re: Arsenal Football Club 2011-2012 Season Thread

Posted by Friend of OBUDan

Member since Dec 2008

9963 posts

Posted on 3/3/12 at 1:32 pm to Leauxgan

I've sat here for at least 5 minutes staring at that gif. Magical.

By the way, who else had an Everton flashback immediately when that ball left Song's foot? I just knew RvP was going to score there even though he wasn't in the picture when Song made the pass (which is ridiculous, btw because that finish was absurd).

Posted by Leauxgan

Brooklyn

Member since Nov 2005

17324 posts

Posted on 3/3/12 at 1:46 pm to Friend of OBUDan

yep, I think there were millions of the same thought internationally mind melding as one in that moment.

I think teams are going to start practicing set pieces to defend when Song has the ball and RvP is making a vertical run

Posted by glassman

Next to the beer taps at Finn's

Member since Oct 2008

118285 posts

Posted on 3/3/12 at 1:48 pm to Leauxgan

I can't put into words how this match made me feel. It was like a mirror image, where a squad dominates and loses. Oh well, three points and clear of Chelaea. What a great day.

also, here's that wonderful dribbling highlight from last week's NLD

Posted by Leauxgan

Brooklyn

Member since Nov 2005

17324 posts

Posted on 3/3/12 at 3:19 pm to glassman

Posted by itawambadog

America, F Yeah!

Member since Nov 2007

21266 posts

Posted on 3/3/12 at 3:25 pm to Leauxgan

bahaha that gif is awesome

Posted by crazy4lsu

Member since May 2005

39820 posts

Posted on 3/3/12 at 4:48 pm to Leauxgan

quote:
I think teams are going to start practicing set pieces to defend when Song has the ball and RvP is making a vertical run

It's very difficult to close down the deepest man in midfield without opening up space elsewhere. And those runs RVP makes are so brilliant, in the left hand channel where the opposing team's shape is most compromised.

Song's range and touch is truly superb. He's turning into a borderline great player, he just has to have one game where his offensive game and his defensive game are at the same level.

Posted by glassman

Next to the beer taps at Finn's

Member since Oct 2008

118285 posts

Posted on 3/3/12 at 5:14 pm to crazy4lsu

quote:
He's turning into a borderline great player

Agreed. He and Lucas(pre-injury)are the two best in the EPL at their respective positions right now.

Posted by Leauxgan

Brooklyn

Member since Nov 2005

17324 posts

Posted on 3/4/12 at 4:18 pm to glassman

great post from reddit:

quote:
Food for thought.
Back in August Lee Dixon said we’d be lucky to make the top 8 with our current squad.
Wenger has not just lost Cesc and Nasri, but Wilshire too.
Liverpool have a net transfer spend of 38.6 mil in 2011/12 season Chelsea have a net transfer spend of 62.7 mil in 2011/12 season Arsenal have a net transfer profit 14.7 mil in 2011/12 season
Just over a year ago our biggest transfer “need” was to buy a goalkeeper.
Many feared we might not even get past Udinese to make the group stage of the CL this year, let alone top our group.
The current season is far from over, however there are reasons for controlled optimism.
We have money to spend (50mil in the bank) and the board might finally be ready to spend money on players, AND pay them a competitive wage (let’s not forget Mata had all but agreed to play for us until he got better personal terms from Chelsea).
RVP will likely stay as they’ll break the bank to keep him.
Wilshire will return.
The OX is improving and will play a much bigger role next season.
We’ve spent less than Chelsea & Liverpool - who are both below us.
We’ve lost key players - yet our league performance could easily see us improve on our final position last year.
This isn’t reactionary in light of a few good results, it’s a measured view on where we are now and where we could be next season.
I’d rather be a Gooner than a Chelsea or Liverpool fan.
The media keeps talking about Arsenal and it’s many problems, but things aren’t all that bad.
As Gooners we really can be optimistic about the future.
In Wenger we trust.

Posted by Friend of OBUDan

Member since Dec 2008

9963 posts

Posted on 3/4/12 at 5:00 pm to Leauxgan

I'm generally a pessimist, but I don't disagree with this too much. If we qualify for the Champions League, we'll be just fine, but there is still a chance we might not. Unlike the two other teams mentioned on that post, we don't have an owner that's on it to win it, which makes out margin of error a lot smaller than theirs. I'd still like to see a big change on our board, hopefully that happens. Gazidis needs to start proving his worth soon though. we need to up our corporate sponsorships desperately.

Posted by LSUSOBEAST1

Member since Aug 2008

28621 posts

Posted on 3/4/12 at 5:20 pm to Leauxgan

quote:
We’ve spent less than Chelsea & Liverpool - who are both below us.

Meh. That was a great post until this line. Spending money =/= success and it definitely isn't relevant to the success of Arsenal's season. Especially considering that this season was theoretically one big experiment for both Liverpool and Chelsea. Both have new managers, both managers were implementing new tactical schemes, both are transitioning from older players to younger players and Liverpool have first year owners.

ETA I guess I really just don't understand why he threw that in there? Using Liverpool and Chelsea to gauge your season's success just doesn't make sense to me.

This post was edited on 3/4/12 at 5:24 pm

Posted by Friend of OBUDan

Member since Dec 2008

9963 posts

Posted on 3/4/12 at 5:31 pm to LSUSOBEAST1

quote:
Spending money =/= success

"It sure helps."

-Roberto Mancini, Jose Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola, and Carlo Ancelloti

Posted by LSUSOBEAST1

Member since Aug 2008

28621 posts

Posted on 3/4/12 at 5:37 pm to Friend of OBUDan

None of us will deny that it does help, but the trick is finding the right balance between spending a lot and spending too much.

To me it sounded like he justified Arsenal not spending money by stating that they are higher than Chelsea and Liverpool. When we all know that if Arsenal had spent money, they could be top of the table. It will be fun to watch them play after this summer.

This post was edited on 3/4/12 at 5:38 pm

Posted by tigerfan88

Member since Jan 2008

9037 posts

Posted on 3/4/12 at 6:33 pm to LSUSOBEAST1

The point is that Arsenal is so much better run economically than any of the other big clubs and so it's a nice measure of pride to be beating teams who just try and throw money at their problems instead of developing talent and making smart transfers like Wenger does

Posted by TeamUSA10

Member since Dec 2011

531 posts

Posted on 3/4/12 at 6:59 pm to Friend of OBUDan

quote:
Everton flashback

Posted by LSUSOBEAST1

Member since Aug 2008

28621 posts

Posted on 3/4/12 at 6:59 pm to tigerfan88

quote:
The point is that Arsenal is so much better run economically than any of the other big clubs and so it's a nice measure of pride to be beating teams who just try and throw money at their problems instead of developing talent and making smart transfers like Wenger does

Maybe. It still seems silly to me.

Posted by Friend of OBUDan

Member since Dec 2008

9963 posts

Posted on 3/4/12 at 7:09 pm to TeamUSA10

Does anyone volley better than him? Charlton (my favorite goal, ever), Everton, Liverpool...

Posted by LSUSOBEAST1

Member since Aug 2008

28621 posts

Posted on 3/4/12 at 7:13 pm to Friend of OBUDan

He is not human.

Posted by Friend of OBUDan

Member since Dec 2008

9963 posts

Posted on 3/4/12 at 7:13 pm to LSUSOBEAST1

It's quite common to compare the expenditures of one's team to rivals, especially in sports without a strict salary cap. It's discussed frequently in baseball, basketball, soccer....For Arsenal, it's been a badge of honor for Arsenal considering their rivals have spent a lot more in the transfer market (though our wages are always high).