Modern day fighter aircraft are built to be deliberately aerodynamically unstable... it is this instability which gives the machine the agility to turn and change direction rapidly at high speeds. The inherent unpredictability in the aircraft makes it virtually impossible for a human to fly without the aid of sophisticated real-time computer systems to provide the pilot with the prescience of reaction time to counter the chaos of the environment and translate the insanity into a feedback of 'artificial stability' to the cockpit. This is purely to give the pilot the feeling that he is in control of the machine.
All modern combat aircraft are fly-by-wire with the computer doing the work... soon they won't even require a pilot to appreciate the excitement of the high speed turn – the pilot will become a liability as his internal organs will not tolerate the ever excessive G's that the machine is capable of. He, literally, will no longer have the heart or stomach for it.
One day the machines will fight each other.
Football is generally considered to be the most exciting competitive sport to watch – this is because of the unpredictability of the environment. Games can turn on a penny as sometimes the 'luck' that is the chaos of the environment plays a factor that will give one team an advantage... if the two teams are equally matched then this inherent instability can be the point on which a match can turn.
All modern football leagues are money driven with the accountants doing the work. The real money in modern football is derived from gambling. The gambling industry is the core of the machine that is abstracting football from the exciting game it once was for the spectator into the equivalent of a fruit machine with flashing lights and promises of riches. By law all fruit machines have a minimum payout – over a long enough period of time you are guaranteed to lose circa 30% of your investment. Fruit machines are regulated, taxed and frequently checked to ensure that they their profit margin lies within the legal boundaries. The machine that is the economics of capital in football gambling is not regulated... it is assumed by many that the money riding on a game will not affect the result.
This is a fallacy.
With chaotic systems it only takes minimal interference to effect a desired result. With influence over key people, who possess the right skills, football matches are easy to fix. It is for this reason that to be sure of a competitive edge; the coin of good fortune must always fall in the favour of the bookmakers.
The fans are becoming an increasing liability in this game as they will not tolerate the ever excessive manipulation and corruption emanating from the machine. The fan, metaphorically, no longer has the heart or stomach for it.
The machines of capital are fighting each other for control over our sport. The machines of capital are tearing our sport apart.
This season is the worst I have ever seen – each match starts with the referee flipping a coin... I think that the penny is slowly dropping and if you care to examine it closely you will see that it has two heads.
So – on to Arsenal Vs Aston Villa... you know I'm getting bored of this but hey-ho:
As was stated in my previous post – the result of the mornings match between Bolton and Liverpool would be critical as to the results of the other matches that day – specifically the 'big 4' in terms of the multiple position pushed by the bookmakers and taken by many a punter. So I shall start there. Styles, true to form, exhibited an extreme and unsubtle bias in favour of one of the teams at the expense of the other – today Liverpool were 'in favour'. Liverpool are 'concentrating' on the premier league this season as are Chelsea – they must stay close before the real battle begins at the end of the season.
So the Liverpool win sets off a chain reaction; Liverpool win... then Chelsea must win – although to be fair, the chavs didn't need much help but there would probably have been some insiders who would have liked to have the option of the draw for increased revenue on the Asian black markets. Man Utd took the hit last week and were never going to drop points to Stoke at home...
...so...
Who does that leave to take the hit? Yup – Arsenal. If you listened to the commentary and read all the match reviews then you'll probably be in a very confused and agitated state... maybe you'll be blaming Wenger and the team. You'll probably be hating yourself right now...
I stated in my last post that if I saw a good game, win or loose, then I would be happy to watch it. The truth is that I walked out before the final whistle. The game was a disgrace... again – and I'm getting bored. At least this tells me something about my team and its position on the EPL dodgy-o-meter. We are a straight team it seems... although – there is something not quite right there either and things don't quite add up. Last season Wenger would have slated the Riley post match – but this season he plays the game and gives the sharks exactly what they want to report (frustrating for them I imagine). Also you would think that the inclusion of a billionaire on the board would have some influence against this familiar old story... billionaires tend to have very good lawyers and the resources to build a case for our defence that is not only overwhelming but watertight come the end of the season.
Arsenal should definitely sue the Barclays Premiership.
Think about it... if you saw a good game of football in which we lost fairly and squarely to a better side; then why (as a fan of football) would you be so angry at the result? All respect to Villa for keeping the fouls professional and not kicking the shit out of us as they must have know they could have given the 'blind eye' of Riley. I have no animosity for Villa at all... they played a good game and it's a damn shame that we couldn't see a competitive match as I reckon it would have been a cracker... instead - at half time as I was stood at the raft of wall to wall urinals, instead of looking forward to the second half, I was left staring at a fag end that I was trying to obliterate with my stream piss; pondering if it was physically possible to fart and urinate simultaneously... why do I buy my season ticket again – surely not for games like this..?
"I got back to my car on Saturday and turned on the radio to be immediatly met with the presenter welcoming on one of the many bookie spokesman on the phone and do you know what his first words were 'great day for the bookies whenever arsenal lose'." – ColonelDecker (ASI hard core)
Yup - there you go; Arsenal does the bookmakers 'a favour' yet again, right from the horses' mouth. Put two and two together – please, entertain the idea... I know it's hard – I mean Bertrand Russell spent half his life trying to prove logically that 1 and 1 equals 2... Concepts are easy to subscribe to but notoriously hard to define – I'm not asking you to believe in something new, I'm just asking you to question your belief in the concept that football is a fair and honest sport because it clearly is not.
"We had enough chances to have won it, but in the current climate of everyone beating everyone else, I thought that West Ham could go up and get what to me would be an unjust winner." – Tony Adams
Read between the lines... what is the 'current climate' and why are aggrieved managers from premiership football teams threatening to go on strike to demonstrate their opposition to the worst season ever for refereeing decisions? Is the fact that the replay monitors have been banned from the dugout and the 'respect' campaign has gagged any reaction to incorrect decisions on the pitch just a convenient coincidence?
...Hmmm...
Face it - your game is being stolen from you, you are an increasing liability – you are not wanted or needed. Right now the invisible clothes are being woven, and come May, the emperor will wear them on an open top bus around the city... will anyone notice? Will anyone care?
Man – I'm depressed... but let's look at this and learn. After Liverpool won I was tempted to Lay Arsenal (as per the Hull match) but I didn't... I have this blind spot when it comes to my team and it's something I need to address – last season we would have battled for it and got the points – although last season it was proved ultimately pointless as we were taken out of the running by the kind of refereeing that get's your legs broken. I think this season is different, if we are allowed to play then we play – if not then we can't be arsed to go through the motions... in a sense we have become temporarily tacit in the corruption.
I have no idea why... but it has something to do with Kroneke and Dein, I am sure... I can't figure it out though and it's doing my head in. When will we show our hand? Do we have a hand to show? Have we folded already?
In the end I didn't lay Arsenal – I stuck my money on Fulham to beat Tottenham, all of it, I mean - it was obvious weren't it and @ 3.6 with Tottenham losing it was a fucking gift!?
Anyway, with regards to your bottom line, the template it seems is this:
Liverpool and Chelsea will remain in each others shadow at the top for as long as they can... I would watch out for changes of intent in early February though, in terms of either team's chances of winning.
Man U are happy to hold back and let Liverpool and Chelsea slug it out before making their move... they will want to be in touching distance come Christmas... I doubt that they hold out too much hope of winning though, but they would like to be in the mix to get involved in the 'nail biting – to the wire' gambling crescendo extravaganza towards the end of the season... and if they could nick it then I'm sure that they will try.
Given the above; Arsenal will always be the team that takes the hit as we are indeed the 'soft touch' of the big four in terms of power, influence and corruption. Our agenda is to win by playing great football – the other 3 want to win by any means necessary – in addition to this, the European bookmakers don't care much who wins or loses as long as they can make a fucking packet... and this is the final thing I have noticed.
Markets are being generated and this season is all about selling form to generate income – one week a team will win against the odds and then loose against the odds... and this is not just a randomisation of results (although you wouldn't guess that from the bottom half of the table), it's cleverer than that it's like horse racing – try and figure it out, spot the opportunities and beat the bookie – like the Fulham Vs Tottenham match for example.
Anyway what it boils down to for Arsenal is that there is an unfair advantage to the machine and the teams who are part of it; the sport and the teams that want to play it merely get shat on by default... I will admit I was wrong – in terms of our season falling apart, it's started early this year, so I wonder what the madness of the Chinese New Year has in store?
Showing posts with label gambling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gambling. Show all posts
Saturday, 15 November 2008
Friday, 14 November 2008
Found a head and an arm in a garbage can
(appologies for the big gaps - Google Blogs has a HTML translation bug with tables)
Well this was the week that Chelsea accused Arsenal of not respecting the Carling Cup as a competition by fielding a ‘weak’ reserve squad before stating their intention to win with a full strength side:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1920920.ece
Respect Wilkins, respect... although – this was just another case of the story fitting the agenda – I’m sure Wilkins, pillock as he is, was creatively quoted to further plump the odds and send the mug money into the coffers of the lay bettors... although nobody could have predicted just how much this story would backfire for Wilkins in terms of the Drogba coin-toss incident (which is getting slightly more column inches than perhaps it deserves).
So - the Currant Bun go with:
Arsenal = shit
Chelsea = great
The result was:
Arsenal = great
Chelsea = shit
The same can be said for the media run up to the Scouse/Spud game – let’s not forget that Chelsea and Liverpool really don’t care about the Carling cup and we can draw our own conclusions from the results and the football that was played as to who out of the big 4 ‘respects’ this competition more... I mean – there’s fuck all gambling liquidity in the Carling cup and the kudos of winning is pretty lame. Chelsea and Liverpool both want the league this season and that is their main priority.
Let’s check out the Carling Cup Give-a-Fuckometer:
So... I think the draw is on Saturday – I don’t care who we get, as long as it’s not fucking Tottenham away!
On to this weekend... you know I’m not sure, I was hoping for a good game of football but Mike Riley is on the case so – maybe a frustrating first half, I reckon we should do ‘em in the second on fitness. This is one of those matches for me – Villa are a fairly straight team (and I’ll assume that we are too) so if we get robbed blind then it will tell me that the knives are out for Arsenal... if the decisions go against Villa then – maybe we are indulging in favours for favours – if it’s a fair game and the boys give it some then fair play, win or loose – I’ll be happy to watch it.
----------------------------
DogFace says: 'ello
Stinky says: alright
DogFace says: Who do you fancy for the w/e then?
Stinky says: Spuds, Stoke, Pompey and West Brom ... Couple of wild cards in there!
DogFace says: these are my current thoughts:
Saturday, 16 November 2008
Sunday, 16 November 2008
Stinky says: what are you putting money on?
DogFace says: Not sure yet... ...might wait until the Bolton/Scouse game plays out.
Stinky says: you would have a better idea of what is gonna happen
DogFace says: yeah You should be wary of the sky/set games - they carry the most money.
Stinky says: I don't know what is on this weekend. Got a busy one ... again!
DogFace says: I put it in my table man SKY/SET
Stinky says: sorry did not realise that!
DogFace says: :-)
Well this was the week that Chelsea accused Arsenal of not respecting the Carling Cup as a competition by fielding a ‘weak’ reserve squad before stating their intention to win with a full strength side:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1920920.ece
Respect Wilkins, respect... although – this was just another case of the story fitting the agenda – I’m sure Wilkins, pillock as he is, was creatively quoted to further plump the odds and send the mug money into the coffers of the lay bettors... although nobody could have predicted just how much this story would backfire for Wilkins in terms of the Drogba coin-toss incident (which is getting slightly more column inches than perhaps it deserves).
So - the Currant Bun go with:
Arsenal = shit
Chelsea = great
The result was:
Arsenal = great
Chelsea = shit
The same can be said for the media run up to the Scouse/Spud game – let’s not forget that Chelsea and Liverpool really don’t care about the Carling cup and we can draw our own conclusions from the results and the football that was played as to who out of the big 4 ‘respects’ this competition more... I mean – there’s fuck all gambling liquidity in the Carling cup and the kudos of winning is pretty lame. Chelsea and Liverpool both want the league this season and that is their main priority.
Let’s check out the Carling Cup Give-a-Fuckometer:
| Team | Give-a-fuckness | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Spuds | 100% | ‘Arrys ticket to Europe next season... by any means necessary. |
| Arsenal | 95% | A young team playing football as best they can with no pressure or league to worry about... would be nice to win but they know it’s just a tin cup |
| Burnley | 80% | Burnley would love to play another big club win or loose; just for the craic |
| Derby | 63% | Must know they can’t win but the extra gate money would be handy |
| Blackburn | 50% | A spot in Europe would be nice – but staying up is priority |
| Stoke | 23% | Staying up is priority #1 |
| Man U | 10% | Give less than half a toss |
| Watford | 5% | This team needs to get out of the relegation zone |
So... I think the draw is on Saturday – I don’t care who we get, as long as it’s not fucking Tottenham away!
On to this weekend... you know I’m not sure, I was hoping for a good game of football but Mike Riley is on the case so – maybe a frustrating first half, I reckon we should do ‘em in the second on fitness. This is one of those matches for me – Villa are a fairly straight team (and I’ll assume that we are too) so if we get robbed blind then it will tell me that the knives are out for Arsenal... if the decisions go against Villa then – maybe we are indulging in favours for favours – if it’s a fair game and the boys give it some then fair play, win or loose – I’ll be happy to watch it.
----------------------------
DogFace says: 'ello
Stinky says: alright
DogFace says: Who do you fancy for the w/e then?
Stinky says: Spuds, Stoke, Pompey and West Brom ... Couple of wild cards in there!
DogFace says: these are my current thoughts:
Saturday, 16 November 2008
Time | Match | On Telly? | Ref | I reckon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:45 | Bolton v Liverpool | SKY | Rob Styles | Draw |
| 15:00 | Arsenal v Aston Villa | Mike Riley | Arsenal | |
| 15:00 | Blackburn v Sunderland | Peter Walton | Sunderland | |
| 15:00 | Fulham v Tottenham | Alan Wiley | Fulham | |
| 15:00 | Man Utd v Stoke | Mark Halsey | Man Utd | |
| 15:00 | Newcastle v Wigan | Andre Marriner | Draw | |
| 17:30 | West Brom v Chelsea | SET | Steve Bennett | Draw |
Sunday, 16 November 2008
| Time | Match | On Telly? | Ref | I reckon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13:30 | Everton v Middlesbrough | SKY | Howard Webb | Draw |
| 16:00 | Hull v Man City | Phil Dowd | Man City |
Stinky says: what are you putting money on?
DogFace says: Not sure yet... ...might wait until the Bolton/Scouse game plays out.
Stinky says: you would have a better idea of what is gonna happen
DogFace says: yeah You should be wary of the sky/set games - they carry the most money.
Stinky says: I don't know what is on this weekend. Got a busy one ... again!
DogFace says: I put it in my table man SKY/SET
Stinky says: sorry did not realise that!
DogFace says: :-)
Monday, 10 November 2008
Give me one more chance and you’ll be satisfied
“Only two ways out of here, football and rock n’ roll; tonight we can have both.” – Bono
I am told that the game at the weekend was the best showcase of football in the premiership this season. I am told that it was great for the neutral. I am told that it was spectacular.
I am told this by the very group of people who’s opinion I trust the least. I have to fight back the temptation to get sucked in, agree and spout the very same nonsense right here.
I would never bullshit you... and I apologise for that – I can only tell it how I see it, and I was actually there to see it.
In my last post I stated that:
“the mancs have a good squad and will want to win”
They did have a good squad but they didn’t want to win... The game was very open and Howard Webb was showing the usual northern bias throughout the game... although the bias was selective in terms of what was given and to whom. For instance – Ronaldo could easily get free kicks in a scoring position for just chucking himself at the ground – although Ronaldo’s free kicks
were piss poor as was his finishing in a scoring position. Webb also held off the cards for Man-u and let them get away with a lot in the tackle – although this didn’t matter as Man-u didn’t go hard in the tackle (particularly at the start of the game) as is their norm when they want to win. Rooney showed his class in everything but the finishing – which again was comical. Berbatov played himself offside in the only scoring opportunity that he found in the game – thus negating the goal (although, true to form, he is an offside goal hanger anyway). In fact Berbatov and Rooney got in each other’s space quite frequently as neither of them wanted to be the one to have to pull the trigger... or not – as the case may be. FYI – Rooney and Berbatov ‘to score’ were heavily backed.
Our goals were of a good quality and it was nice of Berbatov to get the assist with his ‘strikers clearance’, or whatever, and Neville fail to block the first and to buckle under the challenge of Nasri for the second.
Webb also didn’t give a foul for a challenge on Diaby – from where I was sat, it looked like he was clean through so it would have had to have been a straight red... I will assume that this was the case as it didn’t make the highlights on MOTD (FYI – red card was heavily backed). The crowd gave Webb a hard time for these clearly bad decisions... but – to be honest none of the decisions he gave made much difference... so I didn’t join in – they were all for show, a scam.
Rooney got a chorus of:
“You’re just a fat granny shagger”
Which was mildly amusing... but I didn’t join in with that as, the way he was playing – he was doing us a favour by being on the pitch.
All in all - I felt that the match had an air of inevitability to it from the moment it kicked off...
I have been to Arsenal/Man U matches before and there has been something in the air, the teams will run themselves into the ground to get the 3 points and the crowd will respond with an urgency to match... this time – it all seemed a bit civilised. Maybe I’m just cynical and jaded from the Tottenham game and I’m reading it wrong - I hope so.
In my mind Man-U didn’t want to win for reasons stated in the previous post (from the ‘Dan Roebuck’ Guardian article):
“Arsenal have been the bookmakers' saviours this season. Failures to justify odds-on prices against Fulham, Hull City, Sunderland, Tottenham, Stoke and Fenerbahce have scuppered many accumulators and hefty single wagers. The layers will be hoping Arsène Wenger's side can do them another favour tomorrow against Manchester United, only this time they want them to beat their visitors rather than slip up.”
What I can’t decide on is whether the key Arsenal players were in on this too – as I said, it was all a bit civilised and we just sat back for most of the second half soaking up the attack without even attempting to punish them on the break – which is our norm... a lot of things don’t add up – this game was too perfect for the EPL brand, we know that the Arsenal Man-U games get a high viewing figures (last season it was reported at 1,000,000,000 viewers) so it all i.e. every facet of the game seemed a little too convenient for anyone with an interest in it other than football...
So it seems once again Arsenal with a little help from Man U “have been the bookmakers' saviours this season.” – So one thing for sure is the bookies must be well chuffed; they could not have picked a more perfect result – right down to the goal scorers!
Let’s see if it continues...
BTW - I hope you all took my advice and sold the shit out of the Mancs – it was clear that they were never going to win that game... although I also had a sneaky fiver on 2-2 ‘correct score’ at some stupid odds – I really thought it would come in when they flagged up 6 minutes extra time... I remain ambivalent.
Also – Arsenal to win the title has dropped from 20-1 to 13-1... although (if you placed it) I wouldn’t lay it off until we beat Aston Villa this coming Saturday as I reckon it might drop another 3 points or so.
ASI Topic: BBC WTF?
-------------------------------------
Post 1 DogFace wrote:
What a bunch of arseholes... why do I pay my licence fee?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7714854.stm
-------------------------------------
Post 2 ChristHeart (Netherlands) wrote:
Wow, I knew exactly what this discussion post was gna be about from just 8 characters.
Has it really become that bad?
-------------------------------------
Post 3 The12thMan (Ramapo) wrote:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1083992/Sky-pundits-I-trust-people-walk-dog-Keane-rages.html?ITO=1490
at least keane respects wenger
-------------------------------------
Post 4 TheTurbanator (Malaysia) wrote:
Good one.
"They're brainwashing people. People say it's good for the game. It's not good for the game, interviewing people about Arsene Wenger after what that man's done for English football. It's amazing.
Will Arsene Wenger be remembered in 100 years' time for what he has done for football? Bet your life he will. Will these people on the television be remembered for what they've achieved? None
whatsoever. "
Best quote ever.
-------------------------------------
Post 5 DogFace wrote:
This from the 'Chief sports writer' of the current bun... try and resist punching your computer screen as they are expensive to replace:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1903113.ece
Big respect to Keane - it's a brave stance to take.
-------------------------------------
Post 6 DogFace wrote:
Man, re-read that and fucking hell - Keane... fucking respect man!!!
"I wouldn't listen to these people in the pub, and yet they're on television constantly"
That is brilliant!
-------------------------------------
Post 7 ChristHeart (Netherlands) wrote:
Wtf - this is weird. Has Keane grown up?
-------------------------------------
Post 8 DogFace wrote:
Man he's my new hero... Managment must have opened his eyes to all the shite that's infested the game...
...he was never one to mince his words.
-------------------------------------
Post 9 ChristHeart (Netherlands) wrote:
"equally flawed in his failure to condemn the dismissal of the chronically irresponsible Robin van Persie. "
"sit-in-the-hole contradictions like Gilberto"
"And what of Gilberto?
"The man who put the oil in the midfield mechanism that eased the Gunners to their unbeaten season in 2004 is still cranking it out at Panathinaikos. "
Hangon... first Gilberto is not such a brilliant signing, and then he praises him?
This is quite obviously just a hate rant against Arsene Wenger. Chief sports writer. This article can tell you more about Mr Steven Howard than Arsene Wenger.
It's funny reading the Sun article right after that stuff that Keane says, because it is basically just a case study of Keane's point.
-------------------------------------
Post 10 TheTurbanator (Malaysia) wrote:
That Sun article, is it written by a 6 year old? Stupid stupid facts really. You can see it is biased towards Man Utd.
But Keane,man. Everything he say is so true. Respected him as a footballer, double respect as a manager.
-------------------------------------
Post 11 JabbarBoy wrote:
'If Wenger’s quote at the top of this piece needs a little explaining, the young Spaniard’s does not.
The corollary is simple enough: In the Premier League, we are wearing a big girl’s blouse'
stupid fag....... how the hell can a guy like this become sport editor or whatever the shit he is???
-------------------------------------
Post 12 JamesDeGoona (St Joseph's College) wrote:
yer i like Keane now he is Sunderland manager. He seems to stick up for Wenger quite a bit
-------------------------------------
Post 13 KashmirGirl (London) wrote:
"You're sitting there with people like Richard Keys and they're trying to sell something that's not there. I tell people any time they watch a game to switch the commentators off, don't listen to
experts, gather your own opinion."
I like this bit. Very interesting.
-------------------------------------
Post 14 MohammedArsenal (The Indian High School) wrote:
Wow....all of a sudden i'm like: ''Go Roy!''
-------------------------------------
Post 15 KashmirGirl (London) wrote:
Haha me too!
-------------------------------------
Post 16 ColonelDecker wrote:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/sunsport_columnists/article1911725.ece
After reading the link on saturday to Mr Howard I was wondering how he was feeling this morning and he has turned on United now.
Clearly he cannot bring himself to praise us so it is 'obviously' Uniteds fault that we won.
I particularly love the glaring contradiction, in saturdays column
''Back in April 1997 — just six months after Wenger arrived at Highbury — Alex Ferguson enthusiastially took the new Arsenal manager to task for the first time, saying: “He has only been here five
minutes and yet seems to have a comment to make every week. He should shut up. ''
“I think he has a problem with Manchester United.”
''Never more so than tomorrow. ''
Yet today he feels:
It was a day when Arsenal desperately needed to come up against a footballing team rather than one sent out either to stop or kick them. Or both.
Oh sorry, so saturday Man Utd are our worst nightmare, yet on monday morning they were just what we needed?
No wonder he's the chief sportswriter of the sun, because that basically equates to the chief accountant of Lehmann Brothers.
-------------------------------------
Post 17 DogFace wrote:
LOL - it just goes to show that these cock-ends have no opinion whatsoever.
It's all smoke and mirrors these days man... parasites the lot of them.
-------------------------------------
Post 18 PieFace (London) wrote:
I am now a fully paid-up member of the Roy Keane fan club - what a brilliant attack on the media, particularly naming Richard Keys (a brainless front man, if ever there was one - spot on Roy, just what the FUCK qualifies that gibbon to pass judgment on a Premier League manager or player, having never actually been involved in the game at grass roots level?)
Mustard.
And then I read the Steven Howard piece, which is your typical Sun journo shite - pick up on the prevailing mood and blow it up out of all proportion. Get the fans all riled up. Add in a bunch of irrelevant historical nonsense (trawling back to a quote from 1997, 11 years ago? Really, Steve?). And criticising players because of their nationality? Forgive me ifI am very much mistaken, but that is racism, is it not?
That really is quite some crisis going on at Arsenal ain't it Steve - losing THREE games this season (by a whopping single goal margin in each), a miserable FIFTH in the table out of twenty, a massive SIX points behind the leaders (that's an enormous TWO wins off the pace! Criminal!!) How on earth can any of the players, fans, or right-thinking members of he football-watching public NOT think that Arsenal Football Club is a pathetic joke, with a clown at its helm steering the club inexorably downwards???
Red-top journalists. Like sharks, they catch a scent of blood, and ... I swear to God, these fuckers actually derive some sort of perverse pleasure out of hounding people out of football. It isn't the game that they love, it is the kill. If they were legally allowed to dispay the severed heads of the honest hard-working football managers they have driven out of their clubs thanks to some hysterical whipped-up media frenzy following a poor run of form, they would do it. "You see that Sam Allardyce? Got him fucking SACKED, I did - a really vitriolic piece abolut how he was too fat to manage Newcastle, got his head above the fireplace, I have." And Wenger, surely, has the biggest antlers of all - King of the Forest, no less. What these vermin wouldn't do to claim his scalp. However, it was woefully misjudged and I think Keane's statement has caught the mood and exposed gutter journalism for what it really is. You know nothing about the game, you children. We know only ever print what you think your public want to read so people will buy your scandal sheets. Don't pretend you actually hae anything intelligent to bring to the debate about football. Fuck yourselves, pigs, seriously - fuck yourseves.
Right, I'm off to buy a new laptop and some ointment for my right fist.
I am told that the game at the weekend was the best showcase of football in the premiership this season. I am told that it was great for the neutral. I am told that it was spectacular.
I am told this by the very group of people who’s opinion I trust the least. I have to fight back the temptation to get sucked in, agree and spout the very same nonsense right here.
I would never bullshit you... and I apologise for that – I can only tell it how I see it, and I was actually there to see it.
In my last post I stated that:
“the mancs have a good squad and will want to win”
They did have a good squad but they didn’t want to win... The game was very open and Howard Webb was showing the usual northern bias throughout the game... although the bias was selective in terms of what was given and to whom. For instance – Ronaldo could easily get free kicks in a scoring position for just chucking himself at the ground – although Ronaldo’s free kicks
were piss poor as was his finishing in a scoring position. Webb also held off the cards for Man-u and let them get away with a lot in the tackle – although this didn’t matter as Man-u didn’t go hard in the tackle (particularly at the start of the game) as is their norm when they want to win. Rooney showed his class in everything but the finishing – which again was comical. Berbatov played himself offside in the only scoring opportunity that he found in the game – thus negating the goal (although, true to form, he is an offside goal hanger anyway). In fact Berbatov and Rooney got in each other’s space quite frequently as neither of them wanted to be the one to have to pull the trigger... or not – as the case may be. FYI – Rooney and Berbatov ‘to score’ were heavily backed.
Our goals were of a good quality and it was nice of Berbatov to get the assist with his ‘strikers clearance’, or whatever, and Neville fail to block the first and to buckle under the challenge of Nasri for the second.
Webb also didn’t give a foul for a challenge on Diaby – from where I was sat, it looked like he was clean through so it would have had to have been a straight red... I will assume that this was the case as it didn’t make the highlights on MOTD (FYI – red card was heavily backed). The crowd gave Webb a hard time for these clearly bad decisions... but – to be honest none of the decisions he gave made much difference... so I didn’t join in – they were all for show, a scam.
Rooney got a chorus of:
“You’re just a fat granny shagger”
Which was mildly amusing... but I didn’t join in with that as, the way he was playing – he was doing us a favour by being on the pitch.
All in all - I felt that the match had an air of inevitability to it from the moment it kicked off...
I have been to Arsenal/Man U matches before and there has been something in the air, the teams will run themselves into the ground to get the 3 points and the crowd will respond with an urgency to match... this time – it all seemed a bit civilised. Maybe I’m just cynical and jaded from the Tottenham game and I’m reading it wrong - I hope so.
In my mind Man-U didn’t want to win for reasons stated in the previous post (from the ‘Dan Roebuck’ Guardian article):
“Arsenal have been the bookmakers' saviours this season. Failures to justify odds-on prices against Fulham, Hull City, Sunderland, Tottenham, Stoke and Fenerbahce have scuppered many accumulators and hefty single wagers. The layers will be hoping Arsène Wenger's side can do them another favour tomorrow against Manchester United, only this time they want them to beat their visitors rather than slip up.”
What I can’t decide on is whether the key Arsenal players were in on this too – as I said, it was all a bit civilised and we just sat back for most of the second half soaking up the attack without even attempting to punish them on the break – which is our norm... a lot of things don’t add up – this game was too perfect for the EPL brand, we know that the Arsenal Man-U games get a high viewing figures (last season it was reported at 1,000,000,000 viewers) so it all i.e. every facet of the game seemed a little too convenient for anyone with an interest in it other than football...
So it seems once again Arsenal with a little help from Man U “have been the bookmakers' saviours this season.” – So one thing for sure is the bookies must be well chuffed; they could not have picked a more perfect result – right down to the goal scorers!
Let’s see if it continues...
BTW - I hope you all took my advice and sold the shit out of the Mancs – it was clear that they were never going to win that game... although I also had a sneaky fiver on 2-2 ‘correct score’ at some stupid odds – I really thought it would come in when they flagged up 6 minutes extra time... I remain ambivalent.
Also – Arsenal to win the title has dropped from 20-1 to 13-1... although (if you placed it) I wouldn’t lay it off until we beat Aston Villa this coming Saturday as I reckon it might drop another 3 points or so.
ASI Topic: BBC WTF?
-------------------------------------
Post 1 DogFace wrote:
What a bunch of arseholes... why do I pay my licence fee?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7714854.stm
-------------------------------------
Post 2 ChristHeart (Netherlands) wrote:
Wow, I knew exactly what this discussion post was gna be about from just 8 characters.
Has it really become that bad?
-------------------------------------
Post 3 The12thMan (Ramapo) wrote:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1083992/Sky-pundits-I-trust-people-walk-dog-Keane-rages.html?ITO=1490
at least keane respects wenger
-------------------------------------
Post 4 TheTurbanator (Malaysia) wrote:
Good one.
"They're brainwashing people. People say it's good for the game. It's not good for the game, interviewing people about Arsene Wenger after what that man's done for English football. It's amazing.
Will Arsene Wenger be remembered in 100 years' time for what he has done for football? Bet your life he will. Will these people on the television be remembered for what they've achieved? None
whatsoever. "
Best quote ever.
-------------------------------------
Post 5 DogFace wrote:
This from the 'Chief sports writer' of the current bun... try and resist punching your computer screen as they are expensive to replace:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1903113.ece
Big respect to Keane - it's a brave stance to take.
-------------------------------------
Post 6 DogFace wrote:
Man, re-read that and fucking hell - Keane... fucking respect man!!!
"I wouldn't listen to these people in the pub, and yet they're on television constantly"
That is brilliant!
-------------------------------------
Post 7 ChristHeart (Netherlands) wrote:
Wtf - this is weird. Has Keane grown up?
-------------------------------------
Post 8 DogFace wrote:
Man he's my new hero... Managment must have opened his eyes to all the shite that's infested the game...
...he was never one to mince his words.
-------------------------------------
Post 9 ChristHeart (Netherlands) wrote:
"equally flawed in his failure to condemn the dismissal of the chronically irresponsible Robin van Persie. "
"sit-in-the-hole contradictions like Gilberto"
"And what of Gilberto?
"The man who put the oil in the midfield mechanism that eased the Gunners to their unbeaten season in 2004 is still cranking it out at Panathinaikos. "
Hangon... first Gilberto is not such a brilliant signing, and then he praises him?
This is quite obviously just a hate rant against Arsene Wenger. Chief sports writer. This article can tell you more about Mr Steven Howard than Arsene Wenger.
It's funny reading the Sun article right after that stuff that Keane says, because it is basically just a case study of Keane's point.
-------------------------------------
Post 10 TheTurbanator (Malaysia) wrote:
That Sun article, is it written by a 6 year old? Stupid stupid facts really. You can see it is biased towards Man Utd.
But Keane,man. Everything he say is so true. Respected him as a footballer, double respect as a manager.
-------------------------------------
Post 11 JabbarBoy wrote:
'If Wenger’s quote at the top of this piece needs a little explaining, the young Spaniard’s does not.
The corollary is simple enough: In the Premier League, we are wearing a big girl’s blouse'
stupid fag....... how the hell can a guy like this become sport editor or whatever the shit he is???
-------------------------------------
Post 12 JamesDeGoona (St Joseph's College) wrote:
yer i like Keane now he is Sunderland manager. He seems to stick up for Wenger quite a bit
-------------------------------------
Post 13 KashmirGirl (London) wrote:
"You're sitting there with people like Richard Keys and they're trying to sell something that's not there. I tell people any time they watch a game to switch the commentators off, don't listen to
experts, gather your own opinion."
I like this bit. Very interesting.
-------------------------------------
Post 14 MohammedArsenal (The Indian High School) wrote:
Wow....all of a sudden i'm like: ''Go Roy!''
-------------------------------------
Post 15 KashmirGirl (London) wrote:
Haha me too!
-------------------------------------
Post 16 ColonelDecker wrote:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/sunsport_columnists/article1911725.ece
After reading the link on saturday to Mr Howard I was wondering how he was feeling this morning and he has turned on United now.
Clearly he cannot bring himself to praise us so it is 'obviously' Uniteds fault that we won.
I particularly love the glaring contradiction, in saturdays column
''Back in April 1997 — just six months after Wenger arrived at Highbury — Alex Ferguson enthusiastially took the new Arsenal manager to task for the first time, saying: “He has only been here five
minutes and yet seems to have a comment to make every week. He should shut up. ''
“I think he has a problem with Manchester United.”
''Never more so than tomorrow. ''
Yet today he feels:
It was a day when Arsenal desperately needed to come up against a footballing team rather than one sent out either to stop or kick them. Or both.
Oh sorry, so saturday Man Utd are our worst nightmare, yet on monday morning they were just what we needed?
No wonder he's the chief sportswriter of the sun, because that basically equates to the chief accountant of Lehmann Brothers.
-------------------------------------
Post 17 DogFace wrote:
LOL - it just goes to show that these cock-ends have no opinion whatsoever.
It's all smoke and mirrors these days man... parasites the lot of them.
-------------------------------------
Post 18 PieFace (London) wrote:
I am now a fully paid-up member of the Roy Keane fan club - what a brilliant attack on the media, particularly naming Richard Keys (a brainless front man, if ever there was one - spot on Roy, just what the FUCK qualifies that gibbon to pass judgment on a Premier League manager or player, having never actually been involved in the game at grass roots level?)
Mustard.
And then I read the Steven Howard piece, which is your typical Sun journo shite - pick up on the prevailing mood and blow it up out of all proportion. Get the fans all riled up. Add in a bunch of irrelevant historical nonsense (trawling back to a quote from 1997, 11 years ago? Really, Steve?). And criticising players because of their nationality? Forgive me ifI am very much mistaken, but that is racism, is it not?
That really is quite some crisis going on at Arsenal ain't it Steve - losing THREE games this season (by a whopping single goal margin in each), a miserable FIFTH in the table out of twenty, a massive SIX points behind the leaders (that's an enormous TWO wins off the pace! Criminal!!) How on earth can any of the players, fans, or right-thinking members of he football-watching public NOT think that Arsenal Football Club is a pathetic joke, with a clown at its helm steering the club inexorably downwards???
Red-top journalists. Like sharks, they catch a scent of blood, and ... I swear to God, these fuckers actually derive some sort of perverse pleasure out of hounding people out of football. It isn't the game that they love, it is the kill. If they were legally allowed to dispay the severed heads of the honest hard-working football managers they have driven out of their clubs thanks to some hysterical whipped-up media frenzy following a poor run of form, they would do it. "You see that Sam Allardyce? Got him fucking SACKED, I did - a really vitriolic piece abolut how he was too fat to manage Newcastle, got his head above the fireplace, I have." And Wenger, surely, has the biggest antlers of all - King of the Forest, no less. What these vermin wouldn't do to claim his scalp. However, it was woefully misjudged and I think Keane's statement has caught the mood and exposed gutter journalism for what it really is. You know nothing about the game, you children. We know only ever print what you think your public want to read so people will buy your scandal sheets. Don't pretend you actually hae anything intelligent to bring to the debate about football. Fuck yourselves, pigs, seriously - fuck yourseves.
Right, I'm off to buy a new laptop and some ointment for my right fist.
Thursday, 6 November 2008
Half man half machine, what does it mean, what does it mean?
It was quite a good game last night – ok, we didn’t smash Fenerbahce – but it was nice to see a competitive match... well – 70 minutes of competition before the team ran out of puff and settled on a point (much to Wenger’s disapproval). They had a charmed goal last night and I have to say that they defended well and their keeper had a great game. Robin van Persie had a great game too... although he didn’t score – he did everything but.
Although, in the last 20 minutes I felt the game was smothered by the ref somewhat and we missed out on a couple of goal scoring opportunities because of it, would it have made a difference?
Probably not.
I opted for club level in the end as the view is better and the beer available and free. Tamzin Outhwaite sat behind me with Tom Ellis (I think), they have been at every game that I’ve sat up there (and there have been some obscure ones) - they are among the few that make any noise, so I guess that they are ok for *celebrities*. Oh - It was her birthday apparently. Another ‘face’ that is always there is Dara O'Briain – you should see him inhale a pie at half time – 3 bites and the fecker is gone... being Irish - I wonder why he supports Arsenal? I'm not saying that there are no Irish gooners - but its rare (we have more Malaysian and Nigerian gooners than Scottish or Irish) as the is no sectarian history with the club... perhaps that, in itself, is reason enough - or maybe it's just his local team.
*UPDATE*
In a pub conversation; dhjackal (resident Irishman) informs me that 'there are loads' of Irish gooners due to the days of Brady, O'Leary and Stapleton... but 'any fecker wid any sense followed United'.
*END UPDATE*
While I was watching last night; I kept thinking that Roberto Carlos looked fat and past it... I checked his stats in the programme and found out he was actually 1 day younger than me – man; that hurt!
The only negatives last night I could find were that Bendtner and Nasri were having very bad games – it looked like they were stoned half the time or had been out on a massive bender the night before – I don’t think they have got any excuses for not being sharp especially considering the game we have on Saturday.
So all in all last night was frustrating and ultimately a little disappointing but for a laugh click here:
http://shop.tottenhamhotspur.com/spurs08/detail.php?productid=ST39060&proddesc=Arsenal+4+-+4+Spurs
Or here:
http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/grabapieceofderbyhistory041108.html
Sad fuckers… apparently they need the money to buy some new headphones or something. I’m tempted to go for the shirt and get Harry to sign it in a creative manner.
“Tottenham are shit” – Harry Redknapp
If the price was right - I bet he would do it too!
*WENGER WATCH*
Arsene Wenger has come out and stated the obvious i.e. the refs are bent:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/7712255.stm
Although this story was quickly smothered by the manager of Shitkicker FC, Tony Pulis, stating that he was really worried that his nice bunch of brave and plucky lads might get ‘unfair treatment’ because of the nasty Mr Wenger putting a hex on them...
The man is taking the piss:
“People in general can be swayed if they're not watching you play and what you are trying to achieve. They read the papers and unfortunately a lot of people believe what they read. Sometimes the truth is a long, long way away from what people are actually saying.”
One wonders what he sees when he looks in the mirror...
Pulis, you should have laid off Walcott – it will come back to haunt you as now Delap (your 1 trick pony) can be red carded at will with the commentators smoothing over any cracks in the decision with the opiate words:
“the man who [intentionally] injured Theo Walcott”
To the sage nodding of the watching populous... whether it be fair or, indeed, foul. Get used to this chant:
“What’s that coming over the hill? It’s relegation! It’s relegation!”
Oh and while you are doing that; check your match schedule boys and have a look at just who will be sending you down and pounding the final nail in your coffin in the final 'nail biting', 'to the wire' game of the season.
...Hmmm...
Of course this story was then smothered by the bigger story of Alex Ferguson being charged for pointing out to Mike Dean that he is in fact a bell end... one has to wonder at the timing of this. A recent conversation in a ASI discussion thread got me thinking:
ASI_EuroGooner wrote 3 hours ago
"I think arsenal are at their best when people write them off, when they're not expected to win or do well or whatever.Cause then they play without pressure as everyone expects them to lose anyways...it happened last season, even before the season started, we were written off, we all know how that went 4 pts off the leaders and robbed in the champions league. It happened when we played AC milan, people thought kaka,gattuso etc. etc. would give our young guns a lesson in football...of course that didn't happen either. what I'm trying to say here is we play well when we have no weight of expectation on our backs so go ahead...write off THE ARSENAL cause that's how they like it best.but don't be surprised if we pull of an upset against the mancs and make the likes of rooney, berbatov, ronaldo, giggs etc."
DogFace replied 3 hours ago
"More to the point - we are allowed to play well when the weight of gambling liquidity isn't on our backs...
Think about it."
So... with SAF safely bound and gagged and Arsenal written off in the media as 'injury ridden' and 'spineless' – I wonder where the money is going this w/e?
I’ll be watching the back pages very carefully over the next few days...
...I suggest you do the same.
And, as if by magic... as I was typing, look what just appeared:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7713259.stm
C'mon yous reds!
Although, in the last 20 minutes I felt the game was smothered by the ref somewhat and we missed out on a couple of goal scoring opportunities because of it, would it have made a difference?
Probably not.
I opted for club level in the end as the view is better and the beer available and free. Tamzin Outhwaite sat behind me with Tom Ellis (I think), they have been at every game that I’ve sat up there (and there have been some obscure ones) - they are among the few that make any noise, so I guess that they are ok for *celebrities*. Oh - It was her birthday apparently. Another ‘face’ that is always there is Dara O'Briain – you should see him inhale a pie at half time – 3 bites and the fecker is gone... being Irish - I wonder why he supports Arsenal? I'm not saying that there are no Irish gooners - but its rare (we have more Malaysian and Nigerian gooners than Scottish or Irish) as the is no sectarian history with the club... perhaps that, in itself, is reason enough - or maybe it's just his local team.
*UPDATE*
In a pub conversation; dhjackal (resident Irishman) informs me that 'there are loads' of Irish gooners due to the days of Brady, O'Leary and Stapleton... but 'any fecker wid any sense followed United'.
*END UPDATE*
While I was watching last night; I kept thinking that Roberto Carlos looked fat and past it... I checked his stats in the programme and found out he was actually 1 day younger than me – man; that hurt!
The only negatives last night I could find were that Bendtner and Nasri were having very bad games – it looked like they were stoned half the time or had been out on a massive bender the night before – I don’t think they have got any excuses for not being sharp especially considering the game we have on Saturday.
So all in all last night was frustrating and ultimately a little disappointing but for a laugh click here:
http://shop.tottenhamhotspur.com/spurs08/detail.php?productid=ST39060&proddesc=Arsenal+4+-+4+Spurs
Or here:
http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/grabapieceofderbyhistory041108.html
Sad fuckers… apparently they need the money to buy some new headphones or something. I’m tempted to go for the shirt and get Harry to sign it in a creative manner.
“Tottenham are shit” – Harry Redknapp
If the price was right - I bet he would do it too!
*WENGER WATCH*
Arsene Wenger has come out and stated the obvious i.e. the refs are bent:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/7712255.stm
Although this story was quickly smothered by the manager of Shitkicker FC, Tony Pulis, stating that he was really worried that his nice bunch of brave and plucky lads might get ‘unfair treatment’ because of the nasty Mr Wenger putting a hex on them...
The man is taking the piss:
“People in general can be swayed if they're not watching you play and what you are trying to achieve. They read the papers and unfortunately a lot of people believe what they read. Sometimes the truth is a long, long way away from what people are actually saying.”
One wonders what he sees when he looks in the mirror...
Pulis, you should have laid off Walcott – it will come back to haunt you as now Delap (your 1 trick pony) can be red carded at will with the commentators smoothing over any cracks in the decision with the opiate words:
“the man who [intentionally] injured Theo Walcott”
To the sage nodding of the watching populous... whether it be fair or, indeed, foul. Get used to this chant:
“What’s that coming over the hill? It’s relegation! It’s relegation!”
Oh and while you are doing that; check your match schedule boys and have a look at just who will be sending you down and pounding the final nail in your coffin in the final 'nail biting', 'to the wire' game of the season.
...Hmmm...
Of course this story was then smothered by the bigger story of Alex Ferguson being charged for pointing out to Mike Dean that he is in fact a bell end... one has to wonder at the timing of this. A recent conversation in a ASI discussion thread got me thinking:
ASI_EuroGooner wrote 3 hours ago
"I think arsenal are at their best when people write them off, when they're not expected to win or do well or whatever.Cause then they play without pressure as everyone expects them to lose anyways...it happened last season, even before the season started, we were written off, we all know how that went 4 pts off the leaders and robbed in the champions league. It happened when we played AC milan, people thought kaka,gattuso etc. etc. would give our young guns a lesson in football...of course that didn't happen either. what I'm trying to say here is we play well when we have no weight of expectation on our backs so go ahead...write off THE ARSENAL cause that's how they like it best.but don't be surprised if we pull of an upset against the mancs and make the likes of rooney, berbatov, ronaldo, giggs etc."
DogFace replied 3 hours ago
"More to the point - we are allowed to play well when the weight of gambling liquidity isn't on our backs...
Think about it."
So... with SAF safely bound and gagged and Arsenal written off in the media as 'injury ridden' and 'spineless' – I wonder where the money is going this w/e?
I’ll be watching the back pages very carefully over the next few days...
...I suggest you do the same.
And, as if by magic... as I was typing, look what just appeared:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/7713259.stm
C'mon yous reds!
Monday, 27 October 2008
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
Well – I was almost right! I think I underestimated the Hammers defence a bit – and in particular, their keeper; Green. He was having a blinder... well – apart from when he, clearly for everyone but the linesman, to see, handballed it to stop Bentner's one-on-one attack – It always makes me wonder why he isn't in the England squad instead of that clown James? Almunia was also having a blinder... again – why isn't he in the England squad instead of that clown James?
:-D
I have no real complaints on the officiating – I saw the first half on a ropey internet stream where all the players were in an acid-flashback 'negative Yellow/Magenta/Cyan/Black' colour filter/error - so it was difficult to judge what the fuck was going on... nice purple pitch though. West Ham, fair play to them, had a reasonable plan – defend hard and counter attack... they even tried to play a bit of footie and it proved for a very frustrating match where, despite a few good chances, we just couldn't seem to score. West Ham were pretty good on the break and there were some very worrying moments where we had, in a bid to get the three points, almost overcommitted in the attack. West Ham, however, despite Zola's proclamations on wanting to emulate the Arsenal approach to his style of management, slowly reverted to shit-kicking form (even more so after the deadlock was broken with the own goal) and proceeded to give us a bit of a hoofing... bit of advice Zola - you can't unsettle a team like that deep in the second half when they are playing you off the park – you just look bit desperate, unfit and unsporting. Wenger's answer was classic – you want to kick us off the ball, ok – then we'll stick on Ade to run at you and play in a few long-balls... despite the fact it was an own goal – the first goal was all down to Adebayor and then, not long after that we saw the quite unfamiliar move of one blinding over the top pass from Bentner in his own half followed by an almost sexually arousing first touch from Ade to set himself up for the shot and defy the brave keeping from the stretching Green. Adebayor made no mistake in killing the game dead.
Where are all the Adebayor haters now? Whatsat you say? Lazy..? Greedy..? Or just fucking excellent!?
I love it when we change styles and try something new – we saw it experimentally last season as an answer to teams that try to rough us up and get a point... 'total football' is nice (and glorious to watch when it's clicking) but if it's not happening on the ground then we have got to have the skills in the air... it's that kind of flexibility in attack (and the ability to flip it) that will eventually win us trophies. Wenger isn't running short on ideas and there is a lot more to come from this team in terms of changing the way the English game is played and 'leading the way' in the quest for proper football...
The rest of the 'Big 4' showed their class in two of the most dodgy games I ever did see.
"if you had offered me a draw before the match I would have taken it" - David Moyes
Ahem... well, no comment – nice one Wiley; good shooting Ronaldo – you go get that 'player of the year' award with a straight face, you earned it! And as for Liverpool/Chelsea... all I can say that if I were a betting man then I would put money on there being a fat stack of oily roubles on the reds.
Luckily I am (or have now become) a betting man and that's where my cash was also... although I was a bit timid and only put six quid on it – still, a fair return! In fact – I couldn't give my money away this weekend and I was forced to withdraw another £100 from my account – that's the second time this week!
Maybe I'm learning, this w/e was a milestone for me as I am officially in the black (P&L) for my entire gambling history – in the last 3 months I have erased 2 years of 'leisure punter' activity and got into the profit zone. I've worked hard for it, and now the cash that I have spent has been withdrawn with interest - I'm going to try and build up a profit stack and take this more seriously... I've also noticed that I don't get excited about betting any more, to be honest it's a relief as I never liked that 'risk' feeling in the pit of my stomach anyway – now it's just business win or loose, a means to an end. I will understand the dark side of this game one day and this dark path is the only way to tread... and with every win will I take another step forwards.
The Joker, before he left this plane of existence, used to tell me that the perfect crime always left traces... and it does – in a way. Let's look at the media run up to this weekend's games. Chelsea were being painted as being undefeatable at the bridge and even emulating Arsenal's unbeaten run (Scolari you have no shame) – Liverpool were kept off the back pages and expectations played down – I was even noticing that the little Paddy-Power and Ladbrokes logos where being placed in-picture in certain newspapers – usually with a shot of a John Terry goal celebration with a 'I've just hit the vinegar-strokes' look on his face... Laying Chelsea was the obvious bet – but I backed Liverpool simply because with these games (that usually end in a draw) the bookies will want cash on both teams... I wouldn't have spotted it if it weren't for my oldest friend, Stinky who – to my concern, opened a BetFair account on Friday and put on the following:
Talk about 'beginners luck' - I told him he was mad... but it got me thinking and, after reading the back pages, I got on the Liverpool bet too. FYI - My bets for the w/e were:
So 4 for 4, result, I got on Arsenal as we too were absent from the back pages... the media spotlight seems to fall on the mug money while the smart money lurks in the shadows. This cannot be a coincidence. If you take your positions based on the fact that the game is bent, a gambling sport and the media are complicit then you can't go far wrong... but you have to spot the signs and detect the traces; the silken threads, quantum entanglements of reality that cannot be comletely removed from the slight of hand and fantasy. I was also tempted to get on Tottenham to win – but couldn't quite bring myself to do it.
Talking of Tottenham... Harry Redknapp? Are you sure? That's the funniest thing in the world ever – all the deluded fucking spuds will now start crowing about how they have a 'proper manager'... when will they learn – still, it gives me another good reason (as if I needed it) to hate Spurs; it's a match made in heaven if you ask me... in the dodgy stakes; Spurs are now our perfect 'yin' - what are the odds he brings in a keeper/clown 'he can trust' like James to replace that hapless free-agent liability Gomez? The main thing that pisses me off though is that through a sustained internet troll campaign of undercover gooners on Tottenham discussion boards and groups to whip the Spuds up into a protest on Sunday; it all came to nowt... damn – I was really looking forward to seeing them with all their home made, badly spelled banners, laughing my arse off to the chants demanding that the board and manager gets sacked and replaced with the likes of Terry Venables, Teddy Sheringham, Gazza and Glen Hoddle right before the 'make or break' game of their season... it was worth a try and we had fun doing it.
Ce-la-vie.
Bring on Wednesday!
[27/10/2008 09:16:41] DogFace says: geeezer
[27/10/2008 09:19:04] Stinky says: ello
[27/10/2008 09:19:45] DogFace says: so come on then - how did you make £45 on £2 minimum bets!?
[27/10/2008 09:20:58] Stinky says: no they were £3.50 bets but I figured it out wrong. I deposited £10 and they gave me £10 win or lose so that was £20 right of the bat.Then made the rest on the bets
[27/10/2008 09:21:18] DogFace says: cool!
[27/10/2008 09:21:49] DogFace says: so - it was £10 back if you bet £10... result - have you withdrawn your original tenner?
[27/10/2008 09:22:58] DogFace says: I withdrew £100 yesterday - and £100 the week before... I still have £23 left in my account :D I got all 4 bets correct yesterday, I couldn't give it away!
[27/10/2008 09:23:25] Stinky says: I have withdrawn my tenner and the tenner they gave me coz I still have £28 to bet with ;)
[27/10/2008 09:23:52] DogFace says: I was on Liverpool to win, Arsenal to win, Portsmouth (lay) after they went a goal up and Real Madrid win.
[27/10/2008 09:24:49] Stinky says: cool
[27/10/2008 09:25:28] DogFace says: I wish I had gone on Manu/Everton draw too! I don't know how you picked those results man but - good call!
[27/10/2008 09:25:59] Stinky says: Like I said I just had this feeling about the results
[27/10/2008 09:26:33] DogFace says: The Manure game was so obviously an agreed draw...
[27/10/2008 09:27:14] DogFace says: So - what about Wednesday then?
[27/10/2008 09:34:51] Stinky says: just a couple of minimum bets as nothing seems clear cut to me. I have gone for a Hull win although I think it may be a draw. I think that was about it
[27/10/2008 09:38:53] DogFace says: Hull are getting fucked. Here's the schedule: Tuesday, 28 October 2008
19:45 - Newcastle v West Brom
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
19:45 - Aston Villa v Blackburn
19:45 - Fulham v Wigan
19:45 - Hull v Chelsea
19:45 - Stoke v Sunderland
20:00 - Arsenal v Tottenham
20:00 - Bolton v Everton
20:00 - Liverpool v Portsmouth
20:00 - Man Utd v West Ham
20:00 - Middlesbrough v Man City
[27/10/2008 09:39:01] DogFace says: Hmmm....
[27/10/2008 09:39:12] DogFace says: Well - West ham are also getting fucked.
[27/10/2008 09:40:06] Stinky says: not so sure
[27/10/2008 09:40:06] DogFace says: Really?
[27/10/2008 09:40:14] DogFace says: I would say that's a nailed on win for Manure.
[27/10/2008 09:40:31] DogFace says: I would also say that Tottenham will loose.
[27/10/2008 09:40:38] Stinky says: yeah ... again just a feeling they might pull of a 0 - 0 draw
[27/10/2008 09:40:52] DogFace says: Well - they have a good keeper...
[27/10/2008 09:41:00] Stinky says: or is that a deep down hope that they do!
[27/10/2008 09:41:08] DogFace says: ...but - Manure will 'get a penalty' if needs be. [27/10/2008 09:42:55] DogFace says: I reckon that Villa should win.
[27/10/2008 09:43:18] Stinky says: yeah I think that I have bet them to win .. not much return but should be a win!
[27/10/2008 09:43:36] DogFace says: Liverpool... hmmm - that might be worth getting on the draw.
[27/10/2008 09:44:05] Stinky says: nah got Liverpool on the win!
[27/10/2008 09:44:14] DogFace says: It's goint to attract a lot of mug money I reckon...
[27/10/2008 09:45:46] Stinky says: yeah but I still think that Liverpool are just looking too strong at the moment even without Torres who should be back for the pompey match. Plus Pompey don't have a manager not that that mug rednapp has joined spurs for some obscure reason!
[27/10/2008 09:45:58] Stinky says: nah think Hull will do the business!
[27/10/2008 09:46:37] Stinky says: they are playing really well at the moment and Chelsea did not play at all well yesterday!
[27/10/2008 09:47:50] DogFace says: I reckon Chelsea lost on purporse! OK - off the top of my head: Tuesday, 28 October 2008
19:45 - Newcastle v West Brom - West Brom
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
19:45 - Aston Villa v Blackburn - Villa
19:45 - Fulham v Wigan - Fulham
19:45 - Hull v Chelsea - Chelsea
19:45 - Stoke v Sunderland - Stoke
20:00 - Arsenal v Tottenham - Arsenal
20:00 - Bolton v Everton - Draw
20:00 - Liverpool v Portsmouth -Draw
20:00 - Man Utd v West Ham - Man Utd
20:00 - Middlesbrough v Man City - Draw
[27/10/2008 09:48:06] DogFace says: I'm not sure what I'll get on though... there must be some bankers in there. Villa, Chelsea, Manu and Arsenal maybe?
[27/10/2008 09:49:19] DogFace says: It looked like ManUre threw it down the bog too... which makes me think that they'll be looking for a win on Wednesday.
[27/10/2008 09:50:29] DogFace says: And the only other one of the big 4 would be Liverpool/Pompey which could be iffy... or us - but us not beating Tottenham is too horrible to think about... besides - we are the earlier kickoff.
[27/10/2008 09:51:27] Stinky says: you going to the game?
[27/10/2008 09:52:09] DogFace says: Ha!
[27/10/2008 09:52:21] DogFace says: Did you seriously ask me that question?
[27/10/2008 09:52:30] Stinky says: is PieFace?
[27/10/2008 09:53:09] DogFace says: I would have said so... why - you in the market for a ticket?
[27/10/2008 09:53:27] Stinky says: it would be a great game to go to!
[27/10/2008 09:53:40] DogFace says: Oh yeah - as long as we smash them!
[27/10/2008 09:54:10] Stinky says: I am off on Thursday too so don't need an early start!
[27/10/2008 09:54:43] DogFace says: Nice 1 - get the beers in :D
[27/10/2008 09:54:56] Stinky says: only if I can get a ticket!
[27/10/2008 09:56:21] DogFace says: I'll email PieFace and see if he can make it... [27/10/2008 09:56:33] DogFace says: ...I can't see him missing it though.
[27/10/2008 09:56:49] Stinky says: let me know
[27/10/2008 09:57:17] DogFace says: (y)
[27/10/2008 11:20:27] DogFace says: PieFace is going Wednesday; 100,000,000,000 % going apparently....
[27/10/2008 11:25:25] Stinky says: doh ... oh well will just have to watch it on the TV
:-D
I have no real complaints on the officiating – I saw the first half on a ropey internet stream where all the players were in an acid-flashback 'negative Yellow/Magenta/Cyan/Black' colour filter/error - so it was difficult to judge what the fuck was going on... nice purple pitch though. West Ham, fair play to them, had a reasonable plan – defend hard and counter attack... they even tried to play a bit of footie and it proved for a very frustrating match where, despite a few good chances, we just couldn't seem to score. West Ham were pretty good on the break and there were some very worrying moments where we had, in a bid to get the three points, almost overcommitted in the attack. West Ham, however, despite Zola's proclamations on wanting to emulate the Arsenal approach to his style of management, slowly reverted to shit-kicking form (even more so after the deadlock was broken with the own goal) and proceeded to give us a bit of a hoofing... bit of advice Zola - you can't unsettle a team like that deep in the second half when they are playing you off the park – you just look bit desperate, unfit and unsporting. Wenger's answer was classic – you want to kick us off the ball, ok – then we'll stick on Ade to run at you and play in a few long-balls... despite the fact it was an own goal – the first goal was all down to Adebayor and then, not long after that we saw the quite unfamiliar move of one blinding over the top pass from Bentner in his own half followed by an almost sexually arousing first touch from Ade to set himself up for the shot and defy the brave keeping from the stretching Green. Adebayor made no mistake in killing the game dead.
Where are all the Adebayor haters now? Whatsat you say? Lazy..? Greedy..? Or just fucking excellent!?
I love it when we change styles and try something new – we saw it experimentally last season as an answer to teams that try to rough us up and get a point... 'total football' is nice (and glorious to watch when it's clicking) but if it's not happening on the ground then we have got to have the skills in the air... it's that kind of flexibility in attack (and the ability to flip it) that will eventually win us trophies. Wenger isn't running short on ideas and there is a lot more to come from this team in terms of changing the way the English game is played and 'leading the way' in the quest for proper football...
The rest of the 'Big 4' showed their class in two of the most dodgy games I ever did see.
"if you had offered me a draw before the match I would have taken it" - David Moyes
Ahem... well, no comment – nice one Wiley; good shooting Ronaldo – you go get that 'player of the year' award with a straight face, you earned it! And as for Liverpool/Chelsea... all I can say that if I were a betting man then I would put money on there being a fat stack of oily roubles on the reds.
Luckily I am (or have now become) a betting man and that's where my cash was also... although I was a bit timid and only put six quid on it – still, a fair return! In fact – I couldn't give my money away this weekend and I was forced to withdraw another £100 from my account – that's the second time this week!
Maybe I'm learning, this w/e was a milestone for me as I am officially in the black (P&L) for my entire gambling history – in the last 3 months I have erased 2 years of 'leisure punter' activity and got into the profit zone. I've worked hard for it, and now the cash that I have spent has been withdrawn with interest - I'm going to try and build up a profit stack and take this more seriously... I've also noticed that I don't get excited about betting any more, to be honest it's a relief as I never liked that 'risk' feeling in the pit of my stomach anyway – now it's just business win or loose, a means to an end. I will understand the dark side of this game one day and this dark path is the only way to tread... and with every win will I take another step forwards.
The Joker, before he left this plane of existence, used to tell me that the perfect crime always left traces... and it does – in a way. Let's look at the media run up to this weekend's games. Chelsea were being painted as being undefeatable at the bridge and even emulating Arsenal's unbeaten run (Scolari you have no shame) – Liverpool were kept off the back pages and expectations played down – I was even noticing that the little Paddy-Power and Ladbrokes logos where being placed in-picture in certain newspapers – usually with a shot of a John Terry goal celebration with a 'I've just hit the vinegar-strokes' look on his face... Laying Chelsea was the obvious bet – but I backed Liverpool simply because with these games (that usually end in a draw) the bookies will want cash on both teams... I wouldn't have spotted it if it weren't for my oldest friend, Stinky who – to my concern, opened a BetFair account on Friday and put on the following:
Everton V Man Utd – Draw
Chelsea V Liverpool – Liverpool
Arsenal V West Ham – Arsenal
Talk about 'beginners luck' - I told him he was mad... but it got me thinking and, after reading the back pages, I got on the Liverpool bet too. FYI - My bets for the w/e were:
Chelsea V Liverpool – Liverpool
Arsenal V West Ham – Arsenal (I went LARGE on this)
Portsmouth V Fulham – In game lay-bet on Pompey immediately after they scored.
Real Madrid V Some losers I hadn't heard of – Real Madrid
So 4 for 4, result, I got on Arsenal as we too were absent from the back pages... the media spotlight seems to fall on the mug money while the smart money lurks in the shadows. This cannot be a coincidence. If you take your positions based on the fact that the game is bent, a gambling sport and the media are complicit then you can't go far wrong... but you have to spot the signs and detect the traces; the silken threads, quantum entanglements of reality that cannot be comletely removed from the slight of hand and fantasy. I was also tempted to get on Tottenham to win – but couldn't quite bring myself to do it.
Talking of Tottenham... Harry Redknapp? Are you sure? That's the funniest thing in the world ever – all the deluded fucking spuds will now start crowing about how they have a 'proper manager'... when will they learn – still, it gives me another good reason (as if I needed it) to hate Spurs; it's a match made in heaven if you ask me... in the dodgy stakes; Spurs are now our perfect 'yin' - what are the odds he brings in a keeper/clown 'he can trust' like James to replace that hapless free-agent liability Gomez? The main thing that pisses me off though is that through a sustained internet troll campaign of undercover gooners on Tottenham discussion boards and groups to whip the Spuds up into a protest on Sunday; it all came to nowt... damn – I was really looking forward to seeing them with all their home made, badly spelled banners, laughing my arse off to the chants demanding that the board and manager gets sacked and replaced with the likes of Terry Venables, Teddy Sheringham, Gazza and Glen Hoddle right before the 'make or break' game of their season... it was worth a try and we had fun doing it.
Ce-la-vie.
Bring on Wednesday!
[27/10/2008 09:16:41] DogFace says: geeezer
[27/10/2008 09:19:04] Stinky says: ello
[27/10/2008 09:19:45] DogFace says: so come on then - how did you make £45 on £2 minimum bets!?
[27/10/2008 09:20:58] Stinky says: no they were £3.50 bets but I figured it out wrong. I deposited £10 and they gave me £10 win or lose so that was £20 right of the bat.Then made the rest on the bets
[27/10/2008 09:21:18] DogFace says: cool!
[27/10/2008 09:21:49] DogFace says: so - it was £10 back if you bet £10... result - have you withdrawn your original tenner?
[27/10/2008 09:22:58] DogFace says: I withdrew £100 yesterday - and £100 the week before... I still have £23 left in my account :D I got all 4 bets correct yesterday, I couldn't give it away!
[27/10/2008 09:23:25] Stinky says: I have withdrawn my tenner and the tenner they gave me coz I still have £28 to bet with ;)
[27/10/2008 09:23:52] DogFace says: I was on Liverpool to win, Arsenal to win, Portsmouth (lay) after they went a goal up and Real Madrid win.
[27/10/2008 09:24:49] Stinky says: cool
[27/10/2008 09:25:28] DogFace says: I wish I had gone on Manu/Everton draw too! I don't know how you picked those results man but - good call!
[27/10/2008 09:25:59] Stinky says: Like I said I just had this feeling about the results
[27/10/2008 09:26:33] DogFace says: The Manure game was so obviously an agreed draw...
[27/10/2008 09:27:14] DogFace says: So - what about Wednesday then?
[27/10/2008 09:34:51] Stinky says: just a couple of minimum bets as nothing seems clear cut to me. I have gone for a Hull win although I think it may be a draw. I think that was about it
[27/10/2008 09:38:53] DogFace says: Hull are getting fucked. Here's the schedule: Tuesday, 28 October 2008
19:45 - Newcastle v West Brom
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
19:45 - Aston Villa v Blackburn
19:45 - Fulham v Wigan
19:45 - Hull v Chelsea
19:45 - Stoke v Sunderland
20:00 - Arsenal v Tottenham
20:00 - Bolton v Everton
20:00 - Liverpool v Portsmouth
20:00 - Man Utd v West Ham
20:00 - Middlesbrough v Man City
[27/10/2008 09:39:01] DogFace says: Hmmm....
[27/10/2008 09:39:12] DogFace says: Well - West ham are also getting fucked.
[27/10/2008 09:40:06] Stinky says: not so sure
[27/10/2008 09:40:06] DogFace says: Really?
[27/10/2008 09:40:14] DogFace says: I would say that's a nailed on win for Manure.
[27/10/2008 09:40:31] DogFace says: I would also say that Tottenham will loose.
[27/10/2008 09:40:38] Stinky says: yeah ... again just a feeling they might pull of a 0 - 0 draw
[27/10/2008 09:40:52] DogFace says: Well - they have a good keeper...
[27/10/2008 09:41:00] Stinky says: or is that a deep down hope that they do!
[27/10/2008 09:41:08] DogFace says: ...but - Manure will 'get a penalty' if needs be. [27/10/2008 09:42:55] DogFace says: I reckon that Villa should win.
[27/10/2008 09:43:18] Stinky says: yeah I think that I have bet them to win .. not much return but should be a win!
[27/10/2008 09:43:36] DogFace says: Liverpool... hmmm - that might be worth getting on the draw.
[27/10/2008 09:44:05] Stinky says: nah got Liverpool on the win!
[27/10/2008 09:44:14] DogFace says: It's goint to attract a lot of mug money I reckon...
[27/10/2008 09:45:46] Stinky says: yeah but I still think that Liverpool are just looking too strong at the moment even without Torres who should be back for the pompey match. Plus Pompey don't have a manager not that that mug rednapp has joined spurs for some obscure reason!
[27/10/2008 09:45:58] Stinky says: nah think Hull will do the business!
[27/10/2008 09:46:37] Stinky says: they are playing really well at the moment and Chelsea did not play at all well yesterday!
[27/10/2008 09:47:50] DogFace says: I reckon Chelsea lost on purporse! OK - off the top of my head: Tuesday, 28 October 2008
19:45 - Newcastle v West Brom - West Brom
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
19:45 - Aston Villa v Blackburn - Villa
19:45 - Fulham v Wigan - Fulham
19:45 - Hull v Chelsea - Chelsea
19:45 - Stoke v Sunderland - Stoke
20:00 - Arsenal v Tottenham - Arsenal
20:00 - Bolton v Everton - Draw
20:00 - Liverpool v Portsmouth -Draw
20:00 - Man Utd v West Ham - Man Utd
20:00 - Middlesbrough v Man City - Draw
[27/10/2008 09:48:06] DogFace says: I'm not sure what I'll get on though... there must be some bankers in there. Villa, Chelsea, Manu and Arsenal maybe?
[27/10/2008 09:49:19] DogFace says: It looked like ManUre threw it down the bog too... which makes me think that they'll be looking for a win on Wednesday.
[27/10/2008 09:50:29] DogFace says: And the only other one of the big 4 would be Liverpool/Pompey which could be iffy... or us - but us not beating Tottenham is too horrible to think about... besides - we are the earlier kickoff.
[27/10/2008 09:51:27] Stinky says: you going to the game?
[27/10/2008 09:52:09] DogFace says: Ha!
[27/10/2008 09:52:21] DogFace says: Did you seriously ask me that question?
[27/10/2008 09:52:30] Stinky says: is PieFace?
[27/10/2008 09:53:09] DogFace says: I would have said so... why - you in the market for a ticket?
[27/10/2008 09:53:27] Stinky says: it would be a great game to go to!
[27/10/2008 09:53:40] DogFace says: Oh yeah - as long as we smash them!
[27/10/2008 09:54:10] Stinky says: I am off on Thursday too so don't need an early start!
[27/10/2008 09:54:43] DogFace says: Nice 1 - get the beers in :D
[27/10/2008 09:54:56] Stinky says: only if I can get a ticket!
[27/10/2008 09:56:21] DogFace says: I'll email PieFace and see if he can make it... [27/10/2008 09:56:33] DogFace says: ...I can't see him missing it though.
[27/10/2008 09:56:49] Stinky says: let me know
[27/10/2008 09:57:17] DogFace says: (y)
[27/10/2008 11:20:27] DogFace says: PieFace is going Wednesday; 100,000,000,000 % going apparently....
[27/10/2008 11:25:25] Stinky says: doh ... oh well will just have to watch it on the TV
Tuesday, 1 July 2008
We try but we don't have long
It's finally over – Spain played a great game of football and won and Fabregas got some silverware - Hoorah! He was up first to collect his medal too... let's hope he can get a few more this season with Arsenal!
With regards to gambling... well – I lost overall. It's very hard to predict these things without first knowing all the variables. I did have a fiver on Russia as a 'wildcard bet' before the tournament started (as recommended by The Joker on his blog); I got terrific odds and if they had got to the final then I'm pretty sure that Germany would have been robbed... thankfully (for the sake of the game rather than for the sake of my wallet) Russia got no quarter from the ref in the semi final and Spain were just too good for them. So – my advice is to avoid betting unless you have some inside info... and if you must bet then do your research and consider all the variables you can discover – some teams will agree a draw to gain a point and gather stamina for the next fixture, some teams will under-perform to get the draw they want in the next round and some teams will have a corrupting influence over the officials, some teams will take a little something to give them extra pep... and, last but not least, some teams will have a political influence over the governing bodies of the sport – it all adds up!
*Adebayor News*
It looks like I might have been a bit hasty about Adebayor... right after I posted my last post (and an irate call from his agent about the diminishing value of his 10%) he started umming and ahhing... there have also been figures bandied about circa £30,000,000! I would say that Wenger would be tempted – after all, he's only had 1 good season and a lot of that form was dependent on the Eduardo factor. So – is the uncertainty about Ade's future now down to Vincenzo, Adebayor or Arsene?
There are many options on the table now...
Adebayor has a choice, he could be the next Henry or he could be the next Anelka... it's as simple as that really... let's wait and see.
Thursday, 26 June 2008
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
What a match eh!? Even the missus was glued to the set in anticipation... manly because she was anticipating scenario where we were going to be in for another night of 'Tottenhamesque' premature celebration and fireworks by the local Turkish community if they made it to the final.
Last night my family and I slept as the broken hearted shuffled their way home in silence... unlucky Turkey - you so nearly got extra time.
In a way I'm going to miss the beserkergang antics of the Turkish team, they just kept on coming, especially after their obviously inspirational and very special half time 'talks'... and refreshments.
The German team confuses me – they, like the Russians, are showing a levels of fitness and endurance that do not make sense – they kept coming and it seemed like they were in control and knew that they could score at any time – even in the final minutes of the match I was in little doubt that they would win... yet they are unwilling to kill off matches like these. Are they keeping a low profile and doing just enough to scrape on by to the final? Whatever it is they are up to it's working... and - like the Russians - they look, quite bizarrely, to be hitting their peak of physical fitness for the final game... unbelievable!
What's the secret... an effervescent Barocca tablet with their breakfast porridge perhaps? Or is it maybe something else?
For a laugh Google "aranesp" and "sport" – although it's not much of a laugh I'll grant you... Oh - and while you are there look up "perftoran".
* ARSENAL NEWS *
Is Arsene having a laugh... he surely is – it is a well know scam by agents that linking the player that they represent with 'interest from Arsenal' can bump up their value... 98.7% of agents are scum. It is also well known that certain managers will try and 'snipe' potential signings from under our noses, in an 'ebay style', if they get the whiff that we are about to swoop. This has led to Wenger playing his cards fairly close to his chest until deals have been done. However – recently Arsene gave an interview in which he 'bigged up' Andrei Arshavin... this after stating that he was 'taking his chequebook to Euro 2008' with a mind to 'spend big'.
Yeah right.
Arsenal have a network of scouts and the brief 'shop window' of opportunity that is the Euro 2008 competition will not provide the kind of information that any sensible manager can use to make a decision on a transfer... however – it is one in which you can sow a few nuggets of disinformation for those with more wallet than nous.
Let's take a look at some of today's rumours:
"Arsenal are lining up a move for Liverpool striker Peter Crouch as a replacement for Barcelona target Emmanuel Adebayor." - Daily Mirror
This reminds me of the Michael Owen rumour last season – why would we sign someone whose major talent is being born a cruel, spindly freak of fucking nature... please no! He certainly couldn't 'replace' Adebayor... he's not even close – I wouldn't trust him to clean his boots.
"Zenit St Petersburg have confirmed Barcelona have made a formal approach for Russia midfielder Andrei Arshavin" - Setanta Sports
So... Barcelona want Fabregas, Hleb, Adebayor and now a post 'big-uppage' Arshavin? How much money are they thinking of spending? You know, I can't help thinking that, now Rijkaard has gone, the one signing that they really want to make is Arsene himself...
"A deal to bring Adebayor to AC Milan is "70-80%" likely according to Italian agent Vincenzo Morabito." - Various
Vincenzo Morabito you are a fucking prick, why not show some class you money fucking leech and do what's best for the players you represent instead of shooting your mouth off to unsettle them and line your wallet?!
"the Gunners striker will stay at the Emirates Stadium if Arsenal treble his wages to £120,000." - The Sun
Oh right, I get it now - this has "Greedy, dirty, thieving Mr. 10%" scrawled all over it...
...Right – onto tonight's fixture:
Russia v Spain @ Vienna
Well - who gives a shit... let's say Russia – purely because of their extra 'fitness' and the Spanish team's unwillingness to trust Fabregas 'the Catalan' to start despite him being one of the players they should be building their team around.
As I said before, I got Russia in the sweepstake at work – go Russia... as a Gooner though I'll be supporting Spain as soon as they do the decent thing and bring on the fabulous Fabregas.
Interestingly, on Monday UEFA announced that the final will be refereed by a certain Roberto Rosetti... I mentioned him in a previous post, check it out:
http://footballhasbroken.blogspot.com/2008/06/we-are-all-bourgeois-now.html
So, it might be worth a sneaky fiver on Russia, just in case they make it that far?
;-)
Last night my family and I slept as the broken hearted shuffled their way home in silence... unlucky Turkey - you so nearly got extra time.
In a way I'm going to miss the beserkergang antics of the Turkish team, they just kept on coming, especially after their obviously inspirational and very special half time 'talks'... and refreshments.
The German team confuses me – they, like the Russians, are showing a levels of fitness and endurance that do not make sense – they kept coming and it seemed like they were in control and knew that they could score at any time – even in the final minutes of the match I was in little doubt that they would win... yet they are unwilling to kill off matches like these. Are they keeping a low profile and doing just enough to scrape on by to the final? Whatever it is they are up to it's working... and - like the Russians - they look, quite bizarrely, to be hitting their peak of physical fitness for the final game... unbelievable!
What's the secret... an effervescent Barocca tablet with their breakfast porridge perhaps? Or is it maybe something else?
For a laugh Google "aranesp" and "sport" – although it's not much of a laugh I'll grant you... Oh - and while you are there look up "perftoran".
* ARSENAL NEWS *
Is Arsene having a laugh... he surely is – it is a well know scam by agents that linking the player that they represent with 'interest from Arsenal' can bump up their value... 98.7% of agents are scum. It is also well known that certain managers will try and 'snipe' potential signings from under our noses, in an 'ebay style', if they get the whiff that we are about to swoop. This has led to Wenger playing his cards fairly close to his chest until deals have been done. However – recently Arsene gave an interview in which he 'bigged up' Andrei Arshavin... this after stating that he was 'taking his chequebook to Euro 2008' with a mind to 'spend big'.
Yeah right.
Arsenal have a network of scouts and the brief 'shop window' of opportunity that is the Euro 2008 competition will not provide the kind of information that any sensible manager can use to make a decision on a transfer... however – it is one in which you can sow a few nuggets of disinformation for those with more wallet than nous.
Let's take a look at some of today's rumours:
"Arsenal are lining up a move for Liverpool striker Peter Crouch as a replacement for Barcelona target Emmanuel Adebayor." - Daily Mirror
This reminds me of the Michael Owen rumour last season – why would we sign someone whose major talent is being born a cruel, spindly freak of fucking nature... please no! He certainly couldn't 'replace' Adebayor... he's not even close – I wouldn't trust him to clean his boots.
"Zenit St Petersburg have confirmed Barcelona have made a formal approach for Russia midfielder Andrei Arshavin" - Setanta Sports
So... Barcelona want Fabregas, Hleb, Adebayor and now a post 'big-uppage' Arshavin? How much money are they thinking of spending? You know, I can't help thinking that, now Rijkaard has gone, the one signing that they really want to make is Arsene himself...
"A deal to bring Adebayor to AC Milan is "70-80%" likely according to Italian agent Vincenzo Morabito." - Various
Vincenzo Morabito you are a fucking prick, why not show some class you money fucking leech and do what's best for the players you represent instead of shooting your mouth off to unsettle them and line your wallet?!
"the Gunners striker will stay at the Emirates Stadium if Arsenal treble his wages to £120,000." - The Sun
Oh right, I get it now - this has "Greedy, dirty, thieving Mr. 10%" scrawled all over it...
...Right – onto tonight's fixture:
Russia v Spain @ Vienna
Well - who gives a shit... let's say Russia – purely because of their extra 'fitness' and the Spanish team's unwillingness to trust Fabregas 'the Catalan' to start despite him being one of the players they should be building their team around.
As I said before, I got Russia in the sweepstake at work – go Russia... as a Gooner though I'll be supporting Spain as soon as they do the decent thing and bring on the fabulous Fabregas.
Interestingly, on Monday UEFA announced that the final will be refereed by a certain Roberto Rosetti... I mentioned him in a previous post, check it out:
http://footballhasbroken.blogspot.com/2008/06/we-are-all-bourgeois-now.html
So, it might be worth a sneaky fiver on Russia, just in case they make it that far?
;-)
Tuesday, 24 June 2008
Seasons in the Sun
[24/06/2008 10:48:45] dhjackal says: oi
[24/06/2008 10:48:46] dhjackal says: on betfair how do you put on a e/w bet
[24/06/2008 10:49:39] DogFace says: Erm... I think that you have to do two bets - 1 "placed" and one "to win".
[24/06/2008 10:51:10] dhjackal says: ok
[24/06/2008 10:51:31] DogFace says: You're not getting on the feckin' horses again are you?
[24/06/2008 10:51:52] dhjackal says: :-P
[24/06/2008 10:51:58] dhjackal says: 12/1 tip
[24/06/2008 10:52:03] DogFace says: from whom?
[24/06/2008 10:52:14] dhjackal says: some bloke down the boozer
[24/06/2008 10:52:19] dhjackal says: (rofl)
[24/06/2008 10:52:27] DogFace says: Blimey - I'm getting on it!
[24/06/2008 10:52:33] dhjackal says: excellent
[24/06/2008 10:52:40] DogFace says: Spread the wealth man!?
[24/06/2008 10:52:46] dhjackal says: he owns horses apparently
[24/06/2008 10:53:06] DogFace says: Hang on - it really was some bloke down the pub?
[24/06/2008 10:53:33] DogFace says: :^)
[24/06/2008 10:53:43] dhjackal says: (nod)
[24/06/2008 10:53:46] dhjackal says: (smirk)
[24/06/2008 10:54:09] DogFace says: When's it running?
[24/06/2008 11:00:22] dhjackal says: Arctic Blue, 18:50 at newbury
[24/06/2008 11:01:25] DogFace says: I'm on it huge - 100 grand on the nose. Tomorrow I'll be a millionaire.
[24/06/2008 11:01:44] dhjackal says: :-
[24/06/2008 11:02:15] DogFace says: I'll buy you a pint if I win
[24/06/2008 11:02:34] dhjackal says: :-O
[24/06/2008 11:02:46] DogFace says: and a packet of peanuts
[24/06/2008 11:02:57] dhjackal says: (happy)
[24/06/2008 12:45:42] dhjackal says: cup of char?
[24/06/2008 12:45:48] dhjackal says: need to run something by you
[24/06/2008 12:45:53] DogFace says: righto
*dhjackal explains over the tea-urn that the local kids are using his back garden fence, that backs onto the local reccie, as a makeshift goal which leads to them kicking the ball over the fence and said kids breaking into his garden to get their ball back. Last week a ball flew over and spilt his beer. A few weeks before one hit a table and broke a wine glass. Various different methods of deterring this 'scourge of youth' impinging on his drinking were discussed. dhjackal came up with a plan to dig holes 'upon a midnight dreary' in the makeshift penalty area; whereas I suggested trellis with a creeper to stop the kids climbing over. dhjackal currently has four confiscated footballs in his shed.*
[24/06/2008 12:57:44] DogFace says: Check out this bad boy - 12" holes!
[24/06/2008 12:57:45] DogFace says: http://www.toolsinstock.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=307208
[24/06/2008 12:57:49] dhjackal says: nice - i like
[24/06/2008 12:57:58] dhjackal says: the inlaws might have one
[24/06/2008 12:58:07] DogFace says: Then you are sorted
[24/06/2008 12:58:13] dhjackal says: they have a massive garden and loads of stuff like that
[24/06/2008 13:02:21] DogFace says: I bet you could rent a petrol one for £20
[24/06/2008 13:02:31] dhjackal says: HARD CORE
[24/06/2008 13:02:42] DogFace says: You would get the job done right quick...
[24/06/2008 13:02:53] dhjackal says: true
[24/06/2008 13:03:07] dhjackal says: i need to check the weather cos i need to do it ninja stylie
[24/06/2008 13:04:01] DogFace says: Why not just paint on the fence "Gay boys hangout"
[24/06/2008 13:04:11] dhjackal says: brilliant
[24/06/2008 13:04:16] DogFace says: They would soon feck off as everyone would take the piss.
[24/06/2008 13:04:33] DogFace says: You just need a pot of paint and a big brush...
[24/06/2008 13:06:33] DogFace says: ...or - in big letters: "I HAVE A SMALL PENIS" that can be seen from a long way off. I mean - who would want to be associated with that?
[24/06/2008 13:07:08] dhjackal says: well i'm not sure i want that sprawled on the back of my fence
[24/06/2008 13:16:00] DogFace says: It'll be on the council fence.
[24/06/2008 13:16:16] dhjackal says: technically they are one and the same
[24/06/2008 13:16:21] DogFace says: It'll ensure that nobody ever hangs out there for anything ever again.
[24/06/2008 13:16:31] DogFace says: What would you prefer?
[24/06/2008 13:16:57] DogFace says: Balls flying over and kids in your garden jumping around on your flower beds - or peace and quiet with a few people thinking you have a small cock?
[24/06/2008 13:17:17] dhjackal says: (smirk)
[24/06/2008 13:17:39] dhjackal says: i think the gay boys hangout would work better
[24/06/2008 13:17:51] dhjackal says: you know what kids that age are like
[24/06/2008 13:18:03] dhjackal says: totally anti homosexual
[24/06/2008 13:18:12] DogFace says: OK - then stick with "GAY BOYS HANGOUT".
[24/06/2008 13:18:38] DogFace says: As the place to meet like-minded gays will be on the other side of your fence - you will not be implicated as 'a gay' yourself.
[24/06/2008 13:18:58] dhjackal says: we'll see, i'll try a few other things first before resorting to vandalism
[24/06/2008 13:19:01] dhjackal says: :^)
[24/06/2008 13:19:05] DogFace says: Hey - it's better than digging holes in the pitch and you might create a hot spot for the local gay community.
[24/06/2008 13:19:23] dhjackal says: then i might end up with loads of batty boys hanging round my gaff
[24/06/2008 13:19:54] dhjackal says: as i said
[24/06/2008 13:19:58] dhjackal says: i'll think about it
[24/06/2008 13:19:58] DogFace says: It would be fine - they would chat to your missus and do the washing up...
[24/06/2008 13:20:05] dhjackal says: brilliant - i'll get some pink paint on the way home
[24/06/2008 13:20:24] DogFace says: ...and discuss throw cushions and all that other shit you can't be arsed with.
[24/06/2008 13:20:31] dhjackal says: then i'll be able to watch the footy in peace
[24/06/2008 13:20:35] DogFace says: exactly.
[24/06/2008 13:20:40] dhjackal says: love it
[24/06/2008 13:31:59] DogFace says: "Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is being lined up by Westlife to replace band member Brian McFadden." - The Sun
[24/06/2008 13:33:06] dhjackal says: get a grip / life
[24/06/2008 13:34:06] DogFace says: Ha, check it – it's true: http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news?id=43187
[24/06/2008 13:34:41] DogFace says: So... Ronaldo is off to Real and Rooney is going to be a pop star!?
[24/06/2008 13:34:56] DogFace says: (rofl)
[24/06/2008 13:36:52] DogFace says: Fergison is going to smacking their heads together when they turn up to pre-season training!
[24/06/2008 13:38:03] dhjackal says: oi
[24/06/2008 13:38:15] dhjackal says: (wait)
[24/06/2008 13:39:59] DogFace says: ...ok...
[24/06/2008 13:40:40] dhjackal says: (finger)
[24/06/2008 14:21:16] dhjackal says: i'm down for £5
[24/06/2008 14:21:34] DogFace says: £5 on what?
[24/06/2008 14:21:40] dhjackal says: that horse
[24/06/2008 14:21:50] DogFace says: You got access to Betfair now?
[24/06/2008 14:21:55] dhjackal says: no - but my mate has.
[24/06/2008 14:22:15] DogFace says: You each way?
[24/06/2008 14:22:21] dhjackal says: yep - 16/1
[24/06/2008 14:22:30] DogFace says: 16/1 to be placed?
[24/06/2008 14:22:41] dhjackal says: no 3.3 to be placed
[24/06/2008 14:22:50] DogFace says: Right... ok - was going to say...
[24/06/2008 14:23:27] DogFace says: ...why not just flush your fiver down the bog?
[24/06/2008 14:23:30] DogFace says: (chuckle)
[24/06/2008 14:30:50] dhjackal says: that's rich esp coming from you
[24/06/2008 14:31:04] dhjackal says: isn't that what you do everytime you place a bet
[24/06/2008 14:31:13] DogFace says: Ha-ha... not quite every time.
[24/06/2008 14:31:15] dhjackal says: with one of your therioes?
[24/06/2008 14:31:40] DogFace says: As your previous broker; I have your full betting history for the horses on an excel spreadsheet if you wish to study it? It makes interesting reading...
[24/06/2008 14:31:52] dhjackal says: thanks
[24/06/2008 14:32:22] dhjackal says: that's down to that fucking idiot Abhay
[24/06/2008 14:32:43] DogFace says: ...So the random bloke you met down the pub is more reliable?
[24/06/2008 14:33:31] DogFace says: Anyway - I won a shit load on the CL final... so I'm still up on the football.
[24/06/2008 14:33:44] DogFace says: And if Russia wins then I'm more-up.
[24/06/2008 14:34:17] dhjackal says: whatever
[24/06/2008 14:35:24] DogFace says: I was doing so well until the fecking Croatia/Germany game :-(.
[24/06/2008 14:37:11] DogFace says: I layed heavy on the Croatians and Germany didn't even turn up... then, as I recall, after I invested another tenner - you advised me to go with instinct... on fucking Croatia again!
[24/06/2008 14:37:37] dhjackal says: tough life isn't it
[24/06/2008 14:38:00] DogFace says: AND - you got me to stick a fiver on it for you too!
[24/06/2008 14:38:12] dhjackal says: i didn't tell you to back the Germans in the Croatia game?
[24/06/2008 14:38:22] DogFace says: No... you didn't; that was my error... besides - I layed Croatia.– but you did in the Turkey game!
[24/06/2008 14:38:36] dhjackal says: and Germany to beat Portugal
[24/06/2008 14:38:37] dhjackal says: and
[24/06/2008 14:38:38] dhjackal says: and
[24/06/2008 14:38:39] dhjackal says: and
[24/06/2008 14:38:43] dhjackal says: Man Utd to win the league
[24/06/2008 14:38:47] dhjackal says: and CL
[24/06/2008 14:38:48] dhjackal says: and
[24/06/2008 14:39:01] DogFace says: As I told you - I made a mint on the CL final... although I didn't place any bets on the actual winner.
[24/06/2008 14:39:13] dhjackal says: altogether now
[24/06/2008 14:39:22] dhjackal says: say we are Champions
[24/06/2008 14:39:24] dhjackal says: we are Champions
[24/06/2008 14:39:27] dhjackal says: say we are Champions
[24/06/2008 14:39:29] DogFace says: Oh Christ...
[24/06/2008 14:39:31] dhjackal says: we are Champions
[24/06/2008 14:39:39] DogFace says: ...here we go again.
[24/06/2008 14:39:42] dhjackal says: CHAMPIONS OF EUROPE
[24/06/2008 14:39:46] dhjackal says: (party)
[24/06/2008 14:39:49] dhjackal says: say we are Champions
[24/06/2008 14:39:52] dhjackal says: (dance)
[24/06/2008 14:39:54] dhjackal says: we are Champions
[24/06/2008 14:39:55] dhjackal says: say we are Champions
[24/06/2008 14:39:57] dhjackal says: we are Champions
[24/06/2008 14:40:09] DogFace says: -(
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