leffe186

Sounds like it is kicking off. Points deduction please.

Just remembered this was supposed to be the "march" game at West Ham too .

That may be the single most clear-cut red card I have ever seen .

Except it's an assist by Bolasie and an own goal. I'm even bad at knowing what just happened in the past.

Nearly transferred Walcott out too. I’m just so bad at being psychic and knowing exactly what’s going to happen in the future.

Fucking bollocking FF. Sorry, I mean, yaay!

That wasn't the case though. In their last season at the Boleyn they finished 7th with their highest ever Premier League points total. Liverpool were 8th, Chelsea were 10th. Many West Ham fans believed the hype, they really did. The fact that they had been underwhelming/terrible for years and years was immaterial. There were naysayers, but there were many who felt that this was a great opportunity. I think the fact that Levy thought it was worth making sure that they didn't get to weasel out of any commitments down the line wasn't simply sour grapes - he knew that a local rival (of sorts!) getting a "free" stadium with good infrastructure right down the road could be a problem.

Barnsley and Birmingham both losing. All coming up mackem again. Surely any red card for relegation candidates is a plus?

You can thank me for that - I dropped him in FF .

Was at Disney last week - saw one Orlando home shirt (purple and hold) and it looked absolutely mint. I'm just not sure I can bring myself to own an Orlando shirt.

Mahrez’s Facebook hacked?

It often seems like refs in Europe just do not care about this rule.

If you mean Berchiche, he was with us as a kid. Good player, too.

Let's ignore the bizarre notion of trying to set aside finances when considering whether a club should be competing for the Premier League. You're not arguing the point. You seem to be saying that Arsenal's squad isn't good enough to challenge for the league. Well, yeah, that's what everyone's saying. The point is that there's no excuse for them to have put themselves in that position. If the squad is deficient in certain positions then that's through poor choices, either poor appraisal of players, conscious focus on - say - attackers rather than defenders, or players seeing underlying problems and not wanting to move to Arsenal. If the squad is poorly-organized then that's a coaching issue. If the squad is poorly motivated then that's a coaching and playing issue. All of these are things that Arsenal have had within their power to address. If I was a fan of Arsenal, Man U, Man C or Chelsea, I would be expecting to challenge for the Premier League every year. That's not a factor of some vague 'big club' notion - it's because my club can choose almost any manager it wants, almost any player it wants, and because I've been challenging for the league for years. Under those circumstances, if I'm not challenging it's because I fucked up - say, I chose Moyes to replace Ferguson, or Hodgson to replace Rafa, or Morata to replace Diego Costa - whatever. I would then expect my team to put that right. Arsenal have consistently failed to put things right over the last two or three years, and that's why fans are pissed.

I think I'm the only one in our league still taking it semi-seriously (I'm just trying to get all the Spurs players) but you keep winning games against the other non-attendees 'cos you have three Spurs players and Salah. Oh I see you made changes last week. Somebody beat you to PEA too. At least there are a couple of people still engaged. Had a look after that post, figured i'd try and sneak him. Apparently people are still playing It's a mildly interesting week in our league too . You (55pts), me (54pts) and OCK (? - 52pts) at the top. I've already won this week against Neesy, but you have Lingard against Shak's Alexis Sanchez and Valencia. Also, OCK has De Gea, Matic, Mata and Van Aanholt against Beren's Smalling & Townsend.

I was going to follow up that post two days ago . Finally I get the chance! I checked the league positions over the last 10 years. Every time a big side underperformed - almost without fail - they changed manager. The problem is that Arsenal never had a reallybad season. They kept chugging along in the top four, rarely looking like winning the league but always doing enough. The one time they dropped out of the top four was last year. Other big teams had perfect excuses/opportunities to freshen things up. Arsenal would have had to make a much tougher and less clear-cut decision.

Bang on and extra seats that are often empty anyway. West Ham fans have a right to be p*ssed, they may as well be called London FC. Unrecognisable club. Yes and no. Of course they've been fucked over because, well, it's Gold, Sullivan and Brady. However, a significant number of West Ham fans were happy to make the move to Stratford, genuinely believing that it could prove a springboard to them challenging for the CL etc etc. They felt like they had put one over on us in particular: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2243562/West-Ham-fans-reaction-to-Olympic-Park-stadium.html http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/22525290 Most heinously, they completely shat on Leyton Orient. Sure, a lot of West Ham fans disagreed, but I suspect an awful lot more simply went along with it in the end thinking that it was a great chance to bridge the gap between them and the top six (or more). A lot of people now feel betrayed by the owners, but again, it's Gold, Sullivan, and Brady. What the fuck did they expect? In addition, Levy had already pointed out the problems with the stadium and the process - it's not like people could plead ignorance on that score either.

Who got relegated then?

That's nonsense though - the second part at least. Sure, the money spent by Man City (in particular), Man U and Chelsea has been obscene, but Arsenal are usually third in revenue generated/EBITDA etc etc every year. More importantly, they have been miles ahead of us in almost every facet of money generation for years and years. They really should be competing for the league every year, just like Man U, Man C, Chelsea, and to a lesser extent, Liverpool. All those teams have used a combination of managerial changes and filthy lucre to get themselves out of any recent ruts. Arsenal have ignored the first option, and have erratically and unconvincingly adopted the second. It would be more excusable if us and Liverpool had failed to overtake them, but I think we can all agree that that is precisely what has happened.

Isn't it McManaman? Would make sense, like a Liverpool love in Could have been any one of a dozen or more, tbh.

Not that you guys really give a fuck, but our second goal today was mint .

Yeah, West Brom surely gone now, which only leaves two spots. I think that's Watford confirmed safe, with everyone below them in danger. Bournemouth have friendly fixtures and I expect them to be safe after the next four matches. Everton too, although they could be a surprise package if they lose their next two games (Brighton and Stoke). Two from Brighton, Swansea, West Ham, Huddersfield, you guys, Southampton, Palace, Stoke. I think it's almost impossible to choose. Injuries are f***ing with Palace and Huddersfield, and I keep waiting for Huddersfield to drop, yet they have been picking up wins. Only 2 wins in their last 12 - replicate that form over the remaining games and they're in trouble. Plus they don't get to play West Brom again. True, but 2 wins in their last 4 - replicate that form over the remaining games and they're safe . They don't have to play us or Man U again too. Next four games - Swansea H, Palace H, Newcastle A, Brighton A. Mind you, if they get less than, ooh, five points from that little lot I think they're screwed.

Come on lads, anything will do.

Yeah, West Brom surely gone now, which only leaves two spots. I think that's Watford confirmed safe, with everyone below them in danger. Bournemouth have friendly fixtures and I expect them to be safe after the next four matches. Everton too, although they could be a surprise package if they lose their next two games (Brighton and Stoke). Two from Brighton, Swansea, West Ham, Huddersfield, you guys, Southampton, Palace, Stoke. I think it's almost impossible to choose. Injuries are fucking with Palace and Huddersfield, and I keep waiting for Huddersfield to drop, yet they have been picking up wins.