leffe186

That thought absolutely crossed my mind. Or just a straight up comedown.

Speaking of which, a few here I hadn’t seen. The winner is still “Over the bar” at 0:31:

It’s kind of difficult to describe to somebody who didn’t grow up with it - football has changed so much and the English game was somewhat different on top of that. If you look back at 70s gridiron and see some of the things that players routinely got away with then you’re getting some of the flavour. I’m pretty sure there’s some documentary out there somewhere about the “Crazy Gang” and the 1988 FA Cup win that you might find enlightening. Wimbledon were a tiny club that came up from Non-League (outside the four divisions of the Football League) and some players were with them all the way. Vinnie Jones kind of epitomises them. They could play football but mainly were successful through organized thuggery and clever intimidation - particularly of refs. The most angry I have ever been at a football match was Spurs-Wimbledon back in 1986. We had a great team that year and they had just come up, but the referee simply could not cope with them. They were kicking and elbowing Spurs players with complete impunity - I have never seen anything like it before or since. The ref completely abdicated responsibility. Finally Graham Roberts decided enough was enough and completely went through Lawrie Sanchez. Roberts got the red card as he was being stretchered off - he’d hurt himself in the process. I would have torn the referee limb from limb if I had got hold of him, and I was 13 years old. Vinnie Jones played well for Leeds and other teams in CM and also played international football. As anybody who’s played football to a decent level will tell you, you have to be incredibly talented and driven just to play anywhere in the Football League. To play at the top level for a few years? Absolutely he was a good footballer. Just…he maximised his talents. He knew what he could and couldn’t do. And also, a lot of the things he did well that made him a success have been legislated out of football now. That Wimbledon team in 1986 would have been down to 7 men before 30 minutes had gone.

Slightly weird thing this morning. Was walking the dogs about an hour ago and there was a guy in his (I would guess) late 50s leaning against a garden wall looking sort of quietly distraught. Like he’d just been chucked out of his house or something (it was 5:30 am on a Sunday after all), head in hands, rubbing his temples etc. As we approached him I was going to ask if he was OK then realized he had an Arsenal shirt on - it was one of the weird third strips, that sort of powder blue colour. I was still going to say something but he was so wrapped up in his own world he didn’t register us at all so I just kept walking. Felt like he would have either lunged for me or started crying on my shoulder.

Yeah, we bought Kota Takai as a developmental CB and loaned him out for that reason. Having him on the list st all is silly, but at #9? Is this AI-generated?

He’s still not getting the credit he deserves. Bayern fans know. They think they got an absolute bargain. The numbers are historic. He just got into the all time top 10 (https://www.planetfootball.com/stats-tables/most-goals-scored-single-season-player-history-messi-ronaldo-pele) for top level goals scored in a single season. Apparently his goals per game this season is 1.18. Messi in that unbelievable 2011/12 season was at 1.19. if that was all it’s about then he’d have an argument to be the best in the world this season but we should all know by now there’s so much more to his game. He just scored more goals in a season than any Englishman since Dixie Dean, yet he still often gets pelters from England fans for not being in the box enough at the end of moves. Bayern fans comment on how effective he is as a defender, and not just on corners, and his vision and passing is incredible. Kane doesn’t have the speed or quick feet of Kvara, Olise, or Yamal that makes them so exciting to watch. But I think there are many footballing attributes he possesses that they either don’t have at all or have less of. And yes, there are the numbers.

I’m just keeping that in my pocket for when any Arsenal fan complains about the penalty they weren’t given.

I just hope somebody gives PGMOL a shake and they sort this shit out next year.

Havertz exists as well man Just walking the dogs round the corner (local park). It’s a Spurs area really but some Arsenal overspill. Big family picnicking under the tree, loads of Arsenal clobber, big red and white checked flag, little ‘uns with an air horn etc etc. Looking absolutely miserable. Warms the cockles of my heart.

It’s all about Arteta. He’s decided this is the best way to maximise their odds of winning stuff, and been working towards this for years. Stifle, stifle, stifle. Niggle, niggle, niggle. Cheat, cheat, cheat. You can see it in somebody like Bentancur. Under Frank he was negative and indecisive and we thought he might be done. When De Zerbi came in he was a revelation. Managers and schemes have a massive impact.

Can actually look forward to the World Cup. Unless they got a red card or two I don’t think I could have hoped for anything more than a total shithouse performance from the 6th minute, including all the usual Arteta antics and then Gabriel blazing the decisive pen into the crowd. Eze miss just a bonus. I believe that English clubs have won 18 European trophies since Arsenal last won one. Liverpool, Man U, Man C, Chelsea, Spurs, Villa, West Ham, Palace. Four teams from London alone. Their trophy parade is tomorrow and it will feel just a bit empty. What a pity we all had to endure that God-forsaken football to get this little bit of joy.

No yellow cards for Arsenal in the first half. Guess the timewasting was being done by some elves?

I mean, you saw this season, maybe we just shouldn’t have it count full stop.

Anyone watching the Scottish match? Curaçao looked OK and scored a cracking goal on the break, then got an incredibly stupid thuggish red card.

Urgh. Was fun while it lasted I suppose.

Those are the rocks I am clinging to. Some poor old sod in a Spurs cap down here by the gate. Doesn’t seem like he’s on the wind-up or mentally ill, just oblivious It’s proper Parklife out here today (28C I think) just ruined by all the Arsenal nonsense.

No red cards, no penalties, absolutely transparent double standards over things like the Gabriel headbutt, the Gabriel dives, MMA at corners etc. It’s not even a conversation. Even that recent PGMOL list of VAR errors which was very obviously “massaged” (for example, recording no errors against us when their panel disagrees and IIRC they actually apologized for at least one) said “yeah, we favour them, so what?”

Oh man. Arsenal managing to blag a season without red cards then getting three today would be funny.

Don’t know if you guys know the area round Arsenal but we’re at the main Finsbury Park gates. It’s all Arsenal. Feels like some horrible apocalypse movie. The Twelve Pins is bursting at the seams. If they lose I am very tempted to come back out here.

Honestly we were all worried about them winning the league but in the end it didn’t actually hurt much. Partly because we had other things to worry about, partly because they were so horrible. If they’d won it in style it would have sucked.

Daughter’s having a picnic on Finsbury Park. On the train and it’s all Arsenal. I’ve managed to avoid it all so far but this is pretty rough. The shirts are all noticeably brand new, which is simultaneously funny and frustrating.

Not properly bowing out, just giving it a break for a bit, in the Football side at least. I’ll be back for the World Cup. I like the sight of my own voice too much I just know I’ve been on tilt for a while and need to be careful in general, but particularly on another team’s forum. I am, as I have said many times, too old for this shit. There are a lot of Spurs fans out there who have made clear that this season has genuinely fucked with their psyche and left them reluctant to rip the piss out of West Ham fans. You guys have been through this relatively recently - not just relegation but a (far more obviously) dysfunctional ownership. It hurts, and sometimes it’s worth acknowledging. Fuck what Elon Musk says about empathy. I think it’s important.

I mean, it’s understandable in the context. This is your manor after all, I’m just a guest. I’ll give you all some space. I will say this. I’m posting on a Spurs forum too, obviously. I’m not a weirdo . I just have connections in the area (my Best Woman is from Stakeford, among other things) and it’s a cracking forum with some beautiful people. And also, I do think it’s good for fans of different clubs to speak to each other occasionally. In that light, I’ll bow out for a bit with something from that Spurs forum I hang out on that I think is worth saying after this last few weeks and months. The first two posts are from KUMB, the last is from Spurscommunity in response. They were all posted before the games today/yesterday: Hammer 1 If we stay up, we stay up. If we go down, we go down. Planet's still gonna spin, sun's still gonna rise and set, tides still gonna rise and fall. Plenty more to be thankful for in life, so don't let today get into your head regardless of what happens and just enjoy the ride of another day on this amazing, small blue ball spinning through space. Hammer 2 Well done - as this needs / needed saying. Football, whether going to football with your friends, watching football in the pub with friends or at home watching it on your own, it means a lot to people - to some it's a way of life, it is their lives, it's like Religion. For some it's all they have. During one of my many stays in hospital, this time the Royal Alexandra, Paisley, one of the Auxiliaries was telling me about a young Rangers fan who was lying in a room down the way from me... he'd tried taking his own life after his club went into administration. Difficult to imagine, but for some following your Club becomes your life and what happens to that Club affects your life. Which is why your post is significant. Later on this evening, there'll be people on here or on other West Ham sites and in the London Stadium... and.. ...let us not forget over at Tottenham Hotspur whose lives, depending on how results go, are going to be affected badly and it's important that someone is there to offer them the same advice you offered us all here .... West Ham / Tottenham will continue to exist, Life will go on and will continue to have meaning. Clubs as big as ours, or as big as Rangers always bounce back eventually, it's only a matter of time. Take care of yourselves, wherever you are. Spurs fan: I remember being at WHL in 2011 when we relegated Birmingham. At the end of the game, before they welcomed our players et al back onto the pitch for the lap of appreciation, Coytey addressed the Birmingham fans in the corner, praised their support that day, commiserated them on going down and wished them luck in their quest to return. Both sets of fans then applauded one another and it felt like that’s how fans of relegated clubs should be treated. Today, however, I suspect within minutes of the final whistle, Dominos, Specsavers and a few betting companies will put out posts mocking whichever team has been relegated, and in doing so they’ll set the tone for internet fans everywhere, who will forward and repost those memes etc far and wide. If it’s us who goes down I expect there will even be some rival players who make comments which their own supporters will gleefully share. And someone somewhere will take it to heart, let it get to them, and do something destructive, be it to themselves or to a loved one, and those people and companies who revel in the bear baiting will accept no responsibility at all. ‘Just banter innit’. Whatever the outcome today, I recommend you already have plans for this evening, and mute WhatsApp groups etc. And remember, no matter what, we kick off again in August

Fuck me, how dodgy was that Man City disallowed goal? The guys running VAR are doing everything they can to get it binned.