It's been a while since we talked about Arsenal. I guess the reason is that there hasn't been a whole lot to say. They've been pretty poor of late (today's 7-1 drubbing of Blackburn not withstanding). Over the last month, Wenger has taken a lot of stick from fans & pundits alike & much of it has been deserved. He's made some bad decisions, particularly in his unwillingness to buy in January. That said, much of the criticism has been harsh. Obviously, they need to win more, but I still don't see them missing out on The Champions League next year & they're still in it now (not to mention the fact that they're still in The FA Cup w/ a strong possibility of winning it... of course, I said that last year about the Carling Cup & they lost to Birmingham in the finals so who knows?). The main problems people seem to have w/ Wenger right now though involve his squad choice & his purchases. I think we need to look a bit more deeply @ that though.
His substitutions of Oxlade-Chamberlin should surprise no one. Ox is a young kid getting used to the Prem. & can't be expected to make it through entire matches yet. Walcott got the same treatmet for a long time. The fact that Ashavin has been coming on for him is rough, but the options haven't been there w/ Gervinho in Africa & Henry hurt. Now that Henry is healthy & w/ Gervinho coming back, I highly doubt we'll see much of Arshavin any time soon.
As for the purchases, it's had to say that Fabregas or Nasri where ever replaced properly, but otherwise, the buying hasn't been nearly as bad as people like to suggest. Considering the fact that the board hasn't been releasing the funds to buy people like the other top clubs, perhaps we need to take a look @ the players who have come in over the last few years.
2011-12
Mertesacker: A bit of a let down, but an experienced defender w/ plenty of international caps including strong runs in The World Cup & Euros. Everyone assumed he'd be fantastic.
Arteta: A great signing. He's been ever present & always reliable. He's not as flashy as most central attacking midfielders, but he rarely makes a mistake.
Park: A top scorer in France last year, & teh Captain of S. Korea. He hasn't had many opportunities yet, but all signs point to yes w/ him.
Santos: Brazilian international left back. He's slower than Clichy & Gibbs, but he's stronger than them too... & maybe better @ actually defending.
Henry: 2 goals since his re-debut less than a month ago... not bad.
Oxlade-Chamberlain: He looks the real deal. We'll see.
Jenkinson: I've been impressed by him when he was healthy, & no one can blame Wenger for an injury to the back-up right back.
Gervinho: Like Park, a huge scorer in France last year. Maybe he could find the back of the net more, but he's great on the wing.
Benayoun: Underwhelming, but everyone knows how good he can be. He had trouble @ Chelsea, but @ Liverpool he was always strong.
Ryo: Looks to be another one for the future. I hope his loan spell goes well for him.
2010-11
Squillaci: He hasn't done well, but when he was signed, everyone was excited. He was an experienced French international. The fact that he's taken a shit couldn't have been for seen.
Koscielny: In 2008 he was in the 2nd division of French football. He was just named Arsenal player of the month for January. He's been getting better & better. No one seems to complain about him anymore.
Chamakh: Like Gervinho & Park, a huge goalscorer before joining Arsenal. He did great when RVP was hurt too. I imagine leave in the summer, but I bet if he had a run in the 1st team he'd be back scoring goals again. He's been a flop this year, but no one complained about the signing last year.
2009-10
Campbell*: Rejoined on a short contract to help get the team through some injuries. He was good & there was even talk about getting back into the English national team.
Vermaelen: Ummm... fantastic signing. One of the best defenders in the league... maybe in the world.
2008-09
Ramsey: He's been good this year, but not quite as great as people hoped. Considering his major injury 2 years ago & his age, he's only going to get better & better.
Silvestre*: He'd won everything w/ Man U & had tons of experience w/ France. He sucked, but everyone assumed he'd be fine, & he brought bags of experience to the locker room.
Arshavin: Wenger signed him to make fans happy after the 2008 Euros. He was fantastic, but has gotten lazy. I think he'll leave after the 2012 Euros, but everyone hollering for more big-name buys needs to remember that spending the money is no guarantee.
Nasri*: Was great if a bit of a dick. I was definitely sad to see him go, but Arteta has been fine & the team made a bag of cash.
2007-08
Sagna: best right back in the league. He's been hurt, but buying another one would have been ridiculous. Besides, he's back now & looking good.
Eduardo*: Like so many of the strikers we've talked about already, he was huge when he joined the team. His massive leg-break sidelined him for a year & he lost a lot of confidence. I still like seeing him do well w/ Croatia & Shakhtar.
2006-07
Gallas*: Was a great center back & even became captain for a while. He went nuts, but he's still pretty good when he plays for Spuds.
Rosicky: Another one w/ some injury problems, but he's always been great for The Czech Republic & when he plays, he looks good. He even kept Ramsey out of the line-up today & looked really good. I don't know why, maybe the injury, but I've always liked him. There has been talk of his impending departure, but I hope he sticks around.
Diarra*: An odd buy. He only stuck around for a few months before he was shipped off to Pompy. From there he made his way to Madrid & got into the France 1st team. I never liked him much, but many people do.
All in all, the signings have been good... or at least they've seemed positive @ the time. Besides, the recent calls for the sacking of AW, need to remember that in order to replace him they'd need to find someone better. Real Madrid have been sniffing around & they don't usually make mistakes. There's been talk of Jose Mourhino, but I can't imagine he'd do well w/ a small budget. All things considered, AW has been great, & while I may be in the minority right now, I still trust him to right the ship.
Showing posts with label arsenal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label arsenal. Show all posts
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Neko & My Morning Jacket
1) Meadowbrook is pretty awesome. I need to go there more often. It's a lot closer than Pine knob & it's small & intamate.
2) Neko Case is awesome. She's smart, & beautiful, & interesting, & she has an amazing voice.
3) I wish Neko Case had been able to play a longer set.
4) Beer is better @ Meadowbrook than Pine Knob... & cheaper.
5) A thin blanket to sit on was a good idea, but a thinner one to keep us warm might have been a good idea.
6) I wish they didn't have the lights @ the top of the hill so we could have seen the stars better.
Neko played 6 or 7 songs. They came out & there were sound problems so they went back stage for another 10 minutes. When things were straightened out, she & her band rocked for a half hour or so. My Morning Jacket then came out & kind of blew us away. I'd been told by people on The Phil Zone that they might be the best live act since The Q. Well, that's a bit ridiculous, but they were definitely good. And the light show was absolutely stellar. They played for about 2 hours plus a 5 song encore (which included a duet w/ Neko on "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around"):
2. Circuital
3. You Wanna Freak Out
4. Off The Record
5. I'm Amazed
6. Anytime
7. Lowdown
8. Wonderful (The Way I Feel)
9. Slow Slow Tune
10. Lay Low
11. Dondante
12. Gideon
13. Smokin From Shootin
14. (end of) Run Thru
15. First Light
16. Touch me I'm Going To Scream Pt.2
17. Touch me I'm Going To Scream Pt.1
18. War Begun
----------
19. Wordless Chorus
20. The Day Is Coming
21. Stop Draggin My Heart Around
22. Holdin On To Black Metal
23. One Big Holiday
They can definitely rock, & Jim James definitely has a touch of the Ronnie James Dio in his stage persona. They also clearly wear their influences on their sleeves, but unlike so many hippie bands, theirs seem a lot more varied. And they are kind of dark... like the darkest moments of a YEM jam blown out for 20 minutes, or some dark Pink Floyd stuff... plus The Faces & Kiss all wrapped into one weird ass thing. I gotta say, I dug them.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Feather Bowling & Fábregas
For the b-day girls (Solstice & Elizabeth), we went out to eat @ The Cadieux Cafe last night. The food was good & the feather bowling was super fun. All 3 of my kids got the "Chicken Finger Club Sandwich," a huge bun w/ chicken & bacon. They all loved it. Seeing as it's a Belgian place, I got the Peter Paul Reuben (as did Dan). It was good, ranking maybe 3rd or 4th on my all-time list of Reubens. Elizabeth & my parents all got the all-you-can-eat mussels. They were good too. All-in-all, I'd say the drive to the East Side of Detroit would be worth it just for the food... even if they didn't have Feather Bowling. For those of you not in the know, it's kind of like curling got its chocolate in shuffle board's peanut butter. There's a long lane kind of like bowling, but it's dirt & concave. At either end, there's a feather sticking out of the dirt & the players roll cheese shaped "stones" towards it, & the closest ones get the points. We played boys v girls & since it was their b-days, we let the girls win. We're nice like that.
In other "F" news, Cesc Fábregas finally signed w/ Barcelona ending an 8 year run in N. London. He was the Arsenal captain for his last 2 years, & it's generally understood that he was given the captaincy in an attempt to convince him to stay put. Well, it's clear that it didn't work. He was great though, & he represents the rare occasion when a player leaves because he actually really wants to play for a specific team... & who can blame him. He was raised in Barcelona, he came up through their academy, & they're the current European Champions... maybe I should make a move from Verde to Barcelona. We'll see if it's in the cards. Here's a fun collection of pics from The Guardian celebrating his years @ Arsenal: Cesc Fábregas's Arsenal career - in pictures.
Making his 1st team debut against Rotherham United: 28 October 2003
In other "F" news, Cesc Fábregas finally signed w/ Barcelona ending an 8 year run in N. London. He was the Arsenal captain for his last 2 years, & it's generally understood that he was given the captaincy in an attempt to convince him to stay put. Well, it's clear that it didn't work. He was great though, & he represents the rare occasion when a player leaves because he actually really wants to play for a specific team... & who can blame him. He was raised in Barcelona, he came up through their academy, & they're the current European Champions... maybe I should make a move from Verde to Barcelona. We'll see if it's in the cards. Here's a fun collection of pics from The Guardian celebrating his years @ Arsenal: Cesc Fábregas's Arsenal career - in pictures.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
In which we wrap up July & move straight on into August
Well, the summer's been flying by. It's already time to start thinking about fall classes. I scored an extra one the other day, a poetry class in Detroit, about which I'm pretty excited. I haven't done a poetry in a few years, so it should be extra fun. I've still got a couple weeks to go in the current semester, so I won't really start planning too much yet, but you can count on a couple days of Whitman!
In other July news, I've kind of let the Tom Cruise-a-thon fall by the wayside, but along w/ a couple days of Whitman, you can also count on a resurgence of Cruise soon.
In the mean time, I've had my way w/ about a third of the James Bond Films, almost all of the Kevin Smiths, & a Tarzan marathon on TCM. Have you watched the old Tarzan movies? You should! They're shit, but they're super fun. They show one every Saturday morning after an hour of old serials. At the moment, they're showing an old Zorro one. It sucks worse than the Tarzan film, but it's interesting.
As August rears it hot, humid head, we've got a short camping trip on the horizon. We'll be hitting Petoskey after the semester is over for a couple nights. I'm excited & I think the kids are too.
The other thing about which I'm excited is the start of the 2011-12 Premier League. Arsenal's first match is against Newcastle on the 13th. Set your DVRs. Hopefully, they'll have the defensive issues sorted out by then. They still need a couple more people. In order for that to happen, we should also be able to wave goodbye to a few: Squillaci, Bendtner, Almunia, & Eboue will hopefully see the exit door. If I had my druthers, Diaby would be joining them. It looks like they may be hanging on to Nasri &/or Fabregas which is nice. However, they better get their shit together soon, because a draw w/ The New York Red Bulls today was certainly not impressive. An MLS team for crying out loud! The folks looking good so far include Rosicky (who I've always liked & have wanted to assert himself after his weird run of injuries... maybe this could be his year), RVP (quick & creative), Wilshire (although he got hurt today), Gervinio (the marque signing of the summer so far), Frimpong 9who was supposed to the other big thing last year but sustained a season ending injury in the preseason), & today the other young kid, Afobe (he subbed on in the 7th minute today & looked not at all out of place).
So there you have it... the season preview w/ a July review & some teasers for the month of August... enjoy. And then enjoy this fantastic video of a TV showing one of the greatest Arsenal chants of all time: "Evra, you're a cunt!"
In other July news, I've kind of let the Tom Cruise-a-thon fall by the wayside, but along w/ a couple days of Whitman, you can also count on a resurgence of Cruise soon.
In the mean time, I've had my way w/ about a third of the James Bond Films, almost all of the Kevin Smiths, & a Tarzan marathon on TCM. Have you watched the old Tarzan movies? You should! They're shit, but they're super fun. They show one every Saturday morning after an hour of old serials. At the moment, they're showing an old Zorro one. It sucks worse than the Tarzan film, but it's interesting.
As August rears it hot, humid head, we've got a short camping trip on the horizon. We'll be hitting Petoskey after the semester is over for a couple nights. I'm excited & I think the kids are too.
The other thing about which I'm excited is the start of the 2011-12 Premier League. Arsenal's first match is against Newcastle on the 13th. Set your DVRs. Hopefully, they'll have the defensive issues sorted out by then. They still need a couple more people. In order for that to happen, we should also be able to wave goodbye to a few: Squillaci, Bendtner, Almunia, & Eboue will hopefully see the exit door. If I had my druthers, Diaby would be joining them. It looks like they may be hanging on to Nasri &/or Fabregas which is nice. However, they better get their shit together soon, because a draw w/ The New York Red Bulls today was certainly not impressive. An MLS team for crying out loud! The folks looking good so far include Rosicky (who I've always liked & have wanted to assert himself after his weird run of injuries... maybe this could be his year), RVP (quick & creative), Wilshire (although he got hurt today), Gervinio (the marque signing of the summer so far), Frimpong 9who was supposed to the other big thing last year but sustained a season ending injury in the preseason), & today the other young kid, Afobe (he subbed on in the 7th minute today & looked not at all out of place).
So there you have it... the season preview w/ a July review & some teasers for the month of August... enjoy. And then enjoy this fantastic video of a TV showing one of the greatest Arsenal chants of all time: "Evra, you're a cunt!"
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
A Mid-Summer Soccer Post
After the USMNT piss-poor collapse in the Gold Cup Finals, there'd been little to watch until the Women's World Cup began a couple weeks ago. As one would expect, it hasn't had quite the coverage as the Men's equivalent last summer. I wonder why that is... oh yeah, sexism. That said, the games have been pretty good. At the moment, I'm watching USA v France, & here we have the the biggest conundrum of the summer. These 2 women's teams are sort of opposite in my mind from their men's equivalents. What I mean is that the french Men's team has been really good for generations while the USA men's team has only recently been worth watching. On the other hand, the French women's team has never made it to the World Cup (at least I think that's the case... I could be wrong), & the US team has been one of the best for years & years.Watching these 2 teams, though, is tough. I think I would have preferred them to meet in the finals.I've been following the French Football Federation since the 1982 World Cup. As you know, they were robbed by the ref in the semi-finals then when the German goalie came out of the box, missed the ball entirely, & knocked the french player out cold... the ref said there was no foul.Italy went on the win the tournament which cemented a rivalry w/ our Italian neighbors... & cemented a place in my heart for FFF.
The French team is definitely looking better today, but the US goal was really nice. I gotta say, I haven't been nearly as impressed by Abby Wambach as the media would have me think I should be throughout this tournament. She's missed a few sitters & just looked a bit out of sorts. yes, she got the last gasp winner against Brazil, but in general, she's looked more like Bendtner than like RVP.
Speaking of Arsenal players, they had their 1st pre-season friendly this morning in Kuala Lampur against Malayasia XI. Arsenal won 4-0 w/ goals from Ramsey, Walcott, Vela & Rosicky. The good news (other than the decisive win) is that Nasri looked good & dedicated, Vermaelin was amazing, & Denielson's days look numbered. He subbed on @ halftime but was them taken off in the 61st minute. That can't bode well for his future. Of course, when he came off (along w/ a few other people), Nasri, RVP, Ashavin, & Sagna came on. It must have been rough for Malaysia XI to be down 3-0 & see that group of people waiting to come on.
The final tid-bit of soccer info today comes in the form of a Verde FC alert. We're playing in a tournament on Belle Isle on Sunday afternoon. Come on down, drink so beer, & cheer on you local 5th division team. It'll be your last chance to see me play until the 2nd fall match... I'll be serving a suspension during the first match this fall. I was handed a happy b-day red card last month. Perhaps you heard about that. It made all the papers, well, it made my facebook status & I think I blogged about it too. Shocking, I know.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Dylan Week: Day 3: The B-Day (w/ Arsenal Goals of the Year)
For the big 70th birthday, I was going link y'all to some footage from Renaldo & Clara, but the only footage I could find sucks... of course, some would say that I may have found the entire film. I was able to find the Dylan/Dead rehearsals I promised though, so be sure to listen to them all today...all 4 1/2 hours of them! I'm listening to them now for the first time in years. I wish they'd done "Absolutely Sweet Marie" though. That songs seems tailor made for a Dylan/Dead collaboration. All in all, the rehearsals are just as hit or miss as I remember, but you need to listen to them anyway.Speaking of Dylan memories, I distinctly remember sitting in Mr. Bean's (the teacher @ my high school, not the British comic character) English class looking @ his copy of Rolling Stone which was announcing Dylan's 50th b-day. The article was about how rock music was getting old & stately & I was thinking about how old 50 seemed to be. Now here we are 20 years later & he's still rocking out all year every year & still writing great stuff. The problem w/ this little memory is that I can't find any proof of that RS issue anywhere. I looked for it last night for a 1/2 hour... no dice. Maybe it wasn't a Rolling Stone after all. It's funny how I spent the last 20 years so certain that I'd read about his 50th in a RS; now I think I've been wrong. I wonder what other memories I have that are just plain incorrect. I mean, of course they're all open to interpretation, but flat out remembering things that didn't happen @ all is scary. What if everything I remember is wrong.
Maybe, in 20 years, when I look back on the Arsenal 2010/2011 season & remember that they came close to winning everything, but in actuality won naught, I'll be able to take comfort in the fact that my memories could be incorrect. It was a frustrating seas, over all. They finished 4th again (3rd the last couple years, but 4th has become their spot lately). The made it to the League Cup finals, they beat Barcelona in the 1st leg of their Champion's League tie, but then they lost the cup, were eliminated from the FA Cup & the Champion's League in the same week, & took a nose dive in the league... just as I predicted. They did score some crackers though, & here's the official Goals of the Season highlight reel. Enjoy... I'm sure Dylan is enjoying this today as he kicks back, blows out his candles, & watches Arsenal highlights.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
The Death of 2 Arsenal Fans
Much has been made of bin Laden's death on Sunday night, & I promised yesterday that I'd bring y'all my thoughts, thoughts you've no doubt been anxiously awaiting. However, I also want to talk about the Arsenal season & summer transfer prospects. They fit nicely together because it's pretty clear that while he was living in London in the early 90's, he spent more than one Saturday afternoon on the Clock End of Highbury singing the songs & crushing the skulls of hapless Tottenham supporters. I tend to believe he probably spent more time in expensive boxed seats & less time street fighting. Although, between his time w/ the Mujahideen & Al Qaeda, I suppose he needed something on which to take out his tendencies towards violence. One would think that he would target the rich, West-End Chelsea fans more than the North London Spurs folks... or East-End West Ham dolts for that matter. It has even been suggested that he spent 6 of his years in hiding by hanging out in the Arsenal trophy cabinet since no one has looked in there since 2005.
Although Arsenal haven't won anything since that 2005 FA Cup, one might have though the US military was having a similar drought in its search for bin Laden until late Sunday evening when the news came over the wire that they'd recovered his body. I was sitting on the left end of the bar @ Sidetrack when the story broke, which means, I didn't really have a good view of the sub-titles so I was a tad confused @ first. My initial understanding was that his body had been found. Then it seemed like he was assassinated. However, as Obama finally gave his speech, the military intel got its story straight & they said he was shot in a fire-fight... a firefight in which no American forces were wounded. Whatever the truth really is, the fact is that he's dead & people around the country went bat-shit crazy celebrating. Of course, he'd been wanted for years, & the search was long & difficult, but the joy people felt just made me uncomfortable. I wish it'd been possible to arrest him instead. Obama kept talking about justice being done, but justice is only done in a court of law... not by covert ops agents. Others have suggested that a trial would have been too expensive, but considering the money we've already spent on this, it'd have been a drop in the bucket. Still others were afraid that a trial would have given him access to the media or worse still the possibility of acquittal. To that, one only has to realize he had access to the media for the last 10 years & rarely used it, & if we have so little faith in the legal process, what the hell are we fighting for? We might as well get rid of it & just bring back lynchings if we're only willing to press charges against those we know we can convict. not that conviction would have been tough. Hussein was convicted & Milosevic & McVey.
While the cheering seems to have been in bad taste, the whole thing smacks of political posturing. Bush found Hussein just in time to secure his re-election, & now Obama gets bin Laden the week after he released his long form birth certificate. of course, had bush gotten him 4 years ago, the same people who were celebrating would have been complaining about the political timing leading up to the last election. (Just as those who would have loved it then are now looking to conspiracy theories to discredit Obama's involvement. Regardless of the timing, banging pots & pans & lighting off fire-works to celebrate a death is something w/ which we here @ Drifting into Deep Water can not accept.
The other thing we cannot accept is a summer w/o some proper signings @ Arsenal. They came close this year, but after losing the League Cup Final & then getting eliminated from the FA Cup & The Champions League in the same week, things fell apart. Fabregas has run his course, & his surprise injury this week seems to signal his departure from the club. He should have been allowed to leave last year since they won't get as much money this time as they would have & his heart was clearly not into this year. Eboue, Diaby, Arshavin, Almunia, & Squillaci also need to be shown the door (& Bendtner, but I've said that every year since 2007).
This means, a center back in order, a back up goalie, a right back & some sort of goal scorer.
Center back options: Gary Cahill from Bolton, Mamadou Sakho from PSG, Phil Jagielka from Everton would be nice. I read today that an offer for Sakho has already been made... we'll see.
Goalie: I've seen rumors that Bufon might come in, but I would prefer Neuer from Schalke or Stekelenburg from Ajax. However, they might hurt the development of Szczęsny who has come along nicely this year.
Right Back: van der Wiel from Ajax would be a nice improvement on Eboue, but then so would Danny Devito or John Goodman or Zombie bin Laden.
Attacking options: At the moment, the rumors seem to be pointing to Eden Hazard from Lille or Benzema from Real Madrid.
There's also a rumor circulating that Barcelona will ship cash plus Macherano for Fabregas. That's not a bad deal, & it'd be a huge upgrade from Diaby.
As far as the captaincy goes, as Fabregas leaves, it'll probably go to van Persie, but I wonder if Vermaelen or Song would be better. I like the captain to be towards the back so as to have a good view of the squad. Henry was captain during his last 2 years @ Arsenal, but it didn't work well.
Oh, & the 2nd Arsenal fan to die this week? We lost a chicken. I went outside to feed them this morning and one was dead. It's so sad. I'm sure they supported Arsenal because they're pretty dumb but faithful. And they're pretty. They may not win, but they lose beautifully... just like Arsenal.
Although Arsenal haven't won anything since that 2005 FA Cup, one might have though the US military was having a similar drought in its search for bin Laden until late Sunday evening when the news came over the wire that they'd recovered his body. I was sitting on the left end of the bar @ Sidetrack when the story broke, which means, I didn't really have a good view of the sub-titles so I was a tad confused @ first. My initial understanding was that his body had been found. Then it seemed like he was assassinated. However, as Obama finally gave his speech, the military intel got its story straight & they said he was shot in a fire-fight... a firefight in which no American forces were wounded. Whatever the truth really is, the fact is that he's dead & people around the country went bat-shit crazy celebrating. Of course, he'd been wanted for years, & the search was long & difficult, but the joy people felt just made me uncomfortable. I wish it'd been possible to arrest him instead. Obama kept talking about justice being done, but justice is only done in a court of law... not by covert ops agents. Others have suggested that a trial would have been too expensive, but considering the money we've already spent on this, it'd have been a drop in the bucket. Still others were afraid that a trial would have given him access to the media or worse still the possibility of acquittal. To that, one only has to realize he had access to the media for the last 10 years & rarely used it, & if we have so little faith in the legal process, what the hell are we fighting for? We might as well get rid of it & just bring back lynchings if we're only willing to press charges against those we know we can convict. not that conviction would have been tough. Hussein was convicted & Milosevic & McVey.
While the cheering seems to have been in bad taste, the whole thing smacks of political posturing. Bush found Hussein just in time to secure his re-election, & now Obama gets bin Laden the week after he released his long form birth certificate. of course, had bush gotten him 4 years ago, the same people who were celebrating would have been complaining about the political timing leading up to the last election. (Just as those who would have loved it then are now looking to conspiracy theories to discredit Obama's involvement. Regardless of the timing, banging pots & pans & lighting off fire-works to celebrate a death is something w/ which we here @ Drifting into Deep Water can not accept.
The other thing we cannot accept is a summer w/o some proper signings @ Arsenal. They came close this year, but after losing the League Cup Final & then getting eliminated from the FA Cup & The Champions League in the same week, things fell apart. Fabregas has run his course, & his surprise injury this week seems to signal his departure from the club. He should have been allowed to leave last year since they won't get as much money this time as they would have & his heart was clearly not into this year. Eboue, Diaby, Arshavin, Almunia, & Squillaci also need to be shown the door (& Bendtner, but I've said that every year since 2007).
This means, a center back in order, a back up goalie, a right back & some sort of goal scorer.
Center back options: Gary Cahill from Bolton, Mamadou Sakho from PSG, Phil Jagielka from Everton would be nice. I read today that an offer for Sakho has already been made... we'll see.
Goalie: I've seen rumors that Bufon might come in, but I would prefer Neuer from Schalke or Stekelenburg from Ajax. However, they might hurt the development of Szczęsny who has come along nicely this year.
Right Back: van der Wiel from Ajax would be a nice improvement on Eboue, but then so would Danny Devito or John Goodman or Zombie bin Laden.
Attacking options: At the moment, the rumors seem to be pointing to Eden Hazard from Lille or Benzema from Real Madrid.
There's also a rumor circulating that Barcelona will ship cash plus Macherano for Fabregas. That's not a bad deal, & it'd be a huge upgrade from Diaby.
As far as the captaincy goes, as Fabregas leaves, it'll probably go to van Persie, but I wonder if Vermaelen or Song would be better. I like the captain to be towards the back so as to have a good view of the squad. Henry was captain during his last 2 years @ Arsenal, but it didn't work well.
Oh, & the 2nd Arsenal fan to die this week? We lost a chicken. I went outside to feed them this morning and one was dead. It's so sad. I'm sure they supported Arsenal because they're pretty dumb but faithful. And they're pretty. They may not win, but they lose beautifully... just like Arsenal.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Arsenal v ManUre Highlights
I know something else happened yesterday, but until I get that post written, feel free to enjoy the highlights from Arsenal's sweet, sweet victory which really ends up helping Chelsea more than Arsenal, but if Chelsea beats Man U next week, Arsenal will only be 3 points back. At least it's been a tight season.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Arsenal Highlights Series #X
I promised a quick return to soccer posts. Well, it wasn't as quick as I'd hoped, but here you go. Arsenal picked apart Blackpool yesterday morning during a match that could easily have seen Mad Jens Lehman sent off for a horrible challenge on some Blackpool person. After a closer look, it seems that he wasn't really the last defender and maybe should have gotten only a yellow... as it stands, he got nothing which is good because there was no second goalie on the bench after Almunia was injured in the warm-up. I didn't see the game, but I've watched the highlights & I've gotta say, these 3 goals are pretty sweet. Of course, I'd have settled for headers from corner kicks, but the beauty of the free-flowing goal from open play can't be beat... unless of course, like that douchebag, Berbatov, the goal-scorer is offsides & the ref doesn't see it. There's nothing beautiful about that.
So anyway, here's the highlight reel straight from the Arsenal FC site. Enjoy & be sure to come out & support Verde FC in a few weeks when our season gets underway.
So anyway, here's the highlight reel straight from the Arsenal FC site. Enjoy & be sure to come out & support Verde FC in a few weeks when our season gets underway.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Arsenal Highlight Series: Bendtner Got a Hat-Trick?
After a problematic 1-1 draw @ Leyton Orient, the replay @ the Emirates was much more straight forward. This 5-0 win send Arsenal through to the Quarter-Finals of the FA Cup. Of course, they have to play Man U @ Man U in the next round, but I have a feeling they're actually focusing on Sunderland this weekend & Barcelona next week. The Quarter-Finals are a long way off yet. I have a feeling Arsenal will be able to get past Man U, but then again, I had a feeling they would get past Birmingham in the Carling Cup finals & they blew that so who knows. Enjoy Chamakh's 1st since November, Bendtner's hat-trick & Clichy's 2nd Arsenal goal ever... that's 2 in 8 years... some 250 or so appearances.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Arsenal Highlights Series: How do you spell Leyton Orient?
At the end of a hard fought match yesterday, Arsenal's 10 men final overcame the League 1 side to go through to meet another League 1 side (Leyton Orient) in the 5th Round of the FA Cup. This means they should make it through the Quarter-Finals pretty easily. Then again, yesterday's match should have been easier too, so you never know. My brother seems to be calling for a quadruple... Arsenal winning all 4 major trophies this year. We'll all keep our fingers crossed, but I honestly don't see it happening. Maybe Wenger will actually sign someone before the transfer window closes this evening, but I honestly don't see that happening either, & barring the addition of another central defender, they just aren't deep enough to really compete for everything. Here are the highlights from the match yesterday.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Holiday Post #10: Another in the Arsenal Highlights Series
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Monday, December 27, 2010
Holiday Post #9: I Got a lot of Problems w/ You People!
As a fun post-Festivus post, here's a quick airing of grievances.
1) Friends who say, "You really need to see this movie... it's fantastic," when the movie is really not so good. We watched the aptly named The Runaways last night (the rock music biopic about the band of the same name). It's a very schizophrenic film. It's like it can't decide if it wants to be an arty Doors-esque thing or a teen pop flick so it tried to do both. One or the other would have been fine, but both doesn't work. It also spent a lot of time fitting in the rock bio-film cliches @ every opportunity. The only thing it didn't do was end w/ a death which is only because it focused mainly on Cherie Currie & Joan Jett... both of whom are still alive. Had it done more w/ the others, they could have included more of Sandy West, they could have dealt w/ her struggle w/ lung cancer & added a more poignant ending. Or maybe more about Joan Jett's relationship w/ The Sex Pistols to lead up to Sid Vicious' death. On the positive side, I dig the music & might see if they have any @ the library.
2) Speaking of The Sex Pistols, the second problem I have @ the moment is w/ Arsenal. FYI, John Leydon is a HUGE Arsenal fan; that's where the transition comes from. Anyway, they play Chelsea today, & their record against Chelsea is recent years sucks... SUCKS! Chelsea striker, Didier Drogba has played Arsenal 13 times during his tenure in West London & has scored 13 times. To make matters worse, Jason is a huge Chelsea fan & I'll be watching the match w/ him. The real problem here though is that we have a month long transfer window opening up after New Years, but Wenger probably won't buy anyone. They need another central defender. One great one & three mediocre ones aren't enough, especially when the great one has been hurt for most of the season. Along w/ a central defender, they need to ship out Diaby, Bendtner & Denilson. It may be time for Vela to go too. There's too much dead weight when perfectly good replacements are available. Wenger doesn't need to read this though because he's been getting this same info from all corners lately. If any of these changes actually happen though, I'll be happy to retract problem #2.(If nothing else, @ least Diaby was good for this hilarious picture.)
3) My third concern is really w/ Mother Nature. I'm already done w/ cold weather. This is just ridiculous. Bring on Spring already, for crying out loud.
4) Racists, sexists, homophobes, & other narrow-minded people who choose to discrimitate rather than accept. There's our big shout-out to political correctness before moving on to problem five.
5) People who have yet to vote for your Visions of Ypsi Memorial Celebrity MILF of the Year. It's easy. Scroll down & read through the nominees. They may not be fantastic, but they are what we've got this year. Once you've weighed your options, post your vote in the comments section... Easy.
1) Friends who say, "You really need to see this movie... it's fantastic," when the movie is really not so good. We watched the aptly named The Runaways last night (the rock music biopic about the band of the same name). It's a very schizophrenic film. It's like it can't decide if it wants to be an arty Doors-esque thing or a teen pop flick so it tried to do both. One or the other would have been fine, but both doesn't work. It also spent a lot of time fitting in the rock bio-film cliches @ every opportunity. The only thing it didn't do was end w/ a death which is only because it focused mainly on Cherie Currie & Joan Jett... both of whom are still alive. Had it done more w/ the others, they could have included more of Sandy West, they could have dealt w/ her struggle w/ lung cancer & added a more poignant ending. Or maybe more about Joan Jett's relationship w/ The Sex Pistols to lead up to Sid Vicious' death. On the positive side, I dig the music & might see if they have any @ the library.
2) Speaking of The Sex Pistols, the second problem I have @ the moment is w/ Arsenal. FYI, John Leydon is a HUGE Arsenal fan; that's where the transition comes from. Anyway, they play Chelsea today, & their record against Chelsea is recent years sucks... SUCKS! Chelsea striker, Didier Drogba has played Arsenal 13 times during his tenure in West London & has scored 13 times. To make matters worse, Jason is a huge Chelsea fan & I'll be watching the match w/ him. The real problem here though is that we have a month long transfer window opening up after New Years, but Wenger probably won't buy anyone. They need another central defender. One great one & three mediocre ones aren't enough, especially when the great one has been hurt for most of the season. Along w/ a central defender, they need to ship out Diaby, Bendtner & Denilson. It may be time for Vela to go too. There's too much dead weight when perfectly good replacements are available. Wenger doesn't need to read this though because he's been getting this same info from all corners lately. If any of these changes actually happen though, I'll be happy to retract problem #2.(If nothing else, @ least Diaby was good for this hilarious picture.)
3) My third concern is really w/ Mother Nature. I'm already done w/ cold weather. This is just ridiculous. Bring on Spring already, for crying out loud.4) Racists, sexists, homophobes, & other narrow-minded people who choose to discrimitate rather than accept. There's our big shout-out to political correctness before moving on to problem five.
5) People who have yet to vote for your Visions of Ypsi Memorial Celebrity MILF of the Year. It's easy. Scroll down & read through the nominees. They may not be fantastic, but they are what we've got this year. Once you've weighed your options, post your vote in the comments section... Easy.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Dream Journal #1
I think I have more than the common number of strange dreams, & I love talking about them. These 2 points got me thinking that they would make for a nice change of pace on the blog & get us away from the regularly scheduled soccer posts (except for the fact that one of these dreams is oddly soccer related.
To set up the first one, you must understand that we've been talking about moving next spring to save some cash & get a bit of a more rural lifestyle. W/ that in mind, here's dream #1.
I found a cheap apartment in a complex near campus devoted solely to hardcore Arsenal fans. It had a weird floorplan, but had 3 bedrooms & wasn't too expensive. I moved our stuff in & Stephanie & the kids were going to join me the next day. I'd had a hard time meeting the credentials, but we got the apartment none-the-less. It was then that I was laying in bed (right near the front door) w/ Nick Hornby all snuggled under the covers and looking @ old family photos. Arsene Wenger came in & demanded I fill out extra paperwork for the apartment. I was kind of surprised by his close involvement, but Hornby & I accepted it & I filled out the forms. He read them over & flipped out about the fact that I have kids. He said kids weren't allowed in the complex (equal housing codes aside). I explained that we'd already been approved & that he couldn't make me move out. He also seemed rather interested in the homoerotic moment I shared w/ Nick Hornby (which didn't surprise me as much as the news that broke yesterday linking him w/ a 39 year old female French hip-hop artist).
Most of this dream is pretty weird, but Stephanie has a nice little analysis that suggests Hornby is symbolic of Dan, as we were sharing a blanket & looking @ maps while watching a soccer game a few months ago. Not a bad reading of the dream, it must be said.
In dream #2, we find our fearless hero shopping for a bathing suit while preparing to go on a family vacation. Here we go.
I walk into Sun & Snow, the sporting good store next to Nicola's look for some new trunks. All I could find were Speedos, & the salesperson claimed that's all they carried. I was shocked, but the store was totally void of regular bathing suits. He claimed that no one was wearing them anymore & that Speedos were now all the rage. W/o any other options, I started trying them on.
I woke up before I made any purchases, so I don't know if a Speedo purchase was ever really in the cards, but the more I think about it, the more I think getting a Speedo would be pretty sweet. If it happens, you can be sure there will be plenty of pics.
To set up the first one, you must understand that we've been talking about moving next spring to save some cash & get a bit of a more rural lifestyle. W/ that in mind, here's dream #1.
I found a cheap apartment in a complex near campus devoted solely to hardcore Arsenal fans. It had a weird floorplan, but had 3 bedrooms & wasn't too expensive. I moved our stuff in & Stephanie & the kids were going to join me the next day. I'd had a hard time meeting the credentials, but we got the apartment none-the-less. It was then that I was laying in bed (right near the front door) w/ Nick Hornby all snuggled under the covers and looking @ old family photos. Arsene Wenger came in & demanded I fill out extra paperwork for the apartment. I was kind of surprised by his close involvement, but Hornby & I accepted it & I filled out the forms. He read them over & flipped out about the fact that I have kids. He said kids weren't allowed in the complex (equal housing codes aside). I explained that we'd already been approved & that he couldn't make me move out. He also seemed rather interested in the homoerotic moment I shared w/ Nick Hornby (which didn't surprise me as much as the news that broke yesterday linking him w/ a 39 year old female French hip-hop artist).
Most of this dream is pretty weird, but Stephanie has a nice little analysis that suggests Hornby is symbolic of Dan, as we were sharing a blanket & looking @ maps while watching a soccer game a few months ago. Not a bad reading of the dream, it must be said.
In dream #2, we find our fearless hero shopping for a bathing suit while preparing to go on a family vacation. Here we go.
I walk into Sun & Snow, the sporting good store next to Nicola's look for some new trunks. All I could find were Speedos, & the salesperson claimed that's all they carried. I was shocked, but the store was totally void of regular bathing suits. He claimed that no one was wearing them anymore & that Speedos were now all the rage. W/o any other options, I started trying them on.
I woke up before I made any purchases, so I don't know if a Speedo purchase was ever really in the cards, but the more I think about it, the more I think getting a Speedo would be pretty sweet. If it happens, you can be sure there will be plenty of pics.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Meet the New Blog... Same as the Old Blog
Blogger updated the log-in page so I can no longer access Vision of Ypsi. You, faithful reader, can still read the old posts, but there will be no more updates there. I'd been using that blog for about 4 years, & when I created it, I was working @ Jackson Community College. I used my JCC email as the log-in, but it was never associated w/ a Google account. As of today, Blogger needs a google account so I went to update it, but since I don't work there anymore, I can't access it to verify the account. That means a whole new blog is in order.
My very 1st blog, you may remember, was called "Leshlush," a nice little Phil Lesh reference. When I created a new 1, we went w/ a Dylan reference (which is in turn a Kerouac reference). In keeping w/ the musical references, I decided on a nice Bob Wills tune. Who was Bob Wills? Come now! He's still the king of Western Swing! check out this footage of him doing "Deep Water" w/ His Texas Playboys:
As we move forward w/ this new blog, we'll be getting many of the same things you've come to expect from the old blog, but we'll add a few new bells & whistles to keep everyone on his or her toes. If you have a site that should be linked, let me know... if you have suggestions to help this one... let me know. Keep the comments coming & be sure to watch Arsenal & see Whitey Morgan & the 78's when you get the chance.
My very 1st blog, you may remember, was called "Leshlush," a nice little Phil Lesh reference. When I created a new 1, we went w/ a Dylan reference (which is in turn a Kerouac reference). In keeping w/ the musical references, I decided on a nice Bob Wills tune. Who was Bob Wills? Come now! He's still the king of Western Swing! check out this footage of him doing "Deep Water" w/ His Texas Playboys:
As we move forward w/ this new blog, we'll be getting many of the same things you've come to expect from the old blog, but we'll add a few new bells & whistles to keep everyone on his or her toes. If you have a site that should be linked, let me know... if you have suggestions to help this one... let me know. Keep the comments coming & be sure to watch Arsenal & see Whitey Morgan & the 78's when you get the chance.
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