lampard is a mercenary. He's a top quality player who is admittedly extremely well rewarded for he does. 20 goals a season from midfield is worth a lot of money and that's what he's paid for. How many other midfielders can you name currently playing who score as many goals as Frank does?

[Sandperson]

Lampard's a lot of things but he's not mercenary. He's a player I am jealous of another team having.

[Atila Reincarnate]

That's as may be, but he held the Chavs to ransom last summer by allowing himself to be linked to numerous clubs across europe. It pisses me off when the word mercenary is aimed at only foreign players, when the likes of Lampard and Cashley get forgotten about. Come to that what about Campbell, is he not a mercenary, is he not English?

[Jah Lush]

OK. You're offered a better deal at another firm/club to which you're quite interested but you like it where you are and the firm/club you work for want to keep you so they offer you a payrise. What are you going to do?

[Atila Reincarnate]

The fact remains that the word is used far to freely when talking about foreign players conveniently forgetting that good old English boys are just as guilty. It's as if most people become blinkered when the same accusation is laid at the door of an English player. As for whether or not I'd move on, it's hard to say. In Lampards case he allowed himself to be touted by his agent last summer, in oder to screw more dash oout of the Chavs and their Russian Mafiosi boss, but this is glossed over and forgotten. As for Cashely Hole, don't get me started!! I just wished he'd crashed his car when he found out about the increase we offered him, the greedy little .......

[????]

Oh come on Jah, for about 3 years at the end of each season and contract negotiation time he was 'snapped' holding a copy of 'Learn Spanish'...I suspect he still doesn't speak a word.

[Atila Reincarnate]

To be honest I strongly believe that the vast majority of players are mercenary, and it's not just the agents and the players that are to blame. The clubs have to shoulder some of the blame for making the daft offers of huge salaries and packages. The bubble will burst as soem point, be it in a couple of years or some time later. It can't sustain the ridiculous amounts of money being thrown at players which is pricing many people out of the game.